Sir Alex Ferguson has pinpointed Tottenham as a genuine threat to Manchester United’s title this season. The Scot believes that the North Londoners have been the most exciting team to watch in the last 10 games and have the squad to mount a serious challenge this year.
Elsewhere in the news Wenger believes they will be back in the title race if they beat City; D-Day for Steve Kean, while Liverpool joins the chase for Tiote.
United may get European reprieve – Guardian
Wenger: Arsenal will be back in the title race if they beat Man City – Guardian
Man Utd to spend £29.3m on Benfica’s Gaitan – Daily Telegraph
How passion play led to a bust-up with Balotelli – Independent
Another defeat means Tuesday is D-Day for Kean – Independent
Keane makes Fergie feud public… Sir Alex would’ve been nothing without likes of me! – Daily Mail
GB Olympics squad spot and mega Paris deal beckon for Becks – Daily Mail
Liverpool in chase for Toon star – Mirror
Walker vows to stay with Spurs – Mirror
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Torres still no substitute for success as AVB overlooks £50m misfit again – Daily Mail
Steven Gerrard’s career saved by quick-thinking medical staff at Liverpool – People
Newcastle heading for a Tyne and Wear tug-of-war for Aston Villa’s James Collins – People
It is advantage Manchester United as their title rivals all fell away at the weekend throwing away valuable points. The only thing preventing Sir Alex Ferguson and a record breaking 19th title is themselves and you would be a brave man to bet against them.
In the papers this week there have been a mixed bag of stories that include Adebayor felt unloved at Manchester City; Bale admits to foreign lure, while Arsene Wenger bemoans the fixture list.
*
Rooney set to escape ban for foul-mouthed goal celebration – Guardian
Wenger bemoans fixture list – Sky Sports
Chelsea are looking to the future – Daily Telegraph
There is a resolve at St James’ Park and Ameobi is finally walking the talk – Daily Mail
Adebayor: I felt unloved at City – Sun
Bale admits foreign lure – Sky Sports
How Downing became Villa’s right-hand man from an also-ran – Daily Mail
Drog caught in Blues fan row – Sun
Birmingham manager McLeish backs Super Kev to play until he’s 40 – Daily Mail
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Dalglish eyes wide boys Young and Jarvis to attend Carroll service – Mirror
City can finish second, insists Mancini – Guardian
My guess would be, ‘probably not enough’. I noticed it a while ago and have developed nothing but respect and admiration for it. It’s not an easy ‘gig’ as I see it, following the kids. They’re hardly ever on the TV and at times it must feel like you’re constantly sifting for gold in a glistening stream, hoping to capture something that carries a huge reward.
Right, here’s Windy…
A Spurs XI, managed by Tim Sherwood, drew 2-2 draw with Leyton Orient last week. I must admit that I didn’t make it to the game – I couldn’t face the four hour round trip on a Wednesday evening, and I felt that £15 was a bit steep for what was essentially a reserve side (fair play to those who made the trip!). By all accounts, it was a fairly drab affair – Orient dominated the first half (and could have scored many more), and Spurs dominated the second. Our goals came through Ryan Mason, and Jon Obika.
Tim Sherwood gave a very useful interview after the game: Spurs starlets need time to mature, says Sherwood
“For us it’s a case of getting experience and stepping up to see who can maybe go on loan to someone,” said Sherwood. “We haven’t got a team ethic in this group, it’s all about producing players for our first team and managing their careers from here on in.
He (Obika) is scoring goals, he just needs to find a home. We need to get him a good home to go to and get him some experience, but rest assured wherever he goes he will score goals, because that’s what the boy is all about.
Ryan [Mason] had a good experience at Yeovil, he did well for them and they did well for him. He’s looking to step up now. He’s technically gifted, he keeps the ball, he hates giving it away.
He’s getting fitter and a little bit stronger as well which is good news and I think he’s ready to step up to the Championship and maybe go on loan there to get a career before eventually, hopefully his Tottenham career.”
It’s good experience for them to know that if they’re going to go out on loan at this level it’s very physical.
That’s the way it is in England: if you’re outside the Premier League you’ve got to be ready for a battle. It’s good experience, when we come and look at them on loan we don’t judge what they’ve done on the pitch, we look at their attitude, which needs to be spot on, and their ability will come through.
It gets them used to the intensity of the dressing room. Some of these boys at Orient are playing for their livelihood, they’ve got mortgages to pay, so it’s good for some of these boys who think they’re going to be Tottenham players on big contracts to get a bit of an eye opener.”
Really positive comments from Sherwood – and pretty much exactly what I’d want to hear from him. I hadn’t previously held particularly strong views either way on him – on one hand, he was a big advocate of Didier Zokora, a cult hero to many, but certainly not to me. But on the other, I’ve noted his attendance (and his encouragement to the players) at the handful of U18 games I’ve been at since he joined the club – even when he was only part-time; this I found impressive.
He is spot on regarding Obika, who many Spurs fans seem to have written off. Indeed, I don’t think he is the greatest player (he was warming Millwall’s bench at the end of last season), but he is a player who can become a Darren Bent-style goalscorer in my opinion. He is also a very humble guy, with an excellent attitude towards the game.
Sherwood also calls it right on Mason – “He’s technically gifted, he keeps the ball, he hates giving it away” – that just about sums him up. I’d like to think that Mason has a future at Spurs, especially with Modric to learn from. He could become a Modric-type player, although he has shown in his U18 days that he also has the ability to score goals, so he will probably end up playing further up the pitch than Luka.
I would imagine that Sherwood will look to organise fairly regular friendly games for his group of professionals in the coming season, as well as keeping a close eye on the U18s – working as a link between John McDermott, the Academy Manager, and Harry Redknapp. One wonders where this leaves Clive Allen.
The Milk Cup
A Spurs U17 side participated in the well-known Milk Cup over in Northern Ireland last week. Our squad was as follows:
1 Reece Samuels
2 Kevin Stewart
3 Daniel Day
4 Ronnie Hawkins
5 James Yeboah
6 Ramil Sheriff
7 Laste Dombaxe
8 Freddy Champion
9 Alasan Ann
10 Lee Angol
11 Kenneth McEvoy
12 Luke McGee
13 Thomas Gardiner
14 Janoi Donacien
15 Samuel Smith
16 Victor Zapata Caicedo
17 Oliver Modeste
18 Alexander McQueen [I think they must mean Darren McQueen, who made his U18 debut aged 14]
A handful of these players had some U18 experience last year – McQueen, Yeboah and Dombaxe may be names that you’ve heard before.
We played in the Premier Section, which meant that we played County Londonderry first (26/07/10). We won this game 4-0, with Ronnie Hawkins, James Yeboah, Laste Dombaxe and Lee Angol getting the goals. The goals can be viewed here at 5:26 (although I’m not sure for how long); good to see Redknapp there watching. Number 4, Ronnie Hawkins, looks very comfortable on the ball, and seems to take set pieces too. According to some excellent eye witness reports from wlhatwhl on the brilliant COYS forum, Laste Dombaxe was the stand-out player for Spurs.
In our second game, we beat KV Mechelen of Belgium 1-0 with Dombaxe scoring a penalty, having been fouled himself. The full team team was Thomas Gardiner; Ramil Sheriff, James Yeboah, Janoi Donacien, Daniel Day; Laste Dombaxe, Kevin Stewart, Ronnie Hawkins, Freddy Champion, Lee Angol; Victor Zapata Caicedo.
We then met Donegal Schools in the Quarter Final. Having been 1-0 down for most of the game, Laste Dombaxe scored an excellent equaliser with two minutes to go, only for Donegal to score a screamer from distance a minute later. You can watch the goals here (this time they are first up in the video).
We went on to play Porto in the 5th-8th play-off, drawing 0-0 (unusual scoreline for a youth game!), unfortunately losing 5-4 on penalties. In our final match, we played Belevedere of Dublin, winning 5-0 and therefore finishing 7th out of the 24 teams.
Northern Ireland Milk Cup Winners – Etoile Lusitana (from Senegal – first African team to win the Milk Cup)
Runners up – Bolton Wanderers
3rd – Desportivo Brasil
4th – Donegal 93
5th – Aspire
6th – FC Porto
7th – Tottenham Hotspur
8th – Belvedere
Eurofoot
As well as the Milk Cup, we have taken an U18 team to participate in the Eurofoot competition (as we do each year). We have been drawn in Group B.
Group A
Celtic
Club Brugge
AA Gent
E. Frankfurt
STVV
Botafogo
Group B
Anderlecht
Brondby
Cercle Brugge
Tottenham
Standard Luik
NAC Breda
The squad list for this one is as follows – some familiar names, and some less so.
1 Archer Jordan 12/04/1993
2 Dukes George 4/03/1993 [who I believe is either on trial, or has signed from Northampton Town]
3 Byrne Nathan 5/06/1992
4 Nicholson Jake 19/07/1992
5 Ekong William 1/09/1993
6 Lancaster Cameron 5/11/1992
7 Luongo Massimo 25/09/1992 [who was on trial with us last year, and could now have signed permanently from Sydney Tigers]
8 Carroll Tom 28/05/1992
9 Coulthirst Shaquille 2/11/1994
10 Kane Harry 28/07/1993
11 Prtichard Alex 3/05/1993
12 Oyenuga Kudus 18/03/1993
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13 Ranieri Mirko 8/02/1992
14 Durojaiye Olumide 20/10/1992
15 Ward Grant 5/12/1994
16 Munns Jack 18/11/1993
17 Tapping Calum 5/06/1993
22 Francis-Angol Zaine 30/06/1993
In our opening game on Friday morning, we won 3-2 against Cercle Brugge. Kane, Oyenuga and Lancaster got the goals, and Kane popped up again in the afternoon, as we beat NAC 1-0.
Today we play Anderlecht, Standard and Brondby -you can keep up to date with the results here.
And finally… Billy Big Bostocks
John Bostock had plenty to say this week; some of it sensible, and some total nonsense in my opinion. Firstly, his comments on grass roots football in this country, which I think are sensible, intelligent and which many others would agree with:
“It [England U19 vs Spain] was the hardest game I’ve played, energy-wise. It felt like we were chasing shadows at times.
They have probably been brought up playing that way. They played like they were brothers on that pitch.
I’ve had some good coaches in my time but the problem with English football is it’s not consistent. Different coaches have different approaches.
In Spain it seems every youngster is coached the same way. It’s almost like it’s a belief. Individually we’re not that far behind them but as teams, we are.
Something has to change with the coaching. I’m not talking about the professional game, but right at the bottom from the age of six, seven because kids need to know how to play together.
Look at the senior England team. Individually, we have the best players in the world but as soon as they come together it’s not the same.
I think most of our youth coaches have taken the joy out of football. That is kicked out of us at a young age. Too much pressure is put on kids to go out and win games.”
I can’t disagree with Bostock on a lot of this – I do think there is a massive problem with grass roots football, and I personally get frustrated when I walk past the Sunday morning games, and see young kids playing 11-a-side on full-size pitches. How can that be helping their football? Other than fitness, it gives them very little. But really, that’s a discussion for another day.
Instead I’d like to focus on Bostock’s comments about how he has been blocked by foreign players:
“You look at the foreign contingent over here and they’re blocking us.
It’s so frustrating. You want to prove yourself, but it’s hard when you don’t get a chance.
Some players have been given chances – for instance, Jack Rodwell was given his at Everton and he took it. But the rest of us haven’t really been given that chance. Getting bits here and there is not really enough.
None of us know much about the new rule [8 home-grown players in a 25-man squad]. I just know clubs now have to put some of us in the squad.
But clubs are spending millions on foreigners and they still want to play them. It just means we will be sitting on the bench.”
Ignore all the lifestyle stuff that comes with being a footballer, all we want to do is play football.
That’s all any of us have ever wanted to do since we were young. We just want that chance to show we can play and hopefully we will get it.
I just want to play. The dream is to play for Tottenham but I want to play and if I have to go out on loan to prove myself then I will.”
And here’s what he should be saying:
“You can’t help but learn from quality players like Modric and Kranjcar. I stay behind with them a couple of times a week to try to improve as a player.
This season I’ll be working hard in training to catch Harry’s eye, and to try to get into the squad – then, who knows what can happen.”
Firstly, it’s a slightly bizarre comment, since Spurs have a lot of English players, and specifically in midfield, which is where he wants to play. Does he really think that if it weren’t for that pesky journeyman Modric, he would be a regular starter?
Secondly, can he really compare himself to Jack Rodwell? In my opinion, Jack Rodwell will be an England player within the next 18 months, and will probably be a mainstay for our national side for years to come.
I’m not a expert on John Bostock, but I think I’ve seen him enough times for Crystal Palace, Tottenham U18s and England (at all levels) enough to pass comment. I personally think that his biggest problem is that he believes his own hype. He hasn’t particularly impressed for the U18s, he hasn’t particularly impressed on loan at Brentford (although he put in a fine display and got two goals in his first game for them), and he hasn’t particularly impressed for England.
He is a skillful player, no doubt. He is also a big, strong lad. However, we all know that there is far more to being a footballer than this, which is something that John McDermott, the Academy Manager at Spurs is always keen to make clear. Take Sam Cox for example. He has now joined Exeter City, but he was kept on at Spurs for longer than perhaps his skill level alone justified. This was because he brought a lot of other qualities – professionalism, a superb work ethic, a positivity in his place and in his communication to is team mates, and the ability to help set the tempo of a match. In my opinion, Bostock is desperately lacking in these areas.
Having his level of skill is all well and good, but you have to know how to use it. In this article, it seems to me that he is keen to blame others for his own failings, rather than getting his head and bettering himself. I find it disappointing, and I would not be at all surprised for him to slope off to another club at some point in the near future. If that were to happen there would be some Spurs fans, no doubt, who would blame the coaches for not getting the best out of such a prodigious talent. However, if you see this guy play – see how he is often on the periphery of matches, see how he doesn’t seem to want to roll his sleeves up, and see how he isn’t really fussed with the defensive aspects of the game – you really have to question why he thinks he deserves a chance over other players of a similar age. Particularly those who keep their mouths shut, and focus on their game.
*******
You should visit his Windy’s blog and enjoy all his work HERE. Here at the Tavern, we’ll be giving you the occasional heads up, but bookmark it and give yourself a working knowledge of the youngsters coming through.
Everton fans are absolutely gutted for Oumar Niasse, after the Senegalese striker missed out on his country’s World Cup squad.
There are plenty of players who Everton fans feel have been hard done by in recent times, and Oumar Niasse is certainly one of them.
The Senegalese striker has nearly always made a positive impact when he gets a chance, but has started just ten times in the Premier League this season.
The 28 year-old clearly hasn’t had the trust of either Ronald Koeman or Sam Allardyce, but has still managed nine goals and two assists in all competitions this season.
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Remarkably, the speedy striker actually has the most shots on target in the league for Everton this season (18), despite only making ten starts.
The striker’s progress has obviously not been noted by his country though, as he was left out of the squad for this summer’s World Cup. Toffee teammate Idriss Gueye is in the squad.
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Fans are devastated for their cult hero, and they can’t believe Stoke City’s Mame Biram Diouf has been selected instead.
Some of the best Twitter reactions can be found below…
As football fans we’re always looking back on the good times; the moments that made us laugh and cry and the moments we’ll either never forget or do our best to wipe from our memories forever.
But what about the future? What do we have to look forward to? Can we get excited about what’s to come or should we continue to yearn for yesteryear?
As part of our Premier League 25 years celebration this season, we’ve decided to boot up our copy of Football Manager 2018 and simulate 25 years into the future to see what exactly we’ve got to look forward to. And without wanting to wish our lives away, we’re in for a real treat if this is what the future holds.
With one season per article, we’re looking 25 years in to the future, starting with the current 2017/18 campaign…
Premier League
Transfer Window
Before the season even starts the big clubs make last ditch attempts to spend big on the best players.
Unsurprisingly, Manchester City are the biggest spenders as they spend an initial £41m on Juventus’ Alex Sandro and secure a deal that could be worth in the region of £42m for Inter’s Ivan Perisic.
Liverpool throw £61m at Napoli’s Elseid Hysaj, Andrea Petagna of Atalanta, Torino wing-back Antonio Barreca and 18-year-old attacking midfielder Vincent Thill from Metz.
Meanwhile, Man United bring in Daniele Rugani from Juventus for £24m and Benfica’s Jonas for £17.75m.
Arsenal are also massive spenders with £59m being spent on five players, the most significant of the bunch being Fulham wonderkid Ryan Sessegnon for a bargain price of just £2.9m. Former Everton star Gerard Deulofeu joins the Gunners for just £7m.
And Chelsea? They buy Dries Mertens from Napoli for £26.5m.
There’s more spending in January too, and the top ten most expensive transfers of the season are as follows…
In terms of obscure Premier League transfers, free agent Bacary Sagna signs for Newcastle, Man City manage to persuade Monaco to part with £33m for Elaqium Mangala, Charlie Adam joins Hoffenheim for £3.8m, James McClean completes a shock £5.25m move to Mexian outfit Cruz Azul and West Ham spend a combined £30m on Everton’s Mason Holgate and Leicester’s Matty James.
Elsewhere in Europe, there are no stand-out transfers in the summer but Barcelona surprise everyone with a £46m deal for PSG’s Angel Di Maria in January, while Ajax’s Kasper Dolberg completes a £55m switch to Bayern Munich.
The League Campaign
Chelsea go on to successfully defend their Premier League crown to win their third title in four seasons, ending the campaign four points clear of runners-up Man United and as the division’s top scorers with 72 goals…
Arsenal end the season in fourth, which they undoubtedly celebrate wildly as their bitter north London rivals Tottenham have to settle for sixth.
Newcastle, Crystal Palace and Huddersfield are all relegated comfortably. Burnley had looked dead and buried by the middle of March, having won just once in 18 Premier League games from the beginning of December, but a late surge saw them go unbeaten in their final seven games (W5, D2). Newcastle are eventually made to pay for winning just twice after the turn of the year.
The season’s overachievers are West Ham, Bournemouth, Watford and Brighton, who all finish well above where the media had predicted of them at the beginning of the season. Southampton, West Brom and Leicester are all seen as the biggest underachievers.
End of Season Awards
Harry Kane beats Olivier Giroud to the Golden Boot by a single goal as it takes only 17 for the Spurs forward to end the season as top scorer.
Dries Mertens nets 13 league goals in his first season at Stamford Bridge, Mohamed Salah fails to have the same impact as in real life by scoring just 13 times while West Ham’s Javier Hernandez nets 15 on his return to the Premier League.
Elsewhere, Juan Mata ends the season with the most assists (16) and the Golden Glove is shared between Liverpool’s Loris Karius and Chelsea’s Thibaut Courtois as they keep 17 clean sheets each.
Players’ Player of the Year went to Eden Hazard, Premier League Player of the Year was awarded to Juan Mata, Manager of the Year was obviously won by Antonio Conte and Young Player of the Year was awarded to Chelsea’s Andreas Christensen.
The Premier League Team of the Year looked pretty familiar as the likes of Philippe Coutinho, Paul Pogba, Harry Kane and Kevin De Bruyne all make the cut, but there are surprise inclusions for Man United’s Daley Blind and Watford’s Daryl Janmaat.
Manager Movements
Unlike in the real world, Everton decide to bypass the chance to sign Sam Allardyce and instead appoint Atlanta United’s Argentine boss Gerardo Martino at the end of July.
The first Premier League casualty of the season is Mark Hughes, who loses his job at the beginning of December due to a poor league position, and is surprisingly replaced by Guus Hiddink two weeks later. All eyes on Hiddink to see how he gets on at the Bet365!
Liverpool shock everyone by parting ways with Jurgen Klopp after the players lose confidence in the German, and he is replaced by Sporting Lisbon boss Jorge Jesus in December.
A run of poor results heading in to the festive period forces Southampton into a change as they show some real character by replacing Mauricio Pellegrino with Celtic’s Brendan Rodgers.
Elsewhere, Leicester sack Claude Puel five days before Christmas but it takes until the end of March to decide caretaker Michael Appleton isn’t the man to take them forward and instead appoint Rafa Benitez, who was dismissed by Newcastle at the end of February.
The Magpies replace Benitez with former Watford boss Walter Mazzarri, while West Brom swap Tony Pulis for Francesco Guidolin and Crystal Palace sack Roy Hodgson and take a gamble on Javier Aguirre, whose previous jobs include Japan, Mexico, Atletico Madrid, Zaragoza and Espanyol.
Pep Guardiola’s failure to win a single trophy in his second season sees him leave the Etihad Stadium and be immediately replaced by Massimo Allegri.
What to expect next season?
The departure of Pep Guardiola will mean all eyes will be on what Massimo Allegri and how he fares at the Etihad. On the other side of Manchester City, Jose Mourinho will be under immense pressure to deliver a first Premier League crown for six years.
What about Arsene Wenger? He managed to steer Arsenal back where they belong – 4th – but there’s a lot of speculation surrounding his future as he goes in to the final year of his Emirates Stadium contract.
Wolves, Sunderland and Middlesbrough are promoted and there are early expectations on Wolves to have a good season given their strong squad and improved finances.
2017/2018 Overview
Premier League Champions: Chelsea
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Champions League qualification: Chelsea, Man United, Man City and Arsenal
Europa League qualification: Liverpool, Tottenham and Leicester City
Relegated to Championship: Newcastle, Crystal Palace and Huddersfield
Promoted to Premier League: Wolves, Sunderland and Middlesbrough
Barcelona are still deciding whether to let former Arsenal midfielder Alex Song join Manchester United in January, according to the Daily Express.
The Cameroon international has been linked with a move to Old Trafford after failing to secure a first team place at the Nou Camp. Italian giants AC Milan are also said to be interested.
Song is thought to be keen on a switch in order to play regular first team football, although Barcelona remain unsure as to whether they want to sell a player they signed for £16million barely a year ago.
Reports in Spain suggest the Catalan club will look to hold onto Song until the end of the season at least, meaning a January move to Old Trafford seems unlikely at this point.
It is also thought Song wants the opportunity to win over new coach Gerardo Martino before deciding on his future.
Barcelona will want to recoup the £16million they spent on Song if they are to sell him, with United understood to have made an offer in the summer that didn’t match their asking price.
David Moyes made no secret of his desire to recruit a midfielder in the summer, and saw bids for Song and his Barcelona and former Arsenal teammate Cesc Fabregas rejected.
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Maraoune Fellaini became Moyes’s only big name summer signing on deadline day, although the Manchester United manager is set to try and strengthen further in January.
There was a need for calm after the storm last week at Coventry City however this hasn’t really been the case.
Fans have remained divided over the sacking of Andy Thorn, have experienced renewed optimism after a derby cup win, seen the club bring in another new arrival, witness the first defeat of the season, all that along with a not so friendly exchange between fans and players. All in all it’s been a pretty eventful week for Coventry City.
Richard Shaw has been the man tasked with the job of calming the ship and his first challenge was a Capital One second round match against local rivals Birmingham City. Every Coventry fan went into this game worried about what they were about to witness and when Birmingham took the lead early on we all feared the worse. The crossbar then came to our rescue moments later as Birmingham continued to press. Then all of sudden Coventry began to get themselves into the game and two quick goals from McDonald and Kilbane turned the tie on its head and gave Coventry a 2-1 lead.
The lead didn’t last long though as an enthralling match continued to deliver with Birmingham leveling just before half time. Sadly the second half didn’t quite live up to the first and the score remained 2-2 and extra time was needed to settle the match. Whilst there was a lack of goals and chances in the second half , the hard work and endeavor from the Coventry players was second to none. Extra time began with the same high work rate it paid off as Baker who was easily man of the match for his performance gave the Skyblues the lead for the second time in the match.
This is the way the score line stayed as Coventry managed to keep Birmingham at bay to set up a third round tie away at Arsenal. There was a real feeling of elation around Coventry following what was not only a great result but a fantastic wholehearted performance. The players showed passion, they showed they cared and as fans that is exactly what we all want to see.
That performance led me to believe that just maybe we could have serious promotion ambitions and that the sacking of Andy Thorn may have been justified. I did however then remember that this is Coventry City and how often do we put in that sort of performance on a consistent basis and everyone knows the answer to that is never.
The weekend came and Coventry returned to League One action away at newly promoted Crewe. Fans and players alike went there full of confidence, buoyed by the performance against Birmingham a few days before. This confidence and excitement amongst fans and players quickly disappeared though and was replaced with frustration. A flat lacklustre performance is the only way to describe what we all witnessed and it resulted in our first defeat of the season.
We as fans were left bemused and frustrated with what we were seeing and that we were unable once again to build on a good performance and instead allowed our standards to drop dramatically. The frustration eventually boiled over as harsh words were exchanged between fans and club captain Kilbane.
Kilbane has been slated for this and has since apoligised. Some fans have called for the captaincy to be taken from him and I understand that, as a player of his experience should know better. I do however believe that players should be allowed to respond to the abuse and criticism that is often thrown at them by certain members of the crowd. I personally saw the situation as Kilbane defending himself and his teammates which if it was the case is something we surely want from our captain. It’s a sign that he cares and that he was frustrated with what was happening and a lot of the time players don’t show that at all whilst out on the pitch.
I hope that any individuals that have been left unimpressed and annoyed by Kilbane’s actions can forgive and forget. The club is still very much in a transitional phase as it tries to get itself out of the turmoil it finds itself in. Relationship between the fans and the club are at an all time low but we can’t let the relationship between the fans and the players break down. If this happens then we are in real trouble.
For Coventry City to move forward the club, the council, ACL, the players and the fans need to come together. I know it’s an old cliché but it is true that united we will rise and divided we will fall. It is hard to imagine at this moment that all these will come together and push in the same direction but something has to change.
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We have changed the manager or are in the process of, but for me at our club the manger is only a very small part of a puzzle that needs to be put back together. If things remain as they are off the field then no matter who is brought in to manage the club, things will not change for the better and in another twelve to eighteen months we will be looking for the next manager willing to gamble their career on what I can only guess is empty promises that they must be being told when they join the club.
We have now changed the squad and changed the management so on the football side of things the club has played its cards, now it is time for change off the field and until that happens it is going to be extremely difficult for the club to progress and get back to where it belongs.
So much of Mauricio Pochettino’s success at Tottenham has been based on the development of young players that it is understandable to see the club’s fans fawning over the latest crop of youth talent in pursuit of the next cab off the rank who can help the first team continue their progression.
It would appear that Reo Griffiths is the man among the current crop who has grabbed the imagination to the greatest extent among the Spurs’ fanbase.
The academy prospect is a striker who scores goals for fun and there is simply nothing that gets football fans quite as excited as a player who knows where the net is.
As the Spurs Under-19s stormed into the semi-finals of yet another tournament, the prolific Griffiths was the man all the fans wanted to talk about.
Some hope he can be kept from the clutches of RB Leipzig, while others want him to become part of the first-team sooner rather than later…
Paul Scholes has risen to one of the greatest midfielders even since his retirement and subsequent return.
From a great box-to-box, goal scoring midfielder, Scholes became a deep-lying controller of the game who sprayed the ball across the pitch with ease, but the twilight of his career was undoubtedly of detriment to Manchester United in the longer term.
The career of Scholes was vastly decorated, including the magnificent treble in 1999 and his own qualities at his peak were perhaps a tad undervalued. As his role developed to a deeper player in the midfield, Scholes’ role in the side was celebrated greatly by the media. Covering for the failings of his supposed replacements, Scholes managed to string together performances like a man 10 years younger than he was at the time.
The loss of mobility is often beneficial when playing the deeper role, keeping the player within their zone in the middle to snuff out attacks and act as a building block when in possession.
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Scholes’ return to the playing staff at Old Trafford in January 2012 and the following 18 months saw him act as an illusion for midfield quality that Manchester United did not possess.
In the short-term, Scholes’ return to the centre of midfield was helpful, it has left a vacuum in his position that has taken a couple of seasons to fill.
Winning another Premier League in his final campaign was an ideal high to end on, but Scholes’ role was symbolic of how Ferguson gave up on succession planning towards his final couple of seasons.
The way that Ferguson took a step backwards to bring Scholes back and then splashed out on an ageing Robin Van Persie were contributing factors to the significant weaknesses of the squad during Moyes’ time as boss. Ferguson’s short-term planning helped to win another few trophies, but his utilisation of Scholes caused more problems than it solved for United.
The overwhelming shortage in central midfield put immediate pressure on Moyes to succeed in the transfer market, and his subsequent signing of Fellaini was hardly an adequate replacement. Of course, part of the struggles in midfield were down to poor signings and injuries, with Tom Cleverley and Anderson the two most maligned in central midfield.
Cleverley may well have benefitted from the additional game time had Scholes not been re-signed and could be playing an integral part in the Manchester United midfield next season. Although many will see it as Cleverley was given too many chances to prove himself as it was.
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Even if discounting the players that were at his disposal, it would have been far more sensible to sign a younger player to fill Scholes’ void than recall the man himself. The consistent links with Kevin Strootman were surfacing and failure to ever invest in the midfield has been a contributing factor in United’s drop away from title contention in the last two seasons.
Ferguson’s miraculous performance to win the title in 2013 was a great way to leave, but many of his decisions as he neared the end of his tenure were not beneficial to the club in the longer term. Scholes’ return was symbolic of the poor succession planning at Old Trafford and the midfield is yet to recover.
West Brom need to tie down key duo Shane Long and Youssouf Mulumbu to longer term deals, according to Gareth McAuley.
The Northern Ireland international central defender, who picked up the Player of the Year awards at the Hawthorns following an excellent campaign, pledged his own future to the club on Friday when he signed a new one-year extension to keep him at the club until summer 2015.
And the 33-year-old has been quick to point out that the priority now is to ensure influential striker, Long, and key midfielder, Mulumbu, are tied down to deal beyond two years’ time.
Long has been heavily linked with a move away over the course of the past season, but the Republic of Ireland international has always maintained that he is happy at the club, while Mulumbu has already said he is keen to sign a new deal.
McAuley told the club’s website: “They are big and important players for us and I’m sure it will be sorted out.
“It’s like my situation. I had next year as well so there’s no rush or real pressure on it.
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“But everyone will want it sorted out and the sooner it happens, probably the better it is for the lads and for the club.”