defender Emmerson Boyce has admitted that his side need to start picking up positive results soon if his side are to avoid another relegation scrap this season.
The DW Stadium side were beaten 2-1 by Swansea on Saturday, which leaves the Latics in 16th place after only one win so far this season.
Boyce, who scored in the defeat, feels his team need to start to pick up victories.
“We had to go 2-0 down before we started playing and already there’s been too many times this season we have done that,” The Daily Mail quote Boyce as saying.
“We are only playing when we are forced to like at the end of last season and we have to change that.
“When we were 2-0 down we started playing and we got a goal back and we were a much better team. At this level it’s ourselves we have to blame – give a team a two-goal lead and it’s always going to be hard to pull it back.
“We have to start playing on the front foot. Next week it’s West Ham at home, they had a really good result against Southampton (a 4-1 win on Saturday) and we have to take it to them.
“We can’t be in a position like we were at the end of last season and all the other seasons.
“We simply need to win our home games and that starts with West Ham. It’s up to us to kick-start our season,” he concluded.
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Quietly but surely, Tottenham have sneaked up into fourth place in the Premier League under the guidance of new manager Andre Villas-Boas, completely dispelling this myth of him being the village idiot, but despite them performing well so far, are they still a side built upon soft foundations?
Before some of you head for the hills, or even worse, the comment box below, this is far from a critique of the man in charge at White Hart Lane these days or the job that he’s done. I have a record of backing Villas-Boas from the ridiculous criticisms and agendas of Fleet Street and I even tipped Tottenham to finish in the top four before the season started. No, it’s simply more of an assessment of where the squad is currently at and whether they have the requisite depth to sustain a top four challenge.
The club have started the new league campaign reasonably well without ever quit hitting the heights that they did in terms of flowing football under predecessor Harry Redknapp, even if the former boss himself greatly exaggerates the point that Tottenham fans ‘never had it so good’. They’ve been durable, methodical and difficult to get the better of, but it’s telling that they lost two of their more challenging games against Newcastle away and league leaders Chelsea at home.
Of course, this is all understandable to an extent as they’ve enjoyed one of the most radical overhauls this summer in terms of staff, players and style and the gradual teething problems which first came to light against West Brom and Norwich at home haven’t completely disappeared. There’s a sense that they’re still vulnerable, despite going nine matches unbeaten across all competitions prior to the loss against Chelsea, including an historic 3-2 win at Old Trafford and they’re still far from the finished article.
The club’s summer transfer business was left incomplete given that a replacement for Luka Modric wasn’t secured and although Joao Moutinho has ruled out a January exit, he should be put right at the top of the list next summer. In his stead, Moussa Dembele, the £15m man brought in from Fulham has been excellent and he looks hugely missed whenever he’s absent from the team. His driving presence in the middle of the park and ability to beat a man with his superb dribbling ability means he’s an altogether different proposition to Modric in a side that’s evolved quickly.
Alongside him in midfield, Sandro has been steady and has benefited greatly from a continued run in the side, while Jermain Defoe has done surprisingly well with the lone striker role with Emmanuel Adebayor confined to the treatment table and subs bench. Clint Dempsey has been far from his best since moving, though and they still look short of numbers up top, with their reliance on Defoe in particular a concern if they continue to compete on three fronts. Elsewhere, Gylfi Sigurdsson has failed to live up to his billing and there’s a sense that unless he’s scoring that he doesn’t really contribute a whole lot more in his current role.
At the back is where the biggest dangers are being felt and it’s not got a jot to do with the manufactured scandal involving the goalkeeping debate. Tottenham have kept just one clean sheet all season in the league at home to Aston Villa and the fact that they’ve conceded 13 goals so far, more than Everton, Arsenal, West Brom, West Ham, Stoke and Sunderland all below them shows exactly where the side is being held back at the moment.
I argued in the summer that despite the signing of Jan Vertonghen that the club still required another recognised centre-back and I stand by that point today. There were simply too many mitigating factors as to why the back four was set to be a recipe for disaster this term, with Ledley King pondering retirement, Michael Dawson coming back from a year out injured, Vertonghen new to English football, Caulker still raw and in dire need of regular games and William Gallas for the knackers yard.
It’s the continued selection of Gallas which is perhaps most troubling and he’s featured in every single league game this season. Villas-Boas seems to have reservations over Dawson’s lack of pace, but his authority would surely bring a more calming influence to the back four than the the Frenchman, who has been erratic at best this term and at 35 years of age doesn’t really represent a long-term bet.
The injury to Benoit Assou-Ekotto has seen Vertonghen shifted out to left-back, making the most of the Belgian’s versatility in the process, which has necessitated Gallas play such a key role, but even so it’s odd that Dawson has been marginalised to such an extent and that Gallas has been forgiven for his numerous patchy performances.
At this stage last season Tottenham had 19 points from their opening nine league games, which would leave them in fourth in the current table, the same position that they’re in now. The media agenda against Villas-Boas has been sustained, cynical and misplaced but that shouldn’t detract from the fact that there is still work to be done right down the spine of the side. The Portuguese boss should look to strengthen and address these areas in January and make the most of a lead on those teams thought to be challenging for a top four place who have suffering from poor starts.
Which area concerns you the most about the current Tottenham side?
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Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew believes that his side are more than capable of coming away with a win against a ‘vulnerable’ Liverpool side at Anfield today.
The Magpies chief claimed that despite the Reds going in as favourites for the tie, the huge change in the side implemented by new boss Brendon Rodgers had damaged the Anfield outfit
He told Goal.com: “There’s a little bit more pressure at Liverpool because of the stature and the trophies that they’ve won.
“You have to look at Newcastle and say we haven’t won a trophy in so long. You’d have to put them, historically, much higher than us.
“It’s a period for Brendan and the team when they’re evolving and when they’re evolving they’re vulnerable.
“Perhaps they are at the moment but they still have some fantastic players. The England captain [Steven Gerrard] and [Luis] Suarez are two of the best players in the Premiership so we have to make sure we are very much on top of our game.”
Pardew took the Magpies to the brink of Champions League qualification last season despite some initial concerns about his appointment and has called for Rodgers to be given a similar chance to make his mark on the club.
“You have to remember that Brendan Rodgers is someone who was brought in to play a style of football and a vision they believe in,” Pardew asserted.
“They have to give him time and the right tools. In the last window, if I’m honest, I don’t think he was given the tools that he needed so I think it was always going to be difficult for him.
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“Hopefully he will get to the next window in a good competitive place, as that’s what Liverpool want to be, one of the top teams.
“I think for British football it’s good that Liverpool have a strong side, like Newcastle. We’re both striving to be a top-six team.”
After Millwall’s 2-1 win over Derby at The Den, the Lions are now unbeaten in nine games and sit just four points off the play offs.
The Lions started brightly with Liam Trotter shooting from long range, but this was easily saved by Adam Legzdins. Then after 15 minutes the hosts should’ve had the lead when Andy Keogh’s low cross just managed to miss Chris Wood.
The goal finally came on 30 minutes however when a Shane Lowry cross was missed by Keogh and then tucked away by Liam Feeney. The goal was initially ruled out for offside on Keogh by the linesmen, but after consulting with the ref the goal was given.
Images after the game showed that Keogh was onside, so it was rightly that the goal stood.
Half time came and it was 1-0 l to ‘Wall.
Derby started the second half brighter and nearly got an equalizer just a few minutes in when Connor Sammon had time and space but put his shot over the bar when he should have done better.
The Rams were on top and the equalizer came on the 53rd minute as Will Hughes was given too much time and space and hit a great finish, the Rams first shot on target was in from the recently called up England Under-21 midfielder.
The Lions pushed on for a winner and found it with just over 15 minutes to go when good work in the area from sub Scott Malone found the feet of Andy Keogh, and he curled a shot into the far right corner.
And so it finished 2-1 to Millwall, a big win for Jackett and the team.
You’d think a win to keep ‘Wall unbeaten in nine would make the headlines, but no, it was all about six Millwall fans arrested for displaying a banner saying “Sordell your a C***”.
Yes this may have displayed abusive language but this was a major over-reaction to then arrest six people in my opinion.
The banner comes as backlash after a 13 year old boy was banned from The Den for using “verbal abuse” towards Marvin Sordell as he warmed up during the Lions 2-1 win over Bolton earlier this season, which was plastered all over the national press, but a few only got it right.
Describing it as racial abuse, when it was verbal, verbal abuse happens at every game in England on a Saturday, it is ridiculous.
Pete Garston, fan on the board came out with a statement on a Millwall messegeboard saying: “The boy in question denies racially abusing M Sordell, there is no evidence to support the racially abused M Sordell either’
So the boy has denied using any racist words, and there is no evidence to support Sordell’s claim, so basically Sordell has LIED.
And what about the claims that his other teammates were racially abused?
Oh wait, nothing came of these claims, he lied yet again. Even more staggering that after he made the claim about his teammates, NONE came out and said the same.
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The media are quick to stick the knife in saying the 13 year old abused him, but why not report that Sordell gave back as good as he got when it came to a verbal exchange, and yet the boy had to write an apology? Staggering.
Reg Burr once said “Millwall are a convenient coat-peg for football to hang its social ills on”. A statement that fits perfectly at the moment….no mater what the club does, it will always be the club with the bad reputation.
Millwall FC, hated by many, loved by the chosen few.
Liverpool profited from James Collins own goal 11 minutes from time to come from behind and beat West Ham at Upton Park.
Sam Allardyce will point to the loss of Mohamed Diame to injury in the second as the catalyst for their downfall after his half time introduction had inspired them to a memorable 3-1 victory over Chelsea seven days prior.
The Reds, without the suspended Luis Suarez, have found the winning groove of late and displayed their fighting spirit to turn a one goal deficit around in the dying embers of the game to record their first win after a Europa League game in nine attempts.
It was certainly a surprise when the visitors took the lead with just 11 minutes on the clock given the absence of Suarez and 20-year-old Jonjo Shelvey leading the line.
But there was nothing they could do to stop former charge Glen Johnson opened the scoring in spectacular fashion, taking Steven Gerrard’s pass and cutting in from the right before smashing an unstoppable left footed strike into the top corner.
The hosts responded and from Matt Jarvis’ cross Diame saw his shot deflected wide by teammate Carlton Cole before Daniel Agger had to stretch to stop the Hammers striker later on.
But they finally forced an equaliser in the 36th minute when Joe Allen was penalised by referee Lee Probert for handling Guy Demel’s strike and Mark Noble stepped up to beat Pepe Reina from the spot.
Things got worse for Liverpool three minutes before the break as Gerrard headed Jarvis’ cross into his own net. Shelvey, who suffered a frustrating afternoon, saw a deflected effort tipped over before Diame’s departure in the 72nd minute allowed the away side to take a foothold.
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It proved a crucial blow to West Ham as four minutes later as Joe Cole, another former Upton Park favourite, adding a measured finish to Raheem Sterling’s pass to level the game.
And there was one last sting in the tale for the hosts as Collins attempted to pip Shelvey to Jordan Henderson’s cross but contrived to lift the ball over Jussi Jaaskelainen to hand the Reds victory.
Arsenal are preparing a January bid for Sunderland goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, according to reports from the Daily Mail.
Arsene Wenger is thought to see the Belgian as an ideal back-up stopper, and somebody who provide a challenge to first-choice Wojciech Szczesny.
The Frenchman has a number of goalkeeping options already, but is unconvinced by the likes of Lukasz Fabianski and Vito Mannone, both of whom have enjoyed spells between the sticks in recent seasons.
A bid of £5m is being prepared by the North Londoners, but it remains unclear as to whether the Black Cats will be willing to part company with their man, who has kept six clean sheets this season.
It had been thought that Wenger was considering a move for Liverpool’s Pepe Reina, but the Spaniard would likely cost around £20m.
Mignolet has been a solid performer for the Stadium of Light-based club since his arrival in 2010.
The 24-year-old profited heavily from the injury woes of former Sunderland goalkeeper Craig Gordon, to become first-choice at the club.
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If a move does materialise next month, it’s likely that Wenger will allow Fabianski to leave the club in search of regular football.
Mannone could be also be allowed to move on, although the Gunners are likely to want keep hold of the Italian as a back-up option.
Former Everton manager Howard Kendall has lambasted Toffees defender John Heitinga for his erratic performances this season.
Heitinga has made over 100 appearances for the Merseysiders since signing from Atletico Madrid in 2009 and he was voted the clubs’s player of the season last season, after winning many plaudits for impressive displays at central defence.
But the Dutch international defender has failed to hold down a regular starting berth in Everton’s line-up this season after several unconvincing performances. Heitinga was at fault for Newcastle’s early goal in Everton’s 2-1 Premier League victory at St James’ Park on Wednesday, after failing to deal with a routine punt forward from Magpies goalkeeper Tim Krul, to which Papiss Cisse reacted the quickest.
And Kendall, who managed at Goodison Park in three different spells, feels the 29-year-old is not reliable enough to be playing in the Toffees’ backline.
“Heitinga’s form this season hasn’t come near the standards he set last season when he won Player of the Season awards,” Kendall told the Liverpool Echo.
“And if Everton are going to get the best out of him I think they need to keep him out of the penalty area.
“Maybe he’s trying too hard to impress, but he is doing far too many rash things, like that premature leap at St James’ Park.
“Sylvain and Phil Jagielka are clearly the better defensive partnership, and maybe Heitinga would be better served playing in a holding midfield role.
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“His form simply isn’t reliable enough at the moment to be playing in central defence. He can still be effective for Everton, but not in their penalty box!”
Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson’s commanding midfield performance against Norwich a fortnight ago told the story of how much the 22-year-old has developed in recent months, quietly but assuredly becoming one of the team’s best performers, following a similar path laid out before him by one-time pariah, now firm fan favourite, team-mate Lucas Leiva.
It’s difficult to pinpoint the exact moment that it collectively became okay to hold the Brazilian international in high regard, but we shouldn’t forget that he was widely and routinely mocked after moving to Anfield from Gremio back in 2007-8. This was back when Liverpool could boast one of the strongest midfield departments in the whole of Europe, with Steven Gerrard, Barcelona’s Javier Mascherano and Real Madrid’s Xabi Alonso as regulars. There is certainly no shame in looking an inferior player to that trio of world-class operators.
Lest we forget, though, with a constant need to re-write history on Lucas in what has quickly become the ‘cool’ contrarian viewpoint to take, while the abuse he received was out of line and certainly wrong, that is not to say that his performances didn’t merit criticism. There were flashes of his talent, the 5-1 away win against Newcastle in 2008-9 standing out in particular, but he lacked that crucial consistency, often ranging from the sublime to the atrocious within a few games. Being picked on by supporters is never warranted, but we shouldn’t conveniently ignore the underlying point just because he is good now.
[cat_link cat=”liverpool” type=”list”]
Of course, this was all forgivable because to put it into context, he moved to England, a completely different culture, style of football and environment to Brazil, at the relatively young age of 20. He was highly regarded in his homeland, having already made his international debut against Algeria, but he was still a raw, box-to-box midfielder with drive, commitment and a decent passing range, but perhaps lacking the positional awareness and authority to have a lasting influence in important games. However, he is now an absolutely integral member of the starting XI who is not only missed, but pleaded for whenever he is absent.
There are many parallels to be drawn with the club’s move for Henderson back in 2011 with Lucas, but both were shown remarkable faith by the men at the helm at the time – Rafa Benitez and Kenny Dalglish – as they sought to adapt to the tough playing environment that is Liverpool, a club which has claimed the reputations of many a talented, promising young player in the past.
While Lucas struggled for consistency early on and may have been hampered by the quicker tempo Premier League and his more glitzy counterparts in midfield, Henderson was shunted out wide by Dalglish into an auxiliary right midfield role akin to when Sunday league teams stick the young 17-year-old up front simply because he’s fit and young. This wasn’t and will never be his natural position, just like it won’t at Arsenal for Aaron Ramsey and he has always played his best football when part of a midfield three, usually at its tip.
The £16m price-tag has also hung around Henderson’s neck like an albatross and he hasn’t been helped by the subsequent failures of the club’s two other major purchases that summer, Andy Carroll and Stewart Downing. He has always been conveniently lumped in along with that duo despite being played slightly out of position in a struggling side full of new players which lacked a clearly defined plan. It’s no coincidence that under Brendan Rodgers, a man with a ‘philosophy’, preferred system and adopted style, Henderson looks much more at home and comfortable in his own skin. He clearly knows what his role is now.
One of the more intriguing aspects of Rodgers appointment in the summer was how he planned to deal with the expensively-assembled remnants of the Dalglish-Comolli era and his marginalising of Jose Enrique, Downing and Henderson early on in the campaign, while Carroll was sent out on loan, smacked of a man trying too hard to put his own stamp on the squad. Credit must go to the 39-year-old, though, for reversing the fortunes of the aforementioned triumvirate in recent months.
The sheer size of the fee forked out for Henderson demands a fully-formed player, which he most definitely is not, but he is an industrious, determined and intelligent technician; decent on the ball, but not flashy, often picking the simple pass rather than the Hollywood ball. Early comparisons touting him as ‘the next Steven Gerrard’ were both lazy and wide of the mark. He is not a very English type of player, he keeps things ticking over and is more of a jack of all trades in terms of midfielders go as opposed to someone who will stand out in any one role for a prolonged period of time, very much like Manchester City’s James Milner.
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Nevertheless, he is clearly worth pursuing with and he’s shown flashes this season – away at Udinese, at home to Norwich, at home to Sunderland – to suggest that he is making good on his potential and developing into a well-rounded and reliable member of the first-team and it says it all that he was hugely missed during the recent 2-1 defeat away to Manchester United at Old Trafford, with his energy and urgency both on and off the ball crucially absent during a terrible first half team display. He wasn’t helped early on by Rodgers given the fact that the manager seemed unsure of what his best starting midfield was, but he’s more than playing his part now.
Much like Lucas, Henderson is clearly worth persevering with and as I’ve always argued, no matter what the fee, a long-term attitude has to be taken to his signing, just as it was with the Glen Johnson in the past, in that you will eventually see a return on your money in the form of longevity rather than eye-catching, lung-bursting runs and magnificent spraying passes. He has won over a few more cynics recently, but really, like his Brazilian team-mate, all he ever really needed was the time to settle. Patience is a precious commodity in football these days, but with concerns to the 22-year-old, he is worth the wait.
Sir Alex Ferguson has refuted speculation that Cristiano Ronaldo will be returning to Old Trafford this summer, according to The Metro.
The Portuguese winger left Manchester United for Real Madrid in a four year deal worth £80 million in 2009 and has been rumoured to make a shock return to the Manchester club, while being prepared to take a pay cut to do so.
Ferguson says there is no truth in the rumours and thinks it is a tactical part of the contract negotiations:
‘I don’t think there’s anything, as far as I’m aware, that would encourage me to think he would come back here. I don’t think there’s anything in that at all,’
“He has got two years left on his contract. It could be to do with the fact that negotiations are going on for a new contract. I think maybe his agent is playing the game, though I’m not prepared to comment on that.
I think it is false hope.”
The 28-year-old is in the best form of his life and has even outdone Messi in recent weeks, but is refusing to sign a new contract with Real Madrid indicating that he could leave at the end of the season.
He returns to Old Trafford this week when United take on Real Madrid in the second leg of their Champion’s League round 16 tie and Fergie expects that he will receive a warm welcome from fans.
“Cristiano will get a good reception. All our former players, especially the ones who have been great for this club, get a good reception when they return.
“He is a better player now than he was when he was with us because he has matured. He is 28 and at the peak of his career.
“From 28 to 32, with the fitness Ronaldo has got, he never misses a game and is never injured. He will be at his absolute best.
“I’ve got a plan to stop him: it’s called a machete, plan B is a machine gun!”
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Man United came back from the Bernabeu with a draw but they will be fighting to overturn that into a win.
Since the inception of the Premier League, it’s been a rollercoaster ride for Leeds United fans. They’ve gone from being defending champions in the inaugural season to Champions League semi finalists in the David O’Leary era before ending up in the depths of League One. The Whites are on the path of recovery now, finding themselves competing in the Championship but there have been plenty of times to forget.
Unfortunately, there’s been some utter tosh pull on the famous white shirt at Elland Road. Financial hardships meant Leeds had to rely on whoever they could convince to play for the club, or by borrowing players off other clubs. This situation has ensured the Leeds fans have witnessed some truly atrocious individuals turning out for their football club, scenes that they hope will never be repeated. It’s almost impossible to sort through some of the rubbish that has played for Leeds, but we’ve compiled the worst XI signings ever to play for the Whites.