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The Mailbox says Arsenal shouldn’t be expected to compete with Man City. Also: Willock for England; seeing Sunderland in Spurs; advice for De Gea; and non-league shenanigans…
Get your views in to theeditor@football365.com…
Where’s hot, where’s not
Thought I’d consider a list of most attractive clubs to sign for world class players. All completely subjective, not going to bother googling any facts at all but it is all completely correct and unbiased so don’t bother arguing. World class is quite subjective but I’m talking those players like Bellingham, Osimhen and co who everyone wants to buy but not many can afford. And they are players that are not yet at what we’d call an elite club so more likely to actually move (seems weird thing to say with Napoli 17 points clear in Italy and Dortmund also top – damn it, I used Google already)
The only Premier League clubs I’d think superstars would even be considering are Citeh, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, Newcastle and Man Utd.
Bottom of the above Premier League list would be Newcastle. I think they are almost there, probably ahead of schedule with their project but might need to advertise themselves on the champions league stage before one of the big names will seriously consider them.
Then we have Chelsea. Being in London and having limitless budget for stupid contracts must help but a big name would have to be 99 percent nuts to go there in their current state.
Then we have Liverpool. Still a force and seem to be moving in the right direction just in time but the likely lack of champions league footy next year and likely lack of major funds probably rules them out. The gap between Liverpool, Chelsea and Newcastle pulling power is probably minimal.
3rd highest appealing Premier league club would be Arsenal. They’re in Champions league, play attractive football, in London and a big star plus other signings might make the difference to actually win something. Lack of cojones / funds to spend big on transfer or wages makes it less likely they’d even bid. Likely to put in a low bid just to pretend to their fan base that they tried.
Simply by process of elimination that would make Utd 2nd. Champions league football presumed, actually having a manager who seems to know what he’s doing thus far, having lots of money and being an elite club with so much history makes them a good prospect for the big names. Being in Manchester and being unlikely to challenge seriously for domestic league or champions league will be a considerable put off.
And number 1, sadly by some distance, has to be Man City. Guaranteed trophies, guaranteed to not have to play every game and you’ll get a nice fat salary for your troubles. Being managed by Pep must be a good pull too with the Manchester weather and the fact that it isn’t London the only downside.
But I can’t stop there and give the stupid opinion that Utd are going to pick up a couple of superstars that City don’t wanta. Europe expands beyond the English channel.
The real (excuse the pun) number one is Real Madrid. Real and Barca are always the top destinations and Barca are only second because of their dodgy financial position.
Then you also have PSG. A farmers league we say but it’s still a club that draws the top players and is one of the favourites for champions league every year.
Then you still have clubs like Juventus and Bayern who have pulling power on a par with premier league clubs.
And then there’s Wrexham.
So in reality, City are 1 of the top 3 or 4 superstar clubs and past that there are a handful more clubs Utd would have to bid against to have a chance of getting big names. Most likely way of signing superstars (for utd in particular) is taking those that Barca or Real may deem surplus to requirements when they inevitably sign the Bellinghams and the Osimhens that everyone is chasing.
Jon, Cape Town (but in reality the value in the transfer market is in finding the next big thing and not in spending 80-100 million on one player. Garnacho / Malacia > Maguire / Sancho)
Unfair fight
So we drew with So’ton and now all the vultures are out again trying to criticise us. Honestly if we lose the title to this City side there is no shame in that. Guardiola can say “I want this player, he’s perfect for the team” and he will get that player because of City’s unlimited petrodollars. This is how he’s built a squad with so much depth and capacity that he can keep rotating and still compete on multiple fronts. Arsenal can’t do that, their recruitment strategy has to be more careful.
Our objective was to finish within the top four this season. That is on track and that is progress compared to last season. This squad is clearly still in transition and it lacks the depth that City has.
Some people seem incapable of understanding that fans can be happy about their team’s progress. We’re allowed to be happy about the team winning more, especially when most of us fans have very little influence over what happens on the pitch. If you can’t enjoy this then what’s the point? It’s like getting a good job appraisal from your manager but worrying that you haven’t been absolutely perfect. It’s like seeing a beautiful new façade on the local church but being miserable because it may be destroyed during a war in the future.
There are a lot of variables and this City side are monstrous. Many of us are still labouring under the delusion that football is a fair game. It isn’t. City and we are not competing on a level playing field. Therefore I’m quite happy to finish second if that’s what happens.
Vish (AFC), Melbourne, Aus
Shaw start centre
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Luke Shaw should start alongside John Stones at centre back for England—at least for the foreseeable future, or until Southgate decides Tomori is ready. He was very impressive again yesterday, and a much better partner for Lindelof (or Stones) than Maguire will ever be. Assuming Chilwell is fit, it’s a far smaller drop-off in quality for the team as a whole than starting any of our other centre backs would be.
Tiger (MUFC) Cambridge
Advice for De Gea
De Gea isn’t realising that strikers know what goalkeepers look for on penalties now and therefore use this to disguise where they aim for. I played in goals and saved a lot of penalties. It is WAS all to do with the starting position of the penalty taker.
A straighter, narrower, run up = they were going to open up their body at the last second and shoot to their right.
Starting pretty far to the left with more of a curve on the run up (Beckham free-kick style) = they were shooting to their left.
Most of the Brighton penalties had that curved starting position, leading De Gea to dive to his right / their left because that’s the typical place the ball would be going. However, most of Brighton’s penalties went to their right.
The only traditionally taken one was the left footer Estupinan – and Dave went the wrong way, obviously.
Conclusion: You cannot be certain if a penalty taker is shaping his body a certain way on purpose or not. De Gea should just start guessing – and perhaps actually use 2 hands when diving.
Silvio Dante
Dave’s laundry
Football language is a curious thing isn’t it? In the last week, David De Gea – currently leading the table for successfully not conceding a goal in a game in the league, second place across Europe – managed to keep another “clean sheet” while also “shitting the bed” three times in the previous match.
His launderer must really wonder what to prepare for.
Badwolf
Seeing Sunderland in Spurs
Firstly, having seen a picture of Fabio Paratici is it me or does anyone else think he looks like an older, scruffier and generally more weathered version of Edu?
Secondly, does anyone else see parallels with Sunderland around 1999-2001 and the current Spurs predicament?
Sunderland:
Finished the 2000 and 2001 season in 7th in the premier league.
Their star player was Kevin Phillips their high scoring English striker who was head and shoulders above all the other players, Phillips was in his late 20’s and constantly linked to bigger clubs.
They had the newest, best and 3rd biggest stadium in England (in terms of average attendance), just slightly less than their neighbours Newcastle.
Spurs:
Are currently 5th but in free fall and with games against Man U, Liverpool, Villa plus a couple of London derbies I would guess that they are likely to finish 7th.
Their star player is Harry Kane, their high scoring English striker who is head and shoulders above all the other players, Kane is in his last 20’s and constantly linked to bigger clubs.
They have the current newest, best and 3rd biggest stadium in England (in terms of average attendance) just slightly less than their neighbours West Ham (and yes, I know technically the Spurs stadium has a few more seats but according to the info I can find West Ham have a slightly higher average attendance)
Obviously, there are significant differences in terms of Spurs being an established Premier League club finishing regularly in the top 6 whereas Sunderland had just got promoted although historically Sunderland are more successful in terms of the 6 First Division/Premier League titles vs Spurs 2 although Spurs have won stuff in Europe and more cups in general.
It’s also interesting to see that after getting linked to every club under the sun, Phillips:
Did finally get his transfer aged 30, although by this time he had missed out on all the best clubs and ended up going to Southampton who finished a respectable 8th and lost the FA final the season before he joined.
I wonder if Kane will:
This summer at 30, having missed the boat to join the best teams instead joins Man U who are clearly incomparably bigger and better than Southampton but may also finish the season as losing the FA cup final before he joins.
Clearly Kane is a far superior player with loads more goals, assists and England caps vs Phillips. Although it’s interesting to note Phillips got 8 England caps but was fighting against world class English strikers like Shearer and Owen, as well as generational talents like Fowler, Sheringham and Andy Cole. Whereas all Kane has needed to do is be better than mid-level strikers like Wilson, Abraham and Ivan Tony. Phillips is also the only English striker to win the European Golden Shoe.
Swap the two around and ask yourself how many caps and goals would Kane have got for England in 2000 and how many caps and goals would Phillips get for England today if he replaced Kane?
The silver lining for Phillips was aged 36 he did finally manage to get his hands on some silver wear as an unused sub in the League Cup final for Birmingham vs Arsenal.
Will Kane win anything more, how happy would Kane be to win the League Cup against Arsenal?
Anyway, this will clearly rile people up, for the record Kane is a great player, England’s best for a generation, but he needs to think about his legacy, careers are short, and he could end up winning less than Phillips. And for my Spurs friends, its great you have the best stadium today, the thing is, like the Stadium of Light and the Emirates, it will get old and be overtaken.
One final point, I wrote here in January that I did not understand why Arsenal were being labelled as massive favourites and pundits like Chris Sutton were going on about how Arsenal would “surely win it”. I said at the time there was more chance of Arsenal finishing 3rd or 4th than winning it. At this point, with us likely to lose against Man City, as well as at Newcastle with a game against our boggy team Chelsea in-between (who are admittedly terrible but still 9 places better than Southampton who we nearly lost to and potentially with a proper manager in place), does anyone really believe there is more chance of Arsenal winning the league instead of continuing the current form and ending up with nothing to play in our last 3 games having not won in 6 games and Man U or Newcastle on our tails? I hope I’m wrong.
Cheers,
Paul K, London
Spurs on track
It’s just occurred to me, a club going round and round and not actually getting anywhere?
That go kart track they’re building is the perfect metaphor for how the club is run.
Fair pay, Mr Levy. Genius move.
PeteB
Read more: Five reasons for Tottenham fans to be cheerful includes Bentancur and an end to ‘Conte-lite’
Levy’s plan
While I may not be aligned with many, I feel a bit sorry for Spurs right now. Not the chairman, obviously; he’s a tw*t. But the fans and players alike both deserve better than this sh*t-show.
If you look at the league there are some clear patterns for what works and what doesn’t in terms of managerial recruitment. Parachuting in a big name rarely works in the long term. You might get lucky in the short term, but chances are you won’t and it definitely won’t be sustained. I can think of no example to the contrary bar Pep, who I think we can safely say is a specific case. The best route to success is getting someone younger/less experienced but hungrier and maybe more innovative. And then, critically, supporting them.
It’s not just now either, but down the years it’s been the same. Sir Alex, Wenger, Jose (the first time), Benitez (the first time), and currently Ten Hag, Arteta, Klopp, Potter, Silva, De Zerbi, Frank (not Lampard), probably even Howe, Emery and some others who are more known.
And you don’t just expect instant success, you let them come in, support their changes and recruitment and build from that. You let them call the shots. Unless you’re going to buy the most expensive chequebook manager and furnish them with everything they want, there’s no effective shortcut.
The only way forward for Spurs that has any kind of sense is to identify a good manager who aligns with their style/aspirations and give them 3-5 years at least to do what is needed, and the support to do it. Sure, if you must, have them work with a permanent Director of Football type role, that can ensure a longer-term view of recruitment and – critically – have them work *with* the manager to build the 5-year and even 10-year plan. They need to work together, not have one just force the wrong players on the manager.
So obviously, Levy will go get Tuchel – someone who is becoming synonymous with short-term posts – or someone else daft and then not empower them, and we’ll watch the fires burn.
Badwolf
Willock for England
Surely the time has come to reward Joe Willock with an England call up. He has been immense this season. He was easily one of the stand out players yesterday and that pass for Isak is one of the best of the season (yes I know it’s only Spurs but he has played well against the big teams as well). He would be an asset in the England squad. He has an engine, can pick a pass and drives forward to break the lines. It’s a no brainer! Special mention for the form of Longstaff and Murphy too who have come on leaps and bounds for Newcastle this season.
Steve NUFC
Next for Newcastle
Well that was emphatic response to last weeks mauling at the hands of Villa (who rather helpfully displayed themselves this week that anyone can have an off day). Great performances all over the pitch with Jacob Murphy, in particular, showing what good coaching can do for a limited player.
It puts us in a good position for maybe qualifying for the Champions League. Such is my PTSD after the Ashley years, I’ll be taking nothing for granted, I was even a bit worried at 3-0 up that we have gone ahead too soon and Spurs would have ample time to get back into the game. Thankfully those nerves didn’t last too long. Our remaining fixtures don’t seem too bad, with a few tough ones and a lot of winnable games, and the week ahead could possible rule Spurs out of the running entirely if they keep up those performance levels against ManU and the Pool.
There was a lot of debate about the Carling Cup vs the top 4 for Newcastle and I think that our ‘successes’ in the 90’s and under Bobby Robson, along with Spurs’ own difficulties at the moment offer a lot of context. I think you can really only judge these things in hindsight. If you look at Spurs they’ve had a really good few years recently, particularly under Poch, but in the end they haven’t been able to supplant the top tier teams of the current era, so they will leave the Champions League gravy train with some very good memories but no trophies. The memories will be great for those who were of the right age to enjoy them but ultimately will do nothing to strengthen the prestige of the club over generations.
If Newcastle have lost the cup but go on to win other things along with qualifying for the CL then its all good. But if, like Spurs, their day in the sun amounts to nothing but a few adventures and an eventual return to their historical position of a reasonably competitive club who win nothing and hang around the 7-17th places in the league, then the Carling Cup final will have been a real missed opportunity. For what its worth if I’d had a choice, I’d have taken the Cup win, as I’ve only ever seen Newcastle win the Championship, and that’s not really the same is it?
I’ll enjoy the ride whichever way it plays out though, its been a long time since I’ve been this excited watching Newcastle play and I really forgot how nice it is.
Derek From Dundalk
Underdog story
Have to say I agree with Chris, Toon Army. The story of Newcastle and their season of success is a heartwarming tale for the (Dark) ages. Quite how the club pulled together, out of nowhere, and suddenly developed this Mighty Ducks persona is sensational! All of this was done without resorting to signing players from fellow relegation candidates for vastly inflated fees (cough, Chris Wood) and with players who’d spent ages phoning it in, suddenly developing this new-found form and affinity for the club. A sudden genuine, lasting love that had been there all along, dormant. (cough, Almiron). Lord knows what suddenly motivated this uptick in performance? 🤔 It certainly couldn’t have been the carrot of huge fat contract$$, or the stick of being replaced with shinier, more glamorous upgrades.
All of this has been achieved with absolutely zero help from any nation-state, no injections of cash and a completely clean, transparent takeover process. I even remember Amnesty International commenting on the general admiration for Newcastle’s commitment to diversity (especially the LGBTQ+ community) as well as biodiversity (none of this petroleum nonsense!).
With such a delightful tale of human generosity of spirit, it’s little surprise Newcastle Chopped Up Spurs to several pieces! Forget Wrexham. This is the tale of joy most of us will tell our sons and daughters (or maybe not our daughters, perhaps they ought to just keep quiet! 😉).
Stewie Griffin (Yes yes WOKE MOB, “keep politics out of football”, oh but “I hate them kneeling, woke Commie BLM Antifa snowflakes!” Is like those amazing Wenger achievements of finishing 4th every year, 25 points behind the leaders, whilst spending errrr….oh the 4th most on wages. Wow! But yes, who can compete with oil money etc. Well apart from Leicester. And Liverpool.)
FA Cup > top four
I may be in the minority (or be the only one) but I would 100% most definitely take the FA cup over qualifying for the Champions League. A trophy will be celebrated and counted on for decades, while no one will remember the 23/24 CL season United have where they get smashed in the quarters by Bayern or Real. Sure, its a fun time watching United play and beat some of the best enroute, but we are not capable of winning it so for me, the only use of a CL qualification is to get a better quality of player in the summer & the additional money it brings in. But with two domestic cups, i am sure the great players out there can see the team ten hag is building and would get convinced either ways.
MUFC, Aman
Money, money, money
Interesting article by John Nicholson about women’s football and the lack of equity in their game vs our game.
I think the pointlessness of Jon’s article is highlighted in the title – “a sport designed for men”. Should it be that way? Theoretically, no. Theoretically, there should be equity. People focused on developing the women’s game and infrastructure, but John identifies why football is focused on the men’s game and then moves past it without properly acknowledging it…
The reason that football is focused on men is very simple: That’s where the money is.
For men’s games, we go to the games, we go to the pub, we buy the TV packages, we travel far and wide, and we buy things from the club shops. There’s not the same level of investment and passion for the women’s games.
Women will get better treatment in the football world when people invest their time and money into it.
Finally, yes, women’s football might well be the number one global growth area, but it’s easy to be the number one growth area when you’re starting from zero.
So, yes John. The disparity between their game and our game is unfair, but it’s unlikely to change any time soon because there’s no money in women’s football.
Nick P. Burnley FC.
…I always enjoy Jonny Nic’s articles, even if I don’t always agree with him. But today I am standing up and cheering him from the rooftops. Every point he makes in this week’s article around women’s football and the devastating injuries being suffered is 100% correct.
Having won the Euros and thus strongly fancied for the World Cup, England’s Women will go into the tournament without their leading striker and their best defender/captain. Both having ruptured their ACLs. Arsenal Women are ending their season without Beth, Leah, and Viv Miedema, who also ruptured her ACL earlier this year. This is not a coincidence and until professional women footballers receive the same lavish attention to detail on every aspect of their game, from the pitch to the kit, we will see the same story play out over and over again.
Just imagine benefits that will accrue to the first kit manufacturer who designs equipment specifically for women footballers. And markets it as widely and at the same price, as men’s kit, so it is accessible to women playing at all levels, everywhere. Imagine the goodwill, the brand loyalty, the place in history. What right-minded brand wouldn’t want that?
Carolyn, (hiding behind the sofa on Wednesday) South London Gooner.
Go down the ladder
Hopefully a brief diversion from the endless Premier League bickering, and in light of the Wrexham ‘fairytale’, I just thought I’d share an amazing final day from the Isthmian South Central this weekend.
Heading into Saturday’s final game, Basingstoke and Walton&Hersham were equal on points, with Hersham having a significantly better goal difference. Both sides were up against mid table opposition, with Stoke at home, and Walton away. By half time, both teams were level, but the noise level at Basingstoke goes through the roof as news filters through that Hersham are one down. Stoke are quickly 3-1 up, but the news then comes through that Hersham are now 2-1 up. The last twenty minutes of the Basingstoke game are played in a deathly flat atmosphere, until on the ninetieth minute news comes through of anequalizer in the Hersham game. Cue manic scenes at Basingstoke.
After several years that involved an owner evicting us from our home ground, several years playing 15 miles away in Winchester, and two relegations as we struggle to keep the club afloat, watching a championship winning side in front of a record attendance was incredibly sweet. I’d recommend anyone who has a local non league team to get out next season and follow them – the team’s are committed, the refs are awful and you can drink beer at the ground. What’s not to like.
JD
