Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers was delighted with the impact of Jonjo Shelvey during his side’s 3-2 Premier League victory against West Ham.
The Reds came back from 2-1 down in the final 20 minutes to claim the three points.
Shelvey played a big part in the winner, with his movement forcing defender James Collins to divert the ball into his own net.
In the absence of talisman Luis Suarez, the 20-year-old was forced to play in a central attacking role, and his manager was delighted with the performance he saw:
“He was outstanding. But you see there are two different ways in which you can play the number nine role.” The Northern Irishman told SkySports.
“In this country it is always a very traditional target man, a clear number nine. Give credit to Carlton Cole, I know him form my time at Chelsea, he is a real handful and was outstanding today.
“But you see young Jonjo at 20 years of age playing the number nine role in a different way – dropping into midfield and combining with the midfield players to make the fourth man, being a threat when he is in around the box, showing great feet and I thought he was outstanding today the kid.
“It was great credit to him because there was a lot of pressure on him because people have been trying to compare him to Luis Suarez.
The Anfield chief also backed the former Charlton star to improve in the future:
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“He is only 20 and has a big future ahead of him.”
Liverpool took the lead through Glen Johnson before a Mark Noble penalty and Steven Gerrard own goal swung the score line.
Joe Cole equalised after 76 minutes, before Collins put the ball past Jussi Jaaskelainen.
have confirmed Ashley Young is set to be out for the next fortnight after sustaining an ankle injury.
The former Aston Villa star limped out of the United’s 2-1 derby defeat to local rivals Manchester City at Old Trafford on Monday.
After being assessed by the club’s medical staff at their Carrington training ground this week it has been confirmed he faces a spell on the sidelines, though it is not believed to be too serious.
“Ashley is out,” said boss Sir Alex Ferguson at a press conference on Friday. “He took a whack on his ankle. He will maybe miss two weeks.”
As well as the trip to Stoke, Young will also miss the trip to West Ham and Premier League home clash against his former club Aston Villa.
However, there is some good news for the Red Devils as captain Nemanja Vidic returned to full training on Friday while fellow centre-back Jonny Evans is also fit again after a hamstring injury.
Veteran midfielder Paul Scholes is also in contention after recovering from a knee injury that has kept him out since the end of January.
Ferguson added: “It will be a terrific boost to get his [Scholes’] football intelligence back in the squad.
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“He has been out for a few weeks so we need to get him back out training with us.”
Tottenham Hotspur can move to within four points of the top four in the Premier League if they manage to beat Burnley at Turf Moor this evening.Antonio Conte’s outfit have three games in hand, starting with this encounter in Lancashire tonight, a little down the road from where they were triumphant only a few days ago.Spurs defeated the defending champions and current league leaders Manchester City with a clinical 95th-minute strike from Harry Kane on Saturday evening as the north Londoners stunned Pep Guardiola’s men at the Etihad Stadium.Now they face a tough midweek test in the form of Sean Dyche’s Clarets, who too won at the weekend.It will be interesting to see if Conte rotates his starting XI, having hinted at changes during his pre-game press conference, so what sort of lineup could we see from the Italian?Here’s what we are predicting…There could be as many as three changes from the side that defeated the Citizens.Between the sticks, skipper Hugo Lloris is surely going to remain and the back three in front of him are also likely to be unchanged, so Eric Dier stands in the middle of Ben Davies on the left and Cristian Romero on the right.Conte revealed that he expected Sergio Reguilon to miss the game, so Ryan Sessegnon could keep his place at left wing-back, whilst Emerson Royal had to be withdrawn with a knock, so he may not be risked with Matt Doherty primed to take his place.
In midfield, there could be further rotation as Harry Winks earns a rare start. He replaces Rodrigo Bentancur, who started only his second game for the club on Saturday after arriving on deadline day from Juventus.
The £45m-rated powerhouse could do with a rest before the weekend, so is axed for the Englishman, who partners Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.
And finally, there is a big call to be made in the final third over whether or not to stick with Dejan Kulusevski after a considerable impact on his first Spurs start.
Conte may want to keep him fresh, so in comes Lucas Moura, who made way for the Juventus loanee up in Manchester last time out. He’ll feature alongside the usual frontline of Heung-min Son and Harry Kane.
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AND in other news, Fabrizio Romano drops big behind the scenes Conte claim at Hotspur Way…
Manchester United’s recent derby defeat at Old Trafford to Manchester City highlighted that what was then a 15-point gap between the two rivals was far too large, but with Sir Alex Ferguson’s title race turning into an all-out procession, what does it say about the quality of the rest of the top flight that a good but unspectacular side has found it so easy going this season?
It wasn’t just the result that stood out from the Manchester derby on Monday night, but rather the manner of City’s victory, where they were good value for all three points after dominating large swathes of the game. It certainly called into question that this is hardly a vintage team from United’s perspective, but rather a ruthless winning machine capable of grinding out results. When was the last time a United side genuinely impressed over a consistent period and played with the swagger we all associate with them?
Despite the criticisms that they’ve barely had to get out of second gear, though, it hardly speaks volumes for the rest of the league and its relative strength in depth. United have already broken records this term, having won 25 of their first 30 league outings this year and with a current tally of 77 points gleaned from 31 games, with seven fixtures of the campaign left to play, they could still surpass the 95-point record set by Chelsea under Jose Mourinho during the 2004-2005 season.
What at one point looked like being a season to remember for the red half of Manchester has slowly collapsed around them, after losing the Champions League tie to Real Madrid, letting a two-goal lead slip at home to Chelsea in the FA Cup, then going on to narrowly lose the return leg 1-0 at Stamford Bridge, This has left them with just the league to focus on, in a year which promised much more. When the going has got tough down the home straight, United have been found wanting, lacking energy and quality to bridge that crucial but sizeable gap between good and great.
Of course, that turns out attentions back to the lack of challenge they’ve faced in the league all season. Main rivals City have just imploded, with in-fighting, poor signings and injuries to key players costing them dearly. Not one of the integral spine of the side – Joe Hart, Vincent Kompany, Yaya Toure, David Silva and Sergio Aguero – have performed better this year than during last term’s title win and manager Roberto Mancini is under significant pressure to lift the FA Cup now to put to bed any fears he may have over his long-term future.
Arsenal’s defensive woes all but ruled them out of the running very early on and Arsene Wenger’s reluctant to spend big remains a mystery with the club on such a sound financial footing while on the pitch they become less and less competitive. They look to be timing their run for a top four spot very well now, with Tottenham fading badly at the same time they did last year, but with that simply deemed enough these days by the French boss, they’ll struggle to break through that glass ceiling any time in the near future.
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Meanwhile, Liverpool and Tottenham are both going through transition phases, which means they remain inconsistent beasts overly-reliant on Luis Suarez and Gareth Bale to get them out of trouble. With both clubs being hindered by their respective chairman during the summer transfer window and with new managers in tow, each club was simply targeting a year of progress, with Andre Villas-Boas set the target of a top four place and Brendan Rodgers believed to have been ordered simply to stop the recent league regression. They’ve both achieved that and will set bigger target to try and achieve in the future, but this year was always about getting their foot in the door and consolidating.
That brings us to Chelsea and the turmoil that has become some sort of cathartic annual ritual for owner Roman Abramovich. They may still be challenging for the FA Cup and Europa League, but this is a squad that’s absolutely on its knees, having to play through the most congested fixture list most have ever witnessed. Between December and February, Rafa Benitez’s side played 25 games across five competitions, and by comparison United played just 19 across three competitions. Not only is that physically draining, it’s mentally fatiguing.
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One erroneous statistic that’s been floated around as an excuse of the poisonous atmosphere that Stamford Bridge has witnessed after the unpopular appointment of Benitez is that the club were four points off the top under Roberto Di Matteo when he was sacked and now they sit 19 points off United at the pinnacle. What it’s trying to imply is that Di Matteo, a fortunate cup manager with no real record of league achievement other than finishing sixth last season with an Andre Villas-Boas side that had been left in third prior to his dismissal, would have somehow managed to put together a title challenge. It’s a bizarre opinion born out of nothing but misplaced anger towards the Spaniard. Instead of trying to take on the organ-grinder (Abramovich), Chelsea fans have taken the cowardly route of criticising the interim monkey (Benitez). They lack the depth, quality and ability to be a top two side at the moment and deep down, every fan knows that.
United look to be walking to the league title with minimum fuss this season because they’ve simply been consistent, while everyone else around them has either collapsed in quite spectacular fashion through a mixture of internal conflicts and external crises. Ferguson is once again the last man standing, but rather than delivering any sort of knockout blows to his rivals, he’s simply managed to keep his side on their feet and given that it’s comfortably been enough shows you how weak everyone else has been. They deserve great credit for their achievement, coming back in such a fashion from last season’s last-minute let down, but this could just be the easiest title the club have won in the Premier League era.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst is reportedly now eyeing up a Glasgow Rangers move in the summer for Gustavo Hamer.
The Lowdown: Good season
Hamer is certainly having a good season so far for Coventry City, recently being named in the Championship’s Team of the Week and taking the division by storm.
His table, pushing for a play-off spot, and his individual performance have been good enough to attract attention from several English Premier League clubs.
The Latest: Rangers lurking
As per Football League World, sources have now claimed that the Ibrox faithful still hold an interest in Hamer, after first being linked with a move for him in the summer.
However, van Bronckhorst will face competition from city rivals Celtic to bring the fellow Dutchman in, as well as Leeds United, Norwich City and Brentford in the Premier League.
The Verdict: Sign
The chance to beat Celtic to his signature should be enough incentive for the Teddy Bears to sign Hamer up.
Once described as an ‘unbelievable’ player by former Coventry teammate Marko Marosi, the defensive midfielder currently ranks as their fourth-best player in the Championship this term, while his six assists are a team-high, and his average of 1.6 tackles 1.1 interceptions, 1.6 shots and 1.4 key passes per game (WhoScored) also rank highly among the squad.
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Interestingly, Hamer shares the same agent as four Light Blues players in Connor Goldson, John Lundstram, Fashion Sakala and James Sands, as well as assistant manager Roy Makaay, and so this could also help push the deal in the club’s favour.
In other news, find out what ‘nauseating’ and ‘disgraceful’ Gers update has now emerged here!
Rangers chief Ross Wilson made a number of moves in the January transfer window to shape Gio van Bronckhorst’s squad at Ibrox.
He brought in James Sands, Aaron Ramsey and Amad Diallo on loan, whilst also landing Mateusz Zukowski on a permanent basis.
One position in which he has opted to wait until the summer to strengthen is centre-back. He secured a deal to sign John Souttar on a free transfer at the end of the campaign, but did not bring anyone in to immediately bolster the squad in that position.
Blunder
The Gers were linked with a swoop for Belgian defender Danilho Doekhi throughout the January transfer window, with the Vitesse Arnhem tank reportedly available for a cut-price fee of £2m with his contract expiring later this year.
Wilson will now be left feeling red-faced, as Doekhi’s recent form suggests that the 23-year-old would have been a brilliant signing for the club.
In his last four appearances for Vitesse in all competitions, the Dutchman has averaged a sublime SofaScore rating of 7.35. He scored two goals from centre-back and won an incredible 33 duels – 8.25 per game – whilst captaining the team in two Eredivisie and two Europa Conference League outings.
Meanwhile, Rangers slipped up in the Premiership recently as John Lundstram was played as a makeshift centre-back against Motherwell. His lack of quality in that position was left horribly exposed for the away side’s first goal as he got caught flat-footed in a one-on-one in the build-up, which played a major role in van Bronckhorst’s side drawing the game 2-2.
Thomas Letsch, manager of Doekhi’s current club, previously lauded the 23-year-old’s talents, saying: “He already played fantastic last year and this season he has performed at the highest level in every game. Danilho makes almost no mistakes and is an absolute team player, a very calm player. flat developed. He coaches other players very well. He is calmer than other players and perhaps that makes him less noticeable, but he is the reserve captain for a reason.”
These quotes highlight the immense quality the defender provides on the pitch, and his recent statistics back up the hype that his manager delivered to him.
Across 20 Eredivisie starts this season, Doekhi has won an impressive 68% of his duels whilst making 3.3 tackles and interceptions per game. This shows that he is a strong defender who is able to read the game well, with his average SofaScore rating of 7.01 suggesting that he is also able to provide consistently high-quality displays.
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Therefore, Wilson will surely be disappointed in himself after failing to strike a £2m deal to bring the 23-year-old to Ibrox in January. His statistics suggest that he would have been a boost to Van Bronckhorst’s squad, and the Dutch head coach would not have been forced to resort to using Lundstram at centre-back.
Hopefully this blunder will not cost Rangers the league title this season and they will be able to snap up Doekhi for nothing in the summer. The Gers now rely on their current central defenders stepping up and ensuring that the club are not still regretting their failure with Doekhi come May.
AND in other news, Van Bronckhorst can brutally axe “shaky” Rangers dud in deal for “annoyingly brilliant” £0 machine…
West Ham take on Sevilla tonight at home in the second leg of their UEFA Europa League round of 16 tie, with David Moyes’ team looking to overturn a 1-0 deficit to advance into the quarter-finals.
However, they will be without star man Jarrod Bowen for the game, Moyes confirmed, after the winger suffered a bruised heel against Liverpool just under a couple weeks ago.
But despite the severity of the injury being described as “no significant damage” by the club, he still cannot put weight on it according to Claret and Hugh.
“Jarrod Bowen’s not available,” said the Scottish manager. “Jarrod probably won’t be available until, at the earliest, after the international break.”
The update will frustrate supporters, who will be nervous going into their heated London derby with Tottenham at the weekend – let alone fighting for a place in the final eight of a European trophy they will view as winnable.
Bowen has been a critical part of West Ham’s successes this campaign, scoring eight and assisting eight more in 28 Premier League appearances – an impressive total from the winger who has averaged a 7.09 match rating in the league according to SofaScore.
He could have also added a lot more to his total for the season so far, having missed 12 big chances – which can be viewed as a positive more than a negative as it shows that he has constantly got into goalscoring positions – and more chances will continue to follow.
On average, he is completing more than half of his dribbles, winning more than half of his duels and completing 40% of his crosses per game, and as his career with the Hammers goes on, his performances only seem to get better – reflected by the fact that his market valuation has been on a constant rise since April 2020 according to Transfermarkt.
Now valued at £31.5m, the former Hull City star has earned plenty of admirers – including Jurgen Klopp who said earlier this year: “Bowen, what a player he became! Unbelievable.
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“We saw him as well at Hull and he was really good at that time. I’m not sure a lot of people expected this jump, but unbelievable player.”
Moyes will for sure miss the right-midfielder who has become one of the first names on his teamsheet when available – and with two critical games coming up starting off with the one this evening, his absence will be a huge blow, and only make the task at hand tougher.
In other news: West Ham can repeat Bowen masterclass as Moyes eyes bid for “exceptional” £10m brute
Aston Villa have seen many players come and go to and from the club over recent years under the ownership of Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens.
While the Villans have not been shy when it comes to spending big amounts of money to bring new players to the Midlands on permanent deals, they have also seen some figures join on temporary loan spells such as Philippe Coutinho, Robin Olsen and Ross Barkley to name some of their more recent ones.
One player that Villa secured on loan that they will definitely be glad they didn’t end up signing on a permanent basis was midfielder Danny Drinkwater.
Signed during the 2020 January transfer window on loan from fellow Premier League side Chelsea, the Englishman ended up making just four appearances in the Premier League throughout the remainder of the 2019/20 season.
His performances in those four appearances failed to show anyone why Villa chose to add him to their ranks, with WhoScored giving him a disappointing and quite frankly woeful overall rating of 5.74. making him the lowest-rated player to start at least one league game for the Villans throughout the entire campaign.
Taking this into account, and the fact that he was involved in a training ground clash that saw him headbutt former Villa winger Jota, it’s easy to see why the club didn’t end up signing the 32-year-old on a permanent deal.
Having described his own spell with Chelsea as a “shambles,” it’s safe to say that this description could also be used when talking about his time at Villa Park as well.
Since leaving the Midlands club, the former Leicester City star had a spell in Turkey on loan with Kasimpasa after joining them in the 2021 January transfer window where he made 11 league appearances.
After that, the midfielder found himself away from Chelsea, who have been paying him a weekly wage of £120k-per-week since 2019 according to Salary Sport, on loan again, this time back in England with Championship club Reading.
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Having racked up 26 appearances there so far this season, Drinkwater has finally found himself getting some regular game time, something that he hasn’t really had since his final year at Leicester where he made 29 league appearances throughout the 2016/17 campaign.
Taking all of this into account, it has to be said that Villa and NSWE dodged an almighty bullet by not signing the Englishman on a permanent deal and were probably wrong in bringing him to the club at all.
In other news: £12.8m down the drain: AVFC’s “condemned” £38k-p/w liability rinsed NSWE for 100 weeks
Leeds United midfielder Stuart Dallas may have picked up a groin injury on international duty, acting as another possible blow for the Whites.
The Lowdown: Leeds’ Mr Reliable
The 30-year-old has once again been a consistent performer for Leeds this season, even though he hasn’t necessarily been at his very best in a year of struggles for the team.
Dallas has made 30 Premier League starts in 2021/22 to date, filling in across several different positions, with his versatility proving to be priceless amidst the injury crisis suffered by both Marcelo Bielsa and now Jesse Marsch.
The midfielder, one of the only Leeds players to not miss a single fixture through injury this term, is currently on international duty with Northern Ireland, but he may be Leeds’ latest injury casualty.
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The Latest: Potential injury suffered
Dallas hurt himself in his country’s 3-1 win over Luxembourg on Friday night, with Sky Sports commentator Gary Weaver pointing it out [via MOT Leeds News]:
“Medical staff having a word with Stuart Dallas, looks like it was his groin.”
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The Verdict: Hopefully nothing serious
There is no confirmation yet regarding the severity of Dallas’ injury but the hope is that it is nothing too serious ahead of Leeds’ return to league action next weekend.
The Whites have had to make do without a host of stars players throughout the season, from Kalvin Phillips to Patrick Bamford, and Dallas’ aforementioned versatility and reliability would make him a big loss in the relegation battle.
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Should he be out for an extended period, it really would sum up a forgettable campaign for Leeds – one in which so little has gone right, as they look to avoid a return to the Championship.
In other news, a transfer expert has made a key double Leeds claim. Read more here.
Celtic have the chance to go six points clear at the top of the Premiership on Sunday if they can secure a win in the latest Glasgow derby.
Prior to the recent international break, the Hoops recorded a convincing 4-0 win over Ross County at Parkhead, setting them up nicely to take on their fiercest rivals at Ibrox this weekend.
On the chalkboard
In terms of how Ange Postecoglou could set up his team tomorrow, one player who didn’t start against County but we feel should be in the starting XI on this occasion is full-back Anthony Ralston.
Despite seeing Josip Juranovic start ahead of him last time out, the 23-year-old replaced him with 62 minutes on the clock and managed to put on a solid show.
With 28 minutes under his belt, the Scotland international made one tackle, won 100% of his aerial duels and completed 40 of the 43 passes he attempted, two of which were key passes. This cameo ultimately earned him an overall match rating of 7/10 from SofaScore, which is higher than what Juranovic got.
Looking at his season as a whole, Ralston has shown what an impressive all-around figure he is by racking up four goals and seven assists, along with averaging 1.6 tackles and 1.6 clearances per game in the league.
Praised for his “magnificent” performances in the past and hailed as a “warrior” on the pitch by Postecoglou, Ralston certainly has what it takes to be a real nuisance for his opponents from an attacking and defensive sense.
Taking into account the magnitude of tomorrow’s showdown and what it could mean for the title race on both sides, having a player like the £1.62m-rated defender on the pitch could be vital for Celtic given how deadly he can be in front of goal and how tough he can be at the back.
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Moving forward, even though Rangers have scored fewer goals and conceded more than the Hoops this season, their current position in the table means that they will only be looking to win on Sunday. Therefore, if they go all-out attacking from the get-go, having a player like Ralston who can defend and also punish teams at the other end could make him the difference between winning and losing for Celtic. He is a man they will likely need this weekend.
In other news: Celtic will rue call on £25k-p/w gem whose value has rocketed 400% since Parkhead exit