League leaders Chelsea welcome struggling Norwich City to Stamford Bridge on Saturday, hoping to maintain their unbeaten start to the season.
The two teams have endured contrasting seasons, with Chelsea picking up three points at the Emirates last time out, before firing another four goals in midweek.
Norwich endured a miserable afternoon at home to Liverpool last time out, losing 2-5 and looking extremely vulnerable at the back.
The blues have no new injury concerns, with Daniel Sturridge still unavailable through a hamstring injury. This means Fernando Torres is set to continue leading the line, hoping to add to the brilliant finish he produced at the Emirates last weekend.
Norwich could have defender Sebastian Bassong and forward Anthony Pilkington available, despite both struggling with injuries.
Grant Holt is likely to start as the lone forward, after coming on to score a consolation against Liverpool last weekend.
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Midfielder Simon Lappin is out with an ankle problem, whilst full back Steven Whittaker is also unavailable.
The problems are rapidly starting to mount up for Andre Villas-Boas. In a week where managerial upheaval has gripped West London, the Portuguese strategist must be looking perilously over his shoulder. Four defeats in their last five games have hit Spurs hard and they now sit eighth in the table, seven points off the Champions League pace. It was at this point last year that he began to unravel as a manager down the road at Stamford Bridge and theres a danger of history repeating itself at White Hart Lane this season. There is no reason why he shouldn’t with the calibre of players at his disposal, but his tendency for convolution in his tactical strategies could prevent him from meeting the set objectives. And worse cost him his job.
This week on FFC will £20 million be enough to improve Spurs in the January transfer window and who could be set to swap White Hart Lane for the sunnier climate of Spain?
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Best of FFC
Time has come for Villas-Boas to be brave with his selection
A transfer risk worth taking for Tottenham Hotspur?
Time to make the change permanent at Tottenham?
Will £20m be enough for Tottenham?
Time for Villas-Boas to brave and throw starlet into the fray
Out of touch with reality at Tottenham?
Tottenham keen on £10m winger
Spurs and Chelsea set to battle for Brazilian
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Best of WEB
Not all 5-2 defeats are the same. – Spurs musings from Jimmy G2
All The Way From New York – Harry Hotspur
From Wankdorf to Wembley – Dear Mr Levy
Levy Refuses To Buckle : AVB Project Will Proceed As Planned – Transfer Tavern
Between love and madness – Dear Mr Levy
Bad News For AVB Haters – Harry Hotspur
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Quote of the Week
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“We’re all frustrated about the way things are going. I don’t know what’s not clicking. Hopefully it will start clicking as soon as possible otherwise, trust me, we will find ourselves in difficulty. My friends tell me to keep positive so I don’t really want to think about how bad it could be. If we get badder (sic) than this, I think we’d be dead. It was our lucky day against Lazio. They got so many chances. At the moment, things are looking bad, but we just have to find a way to get through this. We have to improve because we’re not playing the best game at the moment.” Emmanuel Adebayor says Spurs need to improve quickly or their season will be over before they know it
It appears after the latest spate of Premier League sackings that changing the manager is seen as the magic solution to solve all problems within a Premier League club. So would extending the transfer window rules to only allow managerial changes in the summer or January help?
It certaintly not implausible when you assess the latest changes at Chelsea and QPR. Will Benitez do a better job than Di Matteo? Is Harry Redknapp able to save QPR from relegation? I am not convinced on either of those fronts.
If Di Matteo had been given till January, who knows he may have been able to shake off the November curse those managers have suffered at Stamford Bridge. There is always talk of a honeymoon period when a new boss comes into the club and the players being revitalised, but with what is at stake in terms of pride and finance in the Premier League, it surely is a concern that this is not enough for them. The players have to take responsibility for their actions, and if they know that even if results are bad they had to wait till January for a manager change, maybe it would make some of them wake up and smell the coffee.
There definitely is a trend to have a knee jerk reaction around the Christmas period with owners panicking that their side around 10 games into a season won’t be able to turn things around. Despite this it appears that owners should have a little more faith that their boss can deliver the goods. It does not always work out well when the manager is sacked too. Last season Wolves went down with a whimper after sacking Mick McCarthy in the heat of the moment after a 5-1 defeat to West Brom.
There is a clamour for stability at football clubs, matched by the desperation to change when they see the grass is greener, but it can’t always be rosier, and if the ask appears too much to be expect from another manager it often is. Harry ‘Houdini’ let’s not forget was the same boss who sent Southampton down with Peter Crouch in the side, expecting him to keep a QPR side up already 4 points adrift of 19th place is a huge burden to carry. I am aware that fan pressure has a huge say too and nobody likes watching their side lose, but isn’t it time we gave our manager’s some protection.
If Mr Abramovich had to wait till January till he sacked Di Matteo maybe he would have seen all was not so bad, especially if they qualify for the knockout stages in Champions League. The sacking of a manager as well can sometimes contribute to manager’s simply getting a job purely because the owner wants one. It is like a kid in a sweet shop mentality that the owner has to get the latest one in fashion, or just pay for a new one anyway through boredom. They have their few weeks in the headlines, with everyone desperate to know who they will pick. Then the long awaited appointment arrives and it is not always met with euphoria. Newcastle fans never wanted Joe Kinnear, nor did Charlton ever see Iain Dowie as the knight in shining armour to solve their problems, and the appointment of Paul Hart at any club filled the fans with any glee.
A transfer window would provide protection for both clubs and managers in that the owner has to have the foresight to make a long term plan. Seeing as the fit and proper person test for an Owner has regularly been seen as laughable, surely this would be a way of testing the owner’s capability to run a football club, rather than giving him full reign to make whatever petty decision he so chooses. After all football clubs may be a business, but they are more than that to the fans who wait every weekend to watch their teams play. When planning to go to games it is not uncommon for supporters to plan their travel months in advance to be able to afford to go, and they have to sometimes pick and choose their games wisely. So surely it isn’t too much to ask for the owner to be forced to plan in advance too.
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The change of a manager surely has to be a natural progression and a correct fit. The reason why West Brom and Swansea have both continued to flourish despite losing Brendan Rodgers and Roy Hodgson in the summer respectively is because they were able to plot their moves wisely. In particular at West Bromwich Albion they employed a Sporting director in Dan Ashworth who had the foresight to see the greater picture, the brand of football and the type of player West Brom were looking to sign. He encouraged the owner’s that Steve Clarke was the right man for the job and it has paid dividends. Similarly, Huw Jenkins had time to see that Laudrup also plays football with a fluidity and style that Martinez and Rodgers had already implemented as a philosophy at the club.
It is a cliché that is often heard in football that club’s come out saying they believe in the vision of their new manager and they are delighted with the appointment, well maybe it’s time we implement a managerial transfer window and then the people making these monumental decisions are forced to think them through.
manager Andre Villas-Boas has told his players that they must avoid another costly slip up at home against Reading on New Year’s day in their quest for a top four finish.
AVB doesn’t want to see standards subside in a game against a Reading team who visit White Hart Lane off the back of a 1-0 win against West Ham at the Madejski Stadium.
Spurs have the chance to finish off a Christmas schedule of near perfection with a win against the Royals, making it seven points from a potential nine.
Talking to Sky Sports the Spurs boss commented that the New Year’s Day game will certainly be a tough one, noting that “The problem with that fixture is that we have done extremely well away from home, but we have to keep up the momentum.”
“We have to keep our home form going and it would be silly for us not to continue at this level, so it is a fixture in which we really want to get the three points to close finally the festive fixtures with three wins, hopefully, and one draw.
“[The players] have been excellent. The December that we [have] had shows exactly that.
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“We had big, big results against difficult teams and the Europa League in between.
“If we manage to take this form into January, it would be excellent.”
Darron Gibson has backed Everton team-mate Seamus Coleman to stop Gareth Bale when the Blues travel to Spurs on Sunday.
Everton will hope to maintain their push for a top-four finish this season with a positive result at White Hart Lane this weekend.
However, they will again have to keep star man Bale quiet and Gibson says fellow Irishman Coleman knows how to combat the Welsh wizard after restricting him in the first fixture between the sides earlier in the campaign – and also last term.
“Seamus has dealt with him quite well the last two times he has played against him,” Gibson told the club’s website.
“I think he (Bale) has been unbelievable. He’s won games for Spurs on his own.”
He added: “It’s good for English football and it’s good for Spurs but hopefully he is not good on Sunday against us. I think he is up there with the best in Europe at the minute.”
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It’s proven to be a testing season for Mark Hughes and QPR so far, following some hefty pre season spending. Hughes has seen his side take just two points from their opening seven games, and the Welshman has already become odds on to win this seasons sack race.
Many have voiced their surprise at QPR’s current predicament, considering the money they have spent during the last two transfer windows and the appointment of the highly rated Hughes last season.
Personally, I am not so surprised, being of the opinion Hughes is highly overrated. I have never really understood the hype surrounding Hughes and his coaching ability.
Press and pundits almost simultaneously gathered to mourn his sacking at Manchester City, as if a managerial great had been cruelly snatched away from the Premier League. The brutal nature of his dismissal surely played a part in the outpouring of sympathy, but the harsh truth of the matter is that Hughes didn’t do nearly well enough at the Ethihad.
I have struggled to see any particular playing style Hughes brings to the teams he coaches. None have ever been hailed as particularly exciting, interesting considering his own skillful and flamboyant playing style. His sides are infact often considered overly physical and aggressive. When in charge of Blackburn, Hughes saw his side finish bottom of the fair play league in all four of his seasons in charge. Let us also not forget the seemingly never ending list of red cards QPR received in the second half of last season.
Off the pitch I have also struggled to warm to him. Hughes’ post match interviews are never the most interesting or exciting, and more often than not consist of blaming match officials for a lack of result rather than providing answers for his teams shortcomings. His resignation from Fulham in 2011 showed a distinct lack of class, claiming: “As a young, ambitious manager I wish to move on to further my experiences”. His struggles at QPR since prove he may have been better staying at the club who rescued him from football wilderness after his ill-fated spell at Manchester City, for slightly longer than 11 months.
Looking back at his managerial career, there has been limited success. A top six finish with Blackburn in 2005-2006 is arguably the highlight, alongside narrowly missing out on qualification for Euro 2004 with Wales.
But since his spell in charge of Manchester City, Hughes has struggled. The problem I think lies in Hughes dealings in the transfer market. His most successful spells in management came at Wales and Blackburn, where on both occasions he had to simply work with what he had.
He did very well on a limited budget at Ewood Park, bringing in the likes of Benni McCarthy, Roque Santa Cruz, David Bentley and Christopher Samba for a combined total of roughly £9 million. It is my opinion that Hughes is better working at smaller clubs where there is less pressure, as his strengths appear to lie in galvanising a team that is struggling and scrapping for points as underdogs.
It is when Hughes has had money to spend at a bigger club that he has been questioned. Hughes was responsible for spending over £100 million during his time at the Etihad. Of all the players he bought in from 2008 to the present, only Gareth Barry, Vincent Kompany, Kolo Toure, Joleon Lescott Pablo Zabeletta and Carlos Tevez (just about) remain.
The likes of £32.5 million man Robinho have long gone, alongside other expensive acquisitions such as Emmanuel Adebayor, Roque Santa Cruz, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Wayne Bridge, Nigel De Jong, Shay Given, Craig Bellamy, Tal Ben Haim and Jo. Of all the names in that list, how many were successful at the Ethihad?
It seems Hughes has bought that unpredictability in the transfer market with him to QPR. Last season saw him tasked with keeping Rangers in the Premier League, and was given money to spend in the January transfer window. It went to the last day, but following some superb home performances QPR avoided the drop, and served as another example of Hughes galvanising a struggling side.
But this season, having been tasked with taking QPR to the next level as an established Premier League side, Hughes has once more looked out of his depth. He has virtually started from scratch at Loftus Road, purchasing almost an entire new squad, in what looks like something of a scattergun approach.
The likes of Park Ji-Sung, Julio Cesar, Fabio, Ryan Nelsen, Andy Johnson, Jose Bosingwa, Esteban Granero, Stéphane Mbia, Samba Diakité and Junior Hoilett have all arrived at Loftus Road, with the vast majority being free transfers over aged 30 or above. January signings Djibril Cisse and Bobby Zamora are also reaching the latter stages of their careers.
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It is hard to see any sort of vision Hughes is outlining for the future, and looks more of an attempt for a quick fix. After a disastrous start to the season, it is time for Hughes to step up and get his team fighting for points as he has done before deploying the underdog tactic, a tactic that has served him well before.
It is only when Hughes is able to show more than this, that he will ever be considered anything more than a mediocre manager in my opinion. QPR should have enough to stay up this season, but the clubs owner Tony Fernandes, as well as Hughes himself would have been hoping for far more this time around.
Do you think Mark Hughes is overrated? Follow me on Twitter @LukeGreenwood89 and let me know your thoughts.
Wales head coach Chris Coleman has stated that he would not swap key attacker Gareth Bale for any other player in Britain.
The Tottenham winger has been in fine form for the Celtic nation, and has scored six goals in his last seven internationals, including a brace against Scotland on Friday night.
With a tough trip to take on Croatia on Tuesday in the offing, Coleman has confessed that Bale is a talent unlike the nation has seen in some time.
“He’s scored all our goals so far, but that performance on Friday wasn’t just Baley,” said Coleman, published in The Telegraph.
“He got the goals but there were some terrific performances. I know people are talking about him. He’s a show-stopper. People pay money to come and watch him play. I know about that. But we have another 10 players who played their part.
“But when you have a player who can make the difference you have to use him. We’ve got options with Gareth. He can be devastating when he plays out wide and cuts inside his full-back, but it’s always an option to play him in the centre.
“Gareth knows where he can hurt the opposition. When you have good players you don’t want to pigeon hole him. Look where he got the winning goal from – yet he was playing on the right side for us. When he runs through the middle he can cause you problems.
“You’d be crazy to try and swap him. There’s a lot of good players in Britain. I don’t want to label Baley as the best but I will label him as a terrific, terrific player.
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“Anyone can see when he’s got the ball he’s devastating. He plays with passion and incredible ability,” he concluded.
After 26 years in charge of Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson has decided to call it a day. As an end of an era draws to a close, a new legacy under David Moyes will begin.
Moyes, who was hand picked by Ferguson himself to be the new manager at Manchester United, has a big decision to make on his arrival at Old Trafford.
His biggest and most publicised decision will be what to do with Wayne Rooney, with Unibet offering short odds for him to leave in the summer. The striker wants out. Rooney has handed in another transfer request and many fans have lost patience with him. The man who first wanted to leave because the club lacked ambition, is now being forced out by the ambition the club has shown. His head is gone and he’s no longer committed to United. Ferguson believes he needs a summer away and time to clear his head.
Moyes and Rooney have history. Moyes gave Rooney his Premier League debut and was heavily involved in Rooney’s early career. But after Rooney left Everton, their relationship turned sour. Rooney claimed in his book that Moyes leaked a private conversation to the Liverpool Echo about why he wanted to leave Everton. Moyes sued Rooney for libel damages and Rooney agreed that the accusations were false. They have since patched up their differences.
When Moyes arrives, Rooney’s situation needs to be dealt with quickly. He needs to stamp his mark on this squad. If he feels he needs Rooney in that squad, then Moyes will need to talk Rooney round and assure him he is a vital part of that team. If not, then it’s time for Rooney and United to move on.
The squad that Moyes will inherit is in great shape. That is the belief of the departing manager anyway. Ferguson believes that he is leaving the club at the right time with the squad being in the best possible shape.
Not everyone agrees with Fergie though. Many people believed that this current squad was not one of Ferguson’s best. It lacked the real quality of the Champions League winning sides of 1999 and 2008. But if it was one of Ferguson’s poorer sides, then comfortably winning the Premiership back from their noisy neighbours will satisfy all United fans.
Even with the critics, Ferguson believes that the balance of the squad that he will leave behind bodes well for continued success. The balance of experienced players like Van Persie, Carrick, Giggs, Ferdinand and the mix of youngsters like Jones, De Gea, Rafael, Welbeck, will yet again see Manchester United challenge for the title next season.
United’s youth team is incredibly strong also. Ferguson believed in developing youth and their current youth squad will see future first team players in the not to distant future. Moyes also believes in developing youth and giving youngsters a chance.
Moyes will look to stamp his own mark on the squad. Even though the current squad won the title, it needs improving. Getting knocked out of the Champions League to Real Madrid in the last 16 is not good enough for a club like United and they will look to mount a challenge next season.
It looks certain that Moyes will look to raid his old club Everton. Leighton Baines looks a target, as does Marouane Fellaini and Phil Jagielka. If Rooney leaves, then a replacement will be needed. With Rio Ferdinand yet to sign another contract, tying the centre half up for another year will be a great signing for Moyes. With Paul Scholes retirement and a lack of quality in depth in midfield, a centre midfielder is a must for United this summer.
With Moyes having to deal with the Rooney issue, he also has to deal with the pressure of succeeding the most successful British manager of all time. There will be a lot of pressure on Moyes when he arrives at Old Trafford.
The shadow of Sir Alex will certainly loom over Moyes, but it shouldn’t let it worry him. Ferguson will still be around the club and helping Moyes behind the scenes. Moyes will need help behind the scenes due to the enormity of the brand that is Manchester United.
On the pitch, Moyes will be encouraged to play his own brand of football. Fans will demand that it is an attractive style of football and Moyes will look to deliver that.
The role that Ferguson will play in Moyes’ early days at Old Trafford will be like an apprenticeship. Ferguson will groom Moyes into the role as Manchester United manager and after a period of time, when Ferguson feels like Moyes knows all he needs to know about being Manchester United’s manager, he will slowly ease away.
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As helpful as it is that the great man will be around to help, it is a performance based industry. If results are not going Moyes’ way, then it will be interesting to see how the United fans react. Moyes has signed a six year contract. Success may not be in his first season. It may take time for Moyes to get to grips with managing one of the biggest clubs in the world. If it does, then the fans need to be supportive. Sir Alex Ferguson did not achieve success straight away. In 1989, fans were calling for Fergie’s head. They wanted rid of Ferguson as they believed he couldn’t deliver success. Now those same fans are hailing the greatest manager of all time as he enters retirement.
It’s going to be a huge challenge for Moyes, but one that he will cherish. Moyes shares the same qualities as Fergie, hence why the Scotsman hand picked Moyes to replace him at Old Trafford. They are both incredibly loyal, share the same immense work ethic, get the best out of their players, clever in the transfer market, media savvy and have an incredible will to win. With Moyes and Ferguson being so alike, this should enable a smooth transition over the summer.
There will never be a manager like Sir Alex Ferguson again. Moyes will try everything he can to emulate Sir Alex. United don’t want a repeat of life after Sir Matt Busby where they faded into the wilderness. They are one of the biggest clubs in the world and success is demanded.
Summary: A last minute Emmerson Boyce own goal denied Wigan the chance to move out of the bottom three as Tottenham salvaged a point at the DW Stadium.
The Latics required a victory to leapfrog Aston Villa to the safe-haven of 17th but were undone by one of their own at the death, while a draw prevented Spurs from re-entering the top-four.
Andre Villas-Boas men were on top in the opening stages and almost lead after five minutes when Tom Huddlestone’s free kick came off the post before Gareth Bale put them in front in bizarre circumstances.
A farcical exchange of passes between goalkeeper Joel and Maynor Figueroa in the penalty area ended with the former’s half-hearted clearance collided off Bale and flew into the net. A just reward for the Welshman’s persistence.
That spurred the home side on and they levelled two minutes later when Callum McManaman’s corner was powerfully headed in Boyce before Joel atoned from his earlier error to deny Jermain Defoe and Scott Parker in quick succession.
And four minutes after the break Wigan went in front when the ball fell nicely for McManaman to control and smash a stunning 20-yard volley past Hugo Lloris.
Arouna Kone was denied by the legs of Lloris and substitute Franco Di Santo curled wide before Boyce inadvertently turned in Huddlestone’s drilled free kick from the right as Tottenham avoided an embarrassing defeat.
Roberto Martinez post-match…”The equaliser is what disappoints me. It is not a free-kick in the first place, when you are at the bottom of the table it seems you attract the ball to the back of your net sometimes, but those are the small margins that sometimes affect the results.”
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Andre Villas-Boas post-match…”We did ever so well in the first half, ten shots against their two. The problem is that when we came back on after half-time we thought we were in control and Wigan scored almost straight away and that really shook our confidence.”
Good day for…Tom Huddlestone: Handed a rare start by Villas-Boas and fully repaid his manager with an unblemished display in the heart of midfield. Conducted everything from his central perch, keeping it simple for the most park, while offering a fleeting reminder of his passing range with a few raking balls across the DW Stadium pitch.
Bad day for…Joel: Doubt many will hold it against Roberto Martinez for reinstalling Ali Al-Habsi between the sticks for Wigan’s next fixture after Joel’s role in a farcical opening goal. The Latics can’t afford to persist with a nervous goalkeeper given their Premier League status remains under threat.
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has hinted that Raheem Sterling will play a bit part role for the rest of the season.
The teenager burst onto the scene this term, becoming a key member of the Reds’ first-team during the opening half of the Premier League season.
His fine performances even led to the 18-year-old securing his first international cap, with Roy Hodgson selecting him for November’s friendly against Sweden.
However, in recent weeks a dip in form, allied with Liverpool’s moves in the transfer market, has seen the winger play a more peripheral role on match days.
Rodgers believes that his starlet must be managed correctly if he is to on to fulfil his potential at the highest level:
“This is a kid we’re talking about, so we have to take a wee step back,” he is quoted by The Mirror.
“This league is so mentally and physically draining, it hurts experienced professionals and this boy has just stepped up from the Academy.
“The zip has gone and that’s down to fatigue. But was that to be expected? Yes it was.”
Sterling has been impressive on the whole this season, notching two goals and assists in 23 Premier League appearances.
As a result he is likely to be disappointed by his manager’s decision to ease him out of first-team action, but Rodgers says that he has talked to the player about it and explained his reasons:
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“I was talking to him the other day about this, and if he didn’t kick another ball this season he’s had a good one.
“So we have to nurture him and protect him – it’s just a very demanding league.”