To the surprise of essentially nobody, the England national team has been a lethargic disappointment thus far at Euro 2024, which is typical of any side coached by Gareth Southgate.
Pundits and fans around the world have chimed in, too, regarding the state of an unwatchable England side that has been wasting some of the finest talents in world football like Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka, and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
England are undefeated on paper, but their 1-0 win over Serbia and 1-1 draw with Denmark were far from convincing. There are concerning warning signs that the Three Lions are playing below their potential.
Although Southgate has led England to a World Cup semifinal and Euro Final, England have been empty-handed and, quite frankly, lucky to have drawn teams that enabled them to go far enough in those competitions.
There are a number of frustrating decisions Southgate is making at Euro 2024, such as utilizing Alexander-Arnold in midfield and his overall ultra-defensive approach.
But the most egregious issue may be using Cole Palmer, arguably the best player of the last Premier League season, as an unused substitute in England’s two matches.
Palmer could have easily changed the game against Denmark and is the kind of attacking midfielder who can elevate a team, which he did all season long for Chelsea as their best player since the heyday of Eden Hazard.
Chelsea fans have to be fuming at Southgate, even as the whole nation and others in Europe are doing so at the awful football they must be subjected to watch, Blues’ fans have to have the biggest grip with the England coach because of his usage of Palmer.
It’s akin to a footballing crime. Palmer scored 22 goals with 11 assists as quite possibly the biggest breakout star in world football, pulling Chelsea into a top-six place.
The 22-year-old has such a great eye for goal as a non-striker, and you would think that with England practically begging for a goal to win against Denmark, Southgate would have called upon such an exceptional talent to help him out.
Palmer is an acclaimed player for Chelsea in just one season as a starter, and he didn’t even begin the season as someone Mauricio Pochettino was starting every week.
He earned that spot and he has earned the opportunity to start as an attacking midfielder for England, as Jude Bellingham can easily move into a central midfield role alongside Declan Rice – both of whom are elite players but disappointed against Denmark under Southgate’s “tactics”.
Chelsea fans are enraged at the way Southgate has left Cole Palmer to rot on the bench after he outplayed the vast majority of the team in the 2023/24 season – and they have every right to be upset.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He has been an editor for NFL Spin Zone, Daily DDT for pro wrestling, Autzen Zoo covering the Oregon Ducks, Musket Fire covering the New England Patriots, The Real Champs covering Real Madrid, Old Juve covering Juventus, Rush The Kop covering Liverpool, and Release The Knappen covering Schalke. His work has been featured in ESPN, Bleacher Report, Yahoo! Sports, NBC Sports, and other outlets. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.