The goalkeeping situation was one of the biggest questions surrounding the England squad ahead of their World Cup campaign and three games into Russia 2018, it’s arguably not been fully solved.
While Gareth Southgate has never shown any signs of retracting his faith in Jordan Pickford – in fact, the Three Lions gaffer provided a staunch defence of the 24-year-old during his last press conference – the Everton glovesman is yet to keep a clean sheet at the World Cup and his attempt to save Adnan Januzaj’s curler last time out certainly raised some eyebrows.
It would of course represent a huge gamble for Southgate to drop Pickford and start either Stoke City’s incredibly promising Jack Butland or Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope for England’s first knockout clash of the tournament on Tuesday. But where do you stand in this debate, Three Lions fans?
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Would you axe Pickford – who Transfermarkt value at £27million – in favour of Butland or Pope, or stick with the Toffees star? Let us know by voting below…
Aside from an uncharacteristic shared smirk midway though Sunday’s 2-1 affair at Old Trafford, there isn’t much Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho have agreed on since the former arrived in England to succeed the latter at Chelsea.
Whether their apparent feud is sourced from some form of enviousness, a genuine dislike of each other or simply the kind of hot air fighting talk you’d sooner expect from Connor McGregor remains a matter of opinion.
But as Conte prepares for what will be the toughest test Chelsea face in the Premier League this season, an away trip to the Etihad Stadium where champions-in-waiting Manchester City have dropped just two points and scored 50 goals in 14 games, the Manchester United gaffer has inadvertently presented his Italian adversary with a crucial gift – a game-plan for how to beat the Citizens on their own patch.
That was devised four years ago, when Chelsea produced an away masterclass in arguably the greatest 1-0 the Premier League has ever seen.
In a game of preciously fine margins, two opposing schools of thought collided to create an end-to-end affair where every inch of space became of instrumental importance. For all the chances City made through their domination of possession and one-touch attacking play, Chelsea mustered up just as many by staging audacious counter-attacks and exploding into the gaps City left behind as they camped around the Blues’ box. In fact, it was arguably the visitors who made the better opportunities; in addition to scoring the only goal of the game, Eden Hazard, Samuel Eto’o and Nemanja Matic all hit the woodwork.
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Branislav Ivanovic’s goal highlighted how important space and discipline was in that game. As Chelsea’s rugged right-back, he was perhaps the only player on the pitch afforded time and space on the ball in compromising areas – at least in relative terms. So when City failed to clear after one of Chelsea’s many rip-roaring counter-attacks, it was the Serbian who found himself unmarked and unchallenged on the edge of the box for just long enough to drill a placed shot into Joe Hart’s left inside netting.
Nobody else on the pitch, in any other moment of the game, was privy to that kind of luxury; City always found themselves a few inches away from a challenging Chelsea boot, and everything Chelsea did going forward had to be at full speed.
Of course, Chelsea and Manchester City are much-changed animals these days – after all, we’re talking about a match that took place four years ago with two different managers at the helm. But there are some glaring similarities; City still look to dominate the ball under Pep Guardiola, albeit with far more intensity than under Manuel Pellegrini, and Chelsea still set up to hit teams on the break in big games. In fact, they almost pulled off a counter-attacking masterclass of their own against Barcelona last week, with one erroneous pass from Andreas Christensen standing in their way.
What’s more, this fixture once again falls in February, City are once again amid a title bid and Chelsea are once again short of that challenge because of a misshapen squad. The dynamics are perfect for a performance that mimics what Chelsea produced in February 2014; a counter-attacking display as thrilling and effective as what City managed with 65% possession.
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No doubt, Chelsea rode their luck that night – Yaya Toure and David Silva both missed glaring chances to score from close range as the ball bobbled around a Blues penalty box filled with practically all 20 outfield players – and they probably aren’t as dynamic offensively as they were when Ramires, Willian, Hazard and Eto’o combined to create an incredibly mobile front four.
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But Chelsea will need fortune on Sunday too, that much is obvious, and Willian and Hazard particularly are far more consistent in what they produce on the ball these days. Victor Moses and Marcos Alonso too, can be vital outlets out wide and if Ivanovic’s goal tells us anything, it’s that they could well be the ones who find themselves in just enough space to wriggle a shot beyond Ederson.
Regardless of whether it pays off or not though, it’s clear the 2014 performance is the template Chelsea must follow this weekend; prepared to defend their own box for large spells, knowing they have the explosiveness and talent to create chances as good as City’s on the break – and for all the due praise City have received this season, we know they still make mistakes at the back when teams hit them on the counter. In another game of crucially fine margins, just one could decide the result.
Liverpool hero John Aldridge believes that this international break, unlike the last one, will benefit his old club.
The Reds lost three first-team players in the shape of Joe Allen, Emre Can and, most noticeably, Daniel Sturridge the last time they were away with their respective nations due to injuries picked up.
The trio have not taken part in any game between then and now, which has coincided with an alarming drop in results at Anfield.
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Losses to Aston Villa and West Ham were followed a home draw in the Merseyside derby with Everton and a hard fought 2-1 victory against West Brom over the weekend.
With the Reds’ next game, against QPR, a little under two weeks away, the aforementioned threesome are expected to be fit again, while players away from their international set-ups, such as Steven Gerrard and Mario Balotelli, will be given plenty of time to rest and recover.
And ‘Aldo’ feels that this has come at just the right time:
“The last international break killed our momentum but this one has come at the perfect time for Liverpool.” He wrote in his column for the Liverpool Echo.
“This fortnight will allow us to get Daniel Sturridge, Joe Allen and Emre Can back fit and regroup after a really testing period.
“With two massive games on the horizon against Real Madrid we need to improve and I’m confident we will. The return of Sturridge will be a massive boost and give better balance to the side.
“It looks like Chelsea and Man City will fight it out for the title but it’s not all doom and gloom. We’re in that pack behind them vying for third and fourth with the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United.
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“The performance against West Brom on Saturday wasn’t great but it was all about the result. After a bad week we desperately needed those three points and in the end we did enough to get them.”
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Arsenal fans – anyone remember Julio Baptista? The Brazilian striker was only at the Emirates for a single season, and made an overall limited impact on Arsenal’s 2006-7 campaign. A burly forward most familiar with the Spanish style of football after three years in La Liga, he struggled to adapt to the pace of the Premier League and made little impact on the competition, with over half of his 24 appearances coming as a substitute.
Arsenal had nearly landed Baptista the year before. After two seasons at Sevilla which produced a remarkable 47 goals in 79 appearances across all competitions, by 2005 Baptista was touted as one of the most talented forwards on the market as Real Madrid and Arsenal led the chase to sign him. In addition, the then-24-year-old was an emerging part of the Brazilian national squad, for whom he often featured in more of an attacking midfield position and acted more as a link-up playmaker than a goal threat.
In that one-year stay, however, Baptista did break a club record, registering four goals in a single game againstLiverpoolin the League Cup quarter-finals. It was the performance that summed up why Arsene Wenger had been so interested in Baptista’s services before. A free-kick, a placed 20-yard strike and two tap-ins showed his versatility and for once Baptista’s trickery and guile were complimented by some genuine pace. He could have had a fifth goal but Jerzy Dudek saved his second-half penalty.
Wenger, a staunch defender of the striker throughout his difficult season inEngland, hailed Baptista’s performance after the game, calling him “a mentally very strong player… his quality is fantastic”.
The goals kept coming in the next round of the League Cup as Baptista scored two more against arch-rivals Tottenham in the semi-finals. He couldn’t help Arsenal overcomeChelseain the final, but the two games – the virtuoso performance againstLiverpoolin particular – had left Gunners fans with some insight into what might have been from Julio Baptista.
It’s obvious that his best performances came in the League Cup for Arsenal and his goals are equivalent to those of Theo Walcott in this year’s Capital One Cup – although Arsene Wenger will be hoping that Walcott takes his form into league games, something which Baptista failed to do.
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Unfortunately, ‘The Beast’ hasn’t produced the same magic since, either. With the loan expiring in the summer of 2007, Baptista returned to Real Madrid but couldn’t produce the La Liga form of his time at Sevilla, and is currently without a club after stints with Roma andMalaga, where on both occasions he faded away after showing early promise. His involvement with the national side has fizzled out, too, and the 31-year-old has not been capped since 2010.
English fans, then, can count themselves lucky that they got a little taste of Baptista’s brilliance with that memorable display against Liverpool at Anfield.
Argentina are known as one of the football greats on the global stage, but on Thursday night they looked a shadow of their former selves.
Despite having five-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi in the team, Jorge Sampaoli’s side have failed to impress at the World Cup in Russia.
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The nation were held to a 1-1 draw by Iceland in their opening Group D match, and on Thursday were beaten 3-0 by Croatia.
Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero started both matches, and in the clash against Iceland he netted Argentina’s only goal.
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The 30-year-old, who is valued at £72m by Transfermarkt, was named in the first XI against Croatia, but was substituted and replaced with Gonzalo Higuain one minute after the first goal was conceded.
The result means that Argentina are staring at early elimination from the tournament.
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After the final whistle, Aguero spoke to reporters and seemed to take aim at Sampaoli when the coach claimed that the players “did not adapt” during the fixture.
City fans have been tweeting their thoughts on the situation.
Everton fans are once again showing their displeasure for manager Sam Allardyce as the ex-England boss claims he wants to be at the club next season.
Blues fans haven’t had much to cheer recently, their dismal away form has only been partially rescued by a few good home results, and the uninspiring football is turning fans against the manager.
The 2-1 defeat at Burnley made it six consecutive away losses in the Premier League for the Toffees, and trips to four relegation battling teams to come could bring further criticism for the manager.
Allardyce claimed in his press conference today that there is a long-term plan at Everton, and he does not plan on leaving at the end of the season.
Still, it would be a surprise to see Big Sam at the club next season, especially after he smirked at questions about the fans frustrations on Saturday.
Many fans saw Allardyce as a short-term option all along, hoping the club would look to pursue a more attacking coach after Big Sam ensured safety from relegation.
Today’s club tweet asking about a potential line-up for this weekend’s clash with Brighton has given fans an excuse to bash the manager again, and they aren’t best pleased with his press conference comments either.
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Some of the best Twitter reactions can be found below…
This summer marked the most lucrative transfer window in Arsenal’s history, as the club splashed out £82million on five first-team signings, including the deadline day acquisition of £16million forward Danny Welbeck.But to suggest the Gunners are now prepared to challenge for the Premier League title would be rather optimistic. In truth, there are still a number of gaps in the Arsenal squad that Arsene Wenger failed to address, most notably in defensive midfield, at centre-back and up top.Luckily for Wenger (and us at Football Fancast), with the summer window now over everybody is already looking forward to it’s winter counterpart.So with that in mind, here’s a list of the FIVE January signings to complete the job at Arsenal.
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WILLIAM CARVALHO
Despite being linked with several top-quality targets, Arsenal failed to land a much-needed holding midfielder this summer.
But it appears Arsene Wenger is keen to make up for lost time with news that Arsenal already in talks to sign Sporting Lisbon prodigy William Carvalho in January:
The 22 year-old has emerged as one of European football’s hottest youngsters after breaking through to the Sporting first team last season, eventually muscling his way into Portugal’s World Cup squad. Carvalho measures in at 6 foot 2, comes with an imposing physique and is famed for his simple-yet-effective style.
Here’s a look at the midfielder in action:
//www.youtube.com/embed/A8jRQbn1LzE?rel=0
Carvalho comes with a £35million release clause, which is almost certainly too rich for Wenger’s blood. But the Portugal international rejected new terms at Estadio Jose Alvalade earlier this week, suggesting the Primeira Liga side will be resigned to let him leave for significantly less.
ADRIEN RABIOT
Adrien Rabiot, Paris Saint-Germain
Another holding midfielder rumoured to be on his way to the Emirates in January is PSG contract rebel Adrien Rabiot.
The 19 year-old midfielder, who once spent a season in at Manchester City’s academy, is highly-rated in the French capital and amassed an impressive 34 appearances in all competitions last season, producing three goals. Here’s a look at his stats from the campaign:
And Rabiot in action:
//www.youtube.com/embed/88HpUceQvFo
But the floppy-haired playmaker has continually rejected contract extensions at PSG, citing a lack of assurances over first team football, with his current deal set to expire at the end of the season.
That’s understandably grabbed Arsenal’s attention but in truth, there’s a host of clubs lining up for the France U21’s signature:
WINSTON REID
Football – West Ham United v Sampdoria – Pre Season Friendly – Upton Park – 14/15 – 9/8/14Winston Reid – West Ham UnitedMandatory Credit: Action Images / Tony O’BrienEDITORIAL USE ONLY.
Another glaring hole in Arsenal’s squad depth is the absence of an established back-up option to Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker, barring 19 year-old Calum Chambers. One potential solution is West Ham’s Winston Reid, who was linked with an Emirates switch not only in January but also during the summer:
The 26 year-old may be no world-beater but he’s been incredibly consistent since the East Londoners returned to the Premier League in summer 2012, claiming the Hammer of the Year award the twelve months later.
He was in prominent form at the start of last season too before the New Zealand skipper was sidelined with an ankle injury – by no great coincidence, West Ham’s league form plummeted in his absence.
The 6 foot 3 centre-back is more rugged than your average Arsenal defender but he’s a reliable performer, proven at Premier League level, who would fit the hierarchy of the squad. Here’s a look at Reid in action:
//www.youtube.com/embed/vhYZjrgfBsA?rel=0
Furthermore, the defender’s contract is set to expire at the end of the season and a new deal is looking increasingly unlikely. That could see him leave Upton Park for a nominal fee.
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar
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Arsenal signed Danny Welbeck for £16million on deadline day but it remains to be seen if a forward who netted just 20 times in 90 league appearances for Manchester United can take on goalscoring duties full time for the Gunners.
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Arsene Wenger’s forward cast requires further bolstering anyway if it’s truly to compete with those at Manchester United, City, Liverpool and Chelsea, and thus, the north Londoners have been linked with a January swoop for another contract rebel, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar:
Admittedly, the Schalke assassin doesn’t offer much to open play, as shown through his uninspiring passing statistics from last season:
He’s one of Europe’s most clinical finishers however, with the 31 year-old boasting returns of 92 in 140 for the Miners and 35 in 65 for the Netherlands. Here’s a look at the striker’s Top Ten goals: //www.youtube.com/embed/EBGEdveNuY4?rel=0 Like Winston Reid and Adrian Rabiot, Huntelaar’s contract is set to expire at the end of the season and although Schalke want him to sign a new deal, he’ll have to take a wage cut. That makes a January move seem all-the-more likely but Huntelaar’s age will undoubtedly concern Arsene Wenger, who isn’t best known for taking the short-term approach in the transfer market.
WILFRIED BONY
Another striking option the Gunners should strongly be considering ahead of the January window is Swansea City striker Wilfried Bony, who was linked with an Arsenal move on summer deadline day:
Since joining the Welsh outfit last summer from Vitesse Arnhem, where he netted 37 times in his ultimate season, the Ivory Coast international has claimed 16 goals in just 34 top flight appearances. Here’s some of the highlights from his inaugural Premier League campaign:
//www.youtube.com/embed/L_zt5akDKGs?autoplay=1
An aggressive , old-fashioned centre-forward who measures in at just over 6 foot, the 25 year-old would fit Arsenal’s lone-striking role well.
But Gary Monk has continually denied Bony is for sale and his scoreless start to the season will put doubts in the minds of the striker’s many suitors. That being said, his £19million release clause represents great value for money.
It’s standard procedure for the Arsenal community on Twitter and Facebook to blow up following a flurry of disappointing results and even one that goes on to further accentuate the club’s current position. Those who go on to voice their displeasure, as they are wholly entitled to do so, are broken up by others who remain firm that the club is on the right path and knee-jerk reactions are a fool’s game.
What can hardly be disputed, though, is that Arsenal have lost their sense of tradition and pride through the appointments of outsiders into key positions. Ivan Gazidis, Stan Kroenke and Richard Law are not Arsenal supporters, nor were they particularly clued up on the history of the club prior to entering their current positions. In Gazidis and Law’s cases, they were brought in for their ability to push the club forward on the financial side and helping to create a global brand, as well as dealing with transfers and contracts. For Kroenke, and based largely on his franchises in America, he’s a guy in it for the safety that Arsenal provide as a club. Last season the St. Louis Rams finished with a 2-14 record, and he seems totally content for the Colorado Avalanche to go up and down the NHL Northwest division but without much excitement for or in the postseason. It’s just not his game.
Arsenal have lost so much of their tradition and winning mentality over the past six years that it wasn’t out of place for supporters to call for Peter Hill-Wood’s resignation as Chairman. His family are as much a part of the club’s history as Highbury and the trophies won, but he appears to be doing nothing positive for the club and has long outstayed his welcome.
What the club needed was Patrick Vieira when he became available last year. The club should have jumped at the chance of appointing a player who was such a large part of the recent successes under Arsene Wenger instead of lazily wheeling out the excuse that there wasn’t a position available for him. Vieira’s presence at the club should have started a trend whereby former players begin taking up positions either in coaching roles or elsewhere.
Arsenal would not have lost a North London Derby with Thierry Henry in the team, nor would they have lost with Tony Adams or Lee Dixon. That isn’t a slight on the easy targets in the team today, but it’s about the importance and history of the rivalry and what it means to supporters. The older heads from the George Graham era would have rightly educated the newer foreign players on the rivalry with Tottenham, rather than having a now out of touch board room casually plugging the derby on a website.
There’s a reason that Ajax have so much success and why they’re continually praised for their commitment to youth. Their status may have diminished in European football, but appointing people like Frank de Boer and Dennis Bergkamp was the right move for that club: it was a smart and calculated move. Barcelona are the same, as are Bayern Munich, who have Catalans, Germans and former stars running the show. It’s not just about keeping the club in check behind the scenes and ensuring that successes are achievable in the future, it’s also about the public image and saying the right things. Supporters don’t want to hear that fourth place is a trophy; the fantastic history of Arsenal wasn’t built on being fourth best and largely forgettable to anyone outside of north London.
The club missed a massive trick in turning Vieira away when he expressed a desire to join in some capacity. How arrogant, he disrespectful, how stubborn. The sense that the club don’t need outside help or even a different view is exactly what has brought them into this state of struggling to push forward.
The important figures at the club don’t care that the away supporters are so prominent when watching games on television, or that they take up a large section of the cheaper seats in the stadium. The important figures dished out that ridiculous Elvis song as a poor attempt to replicate the atmosphere created by “You’ll Never Walk Alone.” It wasn’t what supporters wanted and yet it remained a regular feature for so long.
There’s no acknowledgement for the club’s colours and their traditional away kits. Barcelona would never be caught wearing a white kit, while Ajax’s shirts remain classy and easily identifiable. But that doesn’t matter as long as variety boosts the revenue from those who’ll buy the kits each year regardless.
Even if the club were experiencing success on the pitch, there’s still a concern that Arsenal is not the Arsenal it once was. It’s a moneymaking machine wrapping up a product and selling it for extortionate prices. There’s no connection and little familiarity. The clock end only came into being a good handful of years following the Emirates’ opening, and the north bank has passed from memory into myth. It’s the story that has to be fed to the younger generation rather than the experience.
The big clubs on the continent are about continuity and tradition. Manchester United have been able to teach the newer stars about the history of the club through veterans like Gary Neville, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs. Players like that do serve an important purpose beyond just their contributions on the pitch.
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A smart club would go about finding ways to lift supporters in any positive way they can. Every Arsenal fan is counting down the days until Thierry Henry returns in a permanent role, and the suggestions for Dennis Bergkamp to join are not too quiet, either.
But for the way Arsenal portray themselves as an intelligently run club, it doesn’t make up for the lack of connection there is between them and the supporters. A presence like Patrick Vieira would have gone some way to bridging that divide.
Some Manchester United supporters are rapidly going off the idea of signing Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic this summer after the player’s recent performances for Serbia at the World Cup.
The 23-year-old international featured in all three matches for his country, initially impressing with a strong performance against Costa Rica in Serbia’s opening match.
However, subsequent defeats to Switzerland and Brazil have ensured they exit the competition and Milinkovic-Savic himself has failed to impress in the middle of the park against better opposition.
The midfielder has been linked heavily with a move to Old Trafford in recent months, but it seems his latest performances are turning some off a potential switch, despite an excellent 2017/18 season with Italian side Lazio.
His performance against Brazil on Wednesday night has caused particular concern, with these Man United fans taking to Twitter to share their worries about spending too much money on the player…
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Aleksandar Mitrovic struggled to impress Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez in the first half of the season.
The Serbian was towards the bottom of the pecking order, but he has now been given a lease of life at Fulham.
The 23-year-old moved to Craven Cottage in January on a loan deal until the end of the campaign and in his last two outings, he has managed to find the back of the net.
The most recent was on Saturday when he secured the team’s second goal in their 2-0 victory over Championship leaders Wolverhampton Wanderers.
During Sky Sports live EFL broadcast (5.15pm) pundit Steve Sidwell likened Mitrovic to former Chelsea star Diego Costa, who scored 20 goals for Chelsea last season before leaving in the summer to rejoin Atletico Madrid.
“He offers that focal point at the top of the play, if you look at his style, it’s very similar to Diego Costa. He’s very bullish, strong and you don’t want to take that away from him because if you do you lose the player that he is. What you’ve seen is classic Mitrovic, he wants to feel defenders, wants them to be touch tight, roll them and get his shot away.”
It is unclear whether the forward will return to Newcastle when the season comes to an end as a lot may depend on the Magpies’ league status.
At the moment, the North-East outfit are just two points above the relegation zone in the Premier League and are struggling for wins having picked up just the one in their last seven top-flight games.
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On Saturday, Newcastle relinquished a 2-0 lead – both goals scored by Dwight Gayle – to draw 2-2 with Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.
The travelling side conceded twice in the final 10 minutes of the clash.