How to fill a Kirby-shaped hole?
There is a Fran Kirby-shaped hole in the No 10 position that Ella Toone is struggling to fill. To be fair to Toone, few could replace the ingenuity and guile of Kirby. Toone is a different style of player, a very, very good one with bags of potential, but more box-to-box. Against Haiti, Toone had most success shifted to the left and struggled to make things happen down the middle. If Sarina Wiegman is not going to change the shape to make the midfield work most effectively with the sum of its parts, then Lauren James is the more natural successor to Kirby. Against Haiti, James coming on as a wide player, in place of Lauren Hemp, felt like a missed opportunity. Yes, Hemp was on a yellow card and perhaps it was a slightly precautionary move but James showed in the pre-tournament friendly against Portugal just how well-suited she is to the number 10 role.
