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Graeme Souness has a point about Declan Rice. But his conclusion is harder to defend
Graeme Souness has long had doubts about Declan Rice. His latest criticism, delivered on the first episode of Piers Morgan and Simon Jordan’s new Football Uncensored show, has brought that long-running argument back into focus. Souness believes Rice spends too much time dropping out of midfield during Arsenal’s build-up. He pointed to occasions when the England international moves between the centre-backs, or into the space between a centre-back and full-back, to collect possession with relatively little pressure on him. For Souness, that is not what an elite central midfielder should be doing. He described it as “old man’s football” and argued that receiving the ball in those areas allows Rice to take the easier option rather than influencing the game from midfield. He even suggested that...
What Germany’s World Cup exit tells Jürgen Klopp about the job ahead
A couple of months on from Germany’s World Cup exit to Paraguay, the result still looks difficult to reconcile with the basic match statistics. Germany enjoyed far more possession, completed considerably more passes and registered 21 shots to Paraguay’s seven. ESPN’s xG figures put Germany ahead 1.57 to 0.35. On another day, those numbers might have produced a comfortable victory and a place in the next round. But the headline statistics only tell part of the story. Look more closely and Germany’s dominance becomes progressively less convincing as the ball moves towards the areas that matter most. The question for Jürgen Klopp is therefore not simply how to turn possession into goals. It is whether the way Germany used the ball left them too predictable and too easy to contain. Germany’s a...