Manchester United are one of the great footballing institutions for bringing through and nurturing young talent. From the class of ’92, to the signings of Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo, the Premier League champions have a powerful legacy of turning promising starlets into exceptional world-class players.
The management at Old Trafford may have changed this summer, but the club’s emphasis on keeping one eye on the future has not, and David Moyes will continue in the Red Devils’ tradition of sourcing the hottest prospects world football has to offer.
With that in mind, here’s FIVE youngsters bursting with potential that, according to the tabloids at least, could be making their way to Old Trafford in the near future.
Click on Ross Barkley to reveal the FIVE ‘promising starlets’ on Manchester United’s radar
When Tottenham Hotspur make their seasonal trip to the Emirates next month for the first installment of this term’s North London derby, whatever the outcome on the pitch, they will have taken something of a beating, off of it.
On November 17th, supporters will be desperate to see Andre Villas-Boas’ side steal a march on Arsenal in the race for Champions League football and beyond. But for however much Spurs may try and match the Gunners on the pitch this term, off of it, there is simply no competition. And until that is rectified, Spurs are potentially hitting a glass ceiling in their development that is getting harder to break through with every passing season.
Although Arsenal went and eventually succumbed to Roberto Di Matteo’s Chelsea 2-1 at home, towards the end of last month, it wasn’t all doom and gloom in the red half of North London. Indeed, the match against the Blues represented the first ‘Category A’ game of the season at the Emirates, a price bracketing for the most desirable games of the season, with a minimum price tag of £62.
The Mirror reported that matchday income from the game – a few hundred seats short of a sell out – was near on, a staggering £6million. Spurs fans are set to contribute to at least matching that figure next month.
And no one should be under any illusions of quite how gloomy that reality check is for the Lilywhites. The most recent published accounts this year (which encompass the 2010/11 season) showed that Spurs made a relatively paltry £43.3million from matchday revenue, over 27 competitive matches played – working out at about £1.6million a match. If we include the fact that this figure includes Uefa Champions League matches, you can expect that number to shrink slightly when the next accounts are released. For those wondering, Arsenal made over double what Tottenham did for the same time period in matchday revenue – a cool £93.1million.
The elephant in the room here is of course Tottenham Hotspur’s dire need for an increase in stadium capacity, in order to compete with the likes of Arsenal and beyond. At just over 36,000, White Hart Lane simply cannot compete with a cash cow like the 60,000 seater Emirates Stadium – in both purely spectator terms and the holy grail of corporate hospitality.
With White Hart Lane selling out every week, Spurs have nearly hit the ceiling in terms of squeezing any more money out of their hallowed old ground. Their cheapest adult season ticket increased a further 5.79% to £730 this season, hopping above Liverpool as the second most expensive in the land. Even with 30,000 fans waiting for the chance to snap up one of 23,500 season tickets on a waiting list that seemingly refuses to budge, it appears difficult to see how much further the club can push prices up.
The statistics, in this case, have been written on the wall for a long time, but it’s putting them into context that appears slightly more difficult.
Tottenham cannot progress any further without some form of serious investment, most likely from foreign shores. And although it may not necessarily be in the guise of a Manchester City style buy out, the sort of capital the club need to raise to fund their Northumberland Development Project, still constitutes an enormous amount of investment. Daniel Levy and ENIC may well be looking for a naming rights partner to raise the money, but with The Telegraph’s Paul Kelso reporting an asking price of £400million spread over two decades, today’s economic climate renders that a very giddy amount of money indeed.
Some fans may shrug their shoulders at the level of investment and you can suggest that Spurs aren’t doing two badly for themselves at the moment. They’ve finished fourth twice in the space of three years, had a tasty little Champions League run and they’re looking to make another assault on European qualification this year.
The catalyst is however, in terms of need for development and the need for survival, the dark realm of Premier League wages. Some fans still seem to protest that Daniel Levy has stashed a chunk of their Champions League money under the sofa somewhere. What they don’t often consider though, is the extra £24million swell in wages, from 2010 to 2011. For all the jiggery-pokery of the summer transfer window and the smokescreen of Luka Modric, Tottenham Hotspur in fact made an initial net LOSS of £545,600, during the summer. Yes, that doesn’t factor in the Roman Pavlyuchenko sale in January, but this isn’t some form of Levy-defending propaganda. The club are operating upon their very limits.
With the new Premier League domestic television rights alone, securing up to £3billion to be shared around with clubs, Daniel Levy can afford to push the boat out on handing players like Gareth Bale a lucrative new contract. But such is the nature in the way broadcasting money is split between clubs, everyone is afforded a similar financial reprieve. Spurs have simply chosen to spend a chunk of theirs on securing their most valuable asset.
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Perhaps in some ways, the best way of analyzing your own strength is upon the strength of those around you. There was a school of thought with some Spurs supporters, that the club was only ‘two or three players away from challenging for the league’ last season under Harry Redknapp. If we accept that the notion doesn’t involve the weakening of the squad by selling any players, that means that in wages and transfer fees, the club would have had to find that money from somewhere to acquire those players. Spurs made a £7million operating loss last year, just for a bit of added context before we finish.
From the last available accounts (2010/11 season), Tottenham Hotspur finished fifth. The difference between their wage bill and Arsenal’s, who finished one place above, was £33million. The difference between third placed Manchester City’s wage bill and Spurs? An increased £83million. And to wrap up, the contrast between Spurs and second placed Chelsea’s wage bill was £98million.
Although 2011 champions Manchester United’s was a little lower, you get the point. The cost between bridging even one place in this league can be phenomenal and Spurs are running out of room for financial maneuver. Yes Financial Fair Play will help, but they cannot make serious developments without the construction of a new stadium. A fourth placed achievement this term would represent a stunning achievement and have fans celebrating and three points on Saturday would go a long way to achieving that in the short term. In the long term however, it would be the announcement of a naming rights partner, that the club needs just as much.
Do you feel Tottenham have hit a glass ceiling in being able to move further up the league? How do you feel about the implications of a foreign naming rights partner? Let me know how you feel on Twitter: follow @samuel_antrobus and bat me all your views.
For many years, Scottish football has been considered to be one of the least competitive leagues in the world. But it has the potential to become extremely popular.
Financially, football in the country is not at its best. However, this is the perfect excuse to produce young Scottish players that can prove their doubters wrong. The most successful Scottish club is Celtic, now managed by Ronny Deila.
Each and every year, Celtic clinch the title with relative comfort. The Glasgow club have now won the Scottish title on 45 occasions, winning it in three consecutive seasons from 2012-2014 after the notable absence of Glasgow Rangers from the top tier of Scottish football. Despite struggling at the start of this season, collecting seven points from four games and occupying a relatively low 5th spot in the division, it is certain that the Hoops will be lifting their fourth consecutive league title.
Aswell as league commitments, Celtic will again have to contend with European matches. Failing to qualify for the Champions League after a 2-1 aggregate defeat at the hands of NK Maribor from Slovenia, Celtic are now in the Europa League group stages where they face Red Bull Salzburg, Dinamo Zagreb and FC Astra. With the Celtic Park outfit firm favourites for the Scottish Championship, they should now concentrate on getting as far as possible in a European environment in order to put Scottish football back on the map.
Fulham had a remarkable Europa League back in 2010, reaching the final, and beating teams such as Shakhtar Donetsk, Juventus, Wolfsburg and Hamburg along the way. If the Cottagers can do it, then why can’t a club like Celtic, a club with huge tradition and stature, do the same?
In the past, Celtic have qualified for the Champions League and caused a threat to top opposition, including grinding out stunning victories against the likes of FC Barcelona and Manchester United. When Celtic Park is at its full capacity, which it often is, the phrase ‘the crowd is the 12th man’ is an understatement, as the atmosphere for a European fixture is astonishing and frightens the opposition.
For the rest of the world to see this would prove that Scottish football is a hidden gem, and has huge potential to continue growing. Money is an issue, with the likes of Rangers who have both performed in European competitions in the past, being demoted to the third division because of tax debts, while Hearts also entered administration, which resulting them in plying their trade in the second tier of Scottish football.
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Nevertheless, Celtic will get the title sown up within no time at all, and the main target should be to focus more the Europa League, which the players will gain much needed experience from for the future.
For many the international break is a harmless stopgap between fixtures in the Premier League, but for the clubs seeing their players returning tired and in many cases injured, the fortnightly gap is becoming particularly arduous.
Just this last week we have already seen injury worries for both Jack Wilshere and Christian Eriksen, the latter much to Tottenham’s dismay will be out for around a month with strained ankle ligaments.
Now of course we all understand the value players place in representing their country, to force their omission from the international set-up would be wholly wrong. That said International managers have a duty of care to their players and from my perspective this involves sensible dialogue with respective clubs to ensure that players’ chances of being injured are minimised.
Of course some injuries are freak acts of nature, but in the case of someone like Jack Wilshere, the precarious nature of his fitness is well known. So when Arsenal say that the midfielder should be playing only one friendly, it is in both club and country’s interests that England themselves heed this advice, as it happens the knock to his thigh was pretty minor, but why was Wilshere involved in the Germany game at all?
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It isn’t even like these matches carry much, if any, importance, I can understand the need to play your very best in a competitive match but for an exhibition match it is just reckless. Wilshere realises the need to impress coming into a World Cup year, but most would acknowledge that selection is 90% down to league form and as such staying fit and firing for Arsenal is a much bigger priority.
The club versus country debate is extremely divisive, and regardless of which camp you place yourselves in there is always a need for a degree of common sense. Some may like to see England play their very best for every international, but this is just not a possibility. Clubs pay the players’ wages and international associations have a responsibility to ensure that the club’s assets are well looked after. It is a two-way relationship, there is great importance placed on maintaining a good relationship with clubs, or else risk not having players released for risk of exacerbating injuries.
Injuries can happen at any point, it doesn’t matter if it is an international or domestic game the chances are no doubt pretty equal. However, when you add a busy domestic workload to a full international schedule, you end up pushing so many of the best players close to the edge.
Roberto Martinez is right when he points to the Premier League being much more important for prospective world cup players, he made the following comments to the Daily Mail in relation to Ross Barkley’s involvement:
“It’s a waste of time to think what could happen in the future. The thing is to concentrate on the day-to-day. A week is an eternity so a few months is even more.”
His view being that players should knuckle down and ensure they give there best in the day to day grind for their club, rather than focus on the international set-up as a stand alone phenomenon.
Rather than be the battleground that is so often is, club versus country should be a much more mutually beneficial relationship. Countries should be keen to see their stars prosper at a club level, with clubs themselves keen to ensure their players are in a position to pursue their international ambitions.
As it stands both parties are at complete loggerheads, and to see players returning from international duty with injuries should really come as no surprise.
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Spurs may well be entitled to compensation for Eriksen’s injury, but the loss of the player is of greater value to both club and country than a simple cash sum can provide.
Is it time international managers were a bit more responsible with players?
The transfer window is now done and dusted until January and for some teams, it was far more successful than others. Certain sides completed their business early, signed the players they wanted and generally enjoyed a decent summer. For others, it’s been nothing but months of frustration, ending in a frantic rush to change their fortunes in this particular transfer window.
As per usual, Tottenham spent August the 31st lighting up deadline day with their traditional scramble to beat the deadline. This year, they just failed to sign Portuguese midfielder Joao Moutinho, but will certainly feel happier with their lot than Liverpool fans who look rather short in the striking department. One thing though. Why don’t teams just follow Sir Alex Ferguson’s example and finish their dealings before the season begins? His new signing seems to have bedded in fairly well…We take a look at the 15 real losers of the transfer window this time around.
Click on Dimitar Berbatov to unveil the 15
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Maybe this is a case of a footballer getting exactly what they deserve—and not because he’s a bad person. David Bentley seemed to make poor decision after poor decision in his career, with recent injuries really bringing him to his knees. He has now been banished, seemingly, to one of the far corners of European football, with very little left of the promising player we once knew.
It said a lot when Bentley couldn’t find his way into a Birmingham side who were relegated in the season he went on loan with them. It was also incredibly disappointing that he had his spell with West Ham cut short by injury, but maybe we should be looking at the level of clubs that were interested in him.
This is a player who once scored a hat trick against Manchester United, was compared favourably to David Beckham, and cost Tottenham a fee around £17 million in 2008. You wouldn’t think that now when you look at his recent years, but his career has spiralled downwards and is very close to becoming irrelevant. Who can speak about Rostov in Russia with any great confidence? A club who aren’t competing for league titles or even European competition, but maybe it’s good that the player has put all that aside and is just intent on getting back on course.
The lure of Russian money isn’t there, nor is the chance of playing to large crowds usually associated with top European football. But is David Bentley’s case even remotely similar to what we saw with Joe Cole last summer? Both previously hailed as great internationals for their country, but both of whom fell heavily out of favour at their parent clubs. It said something about Joe Cole when he ended up at Lille in France. No disrespect to the then reigning French champions, but a title-winner at Chelsea, an England international and Liverpool star (at least that’s what his wages suggested) should maybe have landed a little higher.
Cole proved to have a good spell while in France, perhaps opening that door a little further for English players to explore leagues beyond their comfort zone. Russian football, like all the other empires under construction around the world, are looking at leagues like the Premier League for the next big opportunity. And while there’s no certainty what will happen with Bentley at Rostov, he’s definitely fallen into a minority who are willing to go abroad for the good of their career.
David Beckham, Michael Owen and Steve McManaman are different cases, because who would turn down Real Madrid if they came calling?
David Bentley surely would not have expected his career to pan out this way. Coming through the Arsenal academy, he already seemed too big for his boots before firmly establishing himself as a Premier League footballer. His attitude to the senior players sometimes bordered on the embarrassing, while his decision to pull out of the England U21 squad in 2007 also heaped the pressure and bad feeling on the player.
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He spoke so highly of Spurs when he joined the club, and maybe he could have been an integral member of the first-team even now. But there were mistakes, notably his lack of ability to really take his chances, and lets not forget the ice bucket incident with Harry Redknapp during that interview.
Nothing spectacular will come from this move to Russia. He may get back to full fitness and find a good home in a team for the next four-months or so. But if not, then it’s as good as over for him, at least in top-flight football. Not too many will be paying attention, and he certainly won’t force the sales of Rostov shirts in England, but this is really make or break for Bentley. A chance to get his career back on the right path or a confirmation of what we’ve all known for a good few years.
After their impressive league standing last year, it would be wrong to speculate Roberto Martinez’ job could be under threat at Everton.But the Toffees have endured a horrendous start to the new Premier League season, as they currently lay just two points above the relegation zone with the worst goals conceded column in the division.Clearly, something has to change and some additions to the squad in January certainly wouldn’t go amiss – like always, squad depth is already proving to be a problem for the Goodison outfit this season.With that in mind, here’s a list of FIVE signings, all realistic and available to Everton in January, that could turn their fortunes around.
[ffc-gallery]CLICK ON MARTINEZ TO REVEAL
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FABIAN DELPH
According to the tabloids, Everton are eying a January deal for Aston Villa midfielder Fabian Delph:
The Toffees are already blessed with quality and mettle in the middle of the park, through the likes of Ross Barkley, Leon Osman, Gareth Barry, James McCarthy and Mo Besic, but keeping them all fit has been a real problem this season and another body could do Everton’s squad depth a world of good.
Meanwhile, the 24 year-old’s stock has soured over the last twelve months. Last term, he bagged the Supporters’ Player of the Year award at Villa Park and he impressed on his England debut in August, featuring in a 2-0 win over Switzerland.
Delph’s a real box-to-boxer, with an endless engine and the ability to contribute at both ends of the pitch, perhaps epitomised best by this stunning goal against Chelsea last season:
Most appealingly, the England international’s Villians contract is up at the end of the season and appears to be holding out on a new deal. Paul Lambert is so concerned he’s flying to the US to discuss his budget with Aston Villa owner Randy Lerner.
That could force the Birmingham outfit to sell in January, but as revealed above, Everton face competition from Arsenal for his signature.
Potential transfer fee:£8million-£12million
MOUSSA DEMBELE
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Another Premier League midfielder linked with a Goodison switch in recent weeks is Tottenham’s Moussa Dembele:
The Belgium international’s bounced back to first team status in recent weeks after spending much of last season of the peripheries of the squad.
But he’s never quite replicated the form that earned him a £15million move from Fulham to White Hart Lane in summer 2012. Here’s a look at Dembele in action for the Cottagers:
And with Spurs already privy to a number of like-minded industrious centre-mids, such as Paulinho, Benjamin Stambouli and Etienne Capoue, whilst Southampton’s Morgan Schneiderlin also remains on their radar, the Lilywhites could be convinced into selling when the transfer window reopens.
A phenomenal athlete with good technical quality and an eye for goal, the 27 year-old is certainly a natural suitor to Roberto Martinez’ progressive philosophy. And a reversion back to the more advanced role he adopted for Fulham could see Dembele return to his former best.
Whether Daniel Levy is willing to do business with a direct divisional rival midway through the season however, remains to be seen.
Potential transfer fee:£8million-£10million
CHRISTOPHER SAMBA
Everton desperately need some added cover at centre-back. John Stones has been ruled out until 2015 with an ankle injury, whilst there appears to be a rift developing between Sylvain Distin and Roberto Martinez, following the Goodison gaffer’s decision to leave the Frenchman out of his match day squad for the Merseyside derby.
How about Congo international Chris Samba? His short stay at QPR in 2013 was rather disappointing as the West London side plummeted into the Championship, but he was once regarded as one of the better centre-halves in the Premier League amid a 161-game tenure with Blackburn Rovers.
Samba measures in at 6 foot 4, offering a beastly presence, experience in the top flight and a decent contribution to the goal tally – his strike-rate was one-in-ten at Ewood Park. Here’s a look at Samba in action:
There are certainly less risky options on Everton’s radar, such as Stoke City centre-back Ryan Shawcross.
But the 30 year-old’s contract at Dynamo Moscow has reportedly entered its final year according to Transfermarkt.com, suggesting the Russian side can be convinced to sell in January.
At the same time, Samba staged a half-time walk-out after being subject to racial abuse against Torpedo Moscow back in September, and already constituting the second incident of this kind since moving to Russia in 2012, it’s likely he’ll be keen on a return to England too. His family are still based here.
Potential transfer fee:£6million-£8million (but wages could be an issue).
FABIAN SCHAR
A more youthful centre-back option for Everton to consider is FC Basel’s Fabian Schar, often linked with north London duo Arsenal and Spurs:
Statistically, the 22 year-old was the best defender in the Champions League last season, as viewable below:
And the Swiss international’s World Cup performances weren’t too bad either, making eight interceptions during two outings at Brazil 2014.
A front-footed, goalscoring defender, who once netted this incredible strike during his FC Wil days:
Schar would fit Roberto Martinez’ progressive philosophy perfectly. Here’s another look at him in action:
Like many of the names of his list, his contract is set to expire at the end of the season and a new deal looks unlikely with a plethora of European clubs circling.
There’s still time for Everton to weigh in, but recent speculation suggests Inter Milan are currently leading the race for his signature:
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Potential transfer fee:£6million-£10million.
ANDRE AYEW
Andre Ayew looks set to become one of the best value-for-money deals of the January window and Everton would be wise to get in on the act.
The Ghana international has emerged as one of the French top flight’s leading widemen over the last few years, racking up 51 goals and 18 assists in 171 appearances for L’OM. That includes this ‘rabona’ finish against Reins earlier this month:
He also enjoyed strong form at the World Cup, as detailed below:
The 24 year-old isn’t the most conventional wide man but he’s strong defensively, notoriously versatile and as shown in the video below, is outrageously good at heading for a 5 foot 9 winger:
Capable of adopting virtually any role in midfield or attack, Ayew would add quality and depth to Everton’s squad, and with his contract set to expire at the end of the season, will be available for a pittance in January.
But there appears to be a plethora of competition for his signature:
And his virtually-guaranteed absence whilst the 2015 African Cup of Nations takes place from January to February remains an issue.
The end of the Alex Ferguson era at Old Trafford was always going to hit Manchester United hard, but most of the club’s fans couldn’t of expected how far backwards they had stepped.
Louis Van Gaal was brought in as manager and given the task of changing fortunes at the club. He set his players just one target, to qualify for the Champions League, and they obliged.
Now the former Holland, Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss is looking to stamp his effect at Old Trafford and the way everything is shaping up Manchester United are going to be a force next season.
Van Gaal has moved early in the transfer window, making several key signings that have improved his squad significantly.
Memphis Depay was the first name through the door this summer. The 21-year-old has signed from PSV Eindhoven for around £25million.
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The Dutch winger is an incredible young talent; last season he finished as the top scorer in the Eredivisie and has found himself drawing comparisons to a young Cristiano Ronaldo.
Similar to the Real Madrid striker he has a great technical expertise mixed with pure physical strength, not to mention his set piece expertise. The player is expected to produce big things at United in the future.
Following that deal Van Gaal moved to sign another player he knows well, this time raiding former club Bayern Munich for central midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger.
The German International moves for around £14m and finally gives United the replacement for Paul Scholes they have been searching for, unfortunately for the Red Devils it took them since 2013 to find him.
Schweinsteiger brings a wealth of experience from playing at the top level of football and is the complete midfielder – technically brilliant, comfortable defensively and even better moving forward.
He will thrive at United and will no doubt be running the show from the centre of the park alongside fellow new signing Morgan Schneiderlin, and Spanish midfielder Anders Herrera.
The team is starting to take shape and the club have three issues standing in the way of a title challenge next season, fortunately for the club they are already working towards a solution.
United certainly aren’t done in the transfer market this summer with two more big signings needed, and one thing for certain is that it all looks promising for the fans.
Following the departure of Robin Van Persie, the Dutch manager will be searching for a new big name striker to ease Wayne Rooney’s workload. United have been linked to some massive names already with the likes of Gonzalo Higuain, Edison Cavani, Thomas Muller all linked with moves to Old Trafford this summer.
Whoever the club sign up front there will be no doubting their ability as United have never been shy when it comes to spending and will be looking to purchase the best option around.
The other area in need is the centre of defence. Currently they have the likes of Phil Jones, Marcos Rojo and Chris Smalling and whilst they are all good defenders, none are world class.
This is an area that Van Gaal is looking to solve and again he is searching amongst the best defenders in the world to improve his squad, names like Nicolas Otamendi, Sergio Ramos and Ezequiel Garay have been looked at.
Any of those trio would certainly improve the United defence and stop the number of goals the club conceded.
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That is of course provided the club keep hold of David De Gea, he has been the subject of speculation linking him with a move to Real Madrid for months now.
The simple fact is United can not let him go. He single handedly won United a number of points last season and selling him makes no sense at all.
Especially after the new argument between Victor Valdes and Louis Van Gaal has flared up, it is important that United keep at least one settled goalkeeper.
The signs do look good if you are a Red Devil and it won’t be long before they are challenging for the title again.
Footballers are a lot like cars. Some, such as Per Mertesacker, are like Range Rovers; beastly, dissonant and usually covered in mud, but not without their uses. Others, such as Alexis Sanchez, are like convertible sports cars; exciting, dangerous and expensive, but inevitably dependent on how fast they can go. And a few, such as Mesut Ozil, are like Rolls Royces – classy, timeless and always going at their own pace, yet somehow not quite as exhilarating as their reputation would suggest.
Regardless or type or model, however, every footballer and every automobile has one thing in common – depreciation. If you’re a smart man, you sell your car just before its value plummets, the insurance goes up and the doors start falling off. If you’re a smart manager, you sell your players whilst they’ve still got enough years left on their contract to pull a few bluffs around the negotiating table, and preferably before their leg joints start grinding into dust.
Fail to do so and you end up with either a metal or fleshy heap that can’t go a mile without breaking down. All of a sudden, nobody wants to buy them and you have to sell for scrap – leaving you short on finance for a better model.
At which point, I turn your attentions to Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere, a player Manchester City want and Arsene Wenger is determined to keep. This weekend alone, we’ve had reports of the Gunners gaffer issuing a hands-off warning – straight out of the Football Manager textbook – to the Premier League champions and rumours of a new contract in the offing to nullify their interest.
But there’s probably never been a better time to sell Wilshere than right now. He’s got three years remaining on his current deal and comes with a virtual guarantee of England involvement whilst Roy Hodgson’s in charge. The Gunners are even lucky enough to have found an eccentric buyer desperate to add a young, British model to his otherwise aged and foreign collection, seemingly apathetic towards the potential cost.
And right now, we don’t know what kind of car Wilshere will become. At times he’s like a BMW, dynamic, elegant and efficient. On other occasions he’s a Fiat Punto; small, ordinary and unspectacular, whining about all the other cars muscling past him at the traffic lights.
We do know, however, that for a 23 year-old, Wilshere’s been patched up and repaired too many times already – particularly at the ankles. His most recent sideline stint makes it nine ankle injuries since 2009, keeping him out of action for an incredible 112 weeks and resulting in him making only 95 Premier League appearances in six years. That’s just 16 per season; low mileage, but not in a good way.
Wenger sees him as the next Bugatti Veyron, but that’s dependent on him passing an MOT. And whilst the England international’s spent the last four months at the garage getting his ankles taped up, Arsenal have gone on to record their strongest Premier League campaign for years – now almost certain to clinch third or second spot after Manchester City’s spectacular capitulation. With Aaron Ramsey, Santi Cazorla and Francis Coquelin proving so effective as a midfield trio, would Wilshere even make Arsenal’s starting Xi right now?
It makes you wonder whether the midfielder is needed at all, or if he’s just one for the collection – a Wenger snazster 1.2, whose chavy spoiler and yellow paint job overcompensates for rusty wheel arches and a tepid engine.
Only time well tell whether he’s Veyron or Volvo. But Manchester City are apparently offering £30million for a player with as much potential to regress into an old banger as he does win the 2016 Car of the Year. It’s not often the risk and reward of keeping a player outweighs that of selling to a divisional rival, but in my opinion this is certainly one of those rare occasions.
Take the money and run Arsene. Buy a better model.
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Brendan Rodgers’ worst nightmare is currently being played out. Luis Suarez is attracting the attention of the big clubs. The Premier League champions in fact. Moneybags City with a wad of cash so thick they could use it to beat whales to death. So now ‘Operation keep Suarez’ is flowing faster than the Mersey River with Rodgers unequivocally denying that his Uruguayan star will be departing Anfield for more lucrative pastures in the January transfer window. How the Reds would cope if they lost him doesn’t even bear thinking about. For so long Steven Gerrard was considered the beating heart of the club but now that mantle belongs to Suarez. Without his driving force in attack or the eight league goals he’s scored they would be floundering at the foot of the table. For Rodgers, John W. Henry and the rest of the Anfield hierarchy their actions in the transfer market will speak louder than words and could be the key to ensuring Suarez remains a red.
This week on FFC will the Reds live to regret putting so much responsibility on Raheem Sterling’s shoulders and which Anzhi ace could be heading for Anfield?
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Best of FFC
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Why Liverpool must seek to rectify instead of worry
Will Liverpool regret relying so heavily on him?
What impact would this deal have on both Liverpool and Manchester City?
Manchester City prepare shock Luis Suarez bid
Liverpool and Southampton on £6m transfer alert
Selyuk confirms Liverpool’s interest in Anzhi ace
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Best of WEB
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Should Our ‘New Steven Gerrard’ Be Used As A Make-Shift Striker? – Live 4 Liverpool
‘It was my decision!’ – Ex-LFC attacker reveals reason he left Anfield. Loss…? – Liverpool Kop
Attack proves to be best form of defence for Rodgers – This is Anfield
‘Make us an offer…please!’ – Is this the year’s most exciting transfer news? – Liverpool Kop
How Do We Compare To Our Rivals? – The Tomkins Times
Are the kids sounding the death knell of these senior players? – Live 4 Liverpool
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.
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Rodgers’ Review: An in-depth analysis of our season so far – This is Anfield
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Quote of the Week
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“He is not for sale. There will be no bidding war. He’s staying here. I don’t have that fear (his head will be turned) with Luis. He has already shown in the summer his commitment to the club, he’s signed a new deal. I think you’ve seen up until this point he’s in a great moment in his footballing life here at Liverpool; he is scoring goals and working well and he’s very happy here. He’s certainly not someone we want to sell or move on. If we lost Luis then we’ve got no strikers. Luis Suarez won’t be leaving Liverpool to join Man City according to Brendan Rodgers