All posts by h79snht.top

Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas is already under a degree of pressure, just three games into the new Premier League season, but the club’s chairman Daniel Levy needs the former Chelsea manager’s long-term vision, as they continue to recover from the short-term approach of predecessor Harry Redknapp.

The media, by and large, do not like Villas-Boas very much, which increases this sort of fictional pressure from outside; he doesn’t win friends easily, he has a cold demeanour and he doesn’t indulge journalists with quote after usable quote like Redknapp used to.

The fact that during transfer deadline day, I heard the Sky Sports News journalist by the name of Gary actually mutter the words “we’ve had none of when Harry was manager, driving in, winding down his window and telling us who would be leaving and who might be coming in. We miss him” says it all really. This self-serving attitude pollutes the media when objectively judging managers.

There’s also the club’s new style of play which the Portuguese manager is trying to implement which will take time to gel. Villas-Boas wants his side to press much higher up the pitch and win the ball back early, while under Redknapp, it was simply a team-sheet with the players names on it and they were told to go out and play.

A poor start to the season has already seen many ex-pros trying to play amateur psychologists, claiming that the likes of Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon are already ‘not playing for their new manager’ and that they ‘don’t like all the tactical work’. Former players now who say things like this are often the sort of players themselves that didn’t like tactical work, you see, they don’t understand it all that well, so they believe that they are speaking on behalf of every professional footballer, which whenever this happens, they end up only speaking for themselves.

The deadline day scramble and the way that the club missed out on Joao Moutinho as Luka Modric’s replacement will have also hurt Villas-Boas’ plans and the fault lays squarely at the door of Daniel Levy, and the club appear to have strangely prioritised securing the signature of Hugo Lloris instead.

Out went Rafael van der Vaart on deadline day too, as he returned to Hamburg, confirming his status as a luxury player, and he simply didn’t fit the side’s new style, seemingly either far too unfit, lazy or both to fit into it, even if he still has a wand of a left foot.

Emmanuel Adebayor, the focal point of their attack last term to the tune of 17 goals and 12 assists, is still in the process of getting match fit after dragging his heels during negotiations and the team have been forced to field their only senior striker, Jermaine Defoe – a player that doesn’t suit playing as a long front-man and is far too easily pushed off the ball.

At the back, Ledley King has retired, Younes Kaboul has been ruled out for three months with injury and Jan Vertonghen is new to the league, while just in front of them, Scott Parker has been ruled out through injury so far and he was a mainstay in the side Right through the spine of the side there has been change, some forced upon Villas-Boas, others he’s made as he looks to tinker with the side and stamp his own authority on their style, making them more disciplined in the process.

As manager of Chelsea, Villas-Boas was accused of trying to change too much, too fast, but that was the remit which he was brought in under, so it’s hardly his fault that the goalposts were moved midway through the campaign. During his short tenure at White Hart Lane so far, the pace of change has been equally as dramatic, but it was certainly needed as they fell away terribly last season, finishing fourth in a three-horse race, but the same criticism has lazily been levelled at him.

Every manager always pleads time upon taking over a new club, but Redknapp only ran it last season knowing that he wanted the England job in the future; he was biding his time, waiting for an approach from the FA over the England job and their January business shows both him and Levy knew that.

Now the team has a young, forward-thinking manager willing to implement a vision for the future and stick around for quite a few years. His doubters has an agenda and those fans which booed them off the pitch against Norwich should be embarrassed of themselves.

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Rome wasn’t built in a day and the fans need to be patient, despite the cringe-worthy overkill of the word ‘project’ by many. Levy came up short on deadline day, not Villas-Boas and he needs to back his manager both on and off the pitch now and make sure that they present a united front despite the obvious early teething problems.

You can follow me on Twitter @JamesMcManus1

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According to reports in the Evening Standard, Bournemouth want to sign Chelsea attacker Charly Musonda on loan until the end of the season.

The Evening Standard says that the Blues are willing to let the 21-year-old leave on a temporary basis following the £15m arrival of Ross Barkley from Everton last week, and Cherries boss Eddie Howe watched the startlet score a brace in the as the west London outfit’s U23 side beat Portsmouth 2-1 win in the Checkatrade Trophy at Fratton Park on Tuesday night.

The report adds that the young Belgium U21 international is likely to attract interest from other clubs in the Premier League and in the Championship too, but the English top flight holders will want guarantees that he will play regularly in the second-half campaign at whichever team he joins.

Meanwhile, Southampton manager Mauricio Pelllegrino will be keen to strengthen his own squad during the January transfer window following a disappointing campaign, which sees them only lie above the relegation zone on goal difference.

The Argentine chief is likely to focus his business on attacking areas with his team scoring just 21 goals in their 22 Premier League matches so far this term, and bringing Musonda to St Mary’s could prove to be a shrewd move.

Here are three reasons Southampton must hijack Bournemouth’s bid to sign the Belgian…

They need a new attacker

There is no doubt that Southampton need to sign one – if not two – attackers to freshen up their options before the January transfer window slams shut at the end of the month.

Players like Nathan Redmond and Dusan Tadic simply aren’t doing enough right now, with the former scoring one goal and providing a further three assists in his last 30 Premier League appearances, while the latter has three goals and three assists in his previous 31 top flight games.

Musonda would certainly add a bit of spark as he can play in any of the three positions behind the striker in the 4-2-3-1 formation that Mauricio Pellegrino prefers.

His ability

The 21-year-old has scored four goals and provided one assist in four appearances in the EFL Trophy and EFL Cup this season, while he is clearly on the periphery of Antonio Conte’s thinking having made substitute appearances in the Premier League and the FA Cup.

Musonda is fast, has quick feet and loves to dribble at defenders, with WhoScored.com listing the latter as his main strength, while he has also shown that his finishing isn’t too shabby either.

Southampton lack that pace and the players in their squad to take opponents on and beat them, and in that regard the Belgian would be a welcome addition to their frontline.

Loan deal

While some Southampton supporters may have thought that their club was going to reinvest the £75m fee they received for Virgil van Dijk earlier this month, according to The Times that won’t be the case.

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The Times says that while the south coast outfit are guaranteed to receive £70m for the Dutchman, it will be paid in three instalments and they have only received £17m so far.

Because of that, Saints may favour a loan deal for a versatile attacker like Musonda if it allows them to spend more money on a new centre-forward to cover the absence of the injured Charlie Austin, as well as a centre-back to replace van Dijk.

Do you agree, Saints fans? Let us know below.

Sunderland are so close to the line now. Two points clear of the relegation zone with a game in hand, they look close to safety. Especially when you look at third-bottom club Hull’s remaining fixtures – Tottenham and Manchester United.

But of course, you can’t bank on other teams losing.

So Sunderland need another win, and this weekend could be key to their survival. They play in-form Leicester at home, but the Black Cats are in fine fettle themselves. This match could be a clash of two teams who have performed a great escape, but the loser will still be looking over their shoulder on the final day.

And that’s because they know how unpredictable the bottom of the table can be in May. They know first-hand, actually. Both teams have had some great results of late, results you wouldn’t have predicted two months ago. It looks like backing these two teams into a corner has been the catalyst for their good form. They work well under pressure.

Sunderland have beaten Southampton and Everton in their last two games, Leicester have won six of their last seven, with only a defeat to champions Chelsea a blot their copybook. That’s almost title-winning form.

And so both of these teams know that they can’t rule Hull out just yet. They might have two tough games, but Leicester and Sunderland have won tough games themselves.

Yet Leicester can afford to feel safer than Sunderland. The Foxes’ last game is against already-relegated QPR – a team in turmoil at the moment given their uncertain financial future and the allegations of ‘bad eggs’ in the camp. Sunderland, meanwhile, have a tougher game at the Emirates Stadium when they face Arsenal.

So if Sunderland lose to Leicester, they may have to go to the Emirates to beat Arsenal, and that’s not a situation Dick Advocaat will be hoping for.

Either way, Sunderland need another win to be safe. No one can rule out Hull regardless of their tough remaining fixtures.

So how should Advocaat go about this game?

Last time out Everton were certainly the more active side in terms of attacking. Sunderland set up to take their chances on the counter attack, and they did it very well. They ran a big risk of losing the game completely, but the nicked their win. And it was a big win.

Against Leicester, though, it’ll be a different proposition. Leicester aren’t a team who will look to control the game and play in front on Sunderland. They’ll be looking for chances to get behind the defence and counter attack, too.

With both teams needing a win to make their situations much easier going into the final game, and with both teams having worked so hard to climb out of the relegation zone, this will be a cagey game. The penultimate match of the season for both of these teams, it’s a little like a semi final – just make sure you don’t lose it and you’ll get where you want to be.

But, being at home, with their fans roaring them on, Sunderland shouldn’t make the mistake of sitting back and allowing Leicester to come on to them. They should start brightly and attack the Foxes.

It would take a brave performances from the Black Cats to beat the Foxes by attacking from the off, but the home team almost has a duty to attack – the longer the game goes on with the opposition defending well, the more anxious the fans get. Sunderland don’t need that

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It’s not often that Sunderland vs Leicester looks like a bigger game than Manchester United vs Arsenal, but it appears that way this weekend. Both teams need something, it should be cagey between them, they’ve managed only one more goal than ‘boring’ Chelsea. So this game will definitely end 3-3.

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If I was to ask you who Nathaniel Chalobah was, you’d probably point your finger to a stunning goal scored away at Leicester a few weeks back.

And of course you’d be right on both points. One, yes it was an absolutely stunning goal. And two, yes it was scored by loanee Nathaniel Chalobah.

For many years he Captained and shone both in the Chelsea reserves and Youth sides, and even lead them to the FA Youth Cup in 2012, going onto win the competition as well as that years Championships..

The current Watford loanee, who is being borrowed from parent-club Chelsea, is believed by many reputable people to be the successor for John Terry in years to come.

However the Sierra Leone born player has dominated midfields in the Championship this season, so much so that the player is now being urged to fight for a future place in the Chelsea midfield, rather than the defence.

The first time we were really highlighted to the youngsters midfield capabilities was against Brighton and Hove Albion back in December.

It was a game in which Chalobah proved his versatility, work-rate and fitness levels, and proved to be a real catalyst in midfield as the Hornets took all three points on their quest for promotion.

It earned the youngster an extended contract, and Zola has been rewarded for his faith by Chalobah, who has had a key influence in helping them reach this season’s play-offs.

It’s no secret that Zola has taken full advantage of his contacts in Italy this season to get himself some valuable loan signings, but arguably his best contacts were the ones at Chelsea who let him take Chalobah on a loan.

Former Chelsea legend Zola has even been quoted as saying that Chalobah has what it takes to be as good as Lampard, although the Italian feels that he’d have even more of an effect as a holding midfielder.

It’s of no surprise to many to see Chalobah earning rave-reviews, considering that Chalobah signed his first professional contract at Chelsea in 2012, and even travelled with the squad to Munich as the Blues’ won the Champions League final.

That was the second time that Chalobah was named in a Blues’ squad, having made the bench during a Premier League fixture against Newcastle when he was aged just 15-years old.

His performances in the reserve and Youth sides have also helped him catch the eyes of International coaches as he earned his place in the England U19’s, he has since been named Captain of the Three Lions U19’s squad.

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Chalobah also earned his first call-up for the U21’s late last year as he came on in the second half for Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson in a friendly against Northern Ireland.

Despite having already represented England at International level, he is still eligible to play for Sierra Leone.

Although I’m sure coaches and supporters throughout the country will be hoping that Chalobah can become a Premier League regular, and an influential midfielder for England in the future.

Norwich manager Chris Hughton says his team can’t afford to slack off as he fears Wigan could still spring a surprise.

The Canaries’ 2-1 win over Reading took them to 38 points with four games remaining – seven clear of the 18th-placed Latics, who have a game in hand.

But Hughton appears to believe Roberto Martinez’s side are capable of a repeat of their spring survival acts of recent seasons and thinks his team need to add to their current 38-point haul.

“I think it (safe total) will be more than that,” Hughton said. “If you look at the team that is furthest away from us, apart from QPR and Reading, it is Wigan.

“They have a game in hand. It is about possibly what they can do. When you look at these teams, they are capable of winning games.

“All the teams around are capable of winning games. The simple answer is I don’t know, but I think it will certainly be around that 40-mark.”

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Everyone’s favourite American import, other than syrup on pancakes, is here in the shape of Halloween. As we gear up for annoying kids pestering us for ‘candy’ all evening, let’s take our mind off of the constant interruptions of Friday night our telly with a look through this scary XI…

Any we missed? Drop your best suggestions in the comment section beloooooooooooow.

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CLICK ON HELL-AND ROAD TO REVEAL OUR XI

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Off the pitch…

Manager – Neil Warlock (Neil Warnock)         Chairman – Grave Whelan (Dave Whelan)        Stadium – Hell-and Road (Elland Road)

GK – Thibaut Court-arghhh (Thibaut Courtois)

In ghoul we have Coourtois, whose presence can scare almost any striker.

DF – Satan Baines (Leighton Baines)

Devilishly good at left-back, it’s Baines

DF – Ledley Pumpkin-g (Ledley King)

A pumpkin may have more mobility than King…

DF – Tony Addams Family (Tony Adams)

Not easy to watch… it’s Adams

DF – Per Murder-sacker (Per Mertesacker)

One way to stop attackers… it’s Mertesacker

MF – Mesut Ooooooooo-zil (Mesut Ozil)

His form has been scarily bad… it’s Ozil

MF – Frank-enstein Lampard (Frank Lampard)

Lampard can doctor our midfield…

MF – Jack-o-lantern Wilshere (Jack Wilshere)

Lighting up attacks, it’s Wilshere

MF – Charles N’Zombie-a (Charles N’Zogbia)

Back from the dead, it’s N’Zogbia

ST – Roberto Skull-dado (Roberto Soldado)

Well Spurs fans have been calling him a numbskull for a while!

ST – Ricky van Ware-wolfswinkel (Ricky van Wolfswinkel)

Transforming from promising striker to Norwich flop it’s Van Wolfswinkel

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BENCH FOLLOWs…

Bench

Casper Schmeichel (Kasper Schmeichel)

Olof Hell-berg (Olof Mellberg)

Pablo Stabaleta (Pablo Zabaleta)

Rasmus Nightmare on Elm St. (Rasmus Elm)

Sunspooky Nakamura (Shunsuke Nakamura)

Robert Vam-Pires (Robert Pires)

Zlatan Ibrahimo-witch (Zlatan Ibrahimovic)

The Championship is one of the most exciting leagues in the world. In every second tier of football around the world, nothing can beat the feeling of gaining promotion to the Premier League in England. Also, with an estimated £80m up for grabs by going up via the play-offs, lifting that trophy at Wembley, whether you’re experiencing as a player of watching in the stands, is one of the best moments in football.

Currently, Derby County occupy top spot, but the way this league has gone in the past few years, anyone in the top half of the table could potentially reach that all important automatic promotion spot. At the moment, Brentford in sixth could quite easily go into second in one matchday weekend if results go their way. Two weeks ago, Norwich City where sitting pretty at the top of the pack, now they have fallen like a stone and sit in 10th place, six points off the top – that’s how tight and punishing this league can be. Looking at the current squad and the experience of manager Steve McClaren, the Rams don’t look like slipping up anytime soon, and the recent 5-0 demolishion of fellow promotion chasers Wolves proved that.

So are the Pride Park outfit certain for promotion. Again, the way the league is, and has been for many years, anything could happen, and before you know it, Derby could find themselves scrapping at the wrong end of the table. With the squad in good shape, and players who know this league inside out, a blip during the season will not likely result in finishing in the bottom half. The severity will not be that high.

The current crop of players are good enough to perform at the highest level. England under-21 international Will Hughes is one of the most talented young midfielders in the country, and will eventually play regularly in the Premier League. Whether it’s for the club that brought him into the footballing world is a different matter.

Craig Bryson, who was voted Derby’s player of the season in the last campaign, was one of many to experience the heartache of last year’s agonising play-off final defeat at the hands of QPR. However, like Hughes, Bryson is another bright spark who can turn defence into attack in a blink of an eye, a trait that is often used at the top level. Forwards Jamie Ward and Jonny Russell have the pace and sprinting speed to cause havoc to the opposition defence, while Chris Martin, who has played in the Premier League with Norwich City, is deadly in front of goal.

Having a top gaffer in McClaren is also a fantastic asset. Yes, many will keep reminding him of his unsuccessful as the man in charge of the Three Lions, however, spending a couple of seasons abroad with FC Twente has helped become a better man manager and is now proving doubters wrong. With the intrigue and excitement of the Championship, Derby’s experience across the board at this level will be too strong for other teams and promotions should definitely be in sight by the end of the season.

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In a shock announcement that has stunned the football world, FIFA President Sepp Blatter has suggested that it was a “mistake” to award Qatar with the 2022 World Cup. Speaking to Swiss Channel RTS, the seventy eight year old admitted that the executive committee had ignored the warnings of the “technical report”, which indicated that the country would be “too hot in summer.”

Blatter, who has recently staked his claim for a fifth consecutive term as FIFA’s President, accepted blame but astonishingly defended his actions by stating “one makes a lot of mistakes in life.” It just turns out that some are slightly bigger than others.

Sporting figures and journalists all reacted in “surprise” to Blatter’s admission.

Despite Blatter’s water-tight defence of his actions, football fans on Twitter were critical of FIFA’s President.

As it stands though, there are currently no plans to suggest that the 2022 World Cup will be moved to a more suitable location. But then again, who knew Qatar gets hot in the summer?

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After the whole world turned against him following Liverpool’s shock defeat to Aston Villa in last Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final, manager Brendan Rodgers has finally hit out at his critics.

Speaking ahead of the Reds’ visit to West Bromwich Albion on Saturday, the Anfield gaffer told reporters; “Three months ago, I was a tactical genius. Now I have lost a couple of games and it is not so good. That is something you have to deal with. When I sit down and look at it, I will hold myself up against anyone to manage this club and to fit the model of what they (FSG) want. I am super ambitious in terms of wanting to win and there will be no greater place to do that than here.

“Of course in modern football there are lots of processes that go on behind the scenes that people will never be aware of. In terms of what we are trying to do, I do not see anyone better in terms of the hand we were given. There is no-one more ambitious. If there comes a time when that is not the case and we move on, there will be no-one who respects the owners more than me. But Christ, no, I will fight for my life. If I can get the tools here to help us, we can be really successful.”

To some, it will seem the bravado of man fearing for his job, desperate not to look weak in the public eye. The recent departure of Borussia Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp provides an intriguing undertone, as do rumours that Rafa Benitez’ tepid tenure at Napoli could be coming to an abrupt failing-to-qualify-for-the-Champions-League end.

And in theory, it’s a load of baloney. After all, Brendan Rodgers is a talented manager, a fantastic coach on the training ground and an underrated tactician – who else would’ve thought up a 3-4-2-1 formation practically overnight to completely turn Liverpool’s season around? – but a managerial heavyweight, at the capacity of a Jose Mourinho, a Pep Guardiola or a Carlo Ancelotti? Unfortunately, no.

Yet, the real question shouldn’t be about Rodgers’ abilities in comparison to football’s gaffer elite. It should be whether anybody could do a significantly better job under the Fenway Sports Group model.

This is, after all, the same Moneyball-inspired model that paid £20million for Stewart Downing and £35million for Andy Carroll because they’d registered the most accurate crosses and most headed goals in the Premier League respectively. This is the same transfer policy that insists upon a ‘transfer committee’ to run the rule over every potential Liverpool signing. This is the same ‘model’ that could have resulted in three England internationals walking out of Anfield this summer, Steven Gerrard, Jordan Henderson and Raheem Sterling, because contract negotiations were delayed to save on wages. This is the same theory that’s seen Liverpool spend just £12.7million net in the last nine transfer windows.

Indeed, it seems the FSG model, although very astute and financially efficient, doesn’t actually put that much impetus on football itself. After all, pretty much any other club in the world would’ve handed Sterling extended terms last summer, following his intrinsic role in Liverpool’s surprise title bid, and pretty much any other club would’ve wrapped up Jordan Henderson’s situation a long time ago.

And although Rodgers has taken the vast majority of the flack for the manner in which £211million has been spent since he took the Anfield helm three years ago, there’s a clear gearing towards young, unproven players that is probably beyond his control. Of the 24 players signed in that time period, only Kolo Toure, Aly Cissokho, Rickie Lambert, Simon Mignolet, Adam Lallana and Iago Aspas were over the age of 25 upon their Anfield arrivals – and the first three names were all stop-gap signings.

Perhaps this is an inevitable consequence of not being a Champions League club. Liverpool don’t have the financial firepower to compete with Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City or Manchester United, so the difference has to be made somewhere along the line. Ideally, every prospective signing will flourish into a Luis Suarez, before being sold to one of Europe’s top clubs for an equally ridiculous transfer fee.

It’s no different to what Tottenham have been doing for the last few years – but they’re hardly the greatest testament. That model has seen them change managers three times in the last two seasons, and not qualify for the Champions League since 2010. Tottenham’s bank balance, on the other hand, remains as healthy as ever.

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So under those circumstances, perhaps Rodgers has a point. Would Guardiola’s tiki-taka style work without the best technicians in European football? Would Mourinho’s methods significantly aid the development of young players enough to increase their value? Would Ancelotti’s understated demeanor have the same effect on less self-motivated players? Because with FSG, you have to find success from the hand you’re given – and finance always rules over football.

So with that in mind, and considering the resulting absence of top-class talent currently in Liverpool’s squad, is reaching the semi-final of both the Capital One Cup and the FA Cup whilst finishing fifth in the Premier League actually that bad a season? Could a managerial heavyweight have done significantly better? By my estimations, probably not.

When 2-0 down at the Lane last weekend, Leicester fought back bravely to make it 2-2. At 4-2 they did the same thing, but this time they fell short.

Losing the game 4-3 isn’t the end of the world, and maybe after the International break, Leicester will come back full of hope after their exploits. Maybe it was a moral victory to some extent.

But that game almost sums up their season.

The Foxes did wonderfully well to gain promotion, and on the back of a wonderful season, Nigel Pearson gained an awful lot of respect and well-wishers. But he also gained the full backing of the Leicester board, who allowed him to spend big money on club record signing Leonardo Ulloa, and break it again to sign Andrej Kramaric.

Even with the club deep in a relegation battle, the Leicester top brass dug into the club’s coffers to give Pearson the money he needed to bring in one of Europe’s stellar youngsters, Kramaric. The Evening Standard had linked him to Chelsea and Juventus, but it was the Foxes who took a gamble the player in the hope he could score the goals to keep Leicester up.

But with nine games to go, the situation is now looking desperate.

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Pearson presumably still has the backing of the board. If they were considering giving him the chop they’d have done it when he argued with a fan in the stands, got in a ruckus with Palace’s James McArthur, or lambasted the ‘arrogance’ of a referee.

No, the board seem happy to stick with their man, and may even now stick with him through relegation.

After 10 straight defeats before Christmas, Leicester looked dead and buried, but they managed to stop the rot with a win away to Hull. Since then they’ve been close to those above them, but never actually managed to pull themselves to safety.

Now they are firmly at the bottom again, and although they do have a game in hand over the teams above them, that game is against Chelsea. It doesn’t look good for the Foxes.

But if the rest of the season is anything to go by, they’ll fight manfully to stay up. It’s not just the players who have given it their all this season in an attempt to survive.

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The fans have stuck by their team, the board have done all they can by giving Pearson money to spend, and the manager himself has protected his players admirably.

The Spurs game at the weekend typified Leicester’s attitude. The team looked dead and buried only to give themselves hope. Then they looked dead again, but they still kept fighting until the end. It was a case of too little too late, though. And their season is dangerously close to mirroring this one game.

If they do go down you can bet they’ll go down fighting, and although they look dead and buried right now, they might be closer to safety than you think come the end.

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