Dropping a shot into the path of Luciano Becchio and conceding 4 goals in your first competitive game is not the best of ways to make a first impression at your new club.
Performances like that are certainly hard to forget however a good player always learns from their mistakes and Chris Weale has been the revelation of the season so far for Shrewsbury Town. His performance against Walsall on Sunday was his crowning moment of the season so far. Who say’s first impressions are that important?
Coming into the Walsall game Shrewsbury Town had failed to score a goal in their last three competitive league games and had just been knocked out of the Johnstone Paint Trophy to League one competitors Crewe on home soil. Things were not looking good for Graham Turner’s men.
The Saddlers started as they meant to go on, forcing Weale into two fine saves in the opening fifteen minutes and taking complete control of the game, Their continued pressure along with some leaky defending meant a goal was almost certainly on the cards, but not if Chris Weale had anything to do with it. The keeper constantly denying the Walsall front men and causing frustration amongst the travelling fans.
Then on 25 minutes Paul Parry hit the ball into an empty Walsall net following a strike from Asa Hall which came back off the bar. The goal coming against the run of play inspired Walsall and made them continue their onslaught on the Shrewsbury goal however Sunday was to be Chris Weale’s day and despite their best efforts the game ended 1-0 and Shrewsbury were lifted out of the relegation zone after only 24 hours of being in there.
Weale’s performance was one of the very few positives to be taken from Sunday’s game however as Shrewsbury’s Jekyl and Hyde performances appear to be continuing. Three points is always a positive, especially in a local derby but things need to start improving as we can not continue to rely on Chris Weale to save the day for us.
Shrewsbury travel to Fratton Park to take on an inform Portsmouth side this Saturday. Graham Turner’s men have yet to pick up a win away from home so far this campaign and Saturday is going to be a very tough game if they want to change this. Former Shrewsbury striker Luke Rodgers will be out to break his old team mates hearts and will certainly be a big problem for our defence.
On the plus side Darren Jones, Terry Gornell and Sam Winnall all look to be fit for Saturdays encounter and this should at least give Turner some options that we didn’t have last Sunday.
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Mark Hughes has been sacked as manager of QPR after a winless start to the season has left the club rock bottom of the Premier League.
Hughes, who has been in charge of Rangers for ten months helped the club to Premier League safety last season, but has left the club in an ominous position this season despite spending over £21million on new signings in the summer.
QPR’s last games against fellow strugglers was dubbed ‘El Sackico’ and the 3-1 defeat has proved the fate for the Welshman.
A statement from the club said “Queens Park Rangers as of today have terminated the contract of Mark Hughes with immediate effect.”
“Mark has shown integrity and professionalism during his time at the club, but ultimately the circumstances we find ourselves in have left the board with very little choice but to make a change.”
QPR travel to Hughes’ former club Manchester United tomorrow, with Mark Bowen and Eddie Niedzwiecki will take control of the side.
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Rangers are the only club in all four division to yet win a game this season as they sit five points adrift of safety on just four points from the opening 12 games.
Former Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has been made favourite to take over from the outgoing Hughes.
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has ruled out the Red Devils making any big signings in the January transfer window, as reported by Sky Sports.
Ferguson has been linked with a variety of players in the new year including Wesley Sneijder, Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski but the United boss has rubbished those reports.
The long term United manger has told supporters that he doesn’t expect to make any significant moves in the upcoming transfer window but that is not the first time fans have been told that.
Ferguson is not a fan of the January transfer window but he does expect clubs to be panic buying once again after seeing their teams underperform in the first half of the season.
Some say that the table toppers will need to acquire some more talent next month but Ferguson disagrees while writing his weekly column for the official United programme.
“Don’t hold your breath waiting for Manchester United to jump through the transfer window when it opens next week,” Ferguson stated in his programme notes.
“It’s been open season to link us with a stack of players, admittedly some very good ones, but it just isn’t going to happen.
“You can never say never in football because you don’t know who might become available but, speaking generally, I am not looking to do any serious transfer business in January. I don’t have to because I am more than satisfied with the players I have in my squad, a group as good as any I have had in my time at Old Trafford.
“We won’t be dashing around in a panic.
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“Of course, as always, we will be on the lookout for young players of potential who we can develop.
“We have always done that and it’s the main reason why we never have to buy out of desperation. We always work for the future as well as trying our best to produce winning teams for the present.”
Ambitious Russian outfit Zenit St Petersburg have made a £25 million bid for Manchester United winger Nani, according to The Daily Mail.
The Portugal international is out of favour with Sir Alex Ferguson, and his future is unclear as negotiations over a new contract have broken down with the Old Trafford club.
With added competition for places in the Red Devils’ squad Nani has been linked with a move elsewhere, with Juventus known admirers of the tricky wideman.
However, Zenit are eager to wrap-up a deal for the player before the close of the transfer window and have tested United’s resolve with a large bid.
The player’s representatives are said to have met with the eastern European powerhouses in Amsterdam on Monday, with a move now dependent on whether Sir Alex Ferguson wants to cash in on the star.
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Gabriel Agbonlahor does not expect to be the next high-profile departure from the Aston Villa squad.
The striker has seen the talents of James Milner, Ashley Young, Gareth Barry and Stewart Downing leave Villa Park since making his first-team debut aged 19 six-and-a-half years ago. Agbonlahor is now one of the longest-serving players in Paul Lambert’s squad, and he is adamant that his affinity for the club he has served through the junior ranks into the senior set-up is as strong as ever. He told Sky Sports:
“You can never say never, but as long as the club want me here – I’ve got two years and an option for another year – then I will stay. If the club wants to keep me and I’m happy, I will stay at the club for the rest of my career. You can say I haven’t had a move, I haven’t had this or that, but I’m happy to be at Aston Villa. If those players (Milner, Young, Barry, Downing) had been home-grown players, you never know what their choice would have been. For me even if a big club had come in for me, they would have known that I wanted to stay here. It’s different for me.”
Andre Villas-Boas will probably already be making an intricate set of preparations for his side’s trip to Reading this Sunday and there can be no doubts that however he chooses to set his team up, they’re in dire need of attaining all three points.
The set-up in which the Portuguese has adopted since his arrival in North London, has of course been the current 4-2-3-1 set-up, which has certainly not been without it’s set of teething problems. Of course, the fact that he was employed with this ethos in mind, yet failed to attain a set of players able to play it properly till the end of the transfer window, hasn’t helped anybody. Spurs’ chairman Daniel Levy certainly made life tough on the ex-Chelsea man for his team’s first three league fixtures.
Yet when Emmanuel Adebayor is fit enough to lead Spurs’ line of attack on his own and Moussa Dembele is able to start from the off in a deeper midfield role, Villas-Boas should have the tools to get his new system firing on all cylinders. Of course, the touted transfer of Joao Moutinho would have been catalyzed Spurs’ transition to with far, far greater ease, but the side looks far more suited to playing in this way than what it has for their opening games.
However, Tottenham’s well oiled machine of last season may have undergone wholesale changes, but a few of the old cogs are still massively prominent in its post-Redknapp facelift; and it remains to be seen whether these cogs, predominantly to the names of Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon, can work effectively under Andre Villas-Boas’ stewardship.
Spurs’ opener against Newcastle at St. James Park last month may have ended in defeat, but the suggestions were that their all important wingmen in chief, were up to the task of playing in a more varied role. Gareth Bale seemingly spent the second half of last season auditioning for a more central role and he seemed more than happy to oblige, picking the ball up from a variety of positions and causing all sorts of problems; even hitting the bar with a header at one point.
Likewise, Aaron Lennon seemed to be popping up all over the shop, dinking balls in from both the left and the right. Indeed, Jermain Defoe’s equalizer at the time came as a result from one of Lennon’s forays from the left hand side. It seemed that although there was work still to be done, both of Spurs’ wingers were up to the task of playing in the Villas-Boas’ three behind the frontman.
The last two games, however, seem to have counterbalanced the real positives that fans took from the seasons opener. As stated, it is both unfair and unrealistic to judge Villas-Boas entirely from three games in which he hasn’t had the right players to play the system he’s been brought in to employ- and part of that blame must lie with the chairman. But the problem is, two of his sides’ most lethal assets have carved their reputations playing in a different role. A role that has in no small part, defined a large part of Spurs’ recent success.
Looking backwards is by no means going to help the club move forwards, although Redknapp’s side was focused upon a very traditional sense of wing play. The emphasis of their play has always revolved around getting the balls out to the flanks and letting both Bale and Lennon cause carnage. Be it the balls the pair put into the box, the space they made from searing runs at defenders or their craft at cutting back inside, they have made both their own names and that of their teams’ on the back of such play.
No one can deny that for all it’s success and swashbuckling style, the 4-4-1-1 itself had it’s fair share of tactical faults. But importantly, it was the pair of Bale and Lennon that made it tick. Andre Villas-Boas new system is one that is very much embraced by the top European sides and is very much in keeping with the modern game. Contrary to what the doubters or those of the old-school may say, there is absolutely no reason why it can’t work at Tottenham Hotspur. But whether it can work with both Bale and Lennon in it, remains to be seen.
Because in both home games against West Bromwich Albion and Norwich City, Spurs have looked disjointed- particularly going forward. No one denies that the new regime will take time to implement, but it has been the lack of cohesion and direction that has been particularly worrying. The three behind the striker must be mobile, quicksilver but perhaps just as importantly, they must have a degree of tactical nous. Getting two traditional wingers to play in this way is asking questions of Bale and Lennon- and they’re both giving some uncertain answers.
Gareth Bale has been creating opportunities throughout all three games, but again, they’ve come from his traditional marauding raids down the left-flank. This isn’t to say that Villas-Boas set-up can’t allow for these runs, in the slightest. But both Bale’s and Tottenham’s most prominent opportunities have come from his traditional wing play. Not his stuttering and often ineffective play more centrally. Last season he showed a continuous desire to move in from the left hand side, but bar his virtuoso performance away at Norwich, he often failed to make an impression. He will need time to adapt, but he must show more to suggest he has a real future playing in this role.
Aaron Lennon also has looked uncomfortable at times playing in his newer role. He naturally wants to get chalk on his boots and run at his man. Intelligent movement has never been the fulcrum of his game because it doesn’t need to be- he does one thing, but he does it very well. There is nothing wrong with that. But the problem is if both Bale and Lennon revert back to their natural instincts, then the system will ultimately be doomed to failure. The system needs them to be able to make an impact more centrally as they have to chip in with the goals to make it stick.
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There’s nothing to say that both Bale and Lennon can’t refine their roles in this team. Nothing happens overnight and they’ve both had to play in a system, as the rest of the side has, that hasn’t had the players to cater to it. But unfairly or not, the side is already under a real level of extrinsic pressure and Villas-Boas can’t afford to give them half a season to make it work. He simply doesn’t have the time.
The sticking point is that both Lennon and particularly Bale’s ability are too important for Spurs to leave out- even if he wanted to, there simply aren’t any viable alternatives. Villas-Boas must be brave and he must stick with his philosophy and what he believes in. But these are the tools of which he has to work with and if until January he can’t get them to adapt, he must do whatever it takes to do so. And the realties of that aren’t particularly easy at all.
What do you think about Bale and Lennon’s role in this Spurs team? How long can AVB afford to give them to adapt and can they both co-exist in the new set-up? Let me know what you’d do on Twitter: follow @samuel_antrobus and bat me all your views.
Tottenham’s hopes of signing Miralem Pjanic from Roma have been dashed after the playmaker insisted he wanted to remain in the Italian capital, according to talkSPORT.
Roma were concerned that Pjanic could be swayed by Spurs, however the 23-year-old has made his wishes clear.
“I don’t want to leave and the club know that. Perhaps there was interest in me, but my objective has always been very clear,” said the Bosnian.
“I want to stay here and I arrived at pre-season prepared to help the team and start the championship well.
“Saying that, you never know what can happen in the transfer market and I don’t know the financial situation of the club, but I want to stay and they are aware of my desire.”
Pjanic, also rumoured to be admired by Barcelona, has a contract running until 2015, but negotiations are already underway to secure an extension.
“A renewal will take time,” he added.
“We are talking about it, there is a desire there and we’ll just have to see what happens.”
Since signing from Lyon in 2011, Pjanic has made 60 appearances for Roma, scoring seven and creating another 17.
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He is also a mainstay in a Bosnian side which is currently on course to qualify for next summer’s World Cup.
Norwich City chief David McNally insists there’s no escape clause in their £8.5m deal with Sporting for striker Ricky van Wolfswinkel.
The Dutch striker’s agent sparked panic among the Canaries faithful yesterday when he said that the transfer depends on Norwich staying up.
But McNally described the reports as “absolute rubbish”.
It is unlikely that the Norwich board would be as keen to be tied into such a big investment if Chris Hughton’s side do go down, but Sporting are unlikely to have agreed to such a clause as they could lose millions if the deal was scrapped.
The former Utrecht striker won’t be short of suitors, if he does turn his nose up at a spell in the Championship, which could bring a season-long loan deal into the equation.
Agent Louis Laros has made sure his client’s name remains on the lists of some clubs by making the comments to Abola – whether they are based on fact or not.
“There is a special clause in the deal accepted by all parties that stipulates if Norwich leave the Premier League then the future of Ricky van Wolfswinkel will be open again,” he said.
“That is the reality, but we are confident in the ability of the English club to remain in the top division.
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“For now Ricky is only thinking about Sporting and helping them to get results. At the end of the season, he will start to focus on Norwich.”
Derek Llambias has revealed that Newcastle United will keep scanning other leagues for future signings, as buying in the Premier League can be “very expensive”.
In statements to Chronicle Live, the Magpies’ managing director admitted that the club does not avoid the local market altogether, although he states price is the main inconvenience when buying British.
“We keep an eye on the UK market too. British players are very expensive, which is a factor for us,” he confessed.
After recently signing five players from Ligue 1, the Newcastle businessman made no secret that the French league is an attractive market for the club. However, they remain open to other leagues in Europe and further afield.
“We have to explore other markets, though, which we do. We are still going to other markets,” he added.
Newcastle brought Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, Moussa Sissoko, Yoan Gouffran, Mathieu Debuchy and Massadio Haidara in from France in the January window, but Llambias is revealed that French teams are now becoming aware of the Geordies’ liking for the market, saying: “It’s getting harder for us in France.”
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Nevertheless, he also confirmed that the club’s chief scout, Graham Carr, will continue searching the French leagues with an eye on next summer’s transfer window, while exploring the hotbed of talent that is the Belgian and Dutch top flight.
Arsenal have agreed terms with Nuri Sahin, who will now move to north London on a season-long loan according to The Daily Mail.
The Emirates Stadium club are eager to bring in an extra central midfielder after selling Alex Song to Barcelona, and have been in pursuit of the Real Madrid playmaker for the last fortnight.
Sahin has found his opportunities in the Spanish capital limited since moving to the Santiago Bernabeu from Borussia Dortmund last year, and has prospects with Jose Mourinho’s team for 2012-13 were not good.
However, Sahin is eager to reignite his career with Arsene Wenger’s men, who have beaten off competition from Liverpool and AC Milan for the Turkey international’s hand.
There was a stall over the deal between the clubs, but a fee of £14 million has been agreed should the Gunners want to make Sahin’s move permanent next summer.
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