As reported by The Scottish Sun, Rangers are keen on signing Swansea City defender Kyle Bartley this summer.
What’s the story?
Bartley is of course a former player of the Ibrox club, spending a season-and-a-half on loan from Arsenal in 2011 and 2012.
He became something of a fan favourite and many supporters have harboured ambitions to sign him again ever since.
The Scottish Sun report that this could become a reality this summer, with Rangers hoping they can sign him for half of the £5m that Swansea City value him at.
However, Steven Gerrard will face competition for his signature with another former loan club Leeds United also interested in his services, according to the report.
The paper say the player is open to a move north of the border to join Gerrard’s new era at the Gers.
Would he be a good signing?
Bartley wasn’t the most polished of defenders in his first spell at Ibrox but it’s important to remember he was only 19 when he initially arrived at the club and had limited first team experience.
Since departing he’s made almost 90 appearances for the likes of Swansea, Birmingham City and, most successfully, at Leeds.
He is a better, more experienced player now, who still possesses the physical attributes that helped him cope with the Scottish game the first time around.
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Bartley is a player who brings passion and determination to every defence he is a part of, something Rangers have arguably lacked this season, having to endure lacklustre performances from the likes of Fabio Cardoso and Bruno Alves.
With Ross McCrorie now clearly a better option in midfield and David Bates moving on to Hamburg, the Light Blues badly need defensive reinforcements and if they can get the deal done, they could do a lot worse than Bartley.
Manchester United are now 13 points adrift of league leaders Manchester City after a disappointing draw away to Leicester on Saturday.
The Red Devils looked like securing all three points against the Foxes after a Juan Mata double cancelled out a Jamie Vardy opener. However, Harry Maguire popped up in injury time to score a last minute equaliser and send the visitors home dejected.
The England international finished smartly after catching out Chris Smalling, who appeared to be injured in closing stages of the game.
The failure of Smalling to not move into a less vital position or deal with the danger has enraged supporters, who can’t believe their side threw away a lead so late in the game.
Man United will be hoping they can put the dropped points behind them on Boxing Day when they host Burnley at Old Trafford.
Now so far behind in the table though, is the Premier League title race already over?
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Supporters took to Twitter to share their thoughts on the Smalling situation and late conceded goal…
Walsall inflicted Wolves’ first defeat of the season on a cold and miserable night in Wolverhampton.
The home side were going into the game off the back of five straight league wins and were hoping that this ‘local derby’ could make it six and move Wolves into 2nd place after seven games. Walsall’s momentum was good after comprehensively beating Crewe at Gresty Road on Saturday afternoon, 3-0. It was all set up to be an exciting match on an extremely cold Tuesday night in The Midlands, the South Bank was packed to the rafters, whilst Walsall had filled out their away end admirably.
Jackett made just the one change from the narrow win against Swindon Town, Bjorn Sigurdarson came in for Leigh Griffiths. Probably in order to bolster the striker options, give Walsall something think about and give make Wolves’ play more direct than previous weeks, with that Wolves lined up, as usual: Ikeme; Doherty, Batth, Ricketts and Golbourne; Sako, McDonald, Davis and Evans; Doyle and Sigurdarson occupying the front two positions. ‘The Ginger Mourinho’ or Dean Smith, as humans like to call him, made no changes to the side that swatted Crewe away, on Saturday. Their eleven was like this: O’Donnell in goal; Taylor, Butler, Downing and Chambers at the back; Hemmings, Mantom, Featherstone, Chambers in the midfield; Westcarr and Hewitt took up the striking positions.
The game began rather quietly, neither team wanted to concede an early goal so were tentative about going forward nor making the opposition defenders uncomfortable. Wolves’ first chance came after some intelligent, one touch, build up play. Kevin McDonald lofted a delicately placed ball onto the head of his fellow Kevin. Doyle lost the challenge and the ball was headed out, from nowhere, Sigurdarson came running in and dispatched his volley with particular venom. Sadly, Sigurdarson’s shot did not trouble O’Donnell and his shot went high and wide.
The game quickly began to liven up, Lee Evans chopped down Sam Mantom down. The resulting free kick, from Craig Westcarr , hit the cross bar and drew gasps from both sets of subdued supporters. Walsall looked to sit deep and try hit the Wolves on the break, a rather tame long shot from former Wolves man, Ashley Hemmings and a cross-cum-shot from Sam Mantom were both saved by Carl Ikeme. With the game now in full swing it was clear that Wolves did look comfortable on the ball in the middle third of the pitch, problem was, when they got into the final third there was no penetration from Doyle or Sigurdarson, as both these players were dropping deep. Neither players were running in behind the Walsall defence, a defence that does not possess a lot of pace, Wolves missed a trick there, they could have really punished Walsall if they got in behind them.
Wolves’ best chance came when Bjorn Sigurdarson showed immense strength, speed and awareness, he broke three tackles in quick succession and played the ball out wide to Bakary Sako, who dragged his shot wide. Wolves’ fans were purring at the display from Sigurdarson, he was breaking tackles like the defenders were not even there and showing great vision to pick out his French team mate. Wolves were continuing their good work, intricate passes between McDonald and Sako to the full back/auxiliary winger Scott Golbourne, whose chipped ball in was cleared away. Wolves found themselves with a corner to defend, shouts of handball were waved away from the referee, even though, from where this reporter was sitting, Doherty’s hand had indeed touched the ball. Though from where the referee was standing, he would have seen Batth’s head in front of Doherty outstretched hand. The ball was cleared, only to the feet of centre half, Downing, who, like every other English centre half (barring Gary Cahill) blazed his shot high and wide.
With half time around the corner, Wolves attempted to nick a goal. Sigurdarson, effective once again on the turn, broke a tackle and attempted to give Wolves the lead. Soon after, Sako had a free kick which, as expected, was agonisingly close to making it 1-0. It was tipped just over by an outstretched O’Donnell. Batth’s header from the resulting corner was a foot or so wide, if he had timed his run a little earlier, O’Donnell would have had to been at his very best to prevent a goal from the future Wolves captain. Wolves were awarded a free kick with just a few minutes of the first half. Evans hit the in swinging at around O’Donnell midriff, he saved comfortably as the first half fizzled out.
The first half was brought to a close with the scores at 0-0 – Wolves were probably the better team by nature of Walsall’s game plan. They chose to sit back and soak up the pressure brought onto them by the home side. To an extent, Walsall were probably very happy to go into the dressing room with the scores at 0-0, Wolves, probably not so much.
With those 45 minutes behind both teams. The players returned, unchanged for the second half. Wolves began brightly, the ever present Scott Golbourne was on hand to deliver a ball into Kevin Doyle whose header went wide. Minutes later David Davis hit a thirty plus yard through ball out onto the right hand side to the oncoming Kevin Doyle who managed to trap the ball well but was unable to deliver the right ball in, the attack broke down and Walsall countered. It really highlights how blunt Wolves are without Griffiths on the pitch when your main striker is on the right hand side delivering a cross into no one – it was a facet that Wolves were missing.
Wolves were tending to go wide, partly because of the lack of a proper striker up the top end of the field. Davis and co had no other choice other than to play it out wide. With Walsall’s strong and physically robust centre halves, Wolves were finding it impossible to get any sort of success through the air.
With an hour gone, Jackett was the first manager to show his hand, bringing off the effective Kevin McDonald and the robust Lee Evans for Leigh Griffiths and Kevin Foley. Jacket switched to a more conventional 4-4-2, with Doyle and Griffiths as strikers and Sigurdarson and Sako occupying the flanks. An odd choice to bring off the new signing as he is probably the best midfielder at his new club, certainly, he is most likely to get forward and influence the game, more than Evans or Davis.
One positive was the relationship sparked up between Sako and Golbourne down the left hand side, despite the readjusting that Jackett has had to do to the defence, it looks like Golbourne and Sako are reading from the same hymn sheet, which bodes well for When Wolves are counter attacking.
Sako attempted an audacious 40 yard attempt after seeing O’Donnell off his line, needless to say Sako was not particularly close to breaking the deadlock, which drew jeers from the away crowd. Batth had another great chance to score after some neat build up play forced a Wolves corner from which the man from Brierley Hill headed just wide. Dean Smith made his first change on the 65th minute, the former Wolves man Ashley Hemmings, who was anonymous throughout the game, despite some promising runs, he failed to produce anything of real quality – he departed for James Baxendale.
Soon after the substitution, the deadlock was broken, with the first real chance of the second half. A free kick was awarded after Danny Batth cynically tripped a Walsall player, the ball was swung in and Wolves, once again, were slow to react. The ball was headed back in and time stood still as Andy Butler brushed his forehand against the ball and made it 1-0. It was a very frustrating goal to concede Wolves were all of a sudden Wolves were chasing the game, within space of two minutes. It was Batth’s faults for awarding Walsall the free kick, but furthermore, it was the slow and lazy reactions of the home team’s defence.
Wolves brightened up a bit after the goal was conceded, their tales were up. Sako had a free kick saved, Griffiths smashed a volley wide after doing well to read the height and weight of the chipped ball. Soon after, Sako had another chance but O’Donnell was on hand to save. Despite all these half chances Wolves amassed three shots on target despite shooting sixteen times in the match. That gives you the clearest indication that Wolves, without Griffiths, struggle to put chances away.
Walsall made two further changes, after the linesman had real difficulty working the electronic board, after much jeering and eventual annoyance at the blunder, Westcarr and Hewitt were replaced with Sawyers and Lalkovic.
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Batth then played a cross field pass to Sigurdarson who effortlessly won the header which was half a second away from finding the boot of Leigh Griffiths, unfortunately, Butler cleared before Griffiths could cause some damage.
With minutes left, Wolves looked out of ideas, there were no options going forward, at this late stage and Walsall looked to have the game wrapped up. Ikeme then had a rather odd moment when his face met the football. It was such a strange that this reporter is finding it difficult to describe, even after seeing the replay. Ikeme collects the ball, goes to roll it out, the ball then bounces off his foot, it goes askew and a frantic Ikeme was desperately trying to claw it away, despite being outside his eighteen yard box. He was given a yellow card for handling the ball outside the area, though it was more likely for not being able to throw a football, with your hands, and work out where your feet are, at the same time. Lalkovic’s resulting free kick nearly sewed the game up, fortunately, Ikeme’s blushes were spared as the ball was denied by the wood work.
The referee blew the whistle soon after as Wolves slumped to a first loss in five games. Diluted applause came from the South Bank as Sako and Griffiths applauded the rather annoyed Wolves fans. Contrast that with the away end, were scenes of jubilation were the order of the day, the Walsall fans were delighted with beating a ‘local rival’ and rightly so.
So, the unbeaten Wolves are finally wounded and, in some respects, this might be a good result for us, in the long term. Performances, since Crawley, have been complacent, cocky, with an air of “well we just have to turn up to win”. This result should change that, the players will now realise that there are experienced players who know this League inside out and know that Wolves are seen as the ‘big boys’ of division, this will make them try that little bit harder against us.
Shrewsbury on Saturday will be tough, no doubt, but the away should demand, and expect, and bounce back from a fired up Wolves side.
Arsenal are prepared to let misfit attacker Andrei Arshavin leave the club on a free transfer in hope that he can secure a move back to his homeland before the Russian transfer window closes on Thursday, The Telegraph report.
The eastern European playmaker spent the second half of last season on loan at Zenit St Petersburg, but it is believed that his former side and Anzhi Makhachkala are both not interested in a move for the forward.
As such, Dynamo Moscow have emerged as the most likely destination for Arshavin, but a deal must be wrapped up in the 36 hours before the window closes in the nation.
Arshavin signed for the Gunners for a fee of more than £13 million back in 2009, and Arsene Wenger was initially hopeful of recouping around £5 million for him.
However, with time running out and Arshavin in the last year of his contract, the north Londoners are set to cut their loses on the out-of-form player.
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Portuguese reports are once again claiming Bas Dost could move to Newcastle, and Newcastle fans are starting to feel like they’re stuck in a time loop.
Bas Dost, who has 33 goals in all competitions this season, has been linked with a move to Tyneside in every transfer window since the dawn of time, and Portuguese outlet A Bola claim the Sporting CP striker will definitely leave this summer.
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According to A Bola (via Sport Witness), the big Dutchman wants to leave Portugal after a fallout with Sporting CP president Bruno de Carvalho.
Not long after the report from A Bola that claimed several key players wanted to leave, the squad was attacked on Tuesday by their own fans. Dost needed six stiches in his head after being hit by a belt.
It’s no secret by now that Rafael Benitez wants a target man, but Islam Slimani failed to impress and the links to Nicolai Jorgensen have died down, so could this finally be the year when Dost takes the plunge and becomes a Magpie?
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Fans have been discussing the links on Twitter, and some of the best reactions can be found below…
Sergio Ramos is the latest blockbuster defender being linked with improving the shaky Manchester United defence this summer, and even though Louis van Gaal marched the wounded red side of Manchester back into the Champions League, it’s clear that new defensive recruits are the Dutchman’s priority.
World Cup winner Mats Hummels and Valencia hard man Nicolas Otamendi are other exciting names to have been made it onto United’s radar, however, little has been made of the two contract extensions given to their current crop of centre halves – England internationals Chris Smalling and Phil Jones. Often criticised and (Jones particularly) the subject of many a meme, Van Gaal has seen fit to extend their spells at Old Trafford.
Smalling is a man plucked from relative obscurity. The former Fulham defender cut his teeth with non-league outfit Maidstone before Sir Alex Ferguson fought off competition from Arsenal to sign the defender. Despite making almost 150 appearances for the club, he’s often been viewed as clumsy and error prone. Following the derby day defeat to Manchester City back in November, Smalling was branded “stupid” by van Gaal. His rash challenges in the defeat has summed up his United career until that date up perfectly – frustrating and seemingly out of his depth.
As the season progressed and Man United improved, so did Smalling. The hesitant almost languid looking defender we had seen dismissed at the Etihad had matured into arguably Manchester United’s best centre-back. His marshalling of Paddy McNair and Tyler Blackett against Arsenal’s feather footed technicians gave us a glimpse into what Smalling could grow to be. Goals against Burnley and Manchester City (redemption?) proved he could also be a viable asset at the other end of the pitch.
Smalling seems to have proved his worth ahead of, arguably, the Red Devils’ most important season to date. Back in the big time, it is imperative Smalling continues his development against the best strikers in Europe.
Who knows, could Chris Smalling be the defensive rock England build their assault on EURO 2016 around?
Jones, on the other hand, is perhaps tainted by Sir Alex’s famous “he could be our best ever player” gaffe. Jones’ career simply hasn’t followed the upward trajectory mapped out for him by the famous old Scot. The gurning, galloping enforcer has been shifted around the backline for both club and country, even making appearances in midfield. Whatever position he’s played in, it is hard to truly argue he has done much to justify his £17m transfer fee.
Still, Jones is a Premier League winner and a fully-fledged England international. It would seem silly of United to let him go right now, but it appears unless he improves in a Chris Smalling type fashion (and how many Utd fans ever thought they would hear those words?), this will be his last contract at the club.
Even Van Gaal’s comments upon the renewal seemed to hint at a last chance saloon. Describing the former Blackburn man as a “relatively young defender”, it seems the window of opportunity for Jones is closing. Despite signing the new deal, the ‘relatively’ young defender must age quickly as United press on, or he’ll be left behind like some sort footballing Peter Pan. Jones cannot be young forever, as much as we would all like to be, and his improvement must be tangible.
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The cynic would say his new deal is much more of a contingency plan than a reward. Should he be allowed to leave and indeed fulfil the potential Sir Alex saw in him somewhere else, United would again look like fools. If, however, we do not see a marked improvement from Jones, he may not even finish his recently signed contract at the club.
This tale of two centre halves has the potential to be a rousing success for both club and country. Though not the finished article, Smalling has shown it is possible to flourish at a big club amid criticism. It’s time for Jones to follow, or face being left behind as Manchester United enter a new era.
It’s so easy in England to downplay the foreigners, largely because there isn’t a big enough campaign in this country for journalists to properly report what goes on in Europe.
I most certainly wasn’t the only person to feel nothing but disdain for Martin Samuel’s piece on Manuel Pellegrini last week. But like so many other instances over this past season, it just highlighted how willing England-based football journalists are to ‘mailing in’ anything remotely related to the European product.
The basis of the article was that Manchester City were making the wrong approach in looking to Pellegrini as their next manager and that Manchester United had got it right with David Moyes. Take whatever you want from that. But isn’t this something that people like Arsene Wenger have long fought against, the idea of looking past someone’s passport and rightly acknowledging and rewarding them for their talent and ability? That’s one thing, but the fact that Martin Samuel’s argument was built on stories which were completely false is hugely infuriating.
The problem here is that no one outside of regular viewers of La Liga really said anything about this. In fact, Gary Neville endorsed the article as “a good piece.” The Sky Sports pundit has got a lot right since he took over his current position in 2011, but surely he has enough sense to see that the whole argument in that piece is asinine at best.
And it’s not a matter of hacking away at those who have a different opinion to the one you hold, it’s purely about offering respect and courtesy where it’s due, and, of course, reporting the truth. Apparently Pellegrini is a failure because he couldn’t guide Real Madrid to the Spanish title after spending over £200 million.
Here’s the thing: anyone with half a mind would know that football works slightly differently in Spain than it does in England. Adding to that, most should be aware, especially journalists, that Real Madrid and Barcelona make their transfer decisions largely without the consent of the manager.
At the time, Pellegrini was brought in to oversee Florentino Perez’s latest Galactico movement. It most definitely did not mean that he had a say in the purchase of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Kaka and Xabi Alonso. By that account, something which is the truth, Pellegrini did not fail after “spending £200 million.” Why is it I know that and one of England’s most respected football writers doesn’t?
Pellegrini, for those who fancied watching the Champions League after all the English teams had been knocked out, had only gone on to enhance his reputation in the game following Malaga’s exploits in the competition. In their maiden season, the comparably small club waltzed past AC Milan, Porto, Zenit and came within minutes of beating Borussia Dortmund. Domestically, Malaga were outstanding for much of the campaign. They beat Real Madrid 3-2 at La Rosaleda. They held a spot in the top four all season until the bubble sadly burst following their Champions League exit. The Chilean manager was forced to relinquish his hold on some of his star players last summer and during the winter window. In response, he made Isco the star of the show, brought forward a number of the fringe or youth players and was hugely rewarded by their desire to not let him down.
Why wasn’t all that in the Daily Mail piece? Why wasn’t there a deserving nod and applause for Pellegrini’s achievements with Villarreal, not only in taking them to second place in La Liga and to the quarterfinals and semifinals of the Champions League, but also the level and quality of football he brought to El Madrigal? Oh wait, Samuel did mention something about Villarreal, but it was more condemnation than applause.
Is it worth laughing at the questioning from the article as to whether Pellegrini could get Wigan playing as well as Roberto Martinez did? Samuel attempted to add weight to all of this by implying that Martinez was deserving of the Manchester City job over Pellegrini. Well there are facts that challenge Martin Samuel’s opinions and distorted view of even the recent history. For starters, Pellegrini never allowed any of his Spanish teams to face relegation from the top flight. Pellegrini didn’t allow any of his sides to perform to their maximum for only two months of a league campaign, and then wrongly receive praise for making some kind of great escape. Could he do better than Martinez at Wigan? Pellegrini took over at Malaga midway through the 2010-11 season, where only the season prior they had avoided relegation, and guided them to an 11th place finish. In his first full season, Malaga finished fourth.
Samuel goes on, “Pellegrini served his apprenticeship beyond our gaze, so all we have is received information.” Good lord, shouldn’t journalists of national newspapers take it upon themselves to investigate these things? After all, it does fall into the job description. This old boy’s network of journalism is absolutely disgraceful. Not only do they attempt to belittle anyone who tries to make it in the industry via modern methods, they persist with the medieval notion that the world is far too big to be explored.
Our best teams compete in the Champions League every season, playing as far as away Russia. The Premier League draws players from all over the world, from Africa, the Far East and South America. These are the journalists who talk up the Premier League as the greatest spectacle in all of sports, despite the fact that it isn’t, and likely enjoy the fact that the English product has a global reach. Why is all of that accepted and used in the sales pitch but something as simple as checking a few facts from abroad to support an argument is seen as beneath them?
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It’s absolutely pathetic that journalists who only seem to follow the Premier League have already made their mind up about Pellegrini. Again, it’s distorted views of history. Isn’t it players and managers from abroad who have helped to shape the Premier League to what it is today? Arsene Wenger, Eric Cantona, Cristiano Ronaldo, Jose Mourinho. English journalists wouldn’t say no to Pep Guardiola, would they? He’s a man who only put together his reputation at Barcelona, a team consisting of Lionel Messi, Xavi and Andres Iniesta. Well surely that doesn’t count because a baby could have managed that Barcelona team. Apparently.
The reason Pellegrini might come in and take one of the big jobs in the Premier League over his English counterparts is because he’s better. No conspiracies, nothing funny or underhanded about any of it. He’s simply better. The article which tried to argue that is nothing but disgraceful.
When Liverpool invested in taking Brendan Rodgers from Swansea this summer and appointing him as their new manager, they were investing in a new vision for the club. But the process of developing that vision and Rodgers ideology for the football club, demands that principal owner John W. Henry and the Fenway Sports Group continue to back and invest in their new man.
Because the status of the club and the realities of this league demand that Liverpool cannot continue to regress anymore. Rodgers had to be backed to the hilt; now was not the time to verge on the side of caution or hesitate in making the decisions that the Ulsterman requested. Otherwise the changes made in getting rid of Kenny Dalglish were made redundant.
But the stark reality is that FSG have fallen short in the support of their new man and new project. Yes, investment has been made this summer and supporters weren’t oblivious to the fiscal responsibilities that have come with the last 18 months of spending. But in failing to acquire a new striker for Brendan Rodgers, the club have left the job half done. Time will tell quite how serious the implications of this will be. But the lack of depth up front has the capacity to spell big trouble for the red half of Merseyside.
As this summer’s transfer window progressed, it felt as if Liverpool were assembling a squad with real balance but more importantly, in the shape of the man that they’d brought in to take the club.
The £15 acquisition of Joe Allen from Swansea has still left a handful of supporters dubious, especially after the vast sums spent on the likes of Stewart Downing. But Allen has looked to settle well, he fits the new style but most importantly, he was Rodgers number one transfer target. The club recognized how much their new man valued Allen as an integral cog in the machine and they backed him up by getting the deal done.
Similarly, Fabio Borini was a player that Rodgers has worked with before and clearly values highly enough to demand that the owners shell out near on £10million for him. A player that is young, technically astute and versatile, he fits the Rodgers mould that FSG invested in acquiring.
But this is where progress seems to have to come to a grinding halt for Rodgers in the transfer market. Snapping up the exquisitely talented Nuri Sahin from Real Madrid on loan was a wonderful bit of opportunism that has boosted the squad, but perhaps not where it was in the most need of boosting. Liverpool were in desperate need of bringing in another frontman by the end of the transfer window. The future of Andy Carroll was always up in the air but both his and the departures of more unconventional front men in Dirk Kuyt and Craig Bellamy left the Rodgers with only two conventional strikers.
And quite remarkably, the status quo remained as the transfer window slammed shut. Liverpool’s ranks of recognized frontmen currently consists of both Luis Suarez and Fabio Borini, a player who himself, is a newcomer to Premier League football. For however talented the pair may be, Liverpool have begun the new league campaign with an alarmingly weak frontline. Even if Rodgers’ 4-3-3 system is extremely fluid and interchangeable, a long term injury to Suarez in particular, could prove terminal for any goals they wish to achieve this season.
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But the fact is, it simply should never have got to this stage at Anfield. In particular when Rodgers’ principal target was ex-Fulham, and painfully now Tottenham Hotspur striker, Clint Dempsey. The American offered not only real quality, as his 23 goals demonstrated last season, but amazing value. Fulham reportedly wanted around £5million plus for the 29-year-old. Astonishingly, this was apparently too much for the Liverpool board to contemplate, and a counter £3million was reportedly their return offer. Unsurprisingly, this was rejected and Dempsey subsequently joined Tottenham Hotspur on deadline day.
In his open letter to the club, John W. Henry stopped short of addressing the Dempsey issue directly, but he gave a relatively unsubtle hint to exactly how he felt about it.
The 62-year-old said:
“Spending is not merely about buying talent. Our ambitions do not lie in cementing a mid-table place with expensive, short-term quick fixes that will only contribute for a couple of years.”
It’s hard to argue with the overall merits of Henry’s admirable ideology but he seems to be naïve to the process in how you go about achieving this. Just throwing Rodgers in with his 4-3-3 and ensuring all the players have average age of the squad is nice and low doesn’t mean anything. For starters, age is only a number and all great squads have ben built with at least some bedrock of experience. Turning your nose up at a striker who’s got 17 goals in the league when you’ve only got two recognised frontmen on the basis he’s 29 isn’t smart. In fact to put it mildly, it’s pretty foolish indeed.
Supporters understand that the wage bill at Anfield after a culture of paying high money for questionably quality, had to be slashed. But not backing Rodgers on Dempsey, just because he had a low re-sale value, is an unbelievably poor showing of judgement. Although in terms of quality, finance and ambition, Manchester United’s purchase of Robin van Persie isn’t on the same plateau as Liverpool’s pursuit of Dempsey. But at the end of the day, they made a purchase, regardless of age, that they thought could drastically improve the prospects of the squad. For the price that Dempsey was available for, there are no excuses for Henry and the FSG.
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But perhaps far more poignantly, the club haven’t just let Rodgers down but they’ve in some respects, displayed a public lack of faith in the ex-Swansea man. Of course, their intentions to run the club sustainably suggest that there isn’t anything deeply cynical about this. But when they invested in his vision for the club, they were trusting him with taking Liverpool forward. Why back him with £25million but then baulk at paying £5million-odd for Dempsey?
Rodgers has got off to a difficult start at Anfield but similarly to Andre Villas-Boas’ fate at Tottenham Hotspur, he has been let down by a higher figure of authority. Fans need to see through that and back him to the hilt; an away fixture to Sunderland followed by a home game against Manchester United suggest that patience may have to be a virtue in the coming weeks.
How do you feel about Liverpool’s faliure to attain Clint Dempsey? Were they right to stick true to their principals given his age or is it a serious error of judgement? Let me know what you think on Twitter: follow @samuel_antrobus and bat me your views.
As reported by The Times, Manchester United are interested in signing Fulham teenager Ryan Sessegnon this summer.
What’s the story?
As Jose Mourinho continues his rebuilding process at Old Trafford, it’s expected to be another busy transfer window at the Red Devils this summer. The Portuguese is looking to build the next great generation of trophy winners at the club, but can he secure the necessary talent?
One name on Man United’s radar is Fulham stand-out Ryan Sessegnon, according to The Times.
The paper reckon that United have been monitoring the teenager all season and will look to convince him his future lies in Manchester after his exceptional season in the second-tier.
Rated at £22.5m by Transfermarkt, can they get a summer deal for the left-sided prospect?
Would he be a good signing?
Although Sessegnon is just 17, he’s already showing enough ability and consistency in his game to be regarded a Premier League calibre talent.
With 15 goals and 6 assists playing in a variety positions for Fulham this season, he’s demonstrated the potential he holds and the interest from big clubs like Manchester United is not surprising at all.
Whether at left-back or left-wing he has a future at Old Trafford and surrounded by better players and with elite coaching can fulfil that obvious potential and become the player he promises to be.
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He’s a player that the Red Devils should certainly be keeping an eye on this summer.
It gets said every year but the coming summer window feels like a particularly important one for Arsenal. After ending the season on a run of 13 wins from their final 18 league fixtures, many expect them to launch their most viable title charge for almost a decade next year – providing they add a few more key components via the transfer market.
The majority of speculation has centred around a new goalkeeper and a powerful central midfielder, with Petr Cech and Morgan Schneiderlin emerging as the priority targets respectively, but in my opinion, finding something more than just Olivier Giroud up top is equally pivotal for Arsenal this summer if they intend to take next year’s Premier League crown. Here’s why.
From a tactical perspective, the France international is perfect for Arsenal. The height and power of his 6 foot 4 frame represents the physicality the Gunners desperately lack throughout the spine of their starting Xi and has been instrumental in bringing Arsenal’s supremely talented midfield into the game – especially against high quality opponents – over the last few seasons. Likewise, his deft flick-ons and intricate one-twos are a key part of Arsenal’s build-up play; one ponders how the north Londoners would fare with a less technically adept, less tiki-taka friendly striker leading their line.
Yet, the fundamental requirement of any centre-forward – scoring goals regularly – is where Giroud leaves a lot to be desired.
41 goals in 97 appearances is by no means a poor return by Premier League standards, almost one-in-two spread fairly evenly across his three campaigns, but an interesting and important trend has emerged over the last few seasons in the English top flight.
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Since 2009, not one club has lifted the Premier League title without their top goalscorer netting twenty times or more. Even Diego Costa, despite missing twelve games through injury, managed to hit the 20 mark this season as Chelsea claimed the crown. Giroud, on the other hand, has never scored more than 16 during a single Premier League campaign – and that was during his busiest to date, where the Frenchman made 36 appearances.
Of course, there will be anomalies to this rule. Arsenal had 15 different goal scorers in the Premier League this season, ranging from top scorer Alexis Sanchez to midfield enforcer Mathieu Flamini, the most of any club in the division and only five shy of Manchester United’s record-breaking 20 during the 2012/13 campaign. So in theory, Giroud’s goals can be made up elsewhere in the team as the Gunners hone in on next term’s title.
But it was evident enough during Arsenal’s recent barren run, which saw them go three games and 56 shots without a goal; the 28 year-old lacks the predatory anticipation of a natural poacher and the ability to create his own scoring opportunities from nothing, in the same manner as Chelsea’s Diego Costa or Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero. He lacks that spark of ingenuity, that level of passion and drive.
Whilst the former is essentially a one-man counter-attack and the latter has the bizarre knack of bullishly willing the ball into the net, shoulder-barging, elbowing, tricking and tackling his way through defences singlehanded, Giroud requires consistent service and usually a few decent, well-worked chances to convert. In a nutshell, the 28 year-old too dependent upon the performances of those around him to ever be a genuine match-winner.
That doesn’t necessarily mean the Frenchman needs replacing outright, flogged for loose change this summer as the Gunners find a more prolific successor. But if not an upgrade, then variety is clearly required. Danny Welbeck offers something a little different and Arsene Wenger has talked up Theo Walcott as a centre-forward in recent weeks, but in my opinion both lack the consistency to man the line for extended periods – as the former proved earlier this year during Giroud’s absence through injury.
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Arsenal need a strike-force. A proper one, that isn’t simply Giroud and two converted wingers. Take a look at the embarrassment of riches at Manchester City or Manchester United’s trio of Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie and Javier Hernandez during Sir Alex Ferguson’s ultimate season. As aforementioned, what the Gunners lack most is a natural poacher who can convert opportunities of his own incarnation. Someone like Porto’s Jackson Martinez or Sevilla’s Carlos Bacca, speedy, powerful and instinctive strikers who always threaten the space behind opposition defences, would be ideal.
But with other positions taking priority and Wenger’s faith in Giroud seemingly unconditional – not to mention the likes of Yaya Sanogo and Joel Campbell lurking in the background – the prevailing concern is that the issue of an improved strike-force will be put on the backburner for another season. Although a goalkeeper and a physical midfielder are both important additions, my ultimate question is this; does Giroud score enough to win Arsenal a title? Based on his first three seasons with the Gunners, no.