Episode 6! Let's dive right into it! On the eve of Gareth Southgate's lose-lose decision, tasked with selecting a small cohort of English players from a vast pool of talented options, Will leads a discussion on the challenges of being in his boots. Our hosts start by laying out the candidates for the coveted and controversial right back role, introducing somewhat speculative "feelings" that accompany each one, with a few stats to more firmly back them up. They've prepared a bit of a label for each player for those that are unfamiliar with them.

The conversation steers into the impact that the media and fans can have on selection. The challenge here, is not only that we must pick a starter, but that we must select a strategic trio with logical grounds. Yet, much of the Twitter and journalistic space will be ravenously waiting for "their player" to be called up! In the English Premier League, the entertainment comes, in large part, due to the widespread quality of so many sides--but this can prove compromising when we've got 10 teams all expecting their talismen to earn a seat on the plane (instead of the tighter handful of 2-4 teams in other leagues across the continent that share those kinds of expectations; think the far more centralized Spain, Germany, etc.). Making matters worse, the melting pot of Premier League tactics is, once again, a huge driver for viewership, but proceeds to painfully hamper the continuity of style and methodology in England. To add more fuel to the fire, there's the odd dynamic of continuous squad churn that derives itself from the selection process itself. Many fans will write and use the narrative that suits them at any given time, demanding that their over-performing player from this season get the call-up, but that their creaky, experienced veteran not be left behind either. A concoction of high expectations, far too many options, and a modern fullback role that's hardly well-defined means that Southgate's got quite the choice to make.

The second half commences with Martin's introduction of the more fundamental options here: picking duplicates of varying degrees of quality vs. bringing different roles to fit the mold. As a case study, he remarks upon Barcelona's potentially better usage of Dembele and Trincao as an example of the latter, juxtaposed with Argentina's futile #10 overloading to illustrate the former. This idea then segues into the notion of identity for national teams, as the lads discuss how the idea changes and intensifies as we introduce the pride that comes with geographic borders. The two agree that this is something utterly critical to develop and often fall back on.

The chat now dives into the contrasting benefits and drawbacks of both youth and experience. They touch upon the value of locker room figures like Adil Rami, but concede that prodigies certainly bring a vitality and eagerness to the forefront. The public always loves a good Theo Walcott.

Finally, the verdicts. Martin proposes an elaborate plan to avoid injuries in the tournament itself and pin specific players against specific teams as a result of their specific likely matchups. Will counters that this is a terrible idea, and that the group ought to stick to one game model, instead. They fire back and forth for a while until ultimately agreeing on the only objective truth there is in this debate: it's hard to envy Southgate as he makes this lose-lose decision!

Join us to hear Will's atrocious intro, a car-scam update, a Tariq Lamptey cameo, a Liverpool fan trying to keep his fanbase grounded, a compelling Swedish anecdote, and two vastly distinct approaches to solving this problem.

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Find Martin on Twitter @MG_theory, and Will @WA_theory

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