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Saviour. Messiah. Lynchpin? Manchester United and England midfielder Tom Cleverley is rapidly collecting a portfolio of intriguing accolades. His recent performances have sparked a sense of giddy excitement from fans and journalists alike but is this boy a future star or merely a temporary solution for both club and country?

Of course it’s slightly naïve of me to refer to Cleverley as a boy, at 23-years-old he can no longer hide behind the tag of ‘promising youngster’. In spite of a career dogged by injuries, he has emerged from two successful loan spells at Watford and Wigan as a player capable of breaking into Ferguson’s first team. With United desperate to regain their Premier League crown from their fierce local rivals, there is perhaps no better time for Cleverley to finally fulfil his potential.

On the international stage, Roy Hodgson was suitably impressed with his display at the Olympics to make him a prominent figure of England’s World Cup qualifying campaign so far. His rampant showing against an abysmal Moldova side prompted comparisons with Cesc Fabregas before a well-drilled Ukraine midfield effectively turned him invisible. He endured a similar fate in the recent encounters with San Marino and Poland, which raised doubts over his ability to consistently perform at the peak of his game.

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As Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard enter the twilight of their career, a vacancy is waiting to be filled in the heart of the midfield. Cleverley has leapfrogged the distinctly average Jordan Henderson, but it will be interesting to see how he copes with the competition of the returning Jack Wilshere and the emerging Jonjo Shelvey. There have been growing calls for Cleverley to accurately define his best position in order to cement his role in the senior squad.

However, one of Cleverley’s key attributes is his versatility across the spine of the midfield. He’s done incredibly well to distinguish himself at Old Trafford with Wayne Rooney constantly treading on his toes as he shuffles around the pitch. His capability to adjust his positioning to play behind, alongside or even beyond England’s talisman has enabled him to outshine new arrival Shinji Kagawa on more than one occasion.

When Cleverley is forced to drop deep, he looks accomplished alongside the tippy-tappy duo of Michael Carrick and Paul Scholes, while displaying tenacity in his defensive duties that will always evoke a positive reaction from supporters. There was a beautiful albeit frustrating moment in Warsaw where Cleverley won the ball only for Rooney to look on with a sense of awe. Perhaps Rooney was reminded of a time when he too used to exhibit the same youthful exuberance when trying to regain possession.

Cleverey’s greatest asset though is his one touch passing, which allows him to act as a metronome in the final third of the pitch. However, he still struggles to provide that cutting edge through ball or the end product to a flowing move, although this is something he seems keen to improve upon.

“It’s been playing on my mind a little bit because I’ve always scored goals when I’ve gone out on loan but I’ve not been doing it for my club and country,” he told MUTV.

October is a crucial month for Cleverley, a gruelling battle with Stoke is staged for the weekend, shortly followed by another important fixture in Europe. The toughest challenge however – perhaps his biggest to date – will come in the form of a double header against Chelsea. To succeed at United you must embellish the ‘big game’ player tag and the revelation that his goal against Newcastle in the Capital One Cup came off the back of a blast from the infamous Fergie hairdryer, is a good indication that he can thrive in those pressure cooker situations.

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I have to admit that I refuse to be swept up in the hype that surrounds Tom Cleverley, which the player himself concedes has “run riot”. Anyone who believes his cross-cum shot against Newcastle was intentional needs to have their head examined and his association with Paul Gasgoigne and Matt Le Tissier is incredibly premature, especially as I don’t believe the name Tom Cleverley will ever define a generation. However, he is still a very, very good player who boasts a wealth of potential, which is exactly what his club and country need as they attempt to overturn their recent misfortunes.

The World Cup in Brazil is still two years away, which will see Cleverley approaching the prime milestone of his 25th birthday. Only time will tell whether he’s central to our midfield and any success we may enjoy as a result.

Join me on Twitter @theunusedsub where the magic of the cup is still very much alive in Spain.

There have only been three moments in my lifetime when football has made my cry.

One was when Alan Curblishley announced his resignation as Charlton manager before the final home game of the 2005/06 season, followed by another less than a year later – a 4-0 win over relegation rivals West Ham that convinced me the Addicks would survive the drop from the Premier League during our first season of the post-Curblishey era. Eventually, they did not.

The remaining moment though, was perhaps the only time I’ve felt a truly uncontrollable, emotional connection with an England national team that has otherwise spectacularly underwhelmed for the entirety of my lifetime. Aged seven and staying up far past my bedtime, David Batty’s spot kick straight down the throat of Argentina goalkeeper David Roa to eliminate England from the 1998 World Cup immediately provoked an explosion of tears.

I wept all the way through the post-match analysis, I wept as my father carried me to bed, I wept as I fell asleep and I was still weeping when I came down for breakfast the next morning. I was offered ice cream, a pocket money raise, a trip to the cinema and anything else my parents could think of to stop the gruesome fingernails-down-a-blackboard kind of noise only a sobbing child can make, but for the next few days the tears intermittently flowed. Heart-broken, one brief reminder of England’s plight in France would instantly set me off again.

Looking back now at England’s history, at both what the Three Lions endured previously and after that moment, it was an obvious overreaction. Disappointment is part of the parcel with supporting England and probably always will be; even when your heroes don’t exactly let you down, they never quite meet your estimations either. But there was also legitimate cause for my particularly severe sense of sorrow.

Perhaps most directly, what should have been Sol Campbell’s 81st-minute winner was wrongly ruled out for an apparent impediment on Roa by Alan Shearer – the kind of impediment that was completely acceptable in the Premier League during that time but wasn’t under the watch of Danish referee Kim Nielson.

That, combined with the equally controversial decision to hand David Beckham a straight red card just one minute into the first half for a petulant swipe at Diego Simeone, inevitably created a feeling of injustice – a term I couldn’t accurately define at the age of 7, but nonetheless understood and became instinctively aware of. England, at least through the perspective of my incredibly partisan, incredibly juvenile, incredibly naïve eyes, had been robbed of deserved glory.

But more than simply a controversial act from an official costing England so dearly in the knockout stages of a major tournament, a recurring theme throughout the last two decades, my heartbreak owed equally to an incredible act as well – Michael Owen’s marvellous solo goal. Twisting, turning and obliterating defenders before effortlessly slotting the ball past the goalkeeper in a similar way Diego Maradona had done to England twelve years previous, I had never seen a goal quite like that from an English player before.

It created an unprecedented, euphoric high that I inevitably had to come down from. As frequenters of the Acid House scene in the 1990s will tell you, sometimes in that process there are indeed tears involved. Even at the age of seven, however, I also realised the incredible hope that goal generated, a level of faith that continued for the near two hours between the strike that exploded Owen onto the world stage and Batty’s ill-fated penalty kick, even more so as England battled away with ten men.

Following an era in which English football remained suspiciously rudimental, Owen’s goal – one of four which makes him Liverpool’s record holder for most World Cup goals while at the club – was so unique it felt like a truly transformative moment. I couldn’t have known that so accurately at the time, but I was nonetheless aware it was like nothing I’d quite seen before and I could sense the feeling it created amongst my family – particularly my dad – watching alongside me.

Of course, much of that owes to Glenn Hoddle, to his belief in the expansive theories of the game and to his ambitiousness in setting out a side that included David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Darren Anderton, Alan Shearer and a young Owen – whose starting berth over Shearer’s tried and trusted partner Teddy Sheringham and Les Ferdinand certainly didn’t convince everybody at the time.

England weren’t just getting the right results at the World Cup, winning two of their three group games, but they were doing it with style as well. Even excluding Owen’s goal, the Argentina defeat included some moments of genuine offensive brilliance.

And while expectations might not be so high this time around – another factor in despair pouring so relentlessly out of my youthful eyes was the genuine nationwide belief that England could come home with the 1998 trophy – there are curious comparisons to be made. Gareth Southgate, a member of England’s 1998 squad, may be a more pragmatic coach than Hoddle, but he’s carried on a Hoddle project that never fully kicked off in embracing three at the back.

That system, best described as 3-1-4-2, has furthermore created a way of playing which defies much of the direct, often agricultural laboriousness we’ve come to expect from England too. The roaming No.8s push forward to make something of a four-man attack, and for the first time in living memory English defenders are being selected more on their technical ability and capacity to play out of the back than any old-school ruggedness they offer inside England’s own box.

It’s an ambitious and revolutionary way of thinking for a footballing nation that has for so long seen four-man defences as the only legitimate option, that has so perpetually struggled to play exciting football for the last two decades, that has so constantly tried to simply get all the best players on the pitch regardless of whether they’re the right fit for England’s system, or indeed physically fit enough to play.

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Equally crucially, the squad is composed of young and brave players, players who can bring the same fearless mentality Owen took to France 1998, daring to turn the tournament on its head. Marcus Rashford, Dele Alli, Raheem Sterling and even Jesse Lingard all have the potential to replicate Owen’s impact and give England fans temporary belief of something truly special taking place.

Inexperience may cost them eventually, but perhaps for a couple of hours, perhaps for a half, perhaps for only a handful of minutes, they can make England fans dream again. A fair bit older, a little bit wiser and a significant dose more cynical, I’m hopeful the inevitable extinguishing of that hope this summer – most likely by another refereeing decision followed by a penalty shootout – won’t reduce me to tears this time around.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”252976″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch 21 things that will definitely happen at the World Cup”]

Everything seemed to be running smoothly at Everton a few weeks ago when Sam Allardyce took over as manager to steady the ship.

The Merseyside outfit were staring at relegation from the Premier League under the stewardship of Ronald Koeman.

After the Dutchman was sacked, much deliberation was made during the hunt for a new leader, and the job was eventually handed to Allardyce.

The experienced coach guided the team to three wins and three draws in his first six top-flight games in charge.

The club have since moved away from the relegation zone and currently reside ninth in the standings, six points above the drop.

Recently, though, the team have struggled to win. In fact, they have not claimed a victory in any of their last six league matches.

In that run, Everton have drawn three, lost three and conceded nine goals while only managing to score two at the other end.

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Fans took their frustration out on Allardyce via Twitter in response to a post about the manager’s influence over Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

Manchester United need to do something about their season. After a seventh Premier League loss on the weekend away to Chelsea, sitting on your hands and hoping the mess will sort itself out is far from the right course of action.

United are said to be preparing a bid for unwanted Chelsea midfielder Juan Mata, a move that makes sense for both clubs and the player, for a fee approaching the £40 million mark. It’s a deal that needs to be made; if not Mata, then another player of his class and ability to turn around United’s season.

Can we really call it a panic buy when a club of United’s ability in the market decides to finally enter one of the higher tiers to put right their most glaring problem? Wouldn’t we criticise David Moyes’ ability to attract big names and the Glazer’s lack of willingness to back their new manager if the club went for a cheaper and far less glamorous name? This is the furthest thing from panic buying. This is Manchester United shopping in a market where they belong.

Juan Mata is wasted at Chelsea. I’m yet to see the logic in Jose Mourinho hanging onto a player of that calibre when he clearly doesn’t want or need him. Even Andre Schurrle, a preferred option in the midfield ahead of the Spaniard, isn’t getting regular games.

United are looking to Mata because he’s deemed a player who can make an instant impact at the club. He’s a goal scoring, assist supplying midfielder who is well up to speed with the Premier League. Conveniently, he also happens to be available. Chelsea may say otherwise, but it’s difficult to see Mata sitting quietly by while this month draws to a close and the World Cup coming into view on the horizon.

Mata for anything approaching £40 million is the type of signing United fans would be hoping Moyes would make. Edinson Cavani has also been recently linked with a move, but the availability of the Uruguayan at PSG is far less straight forward than Mata at Chelsea. Wayne Rooney could be on his way out in the coming months, Robin van Persie is ageing and injured, and beyond those two, United have little to nothing in the way of players capable of single-handedly putting the season right.

Questions would be asked of United and their intentions if they weren’t kicking the tires on this Mata situation. The events that have led up to this month have only pointed towards one thing. Teams from Serie A and La Liga have reportedly claimed interest in the 25-year-old. Atletico Madrid, Spain’s representative in the queue of possible Mata suitors, would see their title charge reach feverish new heights. Diego Simeone’s side would be applauded for their audacity and shrewdness in such a deal.

So why not United? Even at £40 million, wouldn’t Mata be considered a fantastic coup? He’s a player who has won the lot, with only a league title winner’s medal absent from his mantel. He’s approaching the prime of his career, a player who could play for any club in the world, he’s that good.

Panic buys generally point to a club who have bought a player that they don’t really need, one who was acquired for the sole purpose of appeasing others. Something United have done in the recent past.

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Mata is far from that. A player who United absolutely need and will help to turn their season around. You can’t fault a club for making genuine attempts to better themselves.

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Brian McDermott was left frustrated by match officials after Reading were denied a first win in the Premier League in their 2-2 draw with Newcastle United.

Last season’s Championship title winners twice took the lead in Saturday’s match at the Madejski Stadium through Jimmy Kebe and Noel Hunt. But Newcastle hit back through Demba Ba, with his first a spectacular volley and his second a controversial but accidental handled effort which was missed by referee Andre Marriner. McDermott told Sky Sports:

“We are obviously disappointed, because we know we should have won the game. For me, it is a big error from the referee and the linesman not to see the goal, because it was going away and then he has put his hand out to score. So it is really disappointing but, having said that, I thought the performance of the team was excellent. That is the identity of our team, our club and that is what we are about.”

West Ham United are interested in signing Barcelona defender Marlon Santos, according to the Daily Mail.

What’s the word?

The club are expected to have a busy summer as new manager Manuel Pellegrini will look to shape his own squad.

A report in the Daily Mail claims that the Hammers are keeping a close eye on Santos, who impressed during a season-long loan spell at Nice.

The Brazilian made 22 appearances in all competitions for the French outfit.

It is unlikely that Santos will be able to break into the first team of the Spanish giants, which means that he may look to move on this summer.

Is he right for West Ham?

The Brazilian is still developing as a player, so it may be a risk to throw him into the deep end straight away.

However, the Hammers need to inject some youth into their squad, and if Pellegrini wants to be at the London Stadium long-term, he needs to start thinking about giving hopefuls a chance.

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Santos predominantly plays at centre-back, but can also play at right-back, which proves his versatility.

West Ham will certainly welcome a player who can feature in a variety of positions, but they may need to be patient with Santos if he comes through the welcome gates this summer.

West Ham United’s FA Cup third-round replay against Shrewsbury Town will not go down in history as one of the great knockout matches.

David Moyes’s side had to play the extra game after drawing a blank in the initial tie at New Meadow.

The Scotsman made a handful of changes to the team that thumped Huddersfield Town 4-1 at the weekend, but Manuel Lanzini kept his spot following Saturday’s brace.

One alteration involved handing youngster Toni Martinez his debut, but the first XI did not have the best of performances.

It was a laboured display and neither side managed to break the deadlock inside 90 minutes.

Extra time ensued and it looked as though the tie would be decided by a penalty shootout, but Reece Burke stepped up to score the crucial goal.

The 21-year-old defender saved the Hammers from potential embarrassment, but the additional 20 or so minutes would not have been what Moyes wanted.

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Once the whistle blew, the overriding reaction from fans was one of relief.

Arsenal may well be at the Premier League summit, but there are still a significant few that are unconvinced by their title winning pedigree. A decidedly easy schedule so far, the upcoming month could act as a decent barometer for Arsenal’s title ambitions.

The North Londoners have only played one match against any of the current top 10 sides and that was a narrow home victory over rivals Spurs earlier on in the season. Tottenham are a club heavily in the developmental stage and although it was a priceless 3 points, it really doesn’t go that far in telling us how primed Arsenal are for a title challenge.

In fact Spurs manager AVB went as far as to suggest that Arsenal have had it easy of late, he made the following remarks recently  when speaking to the Evening Standard:

“We will see the big fixtures coming now for Arsenal. They have only played us so far and they have both Chelsea and Manchester City to come, and Liverpool,” he said.

“I suppose the fixture list at the moment is in favour of Manchester United as they have all played the big teams so far, apart from us, so that will give them a chance to bounce back, for sure.”

“The league looks extremely open. The team in 14th place has ten points- only nine fewer than the leaders.”

AVB is spot on, whilst Arsenal have put away what has been placed in front of them with apparent ease, they have rarely been given a stern test of their credentials. To really see if Arsenal have moved on from their summer of turmoil they need to prove themselves against the biggest clubs in the League.

Those holding back their judgements on Arsenal may well find their voices during what would appear a gruelling set of fixtures over the coming days. Arsenal will face the likes of Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City and Liverpool all in the next couple of weeks and by the end of that period we will all be in a better position to judge the ‘Gunners’.

If this week was anything to go by, the North Londoners may well struggle. Arsenal put in what was by all accounts a decent performance against a somewhat lacklustre Dortmund side, yet still they were expertly put away by a couple of moments of brilliance. This is what you come to expect from the top teams, and Arsenal for all their wonderful football will have to find a way of getting past top opposition if they want to battle for top honours come May.

Now this isn’t to say that Arsenal wont come through this tough set of fixtures with aplomb, early season form points towards a much improved side this year. However, with the league table so tight and the season so young, it would be wrong to start getting carried away with the start Arsenal have made.

Too many Arsenal fans think that this is it, the return to the glory days that they have all been waiting for. Who knows they may be right, but if you want to be logical in your judgement then take a step back and decide whether or not they have proven themselves against the very best. The answer as of yet is definitively no.

Of course Arsenal can’t help their schedule, you can only play the sides in the order the league dictates and for the ‘gunners’ this has meant an easy start.

The debate between spending big and persevering with what you have continues to rumble on at Arsenal, and for me it is still an issue bubbling below the surface. Negative opinions are silenced by good results, but when they begin to face next month’s challenges will the ‘boo boys’ return?

The real barometer may well be as to how Arsenal deal with defeat, not so much will they keep winning. A testament of title winning sides is always in the way they bounce back from going a goal down or losing a match. I expect Arsenal will be put in these kinds of positions in the coming weeks and it is how the club and indeed their fans deal with these situations that will largely dictate how their season progresses.

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I think come mid-November we may well be in a position to judge the Arsenal class of 2014.

Is this the most important of months coming up for Arsenal?

Can Arsenal stay in the title race?

Have your say below!

Liverpool winger Stewart Downing has blasted his manager regarding comments that questioned his bravery. Brendan Rodgers told the press earlier this week that Downing wasn’t brave enough but the England winger disagrees.

Downing still has three years left on his deal at Anfield but has lost his place in the team since Rodgers took over in the summer, with younger players jumping ahead of him in the pecking order, but he is willing to fight for his place.

“Bravery is a lot of things – it’s not just about tackling,” Downing told the Daily Mirror.

“That’s not my game. My bravery is about taking the ball when you are losing a game and trying to create things. That’s what I try to do. You will have to ask the manager exactly what he meant.

“I was surprised that he came out with what he did. I have spoken to him on numerous occasions when I wasn’t in the team and that was private.

“So, of course, I’m upset. But I’m not going to go running around tackling people because that’s not my game. I’ve got three years left on my contract and I’m going nowhere.

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“I have worked hard to get here and I am not going to leave in a rush. I will fight for my place and I want to stay at Anfield.”

This will be the first time the two teams face off in the longest format

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jul-2024 • Updated on 27-Jul-2024Afghanistan are set to face New Zealand in a one-off Test in September. The match will be played in Greater Noida in India. This will be the first time the two teams face each other in the longest format.This will be Afghanistan’s 10th Test, and their third in 2024 – the most they would have played in a calendar year.It will also be their first Test at the Greater Noida Sports Complex Ground, which has previously served as Afghanistan’s adopted home ground.The Test is likely to be from September 9 to 13. That’s roughly one month before New Zealand’s three-Test tour of India, with the first of those games set to begin on October 16. New Zealand will tour Sri Lanka for a Test series in between – the dates are yet to be announced.”We are delighted to host a quality New Zealand Test team for the first time in our cricketing history. This is a testament to the hard work we have put in through numerous discussions and meetings with different boards on the sidelines of the various ICC Board Meetings,” ACB Chairman Mirwais Ashraf said. “The Blackcaps are an outstanding all-format team in world cricket, and we hope to reach an agreement with New Zealand Cricket for white-ball bilateral matches in the future.”Following the New Zealand Test, England, Australia, Pakistan and South Africa will be the only countries to not have played against Afghanistan in a Test match yet. Australia had pulled out from hosting them in a Test in 2021 citing humanitarian reasons.Australia had also pulled out of three-match T20I series scheduled for August this year, meaning Afghanistan had a hole in their schedule which will be partly filled by this New Zealand TestIn their two Tests so far in 2024, Afghanistan have lost to Sri Lanka and Ireland. They had also lost their one-off Test in Bangladesh last year, and their last win in the format came in March 2021, when they beat Zimbabwe in the UAE. In all, Afghanistan have a commendable 3-6 win-loss record in their first nine Tests.