England legend Paul Gascoigne has slammed Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce for comparing him to young midfielder Jack Grealish.
The Villa youngster has been in the headlines of late as his recent injury troubles heavily affected the team’s performances on the pitch.
Grealish has not always been at his bets level, with off-field antics sometimes coming into play, but in his last few outings, the attack-minded player has been impressive.
The 22-year-old scored once and created two assists in his last four appearances, but he has not played since Villa’s 2-0 victory over Birmingham City on February 11 due to injury.
The Birmingham Mail recently carried a quote from Bruce, who compared Grealish’s qualities to those possessed by Gascoigne in his playing days.
The coach was quick to ensure that the youngster is not following in the ex-midfielder’s footsteps off the pitch.
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Gascoigne has been plagued by alcoholism for the better part of his adult life.
“[Grealish] has a bit of a Gazza about him – not off the pitch!”
The former Tottenham Hotspur star seemed to take issue with Bruce’s comments, and on Twitter he accused the Villa boss of putting pressure on his player’s shoulders.
Last week, Jack Wilshere was caught by paparazzi chugging on a fag in a Las Vegas swimming pool, making it the second time in just twelve months he’s been spotted sucking on a cancer stick, and rubbing further salt into the wound that was statistically England’s worst World Cup campaign in their history.
The Arsenal midfielder’s actions have sparked an interesting debate regarding what standards should be expected from players in the modern game.
Indeed, having a bi-annual cigarette will do your body little, if any actual harm. What’s more, evidence suggests that rather than inhaling an entire Mayfair Superking, Wilshere was merely having a drag on his brother’s – he was on holiday after all. Thirty years ago, not lighting up on an evening out would probably have sparked questions on the terraces about your sexuality. But that was thirty years ago.
Nowadays, footballers are meant to be the pinnacle of athleticism, their whole bodies designed and distorted into footballing machines. They’re also meant to be -whether they like it or not – role models for the younger generations.
More than the 22 year-old’s health, it’s the principle of Wilshere’s occasional smoking lust that causes the most concern. Just as with Kyle Walker’s hippy-crack debacle, that kind of thing can wait until mid-to-late-thirties retirement. Until then, your body belongs to your club, your team-mates and the fans.
Bearing Jack Wilshere’s age in mind, perhaps he can be forgiven. Arsene Wenger, for the second time, appears to be taking the softly, softly approach by limiting the disciplinary process to a stern talking-to.
But the incident does highlight several lingering concerns regarding Wilshere, most prevalently that factors other than his ability will inevitably see him fail to realise his full potential.
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Paul Scholes hit the nail on the head in March when he launched a scathing critique of the England international live on Sky Sports. “He does not look any better a player now than when he was 17,” argued the retired maestro, who is more than worth listening to when it comes to all things central midfield.
Of course, recurring injuries have been a major factor. Wilshere missed the entire 2011/12 campaign with a stress fracture in his ankle and spent the following season reduced to a bit-part role out of fear of aggregating his injury further. So bearing in mind he’s only actually enjoyed three seasons at full health since his 17th birthday, perhaps a lack of natural progression is understandable.
That being said, in that time period, what part of Wilshere’s game has actually improved? His five goals across all competitions last term bettered his previous best of two, yet it’s hardly an improvement worth noting for an apparent No.10. Likewise, despite being more commonly deployed in deeper roles of late, the 22 year-old’s defensive game remains as ill-disciplined and non-anticipatory as ever, having averaged just 1.3 tackles and 0.4 interceptions per match last season. He’s not made himself quicker or stronger either, or shown any greater understanding of movement, positioning and tactics.
Indeed, I would be prepared to argue that within the three years between the present day and Wilshere’s first full Arsenal campaign, that won him the PFA Young Player of the Year award, Arsenal’s Player of the Year award and a place in the Premier League Team of the Season, he’s in fact become a lazier player.
When the Three Lions midfielder first burst onto the scene, he was ferocious and fearless with and without the ball, prepared to take on any size of defender and unstoppably determined to carry the ball as close to the opposition penalty area as possible. In addition to his technical qualities, that admittedly are still prevalent today, it was surging runs through the middle of the park that became Wilshere’s trademark, especially when compared to other England internationals at the time.
But that ambition, that mixture of wit, talent, mobility and determination, leading to many claiming the Gunners youngster was worthy of a place in Barcelona’s legendary midfield, has been swapped for a significantly more passive style.
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Rather than beating his man, theatrically claiming a dubious free-kick, playing on his slender 5 foot 7 frame, has somehow become an acceptable contribution. Rather than committing to tackles or closing down space, holding position whilst Arsenal’s defence are forced to make challenges has become Wilshere’s norm.
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Rather than driving the game forward or grabbing it by the scruff of the neck, as the Arsenal midfielder once did regularly, he now closer resembles a cog in a machine – his task important, yet himself easily replaceable. Wilshere has not been intrinsic to Arsenal’s successes, or England’s successes for that matter, for some time.
This laziness, this lack of progression, is epitomised perfectly by the Gunners starlet’s smoking infatuation. It takes willpower to quit a habit – not that Wilshere actually has one – and it takes willpower to decline the pressures of your peers, just as it takes willpower to improve yourself as a footballer, just as it takes willpower to dominate a football match.
In every respect , Wilshere has shown none over the last few years. On and off the pitch, he’s let previously high standards slip as if he already feels entitled to succeed.
Don’t get me wrong, the 22 year-old is a sensational talent, but the smoking incident illustrates how a lack of dedication will inevitably limit his growth as a footballer.
Mark Noble struck twice for West Ham as they cruised to an easy victory over beleaguered Southampton at Upton Park.
Sam Allardyce’s men chalked up their third home win of the season with a dominant performance against the Saints, who were powerless to resist their East London hosts.
The Hammers controlled proceedings from start to finish and heaped even more pressure on Nigel Adkins in what has been an eye opening start to the season for the Premier League newcomers.
Adkins’ decision to drop striker Rickie Lambert to the bench in order to pack the midfield appeared a shrewd call as the visitors frustrated West Ham in first half and managed to keep the scoreline level at the break.
The hosts were restricted to half chances but never came close to breaking the deadlock. Allardyce cut an irritated figure on the touchline and his words at the interval had a marked effect as some typically poor Southampton defending allowed Noble’s long range free kick to creep in at the far post just 58 seconds after the restart.
Kevin Nolan was then on hand to tap in after determined work from Yossi Benayoun to beat Maya Yoshida to the ball in the build up as the away side began to crumble. Saints supporters called for Lambert to be introduced but it was replacement Jay Rodriguez that played a part in halving the deficit. The summer signing displayed quick feet to turn James Collins and set up captain Adam Lallana to smash the ball into the roof of the net.
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However any hope of a comeback was short lived as Noble restored West Ham’s two goal advantage from the penalty spot after Jose Fonte handled in the area under pressure from Andy Carroll. Modibo Maiga then came on for on-loan Liverpool striker and applied the gloss to an impressive with a brilliant solo goal.
Leeds fans are already in love with Marcelo Bielsa, after the Argentine used his first comments as the new boss to praise the club’s history.
You probably won’t find a prouder set of fans anywhere in England than at Elland Road, and the Leeds faithful have finally got a manager to match their ambitions.
Fans have been excited ever since the links to Bielsa first cropped up, and the club officially unveiled the veteran manager on Friday morning.
As if his reputation wasn’t enough to get fans on side, the 62 year-old has endeared himself to fans even further, using his first comments as Leeds boss to praise the club and its storied past.
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“When a club with Leeds United’s history made me an offer, it was impossible to turn down,” Bielsa said.
The former Chile and Argentina boss is sure to get Leeds playing some exciting football this season, and the bookmarkers have already slashed odds on promotion.
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Bielsa has managed some of Europe’s elite, but his passion to represent Leeds will be appreciated by fans just as much as his tactical expertise.
You can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…
All eyes were on Paul Heckingbottom on Sunday as he took charge of his first Championship game as Leeds United manager.
The Yorkshireman’s appointment last week was a rather controversial one as he signed up at Elland Road as Thomas Christiansen’s replacement just four days after extending his deal at Barnsley.
On Saturday, the new head coach tried to end the team’s six-game winless run in a derby against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane, but it was not to be.
Pierre-Michel Lasogga managed to cancel out Billy Sharp’s second-minute goal after the half-time break, but the Blades’ star ended up grabbing the winner from the penalty spot in the 73rd minute.
The result has placed the Whites 11th in the Championship table, and they have some ground to cover as they currently reside eight points adrift of a playoff position.
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Despite the disappointing outcome on Saturday, one particular player Adam Forshaw has praised Heckingbottom and feels confident having the new coach on board heading forward.
In an interview with the club’s official website, the midfielder said:
“The gaffer seems like a really nice guy, he really wants to coach you and improve you as a player and if you don’t want to take that on board, you shouldn’t really be playing the game. There is a chance for us all to learn and get better and hopefully we can begin to push up the table again.”
For too long Arsenal fans had to battle against the reminders, both pointless and spiteful, of how long it had been since the club last won a trophy. Saturday’s FA Cup win was a watershed moment, a release of built-up tension, anxiety and hurt.
There wasn’t any need for discussion about transfer activity or in-fighting on the future of the manager. Saturday – in fact the entire weekend – was a feel-good moment for the supporters as well as the players, many of whom had waited with great impatience for their first slice of silverware.
The unity among the supporters was fantastic to see. The joy of the cup win stretched well beyond north London, with fans across the globe sending in their stills of how they saw out the final and what transpired following.
There’s an argument to say the bad times are necessary. Under Arsene Wenger, Arsenal’s supporters have been spoilt, both in bringing home titles and in at times exquisite football. But the last nine years have been painful, some moments well beyond any reasonable explanation. There have been cup losses, the departure of club captains; that haunting night in Paris. This past weekend put those moments and memories into perspective and gave them purpose. You need the lows to really appreciate the highs – and how Arsenal fans have been enjoying this particular high.
There are still unnecessary jabs, of course. “It’s only the FA Cup,” “look at how poor you were on the day,” “it’s a one-off that won’t lead to anything else in the near future.” Mesut Ozil has drawn his critics once again. But it’s all been water off a duck’s back. Arsenal supporters are lapping it up and rightly so. There’s a trophy in the Emirates cabinet, finally. There’s now vindication for the new stadium; the starting point and finale of the trophy parade on Sunday couldn’t have been more fitting.
The relentless tirade against the club has come to an end. The remaining pieces of that nine-year-wait nonsense and all that came with it has been wrapped up and thrown into the sea. Many other clubs in England and Europe have used domestic cups as a starting point for further success, and that fact isn’t lost on Arsenal at this time. The barren spell is over, the period that facilitated, rightly or wrongly, the questioning of a manager who has done so much for the club. Arsenal have finally rediscovered the taste of tangible success, the critics have been silence, for now, and pride and self belief have been restored.
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It may only be a domestic cup, a couple of steps down from the grand prizes. But Arsenal and its fans deserve to sip from the FA Cup long into the summer.
Didier Drogba is Chelsea’s hero. He scored the winning goal in the final for the trophy it seemed like they had wanted forever. As a footballer he will go down in history, but as a man he is so, so much more. Whilst writing several features on footballers who have done nothing short of fantastic charity work it was hard not to be impressed with what they had done yet when it comes to the Ivorian striker, he simply blows them all out of the water.
Drogba is not just heavily involved in several charity projects, with the Didier Drogba Foundation prominent amongst them, he is simply a God in the Ivory Coast, playing a vital role in bringing the country – which was embroiled in a bitter Civil War- to peace. Drogba himself made the plea for a truce live on television begging on his knees, after the nation had qualified for the World Cup and it worked.
Less than a week later the country was coming out of the war that had ripped them apart and chief instigator in said peace was the striker the English press and fans have on occasion vilified for being a poor human being and a diver. Well if that is a poor human being I think we could do with one in the Middle East sometime soon.
Since his epic speech, Drogba has been elevated past the status of a hero in his home nation and is now simply something beyond that, becoming a representative of an Ivory Coast panel for reconciliation and being named as one of the hundred most influential people in the wold back in 2010 by Time magazine due to his successful role in bringing peace to the country.
Politics aside, Drogba is also one of the most charitable people around and has not only the aforementioned foundation which has been in existence since 2007 now and aims to not only educate people in Africa but also provide them with better living and health care conditions –most notably allowing for a hospital to be built in his home town with a whole host of other vital homes and buildings at his own personal expense being created.
The player felt that the first act of the foundation should be to build a hospital so that people could have the ‘basic chance to live’ and access healthcare that is a given to all of us reading this at home but for an African child living in poverty is nothing more than a distant dream. Chelsea FC also donated money for the project and three million pounds of Drogba’s own money went towards this too – it is hard to imagine certain other footballers doing this and that only speaks to how much the former Chelsea striker has done and how much more there is left to do.
A man like Drogba does not stop here however and has been involved in a wide range of activities, including helping to support the Special Olympics Cote d’Ivoire alongside the Solomon Kalou Foundation and becoming a goodwill ambassador for the country after the United Nations Development Programme approached him on the back of his previous charitable contributions and profile.
Drogba has an annual dinner in order to raise money for the projects he is involved in and fellow professionals and celebrities attend – this is where most people stop their involvement and interest – it is all too often we hear about a player hosting a fund raiser for charity and donating his time or a few shirts that have been signed but Drogba does so much more than that but financially and physically, using his fame and status to become what is turning out to be a saviour for the people of the Ivory Coast and an inspiration to the rest of the world.
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To see the reaction of his fellow Ivorian’s to the player is nothing short of mind blowing – he is revered and has more influence than most in much higher positions of power than himself. The player will state he is only doing a small bit – what he can – and there is plenty more work to be done both politically and with the health, social and education side of things, hence the creation of the Didier Drogba Foundation, and the need for continuous work in Africa. Chelsea fans may see Drogba as a hero because of his performance in Munich but for the people of the Ivory Coast he is their hero and one that has brought peace to a warring nation and is doing all in his power to both keep it and improve the standard of living for his people.
Crystal Palace are rumoured to be interested in Marseille right-back Hiroki Sakai, according to the Evening Standard.
According to the report, Palace boss Roy Hodgson was keen on Fulham player Ryan Fredericks before he joined West Ham, and he is looking for a player to replace soon-to-be out of contract Joel Ward.
The 28-year-old Sakai joined Marseille in 2016 and has been a mainstay in their defence ever since, and could be available for £12million.
Equally confident on the right or left of a back four, Sakai is a versatile defender that may not offer the pace of Fredericks but is an assured and calming presence at the back, with the ability to join the attack and grab an assist.
He is definitely more of a classical defensively-minded full-back than the current trend of wing-backs, but this could be ideal for Palace as it would ease the pressure on their pacy wingers who want to join the attack as much as possible.
Popping up with three assists this season in Ligue 1, two more than Ward managed for the Eagles, the World Cup-bound Sakai relies on his strong passing accuracy to cut through defences rather than his ability to beat a man and whip in a cross.
However, Sakai really shines with his defensive statistics, an area Palace clearly need to improve having conceded 55 goals last season.
Averaging two tackles, 2.1 clearances and 1.4 interceptions every game, Sakai is tenacious when breaking down attacks and quickly moving the ball onto a teammate, which he does with an 82 per cent success rate.
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Full-backs who want to defend are hard to come by these days, and if Hodgson could negotiate towards a price of £9-10million, Crystal Palace would be making a very sensible signing which would bolster their defence for the coming season.
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According to reports in The Sun, Crystal Palace have had a £9m bid rejected for FC Midtjylland striker Alexander Sorloth as they look to sign a new centre-forward before the January transfer window slams shut on Wednesday.
The Sun says that the Eagles will now consider an improved package to land the 6ft 4in attacker before the close of play on Wednesday, with manager Roy Hodgson determined to provide Christian Benteke with some competition up top.
Sky Sports add that the south London club’s budget for a new striker this month is between £10-12m, which suggests that they are confident that they will be able to bring the Norway international to Selhurst Park for a fee in that price range.
Meanwhile, Newcastle United lost out to Premier League rivals West Bromwich Albion in the race to sign Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge on loan on Monday, and Rafa Benitez is still yet to add the centre-forward to his squad that he wanted to this month.
The Magpies have only scored 22 goals in their 24 top flight matches this season with the Tyneside outfit are in desperate need of reinforcements in attack, and bringing Sorloth to St James’ Park could prove to be a shrewd move.
Here are three reasons Newcastle must hijack Crystal Palace’s move for the 22-year-old…
Goals
Newcastle are in desperate need of goals if they are to retain their Premier League status this season, and Sorloth’s record suggests that he could be the player to shoot them to survival.
The 22-year-old has scored 15 goals and provided a further nine assists in 25 appearances in all competitions for Midtjylland this term, while he scored 14 in 29 during a loan spell for Bodo/Glint previously.
His record at Groningen in the previous two seasons was a little less impressive, but the form he has shown during the current campaign will mean that he is full of confidence if he does arrive in the Premier League before Wednesday’s deadline.
His qualities
According to WhoScored.com, Sorloth has plenty of strengths in his game, including his ability to make key passes and through balls, while his defensive contribution, dribbling and strength in the air are also commended.
While the 22-year-old can play as a target man because of his height and strength, he has also played out wide on a handful occasions for Midtjylland because he is also quick, agile and able to run with the ball.
That versatility should appeal to Rafa Benitez, who is desperate to add a new spark to his side’s faltering frontline.
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Price tag
While Newcastle clearly have the money to bring in a new centre-forward this month given their links and rumoured bids for Feyenoord’s Nicolai Jorgensen, they can’t afford to pay a huge, huge sum for a new striker.
Signing Sorloth – who could cost between £10m-12m – would certainly be an attractive option for owner Mike Ashley, and it may be a more realistic deal for the Tyneside outfit given they won’t have much time to sort out everything involved with the deal before the deadline on Wednesday night.
Fulham have moved to replace manager Rene Meulensteen with Felix Magath in a bid to avoid relegation from the Premier League.
The Cottagers are currently rooted to the foot of the table after a disappointing season, but they have shown signs of improvement lately with a shock 2-2 draw away to Manchester United and a narrow defeat at the hands of Liverpool.
But, Fulham’s owners acted swiftly to dismiss the Dutchman and draft in Magath as first-team coach.
A statement from Fulham’s owner Shahid Khan on the club’s official website read:
“I’m very happy to welcome Felix Magath to Fulham Football Club. Felix is an accomplished manager with multiple honours in the Bundesliga and a hunger to replicate his success with Fulham in the Barclays Premier League.
“I’m especially impressed with the reputation Felix has for coming into clubs at difficult times, often late in the season, and lifting them to their potential and beyond. Felix knows that is precisely the task awaiting him at Fulham, and he made it abundantly clear that he wants and is ready for the opportunity.
“Our Club has shown promise in recent matches, but the fact is we haven’t won a league match since 1st January. Given our form, we can no longer merely hope that our fortunes will finally turn. And with 12 matches remaining and at least four points separating us from safety, we certainly can no longer post empty results. Action was required.”
Magath has a wealth of managerial experience and has enjoyed spells with the likes of Bayern Munich, Wolfsburg, Schalke and Werder Bremen.
Meulensteen had taken over from Martin Jol earlier this season, but the ex-Manchester United coach was unable to alter the poor form of his predecessor.