•Kroenke promises the Gunners more money
• Sin Bins could be a thing of the future
Image: /REUTERS
After the international break, Liverpool will have more options open to them in their starting squad.
Joe Gomez and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are returning after recovering from injuries which sidelined them for long periods. Liverpool started the season well and that owes a lot to the Gomez/Virgil Van Dijk partnership. The way Liverpool has developed since Gomez broke his leg shows the immense depth of talent now available to manager Jurgen Klopp. Joel Matip has claimed the centre-back position and Dejan Lovren is also returning to fitness. It is likely that Gomez will slot in at right-back. Oxlade-Chamberlain has the opportunity to become the number one choice in midfield where Adam Lallana and Naby Keita have struggled to make the positions their own. I found out exclusively that The Ox is raring to start as he said: “I had a slight problem last week in my comeback junior match but I have shaken that off. I cannot wait to come back and I will be better than ever!”
Jordan Henderson, Gini Wijnaldum and Fabinho are being used in more defensive positions. Keita has been left out of the Guinea squad in their international qualifying matches but he is pleased that this gives manager Jurgen Klopp a stronger line from which to choose from. The run in to the end of the season will be tough on the Reds and their battle with Manchester City to win the title will probably depend on how fit Klopp can keep his players.
Kroenke promises the Gunners more money
A week ago, Arsenal owner’s son Josh Kroenke met with the Arsenal Supporters Trust. It is the first time any of the owners have met their fans and the meeting was very upbeat and optimistic. One of the fans said: “We’ve been calling for him and his family to engage and he was fairly honest and open which is encouraging.” Both Kroenke and the supporters agreed that manager Unai Emery is the right man to bring the glory days back to the Emirates Stadium. It was therefore no coincidence that Emery has been visiting his previous club Valencia in Spain where I have been told he was watching their defence with only 24 goals scored against them this season in 28 league games. Arsenal have conceded 39 times and of the top seven Premier League clubs only Manchester United have let in more goals. The Getafe back line drew Emery’s eye and in particular Togo international 27 year-old Djene Dakonam Ortega, who was signed only two seasons ago for £2million but has constantly impressed and even held the club captaincy on several occasions. Getafe have made it clear that he has a £30million release clause in his contract but Kroenke has promised both the manager and supporters that there is around £40million to invest this summer.
Ageless Morgan is staying with the Foxes
When Brendan Rodgers arrived as the new manager at Leicester, the old warhorse Wes Morgan, at 35 years of age, thought his career would be over. However, much to his delight and surprise, the new manager has given Morgan a year’s extension to his contract and he will stay at the King Power Stadium when his present contract ends in June. Rodgers is depending on Morgan’s experience and my contacts at Leicester tell me he values the Leicester captain, his commitment, his experience and presence both on the field and in the dressing room. Rodgers told us: “He’s someone I feel is very important to the squad. He won’t play as much at 35 but his influence in the changing room is very important.” When Harry Maguire was sent off in last weekend’s game at Burnley, Morgan came on and more than fulfilled the manager’s trust in him by scoring the 90th minute winner with a powerful header in the box.
Guardiola recharging his batteries
While Mauricio Pochettino has taken his Tottenham side to Barcelona for a few days break, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says he is tired and needs a break of his own with his family. He refused to say where he is going but in the past, he has favoured the Spanish island of Ibiza. He flew out from Manchester Airport on Monday morning saying: “Yeah, I’m tired and you will not find me around the club this week.” City’s next match is away at Fulham on March 30. Guardiola’s main worry as he relaxes by the pool is that 17 of his players are performing for their native countries during the international break and several of those could return with injuries. One bright spot for Guardiola is that when he returns, he will have the services of Kevin De Bruyne, Fernandino, Mendy and John Stones, all of whom are injured at present. During his absence, some players are not representing their national teams and Pep has prepared an individual training programme for David Silva, Sergio Aguero and Aymeric Laporte. Guadiola points out that fitness is a priority because City have a demanding schedule of April fixtures and of course the club is head to head with Liverpool for the title.
Sin Bins could be a thing of the future
If you are familiar with rugby’s sin bins then you will interested to know that the Football Association is considering using them at senior football matches. Basically a player is sent off the pitch for ten minutes if they commit a particularly bad foul or misconduct offence which merits more than a yellow card but not a red. The FA will experiment with the sin bin across 32 non-league levels from the beginning of next season. It they are successful, the FA could introduce the football sin bin for the Premier League! The aim is to stop player abuse of referees and consistent diving. For instance, Manchester United’s Roy Keane was notorious for confronting referees when decisions did not go his way. The same used to apply to Wayne Rooney who has had more than his fare share of fallouts with officials. In such a case the referee would banish the player to the sin bin to cool down but without ruining the match by reducing the guilty team to ten men for the rest of the match. So far, in the matches where a sin bin has been used, there has been a drop of 38% in the amount of referee abuse and confrontation.
Giroud won’t sit on the bench
Following his hat-trick in the Europa League last week, Olivier Giroud has laid down his marker and says he won’t settle for a regular place on the substitute’s bench for the rest of the season. Manager Maurizio Sarri preferred Alvaro Morata to Giroud and now it is Gonzalo Higuain who is ahead of him. Giroud says he won’t give up without a fight and at 32, he feels like he did at 21. He told us: “When I do the tests on the treadmill I have one of the best results of all the players.” Many people are currently questioning whether Argentinian Higuain is worthy of his place ahead of Giroud because since arriving on loan from Juventus he has scored just three times. Giroud concluded: “I am expecting to play more and I will not give up. The manager picks the team but I will not settle for being a substitute at 32. I want to play.”
Are Newcastle’s Perez and Rondon telepathic?
Newcastle’s Ayoze Perez claims he has ‘telepathic’ powers and understanding with his strike partner Salomon Rondon. He said he does not need to look up and spot Rondon before passing because he knows where he will be on the pitch. Perez said: “I know of telepathy and I believe in that. Sometimes you don’t have time to look where you will pass. It is just in your mind. He (Rondon) gave me the ball without looking, honestly. I knew the movement he was going to make and I put the ball back to him. I just tried to put it where he would go. I imagined in my mind where he would go, passed and he scored a great goal. Perez was a golden £1.5million buy back in 2014 and he has 42 Newcastle goals to his name.
Nasri has seven games to prove himself
I am a great admirer of Sami Nasri but even he admits that he has only seven games to impress manager Manuel Pellegrini since his current arrangement with the Hammers ends in June. Nasri came back into football after an 18-month doping ban and Pellegrini gave him a chance because of their working relationship at Manchester City. The French midfielder was used as a second half substitute last weekend and it was his pinpoint pass that gave Javier Hernandez the first of his two goals. He said: “I don’t know about my future. I came back in January and then got an injury because my body was not used to playing week in and week out. The manager is now showing me a lot of consideration and taking his time with me. I have seven games left to prove myself and I am desperate to stay injury free.” I wish him luck because his talent is awesome and his career has not been fulfilled but I can reveal that Pellegrini has discussed with the board a possible salary of £90k a week for Sami and things are looking good for his new contract.
Amazing statistics at Newcastle
One of the most remarkable statistics I have ever seen can be found at Newcastle this season. Rafa Benitez’s Black and Whites have exactly the same amount of points at this stage of the season as they did last year. And when you look further, the facts are even more remarkable…played 31 games, Won 9, Drawn 8, Lost 14, goals for 31, goals against 40, goal difference -9 and 35 points. That was exactly Newcastle’s record last year, games played, goals scored etc…all the numbers are the same. Amazing!
Wayne back with a bang…
It probably went unnoticed by almost everyone but at the weekend Wayne Rooney (remember him?) was back to doing what he does best. He scored a hat-trick for DC United during their win over Real Salt Lake in America’s MLS.