Sunderland manager Alex Neil will be hoping to make it back-to-back wins for the first time since taking charge of the club as his side face off against Charlton today.
The Black Cats ended a run of six games without a win in League One last weekend as they beat Wigan 3-0 away from home – Neil’s first three points at the helm. Ross Stewart scored twice after an early goal from centre-back Bailey Wright set Sunderland on their way.
How many changes will the 40-year-old make to the team today? Here is our predicted XI…
We are predicting that he will make three alterations to the side from last week, with Leon Dajaku, Jack Clarke and Dan Neil all coming in.
Starting off at the base of midfield, we are predicting that the latter will return to the team to replace veteran battler Corry Evans. The Northern Ireland international won one duel and had a passing success rate of just 47% in 90 minutes against Wigan, which highlights how poorly he performed in the middle of the park.
This is why the youngster should be brought back into the team instead. Neil’s energy and enthusiasm could be needed to maintain high levels throughout the match, as Evans showed against the Latics that he can struggle to make much of an impact.
On the left wing, Clarke could come in to replace Elliot Embleton. The on-loan Spurs forward could offer more of a direct threat down the flanks, and the Black Cats could use his pace on the counterattack to create opportunities going forward.
This is not a slight on Embleton or his performance against Wigan, but more so a chance for Clarke to get some minutes under his belt. His manager can duly see what he can do with 60-70 minutes to work with, whilst the ex-Blackpool loanee will be available as an impact substitute.
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Finally, Lynden Gooch could be axed from the team after his poor showing last time out. As per SofaScore, he lost nine of his 13 individual duels, whilst failing to provide a single key pass and completing a measly 50% of his attempted passes.
This shows that he struggled badly on and off the ball as he was dominated physically and offered no quality in the final third. Therefore, Neil must axe the £5k-per-week dud and hand Dajaku an opportunity to start on the right.
AND in other news, Neil can save Speakman millions with “promising” Sunderland dynamo who’s “really bright”…
After securing a loan deal for West Ham United’s Mauro Zarate on Tuesday, Harry Redknapp’s Queens Park Rangers are lining up a few more deals before the January transfer window slams shut.
Redknapp, who’s normally extremely active this time of year, will be keen to bolster his squad to keep Rangers in the Premier League. The R’s have been heavily linked with the familiar face of Toronto’s Jermain Defoe, Chelsea outcast Mohamed Salah and Ajax striker Kolbeinn Sigthorsson – among others. The QPR boss has always had an eye for a good deal, and he has had the knack of pulling off some memorable signings in the past.
On the field, it’s been a very indifferent season so far for QPR. Rangers have lost every single Premier League away game they have played in since returning to the top flight – but at home they are a completely different animal.
Redknapp’s side have accumulated all of their 19 points at Loftus Road this term. Just two home defeats all season, four draws and five wins, have kept QPR out of the relegation zone going into the new year – although Redknapp is savvy enough to know that his side can’t just rely on their home form.
Striker Charlie Austin has been in outstanding form this season – the 25-year-old has netted 12 Premier League goals in 18 games. The signing of Zarate will no doubt help Austin, and the R’s fans will be hoping they can form a deadly partnership. As for the Defoe deal, that one looks less and less likely as the days pass by – Toronto are looking to recoup most of the £6m they paid for Defoe, making it a difficult deal for QPR to secure.
The 67-year-old has admitted he needs to strengthen, but he’s also gone on record to say that he doesn’t expect any permanent signings – only loan deals. The QPR boss told the Mirror: “We’re not looking to spend. If there’s a loan or two out there we would be interested, that’s where we are at.”
Redknapp added: “We spent some money in the summer, so we’re not that far short. Hopefully we can find another striker to add to the ones we’ve got already, so that’s an area we are looking at. In January it’s always difficult to find players. There will be someone out there that can come and help us.”
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QPR are set for a crucial second half of the campaign. Owner Tony Fernandez has pumped an awful lot of money in at Loftus Road over the years, and he will be expecting his club to stay up. If Harry can get his side to pick up on the road, there is no reason why QPR won’t be in the Premier League next season.
Player potential can be both prosperous and dangerous.
On one hand, if a player is to reach their maximum skill evolvement, their club can benefit no-end, financially speaking.
Though, if a player fails to hit the heights that their hype holds them accountable to, it can be a damaging affair for their employers.
Wolves are unique in the fact that their saga with former Portuguese and now Angolan footballer, Helder Costa leant more towards the former and more prosperous scenario, rather than the latter.
Costa profit
Costa emerged from the high profile Benfica youth system at the age of 18, in the same age group as Ivan Cavaleiro and Bernardo Silva.
After making his debut for the Lisbon side’s B-team in 2012, he would go onto represent them 72 times, scoring 15 goals. Ultimately, he failed to make the grade for the Benfica first-team, making just one appearance.
After a failed loan-spell at La Liga side Deportivo de La Coruna, he made the brave switch to pastures new to link-up with fellow Benfica graduates Silva and Cavaleiro at Monaco.
Despite teeing up a young Kylian Mbappe for the Frenchman’s first-ever league goal, Costa would go on to play a total of 28 games for the Ligue 1 side, scoring five goals, with Monaco loaded with depth options in Kylian Mbappe, Thomas Lemar and Bernardo Silva.
It wasn’t all bad though as Helder Costa moved on a season-long loan to Championship side at the time Wolverhampton Wanderers in what was his best season ever in terms of end product, with a total of 18 goal contributions in 35 appearances.
Wolves made the transfer permanent, with the Old Gold side splashing out £13m for Costa’s services to break their club-record transfer fee at the time in January 2017.
Ultimately, the attacker was not able replicate his ten goals and eight assists that he showed the season prior, but still chipped in with a solid five goals and six assists to help Wolves top the Championship and gain promotion to the Premier League.
After one season in the Premier League, Costa joined Leeds United on loan in the Championship and after helping them to promotion, made the deal permanent with Leeds forking out £16m but he was soon dubbed a “massive flop” by pundit Noel Whelan.
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He featured 22 times in the Premier League for Bielsa’s side the following season (2020/2021) yet Leeds offloaded him to Valencia the following campaign after just one appearance, in what was a strange deal at the time.
With 28-year-old Costa fighting to turn his loan move at Valencia into a permanent deal, he is now valued at just £7.2m, with Wolves’ decision to sell in 2019 looking ingenious.
In other news – Wolves eyeing “all-round” 26y/o regarded as “most complete ever” with fans buzzing…
Newcastle United journalist Dominic Scurr has noticed something major involving both Callum Wilson and Kieran Trippier.
The Lowdown: Injury setbacks
Unfortunately for the Magpies, both players continue to suffer from injury setbacks.
The striker has been struggling with a calf injury since January, while the right-back suffered a metatarsal fracture in February.
The Latest: Dubai trip
As per The Shields Gazette journalist Scurr, Wilson and Trippier have joined the squad for their trip to Dubai, suggesting that they will now train with their team-mates in the hope of stepping up their respective recoveries.
Taking to Twitter, the reporter said that it was ‘good to see’.
The Verdict: Big boost for Newcastle
The fact that Wilson and Trippier have joined up with the rest of the squad is a big boost for Eddie Howe and Newcastle.
They are two hugely important players to the team, with the ex-Spurs defender currently ranking as their best player in the Premier League according to WhoScored, while the former Bournemouth striker remains their top scorer in all competitions this season despite being out injured for a couple of months.
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Nonetheless, the trip to Dubai could really help aid to aid their recovery, and Howe will no doubt want to have both plauers available for the latter end of the campaign, especially if Newcastle find themselves in need of points to stay up.
In other news, find out what significant financial loss NUFC are now set to make here!
In the modern game of football, just about everything is for sale in terms of sponsorship and an influx of money can make all the difference to struggling clubs, it seems nearly every day we are hearing about a club selling the naming rights of their stadiums – Newcastle have become the Sports Direct Arena – and with Manchester City making such a large amount of money from renaming their stadium The Etihad, who can blame them?
It is not just the naming rights however, now more and more clubs are looking to either expand their current stadiums or move to a new home, to mixed reactions from their supporters, yet just how much of an impact does a move actually have on the club?
It is evident that to create a successful team, far more is needed than a large stadium, with Stoke having one of the best and most intimidating atmospheres in the league, their home – the Britannia is nowhere near the size of say the Emirates, yet has a much better atmosphere. Even the Old Trafford faithful were infamously accused of being a ‘prawn sandwich brigade’ by the never short of an opinion Roy Keane, yet you wouldn’t get this accusation at the Britannia or Anfield.
It seems everyone is being linked with a move to a bigger and better stadium, with owners and chairmen arguing that the extra revenue gained from a stadium with a larger capacity will not only help the club compete financially but will attract more supporters and enable more fans to go to games – take a club like Liverpool, whose demand for both match day tickets and season tickets far outstrip that of their capacity at Anfield. Certain stadiums have either been expanded as far as is able, or are simply gridlocked and are not able to increase capacity, leading to the suggestion of moving to a completely new location.
This inevitably brings its own problems, with fans worrying that the history may become lost along the way – it is clearly inevitable that a new home will take time to get used to – the recent example of Arsenal leaving long-time home Highbury for the Emirates can be used here, with the fans and players needing time to adjust to the 60,000 plus seater stadium. Even now, the atmosphere at the Emirates is still lagging behind the level produced at Highbury, and this is such a valid concern of fans and one that is often overlooked and underestimated.
Despite the loss of history for fans and the accusation that a clubs new home can be accused of lacking in atmosphere – especially should the supporters be further away from the pitch than before- more and more clubs seem to be looking at the possibility of moving to new homes – Chelsea seem set on either expanding or moving away from the Bridge, and both West Ham and Spurs made cases for moving to the Olympic Stadium after the 2012 games have concluded.
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It cannot be denied that the increase in revenue has the potential to immensely help a club, and if you take a club like Chelsea or Liverpool who could easily fill a 60,000 capacity ground, which is roughly an extra 20,000 or so tickets every match day, the dividends are clear to see from a financial capacity – this is even more vital for clubs like Liverpool who do not have a billionaire owner to fall back on.
This could then go some way towards clubs becoming more financially self-sufficient – something that in light of the FFP regulations is becoming more and more vital and will effect clubs such as Chelsea more so than ones without megabucks owners as they simply cannot justify the money they spend in a break even context, thus clubs see increased revenue from bigger stadiums as a way to aid this.
There is also the need to compete with teams such as Arsenal and United – not to mention clubs like Barcelona and Munich in terms of their ground size and impressiveness on European nights.
Yet all this does not necessarily equate to success – whilst a great deal of revenue can be gained from a larger stadium, there is also a huge cost in firstly building a new stadium and then maintaining said ground. For clubs like QPR who feel it would be beneficial to move to a bigger home – do they really think they can fill a ground of 60,000 plus should they fall out of the Premier League – something that is not an impossible scenario to envisage?
West Ham are not even in the Premier League, and are a yo-yo team at best, granted with a large fan base, but can they really fill a ground as big as the Olympic Stadium week in, week out? Fans now more than ever can access matches on the TV and internet, and simply may not be in a position to afford a ticket every week to see a live game. Of course it is inevitable that along with a move to a new round, the ticket prices will also increase, and as they are hardly cheap anyway, will fans really be prepared to pay even more just to see a game of football – especially if they have mortgages and families to think of?
Despite moving to the impressive Emirates Stadium, Arsenal have struggled to win trophies, and in actual fact did better at Highbury, with the Arsenal Ladies team being the only ones to contribute to the trophy cabinet in recent memory. Anfield has one of the best atmospheres in football, yet plans are afoot for a move to Stanley Park – there is no guarantee with a new stadium a fantastic atmosphere would follow.
There is much more to being successful than moving to a bigger stadium. Capacity and revenue aside, owners and chairmen often forget that stadiums can hold a great deal of history and tradition for the fans they rely on to fill the seats, and this is something that is vital to the atmosphere of a ground, and can go a long way to being the ‘12th’ man teams sometimes need.
Weighing up the potential benefits of a new home against the drawbacks is a difficult task, and with fans having such definite opinions either way, it is an unenviable task for chairmen to make. What do you think? Is your club looking to make a move?
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Former Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Petit has stated that Arsene Wenger will turn the club’s fortunes around, and that if he was to be sacked it would be a big mistake.
The Gunners have had an inconsistent 2011-12, and are at risk of missing out on the top four due to the competitive nature of the Premier League this season.
Despite questions being raised over Wenger’s continued stewardship in the media, Petit has urged the club to trust in their current manager.
“I think that will be probably the biggest mistake at Arsenal,” the 41-year-old is reported to have said in The Daily Mail.
“If Arsene has to leave the club they need to find a big manager to settle down and that would be very difficult for the next manager.
“I think Arsene’s still the solution. They need to change a few things in the transfer market, change a few things in their politics to bring a competitive team.
“I think it’s mentally that the team is very weak. I think Arsene Wenger and Arsenal did build many successes. Arsenal won many trophies.
“They had experienced players with big characters and all of a sudden Arsene Wenger decided to change completely the team, decided to put confidence in young players and we have to admire that because I think with the new regulations I think financially Arsenal’s politics in the transfer market have been right so far in terms of not making big speculation on players.
“I was a big admirer of Arsenal’s politics for five years. They were probably the best team after Barcelona in terms of football. But unfortunately for them last season was the final cut, especially the Carling Cup final against Birmingham.
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“They need more experienced players, more big characters in the team because the quality is there and they need some players to be the mentors in the team,” the Frenchman concluded.
Tottenham forward Rafael van der Vaart has stated that despite Arsenal’s revival over the last six weeks, Spurs are better than them and are the number one team in North London.
The balance of power between the two bitter rivals seemed to be changing as Harry Redknapp’s men beat the Gunners 2-1 at White Hart Lane recently, but Arsenal are now only three points from the top four after beating Chelsea 5-3 on Saturday.
However, the Netherlands international was full of praise for his team and how they were playing, and believes they are superior to their local rivals.
“We are better than Arsenal,” the ex-Real Madrid man told Sky Sports.
“In our last seven games we have won six and drawn once. It’s a long season, but I think we have a bigger and better squad.
“Are we the best team in London? Maybe, but it’s still early. We’re in a good way. We are much better than we were last season,” he stated.
Van der Vaart labelled current league leaders Manchester City as the best team in the country, and hailed Roberto Mancini’s outfit’s performances of late.
“Man City are the best team in the league and below them you have a lot of good teams and we are one of them.
“At the moment they are really good. They are winning games easily and how they played against Man United was impressive, but they also have the difficulty of a lot of egos so that could also be a problem.
“When you play for a big team, when you buy a lot of good players and a lot of players also aren’t happy.
“Look at (Emmanuel) Adebayor. He is a great player for us, but he was not even in the squad at City and was training with the youngsters,” he concluded.
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Van der Vaart will be rested for the Europa League trip to take on Rubin Kazan on Thursday, with the match against Fulham at Craven Cottage on Sunday in mind.
When Arsenal announced that three statues were to be unveiled on Friday outside The Emirates the debate about their identities was bound to consume Arsenal fans, each with their own special memories, each with their own favourite players. The trio of Herbert Chapman, Tony Adams and Thierry Henry were revealed but not all agreed. Most of the talk on the Internet predicted that Thierry Henry and Wenger would be accompanied by one other, the identity of which varied from person to person depending on their generation and therefore favourite players. Writers such as The Mirror’s John Cross claimed that whilst the three figures warranted their place on the plinths so did so many other individuals such as George Graham, and Ian Wright. To a certain extent this is true.
Ian Wright was one of the best and most charismatic Arsenal players that I have witnessed in my two decades of watching Arsenal. In the latter George Graham years he was almost the soul outlet for a largely defensive side and the personality the exuded from both himself and his football made ‘boring’ Arsenal a pleasure to watch. To break Cliff Bastin’s scoring record as he did was a remarkable feat considering he played in such a defensive side under Graham and he was unfortunate that his record was so short lived due to the mercurial Henry. But that is the point really; however good Wright was, and he was an exceptional talent, Henry was better and he not only broke Wright’s record but he beat it by more than forty goals.
I think that ahead of Wright in the queue would come Bergkamp too. Bergkamp’s move to Arsenal was a seminal moment not only for Arsenal but also for all English clubs. Prior to the Dutchman their had been few players from the continent who had come over to England with their best years ahead of them as Dennis did. Bergkamp encapsulated Wenger’s new look Arsenal perfectly and brought a touch of class to the Premier League that was rarely seen before and we have rarely seen since.
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As for George Graham there can be no doubt that he was a truly wonderful manager for Arsenal and a lot of Wenger’s early success was partly down to the defensive solidity that Graham had instilled in his team. However the cloud under which he left tainted the fans’ memory of him and like Ian Wright he was not the most successful of his kind, Wenger is. Although Wenger might not have a statue at present we can know with close to certainty that we he eventually steps down a fourth statue will be raised in his honour. Many people were surprised about his omission but you don’t make people saints before they’ve passed away and in the same way you don’t honour a manager’s achievements when there are still more to come. He is our longest serving and most successful manager and the transformation he has instigated in both English football and at Arsenal football club have been nothing short of breathtaking. He will have his statue, but not yet.
To have omitted Herbert Chapman would have been to disrespect the history and roots of the football club itself. Chapman won Arsenal their first ever trophies in the double winning season of 1930/31 and successfully persuaded the authorities to change Gillespie Road tube station to Arsenal tube station. In all senses of the expression Chapman put Arsenal on the map. He laid the foundations for success at this club and if it wasn’t for his sudden death in 1934 he could and would have achieved a lot more.
If we could have a hundred statues to remember a hundred players I’m sure we could find players to be their subject but the fact is then we wouldn’t be celebrating these few individuals who have really made the biggest difference. Obviously that is a hard accolade to quantify but in that way you have to consider which individuals have statistically done the most. Adams is the most successful captain we’ve ever had and Henry is our all time top goal scorer. Chapman was the first ever truly successful manager of our club and you can be sure that our most successful manager ever will get his statue when he retires. Ultimately the statues could have included Liam Brady, Dennis Bergkamp, Vieira, Cliff Bastin, Alan Smith, David Rocastle and many others but the point of the statues is to celebrate the best of the best and not the best of the rest. That is what has been done.
For more Arsenal news and stories follow me on Twitter @H_Mackay
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As transfer deadline day approaches, withering yet more precious life fragments from our ultimately pointless existences, like a child whose pined all Christmas for that dream present only to find Santa has given it to that rich brat down the road and he’s been left to make do with a barely functioning second hand training bike on loan from Wigan which his father had to sell his favorite jumper to afford – now’s as good a time as any to compile a list!
And surely it’s that time again where we mockingly predict things that are inevitably likely to happen on planet football before the window closes, finally affording us sweet, blessed, gentle release from the madness, and all that endless, endless speculation.
Click on the burning Fernando Torres shirt to unveil the top 1o
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Manchester United went top of the Premier League for a few hours at least overtaking rivals City after comfortably beating QPR at Loftus Road.
A goal in each half from Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick was enough for the Red Devil’s to see off Neil Warnock’s side who drop to 15th and sit just three points above the drop zone. The opening goal came after only 52 second with Rooney turning Antonio Valencia’s before Carrick wrapped the game up 10 minutes into the second half to move above City at the top. A month and a half prior United were lagging seven points behind their noisy neighbours following their derby day thrashing and looked all but out of the title race. But a run of six wins and a draw from the subsequent seven games has seen Sir Alex Ferguson’s side move a point clear at the summit ahead of the blues game with Arsenal. QPR, on the other hand, lost for the second time in a row and stretched their winless run to four games and now lie perilously close to the bottom three. Having beaten Chelsea at Loftus Road earlier this season the R’s faithful will have been hoping for another scalp but their hopes were dashed inside the first minute after Rooney gave United an early advantage.
Two goals against Wolves last week saw the England striker rediscover his scoring touch and a barren run of form and his hunger to score goals was satisfied after just 52 seconds getting on the end of Valencia’s whipped cross to head in his 12th goal of the season. The visitors were well on top during the first half as they went in search of a second goal that would kill the game with Radek Cerny producing a number of impressive saves whilst Daniel Gabbidon and Alejandro Faurlin had to clear efforts off the line. The woodwork also took a rattling with Phil Jones and Johnny Evans both hitting the upright as the hosts crumpled under a sea of United pressure as they continued to search for the deciding goal. The latter will have been kicking himself after heading the ball against the post when it looked easier to score before Danny Wellbeck went close with an effort.
Warnock’s side managed to hold on until 10 minutes after the break with Carrick striding forward from midfield before beating Cerny to score his first top-flight goal since 30 December 2009. The home side did improve gradually in the second half and could have set up an exciting end to the game had Heidar Helguson or DJ Campbell displayed more composure when presented with two opportunities to halve the deficit. Still, United looked dangerous every time they went forward and should have increased their lead in the second half with Rooney going close to scoring his second whilst Valencia also failed to beat Cerny and score the goal his industrious performance deserved. It didn’t matter though as they eased their way to final whistle to leapfrog their rivals and go top of the Premier League.
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