Mauricio Pochettino has transformed Tottenham Hotspur into a team worthy of challenging for honours.
Over the last few seasons, the North London outfit have been in the hunt for the Premier League title.
The club finished third and second respectively in the previous two seasons, but in the current campaign Manchester City have blown everyone out of the water.
Tottenham have held their own against Real Madrid and Juventus in the Champions League, but just like the challenges before them, the club have fallen at the final hurdle.
Both title campaigns drifted away from them, while Juventus and West Ham United got the better of them in the Champions League and Carabao Cup respectively.
Spurs have not lifted a trophy since winning the League Cup in the 2008-09 campaign, and their only hope of clinching silverware this season will be taking home the FA Cup.
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The club earned their place in the semi-finals with a win over Swansea City, and fans are feeling confident that they will oust Manchester United to make it into the final .
Former Spurs midfielder Jamie Redknapp has claimed in his column for the Daily Mail that failing to win the FA Cup could have a huge impact on the club.
“This Tottenham team is simply too good to go three seasons without silverware but they cannot seem to get over the line in pivotal matches. We saw it against West Ham in the Carabao Cup and Juventus in the Champions League. Tottenham are in danger of being remembered as the great underachievers but an FA Cup triumph — after beating United in the semi-finals and most likely Chelsea in the final — would prevent that.”
Manchester United may well be the most successful club in Premier League history but in that time the Red Devils have made some incredibly poor transfers – as would be expected.
Of course you can’t get them all right and after signing players like Cristiano Ronaldo & Wayne Rooney, you’ve got to have made a few mistakes.
Let’s all enjoy a look back at five of the worst Man United signings in recent history.
All signed by Sir Alex Ferguson incidentally…
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Bebé
Signed in August 2010 from Portuguese side Vitória de Guimarães, the then 20-year-old was looking to become the biggest thing out of Portugal since Cristiano Ronaldo (or Nani). However after making just 2 Premier League appearances for the club and after three separate loan moves over his four year stay, he finally moved on to Benfica on a permanent deal. Never fulfilled the promise – not by a long way.
Money spent – £7,400,000 Money received – £1,600,000 Total loss – £5,800,000
League Appearances – 2 – League Goals – 0 –
Cup Appearances – 5 – Cup Goals – 2 –
Eric Djemba-Djemba
Despite having one of the catchiest names in world football, Djemba-Djemba didn’t make the impact that was expected of him. The Cameroonian international was an unknown quantity when he arrived but he was the possible successor to Manchester United legend Roy Keane. It’s safe to say he never quite filled that void, and after making just 20 league appearances for the club without a single goal. He was sold on to fellow Premier League club Aston Villa and is still playing aged 33 for Chennaiyin FC in the newly formed Indian Super League.
Money spent – £3,500,000 Money received – £1,500,000 Total loss – £2,000,000
League Appearances – 20 – League Goals – 0 –
Cup Appearances – 8 – Cup Goals – 1 –
Anderson
The only player in our countdown who is still part of the Manchester United squad, Anderson. Considered to be one of the brightest young talents in world football at the time of signing, the then 19-year-old signed from FC Porto. Despite playing a considerable amount of games during his seven years (and counting) with the club, he’s never quite managed to excel.
A young Brazilian international signed for a hefty price tag, yet never delivered. Still with the squad today and he made a ‘comeback’ appearance as a substitute against Burnley earlier in the season, after a loan-spell with Fiorentina last campaign.
Money spent – £20,000,000 Money received – N/A Total loss – £20,000,000
League Appearances – 105 – League Goals – 5 –
Cup Appearances – 71 – Cup Goals – 4 –
Juan Sebastián Verón
An experienced 26-year-old at the time of signing, the Argentinean international became Man United’s record-signing. His spell in England was far from what was expected of the fully fledged international in the peak years of his career, but that can be the way. After a reasonable amount of appearances of the club, Verón moved onto rivals Chelsea for a smidgen of the price.
At the time of his transfer to Chelsea he was the most expensive footballer of all time with the accumulative transfer fees that had been spent on him. A tag which he certainly didn’t live up to during his time with Man United and Chelsea.
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Money spent – £28,000,000 Money received – £15,000,000 Total loss – £13,000,000
League Appearances – 51 – League Goals – 7 –
Cup Appearances – 17 – Cup Goals – 4 –
David Bellion
One of the more bizarre signings of Sir Alex Ferguson’s reign. The Frenchman was signed up by Sunderland when he was just 19 and before he had even made a first team league appearance for his youth side Cannes. The striker went on to make 20 league appearances for the Black Cats over a two year period. Despite scoring only 1 goal in that time Sir Alex saw something in Bellion that no one else did. He spent three years at Old Trafford with two loan spells at West Ham and Nice. Although he managed to open his account with United in his limited opportunities it wasn’t long before he was loaned out and then eventually sold back to his native country.
Money spent – £3,000,000 (compensation) Money received – undisclosed Total loss – £?
Liverpool assistant manager Colin Pascoe was delighted with the performance of his side during their 3-0 win over QPR.
The Reds netted three times in the opening 30 minutes to move up to ninth in position in the Premier League, leaving their rivals rooted firmly to the foot of the division.
Pascoe, who was filling in for the ill Brendan Rodgers, celebrated his team’s display after the final whistle:
“All of the lads were magnificent. The chances we created were phenomenal. We could have had a couple more. Some of our play was exciting to watch and I’m sure our fans will be happy tonight.” He told Sky Sports.
“It was fantastic to watch, the way the lads passed the ball around and the weight of our chances.”
Pascoe went on to reveal that he had only found out that he’d be in charge earlier in the day:
“This morning he phoned me at eight o’clock,
“I wasn’t feeling very well myself this morning, but he’s worse than me.
“The way the medical team and the doctors tried to isolate the players and the staff, they’ve been fantastic.
“Hopefully they’ll have nipped it in the bud and not too many will be affected by it.”
However, there was some bad news for the stand-in manager as Jose Enrique suffered a hamstring injury:
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“It looks as if he’s got a little tear.” He added.
“He was terrific today and he’s been a joy to watch in the last few months, so hopefully he’s not out for too long.”
Luis Suarez netted the opening two goals, with a Daniel Agger header completing the scoring on 28 minutes.
Newcastle fans are desperate for the club to make Kenedy’s loan deal permanent for £15million.
According to the Mirror, Chelsea would be willing to let the Brazilian leave for £15million this summer, and Newcastle fans all agree it’s an absolute bargain.
The 22 year-old Brazilian has quickly endeared himself to the fans at St. James’ Park after several great performances, including an assist on his debut. His latest showing was his best yet, grabbing two goals in the Magpies’ hugely important 3-0 demolition of Southampton on Saturday.
After recent reports that Rafa Benitez hopes to make Kenedy’s deal permanent, the Mirror reports that Chelsea would let that happen for just £15million.
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Kenedy has two years left on his contract at Stamford Bridge, but has never managed to make much impact at the club. Chelsea’s record of promoting youth talent isn’t exactly top drawer, and the tricky Brazilian has made just 15 league appearance for the Blues since joining in 2015.
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Of course, Newcastle will need to stay in the Premier League for Kenedy to even consider staying, but that looks optimistic now after the result and just as importantly the performance against Southampton.
Some of the best Twitter reactions can be found below, and we don’t think there’s much dispute on this one…
Sixth and a whopping six points off of the top of the Scottish Premiership’s leaders Hamilton Academical, it’s not quite been the season the Hoops were hoping for. The farce that was the Champions League qualification campaign rather set the tone, with Ronny Deila having struggled to step up to the plate after replacing Neil Lennon.
With January’s transfer window edging into view as the winter nights set in, Bhoys fans can start to think about transfer plans, but before new names can be signed, some players will have to be shipped out. Aside from new goalkeeper Craig Gordon, the entire Celtic squad has been off of the pace, so here are a few players who could be axed in the New Year…
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CLICK ON RONNY DEILA TO REVEAL THE FIVE
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Leigh Griffiths
Griffiths hasn’t been quite the purchase Celtic were hoping for, with off-field incidents having, at times, overshadowed his abilities on the turf. Signed earlier this year from Wolves, the Scotland international has missed out on recent national squads thanks to his below par performances, and he looks to be behind loanee John Guidetti in the pecking order.
Ronny Deila
Celtic don’t necessarily have to wait until January to axe this man – and he’s also not a player – but we though that the underperforming Deila deserves a mention on this list. The Norwegian was always in for a tough time following on from Neil Lennon, but with the Bhoys sitting some way off of the summit of the Scottish Premiership, this season has the potential to be the worst in the club’s recent history.
Virgil van Dijk
This may sound mad, but selling Virgil van Dijk in January may actually be a wise option. The Dutchman has been excellent since his arrival in Scotland, with his performances having attracted Premier League attention. With Celtic in need of some fresh blood to replace a number of departed stars over the course of the past few seasons, a decent price for Van Dijk could allow for investment in the squad. It may be a step back, but a sale could provide the springboard for two steps forward.
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Amido Balde
Out on loan this season, Balde grabbed headlines with a stunning goal for Waasland-Bereven. But don’t be fooled, the Guinea-Bissau star has proven that he’s not up to Celtic standard already, and could be one to look at shipping out permanently either in January – if his loan side want him – or at the end of the season. With Guidetti impressing and looking like a player the Hoops may want to keep permanent, Balde’s chances back in Glasgow look bleak.
Beram Kayal
After just over four years at the club, it may be time for Kayal to head for pastures now. The Israeli has been a decent performer, but Celtic are in need of some fresh blood in midfield, so bodies will have to be shifted. At 26, Kayal shouldn’t struggle for suitors and could bring in a decent amount of cash to put towards purchases.
So Saturday was yet another day when a footballer was accused of diving.
Santi Cazorla was the subject of a diving claim on Saturday, after giving the impression he had been caught by West Brom’s Steven Reid, which led to Arsenal being awarded a penalty by referee Mike Jones.
It feels like diving is like a disease spreading over English football, it seems diving is becoming a common occurrence, whether it is Luis Suárez, Gareth Bale, Ashley Young or some other player who appears to have tried to be opportunistic.
So with it seeming that accusations of diving are increasing; it feels like the obvious option would be to enforce retrospective bans on dives. However, a rule like this does not exist in FIFA laws, so the FA can make up its own rules on this. Additionally, FIFA do not seem to be even keen on the idea, fearing it makes the referee look supreme and that it could start a precedent of incidents being re-refereed at later dates.
An FA spokesman has also indicated that change will not be coming soon saying: “While stakeholders in the English game continually review their agreed position regarding retrospective action, there are no plans currently to apply it to simulation.”
However, could it be said that ignoring diving is not going to get rid of the problem, but make it worse? Even Arsène Wenger himself said earlier this year: “If an obvious dive is punished by a three-match ban, players would not do it anymore.”
It could be said that if players had the impression that they were going to face a lengthy ban for falling down too easily, they may not be so keen to dive.
It seems like the FA has not done much to tackle the problem, how many times has Luis Suárez been punished for diving despite being caught doing it on many occasions?
Other potential options are also open to the FA. Gordon Taylor, chief executive of the Professional Footballers’ Association believes technology should be used to help referees come to the right decisions. This could be a good idea, and could ensure that the referee is really sure of a decision, with some believing Mike Jones made the call on the incident between Santi Cazorla and Steven Reid without knowing for certain whether Steven Reid had committed a foul or not, that he may have thought it was a foul from the angle he saw it from.
Another idea that has been suggested is having additional referees behind goal. UEFA president Michel Platini seems to believe in this option, while Pierluigi Collina feels it has reduced incidents. However, it has been claimed how it has not had a distinct effect on the amount of diving incidents at Champions League matches.
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Although it could be said that reducing diving dramatically may not be possible. Is it a problem that the mentality of certain players cannot be changed? Even Santi Cazorla himself said that “it’s not something that should be a big controversy.”
So, should the FA do more to tackle diving? Well, it seems that the problem is not getting nearer to an end, and with it appearing that more players are diving; can the FA really ignore the issue?
Manchester City have many of their first-team stars competing at the World Cup, but it was a disappointing day for David Silva on Sunday as Spain were knocked out.
La Roja were one of the favourites to win the tournament, but they were dumped out on penalties in the last-16 stage by tournament hosts Russia.
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”255909″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch Three reasons we love to hate… Germany”]
Silva started the match, which ended 1-1 in normal time, but he was substituted just seven minutes after the hour mark.
Spain played their traditional passing game, but they lacked zest and energy as Russia managed to pack themselves into their own half to force the fixture to penalties.
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Russia converted all four of their attempts from the spot, while Spain only netted three as Koke and Iago Aspas missed theirs.
Silva was an integral member of Pep Guardiola’s team last season as he scored 10 goals and created 14 assists in all competitions.
City comfortably earned the Premier League title thanks to Silva’s help, but some supporters were not enthralled by the midfielder’s performance for Spain.
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Others blamed the coaches.
Comment from discussion When you need a late goal but you take the only MCFC player out of the game….Comment from discussion When you need a late goal but you take the only MCFC player out of the game….Comment from discussion When you need a late goal but you take the only MCFC player out of the game….Comment from discussion When you need a late goal but you take the only MCFC player out of the game….Comment from discussion When you need a late goal but you take the only MCFC player out of the game….Comment from discussion When you need a late goal but you take the only MCFC player out of the game….
In our poll yesterday we asked Blues fans to make the call as to their starting back line for their game against Manchester City this weekend.
In Conte’s three-man defence, three centre-backs are effectively deployed but only one or them of them is a centre-half by training – with Andreas Christensen getting the nod for last weekend’s defeat to Manchester United either side of Antonio Rudiger and fullback Cesar Azpiliceuta.
Gary Cahill is still Chelsea’s captain and likely one of the first names on the England team-sheet for the upcoming World Cup in Russia this summer, but Andreas Christensen has been impressive at the position in his last few games as he belied his young age – despite being partially culpable for United’s winning goal at the weekend and having gifted Barcelona an equaliser in the Champions League last week.
The 21-year-old has attracted a strong following among Chelsea fans this season, and 80% of them in our poll favoured the £27m-rated Dane (Transfermarkt) to Cahill.
Here’s the full result of our poll:
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Despite bringing in four defenders this summer in Eric Dier, Ben Davies, DeAndre Yedlin and Federico Fazio, former Tottenham Hotspur boss Tim Sherwood said in a recent interview that Tottenham need to find suitable cover at centre back in case Frenchman Younes Kaboul gets injured.
When January comes around, current Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino will be able to purchase a centre back to bolster his squad and solve this problem.
Here are FIVE possible centre back options for Spurs in January in no particular order.
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Click on Musacchio to reveal
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Fabian Schar
The 22-year-old Swiss defender is one of the emerging young stars. In last season’s Champions league, he helped FC Basel defeat Chelsea twice, and he also earned a whoscored.com rating of 7.64. In this past summer’s World Cup, he helped Switzerland win 3-0 against Honduras and played a part in the extra time 1-0 loss against Argentina. Dozens of teams are interested in Schar so Spurs will have to place a good bid if they want the Swiss to sign.
Transfer Market Value: £7.04m
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Stefan Savic
The 23-year-old Montenegrin defender may have been disappointing during his time with Premier League champions Manchester City, but since his move to Serie A side Fiorentina he has been brilliant. The former Partizan Belgrade man has been great for Vincenzo Montella’s side and achieved a whoscored.com rating of 7.32 last season. He also kept 11 clean sheets over 31 Serie A appearances, helping Fiorentina finish 4th last season and achieve a Europa League spot. Savic has also been linked with a move to Bayern Leverkusen.
Transfer Market Value: £11.44m
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Aymeric Laporte
The 20-year-old French defender helped his side, Athletic Bilbao, qualify for the Champions League for the first time since 1998 last season. During 35 La Liga appearances last season, Laporte helped his side achieve 11 clean sheets and earned a whoscored.com rating of 7.21. Laporte has also been linked with moves to Manchester United, Arsenal, and Bayern Munich so competition will be tight for the youngster’s signature.
Transfer Market Value: £13.2m
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Hector Moreno
The 26-year-old Espanyol defender was linked with a move to Tottenham this past summer. However, Moreno picked up a tibia (shin) fracture whilst on international duty with Mexico at the World Cup and this ended this possible move, but the move could happen again in January. Espanyol only managed to finish 14th in last season’s La Liga, but he earned a whoscored.com rating of 6.93. Swansea is also interested in signing the Mexican.
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Transfer Market Value: £6.16m
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Mateo Musacchio
The 24-year-old defender was also linked with a move to Spurs this past summer transfer window. Due to third-party ownership of the Argentine, the move was called off. They could try and go for Musacchio in the January transfer window. However, in a recent interview, he said he was happy at his current club Villarreal and is enjoying his football in Spain, so a move may be off the table completely now. Last season, he helped Villarreal achieve 6th in La Liga, earning his side a Europa League spot, and scored a whoscored.com rating of 7.26. Over 32 La Liga appearances last season, he collected nine clean sheets.
West Ham United’s Guy Demel has called time on his eight-year international career with Cote d’Ivoire in order to concentrate on his club’s current Premier League campaign.
Originally a French citizen, Demel acquired his Ivorian passport in 2004 and went onto make 35 appearances for Les Elephants, featuring in both the 2006 and 2010 World Cup.
Having missed a considerably large part of the Hammers’ promotion campaign through injury, news of Demel’s international retirement comes as a firm statement of commitment to the club’s current Premier League campaign.
“I have decided to quit international football and it was not an easy decision for me,” said Demel.
“Last season I was injured a lot and I want to prepare and make sure I perform for West Ham in the Premier League,” the right-back continued.
Demel, 31, feels that age was a factor in his decision, noting that “it is right to quit,” allowing him to concentrate on progressing with West Ham without any extra national team duties to fulfil.
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“I have enjoyed playing for my country and going to the 2006 and 2010 World Cup [with] my country means a great deal to me.”
The defender later expressed his hope for the continued success of the national team, wishing that “they do well at the Africa Cup of Nations.”