Could Fulham be in a relegation battle?
1 win from their last 7, no wins from their last 4, 16th in the league and only six points above the relegation zone. It's fair to say that Fulham are having a tough season at the moment and it could turn out that way. So could they be in a relegation battle?
Alongside the poor form they're in, the Cottagers have scored just 10 goals this season with only Burnley scoring fewer. They're clearly missing Aleksandar Mitrovic who left in the summer for Saudi side Al-Hilal and whose goals were crucial for them last season. HIs goals have not been replaced.
New signing Raul Jimenez may have scored in their 3-1 defeat at Aston Villa on Sunday in what was his first goal for the club and his first goal in over year. But he hasn't been the same player since his horrific skull injury back in 2020.
Marco Silva's side are a resilient team as they've shown on a number of occasions. But if they don't sign a striker in January, they could be in a relegation fight.
James Ward Prowse should've been in the England squad
James Ward Prowse put in an excellent display on Sunday in West Ham's 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest where he caused the Forest defence many problems from set pieces. Two of which resulted in assists for the goals scored by Jarrod Bowen and Tomas Soucek.
Knowing how effective he is from dead ball situations and the impact he's made since he's been at West Ham, I beginning to wonder how he's not getting picked for England.
For me Ward Prowse has to be in the England squad and for three reasons: 1. He's very effective from set pieces which is an area where England have been strong in the past. 2. He's getting more game time than Kalvin Phillips. 3. He's playing in a stronger league than Jordan Henderson.
Phillips and Henderson are the only players in his position who arguably shouldn't be in the squad because of their situations. Phillips can't get a game at Man City and Henderson is playing in the Saudi Pro League which isn't as strong as the Premier League. How these two get into the squad ahead of an in-form player like James Ward Prowse is hard to believe.
The West Ham midfielder has more assists from set pieces than any other player since the start of the 2020/21 season and has more assists than any other Premier League in all competitions this season.
England have scored a number of goals from set pieces in the past and Ward Prowse is arguably the best set piece taker in the Premier League. He would definitely be a useful option for Gareth Southgate because of how good he is from those situations and it's why he should be in the England squad.
Should Raheem Sterling have been in the England squad?
Raheem Sterling has been a completely different player this season in the way he's been playing and he put in another top performance on Sunday against Man City. He netted the blues' second goal to put them 2-1 up and was constantly causing City problems all game.
With the performances he's put in this season and especially more recently; Should he have been in the latest England squad?
At the start of the season, Sterling was someone I thought could win back his England place as Chelsea had a new manager in charge who he was eager to impress after a difficult season last season. Under Mauricio Pochettino, Sterling has been one of Chelsea's best players this season as he's looked more confident and is putting in better performances. He's got 4 goals so far this season which is more than Marcus Rashford who was included in the latest squad despite the poor form he's been in for Man United.
England do have a number of options out wide with Jarrod Bowen and Bukayo Saka being their best performers so far out of all of them. The amount of options England have out there is probably what's keeping Sterling out of the squad. But Sterling has been a key player for England in the past and I'm quite surprised that Southgate hasn't recalled him because of that and the form he's been in.
After being left out of the latest squad, there is a possibility that he might not make the final squad for the Euro's this summer. All he can do now is carry on playing the way he has been and hopefully he'll be able to force his way back into Gareth Southgate's plans.
Comments