Thomas Rooney is back with his three essential bets for this weekend, with Chelsea v Arsenal and Real Madrid v Barcelona to look forward to.
It should definitely be an enjoyable couple of days. We’ve reached what many describe as the ‘business end’ of the campaign and there’s can’t afford to lose games all over the shop.
Not least at Chelsea and Real Madrid. You’d argue that if Arsenal and Barcelona fail to pick up anything – they are out of their respective title race. It’s a pivotal, pivotal (nearly said it again, thought better of it) weekend.
Then comes my team – Norwich City. I feel rather nauseous at the idea of Saturday’s home game with Sunderland. It’s a must-win, no two ways about it. Lose – we’re probably going down. Ugh.
Anyway, on with the tips…
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to score
I’ve been very impressed with The Ox since his return from injury and he has a goal in him this weekend. A certainty for England’s World Cup squad, he’s one of the bright young talents.
Arsenal’s rather dodgy injury situation – Ozil, Ramsey and Wilshere are all out – actually suites the former Southampton man too. He can operate centrally and really make an impact on the game.
There’s absolutely no fear there either and he will drive forward all game long for the Gunners. At 11/2 with Ladbrokes, he’s certainly worth backing for an anytime goal.
Under 2.5 goals Norwich v Sunderland
I promised myself I wouldn’t touch this game. I’m too emotionally involved. One thing for certain though, surely, is that it won’t be a classic. Not in terms of goals scored anyway.
Norwich are actually unbeaten in six games at Carrow Road and have only conceded twice in this sequence. It’s only four goals for the Canaries too though and both wins have been 1-0.
These two drew 0-0 earlier in the season too and given how important it is for both sides, it’s certainly worth sticking a few quid on under 2.5 goals. Stan James over 4/6.
Lionel Messi to score anytime
El Clasico time on Sunday! It’s one of the biggest in a few years too, with both firmly locked in as far as the title race is concerned. Barcelona go seven points adrift if they lose this one.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
They’ve performed admirably under pressure in recent years though and one man has been at the centre of that – Lionel Messi. With a long list of famous El Clasico moments, he’s one to watch as ever.
Backing Messi to score isn’t normally a worthwhile bet, but Paddy Power are offering a rather tempting 5/6, as well as money back on selected other markets if he finds the back of the net!
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?
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
According to L’Equipe, Manchester United are preparing a £31m move for Sevilla defender Clement Lenglet.United boss Jose Mourinho is in the market for a new centre-back this summer, and the Red Devils have been strongly linked with Tottenham Hotspur’s Toby Alderweireld.However, according to L’Equipe, Lenglet has emerged as a potential transfer target ahead of the 2018-19 campaign.The 22-year-old was in outstanding form for Sevilla last season – scoring four times in 54 appearances in all competitions for the Spanish outfit.[brid autoplay=”true” video=”253293″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch Four times Jose Mourinho spoiled the party”]Spanish champions Barcelona have been strongly linked with a move for the Frenchman, but it appears that United are confident of swooping in to land the centre-back, if they so wish.There is absolutely no question that Lenglet has talent, and he would certainly be cheaper than Alderweireld, who is believed to be valued in the region of £75m.The United fans have been reacting to the transfer speculation surrounding Lenglet, and a selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:
After fielding something close to his strongest side against Arsenal in the second leg of the League Cup semi-final on Wednesday night, it’s likely Antonio Conte will make changes when Chelsea host Newcastle United in the FA Cup this weekend.
The Magpies are a decent side but this competition isn’t their priority, while plenty of those on the fringes of Chelsea’s first-team squad will be desperate for a game and some of the starting XI are in need of a rest too.
The defence seems the likeliest department to be shaken up and we could well see Andreas Christensen given a break, opening up the sweeper slot in Chelsea’s back three. There are two obvious candidates to fill it; veteran defender David Luiz, who Transfermarkt value at £22.5million, and exciting academy product Ethan Ampadu.
So Chelsea fans, which defender would you start in the central defensive role when Newcastle come to Stamford Bridge on Sunday, or would you prefer to see both included in the Blues’ starting XI? Let us know by voting below…
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
He came to England in October 1996, and the London Evening Standard asked the question ‘Arsene who?’
999 games, three Premier Leagues, four FA Cups and an unbeaten league season later and the world are fully aware who Arsene Wenger is.
His impact on the development of the English game has been profound. He has nurtured some of the most talented footballers the world has ever seen and has revolutionised a club that was steeped in ye olde English tradition.
But eight years of starvation have followed eight years of feasting. So it begs the question, as Wenger sits on the brink of his 1000th game in charge of Arsenal, how should he be remembered?
It’s hard to define an epoch with one single characteristic, especially when there have been so many moments of note. For every Arsenal fan who remembers the triumphs of a bygone era, there are those who still cling to the lack of silverware and can’t disassociate the lack of ‘success’ with the underlying factors. The two distinct periods of Wenger’s reign – those WITH vs those WITHOUT trophies – must be separated in order to contextualise what he has achieved.
The unruly bunch Wenger took charge of in the 1996-97 season famously used to go on all-night mid-week benders, refuelled with Mars bars and dieted strictly on fish and chips. And his first influence was to kick old habits to the kerb. Out went takeaways, in came white meat and steamed veg. Out went kegs of booze, in came bottles mineral water. As a firm believer of the more good you put into yourself, the more you would get out, Wenger turned the studentesque culture of the club on its head. Tony Adams, struggling at the time with alcoholism, lauded Wenger for the transformation of his career. The ageing famous five in defence, upon which Wenger built his first championship-winning side, would no doubt each credit his training and dietary regulations in prolonging their careers.
Within a year at the helm Wenger began reshaping the squad by turfing out the likes of John Hartson, David Hillier, Andy Linighan and, most significantly of all, Paul Merson. He chose to bring in more familiar faces such as Emmanuel Petit and Gilles Grimandi from AS Monaco, both players whom he knew he could rely to accompany Dennis Bergkamp and Patrick Vieira. The squad began to have a more cosmopolitan feel to it from the English-centric nucleus of two years previous.
Wenger’s first full season in 1997-98 was an unprecedented success, winning the league and FA Cup double, becoming the first foreign manager to win the English top division whilst shaking off the ‘boring, boring Arsenal’ tag in the process. The solidity of the Dixon-Adam-Bould-Winterburn-Keown axis was supplemented by the industry and composure of Petit and Vieira along with the flair and technique of Bergkamp, Overmars and Anelka.
As the legs of his geriatric squad finally succumbed to the inevitable Wenger turned a mixture of youth and experience to create a winning formula. Winterburn soon become Ashley Cole (with a brief intervening period of Sylvinho), Dixon became Lauren, Keown and Adams became Sol Campbell and Kolo Toure. By the time the 2003-04 season rolled around Parlour and Keown were the only remaining fixtures of the George Graham era.
The period of 2002-2005 saw Wenger’s reformed side collect two league titles and three FA Cups, the zenith being the 2004 ‘Invincibles’ side, playing some of the most exhilarating football the Premier League has witnessed. The possession-based Wenger sides of today can’t match the power, pace and efficiency of the team that dominated in this short period. Henry, Bergkamp, Ljungberg, Wiltord and Pires lead the flying counter-attacks while Vieira and Gilberto Silva marshalled in front of the defence. Wenger had built a team of technically and physically superior footballers who harboured a ruthless desire to win.
In isolation, nearly nine years that have passed since Wenger last took the Gunners to a trophy would rightly be deemed a failure. Having created a side that challenged the hegemony of Manchester, how could a club that feasted on silverware go so long without it? As always, the answer is money.
The development and construction of the Emirates Stadium was to cost a whopping £390 million, incurring huge debts which would culminate to have its most significant impact on the pitch. Wenger undertook the challenge to keep the club amongst Europe’s elite whilst assisting with the transition into the new stadium.
Whilst being touted as the next potential manager for a host of Europe’s superpowers, Wenger has stuck it out through the toughest of times, which has seen Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City leave them in the dust and their great rivals, Tottenham, close the gaping chasm that existed between the sides back when Wenger’s ‘Invincibles’ were enjoying a purple patch.
With the endless riches of Chelsea and City, and the countless revenue streams of United, Wenger acknowledged that the only way to keep in touch was to buy young and cheap, and sell at opportune moments. Despite the rancour at the time of selling the likes of Henry and Vieira, it’s hard to argue now against Wenger’s decisions when observing their post-Arsenal performances.
So in a period where Wenger admitted to a ‘fight with clubs who lose £150 million a year, when we had to make £30 million a year’, the downturn in success on the pitch was always likely.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
From 1998-99 up until the present day Arsene Wenger has navigated his side into successive Champions League competitions, a record only Real Madrid and Manchester United can match. Despite the relative lack of success in the competition in these 16 years, Wenger has guided the club into a position where they have been able to reap the financial rewards without too significant a detriment to the club.
But as a new dawn beckons at the Emirates, with new commercial deals and financial benefits as a result, the shackles of the clubs financial requirements have been lifted. Wenger has steered Arsenal out of the red and into the black. The club-record transfer of Mesut Ozil, sandwiched in between the contract renewals of a host of key players represents a club on the rise.
It’s easy to brand the past eight years as a monumental failure when you view it in contrast to the eight years previous. Arsenal fans were spoilt rotten with a quality of football which matched the glut of trophies in Wenger’s early years. But in recent times the club has faced an even greater battle off the field. Those who view success as purely based on trophy success should take a look at Portsmouth; FA Cup winners and finalists the following year, now floundering down in League Two.
Whether you see Arsene Wenger as synonymous with his first eight years or his last, the stability he has brought to Arsenal is an achievement which should never be overlooked. With just nine league games remaining Wenger’s side sits four points beneath top spot. With a real ‘six-pointer’ this weekend at Stamford Bridge, and a potential FA Cup final just around the bend maybe, just maybe, this could just be Arsenal’s year. Wenger would deserve no less.
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.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
According to Sky Sports, Leeds United are reportedly getting closer to appointing Marcelo Bielsa as Paul Heckingbottom’s successor, and if they do the Argentine manager should make an audacious move to bring Athletic Bilbao striker Artiz Aduriz to Elland Road.
What’s the word, then?
Well, the Yorkshire outfit sacked Heckingbottom on Friday after he won just four of his 16 Championship matches at the helm, and it appears they are closing in on getting the 62-year-old as his replacement.
Bielsa has managed Argentina, Chile, Marseille and Bilbao among others, and he was a huge success at the latter, for whom he re-signed Aduriz from Valencia in 2012.
The centre-forward has gone on to be a huge success for the Spanish club and despite being 37 years of age and having just one year left on his contract, he continues to find the net on a regular basis – he has 165 goals in 365 matches in total for them.
How did Aduriz do during the 2017/18 campaign?
He was, once again, excellent.
The veteran striker scored 20 goals in 48 appearances in all competitions for Bilbao – with eight of those coming in the Europa League – while he also provided a further two assists.
While the 37-year-old doesn’t have too much pace, he is hugely effective in the air and as well as being a bit of a specialist when it comes to scoring with his head, according to WhoScored.com he won 153 of the 278 aerial duels he faced in 43 outings in La Liga and in Europe last season.
[ad_pod ]
Would he be a good signing for Leeds?
He certainly would be, and one that would excite the fans, who believe the club is close to confirming their first summer signing following a huge development.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
While he may not be speedy, Aduriz is strong, good in the air and able to hold the ball up for his teammates, which means he would be perfect in the lone striker role in Bielsa’s preferred 3-3-3-1 formation.
It would be a huge coup to bring the Spaniard to Elland Road despite his age, and with just a year left on his contract he may well be tempted by one last challenge in his career.
He would also finally be a replacement – albeit in the short-term – for Chris Wood, and would boost the Yorkshire outfit’s goal threat in what is going to be a hugely important 2018/19 season for them.
Manchester United advanced through to the fifth round of the FA Cup with a comprehensive 4-0 win against League Two side Yeovil Town at Huish Park on Friday night, but Red Devils fans weren’t impressed with Matteo Darmian’s display and have urged the club to sell the defender.
The Italy international has been a bit-part player under Jose Mourinho this season, and his start at right-back against the Glovers was his first appearance since the EFL Cup defeat to Bristol City on December 20, and just his 12th of the entire campaign in all competitions.
While he was part of a defence that kept a clean sheet, the 28-year-old failed to really make a huge impact on the match – although he was given the assist for Jesse Lingard’s goal even though the England international had to do most of the work following the pass from the right-back.
Man United supporters were quick to have their say on his performance via social media, and while one said ‘please sell Darmian as he is the worst full back I have ever seen in a United shirt’, another said “sell Darmian to Arsenal for £16m”.
When the then Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini bolstered his midfield with the signing of Javi Garcia – he’s also added to the Premier League’s legion of Wags.
Model Elena Gomez joined Javi in Manchester following his £16m move from Benfica. City ace Javi, who scored on his debut against Stoke, has already introduced his girlfriend to the delights of the local shopping centre since his transfer.
The couple started dating in 2009 when Javi was at Real Madrid. Elena worked in a shoe store at the time, but now, thanks to her increased profile, she’s become a lads’ mag favourite in her homeland of Portugal. Branches of Clarks in Manchester will be gutted – but you certainly can’t blame those Portuguese mags! The move to England can only boost her career, so I’m sure we’ll see more of Elena over the coming years.
It certainly is one of those perks of being a professional footballer, having model girlfriends – but Javi goes one better, with his Portuguese girlfriend carrying that extra Hispanic spice. He’s certainly a lucky fella…
Click on Ms Gomez below to see her in all her glory
It might be something of a ripe old cliché, but they simply don’t make footballers like they used to anymore. But although the current breed of Premier League footballer may lack the charm and affability of players from yesteryear, even then, few can claim to have had quite the career of ex-Aston Villa frontman turned Sky Sports pundit, Alan McInally.
In an era these days were some players can’t move above the Watford Gap without feeling homesick, ‘Big Mac’ went from serving an apprenticeship fitting airframes in Prestwick, to lifting silverware in the Olympiastadion with Bayern Munich.
Now plying his trade as one of the much loved members of the Soccer Saturday panel on Sky Sports every Saturday, Football FanCast’s Sam Antrobus caught up with the ex-Scotland international at the launch of EA Sports’ Fifa 13, to chat all things Villa, playing abroad and sinking a few beers at Oktoberfest.
Can could you possibly tell us a bit about today’s event and what you’re doing up in Manchester today?
I’m here for the launch of Fifa 13 this evening, where they’ve got a few celebs and players in to play the game and play against each other. I’m actually on the game myself this year – they’ve obviously got a commentator and a co-commentator, but within the game, they’ll be a part which will interrupt the game you’re currently playing to put you through to another fixture, where they’ll be me to tell you what’s happened.
So for example, if you’re second in your division and you need a victory to win the league but your rivals are playing at the same time, it will be me giving you updates about what’s happening and who’s scored etc. It’s a great idea by EA Sports to be honest and it seems to be pretty well received, so that’s why I’m here and I’m going to be interviewing a few of the boys this evening.
How’s it been going so far?
I can say without fear of getting things right and wrong, I’ve been beaten by a 10 year old, an 11 year old and a 12 year old.
Are you not much of a Fifa player yourself then Alan?
No I love it, it’s really, really good. I’m just hopeless at it, that’s all. I played my neighbours nephew the other day and some of the things he was doing, I didn’t actually realize that was a part of the game. If you’re a gamer at all and you want to play a football game, then there is absolutely no question you’ve got to have Fifa, because it’s superb and I’m saying that genuinely.
From virtual football to real football now, what’s been your take on your old club Aston Villa’s difficult start to the season?
Well it wasn’t the greatest of starts obviously, but after that point at Newcastle you were thinking that’s a brilliant result, because Newcastle so far have obviously been beating everybody and you wouldn’t expect a lot of teams to come away with something.
Then you think Paul Lambert’s finally got a little bit of luck, a rub of the green and that the penny’s finally started to drop with a few of the players. He introduced a couple of the new, younger players in Westwood that he got in from Crewe and Benteke aswell who managed to grab a goal and ok, everything seemed on the up.
So the Southampton game must have felt like a real kick in the teeth?
I said at the time after the Newcastle game, you can’t be too euphoric yet, it’s very early in the season and still a work in progress that Paul is striving to create. They needed to give Southampton a bit of respect, because they’re still a Premier League team and of course, they went there and lost the game. The biggest problem was in the way they lost the game in the manner that they conceded four goals and that was the biggest disappointment.
But listen, they’ll be loads of highs and lows at Aston Villa this season. I think Paul Lambert is absolutely the right appointment to be given the managers job at Villa and I don’t think there is any problem, but it’s a tough job. Aston Villa is not a club where you can say; “I’ll get three or four games where it doesn’t really matter what happens.” I don’t think that’s the case at a team like Villa and its down to him to turn it around and turn it around quickly.
You say Paul Lambert is absolutely the right appointment, but do you think fans at Villa Park will remain patient with him?
Well it’s a toughie isn’t it? Because lets face it everything nowadays is “I want it now and I wanted it 20 minutes ago.” That’s what kind of society we’re like and football’s no different to be honest with you. They want a solution, they want a fix and they want to be watching winning football.
I think they’re going to have to be patient though and that’s why I’m saying that they will be highs and low during the season. Newcastle away was a high. Swansea at home was a definite high so early in the season considering Swansea had started so well.
But of course, there was a bit of a low at Southampton and it’s down to the players to dust themselves off and get of with it.
The other thing of course is, he hasn’t had a massive amount of money to spend.
Will he already be looking to the January window then?
Well I think you’ve got to give him a bit of time till at least the transfer window has reopened and he can obviously then say to coaches and pinpoint players he wants to bring into the football club. Give him the time to do exactly that and then judge him at the end of the season and I think that’s only fair and right.
I don’t think for a minute that Paul won’t already be thinking, “right, I think that’s part of the team I need to be strengthening,” and he’ll try and do so when he has the opportunity.
Any chance they might be going down?
I don’t think they’ll be candidates for relegation or anything but I just think the whole situation at Aston Villa is maybe going to take certainly a couple of years to sort.
What about Darren Bent this season? He obviously struggled with injury last season, but after opening his account during the weekend, how do you think he’s going to get on this season?
Well hopefully all right. Darren Bent needs somebody to share the load with him because really, Villa have relied on Darren far too much and hopefully Benteke can share that load. But there has got to be more coming from the middle of the park as well. Stephen Ireland came with a big reputation from Manchester City and I think he’s got to, along with some of the senior players, be chipping in with a few aswell.
On a slightly different note, as someone who played abroad in Germany with Bayern Munich, why do you think British players currently seem so reluctant to ply their trade in another country?
Well I think there is a couple of easy answers there in that firstly, the money is very good in the Premier League. You don’t necessarily have to go abroad to get it.
And the other scenario is that there are a lot of players that have actually come to this country and players now have the opportunity to play with foreign players that they might not have the opportunity maybe when I was playing.
It wasn’t till I went abroad that I had the opportunity to play with foreign players. You don’t necessarily have to go abroad now to make your game better or learn a different style etc. because those people are coming to our shores and then you have the opportunity to play with them in this country.
What about your time in Bayern Munich, what do you think that did for your career?
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Oh it was massive. I had a big decision to make when I left Aston Villa at the time. Apart from Chris Waddle at Marseille, I was about the only other player doing it – at the time there wasn’t really people going abroad like that.
I mean, when you go and speak to Franz Beckenbauer and Uli Hoeness – Jupp Heynckes was the coach at the time – and they say to you that you’ll love Munich, we want you to be a Munich player and we want to win the European cup, it’s very difficult to say to them: “No it’s ok, I’ll stay at Aston Villa.”
Maybe I should have done another year at Villa and probably won the title but to be honest, the time was just right for me to go abroad.
What were the differences both as a player and as a person?
I was an absolute eye opener, in terms of preparation, the way they trained, the preparation factor – right down to the medicine factor. In Germany at that time in 1988, they were doing stuff then, that all the teams are doing now- they were absolutely miles ahead.
For me as a footballer, learning was a great thing for me to go but also learning a new language was fantastic you know, I can speak German now. I would have never previously contemplated the prospect of going abroad, learning another language and integrating myself into a new society. Plus, I have the added advantage that I can go to Oktoberfest every year and order myself a couple of beers. That’s always a plus.
Any plans to sink a few beers in Germany soon then?
I haven’t been to Germany since the Champions League final but the Oktoberfest is still on, so I’m trying to convince the boys at Sky to let me do a Champions League Bayern home game, so with a bit of luck, I’ll get the call!
Count Football FanCast in on that one. Finally, as you’re launching the new Fifa 13, who do you reckon would win a tournament out of you and all the Soccer Saturday boys?
I’d probably have to say me for the simple reason I’ve been practicing in case I might be asked to play tonight. But trust me, anyone could beat me at Fifa, I’ve been put in my place many a time! But let’s just say Jeff Stelling because nobody ever says Jeff can win at anything. So ill put him forward and put him under a bit of pressure incase anyone says he has to play it.
Alan McInally presented the #FIFA13CelebCup trophy. EA SPORTS FIFA 13 is out now on all formats including PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, Xbox 360 and iOS.