Liverpool’s defence of the Capital One Cup will begin away at West Brom.
The Baggies pummelled Brendan Rodgers’ side 3-0 on the opening day of the season, and the tie once again pits West Brom boss Steve Clarke against his former employers.
Manchester United have been handed a difficult draw; they host Alan Pardew’s Newcastle United. Losing semi finalists last year Manchester City, meanwhile, take on Aston Villa at the Etihad.
Andre Villas-Boas’s Spurs face a potential culture shock as they travel to League One outfit Carlisle United. Chelsea host recently-relegated Wolverhampton Wanderers, who wrapped up the second round draw after winning 3-1 away at Northampton Town.
Arsenal, who have historically fielded youngsters in the competition host Coventry City, who are currently without a permanent manager following Andy Thorn’s sacking.
Everton, who currently hold a 100 per cent record in all competitions this season, face a tough assignment away at Neil Warnock’s Leeds United.
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.
Seriously, how Jekyll and Hyde do Spurs want to be this season? Four consecutive Premier League defeats that threatened to derail their Champions League dreams wiped out by two wins on the spin and two performances bristling with confidence. Such inconsistency in their form points to a team still trying to establish their identity under a new manager. The man in question, Andre Villas-Boas, remains on his own fact finding missing to locate the all important winning formula that will earn the North London club a spot on Europe’s elite table. But, as the season approaches its half way mark, Villas-Boas needs to find some uniformity with his starting lineup and drill home the importance of retaining focus during a physically and psychologically demanding Christmas period.
This week on FFC is Scott Parker the man Spurs are missing most and which French striker could be on his way to White Hart Lane in the January transfer window?
[divider]
Best of FFC
A transfer risk worth taking for Tottenham Hotspur?
Why Gareth Bale is caught between two stalls with dream move
An inspired January signing for Tottenham Hotspur?
Tottenham’s forgotten man can help turn their fortunes around
Would UEFA intervention make any difference?
Tottenham V Liverpool Combined XI
Time for Tottenham to finally address this problem?
Could Tottenham do a little more on the PR front?
Spurs and Newcastle on alert as Frenchman exit nears
Spurs fight for £6.5m French U21 international
Tottenham consider January move for Sporting Lisbon ace
[divider]
Best of WEB
Can Andre fix it? – Spurs musings from Jimmy G2
Analyise This – Harry Hotspur
Champions league? Michel is ‘aving a laugh – Dear Mr Levy
Gareth Bale Sends A Chill Down Spurs Fan’s Spines – Transfer Tavern
Driving Home with Sandro – Spurs musings from Jimmy G2
The silence is killing us – Dear Mr Levy
So I Wrote To Peter Herbert – Harry Hotspur
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.
[divider]
Quote of the Week
[divider]
“The fans have the right to everything in my opinion. They are the ones who breathe the biggest passion for the football club, they are the essence and they breathe the values of the football club. They are entitled to whatever they want to say or chant; disappointment, belief, encouragement, positiveness. It is all down to them, football is about them, it is about their passion. They have the right more than anybody to show that. (As a manager) you have to take it. Sometimes we don’t like what we hear but that’s life.” Andre Villas-Boas says Spurs fans have the right to boo if they’re not playing well
Stoke defender Andy Wilkinson has been charged with violent conduct by the Football Association following an incident with Manchester City’s Mario Balotelli.
Wilkinson is alleged to have elbowed Balotelli during Stoke’s 1-1 draw with champions Manchester City at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday. The incident was missed by the match officials, but after reviewing television footage the FA has decided to charge Wilkinson, who has until 6pm on Wednesday to respond to the charge.
If he is found guilty Wilkinson is likely to be handed a three-match ban. The FA’s statement read:
“Stoke City’s Andy Wilkinson has been charged by The FA with violent conduct following an incident in his side’s game against Manchester City on Saturday 15 September 2012.
“Wilkinson was involved in an incident with City’s Mario Balotelli, which was not seen by the match officials but caught on video. Wilkinson has until 6pm on Wednesday 19 September 2012 to respond to the charge.”
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.
Stoke face a tough fixture at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, and Tony Pulis will need his defenders fully focused against an in form Chelsea side.
Manchester United have started their 2012-13 season with a defeat, as Everton triumphed over the title hopefuls 1-0 at Goodison Park on Monday night.
Sir Alex Ferguson gave a Premier League debut to Shinji Kagawa, and also brought Robin van Persie off the bench with 20 minutes remaining, but a Marouane Fellaini strike on 57 minutes decided the fixture in the favour of the hosts.
David Moyes hailed the impact on his Belgian midfielder after the victory, and was delighted with the result.
“Fellaini was excellent tonight but we know he’s capable of that,” the Scottish boss told Sky Sports.
“He can play in that position, he can play in the centre of the park. He’s a really talented footballer.
“It was hard for them. Manchester United, you have to remember, were without some central defenders tonight. But I did think Fellaini caused them problems.
“Manchester United are a big threat. If you lose concentration for a minute or turn off, they’re liable to punish you.
“But I thought we defended really well when we had to tonight, and I think we caused them some problems when we had the ball.
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 thought Phil Jagielka, Sylvain Distin, all the defenders, did a great job in making sure we didn’t concede a goal,” he concluded.
Dark, ominous clouds have become a permanent fixture at Villa Park in recent times, as evident from the club’s recent kit launch. The aftermath of Martin O’Neill’s resignation coupled with huge financial losses and the departure of key players has seen the club plummet towards the foot of the table. Even the appointment of promising manager Paul Lambert has failed to lift the spirits of fans still reeling from the soul-destroying reign of Alex McLeish.
The recent activity from the summer transfer window offered more questions than answers, as the club steered clear of experienced Premier League professionals and instead decided to supplement their already significant number of promising youngsters. However, the return of striker Gabriel Agbonlahor – without wanting to endorse an overused cliché – will feel like a new signing.
Agbonlahor can no longer hide behind his tag as ‘a star in the making’, instead the onus will be on the 25-year-old to act as a talisman as Lambert begins his rejuvenation process. Incredibly, this will be his eighth season as a member of the Villans first-team but few could argue that he has reached his full potential. His lightning speed is his best and sometimes only positive attribute, with many supporters acknowledging that a vast improvement is needed if he is to torment the league’s best defenders.
In recent weeks, the former England international has voiced his desire to play a central role in the heart of Villa’s attack. In order to fashion these claims into a reality he must first match or perhaps better the strike-rate of team-mate Darren Bent, a tall order for a player who struggles to nudge his goal tally into double figures. Furthermore he will have to fend off the challenge of Andreas Weimann and new signing Jordan Bowery, who have replaced Agbonlahor as the talented youngsters trying to infiltrate the starting XI.
The fortunes of Aston Villa will rely heavily on Lambert’s ability to coax the very best out of his players, especially as the squad is littered with individuals desperately clinging onto former glories or struggling to fulfil their much-publicised promise. The former Norwich manager is also renowned for his love of big, burly target men as evident from his affection towards Grant Holt and Steve Morison. This may also highlight why he decided to spend £7m on Genk’s 6 foot 6 inch behemoth Christian Benteke on transfer deadline day.
Whereas Darren Bent harbours the capability to be deployed as a lone striker, I can’t see Agbonlahor effectively shielding the ball away from the physically more dominant defenders. Despite his reluctance to do so, he may have to give up the limelight and begin reinventing himself as winger who can also operate as an inside forward. He may currently lack the creative flair to conjure up an inch perfect cross but his pace and trickery is far more likely to be effective up against a lone full-back. It’s no secret that Villa have failed to replace the attacking wide players of Ashley Young or Stewart Downing and even with the emergence of Marc Albrighton, there is still a vacant role on the flanks waiting to be filled.
If Agbonlahor is gifted his chance to operate as Villa’s fixed point of attack, he must reproduce the sort of displays that previously raised fans to their feet. If his shooting boots desert him then he must continue to hound the opposition with tenacious displays, even if it means letting someone else hog all the goal-scoring headlines. In the absence of Stilian Petrov, the club has lost its influential leader and who better to take up the mantle than a local lad and lifelong fan of the club.
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 still believe there’s a world-class footballer desperate to break free from within Gabriel Agbonlahor; I just hope this is the season we finally get to see him.
QPR have had a second bid for Peter Odemwingie rejected by West Brom with the striker now set to face disciplinary action following an online outburst, the Telegraph reports.
The Nigerian international illustrated his wish to leave the Hawthorns on Friday by handing in a transfer request as he looked to force through a move to the club’s Premier League rivals.
Albion quickly rebuffed his demands leading to the 31-year-old to vent his frustration at the club via his Twitter account, for which he now faces heavy punishment.
West Brom’s acting sporting and technical director Richard Garlick revealed Rangers had made a second approach for Odemwingie, an improvement on the £2million offered at the start of January, but is adamant no one will be leaving the club before the transfer window closes on Thursday
“QPR have made a second, improved offer for Peter, which we have turned down,” he said.
“As we have repeatedly stated, we have no need or desire to sell our core players.”
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.
Garlick also refused to disclose how the Baggies would reprimand the striker for his comments over the weekend, saying: “Since we turned down Peter’s transfer request, he has made his position clear in a statement to the media and via his personal Twitter account.
“This matter will be dealt with internally.”
Make sure you do your Tax Return before the 31st January, click here now
It should have been business as usual for Manchester United when they faced Arsenal last weekend, and in some ways it was. All United really had to do was turn up to face the team they demolished 8-2 last season, and there should really have been no fear for the visitors as Arsenal haven’t been a genuine threat at Old Trafford for around five or six years. The win was a given for the home side, but it did nothing to reinforce their position as title favourites this season.
Many Arsenal fans haven’t taken too kindly to the comments from the United camp and others in football that the home side should have scored at least five or six, going a decent way to replicating the embarrassment dished out last season. But was it the lack of threat from Arsenal that forced United to remain in second gear throughout the game, or did it tell something more of their own quality?
So far this season, Manchester United have been tested by Fulham, Tottenham, Stoke, Galatasaray, and Braga at home. Fortunately for Alex Ferguson’s side, they’ve managed to come out on top in each of those games except against Tottenham. That tired line of the ‘form of champions’ to come from behind to grab all three points is incredibly wide of the mark.
[ad_pod id=’dfp-468′ align=’center’]
Yes, United are the name you associate with Premier League football because of their success, but why should history have any relevance on how poor they sometimes can be? Should a Manchester United team—and this one really aren’t as bad as has been suggested—really be going behind to these teams or using the ropes to prop them up?
Maybe Robin van Persie was willing to show his merciful side against his old club on the weekend, converting only one of his handful of chances during the game. Wouldn’t a devastating score line have said a lot more about where United are and should be this season?
It could be a psychological issue. It would seem a waste to go down the road of suggesting the overriding factor of this United team is that many aren’t good enough, because as mentioned that’s not the case for most of the squad. Why is it then that they can continue to concede in the manner they do, why can they not hold a team like Galatasaray—who really have not impressed in Europe this season—to more than just a one-goal win? The story in Braga this week could have been so different were it not for their goalkeeper deciding to go for a walkabout and Javier Hernandez benefiting from a scramble on the Braga goal line.
The fact of this season is that United have been stretched in almost every game, losing against good opposition at home and relying heavily on one player when they really shouldn’t. How long will it be before Jonny Evans gets a straight red for one of his reckless challenges, the type that is sometimes missed because there was a story from the player on the other end?
The win against Chelsea gave us some evidence that there is a good team in there who can go away to one of the more impressive sides in the league and start much more brightly, although the win wasn’t entirely of their own doing. But that game wasn’t one of many, rather it acted as one of the exceptions.
How long can this team continue to rely on van Persie (yes, in exactly the same way Arsenal did last season) and how long can people continue to say ‘United always find a way to make it through’? They’ve been fortunate that the Champions League group stage has been somewhat kind to them this year and it shouldn’t be looked at as a case of them conquering the group in the way you’d expect. Every other English team is struggling at the moment and there is a very real possibility that all of them may not join United in the knockout phase.
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 doesn’t just amount to a leaky defence owed to a lack of consistent personnel. There doesn’t seem to be the same drive to go and take control of games in a manner in which they should be able to.
Again, even with a limp, lifeless and uninspired Arsenal as the opposition last weekend, United helped to create a score line that many may look back at in the future as something of a close game. It wasn’t, but that was because of the lifeless visiting team.
Liverpool legend Kevin Keegan has said that the best is yet to come from the clubs leading scorer this season, Luis Suarez, Liverpool Echo reports.
The Uruguayan striker has enjoyed an excellent goal scoring season so far, already surpassing his 17 goal tally in all competitions for the whole of the last campaign, after scoring twice in his sides 3-0 victory over Sunderland on Wednesday.
However Anfield legend Kevin Keegan believes that the 25-year-old has the potential to get even better as he continues to mature as a player, likening his progress to that of club icon Kenny Dalglish at a similar age.
“Suarez is still only 25, two years younger than when Kenny Dalglish joined the club,” said Keegan.
“And so, to put it in football parlance, Suarez has not reached his peak yet.”
“Most players peak at 27 and what he will learn in the next three years is the art of goal-scoring and he will become more clinical.”
“Both myself and Kenny left Liverpool as better goalscorers.”
Suarez has often had to plough a bit of a lone furrow up front for Brendan Rodgers side this season, scoring 15 of his sides 34 league goals so far while also providing assists for five of the other goals.
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.
Rodgers has moved quickly in the winter window to bring in support for the Uruguayan in the shape of Daniel Sturridge, while hoping Suarez can continue his fantastic form from the first half of the season.
Enduring a defeat at home in soul-sappingly insipid manner that Tottenham Hotspur to Wigan Athletic on Saturday, it can often be difficult to keep a cool head and maintain perspective in the heat of the moment. Fans were rightfully bitterly disappointed in the wake of Spurs’ 1-0 loss and manager Andre Villas-Boas seems to have borne the majority of supporters’ frustration.
Yet although the Portuguese has made his share of mistakes since his arrival in N17, there is something misguided, if not slightly macabre, in the proportion of blame that’s currently being attributed to the ex-Chelsea manager at the moment.
Because for all the troubles that Andre Villas-Boas may currently be facing and having to deal with at White Hart Lane at the moment, there is another man at the club who must carry a far higher segment of blame than any one prepares to be happy to attribute to him.
Indeed, trying to even fairly critique Spurs chairman Daniel Levy, is at times a near on impossible task, such is the unassailable pedestal given to him by some fans. The merest suggestion that he may have made a mistake in the transfer market or aiming a shot at his culture of brinkmanship, is sometimes greeted by a sense of widespread derision.
“Look what he’s done for the club,” is a common retort, which was accompanied by the defiant hashtag #InLevyWeTrust, on the social networking sites. The ENIC head honcho is revered by large sections of fans in a way that fans outside the bubble of White Hart Lane often find difficult to understand.
But let’s get some things straight. This isn’t about what he has done for the club. No one is for five minutes denying that the work he’s fronted in investing in the squad, in moving the club into a state-of-the-art £40million training ground and purchasing over £90million in land around the ground in anticipation of a new ground, isn’t to be lauded. The club are in a far, far better place now, than what they were before he was at a helm.
Nor is it some ridiculously reactive clamour for Levy to dissipate into thin air, as the more disgruntled Redknapp disciples have suggested.
Although none of the above, none of what he has done for the club or what he may do for Tottenham in the future, can take away from what happened during the last transfer window. Daniel Levy has got things badly wrong at Spurs and he’s consequently left Villas-Boas in the mire. It’s not something that is unfixable and it’s not something which could necessarily prove terminal.
But as bizarre as it may seem, what supporters saw on Saturday afternoon, was in some part, as attributable to Levy as it was to Villas-Boas.
When Levy installed Villas-Boas, he knew exactly what he was getting. The way the Portuguese played, the manner in which he wanted to build this team and his own personal vision for the club, was not some sort of secret blueprint. It’s not as if when Levy sat down to watch Spurs set-up 4-2-3-1 in their Premier League opener against Newcastle, he would have been flabbergasted to see the Redknapp chic of 4-4-1-1 disappear.
Such a change of tactical philosophy is no walk in the park. If he wanted a manager to play slightly more in keeping with what they already had at Spurs, plumping for David Moyes would have been the better shout. He knew that in employing Villas-Boas, he was going to have to significantly restructure playing personnel.
And in theory, this shouldn’t have been too hard. The world and his wife knew that the mercurial Luka Modric would finally depart the club for a sizeable chunk of money. Fringe players such as Niko Kranjcar, Steven Pienaar and Sebastien Bassong would raise further funds. The transfer of Rafael van der Vaart to Hamburg hurt some supporters, but the reality was that the departure of the Dutchman back to Germany was going to be inevitable sooner or later, such was the situation within his personal life.
However you would like to sugarcoat the exits at White Hart Lane this summer, they were always coming. But most importantly, there was a fair chunk of money to spend. Nearly £60million was raised all in all, not including the £8million the club received for Roman Pavlyuchenko in January. That’s enough to fund a squad rebuild.
But despite the overwhelming successes of Mousa Dembele and Jan Vertonghen, the failures almost serve to counterbalance them, because the job was left half done. Spurs needed another player to adequately play in the attacking three behind the striker and another mobile frontman who could lead the line on his own. So what did he get? Clint Dempsey, a player who can’t play in either role.
Players such as Michael Dawson and Tom Huddlestone, who as we can now see, evidently don’t fit in to the manager’s style of play, were allowed to stay. Don’t forget, the duo were both rendered surplus to requirements by the manager and not good enough for the side. Yet they’ve remained. The consequence is that the 35-year-old William Gallas is starting games and the immobile Huddlestone is anchoring the midfield.
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.
Transfer targets such as Willian, Joao Moutinho and even Loic Remy, were players Villas-Boas craved who could fit his style of playing and what’s more, they were attainable, too. Yet Levy’s favourite party trick of transfer brinkmanship with Luka Modric, gave him a one week window in which to capture them. Unsurprisingly, he failed, writing off Spurs’ first three games of the season in the process and giving AVB a myriad of square pegs for a series of round holes.
The common argument seems to be that Villas-Boas should switch his team to 4-4-2, as the players aren’t there to play his system. If that’s the case, why even depart with Redknapp in the first place? The whole squad must be suited to Villas-Boas’ needs, not just the first XI. Even with the injured first teamers that Spurs have coped without, they still don’t look highly adaptable to the manager’s way of playing.
Daniel Levy has done much for Tottenham Hotspur, but on this occasion, he’s got things wrong. Andre Villas-Boas is hardly faultless, but his hands have to some extent, been tied by the very man who employed him in the first place. The team needs support all the way up from the home crowd to the boardroom and if that continues – albeit with a few running repairs in January – there’s no reason why they can’t push on for a Champions League place.
How much of the blame do you attribute to Daniel Levy, if any? Tell me on Twitter: follow @samuel_antrobus and let me know where you stand on Tottenham’s season so far.
It’s a promising time in Europe football, with many of the continent’s youngsters taking centre stage. There is plenty of excitement in picking up a proven star from one of Europe’s biggest clubs, but the sense of anticipation seems unrivalled when dealing with stars of the future.
It says a lot about the quality in the game today when so many clubs are built around youngsters, with some currently into the final eight of the Champions League. At this stage, it is the perfect time for Premier League clubs to start thinking about the long-term and picking up some of the best in Europe, as some clubs are already doing.
Lewis Holtby and Coutinho are some of the promising names to have arrived from Europe this past January and there’s certainly no shortage, especially in nations like Germany and Spain.
Click on Leo Baptistao to unveil the 10
Note: each player listed is either already 21 or under.
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.