Southampton appointed Mark Hughes as their new manager on Wednesday night, and some of the comments from the Welshman in his first interview since the announcement will be gladly received by out-of-favour striker Manolo Gabbiadini.
While the Italy international made a blistering start to his Saints career more than a year ago, he has found form harder to come by in more recent times and he quickly fell down the pecking order under former boss Mauricio Pellegrino during the current campaign, with the likes of Charlie Austin, Shane Long and now Guido Carrillo ahead of him in the pecking order.
The 26-year-old has only started one Premier League match since December 16, much to the annoyance of the St Mary’s faithful, and despite scoring the equaliser as a substitute in the 1-1 draw against Burnley last month, it wasn’t enough to earn him a spot in the XI for the following match against Stoke City at St Mary’s.
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Hughes will know Gabbiadini well having tried to sign him – along with many other of the south coast outfit’s stars – when he was in charge of the Potters, and that should bode well for the attacker’s chances for the remainder of the season.
Speaking to southamptonfc.com, the 54-year-old said: “If I’m honest I’ve probably tried to sign half of them so I know a lot of the quality that these players possess, and it’s going to be good to get the opportunity to finally work with some of the players that I missed out on at previous clubs.”
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Gabbiadini will be hopeful that those quotes from the Welshman ensure that he will get more playing time between now and May – starting in the club’s FA Cup quarter-final tie against Wigan Athletic on Sunday.
Southampton midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has paid tribute to the impact of the club’s new head coach Mark Hughes.
Hughes was confirmed as Southampton’s new manager on March 14, with the Welshman signing a contract at St Mary’s until the end of the 2017-18 campaign.
The 54-year-old oversaw Sunday’s 2-0 win over Wigan Athletic in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, which set up a semi-final clash against English champions Chelsea.
The Saints still have big problems in the Premier League, however, with a total of 28 points leaving them in 18th position in the table.
Hojbjerg, who scored his first Southampton goal against Wigan, has hailed Hughes for making an immediate impact at the struggling club.
Hojbjerg told Southampton’s official website:
“I think I speak on everyone’s behalf when I say it has been positive. It is a new impulse, new energy, good vibes, a fresh start. He worked a lot on intensity and discipline, and the desire to go the extra yards as individuals and as a team.
“We have some really good players and maybe this is the perfect fit, nothing is perfect in this world but it’s a good start, let me just say that.”
Hughes, who has recently been blasted by outspoken pundit Joey Barton, left his position with Stoke in January following a poor run of results.
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Next up for Southampton is a huge game away to fellow strugglers West Ham United in the Premier League on March 31.
Tottenham fans have been sweating on the fitness of Harry Kane ahead of this weekend’s clash with Chelsea.
With five points separating the London rivals, this weekend’s clash between Spurs and Chelsea could effectively decide the top four race.
Of course, Spurs fans have been biting their nails waiting for updates on Harry Kane’s fitness, after the 24 year-old injured his ankle against Bournemouth.
Many fans were hopeful of a return for the Chelsea clash after Kane was pictured enjoying a joke with Gareth Southgate, notably without his protective boot.
Fans are now coming to terms with the idea of resting the striker this weekend though, with the risk of damaging him further deemed just too great to take.
Last night, Alasdair Gold, Tottenham correspondent for football.london, said Kane has had one eye on the clash with Chelsea but it would probably be too soon.
Though it’s not the news fans would have wanted to hear, the excellent form of Heung-min Son might ease some of the pain, and fans are now hoping Kane does not rush back.
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Some of the best Twitter reactions can be found below…
Adam Armstrong is once again forcing himself into Newcastle fans’ minds, after the young striker scored another brace for Blackburn Rovers on Monday.
Newcastle fans can’t decide what the future holds for Armstrong, as the 21 year-old kept his sensational run going with two wonderful goals against MK Dons.
Blackburn are now top of League One, and it’s no surprise given the form of Armstrong, who has nine goals and two assists in his last nine games.
The 21 year-old opened the scoring on Monday with a lovely finish, racing onto a long through ball before firing past the keeper. He added his second just before the break, once again finishing with aplomb after receiving a through ball.
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Armstrong has struggled in two Championship loan spells in between two fantastic spells with League One sides, prompting comments from some fans that he has “found his level” in League One.
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February’s League One player of the month will surely want to force his way into Rafa Benitez’s plans next season, as the youngster is reaching the age where he needs to produce at the top level.
Fans have been discussing his future on Twitter, and some of the best reactions can be found below…
Southampton manager Mark Hughes confirmed in his pre-match press conference for the vital Premier League clash against Leicester City at the King Power Stadium on Thursday night that Mario Lemina and Sofiane Boufal will miss out through injury and illness respectively, but Saints fans feel that there is more to their absence than meets the eye.
Considering the talent the duo clearly have, they have been two of the south coast outfit’s most disappointing performers in what has been a difficult season for the club, and both have found it difficult to gain a spot in the starting XI under Hughes in the last few matches, with Lemina struggling in the 3-0 defeat against West Ham United in which he came under heavy critcism from fans on Twitter for his display.
Now the pair will miss what looks to be a must-win game for the club against the Foxes and former manager Claude Puel, and the St Mary’s faithful feel that their absence perhaps is down to their attitude, rather than injury and illness.
Southampton supporters were quick to have their say on the two players via social media, and while one said “I think it’s code for the fact that they’ve been told not to bother coming back in”, another said they are “obviously not up for the fight”.
Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…
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As reported by The Sun, Rangers have opened talks with Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard about taking over as manager of the Ibrox side this summer.
What’s the story?
Currently a youth coach at Anfield, former Reds captain Gerrard has never managed a senior side at this point of his career, making him a surprising candidate for the Rangers manager job.
However, it certainly appears he’s in the running with The Sun reporting today that he is already in talks to become boss of the Ibrox side at the end of the season.
The paper say those talks are ongoing and that a potential deal is close, with Director of Football Mark Allen leading the negotiating party.
Can he be the one to inspire the Light Blues to major honours like every supporter craves?
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Difficult first job
Although Gerrard clearly has a fantastic playing career behind him, won multiple trophies and demonstrated his excellent leadership skills on a weekly basis as captain of Liverpool, the Rangers manager’s job is still a massive one to take as your first.
Gerrard would be coming into a high profile, high pressure situation, in a league he doesn’t have experience of, against an elite coach that he formerly had a relationship with in Brendan Rodgers.
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It’d certainly capture the imagination of supporters and the media, but it also has the potential to go massively wrong for both Gerrard and Rangers themselves and perhaps the club should be seeking a man who has the experience and managerial knowledge needed for such a task.
There’s a chance that Gerrard can be as good a manager as he was a player, but he’s simply untested, and the next Rangers appointment is too important to treat as an experiment.
Mohamed Salah has been showered with praise throughout the season, and it is easy to see why given the influential and dynamic displays for Liverpool.
The Egyptian international has scored 43 goals in all competitions, which is a remarkable tally when considering that he generally plays out wide as part of the attack.
In the first leg of the Champions League semi-final between Liverpool and Roma at Anfield, Salah stole the show.
The Chelsea reject scored twice in a thrilling 5-2 victory, but he was unable to make a similar impact when he returned to the Stadio Olimpico to face his former club on Wednesday night.
As shown above, the 25-year-old registered just one shot on target during the entire match, and he struggled to say onside having been caught off three times.
It was an uncharacteristic performance from Salah as he cut a frustrated figure and in the end had to rely on his attacking teammates to get the job done.
The Egyptian, who has been capped 57 times by his country, did not seem as sharp and he was off the pace slightly, which could indicate fatigue, or perhaps it just was not his day.
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Salah has failed to score in his last two outings in all competitions, but fans will be hoping he finds his shooting boots in time for the showdown against Real Madrid in Kiev.
Liverpool lost the match 4-2, but goals from Sadio Mane and Georginio Wijnaldum meant that the team progressed into the final 7-6 on aggregate.
Manchester United and Arsenal’s Premier League clash this Sunday will write the closing chapters in two glorious rivalries that have defined Arsene Wenger’s career.
The intensity of the feud may not be as great as it once was, but the Red Devils were the Frenchman’s instantaneous enemy upon being appointed Arsenal boss in 1996, the club he needed to topple to make his tenure a punctually successful one.
That rivalry reached its peak in 2002, when Arsenal secured the Premier League title at Old Trafford by beating the reigning champions. Two years later, the Gunners did something Sir Alex Ferguson’s United never could – the Invincibles once again beating them to the English crown, but this time undefeated.
That achievement though, wouldn’t have been possible without United playing their part; their illustrious dominance of English football helped drive Wenger to become such a transformative figure in the Premier League, someone who changed almost every aspect of the game as it was understood, from diet and fitness to the utilisation of cheap foreign talent and an idealistic emphasis on attacking football.
As Gary Neville quipped following news that Wenger will step down, the manner in which he rebuilt Arsenal from an unspectacular yet effective team into English football’s most entertaining side forced United to change the way they played against them.
In fact, it ultimately obliged Ferguson to adopt new practices, to embrace more foreign talent and to reconsider his own tactical principles as well. One of the Scot’s greatest strengths was always recognising changing trends and bringing them to the Old Trafford camp.
“The biggest compliment I can give him is that he played a level and brand of football that made us change the way we played, which you don’t say about too many teams.
“We’d have to go more defensive, and change our style, and across a 20-year period they were just wonderful football teams that played in a great style.”
But if that rivalry represents something of a gentleman’s dispute that Wenger arguably conquered, at least for a significant period, the second glorious one of his career was far more foul tempered, and proved the be the turning point that resulted in the moment we’ve now reached – where Arsenal’s decline has been so severe that Wenger’s tenure has come to a somewhat unceromonious end.
Wenger’s rivalry with United certainly suffered its dark moments – Martin Keown infamously hounding Ruud van Nistelrooy after missing a penalty, Le Professeur and Ferguson partaking in snarky press conference exchanges and of course, Pizza-gate. But his rivalry with Jose Mourinho has been a different category altogether, the Portuguese publicly branding his nemesis a ‘voyeur’ during his first spell at Chelsea and a ‘specialist in failure’ during his second.
The crudeness of those remarks etched them in history, and in one way or another they’ve loomed over Wenger ever since.
In terms of results too, Mourinho’s self-declared coronation as the Special One signalled the end of Arsenal’s impeccable peak. Mourinho’s Chelsea side instantly took away the Invincibles’ invincibility, beating them to the next Premier League title, and the west Londoners’ first crowning in 2005 instigated a nine-year wait for a trophy in north London. Mourinho, for all intents and purposes, had evicted Arsenal from the Garden of Eden and banished them to a barren wasteland.
And that dramatic shift was no coincidence either – coupled with how the personal element of the feud with Mourinho clearly had an effect on Wenger, tactically the Portuguese had changed the game too. Indeed, just as United’s dominance had helped shape Wenger, Arsenal’s Invincibles campaign helped shape Mourinho.
He won the Premier League title with a greater emphasis on defensive solidity than any previous champion, conceding a mere 15 goals that remains a record unto this day, and the use of Claude Makelele behind the midfield in a new 4-3-3 formation directly counteracted the possession-based fluidity that had made Arsenal so imperious the previous campaign.
The dynamics of the Premier League drastically changed; whereas the Invincibles had previously established themselves as the template to follow, Chelsea offered an alternative path and soon enough, 4-3-3 was adopted by practically every club in the Premier League. Wenger wasn’t only being outfought and out-thought by Mourinho personally, but also the countless managers who sought to replicate his tactics – especially against the Gunners.
Wenger’s attempts to innovate only really made the problem worse. As the Premier League became quicker, more powerful and more athletic than ever before, Wenger’s focus turned towards the kind of technical talents being produced at Barcelona. Perhaps that was a bid to overcome teams like Chelsea with pure quality, but it actually took away one of the two aspects that once made Arsenal so great – their unrivalled attacking flair, combined with a dogged and savvy physical core.
Even today, the Gunners still lack that physicality, and it’s probably what Arsenal fans expect their next manager to bring back to the team as soon as he officially takes the reins from Wenger.
But management is often a generational thing; one great innovator comes along and topples the old guard, before becoming the old guard himself and having the same done to him. Wenger’s ultimate failing is that he couldn’t quite keep up.
His vision was either too far removed from the realities of the Premier League at that time – only now is Pep Guardiola producing the kind of football he tried to achieve in the late 2000s – or not executed with the same meticulous degree as the Invincibles. Consequently, we reach a point where Wenger’s time with Arsenal is being drawn to a close.
In turn though, that serves as a warning to Mourinho, who himself has become part of the Premier League’s old guard. In fact, he’ll be the oldest manager in the Big Six when Wenger officially leaves – albeit depending on who replaces him – and Mourinho’s pragmatic style of football is being cast as old-fashioned with increasing recurrence.
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Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp’s lightening-quick attacking football just makes you feel like you’re looking into the future of the Premier League, a future that could soon enough leave Mourinho behind. Compared to his heyday of the mid-to-late 2000s, the consistency and calibre of trophy wins is already on the decline.
The truth is that we don’t quite know if this will be Wenger’s last meeting with United or Mourinho, for the next stage of his career – if there is one – remains unclear. But for ninety minutes on Sunday the future will feel largely irrelevant anyway. Manchester United and Arsenal’s Premier League clash is recognition of what has been, the many battles won and lost, and what these glorious rivalries have given to the Premier League.
They’ve been at loggerheads for their whole careers, once even shoving each other on the touchline, but there will be an inevitable obligation of respect when Wenger faces the club that helped build him and the man who begun to pick him apart this weekend.
With Southampton’s victory over Swansea City on Tuesday night sealing their relegation to the Championship, just one question lingers over West Brom heading into their final game of the Premier League campaign – will caretaker manager Darren Moore get the job full-time?
It’s a debate that spans a wealth of different subjects, from the underrepresentation of BAME coaches in English football to the bitter financial double-relegation-inducing struggles many top-flight clubs face upon being demoted to the second tier.
While recent results, claiming eleven points from a possible 15 during his five games in charge, may make it seem like an obvious decision for West Brom’s ownership, there are actually a wealth of complex factors at play – made all the more significant by how important the club’s next manager will be. He could take the Baggies back to the Premier League at the first time of asking or leave them toeing the edge of the abyss.
The former defender’s impact on the Baggies’ form has no doubt been phenomenal; the fact they’re now on course to avoid a rock-bottom finish this term and weren’t the first Premier League club to be relegated, despite having just 20 points after 32 games, is evidence enough of that. But that gigantic turnaround is made all the more special by the calibre of club West Brom have faced in their last five games, and more specifically for the issue of Moore’s future, the calibre of manager he’s outwitted.
During his caretaker spell, the 44-year-old has beaten two Champions League winners in Rafa Bentiez of Newcastle and Jose Mourinho of Manchester United, a Bundesliga winner and two time-European Cup finalist in Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp, and a former Premier League runner-up in Tottenham’s Mauricio Pochettinho who not long ago was being touted for the Real Madrid job.
And yet, there’s an important caveat to consider here, a myth to dispel. As good as West Brom have been under Moore, decent performances against top six opposition has been one of the few recurring strengths of their campaign. Perhaps the biggest example of that is the 3-2 win over Liverpool at Anfield in the FA Cup, but West Brom have drawn with Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham in the Premier League too. In fact, under Tony Pulis and Alan Pardew, the Baggies’ undefeated rate against the Big Six was just 12% less than their entire season average – Moore’s spell included – against all opposition.
So, when combined with the much-fabled ‘new-manager-bounce’, something Moore has clearly brought to his temporary role, perhaps West Brom’s sudden rush of impressive results against top teams is more explainable than many have assumed. Not so much Moore working wonders, but providing the feel-good factor to improve upon one of the few things West Brom were already doing relatively well this season.
That isn’t, however, to downplay what Moore has achieved during his short stint in the dugout or give the club any excuse not to hire him, which it does feel like they’re searching for at this moment in time. Friend and former Baggies striker Kevin Campbell has already questioned whether that’s due to Moore’s ethnicity, and it’s a difficult interpretation to look past. It disappointingly seems far more likely that if a white manager were to replicate Moore’s feats with a rock-bottom club, giving him the chance to take the role full-time would already be a foregone conclusion.
“Let’s look at the straight-up facts. The fact of the matter is that if he was doing this job anywhere and he was a white manager then he would be getting the job. I don’t know why but for some reason the black managers don’t get the job so easily.”
But it’s important not to get tied up in long-term, institutional issues and focus on the specifics of West Brom’s situation. If Moore had taken over at the end of a disappointing but not completely abysmal season and pulled off a string of decent results, perhaps he would be West Brom’s next permanent manager by now. Perhaps if he’d temporarily been given the job instead of Pardew, a run of early results would have seen him put in charge for the remainder of this season.
It’s clear though, that West Brom never placed Moore in the dugout to audition for the job and while there’s no doubt he would have passed it with flying colours, he was made night watchman for a reason – to minimise embarrassment until the next manager arrived. Perhaps the Baggies board had a successor lined up from the moment they parted with Pardew, and the manner in which Moore’s unexpectedly excelled has only muddled their long-term plans for rebuilding the club in the second-tier. Maybe they already have the perfect candidate and structure in place.
Yet, even if they do, Moore’s surely given them something to think about. For starters, if they wish to rebuild the club, there are few at the Hawthorns with a better knowledge than Moore. He made over 100 league appearances for the Baggies as a player, wore the captain’s armband, and has been part of the coaching staff since 2014 when he joined the academy setup. He knows the young players breaking through who have a chance of making it in the Championship, he understands West Brom’s identity better than any manager who could come in, he has the popularity to keep the fanbase united during what could be an incredibly difficult adjustment period for the Midlands club, and he’s qualified – Moore completed his UEFA Pro licence six years ago in 2012, when he was still playing with Burton Albion.
The counter-argument is, of course, Moore’s lack of experience. That not only applies to games played, but also moving the right players in and out of the club. This will be a massive transfer window for the Baggies, one where they will find themselves powerless to losing their most talented players and ineffective in forcing out those on huge contracts. The chances are that Moore won’t be left with the squad he truly wants upon entering the fierce realms of the Championship – how well will he cope with that? Does he know how to effectively integrate new signings in pre-season, so that they’re ready to go for the start of the next campaign? Does he know how to work with players who aren’t really in his plans?
The other area where inexperience may cost Moore is tactically. While he’s generated the belief for West Brom to get results upon essentially returning to their style of play under Pulis – they’ve actually averaged 2% less possession against the top six with Moore in charge despite the massive uplift in results – West Brom will be treated entirely differently in the Championship. They’ll be expected to bring the game to the opposition, which flips the Baggies’ entire game-plan on its head. Pardew tried to make the team more open and expansive, but ultimately and perhaps inevitably failed. Can Moore do better, likely with players of lesser quality, in a more defensive league?
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There are copious examples too, ranging from Champions League winner Roberto Di Matteo to Leicester City’s Craig Shakespeare, of caretaker managers having a resounding effect during the end period of one season, only to painfully struggle at the start of another. Even compared to them, Moore’s run has been quite exceptional considering West Brom’s situation, generating a strangely instantaneous consistency amongst players who have been fallible all season. But it certainly wouldn’t be the shock of the century if West Brom started next season poorly and Moore found himself thrown on the scrapheap by mid-October. In fact, it would be a relatively safe bet.
In many ways though, using uncertainty over Moore’s sustainability as cause not to hire him permanently contradicts itself. After all, did Alan Pardew – a well-established Premier League manager with an abundance of experience – prove sustainable? How many experienced managers have taken over at a new club, only to find themselves sacked after ten or 15 games? Almost countless. So why would Moore have a better or worse chance than anybody else, in an industry where the actual ability of the individual often seems far less significant than factors largely outside their control?
Nobody can guarantee Moore will be a good long-term manager, but that applies to almost every appointment in English football these days. Surely, after giving West Brom a glimmer of hope at the end of a completely hopeless season, Moore’s at least proved he deserves his chance.
On Tuesday afternoon, Leeds United fans were offered the chance to play a little game on the club’s official Twitter page.
Indeed, an image featuring three former Leeds stars was put together, and the supporters had to guess which three players had been included.
Well, that was what was supposed to happen anyway. However, the club’s fans were not too interested in taking part.
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Instead, a number called on the club to stop with the games and start announcing new signings following a disappointing 2017-18 campaign at Elland Road.
Leeds have recently been linked with a move for Manchester City goalkeeper Angus Gunn, whilst Swansea City centre-back Kyle Bartley is believed to be a leading target in this summer’s transfer window.
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At the moment, the Leeds fans are not too interested in taking part in games or quizzes; they would rather that their club started announcing new signings pretty sharpish.
A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below: