All posts by h79snht.top

This could end up being a pivotal weekend for Tottenham in their quest to secure Champions League football next season. After returning to winning ways with an impressive victory at Swansea last week took Spurs up to third in the Premier League table and in pole position for a seat at Europe’s top table. Much of their success this term can pinned down to the influence of Gareth Bale, but they’ll have to possibly do without him for the next fortnight after he suffered an ankle injury in Thursdays 2-2 with Basel in the Europa League. The question now is can they cope without Bale at such a crucial stage of the season? The answer should, of course, be an unequivocal yes. What it offers is an opportunity for the rest of the Andre Villas-Boas’ squad to step up and shed that pestilent ‘one man team’ sobriquet.

Simiarly for Everton the stakes couldn’t be higher as they a spot in Europe that could ultimately decide the future of their manager. Despite picking up the Manager of the Month award for March the news line this week has revolved around David Moyes’ future at Goodison Park. The Toffees have enjoyed an excellent campaign and are still very much in with a shout of apprehending a surprise Champions League berth after three straight league wins. They’re currently six points and two places behind Spurs in the table and could potentially halve those arrears on Sunday and subsequently nudge Moyes closer to remaining on Merseyside.

Team News

Gareth Bale will be absent for Tottenham after sustaining a potentially season-ending ankle injury in the Europa League quarter-final clash with Basel on Thursday. Aaron Lennon (knee) and William Gallas (calf) will have scans to determine the extent of their injuries. Sandro, Jermaine Defoe and Younes Kaboul are out.

Marouane Fellaini and Steven Pienaar once again miss out for Everton as they complete their respective two-match suspensions. Kevin Mirallas is a doubt as he struggles to overcome an injury picked up last week against Stoke.

What the managers said…

“There is lots of swelling and the pain is obviously very, very big but we hope to assess him tomorrow. There is a big possibility he is going to be able to make it for the Man City game and he will only miss the next two games, but assurances we can only give you tomorrow when we have seen the scan. I do not want to mislead you. Tomorrow we will know better but I’m pretty confident that Gareth will definitely play again this season. From the medical department’s first analysis, everything is positive.” Andre Villas-Boas is keeping his fingers cross that Gareth Bale will play again this season (Guardian)

“We have a tough run-in and with the league table still being tight I am hoping that we can do what we have done in the past and finish strongly. With eight games to go last season we had 40 points, this time around we have 51 and if we want to have any chance of getting close to Europe I feel we will certainly have to get above the 60 points mark.” David Moyes believes 60 points will be enough for Everton to nab a European spot (Daily Post North Wales)

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Pre-Match Statistic: Everton haven’t won in their last three away matches while Spurs have opened the scoring in 19 of their matches this season – the most in the Premier League.

Prediction: Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Everton

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Anders Lindegaard could leave Manchester United in the summer as Sir Alex Ferguson looks to cash in on the player, according to the Mirror.

The Denmark international has failed to dislodge current number one David De Gea and with the Red Devils looking to draft in another keeper in the summer, he will be sold if rival clubs come in for him.

West Ham United are in the hunt for a new keeper and see Lindegaard as a long-term successor to Jussi Jaaskelainen, who is approaching the end of his career.

Fulham boss Martin Jol is also reported to keen as they could lose current number one Mark Schwarzer at the end of the season and are in need of a replacement.

United have targets of their own with Stoke goalkeeper Asmir Begovic said to be high on Ferguson’s wanted list, although Sir Alex has remained coy in interviews when questioned about potential outgoings.

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Big spending Turkish club Galatasaray are set to make a move for Manchester City left-back Gael Clichy in the summer, according to the Daily Mail.

Clichy has two years left on his current deal at the Etihad and wants to stay in the Premier League despite the interest from abroad.

Galatasaray are looking to become a real force in European football once again after the marquee signings of Didier Drogba and Wesley Sneijder in January.

An audacious £12million bid for Bayern Munich winger Arjen Robben is also set to be submitted as the Dutch midfielder doesn’t appear to be in the plans of new boss Pep Guardiola.

Fellow City defenders Joleon Lescott and Kolo Toure are also said to be on the ambitious wish-list of the rich Galatasaray owners.

While Clichy is set to stay at the Etihad, Toure and Lescott may see their futures elsewhere after disappointing seasons sitting on the City bench.

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Stoke City have confirmed that Mark Hughes is their new manager and he has signed a three-year deal with the club.

The former Manchester City and QPR boss was always the favourite to land the role once Tony Pulis’ seven-year stretch as manager came to an end, Hughes has been out of work since being sacked by QPR last November.

His appointment was announced in a brief statement on Thursday morning but the former Manchester United striker will hold a media conference at 11am.

It is unclear how much money he will be handed to strengthen the Stoke squad but it is not expected to be the same sort of riches his predecessor spent and one of his first jobs maybe to oversee the sale of top asset Asmir Begovic.

Peter Coates is looking at a long-term plan with Hughes, saying: “We want to give him time and opportunity.

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“We had seven very good years with Tony Pulis, and if we have seven similar years with Mark we will all be delighted.”

West Ham winger Matt Jarvis has revealed that he is aiming to be a part of England’s squad for next year’s World Cup.

The Hammers star currently has one international cap to his name, which he won two years ago under Fabio Capello.

Since then, the emergence of the likes of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has seen the 27-year-old slip away from the Three Lions’ squad, despite some impressive displays at club level.

But, Jarvis has set his sights on forcing his way into Roy Hodgson’s plans and hopes that he will get the chance to add to his solitary international appearance as the World Cup approaches.

“Obviously you have to focus on your club and playing for West Ham week in, week out but if you are doing that it’s in the back of your mind that you can get in [to the squad],” he told The Metro.

“When you have that one cap, you definitely want to add to it and I would love the opportunity to do that.

“If I keep working hard, hopefully that chance will come.”

Jarvis is thought of as one of the finest crossers of the ball in the Premier League.

His form has dipped a little of late, however West Ham chief Sam Allardyce is keen to partner his with Andy Carroll once again when the centre-forward returns to fitness.

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Can Matt Jarvis force his way into the England squad?

Tell us what you think below!

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Neil Lennon’s Celtic have done well against Motherwell in recent seasons but were beaten twice at Fir Park last season. Does that give them extra motivation going into tonight?

Yes I think the fact they’ve lost there the last 2 times does give them motivation. I’m not saying they lack motivation, far from it, but it does appear on the domestic front now things are quite comfortable. With the elimination from the Champions League, the domestic games obviously go to the front burner and we saw that against Hearts last week, it was devastating and the best Celtic performance we’ve seen for quite some time. So yes n a funny sort of way, the fact that they have come a cropper in the last two times at Fir Park might serve Celtic well going into this Friday night match.

Just on the point of that Friday night match. Celtic haven’t played a Friday night match for 15 years, but it’s something that’s been introduced to Scottish football recently. Of course you’ve commentated on some of those, what’s your feelings on Friday night fixtures in general, does it add something to Scottish football?

I’m a huge fan of Friday night football in Scotland. I think it’s something that’s been looked at in the last couple of years and I’ve been part of it as a commentator, funnily enough at Fir Park in most cases as that’s been picked for a lot of the live televised games. You have to look at it from a number of angles, if a game is to be televised we all know it can’t be at 3 o’clock on a Saturday so then you look at the other options. I think for quite a lot of fans, Friday night is maybe the best option. It doesn’t work for everyone if they have to work or have commitments but that’s equally true for other times. I think the atmosphere is better, I’ve covered German football and have done for many years and they’ve made Friday night one of the key days in their weekend and nobody complains about it or says this is terrible. I think under the lights it does give it something extra, the games have generally been better that we’ve covered on a Friday night as opposed to Saturday lunchtime when maybe the fans aren’t quite as into it. It has to be experimented with over the next year or so and we’ll see where it goes. It’s something well worth analysing going forward.

Back to tonight’s game, who do you see as the key men for both Motherwell and Celtic?

For Motherwell, it’s John Sutton. I say that because Motherwell have had good success with Sutton leading the line in his two spells for the club, he’s scored 49 goals for Motherwell now. One thing that is noticeable is that Motherwell have gone off the boil a bit in recent weeks and I put it down to the two front players, Sutton and Anier, have gone off the boil, Sutton only has 1 goal in his last 8 games. They haven’t really been able to find other goalscorers throughout the team. Motherwell know how to use him and he has been problematic for Celtic in the past.

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For Celtic, I think Scott Brown. He has been greatly missed in the Champions League matches and he is a leader and he’s obviously becoming a scoring sensation in the last few weeks! I think Scott Brown might say goalscoring is the one area of his game he can improve upon, he’s not always going to be a prolific goalscorer but chipping in now for Celtic and for Scotland in the recent game against Norway. It’s going to be quite a loud night at Fir Park and the fans will be very much up for it and I think that’s where Scott Brown’s leadership qualities come into it. People sometimes talk about the negative side of Scott Brown and how he has to cool it down a little but there’s the other side of Scott Brown too that has worked out very well for Celtic.

“Derek Rae is a commentator on BT Sport’s coverage of the Scottish Professional Football League. Fans can watch today’s Motherwell v Celtic fixture exclusively live at 7.45pm on BT Sport 1. BT Sport is free with BT broadband, to find out more visit www.btsport.com”

When David Moyes looks back to the end of last season – a small, glorious period in which he was celebrated nationally for his decade-long service to Everton as he marched towards the Old Trafford throne – he’ll probably wonder where it all went so wrong.

Last week, Manchester United came away from a Champions League tie against Olympiakos with a two-goal deficit, making it seven out of a possible twelve defeats for the club in 2014. Regardless of domestic form, unless we witness a dramatic turn-around in the second leg at Old Trafford, the Red Devils’ shocking performance in Greece could well be the most defining one of their season.

Blowback from Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement was always expected; perhaps not to such an extent the reigning Premier League champions’ title defence would be over by Christmas and they’d soon go on to lose 2-0 to a striker-less Olympiakos in Europe, but none the less, this debasing form that’s rocked the Old Trafford camp had been anticipated as a distinct possibility, even by the most faithful of Manchester United fans.

Rather, Moyes’ biggest error, his most fatal and intrinsic of flaws, has been his continual inability to step out of the shadow of his monolithic predecessor and differentiate from the old regime.

In many ways, you can’t hold it against him. After all, Ferguson selected Moyes as his heir to the Carrington throne personally, presumably due to the incredible similarities between the two. Both are club men, rather than careering go-getters, both, through their Scottish roots and aggressive demeanour, share that determined, ruthless spirit customary north of the border, and although the former Everton boss may not be the master of the hairdryer, he does come with those frightening light blue, bulging eyes to assert his will in the dressing room. Furthermore, during his Goodison days, Moyes always promoted an intrinsically English style of football in-keeping with Manchester United’s traditional identity.

At the same time, the United boss inherited a squad that had strolled their way to a Premier League title the year previous – it would take a brave man, especially considering the Scot’s inexperience at major clubs, to rip up the blueprint simply for the sake of change.

But the paradoxical after effect has been that, barring results, the only difference one can draw from Manchester United this term in comparison to the last is that era-ending change in leadership. In a nutshell, David Moyes has become Sir Alex Ferguson-lite, and the Red Devils have become Diet-United. That ultimate ingredient in the Carrington club’s successes – Ferguson’s magic – has been replaced by a synthetic substitute that just can’t replicate the flavour.

Had Moyes formalised some of his speculated signings in the summer, perhaps things would be different.

That’s no diss to the current Red Devils squad; yes, their limits were well-documented even as they lifted the Premier League trophy, and yes, those who were expected to shoulder the majority of responsibility this season have decisively shirked it, but regardless, the United roster is still a better assembled cast than Everton, Tottenham and Liverpool’s.

But the likes of Ander Herrera, Angel Di Maria and Ilkay Gundogan arriving would have been a breath of youthful, fresh air in an otherwise ageing squad. Most importantly, all three – in addition to United’s many other targets from summer 2013 – would have significantly changed the way United play.

Now however, the tactical differences between the Red Devils under both managers are virtually non-existent. No matter how United’s line-ups are portrayed during match-day coverage, it’s still essentially the same 4-4-1-1 system – two wingers as a permanency, and Wayne Rooney in his dual No.10 role – that was used by the old regime throughout the entirety of last season. Once again, the only differences are the outcomes and the man in charge of selection.

For example, United were sternly criticised for their record-breaking number of crosses during their 2-2 draw with a bottom-of-the-table Fulham side last month. Under Ferguson, the Cottagers would probably have been praised for their bus-parking performance, but under Moyes, it was labelled a statistic that highlighted the side’s lack of creativity.

More than anything else, it was the fact we’d heard this song before, and so had Rene Meulensteen, who commented after the game; “When I saw Manchester United today I thought the game-plan was quite straight forward – get it wide, get it in. If you’re well organised and the goalkeeper is in good positions to come and collect the ball, it can be easy [to defend against].”

Not that I’m suggesting Manchester United would be in a different position than they are now if Moyes had arrived at Old Trafford in the summer immediately announcing  plans to go against every tactical principle of the club’s  identity – although there have been signs of the Red Devils’ need to modernise tactically for some time. That would be purely through the benefit of hindsight alone.

But amid the current situation David Moyes now finds himself in, in which Manchester United could finish the season with the unenviable title of the worst championship defence of the Premier League era, the Scot would at least have the safety net of trying something different.

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Regardless of results, he could have answered his critics honestly with the undeniable truth that he was attempting to move the club in a new direction, rather than his futile efforts of prolonging an era that was orchestrated, masterminded and personified by the one man no longer at the club.

It would be wrong of me to suggest that David Moyes is entirely to blame. The fact is that Manchester United is a club shaped in Ferguson’s image – his influence can be felt at every level of the Old Trafford hierarchy, in the club’s every department and, barring Juan Mata and Marouane Fellaini, every player in the first team is a Ferguson signing.

A more daunting battle than confronting his predecessor’s almighty shadow and reputation is the task of overcoming the institutionalised legacy Ferguson has left behind. In essence, if Moyes is to ever instigate significant change at Old Trafford, the history, beliefs, ethos and character of the club itself – all molded in Ferguson’s effigy – remains his biggest nemesis.

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Arsenal target Julian Draxler was the subject of a late transfer bid from a mystery club, according to Schalke’s Director of Sport Horst Heldt, reports Sky Sports.

The 20-year-old German international was strongly linked with a move to Arsenal throughout January, although the Gunners were unable to reach an agreement, despite sending a team to Germany to negotiate a deal.

Draxler has a £37million release clause in his current contract with the Bundesliga club, although Arsenal were understood to be unwilling to meet the fee.

Now Heldt has admitted it was not just Arsenal who attempted to sign Draxler last month, claiming a bid “came from a club to the north of us.”

With London being no further north than Gelsenkirchen, the suggestion is that the offer came from either Bundesliga rivals Wolfsburg or a club in Russia.

Wolfsburg sold Diego to Atletico Madrid on deadline day, and therefore may have targeted Draxler as the ideal replacement.

“It had the dimension of a transfer that you don’t do any day of the week,” Heldt said.

“It was certainly a decent offer, but it wasn’t sufficient for us. We told Julian our opinion, and that was that.”

Draxler has spoken for the first time since the close of the transfer window, and while he admitted he was aware of Arsenal’s interest, he has insisted he remains happy at Schalke.

“The fact is, Horst Heldt had offers for me this winter,” Draxler said.

“I’m happy about that. On the other hand, it shows the respect I enjoy at this club, even if Heldt refuses without me being asked.

“I wasn’t too aware of everything that was going on in the media because I was concentrating on getting back to fitness.

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“Of course I wasn’t completely unaware of everything that was being said but I know the truth of the story so I didn’t let it drive me crazy.”

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It was a strange atmosphere before kick off at Old Trafford with Manchester United the huge underdogs for a major European occasion.

The United fans were not flying planes above the stadium, instead holding up A4 pieces of paper to make a mosaic – however United put in a shift to be proud of.

Eyebrows were raised when Moyes announced his starting XI and here are the three things we believe the United boss will have learned from his night at the office.

Fellaini simply isn’t good enough –

Playing in a false nine role for Everton, who are lumping the ball forward for him to flick on to, is one thing. Bossing the midfield in the Champions League quarter final is something dramatically different.

The summer panic buy has not impressed at all so far at Old Trafford, but that isn’t the issue. The problem is that Moyes simply can’t see that he needs to be dropped.

Tom Cleverley has come under fire in recent months, Ryan Giggs is 40 and Darren Fletcher cannot seem to play more than once a week – but surely it is time for the Belgian to be shoved aside.

Phil Jones can be his future captain –

Eyebrows were raised when Sir Alex Ferguson forked out almost £17million for Phil Jones from Blackburn but it is really starting to look like shrewd work.

Whether asked to play at centre back, right back or in midfield, the England man does a job and looks to be growing as a player and a person as each week goes on.

A certainty to be on the plane to Brazil in the summer, Jones has all the attributes to be the skipper for United with Nemanja Vidic on his bike to Inter and especially with the fact he is still young and learning.

Shinji Kagawa has to play –

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With Juan Mata cup tied, surely this was another great chance for Shinji Kagawa to show us what he can do?

Moyes elected with Fellaini and Giggs in midfield and to be honest, that was comical at times with the ageing legs of the Welshman and the woeful first touch of the hair.

Kagawa impressed at the weekend so what more does he need to do in order to become a regular under Moyes?

It’s been a stellar season for Everton. Although the Toffees missed out on their ultimate aim of Champions League football by seven points, you’ll find few Goodison goers disappointed with the progress made since David Moyes’ resignation last summer.

Roberto Martinez has hit Merseyside like a swirling wind of hot-yet-crisp Iberian-Peninsulan air, bringing in his gust a brand of intoxicatingly aesthetic football that will leave Evertonians feeling only positive about future endeavours.  That all-important unique identity is the kind of footballing phenomena that can breach any lack of finance or resources – just take a gander to the other side of Stanley Park.

But could second season syndrome – that Premier League cliché previously used to describe the plights of Reading and Hull City to name a few – be looming in for the Toffees and their manager? Their first recording was a chart topper, but will they struggle when it comes to that notoriously difficult second album?

My immediate concern is that three key members of the Everton band will most likely not be at Goodison next season. For example, although Martinez has already announced his attentions to use the full powers of Bill Kenwright’s purse this summer to keep 15-goal front-man Romelu Lukaku on Merseyside permanently, the chances of doing so remain relatively thin.

Even if he decides to quit parent club Chelsea for the sake of first team football, Everton’s interest will most likely be eclipsed by many of his Champions League suitors, including Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund to name a few.

Likewise, Manchester City loanee Gareth Barry has been rocking the baseline groove at the heart of Everton’s midfield all season. His ability to illusively transcend between the roles of a holding midfielder and third centre-back are vital to the Toffees game-plan; that simple yet instrumental movement is the trigger for Martinez’s men to switch from a 4-3-3 in defence to a 3-4-3 in possession.

The 33 year-old’s defensive work is expectedly solid, whilst his three goals and four assists is an equally positive contribution. Perhaps most tellingly of his vitality to the Everton cause, his average of 68 passes per match this season is the most of any player on the Goodison roster. He’s very much at Everton’s core.

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Admittedly, the Toffees have a better chance of acquiring the England international permanently this summer in comparison to Romelu Lukaku, having been officially released by the Premier League champions last Friday. But any deal at Everton will have to take Barry’s age into account and honour the £2.5million agreement written into his initial loan agreement. With that in mind, reported interest from West Ham, Arsenal, Spurs and Leicester will trouble Martinez.

Then there’s Barcelona youngster Gerard Deulofeu, the shredding guitarist of the act, if you wish to maintain our band-member analogy. Admittedly, the high-potential Spaniard isn’t as intrinsic to the Everton make-up in comparison to Barry or Lukaku, but his ability to change the dynamic of the Toffees attack, adding a frighteningly direct threat at goal, has been influential throughout the course of the season.

Perhaps I’m exacerbating the problem slightly. After all, although Lukaku, Barry and Deulofeu represent three of Everton’s best performers this season, it would be wrong to say they’ve been the three best performers in that exact order. Kevin Mirallas, Steven Naismith and Leon Osman have been essential influences too and that water-tight back five – containing two of the Premier League’s leading full-backs – still remains from the David Moyes days.

Likewise, although both have been linked with multi-million moves away, it would be surprising if England duo John Stones and Ross Barkley weren’t at Goodison next season. Judging from the performances of both throughout the current campaign, their quality can compensate for any loss of personnel this summer.

Furthermore, due to the sensational progress Everton’s loan signings have made this year, Roberto Martinez has previously claimed that clubs are queuing up to offer him their hot prospects for next season. Should the Spaniard run the rule effectively, he could replace the Toffees loan contingent from 2013/14 with an equally as impressive one. Also, if the Mersey boss is prepared to throw his entire transfer budget at Romelu Lukaku, there’s obviously a fair bit of money to spend this summer.

WANT MORE? >> Everton transfer news | Latest transfer news

So maybe Martinez’s second season at Everton won’t be a complete catastrophy, but it’s hard to envisage it paralleling the progress of the first. After all, last season was very much a unique Premier League campaign – next term, Manchester United will almost certainly be back in the Champions League fold and Tottenham will be looking to make up for lost time too.

Arsenal are keen to spend this summer and Liverpool appear to only be moving forward, whilst Chelsea and Manchester City are dead-certs for the top four, so competition for fourth spot will be more ferocious than ever.

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My lingering concern is how Martinez will cope. In my opinion, the 40 year-old is a world-class manager in the making; part purist philosopher, part transfer market gem-finder, part public diplomat, part motivation machine, the Spaniard truly is the total managerial package.

But up until now, his career has only moved in one direction. From Swansea, to Wigan to Everton, Martinez has continually soared – even the disappointment of relegation with the Latics was offset by the historic achievement of last season’s FA Cup.

The coming campaign however presents the likelihood of stagnation. The honeymoon is over and the hard graft truly begins. In many ways, that difficult second season at Everton will be the toughest challenge of Martinez’s management career – the truest test of his abilities to date. But Everton is a well-run club, and the fan-base showed continual patience under Moyes.

They’ll accept the inadequacies of the second album, as long as the third is filled with as much beauty and promise as the first.

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