Gary Neville names the unconvential XI that would’ve fixed England’s Golden Generation woes

England’s Golden Generation never managed to get over the line in a major tournament, but Gary Neville has named the XI that could’ve solved their problems at the time.

Back in the early 2000s, the Three Lions had one of the best squads in world football, but a lack of chemistry and cohesion was usually their undoing.

On the latest episode of Stick to Football, Neville named the following XI in a 3-5-2 formation that he believes would’ve solved England’s Golden Generation headache.

GK: David James / Paul Robinson

Neville didn’t specify who his first-choice goalkeeper would’ve been as he named both James and Robinson as potential starters.

Roy Keane promptly bit back when Neville named the two goalkeeper options and claimed: “You’re not winning any tournament with them two.”

Ouch.

CB: Rio Ferdinand

Ferdinand racked up 81 caps for England but surprisingly never played in a European Championship.

He was too young for Euro 96, was axed from the final squad four years later, and he missed the tournament in 2004 because he was serving an eight-month ban for missing a drug test.

Then, when he was primed to play in 2008, England failed to qualify.

CB: John Terry

Terry never really played as part of a back three until his last year at Chelsea under Antonio Conte.

In an England shirt, he almost exclusively played as part of a back four, usually partnering Ferdinand or the next man in this list.

CB: Sol Campbell

The back three picks itself really, doesn’t it?

Like Terry and Ferdinand, Campbell played in a back four throughout his career, but we’re certain that a player of his ability would’ve been able to adapt to a system change.

RWB: David Beckham

As Neville wanted to accommodate a three-man midfield and play with two natural strikers, Beckham was the player who had to be shifted out of his natural role.

Instead of playing as a right-sided midfielder, Neville opted to shift Beckham into a right-wing-back role to accommodate the players around him.

He would’ve certainly been a threat when swinging balls into the box, but at the opposite end of the pitch, we can’t help but think that he could’ve been exposed defensively in this sort of system.

LWB: Ashley Cole

Not necessarily renowned for his attacking output, Neville stuck Cole as the left wing-back in his dream England XI.

From a defensive standpoint, Cole is arguably the best full-back of his generation, as he regularly pocketed the best wingers in world football.

Although, whether he had the attacking instincts to be a natural wing-back, we’ll never know. In 107 appearances for England, he racked up just seven assists.

CM: Paul Scholes

One of the biggest conundrums facing England managers in the early 2000s was how to fit Scholes into the XI.

Sven-Goran Eriksson tried to use him as a left-midfielder, but that ultimately led to the United midfielder prematurely announcing his international retirement in 2004.

Had England used him as part of a midfield three, who knows what levels he could’ve reached on the international stage.

CM: Steven Gerrard

Garrard racked up 114 caps for England and enjoyed some good moments playing for the Three Lions, but he probably never quite hit top gear.

Neville certainly thinks that England’s midfield options would’ve been better suited to playing in a midfield three.

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CM: Frank Lampard

Given that Lampard played his best football in an advanced midfield role, making late runs into the box, this sort of system would’ve suited his game down to the ground.

He still managed to score 29 goals for England, but we can’t help but think that he could’ve scored even more if used in a more attacking role.

ST: Michael Owen

At his peak, Owen was unplayable on the international stage.

Like Neville, Owen also thinks that England’s golden generation would have benefited from playing in a 3-5-2, rather than the 4-4-2 that they often deployed.

“If we had played like a 3-5-2 or something then I mean I’m convinced we would have won something, but you know Scholes, Lampard, Gerrard as a three in midfield. We used to kill them,” Owen told The Sunday Session.

“We used to basically play two of them when everyone else was playing three or even four sometimes and then we always used to say they can’t play together.

“Well, no wonder they’re playing against about five Spanish lads that are all running around.”

ST: Wayne Rooney

Despite never winning anything, Rooney still scored 53 goals for England and held the record as the country’s record scorer until Harry Kane came along.

In this 3-5-2 system, who knows how many goals he would’ve scored.