New West Brom manager Steve Clarke has shown his displeasure at the untimely international break as two of his key defenders play 90 minutes for their respective countries.
While England fielded a somewhat experimental team in Switzerland against Italy on Wednesday night, other international sides didn’t take the same approach with Gareth McAuly and Jonas Olsson both seeing out the entire game in their games.
“Jonas Olsson played 90 for Sweden and Gareth McAuley played 90,” said Clarke.
“It has upset me a little bit, yes. Two experienced central defenders didn’t need 90 minutes of football after travelling to play for their countries before the opening of the Premier League.
“I don’t understand it.
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“It’s placed in a ridiculous place in the calendar. It’s been addressed and it will be taken out of the fixture list and the quicker that happens the better.”
Both Tottenham and West Ham have been inconsistent for differing reasons so far this season, but the chance of some success in the Capital One Cup could be a welcome release from their Premier League struggles.
Sam Allardyce and Andre Villas-Boas fielded conflicting sides during their route to Round 5 and the Hammers manager could decide to do the same again, while whoever stands in for the departed Villas-Boas may be tempted to field a full strength side, despite being only three wins away from a trip to Wembley.
So here’s a combined XI for you to mull over ahead of their Round 5 fixture. It was tempting to go with Allardyce’s infamous 4-6-0 formation considering he beat Spurs with it earlier this season and both side’s lack of strike options, but alas, we’ve gone for a more traditional tactical output.
Click on Sam Allardyce to reveal the Tottenham and West Ham combined XI…
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It was the most glorious way to seal the title. That scoring drought and genuine questioning as to whether he merited the Player of the Year award was cast aside when Robin van Persie volleyed home Manchester United’s second in their 3-0 win over Aston Villa. The Dutchman’s performance set the standard and raised the game of his teammates, who on the whole could not be faulted.
And then there’s the reality of the matter. This is not one of Alex Ferguson’s best teams, despite how much he’s talked them up over the course of this season. He may be happy with his strike force, but there is a reason, you have to believe, that a club like Manchester United are done with the season at this stage after their domestic title win, while four of Europe’s very best are competing in the Champions League.
On the whole, it’s been an underwhelming watch. I’ve spoken about it before, the way people are quick to forget what has come earlier in the season when something new or different takes their attention. Van Persie has been magnificent and the real drawing point of this United team. He is not Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, both of whom are unlikely to go through the kind of drought in front of goal that the Dutchman experienced. If such an occurrence takes place, many will be quick to question either of their positions as the one and two in world football.
So where do United go from here? It’s a matter of overhauling and significantly improving some of their most important weapons. Shinji Kagawa, for one reason or another, has not had as big a role as he did during his last season with Borussia Dortmund. His lack of fitness throughout this campaign has in a way played the other option into Ferguson’s hand, going with the traditional and very United approach of two wingers. But they’re not good enough; lacking in quality overall and inspiration to turn a game on its head.
[cat_link cat=”manchester-united” type=”list”]
Antonio Valencia may be the easiest target of this season, failing horribly to come up with anything of note for the majority of this campaign. How do you defend him? Was he ever a player good enough for Manchester United and what they needed in a starting winger? Absolutely not. He’s one dimensional and lacks the imagination that is required of a winger playing for a team who have ambitions to be the best in the Premier League every year. He may be praised for his adopted versatility and work rate, but he looks exactly like what he is: A Wigan player who was fortunate to be handed a jump to Manchester United.
I’m not one who totally buys into the idea that United need a creative spark in midfield. Another midfielder needs to be picked up, but not necessarily someone who dictates the play from the middle of the pitch in the traditional sense. The strengths of this United team come from their forwards and the service they’re fed. It’s a team who have had to play a counterattacking game at times this season in various competitions, and it’s a good reason why players like Danny Welbeck are brought in and compensate for their lack of goals. However, I do believe this team to still be a little distant from the dominating and intimidating teams who currently make up the Champions League semi-finals.
But we’ve seen it all season. At no point has United looked like a side who were about to score four or five every week. Despite them being at the top of the league table for so long, there has always been a little uncertainty as to whether they would get the job done, even against the smallest or weakest teams in the league. It derives from a lack of strength in their most important positions. Interestingly, there are parallels to the current Barcelona team, one who are improving on all their numbers over the Pep Guardiola teams, but where something vital is missing.
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You can’t help but feel that someone like Gareth Bale would turn this team from good enough to overcome a relatively poor Premier League, to really challenging the might of Europe once again. That is why Ferguson put a lot of effort in trying to chase down the signatures of Eden Hazard and Lucas Moura. That is why, from a neutral perspective, signings like Ashley Young and Antonio Valencia have been so disappointing. You know this club are capable of better.
Sam Allardyce says that he is happy at how his West Ham squad have bonded.
Allardyce says that though the team was overhauled when the Hammers were relegated to the Championship at the end of the 2010/11 season, he feels they have “a healthy squad.”
Hammers fans were worried about the appointment of Allardyce 16 months ago, but the manager seems to have won them over after they got back into the Premier League for this season.
The Hammers have done well so far this season, and the club currently sit seventh in the league table.
Allardyce says the squad had to see changes after relegation due to the effects financially of relegation. However, Allardyce has praised how the squad have shown commitment and passion despite the overhaul after relegation.
He said: “The cost-cutting happened because it needed to. There were also a lot of players that didn’t want to stay. So, they moved on. And then as time goes on, you re-emerge.
“I think that in the end some 40 players left and about 26 or 27 came in during my time. At the moment, even with all that, I think we have got a healthy squad.
“Not quite as many as they were the last time they were in the Premier League. But I think it’s a very committed squad and a very passionate squad. They have gelled and bonded together as a team and are committed to the cause, which is to try and win every game that we play.”
West Ham’s next game is at Wigan on Saturday. They will be hoping to repeat the success of last weekend, where they beat Southampton 4-1.
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QPR are negotiating a deal for Liverpool midfielder Joe Cole, according to reports from Sky Sports.
The 31-year-old has been a bit part player at Anfield under Brendan Rodgers this term, leading to speculation that he may be available to leave during the January transfer window.
Super Hoops manager Harry Redknapp believes that he can take advantage of this to bring the playmaker to Loftus Road when the transfer window opens later this week.
Should an acceptable bid be made it’s likely that Liverpool will accept, as they are keen to remove Cole’s £90,000-per-week wages from their expenditure.
It remains unclear as to whether the ex-Chelsea man will want to stay and fight for his place at the club, but with Daniel Sturridge and Tom Ince rumoured to be close to moving to Merseyside, it would appear that competition for attacking roles may increase.
Redknapp is keen to add to his squad at QPR, in a bid to haul them clear of the foot of the Premier League table.
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Having coached Cole earlier in his career, ‘Arry knows of the attacking midfielders abilities and will be confident that he can add some creative quality to his side.
Cole was absent from Liverpool’s squad as the teams met on Sunday, furthering speculation that he is set to leave the club.
Andre Villas-Boas has revealed that he could go back to using one single striker for Spurs’ Manchester City clash this Sunday.
Tottenham enjoyed their first Europa League victory of the season last night, with the 4-4-2 system despite the manager never having used it so far this season, switching from the 4-5-1 formation.
However, Villas-Boas insists that the structure of team has not permanently changed ahead of the Manchester City game.
He said: “We’re still a team that creates a lot of attacking opportunities with one striker. We go four steps up in competition [on Sunday], it’s a different scenario.”
Villas-Boas is pleased with his team’s Europa League performance last night after some poor results previously, but has warned that Manchester City’s players will be fresher.
He said: “”It was a good performance, it was important for us to bounce back. To do it in such a good manner was fantastic. At the weekend we play the champions of England [who are] a totally different proposition. They will want to bounce back after a run of bad results. City have two days extra than us, this is the main difference. The reality is they have that extra freshness. But there is enough time to recover. The body takes 48 hours to recover from physical effort and we’ll be able to make that recovery.”
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Last night’s goals scored by Jermain Defoe, whose hat-trick took him into second place in Tottenham’s leading scorers in Europe behind Martin Chivers.
When these sides met back in October we saw several battles that were somewhat unexpected at White Hart Lane.
The Hammers players were playing in the unusual formation of 4-6-0 and it appeared to catch Spurs off guard, allowing Sam Allardyce’s side to capitalise all over the park and run out comfortable 3-0 winners.
And this Capital One Cup Round 5 meeting promises to provide much of the same approach from both sides, but this time there will be surprises when it comes to the key battles on the pitch.
Here are the three big clashes to look out for…
Hugo Lloris v Jussi Jaaskelainen
At one stage this season both keepers boasted the best record in the Premier League. Despite that changing somewhat in recent weeks, both still play important roles within their respective teams.
Their place in the starting XI for this cup tie may be questionable, but it could be argued that at this late stage in the competition there can be no room for resting your best performers.
With a combined 13 Premier League clean sheets between them so far this season, both have been on top of their games and, additionally, will be looking to get back to their best after conceding an unusually increased amount of goals in recent weeks.
If they both play, they’ll both be important to their side’s chances of progressing to the Capital One Cup semi-finals.
Christian Eriksen v Ravel Morrison
Ravel Morrison stole the show at White Hart Lane in October and has showed that he is capable of performing consistently at this level week in, week out with his performances for the Hammers and England U21’s since.
However, Eriksen’s first season at White Hart Lane hasn’t got off to the best of starts. One goal in twelve appearances in all competitions hasn’t really helped him live up to his £11million transfer fee.
But the Dane has a big chance to start impressing now Andre Villas-Boas has left the club, and he’ll want to use the West Ham game as the perfect opportunity to show the Spurs faithful what he can do. If he can keep Morrison quiet then he should have no problems in winning this midfield battle and aiding his side’s quest for Capital One Cup glory.
Andros Townsend v Guy Demel
Townsend has been in fine form for both Spurs and England this season, but he struggled to make a real impact when he came up against West Ham’s Guy Demel in October.
Although Demel is not known for his blistering pace, while Townsend undoubtedly is, he managed to restrict the England international to cutting in and shooting from long range. It was arguably his best performance in a West Ham shirt to date and it went a long way in ensuring West Ham were rarely threatened.
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That will be on Townsend’s mind when they do battle this time around and Demel will have his work cut out if the 22-year-old winger can find the space behind him and get the ball into the West Ham box.
And that’s exactly what Andre Villas-Boas will be looking for Townsend to do as West Ham continue to struggle with injuries to defenders and face at least another six weeks without Winston Reid.
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Brazil 1-7 Germany. No matter how many times you hear it or read it, yesterday’s World Cup semi final scoreline doesn’t lose any of its shock value.
After such a shambolic defensive showing, Chelsea and Jose Mourinho must be laughing all the way to the bank. At the time, Paris Saint-Germain’s decision to shell out £50 million on David Luiz was ridiculed. And after last night’s performance, these sentiments escalated quickly on Twitter.
The defender may have netted a stunning free kick against Colombia in the quarter final, but the 27 year old was nowhere to be seen as Germany ran rampant over the hosts.
Almost inevitably, some users on social media decided to have a little fun at the former Chelsea man’s expense.
In any case, one positive to emerge from last night’s debacle in Belo Horizonte is that Piers Morgan’s “status” as a football pundit may have taken a hit…
It has been a busy week at Ipswich with the club receiving bad news as well as some good news.
The bad news is obviously the story about Micheal Chopra being accused of offering bribes to a jockey however, the former Newcastle striker’s involvement is not fully known and of course he has not been found guilty of anything as of yet.
It seems to be that most Ipswich fans are furious with Chopra but I am about to make myself very unpopular and stick up for the 28-year-old frontman.
The key factor to remember with this story is that it happened well before Chopra was signed by Ipswich and the club was well aware of his troubled past. When the club signed him they were probably aware that a story like this could come out because of the players past but they obviously accepted the fact that they would just have to deal with it at the time.
The question I would put to those who have grown to dislike the forward is; has Chopra had any gambling problems since joining Ipswich?
As far as we are aware Chopra has beaten off his addiction and only ever been thankful for the clubs support with his personal problems.
Chopra has had many personal problems to overcome since joining Ipswich and it will have no doubt effected his performances. He may not have lived up to the hype on the pitch and if fans don’t like him because of his performances on the pitch then that is a completely different matter. It has to be said that if Chopra was scoring every game then everybody would have supported him through this case.
The bottom line is whatever happened is just an addition to the player’s troubled past and whatever he has done outside of football years ago should just be dealt with outside of football. After all, if Chopra is found guilty he will be banned from any horse racing event but outside of horse racing the verdict should have no effect on him, especially not at Ipswich Town.
The club have supported Chopra through all of the problems that haunt his past and this is no different. If both the fans and the club get behind him every game regardless of whether he is innocent or guilty that could well bring the striker back in form.
Personally, I like having Chopra at the club as he is a character who has over come his problems and is just trying to get back to his best. When you think about it isn’t Chopra a lot like Ipswich? He used to have a good reputation in the distant past, had a few bad years where he didn’t perform, had some money troubles and is now struggling to get back to his best. Maybe if the club treat him well and he does the same back then the two struggling parties can get achieve something great together.
The fans need to take a realistic outlook and see that when the club isn’t doing well, you can’t get the players you want and you have to take a gamble on players like Chopra. As a result you have to take the bad times with the good, stick with the players through the bad times and hope that they come out of it positively.
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The prime example is Lee Martin whose Ipswich career started awfully and he looked like he wasn’t good enough for League One. Everyone gave him a break and eventually he has worked his way back into a starting role within the team. Chopra’s situation is very different but the principle is still the same in that the club need to stick by him and hope that he regains his best form.
On positive note, it is great to see the club have secured some decent loan signings. Although I am not sure about Richie Wellens the capture of Bilel Mohsni and DJ Campbell could at least turn things around in the short-term. Hopefully they will impress on their loan spells and the club can then look at signing Mohsni and Campbell in January.
This time last Friday we were struggling to find goals anywhere but we were in the midst of a 34 game unbeaten home run. A little over eight days later and we are no longer unbeaten at home but we have scored six goals in our last two outings.
After late fight backs and stunning victories helped us maintain such an impressive unbeaten home record it was Scunthorpe United, winless and bottom of the league, that would be the side to finally break down our resilience in the most anti climatic of fashions. A one goal defeat in an otherwise forgettable encounter ended 18 months of dominance on home soil. But lets not dwell, the pressure is off now and despite the fact that we are no longer unbeaten we have still only lost one game at home in 36 and we should just look at it as a blip.
Which thankfully appears to be the case. Coventry were next to visit the Meadow three days after we had been upset by Alan Knill’s men. Like Scunthorpe they had yet to win a game this season and five minutes into the game it was easy to see why. They were awful. A goalkeeper error allowed us to take the lead inside the opening few minutes and we never looked back from there, smashing four past them during the game and only conceding one to a questionable penalty.
So we had restored our confidence following our defeat and things were looking up for us as we made the long journey north to Hartlepool this weekend. Much like us The Pools had had an inconsistent start to the season and were coming into the game with something to prove following their midweek stuffing at the hands of Preston North End.
One of our biggest problems this campaign has been our strikers inability to score. Despite creating numerous chances in the games we have played we have been unable to get the results we deserve due to this. On the back of being gifted a goal in the week against Coventry Marvin Morgan appears to finally be stepping up his game. The striker netted a brace against Hartlepool and had it not been for a great save towards the end of the contest he would have had a much deserved hattrick. Morgan’s efforts were cancelled out late on following a 90th minute equaliser from Hartlepool but there were many positives that could be taken from the game.
A week’s a long time in football, 8 days ago we hadn’t lost at home and our strikers couldn’t find the net, we have now surrendered our home record but finally Morgan looks as though as he could have found his scoring boots. A striker is still needed to improve the squad but our form is definitely improving.
You can follow me on Twitter @LiamHoofe
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