Oscar Wilde once said, “Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months.” For a man who died in 1900, he seemed to have an uncanny ability to predict the future of terrible Premier League jerseys.
Throughout the history of the league, there have been some gaudy, ill-fitting and downright nauseating home and away kits.
In the case of the 20 on show here, the sole focus of their design seems to be distracting the opposition. In the case of Manchester United’s famous grey strip, however, it only distracted themselves.
Like art, not everyone will be in agreement, but as you flick from jersey to jersey, remember that players had to wear these and fans actually paid money for them. Sunglasses at the ready—it’s about to get bright and colourful.
Click on Arsenal’s shocker from 95 to get the ball rolling
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.
Everton are weighing up a move for Middlesbrough centre-back Ben Gibson, according to The Northern Echo.
The report claims Everton are understood to be willing to part with Mohamed Besic and Ramiro Funes Mori as part of the deal for the 25-year-old.
Everton have been proactive with the appointment of new Director of Football Marcel Brands and appointment of long-time managerial target Marco Silva, and the majority of Toffee’s supporters are excited by the dual-appointment.
According to a report by The Telegraph, Brands has targeted 18-year old Ajax defender Mathias De Ligt, as well as former Sporting Lisbon winger Gelson Martins.
These potential additions were treated with mass excitement by Everton supporters but links with the Middlesbrough defender have not been given the same fanfare.
Whilst some fans have recognised that in his season in the Premier League he was subject to praise from Boro fans, most see it as the addition of a squad player rather than the improvement of key positions.
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.
Here is a selection of the reactions from Everton fans on Twitter…
[brid playlist=”4766″ player=”12034″ title=”World Cup 2018″]
Leeds United’s winless run was stretched to nine matches on Sunday after failing to beat play-off hopefuls Bristol City at Elland Road in the English Championship.The Whites have failed to win a single match in 2018 and their hopes making the play-offs have all but been ended by the run of poor form.In truth, Sunday’s match could have been a lot worse for Paul Heckingbottom’s side.The away side rushed to a 2-0 lead within 20 minutes and looked set for a comfortable victory before Kemar Roofe and Pierre-Michel Lasogga scored a second half double to rescue a point.https://video.footballfancast.com/video-2015/leeds-relegation.mp4Supporters were left frustrated with the result and performance, reserving particular criticism for goalkeeper Felix Wiedwald.The shot-stopper struggled in the early stages with both of Bristol City’s goals and fans are now calling for him to be dropped or even sold.They took to Twitter to share their thoughts on his performance…
Jamie Carragher believes that Dejan Lovren has all of the characteristics to be a future captain at Liverpool.
The Reds recently tied up their long-awaited £20m move for the Croatian centre-back, who was impressive at Southampton last term.
Lovren was celebrated for his positive style of defending, but his leadership qualities were also praised as he controlled the Saints’ backline – which was often impressive.
WANT MORE? >> Liverpool transfer news | Latest transfer news
The 25-year-old is expected to slot straight into the Merseysiders’ first XI next season, with he and Mamadou Sakho – a big money arrival from 2013 – being hailed as the future of the club’s rear-guard as they look to put their 50 goals conceded record which cost them the title behind them.
Carragher – Liverpool’s former vice-captain – believes that the newbie will become a major figure at Anfield, and he even believes he could be in the running to succeed Steven Gerrard as skipper:
“Centre-backs normally make great captains.” He is quoted by the Daily Star.
“If Lovren establishes himself in the team became a top player by showing the same form he has at Southampton for Liverpool, then in the next few years when Stevie does decide to call it day he will be in contention.
“You look at him and he has the potential to make a big powerful impact at the back and that’s what Liverpool need.
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.
“Jordan Henderson is another who could possibly be in contention and there will be more who arrive in that time that could be up for it as well.
“But if Lovren can come in and produce that sort of form then I am sure he will be in the running for it.”
//www.youtube.com/embed/dzENWWAoIlU
Fill in our survey below and be in with a chance of winning a pair of £145 Puma Tricks boots as worn by Balotelli and Aguero! Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey , the world’s leading questionnaire tool.
Arsenal have increased their interest in Crystal Palace ace Wilfried Zaha with the club sending a scout to watch the club over the weekend, according to the Daily Mail.
Gunners boss Arsene Wenger sent chief scout Steve Rowley to watch Zaha as Palace emerged with a 2-1 victory from the King Power Stadium against Leicester City.
The marksman has been in fine form this season already netting four goals and put in another stellar performance to secure victory on Saturday.
The Eagles have managed to fend off any interest so far for the player, which intensified towards the end of the summer transfer window.
A whole host of Premier League teams including, Tottenham and Manchester City have maintained an interest in the star, with the club not set to let him go on the cheap.
Wenger is believed to be taking a closer look at the transfer market with his charges struggling in their last three outings against Norwich, Schalke and QPR respectively.
The England U21 star played both outings against Serbia for the U21 side in their European championships qualifier, and with Walcott still in on-going discussions over a new contract, Arsenal are keeping a close eye on developments.
Palace Chairman Steve Parish said only just last week that he believed it would take a figure of around £20million to steal the star away from the club’s grasp.
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 South London club are still firmly in the promotion chase sitting in 4th place despite recently losing their manager Dougie Freedman to Bolton.
Nottingham Forest are considering making a move for Luton Town full-back Dan Potts, according to the Nottingham Post.
What’s the word?
Aitor Karanka is likely to be in the market for a new left-back due to the probable departure of Armand Traore.
Eric Lichaj, who predominantly plays on the right but is capable of switching, is also expected to leave, while Juan Fuentes is out of contract.
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”255610″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch Five England World Cup games you totally forgot happened”]
The Nottingham Post claims that the Reds are monitoring Potts, who played a key role in Luton’s promotion to League One last season.
The 24-year-old signed for the Hatters in 2015 after failing to make the grade at West Ham United, where he began his youth career.
What can Potts provide?
The left-back is still young and developing his game, but he can more than hold his own having made 42 appearances in League Two last season.
Forest could do with a new face who has both defensive and attacking qualities, and Potts ticks the boxes on that front.
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.
During the 2017-18 campaign, the Barking-born player scored seven goals in all competitions, and one of those was struck in the FA Cup.
Forest have also reportedly shown an interest in Aston Villa’s Alan Hutton, but the soon-to-be free agent is traditionally a centre-back whereas Potts fits the profile.
The final 10 minutes of Sunday’s Premier League clash between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday were full of drama.
Victor Wanyama cancelled out Mohamed Salah’s opener with a thunderbolt of a strike, while Harry Kane missed a penalty to put the visitors ahead.
Salah scored again in added time to seemingly hand the win to Liverpool, but another penalty was awarded to the North London outfit after discussions between referee Jon Moss and his linesman.
Kane did not miss the second time around and the clubs ended up sharing a point, much to the home side’s dismay.
Controversially, the topic of diving has reared its ugly head after Dele Alli was booked for simulation and Kane was accused of going to ground too easily to win the first penalty.
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has since given his thoughts on play-acting.
In a piece published by The Independent, the Argentine told the media that the fixation on diving is “killing the game” and that football is all about trying to trick your opponent.
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.
As expected, some Liverpool fans were not impressed by Pochettino’s stance.
Interim Manchester United manager Ryan Giggs will face a number of career-defining conundrums this summer.
After an incredible 24 campaigns in the Red Devils midfield, does the Welshman finally hang up his boots? Subsequently, should he continue down the coaching path laid out for him by higher powers at Old Trafford, with Giggs widely tipped to be announced assistant to the incoming Louis van Gaal and one day become the Dutchman’s successor? Or would he be better off forging his own career in the Premier League management racket?
Some of these decisions won’t be in Giggs’ hands. For starters, whether he continues to feature in every Premier League campaign to date will depend on the wishes of the next permanent United boss. Likewise, at this moment in time it remains unclear whether van Gaal will accept the Welsh icon as his assistant next season – it’s not as if the former Eredivise, Bundesliga, La Liga and Champions League winner will struggle for candidates to work as his No.2.
But Giggs will have some say over where he ends up next season, which in many ways is the most crucial question; does he request to stay within the Old Trafford framework, or does he cut his own apron strings, before one day coming home to roost?
Ending a 25 year spell so abruptly is never easy but the notion of doing so is already on the Welshman’s mind, as reported by the Daily Mail and Mirror Football. You can certainly understand that point of view; Giggs has worked under the greatest manager English football has ever seen and continually plied his trade with top players at the highest level – there isn’t too much to learn from van Gaal that he doesn’t already know, especially about the Premier League.
Likewise, the veteran winger’s niggling grievance under Moyes was his lack of influence on first team affairs. Being a manager that once pulled down his trousers in a half-time team-talk and said to his players ‘Do I look excited?’, van Gaal’s reputation as an incredibly particular and maverick figure is well-known, and the assumption is that he’s not the easiest man to work with. You can’t imagine him actively heeding the advice of a coach whose management career thus far consists of a 4-0 victory over Norwich City and a 1-0 defeat to Sunderland.
He’s hardly the first manager with such a cavalier repute and in many ways that no-nonsense, self-assured demeanour is what’s made the Netherlands boss such a strong candidate for the United gig. One can certainly draw parallels in character to Sir Alex Ferguson.
But van Gaal’s frostiness could be amplified if he’s forced to take on Giggs as his assistant. Now forming the majority of the coaching staff at Old Trafford and even releasing their own hit documentary, the famous Class of ’92 are growing in power at Carrington and the Welshman is their leading unofficial figurehead. The last thing the 40 year-old wants to enter is a backroom battle for political power at Old Trafford, especially against a manager who has previously duelled with the dark forces behind the scenes at Bareclona and Bayern Munich.
Another problem clouds the horizon. It’s no secret that United’s ageing side needs to be dismantled ahead of next season, with the Premier League champions planning to spend around £200million on new players and the vast majority of the old guard expected to be sold or released. In many ways, van Gaal’s ultimate aim as Red Devils boss is to make drastic changes to the squad this summer and oversee it’s speedy transition throughout the course of the next campaign.
Giggs on the other hand, has significantly different ideas. He’s already urged United to offer 35 year-old Rio Ferdinand and 32 year-old Patrice Evra new deals rather than release them this summer, understandably so considering he’s played alongside the former defender for over a decade. I’m not questioning the 40 year-old’s professionalism, but it would be a tough start for both if Giggs and van Gaal immediately pose polar ideas on the future direction of the squad.
Should all these issues amalgamate, then Giggs will find himself more a puppet of the Old Trafford hierarchy than a genuine second-in-command. United’s plans to have the Welshman wait in the wings until van Gaal’s tenure is over is obvious. Bearing in mind the former Ajax boss is 62 and has already discussed the issue of retirement publicly, that may not be as far off as expected.
But what will Giggs be able to bring to the dugout without prior experience? David Moyes spent ten years at Everton learning his trade but lasted just eleven months at Carrington. Right now, we don’t know if Giggs has the quality to manage Barcelona or Bury.
The other option is and braving the world of Premier League management. That would certainly improve Giggs’ credentials for the United hot seat, should the midfield veteran go on to prove himself at a lesser club with completely different standards and aims. The toughest test for any player as talented as Giggs is being able to accept the failings of others and communicating his ideas to lesser-equipped players.
But English management is in a huge mess. We’ve reached the point where every Premier League chairman, upon making a new appointment, has to overlook the nature in which any given candidate lost his last job. There are exceptionally few top flight managers without a number of discerning black spots on their CV.
Steve McLaren, Steve Bruce, Bryan Robson, Mark Hughes, Roy Keane, Steve Coppell, Paul Ince, Gordan Strachan and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer are just a few examples of managers who worked under Ferguson and were once tipped to eventually succeed the Scot, but have since found themselves lost in the hire and fire culture of English football.
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.
In a nutshell, the opportunity to be fast-tracked as van Gaal’s No.2 and eventually be appointed United boss isn’t one Giggs will be offered again. Should he decide to forge his own path and not that already set out for him at Carrington, it could well be the last time the Welshman’s name is brought up in regards to the Red Devils post.
In many ways, it’s a catch-22 situation for Giggs. Working as van Gaal’s No.2 could leave him frustrated and eventually under-equipped when the time arrives to succeed him. Assistant manager or not, the Welshman would face the same weaknesses he does now in regards to the United post, namely a troubling lack of experience. Things may be running a lot smoother at Old Trafford by then, but there will still be little to suggest the 40 year-old is a manager capable of winning Premier League titles.
On the other hand, Premier League management is enduring as hostile an environment as it’s ever seen, and Giggs could quickly find himself engulfed in a world where the average tenure lasts just 1.4 years. Then again, if you can’t master the nuts and bolts of the trade, then you don’t deserve to manage a club of Manchester United’s magnitude.
Paul Lambert will take on his mentor Martin O’Neill as Aston Villa travel to the Stadium of Light to take on Sunderland on Saturday.
Both sides are in need of Premier League points, especially Villa who sit just one point above the bottom three having picked up just six points from their opening nine games.
Both sides go into the game following mixed results in the Capital One Cup in midweek. Villa made the quarter finals after scraping past Swindon, whilst Sunderland were dumped out by North East rivals Middlesbrough.
Both teams picked up a draw in their last Premier League outing, whilst both the fixtures between the sides last season ended in draws.
Aston Villa will welcome Joe Bennett back from a one-match ban, whilst Sunderland will leave it late to assess the fitness of Carlos Cuellar, who is hoping to play against his former 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.
Mark Hughes was confirmed as Southampton’s new manager last month, and he will be keen to get to work to ensure that his new team don’t find themselves in another relegation battle following their close shave last season.
The Welshman arrives at St Mary’s in March with the south coast outfit in a precarious position with just eight fixtures remaining, but eight points from their final five matches proved to be enough to save them from the drop, with the 1-0 win at fellow strugglers Swansea City proving to be the pivotal result.
After four successive top-eight finishes, Saints’ defensive weaknesses proved to be one of the reasons why they found themselves battling against the drop, having conceded 56 times in their 38 top flight games.
12 of those came during Hughes’ spell in charge – including three each in their defeats against West Ham United, Chelsea and Arsenal – and bringing a new centre-back to the club will surely be a priority for the 54-year-old before the window slams shut on August 9.
Southampton, whose potential £13m summer deal could have big consequences on their bid to sign Quincy Promes as well as for Sam Gallagher, are yet to effectively replace two leaders and huge characters in Jose Fonte and Virgil van Dijk – who both captained the side – with the likes of Wesley Hoedt, Jack Stephens and Maya Yoshida often struggling without an imposing and vocal player alongside them.
It is something that Hughes needs to put right this summer, and he needs to find that experienced centre-back that can guide younger players like Hoedt, Stephens and Jan Bednarek in the Premier League next season.
One player that is available is John Terry, and while it would certainly be something of a shock move given he played for Aston Villa in the Championship last term, he showed that he has still got it – he made 215 clearances and won 96 aerial duels in 35 league appearances, as per WhoScored.com.
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”252976″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch 21 things that will definitely happen at the World Cup”]
The 37-year-old veteran made 32 outings before appearing in all three of their play-off fixtures, but he was unable to prevent them slipping to a 1-0 defeat in the final against Fulham at Wembley.
Terry has already announced that he will be leaving Villa Park when his contract expires at the end of the month, but even though he is without a club and is getting no younger, it doesn’t mean that it would be an easy task for Hughes to bring him to the south coast.
One of the reasons the former England international dropped into England’s second tier is because he didn’t want to play against Chelsea, and of course if he did sign for Southampton that would be the case.
The Welsh boss should look to offer the 37-year-old an extra incentive to link up with him at St Mary’s, and that could be a role as a player/coach so he can begin to prepare the future and be closer to walking straight into a Premier League job when he eventually hangs up his boots.
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.
While it wouldn’t be widely accepted, Hughes could perhaps come to an agreement where Terry didn’t feature against the Blues if he did insist on it, but it is a decision that wouldn’t go down well with Saints supporters – especially considering he would be a controversial signing given his character and his past.
That said, convincing the 6ft 2in tall centre-back to come to St Mary’s and use his experience to help them next season could prove to be an inspired decision, and indeed Hughes’ best one of the entire summer prior to the new campaign gets underway on August 11.
Who do you think Southampton should sign this summer? Let us know by voting below…