Iwan Roberts: How can Gareth Southgate keep ignoring James Maddison?

He should be in the England squad, as simple as that – but Gareth Southgate won’t budge.

His numbers alone for an attacking midfielder should guarantee him a spot. Last season he got 12 Premier League goals in 35 appearances, 18 in all competitions, and eight assists.

If it was any other manager he would be in the squad. How he can ignore what James has done in the last 18 months for Leicester I don’t know.

He was here at Norwich as a young lad, went on loan to Aberdeen, and enjoyed his time there, it toughened him up a bit, and he came back and played ever so well for Norwich.

Players like James will be fan favourites because he has unbelievable ability, he is a confident lad with a bit of a swagger about him, and I don’t mind that because he does his talking on the pitch.

I wish he was Welsh! Has he even been on holiday to Newtown or Aberystwyth or Anglesey?

How Gareth Southgate can ignore him I don’t know.

The only reason I can think of is when he pulled out of an England squad in October, 2019, because of illness and was spotted in a casino. Are you not to allowed to go to casinos in that situation? He made his debut as a sub the following month but since then he has not had a sniff.

I have seen a lot of James playing for Leicester – we've always known about his delivery, his set-piece delivery, his free-kicks, we all know that. Okay, he isn’t that quick, not like Gazza who went past people the way he did, foot over the ball, but James is very intelligent. What he has introduced to his game, especially in the last 12 months, is the timing of his runs. He often runs beyond the centre forward – quite a lot of his goals last season were a result of him timing a run to perfection, getting into the box, beating a player and putting the ball, in. That was the next part f his game. We know he can open a defence with his range of passing, but I think he has taken his game to another level with those types of late runs that you want from your midfielders.

I wondered if his exclusion could be to do with Gareth Southgate’s cautious approach, but he picks Mason Mount and Jack Grealish.

James has five goals in seven Premier League games this season, seven in his last 11... that’s ridiculous. For me, when you have a player like that there is room in any team for him. How can you ignore his goals and assists?

The only person who can’t see it is the England manager.

England manager Gareth Southgate (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)

Fortunately for James, he is still a young lad, just 25, and Gareth Southgate won’t be England manager for ever. This is probably going to be his last major tournament, unless England go all the way and win it.

There’s been a lot of calls for change from England fans who are fed up with his negativity - he is a manager who sets up his teams negatively so that is maybe why. But even if that is the case, when you have a World Cup squad of 26 now, not 23, how you can’t find a place for James Maddison is beyond me.

We are less than 50 days from the start of the World Cup and I think for someone now to break into the squad at this late stage will be tough. I am looking at Wales as well – there were a couple of names thrown at me recently, but it’s not going to happen now. If they were going to have half a chance, they would have been included in the last Nations League games.

So it is hard to parachute James in - it doesn’t matter what he does from now until when the squads are named. He’s already done more than enough in the last 18 months, he can’t do any more.

I think James has a good idea of what he must have done wrong – what he has to do now is concentrate on Leicester City.

PLASTIC HELL!

The lads face Preston this weekend at Carrow Road – but their place, when they had their plastic pitch at Deepdale, was somewhere I hated.

The pitch wasn’t like the 3G pitches we have today.

You had Loftus Road, Kenilworth Road and Deepdale, and it was like playing on concrete. It was horrible.

It was so bad I played in tracksuit bottoms up there once, a few of us did. Obviously you put your bottoms in your socks. It wasn’t because it was cold, it was because it was horrible; the bounce was awful, there was no give in the surface at all.

I never scored up there but I did down here and the goal that stands out for me was in 2002.

I’d done my knee against Sheffield Wednesday in December, came back for a couple of games, I think I scored at Vicarage Road, and we went to Turf Moor where I went up for a header and landed straight on my left leg and felt something. I’d never pulled a muscle in my life. For me, you have to be quite quick to go pulling muscles, especially your hamstring!

I tried to run if off but it was no good. Altogether, with my knee and the hamstring I missed 12 weeks, six with both. All I did was weights at Colney – something I never did.

But I was in decent shape, best shape I think I have ever been in after those weight sessions. We were on a bit of a bad run and we played Preston on a Friday night, probably on TV, and we won 3-1. I scored the first, a header from a Steen Nedergaard free-kick. Steen always had great delivery – and I was thinking, headed goal, River End … the top came straight off, but I had a vest on so you couldn’t see the two pack... but that goal gave me a lot of enjoyment after 12 weeks out.

On paper it should be a home win. Preston have now scored four goals after beating West Brom in midweek, 24 hours after City drew at Reading.

Yet again I see some of the moaners and groaners have been out in force because Dean Smith’s men took only four points from two away trips. I mean, that’s just not good enough is it?!

A trip to Reading produced just the one point and people weren’t happy, even though Paul Inces team have the best home record in the Championship, having won five of their opening six home games.

Norwich lost 26 of 38 Premier League games last season, they lost six of their last seven games, the team had got into that bad habit of losing. Now they’ve got into the good habit of winning games and still some people aren’t happy. I think they need to have a word with themselves, I really do.