Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho has stated that he will not leave the Spanish giants this summer, despite reports linking him with an exit from the Santiago Bernabeu.
The Portuguese manager had a successful spell in charge at Chelsea, winning two Premier League titles.
With the Blues having sacked Andre Villas Boas earlier this term and yet to decide on a full-time head coach, with Roberto Di Matteo in charge on an interim basis, reports have stated that ‘The Special One’ could return.
Despite links of a return to the Premier League and Stamford Bridge, Mourinho has stated that he has no intention of leaving the Spanish capital.
“I have a contract and there is no reason why I wouldn’t stay,” he told reporters, published by The Telegraph.
“It is better to stay at a club for four or five years. At the moment my future is not important but I think I will be here next season.
“I have a contract and once we arrive at the end of the season I will have time to speak with the players and the directors and we will decide what is best for me, for the club and for the squad,” he confessed.
Real Madrid take on Bayern Munich in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final on Wednesday, and Mourinho knows he could face his former club in the final.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
“The final of the Champions League is the most important thing in football. Wednesday is almost like a long-awaited final, but I see calmness in the players. I don’t like an excess of emotion, nor a lack of it,” he concluded.
Molde boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has admitted that he is flattered by Aston Villa’s interest in him, and that he has not turned the Midlands side down.
Villa are looking for a new manager after the sacking of Alex McLeish, with the former Manchester United attacker being one of the names in consideration.
Solskjaer met with Villa representatives on Friday in Birmingham, but has rubbished talk that he turned his back on the opportunity.
“It is always flattering. When I was a footballer and United wanted to buy me I was flattered,” he told Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet, translated to English by Sky Sports.
“Players want to be on the highest possible level and it’s the same with me as manager.
“It may well be that two, three names will sound more interesting than mine and then maybe the mood turns.
“I know that Villa thought it was a bit boring because they wanted the process to go quietly.
“There was some suggestion I had turned them down and all sorts of things.
“I do not know who they (Villa) are considering and what they are going to do.
“I do not go and check the phone to see if they have called me. They will take the time they need.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
“It’s not something I think about. As long as I have a contract and work in Molde I do until something else happens,” he concluded.
The man that arrived from Liverpool, with a fairly good reputation, after having just finished a loan spell with Swansea City, Paul Anderson has certainly been a player that perplexes many people, possessing all of the attributes to be a danger, but so far, not fulfilling his potential.
Signing permenantly for Nottingham Forest, for the slim sum of £250,000, after a successful loan spell, pressure wasn’t immediately heaped massively on Anderson, as many appreciated his tender age, and the time he needed to develop under the stewardship of Billy Davies.
In the Billy Davies era, he was a useful asset, as Forest used his admirable energy and work-rate to their advantage, as ‘Ando’ frequently helped out Chris Gunter, and they formed a great defensive double act. Going forward however, couldn’t be more of a different tale. Anderson is superb at running with intent, purpose, and enthusiasm, and approaching the opposition left back as if the game is entering its final minutes. His arms going back and forth from behind his body, looking almost as if he’s ready for the battle that’s about to commence with the full-back, imposing himself early, before he gets a proper chance to flaunt his true colours.
His true colours?
Delightfully bright… Until he reaches 5 yards from a potential showdown with the waiting full-back. “Take him on” and “Beat him for pace”, are the usual cries from the Forest supporters, as ‘Ando’ subsequently either turns back, unambitiously, or runs inside, implementing more rigidity on games that are already narrow enough.
So much now, the Reds fans never expect anything from the No7. Gone are the days he has the ability of getting fans on the edge of their seats, or in some cases, standing hopefully up. All of whom simultaneously put their hands on their head violenty in frustration, as they witness yet another failure as he goes forward.
The majority have learnt to remain firmly in their seats, hands centimeteres from their slightly drooped face, as the cries of disappointment have turned into resigned, slightly exaggerated, ‘face to legs’ action, as everyone wonders how he still manages to produce the waste.
When rumours of an alleged bust up involving Anderson circulated the net, from an extremely unreliable source, one thought crossed my mind. Many were worried about a potential dressing room split, but that was far from my thinking.
At last, Anderson had proved he can take someone on.
A moment I’m sure would’ve been celebrated, if it wasn’t for Forest’s struggles.
There’s no doubt, in all seriousness, that Anderson is a decent squad member, but no more than that. With Forest currently fighting to keep him, it shows the mess the club is in. Day after day, week after week, stories will keep flowing, of players Forest hope to keep. It sells newspapers, and keeps communication continuing at the club, where they know full well, for yet another summer, they’re set to lose players for free, without anything more than a half-hearted attempt to retain them.
Despite Anderson’s well aired faults, following the loss of McCleary, there’s no natural right winger at the club. Mind you, I notice Grant Holt has granted a transfer request, so he obviously loved the role to the point he’s prepared to drop a league.
We’ve seen what happens when Cotterill puts faith into a young right winger, and plays him on a regular basis. Anderson could be his next successful project, if kept. Since 2009, Anderson’s evidently played with fear in a Forest shirt, affecting his performances. Clear him of those psychological blockages, and he could become a winger that full-backs don’t want to be facing. At the moment, he’s the type of player a full-back goes to bed and dreams about coming up against.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
A player the calibre of Paul Anderson, should be a meat and drink contract renewal for this club. The hesitancy of this player is possibly indicative of the direction the rest of the squad thinks the club is going.
Whether fans want him or not, is there to be debated.
But like so many others, it’s whether he wants us, that will probably prove the ultimate downfall.
Manchester City’s Roberto Mancini is being lined up as the next Italy manager according to The Sun.
The ex-Inter head coach has spearheaded the Etihad Stadium side’s recent assault on English football, with the trainer delivering the Premier League title on the last day of 2011-12.
Despite this, Mancini is yet to sign a new contract, however there have been rumblings of a new deal potentially being negotiated with club owner Sheik Mansour this summer.
Italy are in disarray ahead of Euro 2012, with another round of football betting scandals blighting the national team’s preparations.
A 3-0 defeat to Russia in their last friendly before the competition in Ukraine and Poland has the Azzurri fans worried, and Cesare Prandelli’s position is thought to be under threat if the side do not perform this summer.
With a tough-looking Group C comprising of world champions Spain, Republic of Ireland and Croatia to negotiate, reports in Italy are stating that Prandelli will lose his job should he not lead the side through the group stages.
As such, Mancini is being earmarked as a possible replacement after winning domestic titles in both England and his homeland.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Wigan achieved the impossible last season and beat the drop once again, improving on last season’s final day heroics by sealing their top flight status with one game to spare. The result was that the club’s boss Robert Martinez was hailed as some sort of tactical genius, a rising star in the game and he’s recently been linked with the Aston Villa, Liverpool and Tottenham jobs, but what exactly has he done to garner such a lofty reputation?
Let’s get a few stats out of the way nice and early. Martinez has a win percentage of just 26.77% at Wigan, winning only 34 of his 127 games in charge and losing 57. In his three seasons at the club, they have finished 16th, 16th and 15th finishing with 36, 42 and 43 points respectively.
It’s often made out that Martinez has done a great job of keeping the club in the Premier League, but the season before he took over, they finished 11th under Steve Bruce and 14th the year before that and the new Hull City boss boasts a significantly better win percentage of of 33.82% over 68 games, winning 23 games – not too far off Martinez’s total in almost half the amount of games.
For those that know me well, they will realise how difficult it is for me to begrudgingly praise Bruce as a manager – a man who has traded off his past glories as a player for far too long and lacks any coherent style of play or plan in most jobs, but context must be applied to this character assault of sorts as Martinez has essentially turned a steady mid-table outfit into regular relegation candidates.
Here comes the nice part of my criticism sandwich – Martinez is clearly an intelligent man, he comes across as thoughtful, considered and bright in interviews and his handy stint on ITV during the Euros so far, where he hasn’t been afraid to buck the trend compared to his lobotomised fellow pundits, acting as a breath of fresh air to the usual mundane rubbish we’re ‘treated’ to. In short, you can see why he would interview well for a top job.
However, he’s done little more than persist with an ‘attractive’ style of play at Wigan without the necessary players to carry it off successfully – that’s not noble or something to be admired or applauded, that’s downright negligent, a dereliction of duty as it were. It’s a myth that Martinez’s side play beautiful passing football just as much as it is with Bolton under Owen Coyle. They’re no Stoke of course, but let’s not pretend for a second that they’re Arsenal on a budget, because that’s hugely misleading.
Martinez looked to all concerned to be a frontrunner for the Liverpool job after the club sacked Kenny Dalglish in the summer, after turning down the Aston Villa job last season which led to the mind-numbing and hope-shreading tenure of Alex McLeish. It was then reported, or shall we say, megaphoned in to the nearest camera, radio station or tape recorder that would have him by the club’s media-hungry rent-a-quote chairman Dave Whelan – a man clearly trying to make up for lost time when it comes to the limelight due to a playing career cruelly cut short by injury. Pseud psychology well and truly over with.
The reasoning behind Martinez’s supposed rejection of the Liverpool job was that he refused to work with a Director of Football at the club, but upon appointing Brendan Rodgers, there was no such role put in place and the former Swansea boss seemed extremely reluctant to work with one in the future at his first press conference at Anfield – so that idea goes straight out of the window then. Martinez looked to be FSG’s second-choice candidate behind Rodgers. The club’s owners looked to cast their net far and wide when choosing their next manager and there was rumoured to be a shortlist with about six names on it.
Clearly seeing this as proof that he wasn’t under serious consideration, Rodgers ruled himself out of the running as a face-saving measure; as soon as he learned of how serious the club’s interest was in him, the deal was tied up inside two days of first contact. Martinez on the other hand, had two interviews in two weeks, so there was clearly a level of reluctance on FSG’s part to hand him the job, but their lack of communication and the open way that they went about their search was definitely as much of a hindrance as it was a help. However, what is clear, is that the Wigan boss, beyond a shadow of a doubt, was considered at great length for the job and was undoubtedly a very serious contender.
Aston Villa moved quickly to ditch the one-man wrecking ball to all hope Alex McLeish this summer without a direct replacement lined up, which shows you just how poor a job he did. They eventually moved for Paul Lambert, the Norwich manager that impressed hugely after a superb first season in the top flight, but not before reports that Martinez had turned down the chance to speak with the Midlands club for the second successive summer flew around. Say what you will about the man, but he definitely has a giant brass pair of cojones on him.
Tottenham dispatched with the services of Harry Redknapp after he somehow managed to finish fourth in a three-horse race for Champions League football next year. The names linked with the job, which is still an extremely appealing one lest we forget, were similar to those earmarked for the Liverpool job – Fabio Capello, Andre Villas-Boas, Louis van Gaal – yet Martinez’s name keeps cropping up.
There is a sense of goodwill towards Martinez. He doesn’t bitch and moan when his side loses, he doesn’t question the integrity of officials every other week and he conducts his business with a great degree of dignity. He seems an absolutely smashing chap, and he may well be a very good manager in the future, but so far, he’s unproven at the highest level.
The club won seven of their final nine game last campaign in the league, but the question should not be ‘what a fantastic run, Roberto, what do you put that down to?’ but rather ‘why the hell didn’t you play like that for the other 29 games?’ Does he have trouble motivating his sides? His transfer record has been pretty patchy so far to boot too, albeit on a tight budget, although the name Mauro Boselli is likely to be one that hangs around his neck like an albatross for a few years to come.
To his credit, though, he did introduce a more attacking 3-5-2 formation in the midst of that nine-game run which went some way to helping them preserve their top-flight status for another year, which had the potential to turn into a fluid 3-4-3 when the side had the ball. There is clearly a footballing brain at work there, but it remains very much a work in progress.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
The success of younger managers such as Pep Guardiola, Andre Villas-Boas and Jurgen Klopp in recent times has set a perverse chain of events in motion where every other club now attempts to copy that recruitment policy – young, relatively unproven managers are now the ‘in’ thing as opposed to their more experienced counterparts. The aforementioned triumvarite all flourished because they were the right person at the right time with the right ethos for their respective clubs going forward, their age is merely a coincidence.
A meritocracy should still exist in football management as much as it does out on the pitch. Young managers should be allowed to cut their teeth, like Martinez is doing at Wigan, at a smaller, lower-profile club and be allowed to make mistakes. At the moment, the 38 year-old’s reputation appears to be ensuring he jumps the queue so to speak over more qualified candidates when being linked with top jobs. He has ability, that much is clear, but he’s far from the finished product and simply doesn’t warrant a crack at the Aston Villa job just yet, let alone the Tottenahm and Liverpool ones. We’re always very keen to appear on the cutting edgeand ‘in the know’ when it comes to tomorrow’s stars, but for once, it seems as if we may have jumped the gun a bit too early this time.
Manchester City have made the first move in the pursuit of Swansea’s Scott Sinclair, and have made a bid according to The Daily Mail.
The talented winger represented Team GB at the Olympics this summer and has played an important part of the Liberty Stadium side’s rise to the Premier League and consolidation in the top flight.
However, with less than a year left on his existing contract with the Welsh team and a raft of leading Premier League sides monitoring the player’s situation, his future is in doubt.
Despite reported interest from Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester United, the Premier League champions have made the first move in the race to sign Sinclair.
Roberto Mancini’s men are said to have made an offer of around £5.5 million to Michael Laudrup’s side, with add-ons taking the potential fee to £8 million.
Swansea are said to be weighing up the offer but are still hopeful that Sinclair will opt to stay and renew his contract.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Sunderland look set to have won the race to sign Adam Johnson from Manchester City and will tie up a £10 million deal soon, The Sun state.
The England international has found first-team opportunities limited at the Etihad Stadium of late, and is said to be frustrated at having to watch on from the sidelines.
With the Premier League holders eager to reduce their wage bill and balance the books in light of the upcoming Fifa Financial Fairplay rulings, the sale of Johnson is in both parties’ interest.
The Black Cats are set to beat the likes of Tottenham, Liverpool and Everton to the wideman’s signature, with Johnson ready to put pen to paper on a five-year deal.
The fee will have a number of add-ons included in it also, that will mean that the final figure may well rise as high as £15 million.
Johnson’s departure will pave the way for City to capture Swansea’s Scott Sinclair as a replacement.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Manchester United will unveil new signing Alexander Buttner on Tuesday after the Dutch defender passed a medical at Old Trafford on Monday.
The Vitesse Arnhem left-back has emerged as a slightly surprise transfer target for the Red Devils, and will complete a £3.9 million move to England on Tuesday.
United have been in the market for a new left-back to provide competition for places with Patrice Evra, and were being linked with a move for Everton’s Leighton Baines.
However, Buttner will provide a more cost-effective option, and has expressed his delight at moving to Sir Alex Ferguson’s men.
“If you had told me one week ago that I would be training with and playing for the same team as Robin van Persie, I would have sent you to a mental home,” he has stated to Dutch media, translated to English by The Telegraph.
“I’m very delighted that such a big club bought me.
“My biggest strength? I never give up. I was born in a suburb in Doetinchem, called the Camp.
“My grandparents lived in a camp, like a trailer camp, and I was a real street urchin. A little rat.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
“I was always playing football on the streets and it was a tough education, I can tell you,” he concluded.
Tottenham goalkeeper Brad Friedel has warned new signing Hugo Lloris he faces a tough fight to claim his number one shirt, reports Sky Sports.
Freidel produced an outstanding display in Tottenham’s 1-1 draw with Norwich whilst Lloris watched on from the bench, having been signed less than 24 hours earlier for a hefty £12 million.
Andre-Villas-Boas has insisted the American is currently his first choice, comments which have irked Lloris who admitted it is “never nice” to hear he may not be considered the number one.
French national team boss Didier Deschamps has also claimed the Frenchman is concerned about the situation at his new club.
However, 41-year-old veteran Friedel insists he is relishing the challenge of not only keeping out Lloris, but also Carlo Cudicini and Heurelho Gomes as the season progresses.
“It’s great to have competition,” Friedel said.
“I’m 41 right now; when I signed the contract at Tottenham I signed as a stop gap while they looked for a long-term No 1 goalkeeper.
“Hugo Lloris is going to come in and he’s going to be, I’m assuming, a very good goalkeeper. It’s a tricky situation to come into the Premier League because it does take some learning.
“Hugo Lloris is France’s No 1 and he’s going to want to come in and play; it’s a friendly competition, if you like. You have to understand Hugo Lloris is going to be a team-mate, not an enemy.
Tottenham’s luxury of goalkeeping talent has Friedel well aware that any dip in form could easily see the veteran take his place on the bench, or even see him out of the squad.
“I want to play; I’ve always wanted to play. However, I would never demean the manager or spit my dummy out, so to speak, if I’m not”, he continued.
“The fact of the matter is, right now, we have four quality goalkeepers at the football club. Right now I believe the shirt is mine to lose. I believe the manager came out and said that.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
“I think everyone just needs to have open and honest dialogue through the whole thing because at the end of the day what’s best is for Tottenham to get points on the board. It’s easier, though, to say that when you are a 41-year-old rather than a 25-year-old facing the big breaking point of his career.”
Friedel is expected to keep his place between the sticks as Tottenham travel to Reading this Sunday.
Manchester United midfielder Tom Cleverley attracted just as much over the top praise as he did needlessly negative criticism for two displays in quick succession for England over the course of the last couple of weeks, but just how good is he?
Firstly, it’s worth remembering that Cleverley isn’t actually all that young anymore, at least not by today’s standards at least, given that he turned 23 last month. Michael Owen was at his peak by that point and has been playing catch up ever since. You also have to factor that he has made just 13 first-team appearances for his club Manchester United over the past year or so, which has been heavily disturbed by injury. This followed off the back of two hugely successful loan spells, firstly with Watford in the Championship and then with Wigan in the top flight, while he also played at Leicester for a while back in 2008-9.
Far too much pressure has been put on him and during his spells at Wigan and Watford, the latter in particular, he played a lot of his football on the right of a four-man midfield. While this versatility has made him a better all-round player, it’s worth drawing attention to the fact that he’s not played all that much football through the middle during his fledgling career to date and is still in the process of learning his craft, at one of the world’s biggest clubs to boot.
To my knowledge at least, too much has was made of his central midfield partnership with Anderson at the beginning of last season; they may have excited the fans in an attacking sense, but they could be got at and they left gaping holes in the middle of the pitch at times for the opposition to exploit. There’s no denying that if it came to a big game in Europe or the Premier League now, that Sir Alex Ferguson would be likely to start with a pairing of Paul Scholes and Michael Carrick instead, simply because they’re more positionally aware, disciplined and keep the ball better.
It seems odd that Cleverley, despite his inexperience, has been deemed such a key player by England boss Roy Hodgson of late, starting the team’s last three games against Italy (friendly), Moldova and Ukraine. However, when you look around at the other options available to him, there’s really not that much else to choose from and you can hardly blame him for selecting what is undoubtedly an exciting talent as the national team continues to wait with baited breath about Jack Wilshere’s return and the effect that his year-long spell out with injury has had on him.
Hodgson didn’t help matters after Cleverley’s performance against Moldova by stating: “I suppose you could say Tom Cleverley is an attacking midfield player – but he’s an attacking midfield player in the same way Cesc Fabregas is. He plays in that position for Manchester United. He is quite capable of coming back into a central midfield role and winning the ball when necessary. Also, he took a bit more responsibility for getting closer to Jermain Defoe and allowing Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard to get on the ball in deeper positions where they are comfortable.”
Now, while the quotes themselves are fairly innocuous, every tabloid ran with a headline along the lines of ‘Hodgson declares Cleverley is England’s answer to Fabregas’ which is quite clearly preposterous off the back of a couple of good performances in a friendly match and against an international minnow. His display against Moldova wasn’t as special as everyone made it out to be, nor was he as bad against Ukraine as his detractors suggested. Inconsistency like this is to be expected early on in his career and while playing for an inherently inconsistent side like England always prove to be.
As far as I can tell, Cleverley is the sort of player who is tidy on the ball, keeps things ticking over and is always looking to play a forward pass and most importantly, he appears to play with his head up. There’s nothing particularly world-beating about him, he’s just a decent player who could one day become very good, but because he’s fairly young and plays for Manchester United, expectations have been raised to a ridiculous level.
What is interesting is that he appears to be trying to make that no.10 role behind the striker his own but Wayne Rooney returns, he’s likely to play ahead of him. His ability to spot a pass, play intricate one-touch football and up the tempo of a game will stand him in good stead in the future. Nevertheless, it’s difficult to see him occupying that role as often for his club, with Shinji Kagawa, Ashley Young and Rooney all just as capable of playing there.
Legendary youth coach Eric Harrison, who nurtured the now infamous crop which included David Beckham, Gary Neville, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt had this to say on Cleverley last year, telling Goal.com: “Tom for me is without question so good that he is the best young player at United since Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and David Beckham came on to the scene. He is so special because he is supremely fit, 100 per cent committed and he is supremely talented. He is not lightning fast over 100 yards or anything like that but over ten or 15 metres he is lightning. He has got quick feet and the team look fantastic when he is in the thick of it.”
Of course, he will know probably better than me how good Cleverley could potentially become, but it appears among all the faux hype that we’ve lost some perspective. Much like Jack Rodwell didn’t at Everton, Cleverley struggles to get into a fully fit Manchester United side week-in, week-out. Nicky Butt rather reasonably argued last week that the time to truly judge him is at the end of a season after he’s played between 30-35 games.
Hailing him as the best thing since sliced bread has done him no good and I don’t think that I’ve ever seen the media build a player up only to knock him down so quickly before. Patience is required because the honest answer is, we don’t really know how good he can become yet because he hasn’t played enough football at the top level.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
He’s not going to suddenly become the saviour of English football, nor is he a recognised match-winner, but with an increasing emphasis put on how quickly a team moves in transition from defence to attack, he could have a valuable role to play for both club and country in the future.
He’s not a very ‘English’ type of player, but neither were Glenn Hoddle, Paul Scholes or Matt Le Tissier and that can lead to a certain degree of under-appreciation of his talents at times. There will be periods when he is anonymous just as much as there will be when he’s instrumental, but it’s all part of the learning process for him. There’s no denying that a bright future awaits him, we just have to hope that the crushing expectations don’t weigh him down in the meantime, just as they have done with Theo Walcott and countless others in the past.