Heaton...Keane...Mee for England.

[happyclaret17]

I am going to assume this has been discussed on here before but just in case it hasnt.
I think this could make so much sense...3 players at the heart of the England defence who are all young...hungry...play in a club team who lets face it have to defend more than most...each will instinctively know what the other is going to do...the great German teams of the past were predominently Bayern players.
people might rightly argue that singularly each player may not be the best in the land but collectively as a unit, surely thats what counts.....would love to see it tried in a friendly...I think Mee as a man marker is as good as anything England has....utc.

[DCWat]

It would be a brave manager to make that selection.

The media and fans would have a meltdown if three ****** Burnley players were in the England starting XI.

[happyclaret17]

perhaps we should sell all of them to spurs to help the national team...it would be ok then.
anyway...the England coach/manager should be brave.

[Cooperclaret]

Add another one - Lowton

[DCWat]

perhaps we should sell all of them to spurs to help the national team...it would be ok then.
anyway...the England coach/manager should be brave.

They should but there will always be an element of safety first in their selections, from a self preservation perspective.

Take a beating with Heaton, Mee and Keane all starting and the manager would be in for dogs abuse.

[Bin Ont Turf]

Mee is great for Burnley, and I love the chap.

If he was picked for England though, I'd be asking what has gone wrong for the national side.

[happyclaret17]

thats what friendlies are for though...I dont see too many players in the england squad who are head and shoulders above those 3....proper defenders defenders but both can nick a goal now and again.

[tim_noone]

Mee was fantastic tonight....

[happyclaret17]

I think we have enough flare players elsewhere in the team and our manager when playing was very defensively minded....keegan/hoddle perhaps wouldnt have picked them but perhaps he would.

[happyclaret17]

Mee doesnt complicate things...tonight when the lad broke into our box he just stayed on his feet...narrowed the angle and made a potentially dangerous position safe without even making a tackle....too many players go to ground too early.

[DCWat]

I'm not going to pick fault with Mee, who was great tonight, but there are plenty better centre halves in the Premier League and with a better all round game.

Cahill, Stones, Jones, Smalling, Dier and then the likes of Maguire and Gibson. I'm sure there are plenty others too. Mee is working well in our system but would he really dislodge any of the above at the current clubs?

[Claret_Jules]

What has Chris Smalling got that Ben Mee hasn't? A Man Utd badge on his shirt perhaps?

[happyclaret17]

Cahill And to a lesser extent stones look the main 2 keeping out Mee...but others named for me are just names in the hat and none of them partner Keane at club level ( yet ).

[duncandisorderly]

Irrespective of players being better or worse than each other, I am reasonably confident that a team with Heaton, Mee and Keane in the centre would be better than Hart, Stones and Jagielka, or Forster, Smalling and Cahill, or any other combination. If the goalkeeper knows what his two central defenders are doing then it's a big thing, better than the sum of the parts.

English football may be a big deal, but the English national side isn't anymore. Choose a proper team rather than a group of XI players and you'll not get a better trio than Heaton, Mee and Keane to work together.

[Belial]

When Keane was selected for the England game, all the plastics on social media were slagging him off and asking how he's got into the team (which shows the mentality and lack of knowledge of Man U/Chelsea/City plastics). Imagine what they would say if Heaton,Mee and Keane would be put in. It's difficult to appreciate defenders the same as strikers ,mind you... strikers bag goals, and one who bags 20 in a season will be well known, whereas defenders...well...defend well but don't get quite as much media attention

[happyclaret17]

absolutely my point duncan and belial
look at little old burnley and the individual quality of players below us in the league...we dont have the best players...we have one of the most cohesive units in the league...England need a team...not a bunch of highly paid individuals...all 3 of our players would get blood on their boots...just think if it was a success and the likes of Cahill...stones etc were warming the bench...that would be fantastic for genuine competition for places.

[davemanu2000]

Burnley have a crop of good players this season . They will continue to shine even playing for England against any country of the world .

[frankinwales]

I like Davemanu...........always positive, sounds like a lovely guy......


Up the Clarets..........

[ClaretinMyBlood]

Ben Mee is our rock, Over 100 consecutive league starts says it all.
It would be great to see the three in the England line up but as long as they continue to be in our line up I'm happy.

[ablueclaret]

You only find out by playing the man. Mee has two very important qualities, bravery and anticipation. Of all the players in our side he is the one who spots danger and reacts to it, that's why on occasion he gets into perilous situations, but it is a quality nevertheless.
He is the rock on which this side is built, and he has the quality to play at a higher level.

[Sidney1st]

They work well as a unit due to the players and framework around them.

Put them in at City where the defence is left exposed by the midfield a lot of the time and we'd probably see a different outcome or comments.

Could all 3 play for England at the same time?
Couldn't do any worse the other options, but it would depend on who's shoring up midfield.

[Colburn_Claret]

Isn't it essential that our defenders defend.
When you turn them into footballers its a bonus, but as with Stones at Citeh, can be dangerous.
Keane nearly played Arnautovic in last night with a sloppy header to Mee, he's been outstanding this season but against Spurs he had his worst game of the season by a long, long way. Mee will always go under the radar because he does the simple things so well, no over complication. England's loss is our gain. It will be hard enough to replace Keane without losing Ben as well.

[dsr]

I want Keane in the England side, because (apart from being a star player) he's the fashionable up-and-coming star and it will increase his transfer value when he inevitably moves in summer.

I don't want Mee in the England side because (as well as being a star player) he's not fashionable and therefore might stop at Burnley for years to come and be the defensive stopper that all sides need, and be better at it than most.

[cricketfieldclarets]

Mee doesnt complicate things...tonight when the lad broke into our box he just stayed on his feet...narrowed the angle and made a potentially dangerous position safe without even making a tackle....too many players go to ground too early.

This is exactly how Maldini and Baresi played. They didnt even practice tackling.

[claretspice]

What has Chris Smalling got that Ben Mee hasn't? A Man Utd badge on his shirt perhaps?

A yard of pace, a few inches, and a quality on the ball.

[claretspice]

Mee is brilliant for us, and I'd have him at the heart of our defence for as long as we are able to keep him for at least the next 5-6 years. He epitomises the spirit of the team.

But - he's not international class, and in a defence that wasn't so well protected by a framework I suspect he'd get a bit exposed. Lets not get carried away.

[Bacchus]

For all his qualities Mee lacks pace and physical presence. He's impressed me this season and those attributes (or lack thereof) haven't been exposed as often as I'd expected but he's quite a way short of being international class. They have been exposed though - a prime example being Everton's goal against us where Mee didn't fancy the foot race against Lukaku and tried to nip in front of him and win a ball that he was never going to get anywhere near.

I'm more than happy with him at the heart of our defence but there's a reason that the Keane has had the England call up and has the big clubs watching him and Mee hasn't, and it's nothing to do with the fact that he plays for an unfashionable club.

[quoonbeatz]

even when he was playing left back for us i said that in terms of being an out and out defender, ben mee is one of the best i've ever seen play for burnley. his reading of the game, the way he keeps his eye on the ball and the timing of his tackles are absolutely first class.

he's not international class though because he's limited and the difference between him and keane is that mee is playing close to the peak of his powers - keane has the potential to go higher.

[dsr]

You can measure speed, height, pass accuaracy, etc. - Mee doesn't score all that well on those. You can't measure determination and motivational skills. That's where Mee would get top marks.

[Colburn_Claret]

A yard of pace, a few inches, and a quality on the ball.

You must be watching a different Smalling to me.
One good game in 6, and the other 5 he couldn't lace Ben's boots.
I doubt Ben is ready for England yet, but he can continue to improve, but Smallings best days were years ago, and they ain't coming back.

[claretandy]

Mee would never get in the England squad because of his poor distribution, just look at Keane's passing out from the back for England, he dictated the game. On pure defensive stats Mee is having a better season than Keane.

[Longside4evr]

This is why he is every thing that everyone says he is for me and does this without think top player
https://youtu.be/hhgnN0HOLMs" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Longside4evr]

This is why he is every thing that everyone says he is for me and does this without thinking top player
https://youtu.be/hhgnN0HOLMs" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Dark Cloud]

Crumbs I hope to God we've seen the last of bloody Jagielka in an England shirt. Kevin Long would be ahead of him in the pecking order if only he qualified!

[ClaretRock]

What is England lacking in the squad? They have a squad full of individual quality. All the defenders are ball players but very simalar I think if Southgate wants to play a back 3 Ben would fit right into the middle of that line. Like everyone says he does the simple things really well, his anticipation of danger, determination, grit,steel and organisation could be so thing that would galvanise England's back line and would be worth a try. However he is an unfashionable defender and his qualities are not so sought after on an international level as many have stated. Wether this is right or not there is only one way to find out. Time will tell if Southgate has the balls to call him up.
I was surprised to see a dailymail article today that showed he had better stats than Keane in a Lola but pass completion but that was only by 1% in favour of Keane. Anyway they are both Burnley players and that's the most important thing! UTC

[claretabroad]

Our screening midfielders/2 banks of four defending makes life easier for our defenders. We are set up to highlight the strengths of Ben Mee and limit his weaknesses. In international football the defending players won't get that sort of protection and his areas of weakness could be exposed.

I am very glad we have him at the heart of our defence and his determination and commitment should be the benchmark for the rest of the team but he's not at international level yet.