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England’s Ruud awakening
Ruud Gullit has claimed that key players not playing for top Premier League sides is the reason England consistently come up short in major tournaments.
The Dutch legend, who captained the Netherlands to Euro 1988 glory, also enjoyed spells in the Premier League as both a player and manager with Chelsea.
Asked about what the Three Lions are missing in their quest for a first triumph since 1966, the 60-year-old pulled no punches — even singling out five of Gareth Southgate’s stars in his stinging assessment.
Gullit explained: “With the Premier League, England has the most beautiful and biggest league in the world, but the five biggest clubs do not have English internationals playing in the most crucial positions.
“That is killing the national team — there should be England players there, as they then get used to winning big trophies all the time. You win more with the bigger clubs.
“Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford plays at Everton, not a top-five club. Of the two central defenders, Harry Maguire is on the bench at Manchester United. John Stones does play at Manchester City, but not always.
“Declan Rice, the controlling midfielder, plays at West Ham United and Harry Kane is a striker at Tottenham, where he has a team that has not won a trophy for years.
“That is England’s biggest problem. The team always plays well, but cannot make the final step.”
Gullit also suggests that an idea floated by his former Blues team-mate Marcel Desailly is also a factor.
He added: “Desailly states that the French players have an example of a team that could win prizes and he is right.
“Today’s generation at England never experienced 1966 and at all previous tournaments saw only penalty shootouts that failed.”
Miedema heartbreak
Arsenal forward Vivianne Miedema has shared her devastation after picking up an ACL injury that will see her sidelined for “an extended period”.
The Dutch forward, 26, was stretchered off during the Gunners’ Champions League clash with Lyon on Thursday night and left the field in visible distress.
It has now been confirmed that she will undergo surgery in the coming days, with Miedema taking to Twitter to confirm the news this morning.
In her statement, she said: “It was one of those moments, where I knew straight away.
“So many things going through your head: I won’t be able to help my team anymore this season, no World Cup, surgery and rehab for a long, long time.
“I won’t be telling you I’ll come back stronger or that I’m looking forward to spending the next however many months in the gym. It will be tough with plenty of difficult days (plenty of crying, which we’ve had a lot of already), but sadly enough it’s part of football.”
Miedema joins her Arsenal team-mate and partner Beth Mead on the sidelines after the Three Lions hero sustained an ACL injury herself last month.
