Summer signing Scott Parker has stated that if Tottenham’s form continues they can challenge for the title, and feels his current side are the best he has played for.
A comfortable 3-0 win over Bolton on Saturday makes it nine wins in ten games for Harry Redknapp’s men, who are currently third in the Premier League behind the Manchester clubs.
Parker wants the excellent run of form to continue, and for the White Hart Lane outfit to be in contention come May.
“At the moment our form suggests we can get up there and give it a go,” he told Sky Sports.
“There is still a long way for us to go. It is new for us but we are consistent at the moment and long may it continue.
“On our day we can beat anyone but you have got to realise that when you are at the top you have got to come out with three points even when you are not playing well by grinding out results, and on a couple of occasions this year we have done that,” he added.
The England international won the Premier League November player of the month award after impressive showings, and his doggedness in the centre of the park has released some of Spurs’ more attacking players.
Parker has hailed the ability of the forwards at the club, and feels this is the most able group of players that he has been a part of.
“I’ve probably not played in a team that plays better football than this one.
“We have an exceptional team and it is a joy to play in it every week. There are some very good players – not just in the team, but in the squad as well.
“At any moment in any game we have got players who can score goals and change a game,” he concluded.
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Parker’s battling qualities will be needed next Sunday, as Tottenham travel to take on Stoke at the Britannia Stadium.
West Bromwich Albion manager Roy Hodgson bares no grudge against former employers Liverpool ahead of their clash on Saturday.Hodgson had a disappointing few months in charge of Liverpool before vacating the Anfield hot seat in January.
“There is no vindication factor with Liverpool at all. I enjoyed my time at Liverpool, well to say I enjoyed the time would not be strictly true. I respected my time there,” he said on Friday.
“I was treated correctly in every respect by the club. I had a very good relationship with the players, who I thought did their very best for me.”
“It did not work out either for them or for me during that period of time and I’m very pleased to see it is working out for them now.”
Kenny Dalglish has since taken over the reins at Anfield – a popular choice as he won three league championships in his previous stint in charge of the club.
Dalglish expressed an interest in taking over and Hodgson admitted it was tough having someone so well thought of waiting to jump in the lead role.
“It’s difficult to compete with an icon. I came into the right club but perhaps I didn’t come at the right time because Kenny did make it clear at the time that he wanted the job. When things didn’t go well, having him in the background wasn’t easy,” Hodgson admitted.
“It wouldn’t have been easy for any manager. There’s always someone in the wings who is a little bit of an icon ready to take over if the results don’t go their way.”
With West Brom just one point clear of the relegation zone, Hodgson stressed the importance of the fixture.
“It’s another game – but it means a lot because we only have eight games left and each one means a lot. Of course I desperately hope it is not going to work out for Liverpool tomorrow afternoon,” he said.
“After those 90 minutes I can go back to wishing them well and hoping they finish as high in the league as possible.”
“My time at Liverpool is over and I’m very happy in my job here. I’m disappointed of course that I did not get the full three years I was hoping for but I have been in football long enough to know sometimes that’s what happens – especially when there is a change of ownership during your time at the club.”
“I was realistic, I knew the risk and I am still disappointed it did not work out but I have no bad feelings about Liverpool as a city. Certainly I don’t have any bad feelings about the football club and the people I worked with.”
Midfielder Graham Dorrans (ankle) will definitely miss the game.
Benfica and Brazil midfielder Ramires has urged his current club's supporters to understand why he has chosen to leave Lisbon to join Chelsea.
The 23-year-old is poised to complete a big-money switch to Stamford Bridge, with a fee of around £18million having been agreed between the two clubs.
Ramires told A Bola after opting to leave the Portuguese champions:"I hope everyone understands this decision. This is football and this outcome is good for the club and for me.
"I love this club. I took Benfica into my heart. I am very happy. I will never forget how I got here, where I was a champion, where I improved and I was very happy. It was a wonderful year.
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"I hope that everyone understands that it was a very good opportunity for me on a personal, sporting and financial level."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Jose Mourinho is supposedly at his best during his second season at a football club but that has not proved to be the case at Manchester United, who finished the 2017/18 trophyless after their 1-0 FA Cup Final defeat at the hands of their manager’s former club Chelsea on Saturday.
Going a season without silverware at a club that invests so heavily to secure trophies is bad enough but the misery could be compounded by United’s two most bitter rivals, Liverpool and Manchester City.
City have already scooped the other two domestic trophies on offer – the Premier League and the League Cup – while Liverpool have the opportunity to secure the Champions League against Real Madrid in Kiev this weekend.
The rivalry between United and Liverpool, England’s two most successful clubs is as bitter as any in this country but some Red Devils fans bewilderingly want Jurgen Klopp’s men to run out victorious on Saturday.
It really has to be seen to be believed but we’ve assembled some Manchester United fans who actually want Liverpool to win the Champions League…
According to reports in The Sun, West Ham United defender James Collins is a £2m target for Premier League rivals Brighton and Hove Albion before the January transfer window slams shut.
What’s the word, then?
Well, The Sun says that Seagulls boss Chris Hughton is keen to add the experienced 34-year-old to his side’s backline to provide competition for first-choice centre-back pairing Lewis Dunk and Shane Duffy, as the south coast outfit look to stay out of trouble in the second-half of the campaign.
Even though Collins has become more of a regular fixture in the team under David Moyes in recent weeks following injuries to Winston Reid and Jose Fonte and is a firm fans’ favourite, the Welshman only has six months left on his contract and The Sun says that there has been no word on whether his deal is to be extended.
How has Collins done this season?
The failed to play a single minute of their opening two Premier League matches of the campaign against Manchester United and Southampton – failing to make the squad for the latter – but he then played three straight top flight games before suffering an injury.
The issue kept him on the sidelines until the end of November, but he struggled to earn a place in the starting XI ahead of Reid and Angelo Ogbonna, although he has started three of their Premier League fixtures in the past month – including captaining his side in the 3-3 draw against Bournemouth on Boxing Day.
With 210 appearances for West Ham in total and 50 caps for Wales he certainly has shown that he has that experience and calmness on the pitch, even if he is perhaps approaching the twilight years of his career.
Should West Ham cash in on him?
In a word, no.
Collins clearly loves the club and the fans love him, so it wouldn’t be worth selling him for £2m even with his contract running down.
If Brighton were willing to raise their bid to something around the £4-5m mark then the Irons may have a decision to make, but the 34-year-old has shown just what a useful part of the squad he is in recent weeks following a number of injury issues, and the east London outfit would be mad to get rid this month.
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While him leaving on a free could be an option at the end of the season, they may also agree a deal that sees him stay for another year, but they are much better off deciding that when they know for sure what division they will be in next term.
Pep Guardiola’s personal touch since moving to Bayern Munich is noteworthy. Having had the option of the Javi Martinez-Bastian Schweinsteiger double pivot that formed the base of the Bavarians’ conquering of German and European football, Guardiola chose instead to install Philipp Lahm, a 5’7 full-back, as the team’s pivot instead.
How will Guardiola top what Jupp Heynckes did last season? Well he’s on the right path to doing so. No team in the modern history of the game has retained the Champions League, and in Bayern Munich, there is a team ready and able to retain all three of its trophies of last season.
The point is, dynasties, much like Pep’s Barcelona, take years to assemble. Even those teams who have been successful on the title front need tweaks to stay at the top. Yes, Bayern have spent lavishly on two of the brightest midfield talents in Europe, but tactical shifts have and will be as much of a deciding factor as Thiago Alcantara and Mario Goetze.
For Arsenal, it may not have been too easy to see the making of a team capable of winning domestic silverware, especially the Premier League title. The star names were streaming out the door, seeking and eventually landing title success at Barcelona, Manchester City and Manchester United. But the replacements, while not equals – with the exception of Mesut Ozil – are combining for a stronger, more dynamic force.
Look to Manchester City and the four years it took them to win the Premier League, despite millions shelled out for some of the leading names in European football. Manchester United, too, went through something of a renaissance following Jose Mourinho’s dominance at Chelsea, choosing then to lean on younger stars in Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney.
Arsenal’s problem in the past is that while they had great players in Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie, the good never outweighed the mediocre. Instead of leading a good team onto great things, players like Fabregas were forced to carry those who were deemed passengers. One of Arsene Wenger’s great failures as Arsenal manager is his inability, for one reason or another, to help his better players achieve silverware.
The midfield is the most important. No one, perhaps not even Wenger, saw Mikel Arteta as Arsenal’s pivot when he made the switch from Everton in 2011. There’s no doubt that on occasion Arsenal have needed something tougher, sterner and far more defensively resilient in the midfield – a position now held by Mathieu Flamini – but a lot of Arsenal’s good work over the past two seasons was built on Arteta’s discipline and ability to keep the ball moving. Again, and much like Guardiola’s view, it’s about tactical and technical ability over brute force and power.
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As individuals, many in England will be quick to point out the flaws in each of the members of the Arsenal squad. Per Mertesacker is too slow, Laurent Koscielny isn’t physically imposing, Olivier Giroud isn’t world class, Wojciech Szczesny has too many lapses in concentration. Even Mesut Ozil has received his critics, something about being nothing but a lightweight from La Liga. Ironic, seeing as Juan Mata seems to be adored throughout the country. Mata stands at 5’8, Ozil at 5’11.
What many fail to acknowledge, however, is the strengths of each individual and how they make the current Arsenal team a far more likely title-winning outfit than in previous years. No longer do the team have a problem at centre-back; it’s now a modern centre-back pairing who are able to complement each other.
But title-winning teams don’t always need to be littered with world-class talents. There’s an obsession, too, in this country whereby players need to be backed by a large transfer fee in order to be considered ‘good enough.’
Look to Juventus and the shrewdness of their transfer dealings. Andrea Pirlo picked up for free, Andrea Barzagli picked up for less than half-a-million pounds, Arturo Vidal for £11million, and so on. It’s about supplementing the good that you have to a great effective. Alongside the obsession with transfer fees, there’s also an inclination to pick and choose when a club has been clever in the market. Santi Cazorla, for example, perennially overlooked; Christian Eriksen deemed a masterstroke at a similar price.
Arsenal, like those who have built their squads organically, have had to take the long, winding road to reach a point where something concrete starts to take shape. There have been long-standing figures in the team such as Bacary Sagna, Theo Walcott and of course those who came through the academy, and yet in hindsight, the additions made over the past three summer windows have looked smart buys –at least those who have stayed on.
It’s one thing to get carried away by a run of good form, but it’s another to accept that there is something taking shape at the Emirates. Above all, it’s a return to the style of football that had become so famed under Wenger. Of course, it may not show a trophy this season, but following the addition of Ozil and even Flamini this summer, the squad are looking well rounded and far more complete. With the exception of names like Nicklas Bendtner, whose continued presence shouldn’t be taken in hand with the rest of the squad, there are no longer any obvious passengers in the Arsenal team. No Gervinho or Andre Santos; no striker in Marouane Chamakh who is completely bereft of confidence to perform.
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Arsenal are still very much on the road to building an undeniable title-challenging team – another striker and a defensive addition, as well as some form of management for the overwhelming injury list are priorities – but the build is extremely visible and a far cry from the panic buying that many have chosen to label a number of Arsenal’s recent acquisitions.
Is Arsenal’s title-challenging squad starting to take shape?
Peter Odemwingie says he will learn from his mistakes after seeing red in West Brom’s first defeat of the season.
The Nigerian striker was shown a straight red card for lashing out at Fulham’s Sascha Riether in the first half after the Baggies had fallen behind at Craven Cottage. The 31-year-old fronted up to the media after the game to air his regrets over the dismissal, which struck a sour note in what had been a good start to Steve Clarke’s tenure as West Brom manager. He told Sky Sports:
“It made things harder for my team. One man advantage is a big advantage. Hopefully when I come back playing I will compensate my team with some good actions and contributions to the next win. s a team we need to bounce back. We are a united group and I had encouragement from my team-mates to forget about it. I will be more worried if it happened more often than one or two times in my career.”
Odemwingie will now serve a three-match ban but is keen to keep his cool when he does return to action, which could be on the 6th October as West Brom take on QPR at The Hawthorns. The striker continued:
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“It is something I will learn and hopefully it won’t repeat itself and next time I play in an important game for the club, I hope I remember this even if someone provokes me or not. That moment happens, it doesn’t happen often, but for some reason I lost my temper and I regret it. Now I’m thinking about bouncing back for my team.”
As reported by The Sun, Leeds United are one of the teams interested in signing Liverpool winger Harry Wilson this summer.
What’s the story?
Wilson his highly rated at the Reds, having a signed a new long-term deal at the club in January ahead of a successful loan move to Championship side Hull City in the second half of the 2017/18 season.
As a result, it appears teams are queuing up to offer him more first team football next season.
The Sun report that Leeds United, Rangers, Huddersfield and Aston Villa are all interested in securing a loan deal for him this summer.
The paper say Liverpool are looking for a £250,000 fee, plus penalties should he not get enough of the first-team opportunities they want.
Is he a player that Leeds should be moving for?
What does he offer?
Still just 21 years of age, Wilson doesn’t have extensive first team experience to draw too many conclusions from, but did demonstrate on loan at Hull City that he as quality that could be a benefit to Leeds.
He scored seven Championship goals from the left flank, also creating three assists. Also netting his first goal for the Welsh national team, it’s been a big year for the youngster.
It’s clear he has huge potential and already has the cutting edge to be a success in English second-tier, with Leeds badly needing more inspiration in the final third next season.
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Loan deals are never ideal, permanent signings are what supporters want to see, but this is one that could be a big positive for all parties and something Leeds should definitely pursue.
It would be fair to say that the decision taken by West Ham co-owners David Gold and David Sullivan to replace the sacked Slaven Bilic with David Moyes in November wasn’t received well by the vast majority of Irons supporters.
The Scot took charge at the London Stadium with the east London outfit in the relegation zone and having taken just nine points from their 11 Premier League matches at the time.
It was certainly understandable that Hammers fans were frustrated by replacing Bilic – who had been struggling for some time – with Moyes, considering the 54-year-old didn’t even come close to saving Sunderland from relegation during the previous campaign.
His disappointing time on Wearside came on the back of poor spells with La Liga side Real Sociedad and Manchester United, and he had become something of a laughing stock for football fans in general because of his respective failings.
West Ham fans would have been included in that, and they certainly would have been horrified when they found out that Gold and Sullivan were set to appoint him as Bilic’s successor given the difficult situation the club found themselves in.
The players were bereft of confidence, while some were lacking effort and many looked unfit, and others simply looked as though they weren’t good enough or up for the fight – especially in the 3-0 and 4-1 home defeats to Brighton and Hove Albion and Liverpool respectively in the lead up to the Croatian getting his marching orders.
Gold and Sullivan obviously looked at the situation and believed that they needed someone with plenty of Premier League experience who knows how to get results at this level, and they felt that Moyes was the best option on the market at the time.
Considering former Irons bosses Sam Allardyce and Alan Pardew were two of the other options, it is of little surprise that they opted to ignore those two and opt for the Scot.
While the West Ham supporters didn’t necessarily agree with the appointment, they need that they needed to pull together and support him, and that is what they tried to do even though a 2-0 defeat to Watford in Moyes’ opening match in charge wouldn’t have done anything to boost their belief.
The team was much-improved – in the second-half at least – against Leicester City at the London Stadium next time out, but then came the result and performance that suggested that the owners had got it all wrong, and that the supporters were right.
The Irons were beaten 4-0 by an Everton side at Goodison Park that had just suffered successive 5-1 and 4-1 defeats against Atalanta and Southampton respectively, and with matches against runaway leaders Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal following that humiliation the fans understandably thought they were going down.
Moyes does know how to get results consistently at this level though – as he showed during his 11 years with the Toffees – and not only did he manage to pick up four points from three difficult fixtures that looked like they would yield none on paper, his side then beat Stoke City 3-0 away from home last weekend.
Three clean sheets in a row and seven points from the last nine available have suddenly lifted the Irons away from the bottom three and the mood around the whole club, and they host a Newcastle side that have lost eight of their last nine games on Saturday.
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It did take a few games, but West Ham finally have something more of an identity and all 11 of the players on the pitch know their role in the side, and they are now getting their reward on the pitch.
While the supporters won’t be quick to dish out any praise to their controversial owners given what has happened in the past, there are certainly some that will need to eat a slice of humble pie and admit they were wrong if the impressive performances and results continue over the festive period.
David Gold and David Sullivan have got plenty of things wrong since they became owners, but the decision to appoint Moyes may not only be the one that ensures they preserve the Premier League status that was slipping away from them, but it could also be the one that begins to repair the bad relationship and lack of trust that currently exists between them and the fans.
Before Manchester City’s 2012 triumph at the Etihad Stadium with Yaya Toure, David Silva and Kun Aguero, back in the 90s the Citizens were trying to get the best out of every season with Georgi Kinkladze, Niall Quinn and BT Sport’s newest European Football Analyst Uwe Rosler.
I went to meet the 44-year-old at the BT Studios in Stratford where I also got to meet Spurs and Newcastle legend David Ginola along with television presenter James Richardson. They both looked very happy to be part of the BT family especially Ginola who firmly shook my hand with a big smile on his face.
The time had finally arrived for me to meet the Premier League legend who arrived at Manchester in 1994 and served for four years where he amassed 152 caps and scored 50 goals. Now he is expected to analyse the Bundesliga while juggling his responsibilities with Brentford as club manager.
“I have a natural interest in the Bundesliga since I’ve been there and played there and I obviously want to follow up the league,” he told me.
The former East Germany international obviously has to go back and forth from Manchester where his family lives and so sometimes he needs to stay in London for the Bees’ Saturday fixtures. On Sunday he works at BT Sport and on Mondays he prepares for the Tuesday fixtures in League One, still an easier schedule than David James’.
However the Bees are playing on Monday so Rosler is expected to impart his knowledge regarding the Bundesliga this Saturday where Schalke will be taking on the German and European champions Bayern. The German seems to be eyeing last season’s treble winners as the favourites for this match and considers new manager Pep Guardiola as a big factor.
“Obviously Bayern have the new manager with totally new ideas. He’s challenging his big-name players. He likes rotation and players playing in different positions, for example Lahm was used in centre midfield and Muller as a centre forward.
“Obviously the players follow his philosophy and know that by working for such a successful coach as Guardiola their own game will benefit from that.”
He names Frank Ribery and Arjen Robben as two of the most important players that adopt the Spaniard’s philosophy but points out that Manchester City’s Champions League opponents will need time to reach their full potential.
As a former centre forward himself he believes that Bayern definitely have the edge up front because they are unpredictable possessing a number of ways to attack, whereas Chelsea’s Champions League opponents Schalke are the opposite – with only Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Adam Szalai up front.
Nevertheless he argues that it is not only the striker that makes a good squad: “In my opinion, as a manager, you need quality in both boxes. When you have a very good goalkeeper, two good centre halves and very good defending in the box as well as one or two strikers that can decide games then I think you can go a long way.”
Bayern will definitely be a tough nut to crack for City but the 44-year-old believes that both clubs will make it through even though the whole group poses threats.
“They (Manchester City) started with a win which was the first time in the last two years and the group is nowhere near as strong as the one last year. It will be tough going to Moscow, playing on different grass and the cold temperature abroad won’t be easy.”
He hopes that his former club will challenge for the Premier League title, although he believes that the defence relies too heavily on Vincent Kompany.
The former Southampton player also gave his thoughts on David Moyes, telling me that he believes the Scot is a fantastic manager and a very good replacement for Sir Alex Ferguson who can build a legacy at Old Trafford. However he will have to add his own philosophy to the club which might take some time and could give City and Chelsea the edge in the short term.
Rosler described his fellow countryman Mesut Ozil as a “very crucial signing” for the Gunners and added that Spurs have put a fantastic squad together thanks to Andre Villas-Boas’ ability to help his new players adapt quickly at their new club.
As for the best players in the Premier League, BT Sport’s newest analyst admires Aguero in top form but has also been very impressed with Liverpool’s striker Luis Suarez.
“He is a fantastic player. He not only scores but his overall performances were very impressive by the way he occupied defences. He demolished them many times as well. He doesn’t need aid to score goals; he just does it on his own.”
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Although he is now very focused on coaching Brentford, as well as working with BT, he did share a few of his fondest memories during his time at the Citizens and pointed out that his first 18 months at Manchester were the most memorable.
“The best game was when we beat Spurs 5-2 but I was injured so I was just watching it. I think the FA Cup game where we played Manchester United was fantastic in terms of atmosphere, it was a special game.
“My first season was very special as I scored the most goals in the league for the club.”
Watch BT Sport’s exclusively live coverage of Schalke v Bayern Munich on BT Sport 1 from 5.30pm on Saturday 21 September. Each matchweek at 6.45pm on BT Sport 1, Sunday Night Football covers the game across the continent.