Considering Tottenham Hotspur made no signings in either the summer or winter transfer windows, it is remarkable that Mauricio Pochettino’s side have managed to involve themselves in the title race.
However, if Spurs are to kick on from here then they will have to eventually spend some money and improve their squad in certain key areas. For instance, the north London outfit need to find a better back up striker to Harry Kane than Fernando Llorente. On top of that, 32-year-old goalkeeper Hugo Lloris has been a liability at times this season, suggesting a replacement for the Frenchman may be due.
Another area of the Spurs squad that is weak is the full-back positions. Full-backs play a vital role in the modern game, as they’re expected contribute effectively at both ends of the pitch. Spurs’ ‘big six’ rivals all boast fine full-backs, such as Kyle Walker, Andrew Robertson and Hector Bellerin. In this area, Tottenham are lacking.
Watch how to cross the road like a boss with freestyler Ben Nuttall in the video below…
The likes of Kieran Trippier, Serge Aurier, Ben Davies and Danny Rose represent an underwhelming set of full-backs at this level of the game. Trippier, especially, is someone who Pochettino should be desperate to find an upgrade for in the upcoming summer transfer window.
Why he has to go
The 28-year-old right-back has been a regular starter for Spurs this season. According to Transfermarkt’s stats, the 16-cap England international has made 21 Premier League appearances.
However, his performances have often left much to be desired. Defensively, the Bury-born star is regularly caught out of position or punished for lapses in concentration. He also lacks the pace to deal with quick attackers.
Going forwards he struggles to create regularly too. Aside from good set piece delivery, Trippier contributes little in the final third.
If Spurs are to go from also-rans to champions, they must have top class full-backs. Finding an upgrade for Trippier in the summer would be a positive step forward in that regard.
Liverpool endured a frustrating evening on Tuesday as they could only secure a 0-0 draw against Bayern Munich at Anfield in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie.
The Reds created plenty of chances and were far more aggressive than the reigning German champions. However, a lack of quality in the final third meant that Jurgen Klopp’s side failed to take advantage of their superiority.
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Whilst more may have been expected of Liverpool’s attackers, the home side’s midfield contingent deserves plenty of credit. The Reds won the battle in the middle of park and Liverpool’s captain Jordan Henderson, in particular, produced an outstanding display.
The 28-year-old defended aggressively and assertively, stamping his authority on the match from the off. On the ball the 48-cap England international was adventurous and progressive, crafting a number of openings that his teammates failed to capitalise upon.
After the match, despite the disappointing result, plenty of Liverpool fans took to Twitter to praise Henderson’s showing, with some even going so far as to compare him with club legend Steven Gerrard…
أعلن سيد عبد الحفيظ مدير الكرة بالنادي الأهلي، غياب رامي ربيعة مدافع الفريق، عن مواجهة الذهاب في دوري أبطال إفريقيا.
الأهلي يلتقي مع الوداد في نصف نهائي دوري أبطال إفريقيا، حيث تقام مواجهة الذهاب بالمغرب 17 أكتوبر، على أن تكون مباراة الإياب بالقاهرة 23 أكتوبر.
وقال عبد الحفيظ خلال تصريحات عبر الموقع الرسمي للأهلي: ”ربيعة سوف يغيب عن مباراة الذهاب أمام الوداد المغربي في نصف نهائي دوري أبطال إفريقيا، وهناك محاولات سوف تجرى من أجل تجهيزه لمباراة العودة أمام بطل المغرب التي سوف تقام في مصر”.
وأضاف: “الآشعة كشفت إصابة ربيعة بتمزق في العضلة الخلفية (10 ملم)، وتحتاج إلى فترة علاج تتراوح ما بين ثلاثة إلى أربعة أسابيع”.
وتعرض ربيعة لإصابة خلال مشاركته في مباراة الأهلي أمس أمام طنطا، التي أقيمت على استاد الأهلي بمدينة السلام، في إطار منافسات الجولة 30 في بطولة الدوري الممتاز.
A 76th minute Wilfried Zaha goal was enough to earn Crystal Palace a point against West Ham United last time out. The Palace attacker’s strike also marked the 13th time the Hammers have conceded in the final 15 minutes of a Premier League match this season, as per Transfermarkt. Only Fulham and Burnley, with 15 and 14 respectively, have been breached in the final 15 minutes more often.
Irons boss Manuel Pellegrini must address this recurring issue before it costs his side any more points this season.
Identifying the problem
Before Pellegrini can fix this problem though, he must find its cause.
West Ham’s problem is that, when they’re defending a lead, they allow themselves to be pushed too far back. By sitting so deep, the Hammers concede so much territory that they offer no threat on the counter-attack, and as such, the pressure on their own defence just builds and builds.
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Eventually, this pressure takes its toll and the east London outfit’s defence lets something through. They must now break this habit, or it will continue to prove their undoing.
Finding the solution
In the final 15 minutes of games, especially when they’re already ahead, West Ham must maintain a measure of attacking intent. The defence cannot drop too deep, as they will invariably drag the midfield and attacking contingents backwards with them.
Instead, for these final exchanges, the Irons must become more aggressive. More intense pressing of the opposition for the final quarter of an hour should become part of Pellegrini’s game-plan.
What’s more, by being more assertive and on the front-foot in these closing moments, the Hammers stand a better chance of scoring themselves, thereby all but putting the result beyond doubt.
Alberto Aquilani will likely always remember the day he transferred to Liverpool as the moment his career ended.
According to the Telegraph, the £20 million man joined Rafael Benitez’ Liverpool in 2009 after impressing in his home nation for Roma.
Liverpool and Benitez really thought they had a player on their hands as well. The former Roma man was truly a quality player in Italy, his YouTube compilations full of exciting drilled passes cutting across the grass of the Stadio Olimpico to release the talent of Francesco Totti and co in the forward positions.
This was the player to replace outbound, world-class talent Xabi Alonso. The Italian messiah; the man with all the answers.
“Alberto has a winning mentality and great experience in both Serie A and the Champions League,” Benitez said at the time (via Telegraph).
“He has long been seen as a top-class talent, captaining his country at under-19 and under-21 levels.”
Oh how different things turned out to be.
The harsh reality of things is that he was a complete and utter flop. A sham; a wasted ‘talent’ who found more space in the medical centre than he did on the pitch.
The Italian playmaker managed only 18 league appearances in Liverpool’s colours before being shipped off to Juventus. And this pretty much signalled the beginning of Aquilani’s nomadic life; from Liverpool to AC Milan; to Fiorentina (where he spent a moderately long three years), and then to Sporting – a trend slowly begins to form where the quality of team deteriorated on every move.
It is at this point we wonder: how did he keep finding somewhere to play?
A move to Serie A minnows Pescara could have been his saving grace. A former ‘star’ with plenty of experience and a lot to teach, what was there not to love about Aquilani? Well, apparently quite a lot. The midfielder managed only four months at the club before being shipped out on loan to Sassoulo, who, believe-it-or-not, decided not to take up the option to sign him on a permanent basis.
Like saying goodbye to a family pet, it was about time someone cut Aquilani’s career short. And Las Palmas were the ones to do it.
Spain was the end of the road for the Italian. Leaving after only a season, he made 23 appearances for the club and created a grand total of zero assists.
Now without an employer, he is probably reflecting on his long and arduous journey through the footballing world and wondering where it all went so wrong.
After Tuesday night’s Champions League clash, there’s plenty of Liverpool content doing the rounds at the minute. But rather than you spanning the internet far and wide, Football FanCast have put the biggest and most interesting stories all into one place. Here’s our Reds roundup…
Liverpool interested in Buckley
According to an exclusive from Teamtalk, Liverpool are one of a number of clubs interested in Blackburn Rovers’ highly promising youngster John Buckley. The attacking midfielder is yet to feature at senior level, but nonetheless his other suitors are said to include Everton and Manchester United – which has reportedly prompted a round of contract talks at Ewood Park. Football FanCast, however, fear for how signing Buckley could affect Rhian Brewster and Harry Wilson’s development at Anfield.
Fans livid with Mane
Liverpool drew a blank against Bayern Munich in midweek and Sadio Mane has emerged as the scapegoat, not least because he failed to capitalise on a glorious chance in the first half and then neglected numerous opportunities to set up team-mates as the game went on. Reaction on social media then has been pretty fierce with some fans calling for the 26-year-old to be dropped – you can check it out in full here.
Lewis signs new contract
Highly-rated 19-year-old Adam Lewis has signed a new contract at Anfield, the club confirmed on Tuesday. The teenager has been a regular at U23 level this season but is still awaiting his first-team breakthrough with the Merseysiders. With Alberto Moreno expected to leave the club this summer though, some Liverpool supporters have tipped him to fill the void and become Andrew Robertson’s deputy next season.
Liverpool fans pleased with Oliver appointment
Referees are very rarely figures of popularity but Michael Oliver represents a rare exception. Liverpool face Manchester United on Sunday in a potentially season-defining Northwest derby and their fans are pretty chuffed to hear that the 33-year-old will be in charge, with some dubbing him the best referee in the Premier League. Mike Dean won’t be too happy about that. Click here to see our full coverage.
Southampton fans have had it tough this season. The Saints don’t win many games and with just six wins out of 29 attempts in the Premier League games this season the fans will have been gutted not to have got their 7th against Manchester United yesterday despite the incredible level of performance that they put in.
Southampton fans who made the trip to Manchester would have been in dreamland when they saw Yan Valery step up with a cracking opener. It was a game that had five incredible goals in and the Southampton fans were absolutely gutted not to have been able to get any points from their trip, and after losing narrowly to Manchester United twice now this season, it seems they just have no luck.
If Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side can put in another nine performances in their final nine games of the Premier League season that match the one they managed yesterday then there’s no reason why they can’t be a fair few points clear of the relegation zone. At the moment the Saints are stuck in a real battle near the bottom of the table, yet with games against Brighton, Newcastle and Huddersfield to come, it’s still all in their own hands.
You can read the Saints’ thoughts on their performance here:
The Saints were delighted with their performance despite the result and will be desperate to keep up their level of performance across their last nine games.
Tomas Kalas looks set to end his long-term service to Chelsea Football Club with Celtic boss Neil Lennon reportedly – according to the Scottish Sun – interested in bringing the player to Parkhead.
Czech international Tomas Kalas was one of many who joined Chelsea at a young age, spurred on by a dream to play in the Premier League, only later to be faced by the harsh reality of the club’s shotgun loan policy.
Indeed, despite being Chelsea’s longest serving player, having initially joined from Czech outfit Sigma Olomouc in 2010, Kalas has only managed to make a paltry four appearances – turning out more times for his temporary employers Fulham, Middlesbrough, FC Koln, Vitesse Arnhem, and Sigma.
However, this could all be coming to an end.
According to the report, current interim boss Neil Lennon is readying a bid for the Blues loan specialist, with one eye on preparations for next years domestic and European campaign.
No doubt this will be on the first of many changes Lennon makes to his current line-up, but it is certainly one of the most important, with the likes of Dedryck Boyata, Felip Benkovic and Jeremy Tolijan likely exit permanently, or return to their respective clubs.
Kalas would be a great acquisition should he join.
The defender, who made half of his appearances under Jose Mourinho, including the infamous ‘slip’ game against Liverpool, earned the respect of his former boss for how well he managed big game situations (BBC Sport).
He is gifted in both pace and strength, allowing a degree of versatility around the back line, and has proven himself to be more than capable at dealing with some of the more physical strikers in the Championship.
The player himself has expressed his desire to find a more permanent residence, explaining to Bristol Live (via Daily Record): “Obviously I wish that I could find a club to settle down at for a long time.”
Celtic should go all out for this man.
Celtic fans, how much would you back a move for Tomas Kalas? If so, why not? Join the discussion by commenting below…
Should Liverpool go on to win the Premier League this season, it will be interesting to see quite how this title bid comes to be remembered.
History always has a knack of recalling things slightly differently; sometimes that is due to the benefits of hindsight, retrospect and new information, but often its our ingrained desire for simplified, romantic narratives taking precedent over the accuracy of the nitty gritty. Constant inconsistencies and permutations are just too inconvenient to digest and retell. It’s much easier to shape events and themes around basic stories we can all follow.
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So there’s every chance this Liverpool team will come to be misremembered, because of our preconceptions of Klopp’s side going into this season. The Reds didn’t quite match Manchester City for goals last term but going forward – and especially in the Champions League – they were decisively rampant. Mohamed Salah set a new record for Premier League goals in a single season, Sadio Mane netted 20 times and Roberto Firmino seemed to be redefining the role of a centre-forward in a modern 4-3-3.
That’s how we like to think about this Liverpool side – an unrelenting attacking force spearheaded by a world-class front three, perhaps the best front three around in terms of quality and compatibility. But Liverpool’s season hasn’t been built around the supreme performances of their forwards; vast improvements at the other end of the pitch have taken them to the table’s summit with only 11 games left to go.
Klopp would argue that his teams defend from the front, and that Firmino particularly is as important out of possession as any of his centre-halves. But the numbers are telling – by this point last season, Liverpool had scored six more goals in the Premier League, and across all competitions the front three had netted 65 times. This term, their combined tally is just 44 (stats worked out via various pages on Transfermarkt).
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Sunday’s Northwest derby seemed to capture the rebalancing of which players Liverpool are suddenly so dependent on in a microcosm. Manchester United – albeit a Manchester United drastically depleted by injuries within the first half an hour – could barely get past the industrious Jordan Henderson and Fabinho in midfield to test the back four. But at the other end of the pitch, the front three that were so fearsome last season couldn’t find a moment of individual brilliance between them.
Of course, there are important caveats. Firmino withdrew through injury early on, so this was by no means Liverpool’s attack at its best. Likewise, due to the gravity of the situation, Klopp picked his sturdiest midfield, which somewhat limited the flow of supply into Salah and Mane. Nonetheless, you feel that the front three of last season, or at least the Salah of last season, would have twisted a few defenders inside out to pop up with a winning goal. Instead, both of Liverpool’s widemen produced their worst performances of the campaign.
And it inevitably highlights the contradiction behind Liverpool’s title bid; rather than the scintillating attacking football of 2017/18, defensive resilience and a new-found grit has got them through games.
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But that isn’t how we’d like to remember them – historically, both Liverpool and Klopp are synonymous with excitement, entertainment, ambition and flair. The resident result-grinders, at least in the context of the Premier League title, are Chelsea, a club Liverpool are supposed to be the antithesis of. The idea of Liverpool winning the title ugly just doesn’t fit into our preconceptions and historic assumptions.
Perhaps the phrase ugly is a little overzealous, but Liverpool have certainly been a less beautiful beast than last season – immovable rather than irresistible. History, however, will unlikely remember them in that way; the two campaigns will be fused together, a brush of romanticism will be applied and while the impact of Liverpool’s defensive recruits over the last year will of course be acknowledged – chiefly Virgil van Dijk, Fabinho and Alisson – the relentless nature of the front three will be in the forefront of our minds.
Thing is, they just haven’t been quite so relentless this time around, when history’s spotlight is firmly set on them. And history, eventually, will only recall what we want it to recall – a Liverpool side that always thrilled, rather than one that relied on being almost impenetrable.