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.

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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.”

Chelsea produced their best performance of the season to trounce Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge to move back up to third in the Premier League table.

The Blues had suffered a stuttering start under interim boss Rafa Benitez but have finally clicked into gear at a crucial point in the season, winning five of their last six games in all competitions, and provided more evidence of their improvement under the Spaniard.

For the visitors it was an afternoon to forget and manager Paul Lambert will be hoping morale in the dressing room hasn’t depleted to a critical level as they fight to remain clear of the relegation zone heading into the New Year.

Only three minutes had passed before the home side had drawn first blood when Fernando Torres met Branislav Ivanovic’s teasing centre to power home a header from 15-yards for his seventh goal in eight games.

It got worse for Villa as Chelsea effectively ended the game as a contest with two goals in five minutes towards the end of the half. David Luiz, reborn as a holding midfielder under Benitez, curled home a sumptuous free kick in the 29th minute to make it 2-0.

Ivanovic then showed the predatory instinct of a world class forward to head Gary Cahill’s mis-hit past Brad Guzan. The away side enjoyed 15 minutes of brief respite after the break before Frank Lampard capped his 500th league start with a goal straight from his copybook, rifling the ball into the bottom corner from 25 yards.

And in a torturous final 15 minutes the west London club struck a further four goals, Ramires slotting home from substitute Lucas Piazon’s pass before Oscar scored from the penalty spot after being fouled by Chris Herd.

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Eden Hazard added the seventh after showing sublime feet to work himself into space and driving the ball into the top corner from inside the penalty area.

There was still time for Piazon to miss a penalty on his league debut before Ramires blasted in his second to complete the scoring and cap a remarkable victory for Chelsea.

After a really positive end to 2012 it’s not been such a great start to the new year for Coventry City. A disappointing defeat at home to Shrewsbury followed promptly by David McGoldrick’s inevitable exit, topped off with a 3-0 defeat to Tottenham in the FA Cup 3rd round.

The Shrewsbury defeat definitely sounds a lot worse than it was though. They raised their game and it was just one of those days in front of goal for us. If we continue to create that number of chances then we will carry on winning more games than we lose and that’s a fact.

The biggest worry I do have is whether or not we are going to be able to finish these chances that we are creating. Our main man in front of goal David McGoldrick has now completed his loan spell with the club and has decided against re-joining us.

I can’t hide my huge disappointment in this decision as he has been playing the best football of his career here at Coventry and it genuinely looked like he had found his home in football terms at least. He has been scoring goals for fun, terrorising defence’s and quickly became a firm fans favourite because of his quality and work rate. He finished his spell with the Skyblues with 17 goals from 25 games which is a sign of striker who knows where the back of the net is.

His decision however has surprised me. Not the fact he chose not to join back up with the skyblues but that he chose to join a club like Ipswich. Ipswich have been struggling this season and find themselves 19th only 5 points off of the bottom three with the worst goal difference in the league. They also are a club with a lot of good strikers on their books which include fellow new signing Aaron Mclean. He is therefore by no means guaranteed a first team place and he seemed in his time at Coventry like a player who wants to play.

I worry for him a little not only in the sense of the club he has chosen to play for who like Coventry have a reputation for ruining good players but the fact he is making the step up to the championship which he has so far failed to deliver in. He has spent a few seasons in the championship but has never been able to make a mark on it and has often been in and out of the team.

He is also going into a team where he is going to have to learn how they play. The way Coventry played suited his game perfectly and allowed him to be the main man of the team. If this changes which I’m sure it will at Ipswich I think he is going to struggle. We witnessed this in his last game for us when Mark Robin changed formation to 4-4-2. The team lost its balance a bit and McGoldrick seemed to lose his way and became unsure of where he should be with another striker up alongside him.

He has been a fantastic servant to the club in his short spell with us and for that I wish him all the best for the future and hope he makes a success of it at Ipswich. I don’t however believe that this will be the case and I’m worried his talents will once again be put into the background and become lost within the reserves and the subs bench.

McGoldrick is now the past for Coventry and Leon Clarke may be the future. Having seen him play both in these opening two fixtures for us and for his previous teams I am yet to be convinced of his talents. He is not the same sort of player as McGoldrick but I cannot stop myself from comparing them. My personal opinion is McGoldrick wins hands down on everything that a striker should offer. He is faster, has a better touch, holds the ball up better and from the goals I have seen clearly has a better finishing ability.

Another thing that worries me about Clarke is the number of clubs he has already been at despite only being 27 years old. Coventry will be his 15th club in his career with the majority of them being on loan. This worries me even more in that it seems almost as soon as a club signs Clarke they realise they have made a bad decision and loan him out. We are the 3rd club he has been loaned too since joining Charlton having only made 7 appearances for his parent club.

Whilst his overall goalscoring record is pretty appalling for a striker his goalscoring record in league one is something that could be promising for the rest of the season. He has scored 31 Goals in 40 appearances for four different League one clubs which is a prolific strike rate. If he continues this for us then we will have found a readymade replacement for McGoldrick and hopefully it will mean we won’t miss him too much.

Our first game without McGoldrick was the FA cup 3rd round tie against Tottenham Hotspur. We were all hoping for a repeat of the 1987 final but right from the start we could see this wasn’t going to be the case. Spurs came out 3-0 winners and it could of and probably should have been more. It was a disappointing day out for the club and the fans in the end which is a shame but it is time to get back to games which truly matter.

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Thursday’s Johnstone’s paint trophy tie at home to Preston is a huge game for the club. It is effectively the quarter final of the competition and I really feel it is a chance to bring some good times back to the club and get that winning mentality which we so dearly crave.

PUSB!!

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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.”

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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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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.

Norwich City, West Brom and Fulham are all keen on signing Birmingham City wonderkid Nathan Redmond this summer, according to the Daily Telegraph.

Redmond will have just 18 months left on his Blues contract when next season gets under way and the cash strapped Midlands club may have no option but to sell another one of their prized assets.

City’s owner Carson Yeung is standing trial for money laundering and so Birmingham are struggling to cope financially, despite selling England goalkeeper Jack Butland to Stoke City in January for £3.5million.

Redmond has regularly featured for England under-19’s and has impressed this season with his tricky wing play and pace that is a constant threat in the Championship.

Norwich, West Brom and Fulham are set to test the water with small bids in the next few weeks but no doubt other Premier League clubs will become interested over the course of the summer and Birmingham will hope to start a bidding war.

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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.

Arsenal’s vulnerability has reached near-critical level at this point of the summer. Real Madrid played Arsenal like the high-spending, big market veteran that it is. The La Liga club called Arsenal’s bluff on the Gonzalo Higuain deal and ended up selling the Argentine striker to Napoli. It’s what you get when you’re new to this sort of game and other clubs are well aware of your apparent intentions and ability to spend.

But how much of Arsenal’s need to appease its fan base has distorted the real bargains out on the market?

Monaco, amid huge signings of intent in bringing the Porto band back together in Joao Moutinho, James Rodriguez and Radamel Falcao (as well as Ricardo Carvalho), have also been surprisingly astute, picking up Jeremy Toulalan from cash-strapped Malaga for €5million. It’s not really prudence if it’s an unbelievable deal for a very good and experienced international. The question is where were Arsenal before the deal went through?

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It’s further proof that some of the best players don’t always demand inflated fees. Is Toulalan not a player Arsenal need? There can be no discussion as to whether he’d be a signing of necessity. A player in his mould and of his calibre as a defensive midfielder is absolutely necessary. A hitch may be with his age at 29, not being too much younger than Mikel Arteta, but issues like that shouldn’t matter when bargains are waiting to be cherry picked. There’s no doubt the Frenchman would have made an immediate difference at Arsenal, and maybe this highlights a wider criticism of the club during the summer months.

Even prior to Toulalan’s move to Monaco, it has to be asked where Arsenal were in 2011 when he made the switch from Lyon to Malaga. Would Arsenal have been dealing with a financial giant? Well not really. Malaga signed Toulalan for €12 million and were nothing of the financial power that Monaco and PSG are. Furthermore, the European football on offer at the Emirates over La Rosaleda could have been a deciding factor.

But Arsenal rarely seem to be able to work on multiple transfers at once. The truth is we don’t really know, but that’s the general impression that’s created. I’d love to think that the transfer department at Arsenal is a well-oiled machine working diligently and purposely creating a false mask of ineptitude. But that could be a little out there.

This summer has been so central to finding a world-class striker that there has seemingly been total neglect over other areas of the squad in desperate need of attention. Oh, the club have lodged bids for Marouane Fellaini and Lars Bender, but those resembled passing interest over what is at stake in the striker market. Just like Monaco and its counterparts in the market, Arsenal need to make an impression and names like Bender and to an extent Fellaini will do that. But if they’re not there, if all the money in the world can’t prise them from their clubs, players like Toulalan offer an excellent stop-gap until next summer’s window.

Toulalan has the Champions League experience that’s required at Arsenal, as well as the title success garnered from his days with Lyon. He aided in Ignacio Camacho’s development last season, something that could be used in Aaron Ramsey’s redefining as a deep-lying playmaker/holding midfielder. It’s win-win, and for a club who previously boasted of its spending capabilities being in excess of £70 million, a €5 million deal for a player who will add much, much more than just a backup is not something to fret over or pass up.

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Have Arsenal missed a bargain in Jeremy Toulalan this summer?

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