Four second-half goals saw Bayern Munich romp to a 5-1 victory over Kaiserslautern in Saturday’s Bundesliga action.
The performance from Louis Van Gaal’s side was the highlight of the day’s play in the German top flight, with Mario Gomez striking a hat-trick in the triumph.
Both sides entered the game in form, with Bayern unbeaten in six while Kaiserslautern had not lost in five.
Arjen Robben opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time when he made the most of Thomas Mueller’s assist and just a minute after the break, Gomez doubled the hosts’ lead.
Kaiserslautern were entertaining thoughts of a comeback when Jan Moravek pulled one back just after the hour-mark, but Gomez’s second with just 10 minutes remaining wrapped up the result.
The in-form striker snared his treble five minutes later, making it a remarkable 22 goals in his last 17 matches in all competitions for Bayern, before Mueller added the fifth in injury time.
League leaders Borussia Dortmund remain 13 points clear at the top of the standings, despite sharing the spoils in a 1-1 draw with relegation-threatened Stuttgart.
Mario Gotze put the table-toppers in front on the stroke of half-time but Dortmund were made to pay by Pavel Pogrebnyak who struck with five minutes remaining.
Hannover failed to take advantage of Dortmund’s slip-up as they were beaten at home by Schalke by a solitary goal.
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.
Despite sitting a whopping 12 points behind Juergen Klopp’s side on the league table, Hannover found themselves in the usual position of second before kick-off.
But their league position counted for nothing as Raul struck the sole goal in the match after 33 minutes after good build-up work from Lukas Schmitz.
In other matches, Simon Kjaer’s 82nd minute goal gave Wolfsburg a 1-0 away win at Mainz while Julian Schieber’s equaliser gave Nurenburg a point in a 1-1 draw with Freiburg.
It took all of 17 minutes at this years European championships for Polish striker Robert Lewandowski to make his mark. The 23 year old met a cross from Dortmund teammate Jakub Blaszczykowski, bouncing a header into the ground and past the despairing Greece goalkeeper Kostas Chalkias. Warsaw and the rest of Poland burst into jubilation, and Lewandowski had further announced himself onto the European footballing stage.
Followers of the Bundesliga will be all too familiar with Lewandowski and his goals, as he scored 22 of them in Borussia Dortmund colours this year, guiding them to their second successive German title. His hatrick in the German Cup final contributed significantly to the demolishing of Bayern Munich 5-2, as The Borussians won their first ever domestic double.
There is no question that Poland’s number 9 is a goal getter. His goals in Germany this season may have put him on the radar, but he has been a consistent scorer throughout his short career. Prior to his move to Westfalenstadion, Lewandowski scored 41 goals in 82 appearances for Lech Poznan, a commendable rate which he further improved in the Bundesliga this year.
In recent weeks, a move to Old Trafford for Lewandowski has been circulating transfer gossip columns, although the Pole remains tight lipped on any speculation. Polish manager Franciszek Smuda however, has announced that the striker will almost certainly be on his way to Manchester United after Euro 2012, where he will join former teammate Shinji Kagawa.
So where would the Pole fit in should he move to Old Trafford? Last season saw Wayne Rooney playing predominantly as a supporting striker, with Danny Welbeck the first choice as an advanced forward. The proposed arrival of Lewandowski could potentially stunt Welbeck’s development should he find himself behind the Pole in the pecking order.
The most recent target man Sir Alex Ferguson signed was Dimitar Berbatov. Having initially excelled at Spurs, the Bulgarian is now a more prominent figure on the Old Trafford bench than on the pitch if last season is anything to go by. Manchester United failed to accommodate their last target man, and this is something that Lewandowski should be wary of prior to a move away from Dortmund.
At 23, a big move now could potentially excel Lewandowski to one of the best strikers in Europe in a short space of time. Manchester United are desperate to challenge the dominance of their rivals Man City following a season which reached its climax in a gut wrenching final day for United. The Polish forward is just the kind of signing that would be the perfect addition to Sir Alex Ferguson’s team. The creativeness of United that has been further added to with the signing of Shinji Kagawa could make Lewandowski an even more prolific striker at one of the biggest clubs in the world.
Whilst the speculation may suggest Lewandowski is on his way to join the Premier League runners up, there is no guarantee the move will pay off. Although should the move prove to be a success, the Polish striker could excel in spectacular fashion.
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.
However, Borussia Dortmund are hardly one of Europe’s smaller clubs, as the last two seasons have demonstrated thanks to the contribution of their prolific number 9.
Franciszek Smuda may believe Robert Lewandowski is due a move to a big club in the form of Manchester United, but it would be criminal to dismiss Borussia Dortmund and the foundations they already have in place to become one of Europe’s giants once again, something Lewandowski would no doubt play a key part in.
Rangers bowed out of the Champions League as a late Jiloan Hamad goal saw the Scottish champions eliminated by Malmo.After a shock 1-0 defeat in last week’s first leg, Rangers were back on level terms in their third round qualifying tie through Nikica Jelavic’s first-half strike in Sweden.
But Malmo would have the last say as Hamad’s intervention in the 80th minute condemned Ally McCoist’s men to a Europa League play-off spot.
Rosenborg’s hopes were also extinguished, with Viktoria Plezen sealing a 4-2 aggregate result over the Norwegian giants following a 3-2 win on Wednesday.
While one Czech side progressed, another was eliminated as Slovan Bratislava exited at the hands of APOEL Nicosia.
Bratislava were poised to progress to the play-off stages following last week’s scoreless draw at APOEL, but goals from Brazilian duo Ailton and Gustavo sent the Cyprian champions through.
Benfica moved into the final qualifying round after a 1-1 draw in Turkey against Trabzonspor gave them a 3-1 aggregate win. Croatian giants Dinamo Zagreb progressed by the same aggregate score after a 1-0 home win over HJK Helsinki.
FC Twente moved on despite a scoreless stalemate with Vaslui in Romania, with the Dutch side advancing courtesy of a 2-0 first-leg triumph.
Russian outfit Rubin Kazan wrapped up their tie with Dynamo Kiev after a 2-1 home win at the Tsentralnyi Stadium capped a 4-1 aggregate result.
Genk also advanced, as a 1-1 draw with Partizan Belgrade in Serbia sealed a 3-2 aggregate result for the Belgian champions.
Elsewhere, FC Zurich continued their push for the group stages after knocking out Belgian side Standard Liege, while Austrian powerhouse Sturm Graz ended the run of Georgian outfit FC Zestafoni.
Polish champions Wisla Krakow kept their dream of a first-ever group-stage berth alive at the expense of Bulgarian counterparts Litex Lovech, while Israeli side Maccabi Haifa ousted Slovenia’s Maribor.
Twitter. Love it or hate it, it has become a great place to get the latest football news and receive insights from Premier League clubs that you might not otherwise get. It is the tweets from professional players that are of most interest, unless of course you want to get embroiled in the world of the spoof Sam Allardyce (I can highly recommend that you do!). The personality of players really comes out, which isn’t always the best thing for players who are lacking a bit between the ears, and while Tweets many be of great interest to us, they are getting the players themselves into a bit of bother.
The prime example of this is Aldershot’s Marvin Morgan, who was transfer listed and fined two weeks wages after an outburst on Twitter in which he said to the Shots’ fans “I hope you all die”. Morgan was booed during his side’s 2-1 defeat by Hereford and responded angrily on Twitter with a rant that said “Like to thank the fans who booed me off the pitch. Where’s that going to get you! I hope you all die.” Not exactly a great way to get on side with the fans and the statement from Aldershot that said Morgan was foolish was something of an understatement.
It isn’t just Morgan that has got himself into trouble. Newcastle’s Jose Enrique didn’t put himself in new manager Alan Pardew’s good books by saying that he would miss the Tottenham match at White Hart Lane with an injury before the starting XI was even announced. Newcastle responded by saying that they were going to educate the players on how to use Twitter, a meeting that I’m guessing would have gone along the lines of “just keep your mouth shut”.
Even if players aren’t making Twitter gaffes, their mothers are on Facebook really sticking the boot in. Paul Konchesky has been getting a bit of stick at Anfield since his move from Fulham, something Liverpool fans have every right to do. However, his mum Carol was far from happy and on Facebook told the ‘scouse scum’ to ‘stop living off the past’ (you can see the rant in full here). Konchesky must have shook his head in disbelief when he saw that, but I suppose you can say good intentions and all that.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Social networks are a way to show support for players, something that Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas did after teammate Jack Wilshere was dissed by Manchester City’s Mario Balotelli who said “Jack who?” However, I think Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has got it just right with Twitter, with Tweets such as “Oh my days….has any1 else seen what Song has done to his beard??? Not a good look…AT ALL!!” showing just what it should be used for. Social networking is just a bit of fun, and players should steer clear of abusing fans and just have a bit of light-hearted banter!
Got the social networking bug? Make sure you follow us on Twitter and join the Football FanCast Facebook Fan Page!
A patch of grass. Painted white lines. Two sets of goalposts. And that’s about it; the only common constituents shared by our two most imperial of sports, football and rugby. Despite emerging from the same cultural and ideological backgrounds, the two have rarely found mutual ground as they abide by diverging societal paths. Football; opium of the people, the embodiment of the working classes. Rugby; penchant of public schoolboys, attached to society’s middling masses.
As football becomes increasingly opulent and demographics of followers of both sports constantly shifting, the two can no longer be so acutely separated along such strict philosophical lines. Likewise, it is progressively evident that the realms of football and rugby are entwining further as groundshares between clubs on both sides becoming a more salient feature in British sport. Can they really get along?
With London Welsh’s victory over the Cornish Pirates on Wednesday night at Oxford United’s Kassam Stadium raising the prospect of promotion the AVIVA Premiership, further debate has been ignited by the potential presence of Welsh on a permanent basis at the League Two club. Though embroiled in murky dispute with the RFU over the issue, there remains a fair chance of rugby being played regularly at the Kassam next season.
Reaction to the decision is a potent mix of cautious apprehension and outright revulsion. As mere tenants of the ground, Oxford United hold little sway over the decision as all negotiations go through the stadium company. Besides the obvious anxiety with regards to the state of the pitch, fears linger that the club will be conceding a segment of its identity. Likewise, London Welsh Managing Directon John Taylor claimed that “it could be a match made in heaven with both seeing financial benefits”, yet with the club receiving only a fraction of the profit generated through the stadium’s activities and paying substantial rent, this seems less a realistic prospect and more an attempt to mollycoddle fans into placating hostilities.
If made prime tenants, London Welsh will have priority over fixture scheduling and stadium branding; on Wednesday night, all traces of Oxford United were abolished and pasted over with Welsh signage. Understandably, many Oxford fans are unwilling to relinquish the stamps which define the club’s presence at the ground, as abounding efforts have been made in recent years to brew a greater sense of belonging where previously detachment was the prevailing sentiment. Supporters group OxVox have established a ‘heritage project’ in recent years in an attempt to promote a more visible poise at the ground; there is a real prospect that all this may be vanquished. The arrival of rugby will only exacerbate the disconnection between club and home.
With an attendance of around 3,000 for what is the biggest game in domestic rugby outside the top flight on Wednesday, many are rightfully skeptical as to the feasibility of London Welsh playing at the Kassam Stadium. With a traditionally small fan base, the club would be reliant upon a combination of larger swathes of visiting supporters and an unlikely growth in local enthusiasm to vindicate such a move. History suggests that may be hard to come by; Oxford previously held the final of Rugby’s Europa League equivalent in 2002 and 2005, the latter attracting a crowd of just over 7,000 for European Rugby’s second most prestigious event. With Oxford averaging more than this in the fourth level of English football, the implication is that the city has firmly marked its preference for football.
There are of course a number of examples whereby football and rugby clubs have coincided in relative harmony for a number of years. Wycombe Wanderers, Reading and Watford each share with London Wasps, London Irish and Saracens respectively, with manageable levels of friction. The difference being here, however, that each is a secondary tenant to the football club: Wasps were forced to move a Heineken Cup tie to Coventry’s Ricoh Arena in 2007 as Wycombe had an FA Cup tie at home the same day. If a similar scenario were to arise in the case of London Welsh and Oxford, it is most probable that the football club would have to move their fixture in order to accommodate the rugby tie. Whilst fixture lists are easily workable around both sports, postponements and cup ties cannot be accounted for, throwing up contentious logistical quandaries for both parties.
Whilst the practical hurdles are manageable, it is the ethical dilemmas which pose most menace in groundshares. Football and rugby fan cultures exist in entirely different spectrums and as such attrition between followers of both codes is inevitable. Supporters of Wigan Athletic and Rugby League side Wigan Warriors have been embroiled in constant bickering for many years. There is only a limited crossover of consensus between the two sports, despite progress being made in recent years to alter stereotypical perceptions. The crux of the matter is that ultimately the cultural leanings of football and rugby are incompatible.
Whether London Welsh are able to win their appeal with the RFU and assume tenancy at the Kassam Stadium or not, the issue has undoubtably reignited tensions between the two sports and further emphasised the inherent disparities which are present.
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.
Though most poignantly, most ardently and most importantly, there lies one fatal flaw at the heart of London Welsh’s bid. With a car park occupying the vacant end of the three-sided Kassam Stadium, London Welsh will have a crippling amount of insurance claims for smashed windscreens to deal with.
Do you think football/rugby groundshares are workable or should the two remain separate? Tweet me @acherrie1
Transfer speculation can entertain and frustrate in equal measures. In the summer months waiting for the new season to start reading the back pages for the latest rumours of who could be leaving or arriving your club is an enjoyable pastime. But sometimes speculation can cause more trouble than enjoyment for clubs and players.
Tottenham have had a shaky start to the transfer window so far this summer. Intense speculation about the future of Luka Modric has prompted doubts over the futures of their other key players, including Gareth Bale who has been linked with Barcelona. But the latest name to be reportedly heading for the White Hart Lane exit door is Michael Dawson. Dawson wouldn’t be high on a list of the most likely leavers at Spurs, not because of a lack of talent but the Spurs’ skipper seems like a settled and loyal member of their squad.
Reports emerged on Wednesday that Dawson was in a dispute with Spurs over his contract but the defender has immediately refuted the claims. Unfortunately for Spurs they are one of the clubs at the centre of so much speculation and this has lead to the obvious and lazy rumours that everyone from the kit man to the captain is considering their future. According to the media there is currently a domino effect of discontent in the Spurs’ dressing room.
But Spurs are in no way the only club affected by speculation. Back in October last year Liverpool owner John Henry made a statement on the Liverpool website labeling stories about their key players possibly leaving as “destructive and unwarranted”. That statement came after speculation over the future of Pepe Reina. Henry seemed willing to ignore nuisance rumours and accepted them as common practise these days. If such reports are completely untrue most can be brushed under the carpet and deemed harmless. It is those rumours that plant a seed of doubt in people’s minds that can be destructive for both the clubs and players they are concerning.
Cesc Fabregas’ transfer saga is another popular rumour but this one just won’t go away. To be fair to the media this one seems to have just a little truth behind it despite a possible deal for Fabregas not gaining any steam recently. Whilst Arsenal claim he will stay speculation surrounding their captain’s future just won’t go away, the latest being that Fabregas has told Barcelona’s Xavi that he is ‘suffering’ because of his desire to join the European Champions. The constant speculation over the future of their captain and best player has understandably be causing unrest at Arsenal for years.
Luckily for Spurs these new claims about Dawson seem to just be rumours. Spurs will no doubt take centre stage on the back pages sometime soon but hopefully for Harry Redknapp it will about star arrivals rather than anymore unwanted departures.
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.
If you want to read more of my bite size, 160 character views and thoughts follow me on Twitter @jennyk5
It’s easy to forget that Salomon Kalou is just 25 years of age. The man is a Premier League winner, champion of three FA Cups and one League Cup. He has also scored goals not only at the Home of Football (Wembley), the Theatre of Dreams (Old Trafford) and, um, the Stadium of Light (Sunderland), but also on perhaps the three biggest stages of them all, the Olympics, the World Cup and the UEFA Champions League (including a penalty in the shoot-out in Moscow).
He is, in the current Chelsea squad, 3rd top goal-scorer – behind Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba and 7th longest-serving player. Most astonishingly is a statistic that seemed to have passed everyone by, including most Chelsea fans. This was that, after his goal against Wolves at the end of October, he had scored 9 goals in 9 games, against Inter Milan, Aston Villa, Wigan x2, Stoke, Blackpool, Man Utd, West Ham and Wolves.
However, despite these impressive statistics and accolades, ‘Number 21, Salomon Kalouuuu’ has a frustrating inconsistence, a flattery to deceive that sees the pendulum of his performance swing from laudable to laughable, often within minutes. You only need to go as far as last Sunday where, but for Kalou’s goal, Chelsea would have found themselves point-less at St James’ Park. This is over-looking the fact that, but for his second-half miss, with the goal gaping, Chelsea would have left St James’ Park as league leaders.
See also his performance versus Atletico Madrid last season, which saw him fluff an opportunity at 0-0 but ultimately, score 2 goals in a 4-0 win. No-one will ever forget, nor let Salomon forget, the ‘Worst Miss Ever In An FA Cup Final™’, which came at Wembley in May. I’m sure I don’t need to go on with examples of his exasperating execution, as anyone who visits Stamford Bridge on your average Saturday is bound to be baffled by Chelsea’s apparent Ivorian-Irishman O’Kalou, such is the regularity of the cries of woe and anguish from the Shed and Matthew Harding faithful.
Nevertheless, I feel that our bewildered-looking, Bambi-on-ice impersonator is a vital member of our squad. Lets recall some of the better times: a hat-trick against Stoke, a standout performance at the San Siro which included a goal and a stonewall penalty that was not given and the winning penalty in the Community Shield last year and Chelsea’s only goal in the same fixture this year. Focusing on last season, which is only fair in my opinion as the 2010 version of Salomon Kalou is a different player to the wet-behind-the-ears 2006 version, the 37 appearances he made show just how worthy a squad player he is for Carlo Ancelotti. It’s also worth mentioning that he would have enjoyed more pitch-time for Chelsea, had he not been in battle at the African Cup of Nations. If anything, his value to the team and to Ancelotti has become even greater this season, with the side so often left with a youthful and inexperienced substitutes’ bench after 2 seasons of sparse arrivals and frequent departures. He has 6 goals from 6 Premier League starts (and 5 substitute appearances), and has arguably (or perhaps not) been on better form that Chelsea’s supposedly 2nd senior striker, Nicolas Anelka.
Possibly Kalou’s best attribute is his lack of injury proneness; the Ivorian can almost always be trusted to play any role in any game, and his unwavering determination and enthusiasm to help the Chelsea cause whenever he pulls on the shirt should, in my eyes, be given more credit that has previously been given. This is a family man with a squeaky clean image who lives with his sister, who learnt how to play football the hard way at the astoundingly successful Académie Jean Marc Guillou, funded by ASEC Mimosas (aka ASEC Abidjan), which has more than 10 alumni now playing in top-flight European leagues (with one of them reportedly earning £220k per week at an infamously wealthy Manchester club). Given his development while he has been plying his trade in West London, it is not ridiculous to think that, with a continuance of loyalty and willingness to learn and improve, the Ivorian will one day be more than just ‘a handy squad player’.
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.
Article courtesy of one of our Partner Network Sites – The Shed Ender
Holy Crap – its live fantasy football! Become part of the Arsenal v Partizan match and play Picklive for FREE Watch and bet live – spices up any game!
After the international break, West Ham face a monumental clash against relegation rivals Southampton at the London Stadium.
The Hammers are coming off the back of the 3-0 home defeat against Burnley and of course the ugly scenes that marred that match are still fresh in the mind of both fans and players alike.
Irons fans might have fancied their chances of beating the Saints if they were still managed by Mauricio Pellegrino but Mark Hughes is the new man in the hotseat at St Mary’s and he got off to a flying start by reaching the FA Cup semi-finals with a 2-0 win against Wigan.
[ad_pod ]
The Welshman has a point to prove after his sacking by Stoke and will be looking for a similar result in his first Premier League match in charge of the Saints, to land a major blow in the relegation dogfight.
Unfortunately for David Moyes, he will not have a full compliment of players to choose from. Winston Reid, Pedro Obiang and Andy Carroll are among the absentees and with the help of Premier Injuries, we’ve taken a look at their current situations…
When was Collins injured?: He picked up a knock in the aforementioned defeat against Burnley but given that his season has been interrupted by injuries, Moyes will be keen to ensure that the Welshman is not out for an extended period. He also limped off with what looked like a hamstring injury in the Hammers’ 3-1 friendly win over Dagenham and Redbridge on Wednesday night.
Has he been missed?: The absence of Winston Reid and the sale of Jose Fonte to China has catapulted Collins into a critical role in the survival fight. He has never been the quickest but despite his aging legs, his experience and knowhow will be vital in helping the squad deal with the pressure of a relegation battle. He is one that Moyes won’t want to have to do without.
When was Byram injured?: He picked up an ankle injury in the thrashing against Swansea, which could well keep him out for the rest of the season.
What the manager said: On March 9, Moyes said: “It doesn’t look great for Sam [who could miss the rest of the season].”
Has he been missed?: Byram has never been a regular starter but he is a player with great potential who was meant to spend this season learning from Pablo Zabaleta with a view to taking his spot as the season wears on. This injury has disrupted those plans, quite clearly. Also, Zabaleta was being deployed as a holding midfielder by Moyes but now the Scotsman has been deprived of Byram at right-back, those plans could get shelved.
When was Reid injured?: Like Byram, he was also injured during the humiliation at hands of a relegation rival at the Liberty Stadium.
What the manager said: On March 9, Moyes said: “Winston will be out for the rest of the season.”
Has he been missed?: His leadership was sorely missed against Burnley, when the fans began to turn against the team and the Clarets smashed in two more goals. He is still the best centre-half on the books at the club and it would be hard to see a combination of him and Angelo Ogbonna conceding so many goals that the Irons go down. His absence is a major blow for Moyes.
When was Obiang injured?: He was forced off in the first half of West Ham’s FA Cup embarrassment at the hands of Wigan and it was later confirmed that he had suffered knee ligament damage.
Potential return date: 02/07/18
What the manager said: On February 6, Moyes said: “We are confident that he will return fit and strong in time for pre-season.”
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.
Has he been missed?: Obiang adds energy and endeavour to the Hammers midfield and his absence is another big loss to Moyes. He can chip in with the odd goal as well and there is no doubt that he would have featured heavily in the relegation battle if he was fully fit.
When was Carroll injured?: ‘When was Carroll not injured?’ would be the cynical reply in reference to a player who has seen his career decimated by various ailments. His latest issue is a broken foot sustained in a January match against West Bromwich Albion, in which he scored two goals.
Potential return date: 21/04/2018
Has he been missed?: It is easy to forget that Carroll’s injury came at a time when unlikely interest from Chelsea was circling and Moyes was reportedly considering letting the former Newcastle man go in exchange for £20m and a loan deal for Michy Batshuayi, who is now banging in the goals for Borussia Dortmund.
However, Carroll has always been vital to West Ham’s hopes which is what makes it such a shame that he can’t stay fit. Moyes will want him back before the season is out, but if Chicharito can maintain his form then the blow will be softened.
It has been a strange season for Newcastle so far and with various winning and losing streaks, they find themselves in 10th place. The Toon had a poor start to the season with no win in their first seven matches, but then won five consecutive fixtures to climb into the Champions League positions- albeit briefly.
The Magpies soon after went on a four match losing streak, including a heavy defeat in the League Cup tie at Spurs, so overall, a mid-table position is where they deserve to be after such a mixed bag of results. But the defeat to Leicester in the FA Cup this weekend leaves them out of both cup competitions, sitting bang in mid-table with the season in danger of petering out in dull fashion.
Adding to that, we’re only in January and there is now no permanent manager at the helm; what can possibly lie in store for the rest of the season? After 20 matches, there is no danger of a relegation battle being 10 points away from such worries. A top four finish is out of the question, and so too looks like a dreaded Europe League spot, which might not be a bad thing considering how it hampered their season in 2012/13.
It is not exactly an appealing position for any future manager to take, with nothing really to gain from such a dead-end position. Maybe it would be best to keep John Carver in temporary charge until the end of the season, so a new man can be brought in where the club will actually have something to play for.
There also doesn’t seem to be too much ambition shown by Mike Ashley and the majority of the supporters in terms of a league finish. It seems as if the club are happy to finish mid-table or thereabouts every season, which restrains Ashley from pumping multi millions into the playing side of things.
That is not to say Ashley hasn’t spent money this season, but for a club of Newcastle’s size, ambition should be there to give the top five, six or maybe even four a go; which can only be achieved by spending two or three times more than this last summer. This is not an unrealistic point to make, with Ashley’s net worth well over £1 billion. And the fact Sir Bobby Robson showed what can be accomplished at this great club with the right backing, achieving back-to-back Champions League football for the 2002/3 and 2003/4 seasons.
Newcastle haven’t won a major trophy since lifting the FA Cup in 1955 – although they won the Inter City Fairs Cup in 1969 which many don’t consider as a major honour – this is a stat which is bewildering for a club the size of the Magpies. With that in mind, the fact Newcastle made seven changes for the cup match at Leicester surely demonstrates that lack of ambition, especially when they have nothing to play for in the league. A full strength Newcastle side is capable of beating anyone on its day as they showed against Chelsea, and although there are some injuries around, this was a totally nonsensical team selection.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
The lack of ambition can also be suggested through the sales of the likes of Yohan Cabaye, Mathieu Debuchy and Demba Ba in recent years. Selling your best players is not a great sign for the club and one the fans surely can’t be happy with.
The Newcastle fans deserve better and although 10th is a respectable position, Newcastle are a massive club. The Toon could and should be competing with the very best in this division, as Sir Bobby Robson and Kevin Keegan proved many years ago.
Stoke City boss Tony Pulis is set to approach Arsenal to discuss a loan move for right back Carl Jenkinson according to the Daily Mirror.
Pulis is desperate to add quality cover to his right back position with very little competition for the place currently at the Britannia Stadium.
However Arsene Wenger is not keen to allow his second choice right back leave the club, even on a short term basis, as the form and injury record of Bacary Sagna is not great.
Wenger himself is keen to bring defensive cover to the Emirates and one or two new faces could see Jenkinson get his loan chance away from the Gunners until the end of the season.
The former Charlton youth product is also on the radar of West Ham, Wigan and Fulham this month as even an England call-up earlier this season can’t force him in front of Sagna.
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.