Everton - has the penny finally dropped?

[Eric the Half a Bee]

he's going to take some replacing if his international career is, indeed, coming to an end.

Absolutely. That's why I'm wondering if this qualification campaign is the right time to blood in his replacement gradually, whoever that might be - Ampadu possibly, though he's still young and raw. Should Williams be ready to leave behind a distinguished international career after the next qualifiers, we'd have someone with a little experience of playing at the level required as opposed to someone who has hardly kicked a ball for us.

[Bluebird since 1948]

Absolutely. That's why I'm wondering if this qualification campaign is the right time to blood in his replacement gradually, whoever that might be - Ampadu possibly, though he's still young and raw. Should Williams be ready to leave behind a distinguished international career after the next qualifiers, we'd have someone with a little experience of playing at the level required as opposed to someone who has hardly kicked a ball for us.

International sport is all about selection. I have never bought this idea of "blooding youngsters" on the international stage to get them up to speed. They are all pros, they train and play week in week out. By all means include them in squads or training camps but you should always play your best players, however old they may be.

Ampadus time will come, he's hugely rated at Chelsea and Conte brought him up three times in a press conference the other day and he wasn't asked about him once.

[Eric the Half a Bee]

International sport is all about selection. I have never bought this idea of "blooding youngsters" on the international stage to get them up to speed. They are all pros, they train and play week in week out. By all means include them in squads or training camps but you should always play your best players, however old they may be.

To an extent that's the case, but that makes no allowance for partnerships learning each others' games. If Williams was to retire at the end of the next qualification campaign, surely it would be better if his replacement had competitive game time with James Chester (assuming he'll then become our main centre back) than if he was thrown in the deep end. Yes, whoever replaces Williams will have to be a good defender to get selected, but when making a strong start to a group campaign is important (something we failed to do this time around), preparation is key.