Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers admitted that he’s unsure of midfielder Joe Cole’s future at the club.
The ex-England international has failed to make a significant impact at Anfield since his arrival in 2010, with many speculating that he could leave to join Premier League rivals QPR in January.
Despite netting in the Reds’ weekend victory over West Ham, the 31-year-old appears to be way down Rodgers’ pecking order at the club, with youngsters Suso and Raheem Sterling frequently making it into the starting XI.
When questioned about Cole, the Northern Irish coach confessed that he is unsure of his future ahead of the transfer window:
“I’m just going along game by game,” he told the SkySports.
“There is every opportunity for every player.
“It’s not just about the games. Every player gets a chance every single day to show what they are all about.
“Is his future here? You would have to ask him that.”
Rodgers went on to state that former Chelsea man will be given chances to impress should he remain at the club:
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“The guy is still a Liverpool player and while he’s a Liverpool player I’ll work as hard as I can with my staff to try to make him the best we possibly can.
“If he’s not going to play as often as he wants then he’s no different to any player really. Players are about game time and money.
“But he’s not any kind of problem, he’s a good guy and we will see what happens over the coming months.”
Everton have been linked with a move for Kieran Tierney, and the young Scotsman could be the absolute perfect replacement for the ageing Leighton Baines.
What’s the story?
According to The Mirror, the Toffees are “weighing up a move” for Celtic’s Tierney as they continue to search for a replacement for Baines.
Baines, 33, could yet stick around at Goodison this summer, but the flying full back has lost his pace, and plenty of fans want to see a fresh face flying down the left flank this season.
The 21 year-old Tierney has reportedly been “identified” as Baines’ successor, despite attracting interest from both Manchester United and Tottenham.
The young left back signed a new deal with Scottish champions in October so he won’t come cheap, but the report claims Everton are ready to test the waters with an opening bid.
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”255857″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch Everton’s opening fixtures for the 201819 Premier League season”]
A left-sided Seamus Coleman?
Marco Silva and new director of football Marcel Brands have a lot of work to do at Goodison this summer. The first order of business is to trim the wage bill, which has already started with Wayne Rooney confirming his move to the MLS yesterday.
The next item on the list is to improve the starting eleven, and buffing up the defensive ranks is definitely the right starting point. The Toffees have got an ageing backline, and some of the defensive performances away from home last season were truly shambolic.
Silva is known for being a very attack-minded manager, so he needs reliable full backs who have the pace to switch from defence to attack in an instant, and of course the ability to recover in the opposite direction. Basically, he needs a left-sided Seamus Coleman.
Tierney fits this bill perfectly, and the fact that he has already made over 100 first team appearances for Celtic despite only turning 21 this month shows exactly how much Brendan Rodgers trusts him.
While the Premier League is undoubtedly a step up for the youngster, he is only going to get better, and if Baines sticks around to offer a few tips it could be the perfect balance.
Tierney grabbed four goals and an incredible 11 assists last season, and his athleticism and intelligence makes him versatile enough to fill in further up the pitch or even at centre back if needed.
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The 9-cap Celtic star loves bombing down the wing, and made his mark in the Champions League last season as well, averaging over one key pass and one dribble per game in Europe’s top competition.
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At 21, he’s certainly still got some learning to do, but you only need to look at what Celtic fans say about him to realise just how good this lad can be. Much like the bargain signing of Coleman did, securing Tierney this summer could solve one of the Toffees’ problem areas of years to come.
So, Everton fans, would you like to see a move for Tierney this summer? Is he good enough to make the step up and replace Baines? Let us know your thoughts by voting in the poll below…
Leeds United boss Paul Heckingbottom has revealed that he has been pleased with the performances of Pablo Hernandez since arriving at Elland Road last month.
Heckingbottom only took charge of Leeds at the start of February, but the 40-year-old is already under pressure following a record of just one win in five matches.
The Whites suffered a 3-0 defeat at Middlesbrough on Friday night, and now face a home game against Championship leaders Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Leeds are sweating over the fitness of Hernandez, who has missed the team’s last two matches with a groin problem.
Heckingbottom has revealed that the Spaniard has been unable to train due to the injury, but he is hopeful that the 32-year-old will soon return to action.
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Heckingbottom told Leeds Live:
“He’s not been training which is not ideal, but he’s not missed a long time. He’s impressed me, performed well. But we have to mindful to get him fit so he can play every game now.”
Hernandez, who is valued at £1.8m by transfermarkt.co.uk, has scored six times and registered eight assists in 33 appearances in all competitions for Leeds this term.
West Ham have made a statement of intent this transfer window that shows the rest of the footballing world that they mean to not only survive, but are striving to become a stable top 10 Premiership team with view of pushing for a European spot in the next few seasons.
Despite a tricky start to the season with two defeats and one win in three games, the mighty Hammers have come out all guns blazing in the transfer market which saw them sign nine new players.
When Sam Allardyce was appointed, he was given two things to achieve; get the Hammers promoted first time of asking, then keep them there while making sure they remain stable until they are due to move to the Olympic Stadium at the start of the 2016/2017 season. He has undoubtedly achieved this despite a lot of fans being unhappy with the style of football and some of the transfers he has made, namely Andy Carroll who signed injured and has had his appearances limited by injury ever since.
After last season’s poor showing in the Premier League, many fans were calling for the gaffer’s head because the team narrowly avoided relegation and played some very un-West Ham like football in the process with many believing that the club would be better off without Mr Allardyce at the helm for fear that it wouldn’t take much for the team to fall into the same dangerous pattern of poor runs and scrapping for survival. A crisis meeting was held by the directors of the club with certain changes put in place to ensure that the team would improve on results, style of football and the type of player recruited during the transfer window this summer; so an attacking coach was appointed in the shape of former player Teddy Sherringham and David Sullivan took charge of finding the right type of players to bring in during the summer’s spending on the understanding that the manger would play the new players in a new attacking and nice to watch system.
This has resulted in one of the best summer transfer windows that the Irons have seen in quite a few seasons now with a great mixture of young English talent, some great foreign imports and a few lower league gems all together vastly improved squad.
The likes of Kouyate ,Valencia, Zarate, Cresswell, Jenkinson, Poyet, Song, Sakho and Amalfitano have all been brought in and most of those are Sullivan signings, although I understand that Alex Song was pursued in secret by the manager for 6 weeks and he managed to pull it off just before the transfer window deadline, keeping it under wraps for most of the time to fend off competition from some of Europe’s bigger clubs.
Hammers fans can expect a lot of good things to come from that group of players with Zarate already showing what he can do when given some space in front of goal with a 25 yard screamer against Palace on the second week of the season, Cresswell also showing that he is a very promising left back who has slotted in perfectly into the Premiership after coming up from Championship club Ipswich, Poyet; the son of Gus Poyet also another Championship recruit from Charlton who won their player of the year award last season has shown some glimpses of good quality passing and confidence in the centre of midfield, Kouyate and Song are both really strong and talented defensive midfield players who will bring a lot of box to box play to the side, then you have World Cup star Valencia who scored all of his nation’s three goals in this summer’s competition.
Make no mistake, this Hammers team is a very big mixture or promising youth, great experience and vast amounts of talent that will give the opposition a lot to worry about and anything less than a top ten finish in May will be deemed a failure by the board. David Gold has also spoken about the summer’s spending saying “We have gone to the very limits. We have shown great ambition – it’s one of the best windows West Ham United Football club has ever achieved, this is not a squad built to survive – we are looking upwards and I hope we can even be thinking in terms of Europe for our last season at the Boleyn.” ( from his exclusive interview on Claret And Hugh)
If the manager gets his tactics right, and listens to the board, West Ham will have a great season, mark my words.
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Once lauded at the Welsh club, the Ulsterman guides his new club across the border to face some old faces in Swansea and try to make amends for the Capital One Cup defeat last month.
After two successful years at Liberty Stadium, Rodgers took up an offer to fill the managerial void at Liverpool following Kenny Dalglish’s departure at the end of the 2011/12 season.
The Northern Irishman is 12 English Premier League games into a three-year contract at Anfield and has experienced a mixed bag of results.
However, since their defeat to fierce rivals Manchester United, Liverpool have gone on a seven-game unbeaten streak in the league.
Controversial striker Luis Suarez has played a key role in that run of results, which now has the club up to 11th, one point behind Swansea, who they visit on Sunday.
The Uruguayan tops the scoring charts with 10 goals and will be determined to add to his tally following comments from Swansea captain Ashley Williams, who unleashed a scathing attack on Suarez in a recently published book titled My Premier League Diary.
“Suarez has that aura about him that says ‘I’m untouchable’ and his manner and behaviour made me want to knock him out,” the Welsh international said, “I’d go as far as to say that the manner in which he approached the game, with utter contempt for us all, means that he’s streets ahead of any player I’ve truly disliked since we’ve been in the Premier League.”
Swansea have adapted well to life after Rodgers, with the team making a seemingly easy transition under the guidance of new manager Michael Laudrup.
The Welsh outfit have picked up five points out of a possible nine in their last three Premier League games and they will be confident of a positive result on Sunday, given their record against Liverpool.
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In three previous meetings in all competitions, Swansea are yet to taste defeat, while they have lost just once on home soil this season.
There are no new injury concerns for either club with several players still working their way back to full fitness.
Aleksandar Mitrovic put in a classic number nine’s performance in Serbia’s defeat on Friday, so are Newcastle making a mistake by selling him this summer?
According to a report in the Chronicle, Mitrovic’s impressive showing so far at the World Cup will not convince Rafael Benitez to keep the striker.
The beastly 23 year-old put in quite a shift in Serbia’s first match against Costa Rica, but couldn’t find the goal to cap off his performance.
Although his side fell to a 2-1 defeat against Switzerland on Friday, Mitrovic got the goal his performance deserved, powering in a header to give Serbia an early lead.
The report from the Chronicle says the Magpies are still going to cash in on the striker though, hoping the World Cup will help extract “maximum value” for any potential deal.
The striker has been linked with a return to Fulham, and Crystal Palace and Wolves are also eyeing a move.
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”257647″ player=”12034″ title=”Three reasons we love to hate… Brazil and Argentina”]
The report also claims Newcastle had slapped a £20m price tag on his head before the World Cup, and the young Serbian’s sale is key to funding other transfers.
While upwards of £20m would go a long way to helping Benitez secure other targets like Kenedy, is it a mistake to dump the striker?
He may have a bit of a temper, but his performances for Serbia have shown all the traits Benitez wants from a new striker signing this summer, so he should cut the middleman and just keep Mitrovic.
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Affectionately referred to as “Mitro” on Tyneside, the young striker scored 12 Championship goals during his loan spell with Fulham, and his form at the World Cup shows he isn’t planning on slowing down any time soon.
So, Newcastle fans, what would you do with Mitrovic this summer? Is it a mistake to cash in? Let us know your thoughts by voting in the poll below…
Some of the world’s biggest talents will be on show when Arsenal and Manchester City face each other in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday, particularly in attack, but the 4.30pm kickoff at Wembley could well be decided by the referee – or, more accurately, one side’s ability to exploit his style of officiating.
Craig Pawson has been appointed to take charge of the contest that will end with the first trophy of the season and the 38-year-old is certainly amongst English football’s stricter referees.
In fact, from the 19 to oversee games in the Premier League this season, Pawson ranks in the top eight for fouls per game and fouls per tackle, while fifth for yellow cards per game and perhaps most worryingly of all for Arsenal and City, first for red cards.
On the surface, that spells far worse news for Arsenal than the Citizens. The Gunners will be expected to do the lion’s share of defending on Sunday in a bid to repel City’s relentless attack, and that will require the kind of physical challenges Pawson’s returns this season suggest could easily result in bookings and perhaps even red cards. Tellingly too, City have committed the fewest fouls of any side in the Premier League this season, while Arsenal rank 12th throughout the division with 10.2 per match – that’s a quite significant margin given how card-happy Pawson has been.
But the north Londoners can turn the fact Pawson has proved himself a martinet into a vital positive for them on Sunday, especially bearing in mind the quality and philosophy of their opposition. Pep Guardiola’s side like to keep the ball in play as much as possible as their meticulous, relentless passing game grinds down their opponents, but Pawson’s preference for awarding fouls rather than letting the game flow can be exploited by Arsenal.
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Committing fouls not only allows them to disrupt City’s rhythm, but perhaps more crucially creates an extra few seconds to catch their breath and reorganise rather than facing recurring waves of attacks from Sunday’s favourites. Inevitably though, there’s a delicate balancing act to be had here; too many fouls or fouls that are too aggressive will clearly lead to yellow cards with Pawson in charge. In a final where Arsenal just can’t afford to go down to ten men, even bookings are a distinct disadvantage.
Nonetheless, it offers Arsenal something of a strategy, but the Gunners will have to be street-smart about its execution, managing both Pawson and the game correctly. Unfortunately, we haven’t seen much of that from this Arsenal team down the years – but with a trophy on the line and a superior side standing in their way, perhaps we’ll see a different and more pragmatic Arsenal this weekend.
Stewart Downing has started to hit form for West Ham recently and is hopeful of earning himself an England call up in the near future.
The winger has not been a regular in the international set-up in recent years because he hasn’t exactly been in the sort of form that is deserving of senior caps. There is no denying the player has a lot of talent and ability which is clear for everyone to see when he is on top of his game, but he has failed to play at his best for a few seasons now.
When he was playing at Aston Villa he was fast becoming one of the most promising wingers in the country, and a potential solution to step in to the wing role left behind by David Beckham when he retired from international football. There has not been anyone since who has come into that role and excelled.
Downing’s ability on the flanks earned him a lot of admirers as a youngster and saw him have a very successful eight year career at Middlesbrough before making the switch to Aston Villa where he continued to impress with his defence-dazling runs and crossing ability. He was exciting to watch and showed a lot of promise. It looked like he would be a regular in the England set-up for sure, and had a great career mapped out in-front of him, especially when Liverpool came calling and ended up completing a £20 million move for him.
His career at Anfield didn’t quite go to plan however, with the promise and excitement soon fizzling out into a big, boring anti-climax. It is unclear to this day whether he just couldn’t handle the big money price tag on his head, or whether he just didn’t fit in at the club.
We do see a lot of this these days where a player looks to be one of the best in the country at one club and totally flops at the next side he joins. Was it a gulf in quality between Villa and Liverpool that exposed him as average? Did he look too good for Villa and not good enough for Liverpool? Look at Marouane Fellani, a footballing god during his time at Everton and a laughing stock at Manchester United. These players do not change overnight, they do not suddenly become poor players. They just don’t always fit in to the style of play at a different club, or maybe the way they are utilized does not fit in with how they like to play.
It can sometimes happen the other way around too; Mo Diame suffered at West Ham because he was played out of position and since his move to Hull he has excelled and started scoring and playing well again.
Whatever the reasons, Downing simply did not have a good time of it at Liverpool and looked a below average player. He made his move to West Ham in 2013 during quite a hopeless transfer window for the Hammers which saw them blow the majority of their budget on a crocked Andy Carroll. Short of options up front, they then opted to bring the out of favour Stewart Downing to Upton Park from Liverpool as well.
He didn’t really overwhelm supporters at his new club either in his first season. He was often seen too afraid to skin the defender and opted to get rid of the ball too early in an attacking phase of play. His crosses left a lot to be desired as well. I get the feeling that perhaps we are looking at a chap who’s confidence was low and faith in his own ability was severely lacking.
This season however, West Ham manager, Sam Allardyce has utilised the winger in a slightly different position which sees Downing play more of a free role in the centre of the diamond, behind the strikers. Suddenly we are looking at a completely different player altogether. He has shown a range of passing both long and short that is exquisite, his strength and pace were very evident in the games he played deployed in this new position. He has been working his socks off up and down the wing, drifting back into the middle, when appropriate he has crossed the ball and when needed he has fed a lovely through ball through the defence or even cut in and had a long range shot from the edge of the box – which saw him score a delightful goal against Crystal Palace.
He looks a totally different player at the moment, and if he carries on this current form, it would surely be hard for Roy Hodgson to ignore him for much longer. He has not deserved an England call up in recent seasons, and a couple of games playing well does not go a long way to changing that but nevertheless, at the moment, he looks like the solution to many a problem that the international side are facing.
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The England side need someone who can change the game, who’s work rate can be very high throughout the full 90 minutes and who can carve open a defence with a lovely through ball or chipped cross to provide assists for his colleagues. In the game against Liverpool for West Ham, he was involved in all three goals. England need a player like this for sure, and Downing needs to carry on playing like he has been so far this season for the sake of his career and reputation.
On face value, there wasn’t too much in the way of overwhelming positives to be taken from Tottenham Hotspur’s 1-0 defeat at home to Wigan Athletic last Saturday. Indeed, considering the outpouring of frustration and in some quarters, considerable anger, that greeted Jermain Defoe’s substitution, you could argue quite the opposite.
Spurs manager Andre Villas-Boas’ decision to take the England striker off for forgotten man Emmanuel Adebayor- at 1-0 down – catalyzed the most fervent atmosphere of the season so far at White Hart Lane. And as anyone who was there will testify, it represented a pretty damning incitement for both club and manager.
But looking beyond the substitution itself and the perceived ignominy of it, the return of Adebayor represented a landmark moment in Tottenham’s season so far. Unfit, unhappy and uninterested have been just a few of the words batted around the Togolese’s stuttering start to the season so far. But the fact is, it doesn’t matter why or even how’s been out. Just that he’s back. And now he is, Villas-Boas must unleash him against Manchester City.
The presence of a warmed up and ready Emmanuel Adebayor standing shoulder to shoulder next to a somewhat brooding Andre Villas-Boas, felt like a sign of real encouragement during the weekend. Although any returning goodwill felt incredibly short lived indeed, as the number of 18 of Defoe flashed up next to the ex-Arsenal man’s number 10.
After a season in which their side’s home form has been so incredibly mediocre and 57 minutes where they’d been abjectly outplayed by Wigan, you could argue that Spurs supporters were always going to vent their frustration in one way or another. The booing was not the right way to show the support, but it was perhaps something of inevitability. 1-0 down, half hour to play, and the manager takes off their leading goalscorer.
But it is within that statistic, which lies a very deceptive school of thought. Fans fumed when Defoe trotted off the pitch, lamenting the departure of their beloved hitman and somewhat satirically serenading Villas-Boas with chants of “Jermain Defoe, he’s a Yiddo.”
A Yiddo he may be, but he was also a striker who made the scintillating contribution of 11 touches of the football, in nearly an hour on the football field. This is not to slate the man who has been in red-hot goal scoring form this season, but so often there seems to be a reluctance to take off the Defoe-tinted glasses in N17.
Emmanuel Adebayor didn’t score on his return to the side, nor did he particularly set the world on fire. But the effect he had on the team felt almost palpable.
The counter argument to Defoe’s poor game against Wigan, seems to go along the lines of poor service, or in fairness to him, an abject lack of it. And to some extent, he did suffer form a real lack of quality. With Clint Dempsey turning up to White Hart Lane seemingly only in body but not in spirit, life was tough for Defoe. But he still wasn’t giving enough – you’ve got to be more proactive in seeking the ball. As poor as the midfield was, they can’t be made the sole scapegoat.
When Adebayor came on, it seemed to cultivate more out of the men playing around him. Spurs seemed to not only retain possession a little better, but they seemed to look a bit more dangerous with it, too. Gareth Bale looked more proactive, the midfield appeared a little more confident and the tempo of play generally felt more fluid. Again, it wasn’t scintillating, but the change in output was no coincidence.
The difference with Adebayor, seems that when he moves on the football pitch, it has purpose. When the ball was played down the channels, he didn’t just lure defenders out with his movement, but he was able to shift the ball out and find a teammate. And it’s this purpose, which is the real difference in holding the line on your own.
No one is denying Defoe has been running his socks off and working hard. But running around like a headless chicken and racking up some impressive ProZone statistics, doesn’t win you football matches. Whether as an outlet down the channels, as a mobile target for a more direct route of play or simply as a man to get the best out of the rest of his attacking unit, Adebayor has the superior skillset to eek more out of this Spurs XI than Jermain Defoe.
In terms of the substitution itself, it’s a difficult one to call. No one is saying that 4-4-2 need be thrown on the scrapheap forever, and with the team one goal behind, the logical call is to be positive in your approach. But let’s not forget, Spurs were being outmaneuvered and overrun in midfield, before Adebayor came on. Dempsey played poorly, but so did Defoe. There were no guarantees that taking another man out from deep wouldn’t have backfired for Villas-Boas.
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Although Spurs need more from their frontman than just goals. It sounds absurd, doesn’t it? But this Defoe argument isn’t anything new and the answer hasn’t become any different, either. Adebayor bagged 17 league goals last season, but perhaps more poignantly, he set up another 11. Defoe, even though many appearances came from the bench, set up one solitary league goal.
This isn’t some form of urban myth. Emmanuel Adebayor isn’t as prolific as finisher as Jermain Defoe, but he has the better all round game which is a far more valuable asset in whichever team he’s in. Be it the 4-4-1-1 of Harry Redknapp or the 4-2-3-1 of Andre Villas-Boas, the outcome is still the same. Supporters will see more out of their team if the Togolese starts football matches. It’s hard being patient, but they must judge this side on when Adebayor is playing a full part within it.
How do you feel about things up tops for Tottenham Hotspur? Let me know what you think on Twitter: follow @samuel_antrobus and bat me all your White Hart Lane frustrations.
Following reports from last week claiming Tottenham centre-half Toby Alderweireld is not a top transfer target for Manchester United, you have to wonder where Jose Mourinho will look to do his defensive shopping this summer.
It’s clear the Red Devils need a new dynamic to their backline, preferably someone who can offer them greater quality in possession than Phil Jones, Chris Smalling and Eric Bailly and help bring them a little closer to the scintillating football seen on the other side of Manchester.
Amid that backdrop, the physically imposing figure of Harry Maguire during his first World Cup appearance for England is difficult to ignore. It was by no means a perfect performance from the Leicester City defender, who was culpable for some dangerously sloppy passing out of the back in the first half, but nonetheless one that illustrated the qualities he offers the Red Devils and his commitment to that way of playing.
Even after early errors, Maguire still had the most touches of the ball of any England player, completed 88% of his passes and created three scoring chances. He may have been nervous, but that didn’t stop him from being brave with the ball – a key element of Gareth Southgate’s team compared to previous England incarnations.
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Of course, Mourinho wants something more than simply a defensive playmaker – he wants a real leader and someone who can make an impact at both ends of the pitch, in a similar manner to John Terry. But Maguire showed against Tunisia how valuable he can be in that sense too, winning seven aerial duels including one inside the opposition penalty area that proved to be the assist for Kane’s stoppage time winner.
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So, United fans, with a swoop for Alderweireld seeming far less likely than it once did, would you back a swoop for the £22.5million-rated Foxes centre-half instead? Let us know by voting below…
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”257236″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch Five things we learned from England 21 Tunisia”]