Former Tottenham Hotspur defender Kyle Walker was partly at fault for the goal Manchester City conceded in their shock 1-0 defeat against Wigan Athletic in the fifth round of the FA Cup at the DW Stadium on Monday night, and Spurs fans were quick to mock the 27-year-old who left last summer.
The Citizens were the overwhelming favourites to progress to a quarter-final tie at home to Southampton as they faced the League One high-flyers, but a red card for Fabian Delph before half-time gave the Latics a chance.
Then 10 minutes from the end, Walker allowed a ball down the wing to go under his foot and he was then beaten in a foot race by Will Grigg, who finished brilliantly past Ederson in the City goal to take the hosts through.
Pep Guardiola’s side’s exit will certainly boost Spurs’ chances of winning the competition, although they must beat Rochdale at Wembley in their fifth round replay before they come up against either Sheffield Wednesday or Swansea City in the quarters.
Tottenham supporters took to social media to give their thoughts on Walker’s display, and while one said “Kyle Walker may have just won Tottenham a trophy and he doesn’t play for us anymore”, another simply said “what was Walker thinking”.
Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…
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Over the course of this summer transfer window, big name players have jumped at the chance to come to the Premier League.
Over many years, some big stars have excelled and thrived in England’s top flight while others have found it a struggle. This summer, Manchester United spent an incredible £150m on players, one of them being Angel Di Maria from Spanish giants Real Madrid. Another Premier League club that has splashed the cash is Arsenal, who in previous years have avoided making big money moves. This year the Gunners signed Alexis Sanchez and the season before smashed their transfer record to bring Mesut Ozil to the Emirates for £42.5m. With big price tags on both Di Maria and Ozil’s heads, which player will live up to their expectation in this pulsating league campaign?
Starting with Argentine wing wizard Di Maria, the club record £59.7m signing is sure to turn the Red Devils into genuine title contenders again. Despite the former Benfica man’s notable pace and skill to beat a player with ease, one other attribute that often goes unnoticed is his stamina. With new boss Louis Van Gaal favouring the 3-5-2 formation, Di Maria fits in perfectly when it comes to patrolling the wings and attacking the opposition aswell as helping his fellow full back when under pressure. With the likes of Wayne Rooney, Robin Van Persie and most recently Radamel Falcao, these four elite players will definitely combine and provide goals and assists on Di Maria’s behalf of the highest quality.
Last season, Di Maria finished as the leader of the assists chart in the top five European leagues with 17 to his name and accumulated more assists than Antonio Valencia, Ashley Young and Nani combined. Furthermore, since the start of 2010/2011, only Lionel Messi has produced more assists than Angel di Maria in La Liga. When you have the likes of Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo in the same team as you, it’s hard to showcase what you could do to the opposition. However, now at Man United, Real Madrid could live to regret the decision to let the nippy winger leave.
On the other end of the spectrum, Mesut Ozil has already spent one season experiencing the challenges and obstacles of the Premier League. It’s safe to say that his first year in England wasn’t the best, and in some games he was all but non-existent. However, that year of experience in English football will enable him to get to grips with the Premier League this time around. Presently, he is also surrounded by better players, with the likes of Sanchez and Danny Welbeck being added to the Gunners artillery, which means he could unleash his killer through balls that can cut opposition defences in half and rediscover the form he was producing for Real Madrid.
Despite making a reasonable start to his Arsenal career in 2013/2014, making eight assists and scoring five goals before the December 10, Ozil’s permances and impact dropped dramatically, only making two assists and scoring zero goals after then in the league and Champions League respectively. But Ozil’s record at Real Madrid is something to applaud.
Since the former Werder Bremen playmaker joined the Bernabeu giants, Ozil produced 47 assists, the same as Messi, and an astonishing 14 more than Di Maria. With his fantastic technical ability and outstanding vision, Ozil has the qualities and capabilities of recapturing his form this year and could prove vital to Arsenal’s challenge for the title.
Overall, both players have the potential to be the poster boy of the Premier League, but both need to do it in a different way. Di Maria needs to hit the ground running straight away – mostly because Man United cannot afford any more time stuttering along behind their former title rivals – while Ozil needs to reproduce the form and performances that tempted Wenger to get his cheque book out..
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But, if Ozil suffers another disappointing season for the Gunners, then it won’t take long for fans to get on his back once again and he’ll be in serious danger of being handed the dreaded ‘flop’ label.
West Ham’s vice-chairman Karren Brady, made famous by Alan Sugar’s infamous TV series ‘The Apprentice’, has reportedly sent DVDs of Hammers stars Kevin Nolan and Mark Noble to Roy Hodgson in an attempt to prove they have what it takes to warrant a call up to the England squad.
Kevin Nolan has been in top form so far this season, scoring 5 goals and making 3 assists in 11 league games. His 5 league goals have made him the Premiership’s third-highest scoring midfielder and West Ham’s highest goalscorer overall. Nolan is not only a goalscorer but a talisman, captain and ball-winner as well.
West Ham have scored 14 league goals this season; Nolan has been involved in 8 of those and Mark Noble has scored another 2. Sam Allardyce’s side take on Stoke at Upton Park this evening and Nolan and Noble will need to be on top of their games again if West Ham want to gain all 3 points. If the Hammers do beat Stoke tonight, they will rise to 5th place ahead of the like of Everton, Arsenal, Spurs, Newcastle and Liverpool. For a newly-promoted side, this is a massive achievement and Nolan and Noble have had a massive part to play in West Ham’s success.
Whether both players deserve an England call-up, I am not sure, but Kevin Nolan probably has the most reason to feel he deserves a place in the England squad. My opinion of picking international squads has always been that places should be reserved for those players who most deserve it. With Gerrard and Wilshere being the only central midfield England squad regulars to be playing noticeably well at the moment, then I think Kevin Nolan could really be a useful addition to Roy Hodgson’s team.
I’m not sure whether a football club’s board member sending DVDs of their players to an international manager to plead their case for a call-up is a regular occurrence in the world of football but if it is successful and the two West Ham stars are in Hodgson’s next squad list then it could be a route that other Premiership clubs choose to follow.
Liverpool supporters are interested in signing Mexico winger Hirving Lozano this summer after he scored a stunning winner against Germany in the World Cup on Sunday.
The PSV attacker netted the only goal of the game in a 1-0 win over the reigning World Cup champions, giving Mexico a great chance of qualifying for the knockout stages of the summer tournament.
The 22-year-old has truly announced his arrival at the elite level and clubs are set to take notice.
Shining in Eredivisie last season, he scored 17 goals and created 8 assists in 29 league matches for the Dutch side.
Liverpool fans are certainly keen on seeing him arrive at Anfield, believing his direct, pacy style could fit perfectly into Jurgen Klopp’s system at the Reds, initially providing back-up to the likes of Sadio Mane.
Should the club make their move for him in the coming months, or is scouting at the World Cup just too risky?
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Supporters took to Twitter to share their thoughts…
Last season, a former Sky Sports presenter made the news for reportedly quitting their job with the broadcaster after receiving abuse following a comment made about Tottenham Hotspur.
According to The Times, Rachel Riley, who supports Manchester United, walked away from her presenting roles after being subjected to vile tweets.
The Countdown star caused an uproar when she described Tottenham’s 1-0 defeat to West Ham United a “bottle job” in terms of the Premier League title race.
In the last two seasons, Mauricio Pochettino’s men came close to taking the title challenge down to the wire, but they fell short, finishing third and then second respectively.
Following Saturday’s 1-0 victory over North London rivals Arsenal, former Spurs defender Graham Roberts posted a controversial reply to a fan, bringing up the Riley controversy from last year.
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Tottenham are just four points adrift of second-placed Manchester United, while Manchester City remain runaway leaders with a 16-point advantage.
Roberts’s controversial tweet may not be accurate though, as The Times claim that Sky wanted to give Riley a new contract, but she decided to leave the position due to the social media abuse.
Liverpool will need to take a page out of Dortmund’s book, buying in bulk to replace their star striker. The Bundesliga side have invested in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Adrian Ramos, Ciro Immobile, and Ji Dong-Won over the period of two summers in attempting to replace Robert Lewandowski. Liverpool, similarly, will be wise to spread Luis Suarez’s imminent transfer fee over a host of names, with one player able to provide similar numbers unlikely to be available.
Liverpool must always be cautious about where they spend their money, now finding themselves in a similar position to Tottenham last summer, who blew the income generated from Gareth Bale’s sale to Real Madrid on duds, for the most part.
Brendan Rodgers has already shown he can pick up low-cost, high-reward players from both England and the continent, and similar methods will need to be used this time around, at least in filling out the squad and ensuring there is quality in depth.
When Suarez’s transfer to Barcelona is confirmed, these are six players who could help to replace the Uruguayan’s goals and influence at Anfield.
[ffc-gallery]click on Konoplyanka to start the gallery
Football – Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk Training – White Hart Lane, London, England – 26/2/14Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk’s Yevhen Konoplyanka during trainingMandatory Credit: Action Images / Matthew ChildsLivepicEDITORIAL USE ONLY.
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Klaas-Jan Huntelaar
Football – Netherlands v Mexico – FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014 – Second Round – Estadio Castelao, Fortaleza, Brazil – 29/6/14Klaas Jan Huntelaar celebrates after scoring the second goal for Holland from the penalty spotMandatory Credit: Action Images / Andrew CouldridgeLivepicEDITORIAL USE ONLY.
The only drawback to Klaas-Jan Huntelaar is his age. Other than that, the 30-year-old still stands as one of Europe’s absolute best finishers.
He’s struggled for minutes with the Netherlands in recent tournaments, only seeing game time at this World Cup with a late but highly effective cameo against Mexico. But for his club side Schalke, Huntelaar has been in devastating form since making the switch from AC Milan to the Bundesliga.
He’d be a short-term addition, but Huntelaar is a sure thing when it comes to scoring goals. The right environment will see him replicate the astonishing numbers he’s put up for Schalke in recent seasons.
Yevhen Konoplyanka
Football – Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk Training – White Hart Lane, London, England – 26/2/14Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk’s Yevhen Konoplyanka during trainingMandatory Credit: Action Images / Matthew ChildsLivepicEDITORIAL USE ONLY.
After all the events of the January window, with Liverpool said to have been on the verge of signing Yevhen Konoplyanka, the Ukrainian international still looks no closer to joining a Premier League side.
But this is the kind of player Liverpool need, far more than Adam Lallana, who can play on the wing but doesn’t carry the same threat in front of goal.
Konoplyanka was said to be available for around £20 million in January, and with Liverpool’s budget to be boosted with the sale of Suarez to Barcelona, the club should have the means to finally tie up a deal for the Dnipro winger.
//www.youtube.com/embed/GB0wDwgI39c
Lorenzo Insigne
Lorenzo Insigne has had a very good season with Napoli since being offered a regular place in the team under Rafa Benitez. The diminutive forward, often used from the left of the attack, regularly looked to be Napoli’s most dangerous attacker. In the Coppa Italia final against Fiorentina, he scored a fantastic brace, exhibiting both his pace and finishing ability.
The Italian international was said to be a target for Arsenal earlier in the summer, and it’s easy to see why. But Liverpool could equally do with the services of Insigne. Napoli have already announced their intention to keep the forward, but Liverpool are backed by plenty of cash and should be able to lure the 23-year-old away this summer with the right offer.
//www.youtube.com/embed/-G2PszZtIvE
Jackson Martinez
Jackson Martinez may be one of the most obvious targets for Liverpool at this time: a natural finisher who has a good scoring record behind him and and who, for the right price, can certainly be had from Porto.
The question is whether Martinez can successfully transfer his goals from the Portuguese Liga to the Premier League. He’s struggled somewhat to convert regularly in European competition.
But if those doubts can be addressed early on, there’s a good chance Liverpool will land one of Europe’s best in front of goal with this signing. Martinez is at the right age to hit the ground running in a different league and already has experience leading his club to silverware. He’s not as good as Suarez, but history suggests he’d be able to cover for a lot of the Uruguayan’s goals in the future.
Mario Balotelli
Mario Balotelli to Arsenal is all but off, and you do have to wonder if it was ever on. But the Italian forward is still said to favour a move back to England, and AC Milan are still said to be in need of a cash boost.
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As is always said, Balotelli is a risk, but one that can bring huge rewards due to his talent and relative young age. When he’s on form, he’s one of the best forwards in Europe. It’s simply a matter of managing his personality and getting the best out of him regularly.
If Liverpool are prepared to take that risk – and the Suarez money should give them some movement on this particular front – this deal has every chance of being a resounding success.
//www.youtube.com/embed/gWCd3MNQA8Q
Wilfried Bony
Football – Greece v Ivory Coast – FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014 – Group C – Estadio Castelao, Fortaleza, Brazil – 24/6/14Wilfried Bony celebrates after scoring the first goal for Ivory CoastMandatory Credit: Action Images / Jed LeicesterLivepicEDITORIAL USE ONLY.
Wilfried Bony has gone a long way to proving he isn’t just a good goal scorer in Dutch football, scoring 16 league goals for Swansea in his first season in the Premier League. At 25, there is much more to come from the powerful striker.
Bony has been linked with a move up the Premier League ladder, and Liverpool, on the verge of losing Luis Suarez, would be a good fit for the Ivorian.
He’s quick and powerful, offering Brendan Rodgers another option for his attack. Although Rickie Lambert has recently been signed, Bony, given his age, would be a player to sign for the long term.
He and Daniel Sturridge could, in theory, form a highly productive attacking partnership.
Didier Drogba will reportedly be ‘available’ for a period of two months while the Chinese league is in it’s off-season. He’ll also be taking part in January’s African Cup of Nations, so is it really in the best interest of his current club to continue playing? And then there’s that issue of him being a former Chelsea player, although at this stage the word ‘legend’ seems more appropriate following his penalty in the Champions League final; why then would he go to a rival such as Liverpool?
But even putting all of that aside, are we supposed to believe that Brendan Rodgers has narrowed down a shortlist of strikers which now includes a 34-year-old Drogba? His contributions in the Premier League can never be questioned, and even at his age he could have done more in European football. But Drogba scored five league goals last season and he was the catalyst for Chelsea playing a certain style of football, one which Rodgers really doesn’t want to follow.
In fact, Rodgers is so determined to avoid any hints of the ball played over the top that he told Andy Carroll he wasn’t needed at the club, even though he sort of is. Drogba in his prime was one of the very best in Europe, but should we take it on face value that he is now a better option or even the only option following the release of Carroll for the season?
What does that do to Liverpool’s game? Drogba would give them another option when their plan A doesn’t work, and he certainly has enough of a reputation to scare Premier League defenders. But what happens to Nuri Sahin and Joe Allen? Creative and possession midfield players. Luis Suarez should be able to adapt given his qualities, but he’s also too much of a creative forward to see the ball sail over his head for the majority of a game.
Furthermore, how does this all fit in with the Liverpool owners’ view of players who are getting on a bit? Drogba would only be at the club for two months should the proposed deal come off, but he still brings with him huge wages and absolutely no guarantees of success. If the club are seriously considering this move, and I really doubt they are, then why not just stump up the cash for Clint Dempsey when he was available? Better yet, why not just hang on to Carroll in the hope that a new manager in Rodgers can bring the best out of him?
Liverpool need a player who is going to put the ball in the net from the many chances they create in a game. What Drogba does is potentially alter their game plan and raise the issue of playing to a style that Rodgers doesn’t want. And even if the club are going for a cheap (supposedly) stop-gap, why not look a little further a field than Drogba and the names from the Premier League?
Antonio Di Natale may be 35, but the Italian is still playing at the highest level in Serie A and was part of Italy’s Euro 2012 squad. He’s one of the most lethal finishers in Italy and gave Liverpool further evidence of his abilities during their recent Europa League clash. Unfortunately, Di Natale is also a name who clashes with the club’s view of players of a certain age. But considering Liverpool’s finances, specifically those of the owner, can they really be overly picky?
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At this stage, Drogba doesn’t make any sense. His history with other clubs in the league and his style of play means the idea of Drogba to Liverpool should be discarded as quickly and with as little care as it was when someone thought it up.
Stoke City are interested in bringing Derby County defender Curtis Davies to the Britannia this summer, according to the Mirror (12/06 20:16).
What’s the story?
Journeyman Davies has played for a number of clubs over the years and signed for Gary Rowett’s Derby last summer on a two-year deal.
Now Rowett is keen to reunite with the 33-year-old at his new club Stoke, and it appears a fee of £2.5million could convince Derby to part with their captain, according to the Mirror.
New Rams boss Frank Lampard is planning an overhaul this summer but needs to raise the money through transfers and cutting their wage bill.
Has he still got it?
Davies started every game for Derby last season and Rowett clearly thinks he is still a valuable asset as he looks to reunite with the experienced defender at Stoke.
Averaging 8.4 clearances and 2.8 interceptions per game, Davies is quality at breaking up attacks and he really shines at Championship level.
The 6ft2 defender still has a few years left in him yet and he’s exactly the sort of Championship-ready defender Stoke should be looking at to steady the ship this season.
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If Stoke can raise funds from the sale of players such as Xherdan Shaqiri, they would be wise to invest in players like Davies who will guarantee a high level of performance.
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”255574″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch Four World Cup myths debunked”]
Speaking in his latest Super 6 Class of ’92 diary via Sky Sports, former Manchester United winger and assistant manager Ryan Giggs has told current boss Jose Mourinho the formation and the exact position Paul Pogba must play if the club want to get the best out of the France international in the future.
The 24-year-old struggled alongside Nemanja Matic in a 4-2-3-1 system in the 2-0 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur on January 31, and he was subsequently dropped to the substitutes’ bench for the 2-0 win against Huddersfield Town at Old Trafford on Saturday, coming on for the final 25 minutes.
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Giggs, who was handed the Wales job last month, believes that Mourinho must go with a 4-3-3 formation going forward if he wants to see Pogba at the top of his game, believing he can play a similar role to the ones that two stars do for their arch-rivals Manchester City.
The 44-year-old told Sky Sports: “I would say the forward line [United’s] is as good as Manchester City’s, but the difference is the way of playing, with Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva behind consistently finding the front three for City.
“I would like to see him in a 4-3-3 with Matic sitting, Herrera to the right and Pogba to the left, with a selection of the front three thriving off more creativity behind them.”
That is a similar system to the one they played when Mourinho’s men won 2-0 at Everton on New Year’s Day, and it will be interesting to see if the Portuguese boss is tempted to implement it again when his side travel to Newcastle United on Sunday.
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It’s difficult to determine what accounts for success from many teams at the outset of the season. For Manchester United, would simply fighting for the top four have been enough? Arguably, it would not. But if you were to offer them such a luxurious position now, they would snap your hand off. For Arsenal fans, their well-documented trophy drought would have been their primary concern. But having been sitting pretty atop the Premier League table for the best part of two-thirds of the season, league success was not beyond the realms of possibility.
You can only truly determine the success of a side once their season has shaped up. By Christmas, it was clear for Man United fans that league victory was beyond them. And by January, qualification for the Champions League looked unlikely. But for Arsenal, the season has only really been shaped in the past two months. Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City’s domination and interminable march towards to league title have highlighted the flaws that still exist at Arsenal. And as the 2013-14 season winds down, in assessing what’s come before, the Gunners’ success from here until May really is all or nothing.
The only way Arsenal can claim to have truly progressed this season will be by achieving Champions League qualification for a 17th consecutive season, and by lifting the FA Cup and shaking that irritatingly clingy monkey off their back.
Pre-season wasn’t the most positive of periods for the Gunners. A lack of signings amidst the return of Jose Mourinho, the trolley dash at Tottenham, and the lavish spending of Man City pointed towards another season of familiarity. Couple this with a Champions League group containing 2013 Champions League finalists Borussia Dortmund, free-spending Napoli and perennial Champions League participants Olympique Marseille, and the outlook wasn’t positive.
The record signing of Mesut Ozil, the rise of Aaron Ramsey and solidification in defence somewhat allayed the early-season fears as Arsenal proved, to both themselves and keen observers, that they were made of more sturdy stuff than in past years. That was, until recently. The same problems have arisen, the same accusations have been launched their way, and a similar scenario has played out.
After a hiding at Anfield, and an even more demoralising defeat at the hands of Chelsea, intertwined with fairly inadequate displays against Stoke and Swansea, and a level of success has been mapped out for them.
They aren’t quite ready to challenge at the league’s absolute summit. However, despite dropping away in terms of the title chase, victory in the FA Cup is not only likely, but *fingers crossed* probable. A semi-final against a Championship side followed up by a potential final against either a relegation-battling Premiership side, or a League One outfit. If there was ever a time to wipe the dust from the trophy cabinet, now is that time.
With Champions League qualification being a pre-requisite for a club of Arsenal’s stature it’s no longer considered a success of any magnitude. To simply achieve Champions League football itself, from this position, would be immeasurably harmful to Arsenal, both the manager and the players, going forwards. The media obsession with the length of time since Arsenal enjoyed any silverware would intensify here whilst the pressure on Arsene Wenger would be overwhelming.
And regardless of FA Cup success, it will ultimately be a futile achievement if the club doesn’t add to it Champions League qualification. The benefits of European football are something the club hasn’t had to plan for without in recent seasons. Despite being in a strong position in terms of finances, the club can’t allow the chasm between themselves and the mega-rich to open up any further. A year of absence from Europe’s elite has the potential to multiply, and before you know it you’re caught (to re-use that popular phrase of Andre Villas-Boas) in a negative spiral of decline.
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The manager and everyone at the club is aware of the significance of the remaining games this season. If they manage to hold off Everton in the Champions League charge, and add to that with some much-needed silverware, the club will have more building blocks to add to the long-term project. Failure to achieve both and the impact, financially and/or psychologically, could be such that the way back is a long and painful struggle.
There’s nothing wrong with pre-season ambitions and expectations, but you can only truly judge success once you’ve contextualised it. For Arsenal, they exist on a fine line from now until May. As the season has finally played out, Arsenal are where they should be in the league. The FA Cup and league consolidation will be a success. They can’t get more, and they can’t afford less.