Stoke winger Matthew Etherington has stated that team-mates Peter Crouch and Ryan Shawcross should be in the England squad.
The pair have impressed for the Potters this season but the midfielder feels that Roy Hodgson will not pick the pair as they play at the Britannia Stadium and not one of the bigger clubs.
“There is no doubt Crouchie should be in the squad. His England record is second none, and he has been scoring regularly for us,” The Daily Mail quote Etherington as saying.
“His goals have been amazing, and he brings others into the game. He’s priceless for us, end of story.
“With John Terry finishing, Ryan should be in the frame as well. But it does seem that if you play for Stoke, there is a certain stigma attached to it.
“Crouchie should be in, and Ryan should definitely be looked at, after performing consistently and helping us keep clean sheets. But it isn’t happening, and it is frustrating. It’s a puzzle, without a doubt.
“It says it all, really, that no-one was here today. The England manager says he is going to pick players on merit.
“He should follow his word. I don’t want to come across as “we are Stoke and everyone hates us” but Crouchie is a given and Ryan should be getting a mention.
“We are light on centre-forwards, and it’s difficult to know what more Crouchie can do than score 15 goals last season and another five so far this time. It’s the same with Ryan.
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 and Robert Huth have to be one of the best partnerships in the country, and if he keeps performing to such a high level, he must be in with a shout,” he concluded.
England play San Marino and Poland in World Cup qualifiers in October.
The Premier League is the perfect platform for player’s to perform and make themselves legends, it’s the most watched football league in the world and possesses some of the best players on the planet.
But this is a chart drawing attention to those who show promise or have tasted success in the Premier League only to fall desperately short of the expectations laid out for them. A mixture of failed young prospects who failed to capitalise after signs of excellence on the biggest stage. Also players who went of the boil in the division, when from the outside looking in, they should have been reaching their prime.
This blog concerns players still contracted to Premier League clubs so unfortunately players who briefly shone, in the division before being found out and shipped away from the league aren’t eligible, so I’ll just have to find another way to include Collins John into my writing.
Click on Kenwyne Jones to unveil the 10
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.
Sports Minister Hugh Robertson has revealed that he is concerned with the issue of racism in football, but believes it has improved over the last 20 years.
The MP’s comments come after a range of incidents within the Premier League over the last year which have raised concerns over whether anti-racism campaigns are working and whether enough is being done to remove it from the field and terraces.
Robertson told Sky Sports: “Am I concerned? Yes. But do I recognise a huge progress has been made over the last 20 years? Very much so.
“That said, this is a problem that is never going to go away. I feel it will always be with us, it will reoccur from time to time, despite the huge progress that has been made.
“That is why it is really important that we back the bodies that are fighting it, like Kick It Out. Give them our full support and we all do everything we can to make sure that this problem does not occur again in the future.”
Robertson also revealed that he sent a letter to UEFA expressing his concern over the events in Serbia after England u21 defender Danny Rose was allegedly racially abused by fans and his fellow team mates were attacked by the Serbian players and coaches.
“When I watch the events that took place in the u21 international in Serbia one of the first things I did the next morning was for me to write personally to the president of UEFA expressing my concern with it, and that letter is a matter of record,” he said.
“To be fair, he had written back to me that very evening saying that they took these allegations extremely seriously, they would be investigating and that he would let me know when the investigation had been completed.
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.
“So there was no indication there that they were going to do anything other than treat this with the upmost severity.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
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.
“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.”
It is a mammoth task to compile just 10 of the many legends that have walked through the door at Arsenal. From the foreign purchases to home grown talent, the underlying factor has been the Arsenal supporters and their waving of the sword to signify a new hero at either Highbury or Ashburton Grove.
The current group of players and the trophy drought may make it seem difficult to remember a time of rampaging midfield generals and exquisite forwards, but the halls of Arsenal are forever filled with the names of those who have made the club great.
There are disappointments in that many of the recent stars of Arsenal have not gone on to fulfil their roles as undoubted legends of the club, seeking riches elsewhere and losing touch with the importance of the club. But regardless of their actions, it shouldn’t take away from the very real but often disguised figures in the team who are likely to go on to fill in their names alongside the greats of the club.
Click on Ian Wright to unveil the top 10
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.
Inter Milan midfielder Wesley Sneijder has continued to dither over signing a deal that would take him to Turkish giants Galatasaray in the hope that a Premier League club will join the race for his signature late on, and while Liverpool have become the latest to be linked with the Netherlands international, the lack of movement from over here has been telling. But just why are so many top flight clubs reluctant to take on the talented playmaker?
The 28-year-old is currently involved in a nasty contractual wrangle with his club, with the crux of the issue being that the Italian outfit want him to approximately take a 30% pay cut on his €6 million-a-year after tax annual salary, currently the highest at both Inter and in the entire Serie A. The club are prepared to honour his existing deal but they would like to restructure it, paying him what he is due between now and 2015 in 2017 instead, so he will eventually get the full amount he is due, but simultaneously have to commit himself to the club for longer for less, hence the problem. Despite being fit for the past two months, Sneijder sees no reason to agree to such a deal and a move to Turkey is now imminent, with him sat twiddling his thumbs on the sidelines for the time being.
Nevertheless, the wrangling is not over yet it seems, with Inter chairman Massimo Moratti claiming to reporters today: “We want an answer by the end of the day. It would be professional from him if he made a decision shortly.” This would seem to be in stark contrast to Sneijder’s message just two days ago, telling Sky Sport 24: “It is a difficult decision to make. There are still two weeks until the end of the window and I still have time. See, I’m fine and I’m calm. I do not need to decide on Monday.”
There is clear hesitancy over the move on Sneijder’s part because for all of his injury and discipline problems in the past, he is still capable of being a world-class performer when fit and playing regularly. He doesn’t want to move to Turkey, which is the equivalent of moving to Manchester for Eastenders characters; it’s not an arena fitting of his talents, with only the occasional Champions League outing to look forward to, so with him desperate to move to England, why is there such a shortage of takers?
United boss Sir Alex Ferguson reportedly came close to agreeing a deal for the playmaker back in the summer of 2011, but baulked at his €35m (£28.2m) valuation and wage demands, thought to be around the £200-000-per-week mark.
Of course, having only made six appearances all season up until now, partly due to injury and partly because of the contract situation, Sneijder would likely need a few months to get up to speed and build his match fitness, so he hardly represents the ideal January purchase, capable of hitting the ground running. Any such deal to England must be predicated on the understanding that the side will not see an immediete return on their investment until at least the start of next season, by which time he will be 29, so his age is another issue.
The financial side of things must be the biggest stumbling block, though, and any talk of a move to Anfield on those sort of wages, even after the wage bill has been freed up a notch after the termination of Nuri Sahin’s loan spell, is unrealistic. Liverpool have set about slashing wages in recent months just as much as Inter have over the past two years and only the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United could feasibly reach that mark, well out of the reach of the strict wage structures imposed at both Tottenham and Arsenal.
Galatasaray vice-president Abdullah Kigili said of the proposed move last week, telling Vatan: “If what I’m reading about is correct, the cost of Sneijder is both astronomical and absurd. Where will Galatasaray get this money? We have analysed the club’s accounts, and are aware that Uefa are monitoring them as well.
“Who will give us such money, to the point we can spend so much on a single player? Each transfer has to be well thought out. However, the amounts I’m hearing are simply blown out of all proportion.”
Even if the fee alone may be around the £8m mark, which for a player of his ability seems an absolute bargain, it’s wages which are the main draining force and expenditure on club’s budgets these days and it puts him out of the reach of most clubs. Liverpool managing director Ian Ayre appeared to rule out a move yesterday telling Sky Sports: “We don’t have any issues with finances, it is about doing what is best in the long-term interests of the football club, always.
“With the advent of financial fair play it means everyone should be running the club prudently and that does not mean not investing but investing wisely and at the right time, and we will always do that.”
[ad_pod id=’dfp-468′ align=’center’]
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.
The implementation of Financial Fair Play on the horizon is clearly stopping many clubs from dipping their toes into the murky waters of the Italian transfer market in this particular case and any move for Sneijder has to be seen as a gamble and an expensive one at that, with any potential sell-on value should the move go wrong another troubling matter that warrants discussion.
He has often struggled to integrate himself into any sort of team ethic under countless national team managers and while at Real Madrid. Neither Manchester club are likely to base their system and style around an injury-prone player, no matter how much ability he may have. Ferguson afforded himself one luxury purchase in the summer with Robin van Persie, so it’s doubtful he’ll do the same again so soon after.
The timing looks to be all off for a move to England, with all three clubs that can afford him concentrating on their league campaigns and unlikely to take the risk of loading a player with such sizeable wages onto a settled squad. It’s less an argument about his ability, rather the finances involved and it seems that unless some sort of radical compromise is floated from Sneijder’s camp in the near future, then we won’t be fortunate enough to see him grace England anytime soon.
Wigan manager Roberto Martinez has vowed to prioritise Premier League safety over a possible FA Cup triumph.
The Latics are just 90 minutes away from a trip to Wembley, with Everton their opponents in next weekend’s quarter-final clash.
But, despite the lure of a potential domestic final, Martinez, who watched his team slip to a 4-0 defeat at the hands of Liverpool on Saturday, is adamant that his priority is keeping a spot in the top tier of English football:
“Success in the Cup is something we want, but never at the price that it would affect our league campaign,” he is quoted by The Mirror.
“That’s something I will never allow to happen. Our situation is a dangerous one and the position we are in after losing to Liverpool means we need to find the best possible team to carry on playing in the league.”
The Spaniard went on to state that he will continue to use fringe players in the competition in a bid to keep everybody in his squad fit and ready to contribute to their bid for survival:
“The Cup game will give us the opportunity to make changes. Not to rest people, but maybe to find people who deserve to be in the team and to develop real competition.
“Those who have played in the Cup deserve an opportunity and need to show what they can do against Premier League opposition.”
Wigan are currently clear of the drop zone on goal difference, but have played one more game than closest rivals Aston Villa.
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 face home clashes with Newcastle and Norwich, before a potentially decisive trip to Loftus Road to take on QPR.
West Ham co-chairman David Sullivan has admitted he thought Paolo Di Canio could be a future Hammers boss – but not now.
Sullivan says the recently-appointed Sunderland manager remains a legendary Hammers player but, because of his well-publicised political views, he will never be considered a future manager at Upton Park, unless he fully renounces his “extreme views”.
Sullivan, writing in the Independent said: “Fascism is always intolerable but managers, like owners, have an additional duty to the wider community.
“That is why, despite having once considered him a future manager of West Ham, my partner David Gold and I wouldn’t do so now – unless he renounced his extreme views.
“Paolo Di Canio is in the top rank of West Ham legends. He has been a tremendous supporter of the club for years and, whenever I’ve met him, struck me as charming, intelligent and what you might call Italian in the extreme.
“For all these reasons, I find it very hard to criticise him – but harder still to swallow the events of this week. Put simply, Paolo should not be managing a club until he has convincingly renounced fascism.”
Di Canio did issue a statement on Wednesday in which he said he is “against the ideology of fascism” but Sullivan insisted his words did not go far enough to convince.
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.
The Hammers supremo added: “The statement he issued was, if not too late, certainly too broad. Until he provides a clear refutation of his previous position, we’ll have to assume he thinks fascism and football can get along. Sunderland should not have appointed him manager.”