According to reports in the Liverpool Echo, Everton’s plan to appoint Marco Silva as their new manager is set to drag into another week, and Toffees fans have been quick to have their say on the rumour.
Having sacked Sam Allardyce last Wednesday the club and the Goodison Park faithful would have been hoping to quickly have his successor in place, in order for them to get their summer preparations underway.
However, it is taking more time than the Merseyside outfit may have expected it to as the Liverpool Echo report they remain in talks with Watford over a compensation package for the 40-year-old star, who stands at 5ft 11in tall, which is frustrating for everyone involved considering the likes of West Ham United and Arsenal already have their new bosses in place.
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Everton supporters, who will view new director of football Marcel Brands as an instant hero if he completes an audacious £70m summer deal, took to social media to give their thoughts on the wait for Silva, and while one simply said “typical Everton”, another speculated “maybe we’re going in for someone else instead”.
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Most Everton fans would probably take the option to restart the season if they were given the choice.
Under Ronald Koeman, the club were lingering around the relegation zone before he was sacked.
Sam Allardyce has since taken charge, and his arrival was met with a mixture of responses.
A large number of supporters were not hugely enthused by the straight-talking coach, but he did manage to guide the club to a six-game unbeaten run in the Premier League when he took over at the end of December.
At the moment, though, despite the recent arrival of new striker Cenk Tosun, some anxiety has returned due to the team’s current form.
Everton have lost their last three top-flight fixtures, conceding eight goals and scoring just the once in that time.
On Saturday, they were beaten 4-0 by Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley, and after the match, Allardyce openly criticised his players.
Some fans praised Allardyce’s honesty, while others have questioned whether he is the right man to take Everton forward.
face Cardiff City for the first time in 39 years this weekend.
The last time both sides encountered each other was on March 1, 1975, and it resulted in a 4-0 victory for United. Stuart Pearson, Lou Macari, Sammy McIlroy and Stewart Houston all scored in front of a 43,601 crowd. Tommy Docherty, who was manager at the time, saw his side promoted to the Championship two months later.
While Cardiff and United have not met since, the latter did pay a visit to Ninian Park in 1976-77 to play a friendly against a South Wales XI in aid of financially-struggling Newport County. They travelled again in the late 1990s for Jimmy Goodfellow’s Testimonial match.
However, speaking of Ninian Park, it was Cardiff’s home for 99 years until 2009. Opinions are divided whether it was the right move or not, but some of the Cardiff hardcore will tell you it’s where the heart was at. Another topic of concern for their fans was the change of club colours from blue to red. A controversial one but stranger things have happened with the modern trend of football ownership in England. Despite all this controversy, the football goes on and they now find themselves fighting to remain in the top flight.
Cardiff’s first season in the Premier League has been hugely inconsistent so far, winning just two of their last six fixtures. Although they beat Manchester City at home, and will have a good go against United on Sunday.
Before the international break David Moyes’ men picked up a bit of momentum. Their 1-0 win over Arsenal thrust them back into the hunt for the title, winning four games out of their previous five. On the same weekend, Cardiff suffered a 2-0 defeat away to Aston Villa.
The champions will be without Michael Carrick, Danny Welbeck and Phil Jones for the game. Nemanja Vidic, Robin van Persie and Rafael da Silva all remain doubtful.
Cardiff, on the other hand, have less injuries with only Andreas Cornelius on the mend from an ankle problem. The Danish striker could be available, albeit from the bench.
Moyes will be aware of the hectic week his side has after the trip to Cardiff. United have an away leg against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday night and another trip down south to White Hart Lane four days later.
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There’s not a lot you can gripe about right now if you’re an Arsenal fan. Despite being written out of the title race before a ball had even been kicked Arsene Wenger’s men are right up there in the early part of the season still unbeaten after four Premier League games and one Champions League fixture in which they’ve conceded only two goals. Tuesday’s victory in France was far from a vintage performance but exhibited a strength of character to grind out a favourable result across the channel, a trait that has underpinned the North London clubs impressive start to the new term. Of course the naysayers will contend that Wenger and his side are setting themselves up for an almighty fall but at this point in time theres not a lot to complain about at the Emirates Stadium. The only blemish on an otherwise spotless record? Oliver Giroud’s failure to score since his £12 million summer arrival. That is bound to change sooner rather than later, right?
This week on FFC is Wenger right to drop Theo Walcott after contract talks broke down and how significant will Jack Wilshere’s return from injury be for the Gunners?
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Best of FFC
WAG Weekly – Arsenal playmaker scores a beauty!
The latest player to fall into the transfer trap?
Simply Arsenal’s biggest enemy?
Can he really fulfil the role for Arsenal?
The top TEN players out to ‘shut them up’
Is Arsene Wenger absolutely right to bench him?
Finally cutting the mustard at Arsenal
Arsenal starlet finally stepping out of the shadows
Podolski considering getting Arsenal tattoo
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Best of WEB
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Captain’s Notes & Convenient Goalkeeping Injuries? – A Cultured Left Foot
Will this man find it hard to get back into the first-team line-up? – Gunnersphere
Lukas Podolski – An Apology – Online Gooner
Wenger advises misfiring Gunner not to dwell on lack of goals – Gunnersphere
Karaoke keepers – Arseblog
The Real Question Is Will Arsene Spend £14M+ On An EPL Player? – Transfer Tavern
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Question of the day: Is Vito Mannone good enough to be Arsenal #1? – Le Grove
The ‘Next Wilshere’ signs on! The Real One is back as is Frimpong & and just four left in the sick bay…. – Highbury House
Is He Worth £90,000 pwk? That’s The Bottom Line For Arsenal Fans – Transfer Tavern
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Quote of the Week
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“We will see how he responds to the training now.We will have to be a bit patient, a bit cautious, because when a guy has been out for 14 months it takes a while to get back to match fitness. Jack is fit to practise and play, but to put high-level performances in takes time. He will need a few games in the reserves.” Arsene Wenger says he won’t rush Jack Wilshere back after his return to training
Various reports in Italy have linked Manchester United with a move for AC Milan centre-back Leonardo Bonucci in this summer’s transfer window.
However, according to The Sun, United will face strong competition from Bayern Munich for the 31-year-old.
Milan’s failure to qualify for next season’s Champions League has left the Italian giants in a tough situation when it comes to meeting Financial Fair Play regulations.
And as a result, Bonucci, who has won Serie A on seven separate occasions, is expected to leave the club ahead of the 2018-19 campaign.
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It would be fair to say that the Italian did not have his best season at Milan, but there is absolutely no doubting that the centre-back is a world-class operator.
The United fans have been reacting to the latest transfer speculation.
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As expected, a number have welcomed their club’s interest in Bonucci, although there are some doubts over whether the Italian, who has previously been linked with Chelsea, would be the right addition.
A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:
The League Cup remains the only competition Arsene Wenger is yet to win in English football, but with the Gunners already incredibly far away from the Premier League’s pace-setters Manchester City, it may be the trophy the Frenchman needs to continue justifying his status as Arsenal manager – if he can couple it with Europa League or FA Cup silverware.
The Gunners face a tough test tonight, however, in the form of quarter-final opponents West Ham. Enjoying a revival under David Moyes, the Irons have kept three consecutive clean sheets, including one against Arsenal, and tasted victory twice in their last three games.
But the League Cup remains Wenger’s preferred competition to give youngsters chances to impress at first team level and one of those who has benefited most this season is prodigious midfielder Reiss Nelson – who has made eight appearances in the League Cup and the Europa League so far this term.
So, Arsenal fans, would you give the 18-year-old another runout tonight against the Irons? Let us know by voting below…
Sorry folks this poll is now closed!
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Manchester United don’t want to be that club, the one who sit at a table with an itchy trigger finger and make wholesale changes at management level after a handful of poor results. It hasn’t come to that point yet for those with a clear mind, and to further fly in the face of modern football’s win-now-or-else attitude, David Moyes can only fairly be assessed as Manchester United manager after at least a full season.
But that doesn’t mean the United boss doesn’t have questions to answer. Once again, his side looked devoid of belief, ingenuity and superiority against West Brom on the weekend – one of the Premier League’s ‘easier’ games, at least on paper. One side of the debate owes to how good Steve Clarke’s side have been over the past 12 months, yet the point is that once again, no matter the opposition, Man United looked far from impressive, or even competent.
Moyes has labelled his side as one not quite good enough, specifically ahead of this Champions League week. The Manchester United team are lacking “five or six world-class players.” That isn’t really lost on anyone, so why not address that problem in the summer instead of using it as a get-out clause when trouble arises? Thiago Alcantara may not have been deemed “world class” by the United manager, but he’s far better than what the team currently have in midfield. His contribution would have been undoubtedly greater than that of Anderson on the weekend.
As again, it’s too soon to question whether Moyes is the right man for the job, but that doesn’t mean that particular debate won’t be brought up. He should be feeling the pressure, and the pressure of a big club with lofty expectations isn’t limited to just newcomers to the big time; it is part of the job. So you have to ask, why hasn’t Moyes done more to give himself a better chance of survival, both in the short and long term?
Moyes may have brought up the topic of fixture congestion, and he isn’t the first manager at a big club to do so. But the sense was that he was feeling the weight of the heavy schedule at his own door, rather than echoing what his team were feeling. After all, this is a largely unchanged United team who are more than learned in the expectations of a Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday schedule. If anything, the only change of note that was made has added to the depth at Old Trafford, rather than decreased the squad size.
In addition, Moyes understands what’s expected of him from English football. That, in a way, was his strong card to be held against names like Pep Guardiola, who are alien to the demands of the English football calendar.
The rotation policy is one we’ve seen so often over the years from Ferguson, and in terms of numbers, there is little that can be said of the current United squad. Why then opt to play Rio Ferdinand so often when it’s clear he’s declining as a footballer and should be used sparingly? The United defence has been poor, notably in the loss at Manchester City, but is that owed to the quality of personnel, or in the fatigue of key individuals?
Moyes finally started Kagawa, though from the flanks, and would be wise to lean on the former Borussia Dortmund midfielder as a means to push on and add some flair and cutting edge in the final third. Of course, Moyes may choose to keep him on the bench, but what have any of the other wide players done to warrant that decision?
A thought, and it is a hollow hope in a way, is that Moyes often started the league campaign slowly at Everton. There’s no doubt that this United team are good enough to be among the top three at the end of the season, but it’s a matter of how quickly Moyes can adapt to the demands of a big club.
It’s not quite at the stage where the panic button needs to be hit – far from it in fact. But alterations do need to be made for Moyes to prove that, come the end of the season, he was the right successor to Alex Ferguson.
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Is Moyes starting to feel the pressure as Man United manager?
It’s been something of a difficult week for Wales, as Chris Coleman’s men suffered consecutive defeats at the start of their 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign.
After losing at home against Belgium at the weekend, Wales were then destroyed 6-1 in their mid-week trip to Serbia.
This is despite Wales having some talented players in their squad, including pictured Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey and Tottenham Hotspur winger Gareth Bale, with the latter scoring a sensational free-kick in Wales’s defeat.
Here are Bale and the Wales captain after the Spurs star slammed home his goal, but can you come up with a funny caption for this picture?
Leave your suggestions in the comments section below…
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This week you can win a copy of the talkSPORT Book of Premier League Legends!
In this wonderful celebration of all that is best about the world’s greatest football league, talkSPORT has taken on the challenge of listing the 100 greatest Premiership legends.
Featuring contributions from many of talkSPORT’s presenters, including Alan Brazil, Darren Gough and Stan Collymore, the talkSPORT team has drawn up its definitive listing of Premiership stars.
Some surprising names make into the list, while others are relegated to the bottom or even fail to appear at all. Who comes out on top: Gianfranco Zola or Alan Shearer? How do you decide who’s in and who’s out from 20 years of footballing genius?
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For the FootballFanCast.com Caption Competition Terms and Conditions click here
Check out our Caption Competition Gallery for some inspiration and to see the winners so far.
Last week’s winner: Steve Jaggers – click here to see all entries
Michael Carrick said his farewell to United fans after making his final appearance at Old Trafford on Sunday.
The 36-year-old reminded supporters of his class when he rolled back the years to slide a 40-yard through ball over the top of Watford’s defence to create the only goal of the game in a Man-of-the-Match display.
The Englishman was making just his second appearance in the Premier League this season in what has been an injury-hit campaign.
The win against Watford was his 464th appearance for the club and the departing veteran is the last remaining team member of the side that won the Champions League back in 2008.
Carrick was often overlooked by the England national team – the midfielder made just one appearance at a major tournament in his career – but achieved great success at club level lifting 12 trophies with United. The midfielder is set to continue his career with the club by joining Jose Mourinho’s backroom staff next season as a first-team coach.
Manchester United fans have taken to Twitter to pay tribute to the ‘Geordie Pirlo’. We summed up the best of the reaction here:
We are now into the middle third of the transfer window and Arsenal haven’t been nearly as busy as many expected this summer.
Their £10million swoop for Chelsea’s Petr Cech represents a fantastic piece of business whilst the likes of Abou Diaby, Ryo Miyaichi and Lukas Podolski have been rightfully moved on.
But after their emphatic end to last season, many expected the north Londoners to use that momentum in the transfer market this summer, acquiring world-class talent as they hone in on their most viable Premier League title charge for the best part of a decade whilst also shifting some of the deadwood.
There’s still over a month of the window to go – so no need to hit the panic button just yet. But in case Arsene Wenger needs some guidance regarding his next move in the market, we’ve listed FIVE transfer issues the Arsenal boss is yet to resolve.
THEO WALCOTT – Sign da ting
After netting the opener in Arsenal’s 4-0 victory over Aston Villa in last season’s FA Cup final, the ever-contractually-rebellious Theo Walcott seemed certain to sign a new deal with the Emirates outfit this summer, with his current terms set to expire at the end of next season.
But we’re now verging upon the final month of the summer window and despite Arsene Wenger’s recent assurances otherwise, the England winger is still yet to put pen on paper.
Of course, there’s still twelve months of the 26 year-old’s contract left to run and as we learned from the length contract debacle in January 2013, Walcott is more than happy to let negotiations drag on.
But the fact of the matter is that the 5 foot 9 attacker’s departure, even with just a year left on his contract, would add a significant sum to the Gunners’ summer transfer kitty. English players with Champions League experience are becoming an ever-rarer breed, especially those who score goals regularly, so the majority of the Premier League’ top six will be more than happy to take him off Arsenal’s hands.
Personally, I believe the north Londoners should hold onto Walcott. But either way, his future needs to be decided by the end of August.
Defensive midfield
The prominent form of Francis Coquelin at the end of last season has convinced many that Arsenal don’t need to sign another defensive midfielder this summer.
But the Gunners’ engine room still lacks that physical element, with the Frenchman measuring in at just 5 foot 10, and in my opinion that could cost the Gunners in important games – especially with fellow pint-sized enforcer Mathieu Flamini on the verge of moving to Galatasaray.
Arsene Wenger may have passed on now-Manchester United midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin, but there’s still plenty of options out there. Bayern Munich’s forgotten man Javi Martinez tops the list for me, as a technically competent 6 foot 3 battering ram who can also fill in at centre-half, whilst the likes of PSG veteran Thiago Motta and former Gunner Alex Song represent the significantly cheaper end of the anchorman market.
The north London outfit are by no means obliged to spend untold fortunes – and there’s certainly some substance to the argument that a cumbersome warrior of the William Carvalho variety will disrupt Arsenal’s definitive rhythm and technically-demanding passing game.
But in my opinion, the Gunners need a midfielder capable of contesting Chelsea’s 6 foot 4 monolith Nemanja Matic, Manchester City’s powerhouse playmaker Yaya Toure and United’s rabble of midfield monsters – Marouane Fellaini, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Michael Carrick – during the Premier League’s title clashes.
LOAN DEALS FOR YOUNGSTERS
As a football club, Arsenal are almost defined by their ability to nurture young players into world-class stars. Likewise, few will dispute that loan moves are an integral stage of development for most young footballers; consider how Hector Bellerin and Francis Coquelin both muscled their way into the Gunners’ starting Xi after temporary spells in the Football League, for example.
Currently, however, the north London outfit have sorted just three loan moves for their many young players next season; Carl Jenkinson returns to West Ham for another year, Yaya Sanogo has joined Ajax – presumably to improve upon his frankly woeful technique – and Ainsley Maitland-Niles will be spending next season with Ipswich Town in the Championship.
But there’s plenty of names that could be added to that list, assuming Arsene Wenger doesn’t hold first team plans for them next term, including Serge Gnabry, Joel Campbell, Chuba Akpom, Gedion Zelalem, Krystian Bielik and Isaac Hayden.
Only Gnabry and Campbell have received significant exposure at senior level before, so the latter four would certainly benefit from first team football with another club.
FIND A STRIKER TO SHARE GIROUD’S WORKLOAD
If Arsenal are to make only one more move in the transfer market this summer, it should be to sign a centre-forward that can compete with Olivier Giroud for the lone front-man role.
The France international has manned the line pretty much singlehandedly since moving to the Emirates three summers ago and for that he deserves a huge amount of respect, which is why Arsene Wenger has just issued him a new three-year contract.
But in my opinion, the 28 year-old simply doesn’t score enough to clinch the Gunners’ next season’s title. No club has claimed the English crown without their top scorer netting in excess of 20 occasions since 2009; Giroud’s best Premier League tally, on the other hand, is just 16.
Of course, that doesn’t necessarily mean the 6 foot 4 striker should be ousted from the starting Xi and Arsenal, more than any other side, are capable of supplementing the goals in other areas. Last season they registered the most different goal scorers of any Premier League club.
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But whether to increase their firepower or simply keep Giroud on his toes for what will be an incredibly important 2015/16 campaign, Arsenal need another striker in the mix.
They’ve been repeatedly linked with Borussia Dortmund’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in recent weeks who, in my opinion, could be the perfect candidate. His ability to penetrate defences with blistering speed and dribbling ability offers a nice contrast to Giroud’s more static target man style and technically a winger-forward by trade, it won’t simply be a case of one or the other in the starting Xi.
SIGN AN ‘EXCEPTIONAL’ PLAYER
Arsene Wenger has insisted he’ll only sign players with ‘exceptional potential’ this summer, but you can’t imagine the fan base being too happy if Arsenal’s business begins and ends with £10million signing Petr Cech.
Of course, we’re now talking about the top end of the transfer market which is never an easy area to recruit from. But there’s still some world-class players to be had this summer, such as Barcelona’s wantaway winger Pedro, Bayern Munich’s aforementioned Javi Martinez and Borussia Dortmund’s Marco Reus, and in my opinion the latter would be an ideal addition to Arsenal’s squad.
Although other positions should take precedent – particularly, defensive midfield and centre-forward – an attacking trio of Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil and Reus could quickly take the Premier League by storm.
We know Wenger has the finance to sign the German international – Lord Harris claims the club have over £200million in the bank if Le Professeur is willing to spend it – and although Reus signed a new contract at Dortmund only in February, he could still decide to move on amid a summer of wholesale change at Westfalen.
Along with improving the quality of the starting Xi, the 26 year-old’s arrival would constitute an enormous statement of title-winning intent on the Gunners’ part.