Sunderland manager Martin O’Neill is keen on bringing former Everton midfielder Tim Cahill to the Stadium of Light on loan in January according to Sky Sports.
The New York Red Bulls star enjoyed eight successful years in the Premier League with the Toffee’s before being shipped off to the MLS.
The former Millwall midfielder had hoped for a return to Goodison Park on loan during the January transfer window but will settle for a move to the North East with O’Neill extremely interested.
Cahill was somewhat of a goal machine for Everton but Marouane Fellaini has certainly taken over his position now so a loan move to Sunderland would see far more game time for the Australian international.
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With the MLS out of action for a few months the likes of Cahill, Thierry Henry, Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane are all set for two month loan spells in the Premier League.
As reported by The Sun, the race to sign Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah this summer has started after the forward’s incredible form at Anfield this season.
What’s the story?
With 36 goals in all competitions for the Reds this term, it’s inevitable that he’ll be attracting interest from European giants this summer and it seems the headlines surrounding his potential departure have already begun.
The Sun report that Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona are all interested in signing the attacker, prepared to pay a world record fee of £200m to tempt Liverpool into selling.
More than the amount that took Neymar to Paris last summer, would £200m be an offer that the Reds couldn’t afford to turn down?
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Should they sell?
The last thing Liverpool want is another transfer saga like Philippe Coutinho’s, recognising that the pull from European football’s elite clubs is strong both in terms of status and cash.
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However, Salah feels like he’s barely arrived at the club and getting at least another season out of the Egyptian should be their big priority. If he can repeat anything close to this term’s goalscoring then his value will not have decreased by next summer.
There’s an argument to be made that clubs should always sell a player at his peak value, but Liverpool have trophy ambitions and letting go of Salah would be a major blow in that regard, even if the reported £200m would allow a major transfer signing spree.
Manchester United (3-5-2): De Gea, McNair, Smalling, Blackett, Valencia, Carrick, Fellaini, Young, Rooney, Van Persie, Di Maria
Manchester United are still suffering from their defensive crisis with seven players, five of them defenders, being unavailable for selection. Marcos Rojo, Rafael, Daley Blind, Luke Shaw, Phil Jones, Jonny Evans, and Jesse Lingard are all not able to feature against Hull City. Although Evans is back in training, he revealed that he is still not ready to step right into the action and could be rested for another week. Radamel Falcao is also fit to feature but could be introduced later on as he begins his return to full match fitness. Louis van Gaal opted to revert back to his initial 3-5-2 formation, a change which saw his side beat Arsenal 2-1. Ashley Young is likely to play at left-wing back as Angel Di Maria could be moved into a more attacking role alongside Robin Van Persie with Wayne Rooney lurking right behind.
Hull City (3-5-1-1): Harper, Chester, Dawson, Davies, Elmohamady, Livermore, Huddlestone, Quinn, Robertson, Ben Arfa, Jelavic
Hull City will be without Gaston Ramirez who was suspended in the 2-1 loss to Tottenham Hotspur last week and will join Robert Snodgrass on the sidelines with their new signing picking up a serious knee injury on his debut match. Some good news for Steve Bruce is that Mohamed Diame has declared himself fit to face Manchester United, but it is still unknown whether his manager will risk bringing back into the fold so soon. Similar to Diame, Alex Bruce is still a doubt but may start on the bench given he has only recently returned from a hamstring injury.
What the fans are saying…
Remember this?
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Towards the end of last season, Manchester United overcame Hull City at Old Trafford with a 3-1 scoreline thanks to James Wilson netting a brace and Robin van Persie striking the third. A win for the Red Devils this time around could see them continue their bids to secure a Champions League spot while Hull are also looking for three points so that they can avoid the drop zone.
West Bromwich Albion defender Jonas Olsson publicly criticised players who dive, after replays showed Arsenal’s Santi Cazorla simulating in the box against the Baggies last weekend.
However, the defender was rather philosophical in his criticism, noting that due to the omission of in-game replays, referees have “a difficult job.”
He continued by stating, “If it’s a dive the focus should be on the person diving as well [as the defending tackle],” and by doing so it would create an impartial atmosphere for the foul – or dive – to be reviewed.
Olsson’s comment refocuses the debate by highlighting a ref’s intrinsically obstructed responsibility – devoid of video evidence – and then pointing the blame at the simulating players in question.
“I don’t like people diving. I’m not very objective either being a defender. Most of the time I like this league because of the fair play it contains,” he said before expressing his admiration for officials in light of a job without “the privilege of watching replays.”
Earlier in the year Arsene Wenger went further to suggest that a deterrent for diving should be legislated for by the FA. “If an obvious dive is punished by a three-match ban, the players would not do it anymore. I would support it. It has to be obvious diving.”
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Cazorla’s dive came in the first half and stands as an obvious example of a player gaining the upper hand in an underhanded way.
Everton fans have once again been criticising Sam Allardyce after the Everton boss disputed the length of Sigurdsson’s injury in classic Big Sam fashion.
Everton have suffered their fair share of injuries this season, with key figures like Leighton Baines and Seamus Coleman missing large parts of the season through injury.
Their latest hit to the squad might be the most significant one yet, as Gylfi Sigurdsson is set to be sidelined for up to eight weeks with a knee injury. The Icelandic international hurt his knee in the contest with Brighton, but continued playing despite the injury.
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The 28 year-old was then sent to see a specialist, with reports suggesting he could be out for six to eight weeks. In his press conference today, Sam Allardyce suggested otherwise.
Big Sam has certainly not endeared himself to Everton fans since taking over from Ronald Koeman, and fans have been disappointed by his uninspiring tactics and failure to grasp the values of the club.
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As the manager jokes whoever put the Sigurdsson statement out will be in trouble, Everton fans have used it as a chance to say his own job should be in trouble.
Some of the best Twitter reactions can be found below…
Southampton have been the surprise package this season, and find themselves sitting in 2nd place in the Premier League table after ten games, having only dropped points in three of their games so far.
The Premier League has been crying out for an ‘outside of the top four usual suspects’ team to challenge for the title for a while now and it looks like if it is likely to happen at all, it will most likely be this season.
In recent history we have seen clubs like Manchester City and Chelsea, who’s records pre-billionaire ownership were not as fruitful until major money was invested, only then did they start to win various titles and trophies. However, it has been a while since we have seen just a normal team that have risen to the top on purely their own merit, hard work, and their own financial steam without any significant outside help.
Southampton are a great club who came up to the top tier of English football from League 1 with successive promotions and did a great job in getting to where they are now. Where many clubs would have been content with mere survival and a steady approach to life in the top flight, the Saints decided to take it one step further and aim even higher since their promotion.
They are a club on the rise, one that is always seeking to improve their current position rather than be content with having the same sort of season year in, year out and hope for the odd cup run to bring them potential glory.
Not many would have thought that their intention this season was to be a title challenging team, and by no means are they actually competing to win the Premier League crown, but more so aiming to win as many games as possible and finish as high up the table as their own merit allows them to.
No one would have given them a chance of even surviving this season before August, considering they lost their manager to Tottenham Hotspur after such a good campaign last season and then their best players were poached in what can only be described as a massive fire sale during the summer transfer window.
However, the new manager, the new players and the existing squad all came together, rolled their sleeves up and simply got on with it.
It would be foolhardy to think that at the start of the campaign Ronald Koeman sat his team down and told them to go out there and make sure they were competing for major honours. At the same time it would be pointless assuming that he told his team to make sure they survived the season at all costs and set them a target of anything above 17th place is a bonus.
What Koeman has done in fact is adopt a far simpler philosophy, one that should be in all the textbooks out there in manager training school (if such a thing exists) and in all the sports psychology books; the notion that each team of 11 players on any given match day scenario is a team of human beings who are both competing to win the game of football, and therefore both have an equal chance of being victorious.
You have not seen this Southampton team approach any game with fear, despite the fact they were weakened over the summer with so many key players leaving. They are not looking too far ahead, just one game at the time and they are looking to try their best to win every game they compete in regardless of the opposition.
It is exactly this that has propelled them to the position they are in now, and the correct, winning mentality that they possess will be the key to any success they may have.
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Granted that on paper they are no where near being considered for European qualification or should they be given a second thought in terms of the league title, but things that are on paper – well, they are only worth the paper they are written on.
Southampton have got a great togetherness about them presently that has stemmed from the days in the third tier of English football. They have got the right attitude of wanting to improve and they are showing that it does not always take a multi-billionaire to inject instant success to a club.
Are Southampton serious title contenders this season? Yes, why not? They are up there through merit and hard work, fully deserved. There is no reason why they cannot continue to maintain the same levels of performance and results, even if they dip in form from time to time, there is no reason that they shouldn’t be up there come the end of the season, despite what is “on paper” or what logic tells you to think. Watch this space!
Champions Manchester City and stubborn Stoke City are the only two teams in the Premier League that on average, concede less than one goal per game. While the defensive backline of clubs up and down country has come under fire recently, I would argue that the man between the posts should take his share of the blame. It’s certainly worth asking why so few clubs possess a prominent goalkeeper in the prime of their career?
Take Manchester United for example, a side undergoing their routine, awkward transition between two reliable goalkeepers. At 22 years of age, David De Gea boasts undeniable potential but is raw to core, whereas his colleague Anders Lindegaard is six years his senior but has limited experience at the summit of European football. Sir Alex Ferguson has chopped and changed repeatedly this season, with both men apparently allergic to the number one jersey.
In the wake of their chaotic 4-3 victory over Reading last week, the United boss described it as “agony” and the “worst defending of this season”. A goalkeeper can only be as good as the defence in front of him and the tinkering in both departments has surely hampered rather than helped their title bid.
The defensive frailty is a real concern for those in the red half of Manchester, having already shipped 21 goals this season, three more than struggling Sunderland. Just one side in Premier League history has gone on to win the championship after conceding as many after fifteen games. Unsurprisingly, it was the Red Devils in 1996/1997, but the average for the league’s eventual winners is a mere 11, the current total of fierce rivals Manchester City.
Speaking of Roberto Mancini’s side, even the seemingly faultless Joe Hart has found himself thrust under the intense glow of the media spotlight. Journalists have been queuing up to lambast England’s ‘saviour’ for nurturing an inflated ego, which has allowed errors to creep into his game. However, I would argue he is simply a victim of his own and indeed the nation’s painfully high standards.
Outside the top two, is there a sole candidate that has been consistent, assured and won more points for his team than he has lost? Perhaps such a thing can’t exist within the rigours of modern football. By my calculations, there are only six definitive first choice keepers that find themselves in the optimum 27-32 age bracket. Cech, Reina, Al-Habsi, Foster, Federici and Vorm should by definition, present the perfect blend of experience and physical maturity.
And yet the standout names on that list – Chelsea’s Petr Cech and Liverpool’s Pepe Reina – have both suffered a severe dip in form this season. Neither shot-stopper installs the same degree of confidence or air of authority as years gone by, with only 11 clean sheets between them all season. Perhaps I am being over critical but at 30 years of age they should be at the peak of their career, not sitting at the top of a very slippery slope, encouraging the whispers that they’ve entered a state of decline.
At present, West Brom’s Ben Foster is arguably the leading light in the division with Swansea’s Michel Vorm hot on his heels, although he has been confined to the treatment table in recent weeks. Wigan’s Al-Habsi and Reading’s Adam Ferderici on the other hand are strange characters, one minute sublime and the next surreal, as infuriating as they are dependable for their managers.
The majority of shot-stoppers are either too juvenile – De Gea, Szczesny and even Krul – or a matter of weeks away from being ushered into a retirement home – Friedel, Jaaskelainen and Schwarzer. There is a growing sense that while the Premier League can showcase some of the best attacking talent in the world, it can’t do the same at the other end of the pitch.
There is another angle to this subject which points to the lack of English options in the Premier League, with only John Ruddy providing any real competition to Joe Hart. Ben Foster’s retirement and Rob Green’s resignation to the bench at Loftus Road means Roy Hodgson has had to dip into the lower leagues. However, England U’21 goalkeeping coach Martin Thomas insists he is working with the best batch of ‘safe hands’ for nearly a decade.
Alongside the already renowned Jack Butland, Hull City’s Ben Amos, Middlesbrough’s Jason Steele and Norwich City’s Declan Rudd have thrived on the international scene.
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“It’s not only those four, there’s also other lads like Alex Smithies of Huddersfield and Wes Foderingham who’s at Swindon,” explained Thomas.
“The best part of around 65 goalkeepers, a majority who are English and under the age of 26, are playing in the Football League every week. All you hope is they can do well enough to take the next step and eventually work up to the Premier League.” (FA)
Perhaps then this is simply a transitional period, similar to when teams enjoy phases of success before enduring a rebuilding process. The return of the formidable goalkeeper could be just around the corner, and then we’ll be forced to complain that we don’t see enough goals.
Jamie Carragher suspects there is something going on behind the scenes at Everton after Idrissa Gueye confronted Jordan Pickford in the defeat at Burnley.
Everton added yet another miserable result to their awful away run on Saturday as they completely capitulated in the second half, allowing Burnley several clear cut chances and eventually losing 2-1.
Ashley Williams was sent off for a ridiculous swinging elbow at Burnley’s Ashley Barnes and Sam Allardyce was given yet more stick from the Everton away support.
It’s clear all is not well at Goodison Park, and Jamie Carragher’s comments on Monday Night Football won’t have done much to make Everton fans feel better.
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As well as criticising the Everton performance, Carragher suggested there must be some sort of conflict between players on the training ground.
Ashley Barnes found Burnley’s equaliser after Jordan Pickford failed to come out and clear the long ball, and Idrissa Gueye’s angered reaction intrigued Carragher.
Carragher said:
“For him to run 20, 30 yards to remonstrate with the goalkeeper, that’s not a one off.
“There must be something going on behind the scenes between them. If someone did that to me I’d have them by the throat, Pickford just lets it happen.”
Carragher discussed England’s goalkeeper dilemma with Gary Neville on Monday Night Football, and both agreed the young stopper needs to work on his positioning and be more commanding.
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Time will tell if there is anything in the reaction from Gueye, but any sort of conflict between the players can surely only mean bad things for Sam Allardyce.
Everton fans, let us know your thoughts in the comments below…
Despite their woeful defensive record last season – which ultimately cost them a first Premier League title – Liverpool appear to have done little to solve the problems over the summer. The weekend loss at West Ham illustrated all of the problems of last term, as Martin Skrtel struggled aerially while Simon Mignolet was once again erratic in goal.
It’s clear something has to be done, as the addition of Dejan Lovren – one of the division’s better centre-backs across 2013/14 – has done little to stem the flow of goals at the wrong end for the Reds.
Here are FIVE signings Brendan Rodgers could make to sort out the problems…
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CLICK ON VICTOR VALDES TO REVEAL THE FIVE
Football – Manchester City v FC Barcelona – UEFA Champions League Second Round First Leg – Etihad Stadium, Manchester, England – 13/14 – 18/2/14Victor Valdes – FC Barcelona Mandatory Credit: Action Images / Carl RecineEDITORIAL USE ONLY.
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It could be worse Nando, you could be one of these guys…
Liverpool may not have to wait until January to get Valdes on board, making him a potential quick fix to their goalkeeping woes. The Spaniard is currently a free agent after a knee injury blocked his Bosman move from Barcelona to Monaco over the summer, and Brendan Rodgers’ side are already thought to be close to agreeing a contract with him.
The 32-year-old has been erratic down the years at Barca, but having won just about every prize available to him at club and international level along the way, he would command a great deal more respect from Liverpool’s backline than Mignolet.
Joe Hart
Rumours over the weekend suggested that Liverpool are chasing Hart. The England international’s future at Manchester City is anything but clear, with Manuel Pellegrini having signed Willy Caballero over the summer to add further doubt to the stopper’s situation.
Contract talks with City are on-going, and Liverpool are said to be pondering a stunning bid to snatch him from their rivals in January. Like Valdes, Hart would gain more respect from the Anfield backline, which would certainly help to improve their organisation.
Sokratis Papastathopoulos
Football – Borussia Dortmund v Arsenal – UEFA Champions League Group Stage Matchday Four Group F – Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund, Germany – 6/11/13Borussia Dortmund’s Sokratis Papastathopoulos looks dejectedMandatory Credit: Action Images / Carl RecineLivepicEDITORIAL USE ONLY.
Arsenal were linked with the Greek utility man over the summer, and reports suggested that Dortmund were open to a deal. Should Brendan Rodgers be looking for cover in every position – which, let’s face it, he must be right about now – the Sokratis is a genuine option.
The 26-year-old can play in any role along the backline or in defensive midfield, and has bags of experience at international level as well as in Italy and Germany. Bids of around £10m-£15m could be enough.
Kevin Strootman
//www.youtube.com/embed/_Wq8cQ-ldJo
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This would double bubble for Liverpool, who could snap up a long-term replacement for Steven Gerarrd and get one over on bitter rivals Manchester United at the same time. The Red Devils are known to be chasing the Dutchman ahead of January, bit Brendan Rodgers could swoop to beat them to the punch.
Strootman is currently out with a knee injury, but should he return to full fitness before the winter period then a move away from Roma, despite their protestations, could be on. Champions League football at Anfield may tempt him to reject United.
Ron Vlaar
Football – Aston Villa v Parma – Pre Season Friendly – Villa Park – 14/15 – 9/8/14Ron Vlaar – Aston VillaMandatory Credit: Action Images / Craig BroughEDITORIAL USE ONLY.
‘Concrete Ron’ has enjoyed a fine latter half of 2014, performing well at the World Cup and slotting seamlessly back into Aston Villa’s impressive rearguard. Man United and Southampton were linked with Vlaar over the summer, and despite talk that the Villains won’t sell, he could be available for the right price.
The Dutchman would certainly bring a commanding presence to Liverpool’s backline, even if his pace may not suit Rodgers’ high-octane game.
Former Arsenal defender Nigel Winterburn believes that Arsenal will be plunged into crisis should they fail to beat their North London rivals this weekend.
Winterburn has insisted that only a victory in their Premier League clash at The Emirates will be a satisfactory result for Arsene Wenger’s side, and three points will go some way to re-establishing some momentum to their season.
The Gunners have only secured two victories in their last seven outings and are languishing 11 points behind the current Premier League leaders Manchester United.
Both sides are sitting in seventh and eighth places respectively and will be looking to secure a positive result to push up the table towards the coveted top four places.
“I thought this season that Arsenal would be stronger than last season, even though they lost Robin Van Persie. I like the togetherness of the squad,” Winterburn told Alan Brazil’s breakfast show on TalkSPORT.
“My one slight worry was where they would replace all those goals. They would need [Olivier] Giroud to start scoring straight away and would also need the midfield players around him to possibly to get into double figures. And it just hasn’t happened like that.
“From a positive start, it’s now turning into a bit of a crisis already. They really need a positive result [against Tottenham] and a positive result means a win”
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Arsenal face Tottenham this Saturday lunchtime and will be hoping to replicate their 5-2 win they achieved over their rivals at The Emirates last season, where they produced a sensational comeback, after conceding 2 early goals.