Wolves are looking forward to returning to Premier League action next season after romping to Championship glory this term, and manager Nuno Santo will be looking forward to spending some big money on new players this summer.
The Midlanders, backed by their super rich owners and influenced by agent Jorge Mendes, will no doubt be linked with a whole host of fresh talent, but here in the Tavern, our landlord thinks the club could well look closer to home to find its next star.
Wolves are bound to be linked with a whole host of names in the coming weeks, and with good reason. However, there are plenty of players already in the English game who could well do a superb job at Molineux if given the chance.
One player our landlord dropped into the conversation this week was Man City star and Celtic loanee Patrick Roberts, who has been excellent for the Bhoys over the course of the last two seasons, but looks to have a job on his hands breaking into the City team this term.
The impressive young attacking midfielder was a key member of the Celtic squad once again last term, and despite only getting on the scoresheet just the once, his performances in general were of excellent quality.
However, with City having such a depth of talent, Wolves could well look to make a move for the 21-year-old, where he will no doubt be given more first team chances and the opportunity to impress crowds in the Premier League.
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Wolves fans, what do you think? Would you take Roberts? Good signing? Let us know!
Former Everton youngster Oliver Shannon has revealed that he still has ambitions of turning out for the Toffees despite his early release from the Merseyside club.
Shannon was on Everton’s books between the ages of five and 18, but left the club after failing to win a professional contract.
The midfielder, who is now 22 years old, has spent the last three years playing for College team Clemson Tigers in South Carolina.
Shannon was selected by Atalanta United in January’s Major League Soccer SuperDraft, however, where he will play under former Barcelona boss Gerardo Martino.
Despite his big break arriving in the United States, the midfielder has revealed that his ‘dream’ is to return to Everton at some point in the future.
Shannon told the Liverpool Echo:
“My highlight in America so far is definitely graduation. My dream job in the future would be a sporting director or general manager – over here or back home – or something where you can combine scouting with the commercial role.
“But for now, I’m single and can definitely see myself coming back. I would like to return and play and as high as I could. The dream is obviously still to play for Everton. Whether I do that or not remains to be seen.”
Everton, who have recently been linked with a shock move for Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger, are back in action at home to Brighton & Hove Albion this weekend.
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The Toffees are currently on a run of three defeats in their last four Premier League matches.
England manager Roy Hodgson has hailed Wayne Rooney ahead of the Manchester United star’s 100th cap for the national side, Daily Star reports.
The Football Association usually hands out the landmark award after the player plays his 100th game, but they are willing to break tradition and present the achievement to the 29-year-old before the Three Lions’ Euro 2016 qualifier with Slovenia.
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Man United legend Sir Bobby Charlton is set to give the accolade and England boss Roy Hodgson believes there is still more to come from Rooney, who only needs seven more goals to beat Charlton’s all-time England record of 49.
“I think he will become better,” said Hodgson. “I think that he has had a turbulent career, bursting on to the scene as the wonder kid and being the saviour of English football.
“He has had to suffer the slings and arrows because of the times, when, of course, he has not been able to be the saviour of English football and people have criticised him for it.
“Having built him up to a very high level they have worked very hard to knock him right back down again.
“I think that has given him an incredible maturity and strength and I think that all the qualities he had at 19 he basically still possesses.
“But what he does have, which he didn’t have at 19 or 24 or 25, is this incredible experience, this incredible belief and mental strength.
“That is something we will need going forward, mental strength – that’s a harder thing to teach or to instil in the squad then tactics or technique.
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“It’s good that people like Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard , John Terry and Ashley Cole before Wayne were able to do that but now Wayne really finds himself as a last bastion of this group of players who played together in very good England team.”
Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner has opened the door for a sensational move to North London rivals Tottenham, according to reports from The Metro.
The Danish international is currently on-loan with Juventus, having fallen down the pecking order at the Emirates Stadium.
However, he is struggling to force his way into Antonio Conte’s plans in Turin, which may see his spell with the Serie A champions end later this season.
Spurs are currently low on striking options, with Jermain Defoe and Emmanuel Adebayor the only senior front-men in the squad, and Bendtner has refused the rule out a switch to White Hart Lane.
“History is filled with examples of players moving between rival clubs and I can’t rule out clubs due to where I might have been in the past.” He said.
“It might not be the best idea but if the project matches my ambitions I would have to be interested.
“I still have a great relationship with London, which is a city that I adore.
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“I have a lot of friends in London and there are a lot of great clubs in London, so I wouldn’t rule out a return.”
Bendtner has failed to score in seven appearances for Juve, which has deterred the club from pursuing a permanent deal.
Newcastle United and manager Rafa Benitez secured a brilliant 10th-place finish in their first season back in the Premier League following a one-year absence, and while they had their ups and downs throughout the campaign, in the end they avoided being embroiled in a relegation battle and were safe in April following a fine run of form.
The Spaniard will certainly be keen to significantly strengthen his squad this summer – hopefully with the backing of owner Mike Ashley – if the Tyneside outfit are to push on and progress in the 2018/19 season, and he will surely focus his attentions on bringing in new attacking players given his team only scored 39 goals in their 38 top flight fixtures last term.
The Toon, whose fans are unhappy with a transfer link to a Championship midfielder, ideally need more goals from out wide if they are to begin to push for Europa League qualification, and the former Real Madrid and Liverpool boss will also potentially want two new strikers, too.
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With Joselu failing to fire, Dwight Gayle not a consistent goalscorer at this level and Aleksandar Mitrovic looking likely to go having shone during a loan spell with Fulham in the second-half of the previous campaign, at least one centre-forward is a priority.
Benitez will be confident of getting one of those in if he is given the right budget, and he may well hope that reinforcements in the final third can help them improve as he will want them to.
The 58-year-old is in something of a minority in the Premier League right now seeing as he prefers to play with a 4-4-1-1 or 4-4-2 system, and while it clearly worked last term it could be more difficult for Newcastle in general now the other top flight sides generally know how they are going to play and how to exploit their weaknesses.
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The tactically-astute Benitez perhaps needs to look for a new formation before the new season in order to bring some unpredictability to his side’s playing style, and he perhaps should be learning a lot from England manager Gareth Southgate.
As shown by the Three Lions’ win in their opening 2018 World Cup fixture against Tunisia on Monday – especially in the first 25 minutes or so – the players have adapted quickly and are well suited to the flexible 3-5-2 formation that the 47-year-old has introduced.
With a couple of additions, Newcastle certainly have the players to work in that system too, with four decent central midfield options in Mo Diame, Jonjo Shelvey, Mikel Merino and Isaac Hayden, and Ayoze Perez or Dwight Gayle able to play alongside a new centre-forward up top.
Soccer Football – World Cup – Group G – Tunisia vs England – Volgograd Arena, Volgograd, Russia – June 18, 2018 England manager Gareth Southgate celebrates after the match REUTERS/Sergio Perez TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
DeAndre Yedlin would be a great right wing-back and if they could find someone similar on the opposite flank – perhaps Kenedy if they can sort out a deal to bring the Chelsea man to St James’ Park on a permanent basis following a successful loan spell – they will be well set.
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The 3-5-2 formation allows a lot of movement in those central areas of the pitch with Dele Alli and Jesse Lingard often pushing forward against Tunisia to leave Jordan Henderson as the deep-lying player when England were attacking, and the same technique could certainly work for Benitez when his team were in need of a goal.
With the energy this Magpies team already has and with the right signings this summer, the Tyneside outfit would be in a great place to follow Southgate’s blueprint and bring even more success for the club in the upcoming season.
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For the first time this season, Jürgen Klopp may have every senior player available for selection on Saturday.
At a time of the season usually renowned for injuries and fatigue, Liverpool welcome Newcastle to Anfield this weekend with a clean bill of health. Several reds missed last week’s clash with West Ham due to illness, but the return of Jordan Henderson and Nathaniel Clyne to full training this week means Klopp has a full squad to choose from.
While the front three pretty much picks itself for the Reds, there is still plenty of debate about the midfield and defence. Joe Gomez has spent a lot of time at right back this season, but has lost his place in recent weeks to Trent Alexander-Arnold due to injury.
Newcastle’s visit to Anfield seems like the right time to reinstall Gomez into the back line. Alexander-Arnold, valued at £7.20 million on Transfermarkt, has been in fine form recently, but 20 year-old Gomez offers a bit more defensive stability.
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Alexander-Arnold’s attacking intent has been valuable this season, especially when teams sit deep like Rafa Benitez’s men probably will, but they will also look to use either Christian Atsu or new signing Kenedy as an outlet on the left. Gomez could prevent this threat.
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Gomez could also benefit from getting 90 minutes on his return from injury, with Klopp likely to select the more defensive option when the Reds visit Old Trafford next weekend.
So, Liverpool fans, should Joe Gomez replace Alexander-Arnold on Saturday? Let us know by voting below…
Southampton have added Toby Alderweireld and Sadio Mane to their ranks after the pair completed their deadline day switch from Atletico Madrid and Red Bull Salzburg respectively.
Alderweireld, 25, who plays as a full-back and was part of the squad that won the Spanish La Liga, made his switch to the St. Mary’s Stadium on a season-long loan.
“I’m very happy to be here,” Alderweireld told the club’s official website.
“I had a good talk with the coach. First of all, it was very important for me to play this season and the coach gave me a good solution for that.
“The trainer likes how I play and really wanted me to come here, which is what convinced me to come. I really wanted a trainer that believes in me, because that’s important.
“I think this is an upcoming club. Southampton put a lot of effort in to get me, so now I want to give something back to the club by doing my best to help the team. I want to give everything for Southampton.”
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Another deadline day signing was Senegalese winger Mane, 22, who has a very impressive scoring record, notching 45 goals in 87 appearances.
He joins the Saints for £10million on a four year deal with manager Ronald Koeman praising his new acquisition.
“Right from the first meeting I had with Les Reed, when it was clear that we would have to change a lot, Sadio was on our list of potential players.
“I know the player because last season Ajax Amsterdam played against Red Bull Salzburg in Europe, and I saw him playing and I was impressed with his qualities and with the physicality that he showed.
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“He can play in different positions in the attack – he can play on the left or right side and also as a number nine. It is incredible how many goals he has scored from his position, and I hope that he will do the same for us.
“With the way that we play and the fact that I know him very well, this is a good step forward for him.”
As I sat down on a Sunday afternoon a few weeks ago to watch the FA Cup First round draw, I found myself fearing the worst, imagining what pain the grand old competition would inflict on us this season.
In recent years the worlds most famous cup competition has been far from kind on Plymouth Argyle. The last game we won in the FA Cup was at home to Hull City in the 3rd round in 2008, five seasons ago. We were still a Championship club back then, so progression to the fourth round wasn’t as special as it would be now. Since that cold January afternoon we have played five matches and lost every single one of them in the competition. The magic of the FA Cup you say? Pah! Pain more like!
A lot has changed since those Championship days, something that is emphasised in the opposition that have knocked us out in the proceeding years. Defeats at Portsmouth, Arsenal and Newcastle were to be expected but at least we got the glamour of visiting their grounds whereas a 4-0 home defeat to Swindon in 2010 is what you would imagine would be as far from glamorous as possible, yet in our case it gets worse.
Least season a 3-3 draw at Home Park with Southern League club Stourbridge, where it took a last gasp equaliser to save us from defeat was embarrassing enough, but most Argyle fans fore-casted the inevitable defeat at the hands of the non-leaguers in the replay. As if to stick the dagger in just a little deeper, ESPN, sniffing a ‘cupset’ (cup-upset), broadcast the match on live TV. I watched with shame and horror as a depleted Argyle side were outplayed all across the park by men who had worked their part-time jobs just hours earlier. I turned the TV off after the second goal went in, not being able to put myself through anymore of that torture.
So, to this season, it couldn’t get any worse, right? ” Number 36 – Dorchester Town will play at home against…number 31 – Plymouth Argyle”. At first I was excited, it seemed like the ideal draw. A (relatively) local away game at a non-league side with a ground which is a pretty decent size for that level of football. I went back to my daily routine, still very aware of what happened to us against a non-league side last season, but quite content.
However, as the days have passed I have started to fear the tie more and more.
Immediate research into the recent fortunes of Dorchester Town showed that they were in fourth place in the Blue Square South, a play-off position. I delved a little deeper and upon finding out that the Magpies have not failed to win a game at home so far this season my heart sunk a little. Later in the week it was announced our game was again to be aired on ESPN. The £68,000 we will receive in TV rights because of this will be gratefully received, used to speed up the repayments of our staff that went so many months without a wage.
Financially the benefits of this tie are great for us, but I just can’t stop thinking that history is about to repeat itself. Away to a non-league side, aired on TV and now virtually an evening kick-off – just like the Stourbridge game. Fans of clubs that have been knocked out by lower league opposition will know exactly how I feel, there isn’t many things more embarrassing in football than your club being knocked out a cup competition by a team of part-timers.
It appears that the FA Cup still wants to squeeze more ‘magic’ out of Plymouth Argyle, I just hope and pray that we can steal that giant-killing magic and save it for a plum third round tie against Premier League opposition. I can dream!
For more Argyle talk follow me on Twitter.
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According to The Mirror, Marco Silva is eyeing English midfield duo Jack Wilshere and Ruben Loftus-Cheek as potential additions to his new-look Everton team. The Portuguese was given the nod to take over from Sam Allardyce earlier this summer and signing the offensive-minded pair would certainly bring the Toffees a lot closer to producing the kind of entertaining football that supporters craved during the former England gaffer’s underwhelming stint in charge.
But could there be unforeseen negatives to Everton snapping up Wilshere and Loftus-Cheek on a free transfer and most likely a loan respectively? How will their arrivals affect the makeup of the squad and the balance of the team? Football FanCast take a look at three potential consequences – some good, some bad – of Everton pulling off a double swoop for the English midfielders this summer.
Tom Davies is frozen out
Davies’ development has been one of the biggest success stories at Goodison over the last few seasons but a midfield overhaul would appear to push the 19-year-old into the shadows of the engine room pecking order, especially as Loftus-Cheek is of similar age and Jack Wilshere – theoretically, at least – is entering his prime years.
That doesn’t necessarily mean Davies won’t be a part of the first team squad next season, but it certainly suggests Silva doesn’t have an overwhelmingly positive opinion of the youngster at this moment in time. For both Toffees fans and the England setup, Davies featuring in the side that won the Toulon Tournament earlier this year, that would be a real disappointment.
Gylfi Sigurdsson is sold
Sigurdsson arrived at Everton last summer and although he only managed to show it in glimpses during his first season, there’s no doubting the Iceland international’s immense technical talent. But Silva’s interest in Wilshere and Loftus-Cheek suggests the attacking midfielder probably isn’t an integral part of his plans going forward.
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A midfield trio of Wilshere, Loftus-Cheek and Sigurdsson would be far too offensive, leaving what’s already a rather shaky backline glaringly exposed, and if the latter’s difficult debut season proved anything it’s that he needs to be playing centrally with the rest of the team built around him. Wilshere and Loftus-Cheek don’t seem like the players to do that – in fact, they’re incredibly similar to Sigurdsson as offensive-minded No.8s – so perhaps Silva is already considering axing Everton’s club-record signing.
Silva adopts the Klopp approach
Silva’s used plenty of different setups during his time in the Premier League but started last season fielding Watford in a 4-3-3 with two roaming No.8s, in a similar style to what we saw from Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool and Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City throughout their potent 2017/18 campaigns. It feels like the vogue formation at this moment in time, producing exciting football by taking advantage of a new breed of technically gifted, dynamic and mobile central midfielders.
Through their dribbling ability and creativity, Wilshere and Loftus-Cheek are ideal candidates for those crucial midfield roles, at their best when pushing forward from the engine room to make things happen in attack. It seems like the most logical setup to maximise the qualities they bring to the team, and it certainly fits into the Premier League’s current tactical trends.
So, Everton fans, should your club sign Wilshere and Loftus-Cheek this summer? Let us know by voting below…
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The Sun’s Neil Ashton was roundly mocked this week for an article in which he favourably compared the present Spurs side with Busby’s Babes and Bill Shankly’s great Liverpool side. English football was entering a golden age, the tabloid’s chief football reporter trumpeted, while strongly alluding that this was directly due to the rise of Mauricio Pochettino’s men.
The Premier League should ‘cherish, encourage, and embrace’ them. They are ‘irresistible’. He ended his puffed-up piece of propagandising by insisting that we all watch this incredible team while we had the chance.
Yet Ashton’s ludicrous hyperbole was hardly an outlier. Across all media platforms Tottenham are praised to the rafters with such casual regularity these days that a newbie to the sport would assume it is they who have made this season’s title race a one-team formality and not Manchester City. For the record Spurs are twenty points shy of the top and are currently lying outside of a Champions League spot, one point behind a Chelsea team deemed to be in entrenched crisis.
The press’ enthralment of Spurs is hardly a new phenomenon of course with the North London club long said to have benefited from positive coverage in comparison to their rivals. The timing of its escalation though is puzzling even when recent impressive performances away to Liverpool and Juventus and at home to Arsenal and Manchester United are factored in. In recent seasons they have been in genuine contention to win their first league title for over 65 years.
Now they are hopelessly adrift of that aspiration and furthermore are on course to only match their second worst league placing since 2009. In the last few days alone two journalists have confided to me that they are absolutely perplexed by their colleagues’ decision to ramp up the Tottenham love-in now of all times.
Soccer Football – Premier League – Tottenham Hotspur vs Arsenal – Wembley Stadium, London, Britain – February 10, 2018 Tottenham’s Harry Kane celebrates scoring their first goal with team mates REUTERS/David Klein EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or “live” services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. Please contact your account r
If it is somewhat galling to see the continued excellence of this excellent 11 portrayed in an exaggerated fashion that is nothing in relation to when it is broken down further to the biased representation of its players. The beatification of Harry Kane is one thing but at least the striker justifies his acclaim on a weekly basis with goal after goal after goal. Dele Alli however does not have the performances to back up the hype. Not this season. Far from it.
The attacking midfielder has always included a good portion of rough with the smooth, an ‘edge’ to his game that pundits and journalists alike could excuse when his form was exceptional with the reasoning that it was necessary to fire him up a level. That reasoning incidentally was never less than nonsense at the best of times. Only now it’s anything but the best of times for the 21-year-old and with the player a shadow of his former self his proclivity to indulge in football’s dark arts has really come to the fore.
It is fair to suggest that if this nose-dive in form and reckless elevation of ego had combined in any other previously over-hyped English star the press would delight in their favourite sport of Tall Poppying, laying into the player with unsavoury relish. Yet in the case of Alli he ‘needs to cut that part of his game out’ apparently. Two weeks ago at Anfield he even received contrary praise for admitting and apologising for a dive so startlingly blatant even Donald Trump would have held his hands up to.
The last home-grown player to enjoy such unaccountability was a young Wayne Rooney. Rooney was ten times the player Alli is at a similar age.
It does not take the mind of a conspiracy theorist to work out why this is so. Alli cannot be considered a popular player among neutrals and in fact the very opposite applies. He does however play for Tottenham Hotspur.
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If coverage of this modern Spurs side can be viewed as generously enthusiastic then the same cannot be said of their depiction on social media. There – presumably as a direct reaction to the flowery prose and smitten glances encountered everywhere else – it slants too unfairly towards the negative given their establishment as a force to be reckoned with in recent years. Spurs are damned for being ‘bottlers’. They are derided for an absence of silverware. They are ‘Spursy’.
This begs the question – why can’t Pochettino’s team be reasonably estimated? Why can’t it ever be somewhere in-between with considerable admiration for the outstanding work done by the Argentine during his three-and-a-half years at the Lane coupled with a recognition that for all of their strengths, collective and individually, there appears to be an – admittedly high – glass ceiling to their ability?
Perhaps this is illustrative of where we are now in football with nuance and reason discarded for only extremes. It does need pointing out though that considering where the main section of Spurs’ cheerleaders reside the charge that they don’t win anything is unfounded. They’ve won the Media Cup now for three years running, on this occasion uncontested.