Tuesday 11 October 2016 10:30, UK
Is Gareth Southgate right to drop Wayne Rooney from England's starting line-up against Slovenia? Read what the Soccer Saturday pundits have to say and then cast your vote in our poll...
England will attempt to make it three wins from three in their World Cup qualifying campaign when they face Slovenia on Tuesday, but Gareth Southgate announced on Monday evening that Rooney would be on the bench.
The captain and all-time leading scorer was booed by some sections of the crowd during Saturday's 2-0 Wembley win over Malta and interim boss Southgate is set to partner Eric Dier with Jordan Henderson in midfield.
Phil Thompson and Charlie Nicholas give their verdict on Southgate's big decision but do YOU think it's the right one? Read on and then give us your view...
I think the time has been coming since he lost a regular place for Manchester United as you're usually picked for what you do for your club, but the timing seems a bit odd.
He played okay against Malta but he had so much time on the ball. He was playing more square passes, not displacing anybody, whereas Henderson played more forward, chance-creating balls, which you wouldn't expect.
It wasn't Rooney's fault we didn't win by more though - and that their goalkeeper had an incredible game. We were unfortunate not to have won by a cricket score.
Was that Rooney's fault? Probably not, so it does seem a bit harsh.
I think they could take Rooney out of the side and it would be better balanced, but I don't think Rooney is doing anything wrong. He won more challenges and completed more passes than most against Malta and he's doing what he has to do with the pace he's lost.
I've been a Rooney fan of all my life and I'm not going to be critical of him now. I've been that lad who came into the first team at 16, 17 and you get to that stage where you lose a yard of pace and now maybe he's slowing the team down.
Having listened to Southgate quite a lot, I do not feel for one second that he is bowing to public pressure. He's looked at the Malta game and thinks Rooney is slowing the team down.
He needs his team to play quicker and has pinpointed Rooney is preventing that so has made his decision, which you've got to admire him for. It's the same with Manchester United; they want Paul Pogba's energy and drive.
If it goes wrong for England, who is going to get the stick? It won't be Wayne Rooney anymore. It's a courageous decision to identify him as the problem and make the change.
