The English Football Thread

[MoroccanBlue 5,194]

1 minute ago, communicate said:

It come down to balance. IMO we never looked decent defensively this season until last two games where we play Willian, Pedro plus Giroud. Two very2 solid winger and still one of the best target man in the league. 

Before that although we have been collecting points, I have never felt comfortable especially defensively. We are bit all over the place. This is where Kante can help us. If our future is with puli, cho and Tammy we need a solid midfield, otherwise it is very difficult 

We will never be comfortably defensively until we upgrade our back line. That is with or without Kante in the side. Liverpool play with no real defensive minded midfielder? 

In terms of balance, I think it's pretty pretty evident that a midfield of Mount/Jorginho/Kovacic provided us everything we needed in midfield, particularly on a technical aspect. We have a holder, an attacker, and an aggressive dribbler. Kante only really comes into play when we are against sides that either have a better midfield than us or against sides that have a better attack. Other than that he has no real use in the starting XI. 

[communicate 2,703]

16 hours ago, MoroccanBlue said:

We will never be comfortably defensively until we upgrade our back line. That is with or without Kante in the side. Liverpool play with no real defensive minded midfielder? 

In terms of balance, I think it's pretty pretty evident that a midfield of Mount/Jorginho/Kovacic provided us everything we needed in midfield, particularly on a technical aspect. We have a holder, an attacker, and an aggressive dribbler. Kante only really comes into play when we are against sides that either have a better midfield than us or against sides that have a better attack. Other than that he has no real use in the starting XI. 

CB are least of my concern for our team. Won't consider signing anyone unless a WC player are available for good price. Pool played three disciplined midfielder. 

Mount

Kova - Jorgi

Are kinda poor version of bayern

Muller

Thiago - Kimmich 

Very2 similar in term of their role and what each player offer to the team. 

Mount not a technically gifted player but offer energy, running, pressing and box threat similar to muller. Kovacic offer similar attribute as Thiago. Jorgi does not provide enough protection to our backline which is a massive problem. 

[Vesper 27,283]

On 28/05/2020 at 10:38 AM, communicate said:

CB are least of my concern for our team. 

 

cold not disagree more

and there are WC or potentially WC players out there

our four main CB's are simply not good enough atm

Lampard wants a left-footed CB

these are the only ones remotely worth buying

 

Lucas Hernández (Bayern will never sell him now)

Alessio Romagnoli (the cunt Mino Raiola as his agent makes this shit hard, but he is the perfect buy otherwise)

Gabriel Magalhães I say buy him now, IMHO, if we cannot get Romagnoli

Clément Lenglet (Barca will not sell I think)

Mohammed Salisu -  Real Valladolid,  young, tall 1.91m, very pacey, good on the ball, very, very large upside, we should be scouting him, number 3 on my list for left footed CB target,all things considered

Pau Torres - Villarreal, 23yo, tall 1.91m, good on the ball, large upside, we should be scouting him

Presnel Kimpembe (I doubt PSG will sell him)

Alessandro Bastoni (worth looking at,, 21yo, 1.90m, but Inter probably will not sell)

Benoît Badiashile (too young atm to come right in I think, just turned 19yo, but is huge (1.94m) and we have scouted him), Monaco is friendly team for us

Dan-Axel Zagadou (even bigger at 1.96m, not sure if he is that good on the ball atm, and is not the paciest, 21yo)

Samuel Umtiti (has collapsed in quality of play ever since he was superb at the WC, no clue what is wrong with him, massive enigma)

 

other non left-footed CBs who are WC or have the potential

Raphaël Varane   (would have to involve Kante somehow, and even then probably impossible, as he is the 2nd best CB in the world, after VVD IMHO, and maybe even the best)
José Giménez  (this might be a possibility, as perhaps we could work out a deal where we give AM £20m plus Morata for free, so they do not have to pay us for Morata) 
Kalidou Koulibaly  (too old now for what he would cost, unless it is a hell of a deal)
Marquinhos   (so doubt PSG will sell him)
Milan Skriniar    (my 2nd choice overall, after Romagnoli (mainly due to his being right-footed), but all the other giant clubs want him, but COVID-19 has maid it wide open)

Dayot Upamecano

Edmond Tapsoba   (exploded onto the scene in the Bundesliga, he made first team despite not playing the whole year for Bayer Leverkusen, he bossed Håland) 

 
Merih Demiral (Juve though, although we should say screw Alex Sandro, if you want Emerson, cough him up, lol)

Declan Rice has been discussed ad nauseum (and will cost a tonne)

Caglar Söyüncü (is on target to be WC, but Leicester will want insane cash)
Luiz Felipe (had a great year at Lazio)

Marash Kumbulla  (super on the ball, Albanian 20yo)

Diego Carlos   (great on the ball CB, main thing is his price, and also he turns 28 next season)   

Unai Núñez (another one Pep likes)

Ozan Kabak

Ibrahima Konaté (injury has made it hard to judge him, but he has insane upside)

Rúben Dias  (too expensive)
Gianluca Mancini    
Stefan de Vrij (if Skriniar leaves, there is zero chance Inter sells him as well, plus he turns 29 in 9 months)
Éder Militão   (he is for sale, not convinced, he struggled at Real Madrid)
Issa Diop  (too expensive, and I think there are better options)
Ben White (deffo not sold on him yet)

Robin Koch tall 23yo German, do not think he is elite level yet, may never be, need to see more

teenager:

Tanguy Kouassi    PSG  very young (turns 18 on June 7th, 2020) massive upside

 

[MoroccanBlue 5,194]

3 hours ago, communicate said:

CB are least of my concern for our team. 

[Laylabelle 9,292]

League start date decided...games in hand to be played first on the 17th June then others the weekend..all being well I guess 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/52833725

[Vesper 27,283]

Is Harry Kane really in decline?

https://theathletic.com/1839470/2020/05/28/harry-kane-tottenham-jose-mourinho-england/

Such was Harry Kane’s meteoric rise for the five years after his Tottenham breakthrough, there was always a lingering fear that, at some point, he might have to slow down.

For some, that point has been reached already. The injuries, the slightly diminishing goal return and the apparent loss of a yard of pace have all been used as evidence to suggest Kane, still only 26, is not quite the force he once was. Jamie Carragher wrote in The Telegraph in April that Kane’s “physical statistics are dropping” and pointed to his recent injury record as cause for concern. In analytics circles, Kane’s dwindling shot output and reduced expected goals (xG) have been used as evidence of his decline.

So, with the Premier League edging towards a restart and Jose Mourinho confirming on Wednesday that Kane has shaken off his hamstring injury, it’s worth taking a deeper look at the numbers and context to assess Kane’s role, output and future at Spurs. The data shows him playing in a more withdrawn position this season, for instance, and is one of many elements to consider.

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On the face of it, Kane’s reduced goalscoring numbers this season suggest that he is on the decline. Eleven Premier League goals is his lowest total since he became a regular for the club in 2014-15. That can, in large, be put down to the hamstring injury he suffered in January and the fact that there are nine matches of the season remaining. But even when we adjust the numbers to per 90 minutes played, this is still Kane’s worst campaign for Spurs when it comes to scoring non-penalty goals — contributing 0.46 per 90.

It’s also the case, however, that Kane and Spurs’ recent histories are tightly intertwined, and so it’s hard to know which way the causality runs: are Spurs worse because Kane’s dropped off or has Kane dropped off because Tottenham aren’t as good as they once were? Certainly, the tumult of this season and the transitional nature of the current team are not the ideal platform for a striker to prosper — though he has still managed to score 17 goals in 25 club appearances, so it’s important to keep any supposed “decline” in perspective. There’s always a degree to which we take such consistency for granted and pounce on any slight deviation.

To get a sense of how Kane’s output has changed over time, a look at his non-penalty goal and xG numbers in the last six years is revealing. A glance at the image below shows an obvious trend — he finds his rhythm and goes on a scoring tear in 2016-17 but the goals come down year-on-year after that, with a pretty precipitous drop after 2017-18.

While his best season for getting into good goalscoring positions was 2017-18, we see what many already know — Kane’s an elite finisher and consistently “beats” xG. Whether that is something that is sustainable in his later years remains to be seen and although he is an excellent finisher, reducing the quality of chances he finds himself in naturally reduces the number of goals he can score.

With Spurs as a team, we see a similar story. They consistently beat xG but the goals peaked in 2016-17 and their xG has been on the slide since, bottoming out this season. Tottenham’s xG per game for 2019-20 so far is 1.26, which sees them as the 12th-best in the Premier League — in other words, a mid-table quality attack.

There’s been a similar downward trend in the volume of chances that both Spurs and Kane create. It’s notable that in Kane’s earlier seasons, Spurs were capable of creating plenty of shooting opportunities with Kane contributing a smaller amount — they were a better side overall and didn’t need to rely on an individual player to create chances for them.

Football is a team sport, so it’s hard to completely pin the reason for such a large change in output onto a single player. If Spurs were to put even a historically elite striker in the team, say Cristiano Ronaldo, it’s likely his excellent shot numbers would drop off also.

So if it’s hard to infer what’s happened to Kane through his own numbers, then let’s tackle this another way — how has the support he receives changed across the past few seasons?

Below is a table of all of the assists that Kane has received from team-mates in the past few years. They are not adjusted for changing minutes or goals scored but they paint an instructive picture regardless.

There’s been an evident drop-off in the number of assists but that’s to be expected given the goalscoring numbers have dropped off. Looking positionally across the pitch, we can see that the left-back position largely occupied by Danny Rose and Ben Davies has returned just a single assist for Kane in the last two seasons, and seven in the three seasons prior.

At right-back, Kieran Trippier provided Kane with 10 assists in three seasons, with his replacement Serge Aurier posting just one in the three seasons he’s been at the club. And although Aurier has played fewer minutes, his per 90 rate of 0.02 also pales in comparison to Trippier’s 0.17.

The primary sources of assists at the start of Kane’s Spurs career were Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli. Dele and Kane formed a great partnership in 2015-16 but Dele has provided just a single assist for Kane in the past couple of seasons. This is partly a consequence of Dele playing deeper during the latter period of Mauricio Pochettino’s reign. It is hoped that his return to the No 10 role under Mourinho will reignite his and Kane’s partnership.

It should also be pointed out that there’s more to chance creation than just assists. Players can create a great chance for a team-mate, only to see them miss the target or fail to score. Looking at chances created in isolation can give a bit more insight into the volume of chances but some notion of quality is required to get an even fuller picture.

Taking into account the quality of chances that are created, we can look at the expected assists — which in this instance, are the xG of key passes — that each player has created for Kane per 90 minutes. Below is how the chances are distributed across each season for Spurs.

A handful of names stick out here but also the overall trend of fewer and fewer players able to provide Kane with decent service.

That’s illustrated best when comparing the side of 2015-16 to this season. Dele, Nacer Chadli, Erik Lamela and Eriksen four seasons ago were all creating chances that, in a full season, would expect them to each bag at least two assists.

Fast forward to 2019-20 and only the now-departed Eriksen has put up performances worth two or more assists over the course of a full season. When play resumes, Giovani Lo Celso will be expected to take on more of this Eriksen role. He has only posted one assist for the club but he registered five last season and only started playing regularly for Tottenham after Kane’s injury and once the side’s attacking options were drastically weakened.

What’s more concerning is the complete dearth of chances being created for Kane consistently from the full-back positions this season. While Trippier was a regular supplier for Kane, Aurier’s chances created for Kane are of much lower quality — even though he has provided the third-highest quality of chances for Kane this season.

So if Kane’s not being provided with as many chances, where is he spending his time?

From the graphic below, which shows how Kane’s touches have been split across the thirds of the pitch, this season represents career-highs for the share of touches in the defensive and middle thirds, and a career-low in the share of touches in the attacking third. This graphic illustrates what many have felt the eye test has shown — that Kane is dropping deeper and playing less as a classic No 9.

This graphic, meanwhile, shows how Kane has moved even deeper since Mourinho took over in November.

On a couple of occasions in Mourinho’s early weeks in charge, he praised Kane for his all-round contribution, making it clear what he expected from his centre-forward. “Not just the goals; it’s the goals, the combination play, what he does between the lines, what he does in the defensive process, what he does at the leadership level,” Mourinho said after Kane’s two goals against Burnley in December’s 5-0 win.

He was similarly effusive after Kane had scored to help Spurs beat Brighton 2-1 a few weeks later. “He’s the kind of striker who is always fantastic, even when he’s not scoring. There are so many top scorers in the world who score so many goals but the day they don’t score, their performance is always poor because they give nothing.

“This (Kane) is the guy who if he doesn’t score, his performance is good. He presses, he recovers balls, he holds the ball, he assists, he drops back.”

The expectation that Mourinho was reinforcing here is that Kane, as he approaches his 27th birthday, should be more than “just” a goalscorer.

As well as analysing where Kane is touching the ball, a closer look at his passing adds texture as to the sort of striker he is becoming and the picture that emerges is of someone moving the ball forward himself rather than simply waiting around the penalty box to pounce.

By grouping together similar passes based on their start and end locations, we can better understand the types of pass which Kane makes compared to other centre-forwards. This gives a bit more insight into the different types of passes that a player commonly makes and how different they are to others who play in the same position.

For example, the most common pass types that Kane attempts are below. Pass group 4 shows some of the shorter combination passes that he plays around the box. One are passes into and just outside of the opposition’s third, 23 are passes that go horizontally across the field and 11 are interior passes when he has the ball on the wing.

Most common pass types are one thing but looking at those made which are most different to other strikers is far more illuminating.

Below are a sample of passes in each of the groups that Kane makes far more than the average striker. This shows both his long passing range but also how he links the play in midfield far more than most other strikers.

Pass groups 37 and 2 are those sweeping, cross-field switches that Kane has become well known for in recent seasons. Notably, though, he might not be as good at these passes as we think he is — passes in this group are completed at a rate of 73 per cent on average, whereas Kane completes his at just 41 per cent of the time.

Pass group 23 — those being played just outside the area — pops up again, showing that these are odd passes for a striker to be making so often. Kane is essentially attempting passes that are typically those made by a midfielder.

Doing so creates an issue in that it’s harder for him to sprint upfield and join in with the play he’s been stitching together. Potentially, with a more consistent progressive midfield structure, as Mourinho is trying to build, Kane can focus more on being on the end of attacks and not in the middle of them.

That’s certainly where some connected to Tottenham would like to see him. “He’s best leading the line as a focal point, right from the front,” Clive Allen, one of Spurs’ most clinical strikers ever, who once scored 49 goals in a season and a former coach of Kane, tells The Athletic. “But we’ve seen him dropping a little deeper and not being as effective. I’ve been through that myself and you restrict yourself by moving around the pitch. You see that with a lot of strikers.

“He’s shown great attitude towards the game and wanting to be involved but sometimes, it’s to the detriment of the team.”

From a purely selfish point of view, it’s been to Kane’s detriment too, given he has posted his lowest-ever non-penalty goals per 90 minutes this season. Lifting those numbers back towards that 2016-17 peak is one of Mourinho’s priorities.

Because as well as appreciating his all-round contributions, Mourinho’s main focus with Kane, The Athletic understands, is to maximise his goalscoring qualities and ensure he’s as efficient as possible in the box. There is also an appreciation that Kane’s presence in the box creates additional danger for opposition teams in the way it occupies opposition defenders and creates space for Spurs’ other attackers.

So it will be interesting to see whether Kane operates a bit further forward when the Premier League resumes. The signing of Steven Bergwijn since he last played may also mean he is afforded better service and doesn’t need to drop deep as frequently. Lo Celso’s emergence since January, meanwhile, should also reduce Kane’s need to operate in central midfield areas.

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Another factor in Kane’s evolution has been the improvement of Son Heung-min, whose pace means the South Korea international can operate further up the pitch and stretch defences like a centre-forward would be expected to — allowing Kane to play between the lines at times.

Generally though, the temptation has been to point to Kane’s injury record as a reason for why he now plays less on the shoulder of the last defender. He’s never relied on searing pace — coming through the ranks at Tottenham, it was his hard, relentless running that made him stand out — but it would stand to reason that the clutch of injuries he’s suffered in the last few years have slowed him down.

Measuring that definitively is not easy but what we can do is offer a bit of context on the injuries he’s suffered and interrogate the idea that he misses enough games for it to be a cause for concern and influence the way he plays.

Looking at the bigger picture, Kane was available for 90 per cent of Tottenham’s Premier League matches from the start of the 2014-15 season until January 1 this year, when he suffered that hamstring injury against Southampton. In his five completed seasons in that period, he averaged 33 Premier League matches per season or 45 in all competitions. Throw in the England matches he has played in that period and it’s an average of 53 games a season, taking in two major tournaments and last year’s Nations League (the week after he had just returned from almost two months out to play in the Champions League final).

These are pretty healthy numbers and the pattern continues if we drill down to just the two most recent completed seasons. Kane played 59 matches in 2017-18 and 49 in 2018-19 for club and country. This season, he has made a total of 31 appearances already and, albeit with the help of the break, will likely end up with more than 40.

The other way of framing it is that Kane has missed 19 Premier League matches — effectively half a season — over the course of this season and last.

Overall though, the picture appears to be one of an overworked player suffering injuries and needing a break rather than necessarily anything more alarming. His Spurs and England team-mate Dele experienced something similar in the aftermath of the 2018 World Cup.

Hopefully, the current off-season will be to Kane’s benefit and in the longer term, if he is to stay at Spurs, then having a second striker who can allow him to get more of a rest will also make a big difference.

A return to full fitness will also be instructive in telling us whether his newer, deeper role is down to a desire to become a more complete centre-forward or a consequence of no longer being able to as consistently sprint past defenders.

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The state of Kane’s fitness will also have a bearing on his future. He said in March that: “I’ve always said if I don’t feel we are progressing as a team or going in the right direction, I’m not one to stay there for the sake of it.” It was consistent with previous statements of his about the need for Tottenham to start winning trophies.

At the moment, the view among some in recruitment circles is that Kane needs to remain injury-free for an extended period after the restart to show that he has not lost any of the deadliness that has marked him out as one of Europe’s best strikers. Others believe that there is no market for Kane anyway given the perilous state of most European super-clubs’ finances. Then there is the issue for a club like Manchester United of being wary of trying to negotiate with Spurs chairman Daniel Levy.

The bottom line though is that Kane is contracted until 2024 and Spurs have no intention of selling him — even if some at the club were irritated by the timing of his interview in March, just as the devastating financial effects of the lockdown were becoming clear. “We are not going to discuss this or any player position whilst we focus on protecting the club and jobs and work with the council to support those affected by COVID-19,” a club spokesperson said at the time.

With Kane expected to stay at Spurs for a while yet, it may simply be that we have to get used to a slightly modified version of him. But with the right system in place, he doesn’t have to be less effective.

What’s clear though is that he cannot do it alone. Pep Guardiola once called Tottenham the “Harry Kane team” but evidently, he can only fully thrive with a functioning side behind him.

His team-mates and Mourinho must prove that this still exists at Spurs.

[11Drogba 2,000]

 

[Vesper 27,283]

How Guardiola should remodel his Manchester City squad

https://theathletic.com/1844651/2020/05/30/pep-guardiola-manchester-city-squad-remodel/

Manchester City enjoyed back-to-back Premier League titles under Pep Guardiola and completed a domestic treble last season but 2019-20 has seen a lack of quality in key positions lead to them all but conceding the title to Liverpool. City have lost seven games (so far), which is more than the prior two seasons combined and this season, have conceded eight more goals compared to last season, with ten games yet to play.

While the gap between City and Liverpool is an astonishing 25 points, from a statistical point of view City have been a bit unfortunate and Liverpool more fortuitous.

Regardless, now’s a good time to take stock of where City are as a team and how they may try to shake their squad up like they did in 2017, when they shipped out ageing players and brought in a raft of brilliant younger options.

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The squad that Pep Guardiola adopted in 2016 was the third-oldest in the Premier League at the time.

The initial reinforcements were a mix of youth, peak-aged players, and those who were brought in to allow Guardiola to have an influence on the squad early on. Whether they have reached their potential or not, John Stones, Leroy Sane, Gabriel Jesus, Claudio Bravo, Ilkay Gundogan and Nolito all ticked a lot of boxes.

Still, City were the fourth-oldest in the league in terms of average age of players fielded in Guardiola’s first season. In the summer of 2017, City wanted as many as nine signings but ended up with five, who all lowered the average age and raised the quality, with ageing full-backs moved on and the likes of Ederson replacing Willy Caballero and Bernardo Silva replacing Jesus Navas.

The average age fell significantly to the sixth-youngest in the league. The outline of a dominant City side began to form, with a focus more on youth and players at the peak of their powers that would win plenty in the following seasons.

City pipped Liverpool on the final day of last season to secure the second title of Guardiola’s reign, using just 21 players in the league (the league average is 24.5).

While the City squad is built with strength in depth in mind, Guardiola does stick to fielding the players he trusts. Broadly, he plays the experienced internationals instead of young players (a strategy which has brought huge success) but even so, certain experienced internationals can also find themselves less trusted than others.

For example, after Fabian Delph’s red card in the defeat at Leicester in December 2018, he played just 10 Premier League minutes over the rest of the season. John Stones and Brazil right-back Danilo also found themselves on the outside looking in during the run-in. Raheem Sterling and Bernardo Silva became Guardiola’s go-to wingers, at the expense of Leroy Sane, and Kevin De Bruyne’s injury struggles kept him out, too. City use a small pool of players by design and for various other reasons, they can quickly find themselves using an even smaller core of players for weeks on end.

Just 22 players have been used so far this season but more surprisingly, the age of the squad has slowly crept up again — the passing of time does that, funnily enough — with City again finding themselves among the eldest teams in the league — the fourth-oldest overall.

Looking at that data within-season only tells part of the story, however, as the league itself has seen a shift recently. This season’s squad would have been bang on the league average back in 2016-17 but over the past couple of seasons, the average age of sides has been nudged down. This season is the first in which half the league have fielded a team with an average age of less than 26.

The age of the squad is one thing but the squad itself, despite the City Football Group’s large volume of player ownership, is pretty thin, all things considered. Despite there being so many players who could play for City, it feels like those such as Daniel Arzani (on loan at Celtic) and Pedro Porro (on loan at Real Valladolid) are not currently at the level to contribute to City, and are more likely to be sold on for a profit.

From an overall season point of view, City’s attack is the best it’s ever been under Guardiola — City create more expected goals (or xG) than any other side — although the trends noted earlier are worthy of attention when football resumes.

The defence is the key cause for concern for City’s management hierarchy. This is the weakest the team has been at the back since Guardiola arrived and shouldn’t be so flimsy that the injury of one player — Aymeric Laporte, in this case — can seemingly throw everything into disarray. Fernandinho took on Laporte’s role like a duck to water but in his advancing years, he can’t always be called upon to plug City’s gaps.

Overall, this is a City team who are healthy but do need strengthening in some key positions. It should also be noted that there is not such a pressing need to boost their homegrown quota this summer. In short, Premier League squads can have no more than 17 overseas players in their squad and this season, City have 17.

In fact, they had to cancel a proposed move for veteran Spanish keeper Asier Riesgo in favour of former England international Scott Carson. And had they been able to sell Nicolas Otamendi last summer, they would have been far more likely to bring in a new overseas centre-back as an alternative to top choice Harry Maguire.

Next season, City will have much more wiggle room, with Claudio Bravo and David Silva expected to leave at the end of their contracts, Leroy Sane lining up a move to Bayern Munich and, possibly, Otamendi and even Joao Cancelo moving on. City could bring in four or five new overseas players. To top up the squad to 25 (or at least the 21/22 level), they would need top-class English players or under-21s (who do not count towards the limit of 25). At the moment, the most viable options are Sterling, Stones, Kyle Walker and Phil Foden. So while they are always sought-after, there is no especially pressing need to buy local players this summer.

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The squad below includes the main players who have featured for the club this season and a couple of others who, potentially, could feature for the team in the near future for one reason or another.

Starting in goal, Ederson will be City’s No 1 for quite some time and behind him, a few players will sense an opportunity with Bravo’s contract set to expire. Aro Muric has already returned from an unsuccessful loan spell at Nottingham Forest and counts as a homegrown player, which at least means he won’t take up an overseas spot. The American Zack Steffen is potentially another CFG buy-to-sell player. With Carson’s loan from Derby ending, City may want another similarly-profiled keeper (homegrown/experienced) for continuity. Joe Hart, anyone?

At left-back, Angelino was a cut-price cover option and given his time at Leipzig is going well, he could be one of the shrewdest buy-backs in CFG history, making the club a hefty profit if they do sell him this summer, although his €30 million clause is harder to meet in the current climate.

City would need to reinvest those funds at left-back, however, given Benjamin Mendy’s lack of fitness holding him back from nailing down a starting berth and expectations around Oleksandr Zinchenko — another value signing — fading somewhat during a tricky season.

Laporte is the only natural left-footed centre-back option, with the others all right-footed. City hope to sign at least one central defender this summer. Stones has found himself out of the squad more and more this season, with Guardiola concerned about his focus. Otamendi came close to leaving the club last summer and has had a disappointing season.

Eric Garcia impressed on his first-team outings this season and may be given additional minutes next year but at 19 years old, is still one for the future. Taylor Harwood-Bellis, 18, is similar to Garcia in that he’s one for the future but might be a useful rotation piece in cup competitions next season.

Tosin Adarabioyo, impressing on loan at Blackburn, has just a year left to run on his contract after the summer and while a dire financial situation could make him a handy option, selling him and reinvesting the money seems a more likely outcome. Philippe Sandler, on loan at Vincent Kompany’s Anderlecht, is another who has an outside chance of contributing to City in the future but similarly to Adarabioyo, he could be sold on.

Fernandinho may well continue in defence as Laporte’s partner once we resume the season but that only serves to highlight that cover is certainly needed.

The ghost of Dani Alves’ shock snub in 2017 continues to loom over City’s right-back position; Walker has always been a trusted option and will continue to be despite some recent concerns but Joao Cancelo, who signed last summer to replace the wantaway Danilo, is already being linked with a move away. The Portugal international is a great example of City’s squad-building realities: he is experienced at the top level for both club and country, his price tag reflected a level of supposed assurance, and he should be a huge asset to the squad — but he has struggled to adapt to City’s style and has barely played.

Holding midfield is a curious position for City, too; Fernandinho is still their best option but he has not played there since last season and may well never go back. Rodri has not had the ideal debut season but the coaching staff expected some ups and downs and he is being taught, effectively, to press and tackle like Fernandinho — not an easy task. Gundogan has the ability to run games from there and may even be a better option than Rodri on his day but is more likely to partner the Spaniard in a double pivot than replace him.

Gundogan has also been used as a “free 8” but has, perhaps understandably, not been able to consistently replicate what De Bruyne and David Silva offer. With David Silva leaving ahead of next season, De Bruyne and Foden are the only two remaining players likely to consistently play there, unless City strengthen their attack and move Bernardo Silva back.

The case could be made here that with Silva leaving, City need to strengthen with an attacking midfielder. Guardiola has talked up Foden as Silva’s replacement and he will be held to that by fans and media alike but a new signing who can share minutes with Foden would be ideal — although perhaps fanciful.

Discussing City’s lack of depth starts to look a little silly when it comes to the front line: by signing a replacement for the likely outgoing Sane, they could put Sterling back on the right, competing with Riyad Mahrez, and use Bernardo in midfield. Of course, Sterling could still be used on the left in some games, and that variety is sure to help him, as well as City.

There is also some hope that highly-rated youngster Jayden Braaf could be promoted, but beyond some strong concerns about his attitude, he is also much more inconsistent than Guardiola demands. Only a completely new financial reality (one which inhibits new signings) is likely to accelerate his progression.

Finally: No 9. While Sterling and others have moonlighted at times, Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus are the only two out-and-out strikers that City have played in the Premier League since Kelechi Iheanacho in 2016-17. Aguero only has a year left on his current deal and given the current market, it would make sense to keep hold for as long as possible.

The jury still feels out on Gabriel Jesus and City have been looking for a new No 9 for over a year but he’s still just 23, is working incredibly hard, and his underlying numbers are remarkable. Jesus’ non-penalty xG — the quality of chances he gets for himself — are the highest in the league with 0.83 per 90 minutes, some distance ahead of Sergio Aguero’s 0.71. When (or if) he sharpens his finishing, he has what it takes to lead the line for City. In the current market, it makes very little sense to move him on.

The argument could be made that City are a long-term injury away from a striker crisis but that threat has remained the same since Iheanacho left in 2017 and with Sterling for back-up if required, City likely have enough here for another season — with an eye on a replacement for Aguero within the next few windows.

All in all, this is what the City squad is likely to look like next season, with the key areas that need strengthening highlighted.

With the help of Smarterscout, a site that gives detailed analytics on players all over the world, we can shortlist some potential options for City in the three core positions.

At left-back, City need a player capable of contributing to attacks, comfortable taking on a high volume of possession and able to dribble with the ball at their feet.

Among the top options on Smarterscout were Bayern’s Alphonso Davies and Real Madrid’s Marcelo — both deemed unlikely targets in this exercise — but the six names below offer a good mix of players in the prime of their careers, those who are a little younger and just coming into their peak, and a young option from the Netherlands.

Dortmund’s Raphael Guerreiro is likely a player very few are unfamiliar with at the moment: in the three games since the Bundesliga’s return, the Portugal international has scored three goals, giving him eight for the season, the best of his career.

Guerreiro fits the Guardiola mould perfectly for a full-back, as he’s previously spent time as a central midfielder in 2016-17 with Dortmund, making him adept at dropping infield when required.

Betis’ Alex Moreno and Atalanta’s Robin Gosens have similar profiles according to Smarterscout, with the former a more adept dribbler. Playing in Gian Piero Gasperini’s Atalanta team has exposed Gosens to similar tactical concepts employed by Guardiola, as there’s a similar level of modularity, where players can swap positions and roles on the pitch on the fly. Gosens’ familiarity with this way of playing would make bedding into City’s team potentially a little easier.

Alex Grimaldo is a player who has been linked with City in the past and is a key attacking outlet for Benfica from left-back. Last season was Grimaldo’s best from an attacking point of view: four goals and 12 assists in a season in which Benfica won the title and there’s something to be said of his durability also — he has missed just 24 minutes of domestic football in the last two seasons.

Ben Chilwell was very close to becoming a City player last season until the plug was pulled in late April and at 23, would be a perfect buy to build for the future. England’s current starting left-back would likely command a hefty fee to move from Leicester but would prove a worthwhile investment if City can get the best years of his career from him, and of course, represents another much-needed homegrown option.

Lastly, Owen Wijndal is a player younger than both Zinchenko and Mendy but his starting berth for Alkmaar suggests he’s developing well for his age. Wijndal, like Gosens, doesn’t seem like a very frequent dribbler but his scores on Smarterscout for link passing and receiving in the penalty area are maxed out, suggesting that he’s involved a lot for a left-back in getting on the ball, and making attacking runs up the field to get involved in the attacking phase — both useful skills for a City left-back.

City need options at both centre-back sides: back-up for Laporte and a potential starter on the right side. With the centre-back options, the key qualities are being able to carry and pass the ball out of the back, and also some ability to defend. Having a physically robust defender who can win their duels out of possession will add an extra dimension to the dynamic play required when on the ball.

Again thanks to Smarterscout, we have a shortlist of five players. While the likes of Raphael Varane or Leverkusen’s Edmond Tapsoba would be ideal, the following are all slightly younger and, to varying degrees, able to contribute now but also anchor City’s back line for years to come.

Milan Skriniar is the first option and at 25, is the oldest player on the list. Having accrued over 8,000 minutes for Inter Milan in the last three seasons, he has plenty of experience at a good level of European football. Despite Smarterscout not fancying him that much as a right centre-back, the reason is that the majority of his minutes have come on the left side of defence. Regardless, Skriniar is right-footed and fits the age profile well for City.

Benfica’s Ruben Dias is a player that interests City but with a €100 million release clause in the contract he signed during the winter, that may dissuade the powers-that-be from bringing him to the Etihad. Again, Smarterscout isn’t a huge fan of Dias’ ability from a defensive perspective but he’s an able carrier of the ball and is one of the more able forward-passers on the list.

Stefan Posch is a well-rounded option, carrying and passing forwards at decent rates compared to other right centre-backs playing at a Premier League standard, although the fact he is relatively weak in aerial duels may count against him. He’s one to watch during the rest of the Bundesliga season.

Another option from Serie A is Nikola Milenkovic, who’s played the most domestic minutes out of all of the options. He is just 22, but a great dribbler and similar to Posch in that he’s an active defender — looking to win the ball back if it’s near him — with Dias and Skriniar less so. On paper, Milenkovic may fit the mould perfectly for what City are looking for.

The last couple of options are likely too young for City to become starters but are worth a mention nonetheless. Boubacar Kamara is not yet 21 but has 5,000 minutes under his belt for Marseille, splitting his time between centre-back and defensive midfield. That versatility would help cover a couple of positions in City’s squad and may make him a longer-term replacement for Fernandinho.

Wesley Fofana may be in the shadow of Arsenal’s William Saliba at Saint-Etienne but, at 19, is shaping up to have solid career. The 99/99 rating for defending quantity is intriguing, making Fofana one of the most active defenders in Europe. Whether that hunger to win the ball back means he’s poor positionally would require some intense video scouting but he is sure to be on City’s long scouting lists somewhere.

At left centre-back, a fit-again Aymeric Laporte will take up as many minutes as possible but an understudy would be useful to have in the squad.

Pau Torres is the most experienced option on the list, with a release clause of €50 million. City had made tentative enquiries back in the winter but the lines of communication have gone cold. Torres is an adept dribbler and passes forward more than the others on the list but is relatively weak in the air. Sources close to him had hoped for a big move this summer, possibly to Barcelona or Arsenal, after the Euros, but, of course, things are up in the air now.

The other three options are less well-rounded. Ben Godfrey’s included mainly as there might be value in getting him on a lower fee should Norwich get relegated from the Premier League. While it may not show through in the Smarterscout data, Godfrey is a decent long passer and plays in a Norwich team whose approach to playing out of the back isn’t a million miles away from what City try to do.

Elias Cobbaut plays for Vincent Kompany’s Anderlecht and with the former City captain at the helm, City are likely to get as honest a scouting assessment as possible as to whether Cobbaut would be a good fit or not. With the ball at his feet, Cobbaut is an able dribbler and progressive passer, it’ll be the off-the-ball actions that determine the quality of the fit.

Dayot Upamecano, a “man-mountain range” in the words of Rapha Honigstein, rounds off the left centre-back shortlist. Upamecano is a very active defender, who is more than comfortable carrying the ball out from the back and is the best individual tackler on the list. Upamecano is predominantly right-footed, so could also provide cover on the right side of defence, too.

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Away from the defence, the rest of the squad is relatively well-stocked, apart from at left wing. With the aforementioned Sane transfer to Bayern in the pipeline, a proven replacement is required to contribute minutes and, more importantly, goals. Again, this shortlist is a mix of players that are well known, those that have some following, and a couple of wildcards.

The metrics in the table below relate mostly to scoring and getting into dangerous positions from the wing. The attack rating is powered by a player’s contributions to goalscoring, either through getting into good positions to score goals themselves, creating chances for others, or getting the ball into threatening positions. The dribble rating rewards players for beating more difficult-to-beat opponents, giving credit to those who beat the odd man in a game but impacts those who are consistently taking on and beating poor one-vs-one tacklers.

Despite mainly being deployed on the right wing, Serge Gnabry has featured on the left to equally deadly effect — just ask Chelsea and Spurs in the Champions League this season. Gnabry’s pretty much good at everything that’s required from Guardiola and at 24, is only going to get better. City are among the teams to believe swap deals will be prominent this summer and they could do worse than swap him for Sane. He’s also homegrown as he came through at Arsenal.

Despite also playing fewer minutes at left wing compared to his primary position as an attacking midfielder, Jack Grealish features due to his great attack rating. Without Grealish, Villa would no doubt be in a tougher position than the one they currently find themselves in. His shooting volume and ability to receive in the box is likely driven by team effects (i.e. Villa not being a great attacking side) and the bigger question marks are whether he’s a player who needs complete freedom to thrive, or if he can play in a well-regimented tactical system. Even if he’s not an option on the wing, he could bolster the free 8 roles.

Marcus Thuram is shining at Monchengladbach and, despite also mainly being a striker, performs well on the wing. His dribble rating of 98 is the best of all players on the shortlist, and eight goals and eight assists in the Bundesliga show a player capable of both creating and scoring, another requirement of a left winger for City.

Mikel Oyarzabal and Leon Bailey are both names who’ve been publicly linked to the club in recent months. The former’s numbers don’t exactly pop off the page but he looks like a solid contributor for Real Sociedad, and sources close to the player indicated last summer that he was primed to move to City if Sane’s move to Bayern had gone through. Bailey’s season has been blighted by injuries but in limited minutes, his underlying numbers look solid. He’s another whose durability should be questioned — starting just half of the games on offer in the last three Bundesliga seasons. He was high on City’s shortlist when they eventually plumped for Mahrez in 2018 but his chance may have passed.

Harvey Barnes is a bit of a wildcard and might not be the first name on everyone’s lips but he shares a lot of similarities with Sane. For a start, Barnes is rapid, both with and without the ball. Looking at his Smarterscout ratings, he’s potentially a bit of an underrated contributor to Leicester’s attack from the left wing and has contributed six goals and six assists so far this season. Predominantly right-footed, Barnes would be comfortable cutting inside, like City’s forwards so often do, although teams have managed to frustrate Sterling this season.

Cody Gakpo is a younger option again. Similar to Barnes, he has seven goals and six assists, but in fewer minutes, giving him a higher goal contribution per 90 minutes played. This is his first full season at PSV but given the difference in strength of the leagues, it might be too much of a step up to contribute a lot in season one — but expect to see Gakpo at a top European side before long.

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Newcastle could spend big on transfers without penalty, accounts suggest

https://theathletic.com/1848038/2020/06/02/newcastle-transfer-targets-budget-150-million/

Mike Ashley’s parsimony might have held Newcastle United back but the club’s latest accounts show that his frugality also means any new owners could still spend heavily, even in an era of financial fair play.

While the Premier League’s FFP regulations prevent the sort of short-term spending spree that followed the sale of Chelsea or Manchester City, the top flight’s limit of £105 million of cumulative losses over a three-year rolling period does still leave room for prospective new owners to underwrite notable funding.

In Newcastle’s case, their accounts for the year up to June 30, 2019, which were released in the past few days, highlight that their margin for spending is one of the greatest among top-flight clubs.

Should the Amanda Staveley-led consortium looking to acquire the club receive Premier League ratification, then in a solitary season, they could feasibly look to spend between £100 million and £150 million in the transfer market without worrying about FFP breaches.

In theory, that number could prove to be even higher, although it is difficult to fix an exact figure. These latest accounts are for the 2018-19 campaign — not the current one — and the entire football industry is yet to discover the extent of the financial ramifications of the coronavirus pandemic.

But, even if the specific figure is hard to establish, a club that has recorded a profit in eight of the past nine years — with the 2016-17 campaign in the Championship the only exception — is ideally placed to absorb expenditure on transfers. That is not the same among other clubs trying to break into the elite. Everton, for example, made losses of £111.8 million last year, meaning any future investment owner Farhad Moshiri makes must be made with FFP in mind.

For Newcastle, their profit after tax in 2018-19 was £34.7 million, up from £18.6 million the year before. The club’s wage-to-turnover revenue is just 54.9 per cent, the sixth lowest in the Premier League and well below their target ceiling of 60 per cent. And, aside from the £111 million of long-term interest-free loans owed to Ashley, Newcastle are debt-free.

Justin Barnes, Ashley’s close associate, was tasked four years ago with streamlining Newcastle and ensuring the club was in an attractive, saleable position. On the evidence of the latest accounts, that is exactly what he has done.

Yet, while the landscape for potential squad investment appears favourable for prospective new owners, Staveley’s consortium would not inherit a club without issues should they receive Premier League approval for their takeover.

For a start, match-day revenue this season is almost certain to have declined from the £24.8 million taken last season.

While Newcastle’s mean average attendance in 2018-19 was 51,116, their median gates have reduced by almost 3,000 to 48,248 during the current campaign. Physical attendances have, anecdotally, appeared far lower than that anyway and the Newcastle United Supporters Trust (NUST) also claims that the club confirmed to them that 5,000 season ticket holders forgave their annual passes last summer.

Although that means there are likely to still be about 30,000 season ticket holders — about 20,000 of whom are on long-term price-freeze deals — the attendance issue became so acute that, in December, about 10,000 additional half-season tickets were given away free of charge. Even if there is the expected spike in interest for season tickets if Ashley leaves, match-day revenue — which makes up 14 per cent of the club’s overall turnover of £176.4 million — will be reduced for 2019-20.

That will be further exacerbated by the fact Newcastle still have five home matches remaining this season. No refund schedule has been communicated by the club, despite the Premier League confirming all fixtures will be behind closed doors. The issue could be left for new owners to resolve if they do take charge.

Not only have direct debit payments continued to be taken for 2019-20 season tickets but some fans on long-term plans have also seen their money — often amounting to hundreds of pounds — taken for the 2020-21 campaign.

There are doubts as to whether any matches will be in front of fans at St James’ Park next season — meaning a sixth of the club’s annual revenue may disappear — yet, despite the uncertainty, Newcastle have still not outlined to supporters when, or indeed if, they will be reimbursed.

With the majority of the club’s non-playing employees on furlough — the government is paying 80 per cent of their wages and Newcastle are topping up the rest — box-office staff have been unavailable to answer fan queries, while there has been no correspondence from managing director Lee Charnley to supporters.

From a purely business perspective, the furloughing of staff has reduced costs over the past two months, potentially alleviating losses. However, drawing from the public purse has led to criticism. The prospective owners have already indicated they would bring employees back off the public payroll.

If optics are the issue when it comes to furloughing, particularly with the playing squad and coaching staff yet to take a pay cut or wage deferral, then economics is the concern when it comes to club debt. As of June 30, 2019, Newcastle’s only outstanding debt was £111 million owed to Ashley, a figure which would be wiped out as part of the £300 million price agreed for the purchase of the club.

However, the confirmation that Ashley repaid himself £33 million last season — to return funds he loaned the club during the 2016-17 Championship campaign — could potentially impact upon Newcastle’s ability to navigate the financial turbulence caused by the coronavirus. The club’s cash reserves decreased from £33.8 million to just £14 million. That £19.8 million year-on-year loss could have been lower had Ashley not reclaimed that short-term loan, potentially leaving Newcastle with greater leeway to mitigate against the current challenges.

Yet Ashley’s austere approach also highlights growth opportunities for Newcastle’s revenue streams.

First of all, the club’s commercial revenue stands at just £26.2 million, down £500,000 on the previous season, a drop which the club said was due to “the success, in the prior year, of the three Ed Sheeran concerts” at St James’. Amazingly, that 2018-19 figure is £1.4 million down on 2006-07 (£27.6 million), the year before Ashley took control.

In fact, although Newcastle’s revenue has grown by £89 million since 2007, that appreciation has come almost exclusively from an increase in Premier League TV money, rather than any other income stream.

According to Swiss Ramble, a respected football business blogger, Everton (£41 million), West Ham United and Leicester City (both £36 million) all made substantially more than Newcastle commercially last year, while Manchester United recouped almost 10 times as much from sponsorship tie-ups.

To show how far Newcastle have fallen behind in this area, their commercial revenues can be compared to Tottenham, whom they previously outperformed. In 2006-07, the year before Ashley became involved at St James’ Park, Tottenham made £25.4 million from this revenue stream, £2.2 million less than Newcastle. Last year,  Tottenham made £135 million commercially, five times the amount of Newcastle’s equivalent returns.

This summer, Newcastle’s main shirt sponsorship deal with Chinese betting company Fun88 is due to expire while they also need a new sleeve sponsor. And, although a one-year extension is believed to have been provisionally agreed with Puma to supply the kit next season, a long-term partnership can still be put out for tender.

With both their shirt sponsor and supplier deals each believed to be worth about £6.5 million a season, there appears to be room for appreciation, particularly considering that more than half of top-flight sides reportedly have more valuable annual headline commercial deals.

What’s more, Ashley’s Fraser Group paid £1.1 million to the club for advertising at the stadium last season, where, at one count, there were more than 130 Sports Direct hoardings, which Newcastle have stated increased to £2 million for the current campaign. Whether there is scope to recoup greater revenue by attracting other sponsors to advertise at the stadium is unclear but could be explored.

What these accounts also underline is the necessity of regular Champions League football to dramatically change Newcastle’s financial situation. The Athletic understands that the club’s prospective owners have commissioned detailed financial forecasting models and they too recognise the importance of Newcastle appearing in Europe when it comes to materially increasing turnover, profitability and therefore the club’s potential value.

According to Swiss Ramble, Tottenham have earned approximately £195 million from playing in the Champions League over the past four years, while Newcastle have received just £4.5 million from European involvement during the entire Ashley era, with their sole continental competition appearance in the 2012-13 Europa League.

Newcastle’s broadcast revenue was £123.9 million in 2018-19 and came almost solely from the Premier League but the six clubs that played in Europe last season received between £34 million (Arsenal, who reached the Europa League final) and £98 million (Liverpool, who won the Champions League) from their continental exploits.

Finally, Newcastle’s accounts also show that their profits in recent years have largely been driven by impressive player sales. While Ashley’s willingness to adopt a buy-to-sell model has affected Newcastle’s on-field performance, it has helped improve the balance sheet.

Newcastle’s net transfer spend was just £400,000 in 2018-19 — it is £48 million this season — and that was largely due to the sales of Aleksandar Mitrovic (£22 million), Mikel Merino (£10 million) and Chancel Mbemba (£6 million). Subsequently, Ayoze Perez was also sold to Leicester City for £30 million, too.

The club is still owed £48 million in transfer fees by other clubs, with those deals agreed in instalments, while Newcastle themselves must still pay out £12 million for players they have bought. That is despite Ashley having attempted to pay as many transfer fees upfront as possible, given the legacy of Freddy Shepherd’s chairmanship, who departed with millions of pounds still owed by the club on previous transactions.

Ultimately, what Newcastle’s latest accounts show is a club well-placed for investment from prospective new owners. Many believe that Ashley’s approach stymied the team for years but, paradoxically, it has also left Newcastle as a more attractive proposition to those with the ambition to grow the club.

[Vesper 27,283]

Pochettino: No team changed English football like my Southampton side

https://theathletic.com/1844441/2020/06/01/pochettino-no-team-changed-english-football-like-my-southampton-side/

Former Southampton and Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino believes he and his coaching team are responsible for deep changes in how football is played in England.

Pochettino replaced Nigel Adkins as Southampton coach in January 2013, and quickly built a new, young team which played an attractive high-tempo style, with possession and pressing key attributes as they first avoided relegation, then established themselves in the top half of the Premier League over the next 18 months.

Speaking on La Liga TV show Guillem Balague’s Talking Football, to be aired on Sky Channel 435 on Monday at 8pm (BST), the Argentinian shares the idea that he and his staff revolutionised thinking on the game in England, well before Jurgen Klopp came to Liverpool in October 2015, or Pep Guardiola joined Manchester City the following summer.

“Football in England changed with that Southampton team of 2013-14, there is no other team that had as big an impact in changing the mindset,” Pochettino says. “We arrived at a club with a president like Nicola Cortese who gave us what we needed to create something unique in English football. Our ability to adapt to a completely different environment was incredible. We found a group of players who wanted to learn from the experiences we brought from Spanish football, and with the quality to play a different style of football to that which everyone in English football was used to. Young players started to appear, and people started to trust in young players, also in the English national team.”

Pochettino also says that, as Espanyol coach from 2009 to 2012, he and his collaborators Toni Jimenez, Jesus Perez and Miguel D’Agostino had introduced a positive way of playing the game which was later followed by other teams in La Liga and Europe.

“At Espanyol, we were the first coaching staff who started to teach exercises to bring the ball out from the back,” he says. “The facts are there. Just watch any game from around 2010 and 2011, the ball is played out from the goal. When previously it was always hit long. We started with that, and many people are a bit surprised. Everyone talks of Barcelona, Madrid, Milan. No, no, it was Espanyol, with Ernesto Galan, Jordi Amat, Raul Rodriguez, David Lopez, Didac Vila, Victor Ruiz, Raul Baena, Juan Forlin, Javi Marquez. Many of those players grew up with a style of play and philosophy different from modern football played today.”

Pochettino saved Espanyol from relegation on arrival as coach in January 2009, including a run of eight wins and a draw in 10 La Liga matches. By December 2010 they were challenging towards the top of the table, only for the club’s perilous financial situation to mean key defenders Ruiz and Vila were sold in the winter transfer window.

“I remember very well a conversation with the board in December, when we were fourth, and we received offers from Milan and Napoli for Vila and Ruiz,” Pochettino says. “I told the directors to wait six months, until the end of the season. We’ll do well, they will get more experience, and we’ll sell these players for even more money. They said fine, but how do we pay the next paycheque for Carmelo the groundsman, or Ramon the masseur? I’m not talking about the players, but people who need their salary every month to buy a pair of shoes for their kids.

“It was a necessity to sell. We replaced them with Victor Alvarez and Jordi Amat. We finished the season in eighth place, with two 18-year-old kids (Amat and Alvarez). People then said we lacked ambition, this and that about the coach. Bad people take advantage, enemies, in such situations, people who were against what we were trying to do.”

Further important players left over the next 18 months, including striker Dani Osvaldo and Cameroon goalkeeper Carlos Kameni, and Pochettino and his coaching team were sacked in November 2012 with the team bottom of the Primera Division table.

“Looking at the situation we were in, we should not have stayed that season,” Pochettino says. “We stayed, a bit because of the love we felt for the club, knowing it was going to be very difficult. Things had changed over the previous six months, we had to change the philosophy. We had to bring in people with experience. In making that change, we were no longer doing what we had done well. That generated this negativity, and in the end, the results meant we had to leave.”

This experience with Espanyol has certain similarities to Pochettino’s time in charge of Tottenham from summer 2014 to November 2019, when the team made huge initial progress but then stalled due to financial restrictions — in this case, Tottenham’s move to a new stadium hampering their ability to strengthen a team that reached the 2019 Champions League final.

Now regularly linked with returning to the Premier League with Manchester United or Newcastle United, Pochettino suggests in the La Liga interview that any new employer must understand that hiring him means bringing in his staff, too, to help manage all the elements required for a successful team.

“The manager used to take care of practically everything, but he had less tasks and responsibilities,” he says. “Today the responsibility is so big that you need five or six leaders, in different areas. And that the players, the squad, the club who hires you must know that this coaching team has leadership, a heart and a brain that commands with everybody involved. The idea of one leader, with everyone else just subjects who obey, that is long gone now. Modern football clubs need the leadership of a coaching team, not just one manager.”

Pochettino says he could return to Espanyol at some point, but sees his next club as being one capable of challenging for trophies, even if that is not the only way to judge the success of a spell in charge of any team.

“That moment will arrive when we (he and his coaching team) have to win a trophy,” he says. “Society only recognises the one that wins a title and lifts it. We are in this fight to try to do that. But we have lifted many ‘trophies’. When you leave a good impression with the people you worked with, helped people to progress or when people are proud to have worked with you — they are also trophies that must be celebrated.”

During the 45 minute conversation with Balague, Pochettino also recalls his time as a player at Newell’s Old Boys in Argentina, when his coach was current Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa.

“I was not only lucky to have a coach like Marcelo, but also to live in a dressing room with these type of leaders who taught you every little detail,” he says. “I remember arriving at the team hotel and it was time to eat, but you did not sit down until the senior players had told you where to sit. If you poured out some water, you had to serve them before yourself. That was manners. There were many rules that you picked up that way.”

As Bielsa’s Newell’s team won the 1990-91 Argentine Primera Division and 1992 Torneo Clausura, part of his method was to take the squad to closed camps at a military school outside the city of Rosario.

“We trained at the military school on Friday morning, and slept there until Sunday when we played,” Pochettino says. “There was just one phone, for everyone, including the students there. We were all different but we had to open up and understand how to live together, and accept things, even if you did not like it. It was a way to generate this strength, which you need in the end. Football is a collective game.

“In the last 10 years, things have changed, and not for the better. It has become more individual, but football was born from a collective spirit. That is why I like rugby a lot, the spirit they have maintained, almost amateur-like. In rugby, the biggest figure still needs the smallest figure to be successful. The most talented player still needs the defender, the worker, to do his job well.”

Pochettino says he sees a key challenge for the modern coach is preparing today’s player to keep a clear head and make the correct decision in high-pressure environments.

“In the decisive moments the stress, pressure and atmosphere grows, and you need cold blood to make the best decisions to win tournaments,” he says. “You try to give the players the tools so that in these decisive moments, they don’t feel the stress so much. It is different from other sports, like golf or tennis. In football you can have 80,000 people shouting at you in the most important moment, when you have to make the right decision. That is why football is such a complex sport, and psychology in football is different than for any other athlete. Whether you are going for a trophy, or you are fighting against relegation, the stress leaves its mark on your body. That is when you fall back on your habits, that helps you to deal with the emotional load.”

After moving to Espanyol in 1994, the long-haired central defender quickly became a key figure in a team which made a big impact in La Liga’s top half through the late 1990s and won the 2000 Copa del Rey.

“You cannot choose to be a leader, neither can you just point to one,” he says when asked if leaders are born or made. “I felt it, but in a natural way. I did not try to act in a certain way, I did what I felt, what I always did naturally. That transmitted calm or security to my team-mates so they could use the talent that they had, and take the correct decisions. ‘Calm’ is a strong tool. It gives you control in a stressful situation, a roadmap to do what you need to do.

“When you show nerves, it means you do not have a way to resolve a problem. When you manage a group of people, you must show that you know what you are doing, that all is under control. Even if you know it is not. That is the most important thing.”

Pochettino left for Paris Saint-Germain in 2001, when Espanyol needed money from his transfer, later returning for two more seasons which included another Copa del Rey victory in 2006.

“Winning a Copa del Rey with Espanyol was more important even than some other teams winning a European Cup,” he says. “I loved the club and was really committed to playing in the city where you were always in the shadow of Barcelona. It was always about going against the flow.”

His playing career ended sooner than he had expected. When Ernesto Valverde arrived as Espanyol coach in summer 2006, the 34-year-old defender with the big character was not in his plans.

“I cried then. I am a guy who cries a lot, not when I lose a game, but for emotional reasons,” Pochettino says. “Ernesto’s decision was understandable. I have spoken with him since and we have a good relationship. These are decisions that football coaches have to take. I would manage it differently myself, but I don’t say it was managed badly. It hurt as I thought I could play maybe another season more. But it helped me to be able to widen my vision and do other things. The decisions coaches take can generate many ‘ghosts’: some are real, others don’t exist. I learned a lot about how to manage myself as a coach, to understand these situations.”

Guillem Balague’s Talking Football interview with Mauricio Pochettino airs Monday at 8pm BST on La Liga TV.

La Liga TV, featuring ALL live matches from Spain’s top flight, is available FREE to Sky UK customers during the entire month of June.

To sign up, visit premiersports.com and enter promo code: BACKTOWIN

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Aston Villa academy player Bradley Young stabbed in park

https://theathletic.com/1848102/2020/06/01/aston-villa-stabbing-bradley-young-academy/

Aston Villa’s promising academy striker Bradley Young was stabbed at a Solihull park on Friday evening, The Athletic can reveal.

The 17-year-old, who plays for Villa’s under-18 side, was treated at the park and taken to hospital after the attack, which happened near to the football pitches in Elmdon Park just before 9.30pm.

Young’s injuries were not life-threatening and he is now on the mend. West Midlands police confirmed that three people were arrested and have been released on bail until later this month.

A statement was issued over the weekend saying that “a man aged 24 has been arrested on suspicion of wounding and drugs possession, while two others, a man and a woman, have been held on suspicion of wounding”.

The circumstances surrounding the incident are unclear but will continue to be dealt with by the police. Villa are aware of the incident but were unavailable for comment.

Young is yet to feature for the Villa’s senior side or under-23s but he is recognised as one of the most talented teenagers rising through the ranks at Bodymoor Heath.

Young has grown up close to the Solihull area and has been trying to forge a career at Villa since leaving school two years ago. He turns 18 in August and is known to first-team staff, who closely monitor the progress of development players to see whether they should be promoted into a higher age category or integrated into training sessions with the seniors.

A regular for the under-18s, Young has scored four goals in 16 appearances in the Under-18 Premier League and his tough and fearless style has stood out in his displays. He may be slight in appearance but there is a resilience to his game that makes it difficult for opponents.

Villa’s academy is currently undergoing a major overhaul as the club looks to fill the under-23 side with teenagers full of potential rather than players heading towards the age limit cut-off.

Young is a player who has a chance to kick on and develop, and is already in good company with star under-18 performers Carney Chukwuemeka and Aaron Ramsey. The 19-year-old striker Indiana Vassilev has shown this season there is a pathway into the first team for talented youngsters.

Anyone with information about the incident has been asked to contact West Midlands Police via Live Chat at www.west-midlands.police.uk, via 101, or via Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, quoting log 4209 of May 29.

[NikkiCFC 7,565]

 

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2 hours ago, NikkiCFC said:

 

roflmaoooooooooooooooooooooooooo

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Friday June 5 2020 Football Nerd

Why dribbling is more valuable than ever and no longer football's 'lost art' By Daniel Zeqiri Harry Maguire has been a key part of Man Utd's ball progression this season CREDIT: REUTERS Through football's coronavirus hiatus, we are committed to providing a weekly newsletter of facts, analysis and retrospectives. If there is a topic you want us to cover please email [email protected]. Above all, stay safe.     Dribbling and tackling are habitually described as football's two lost arts, but a quick survey of the Premier League suggests the primal skill of taking the ball and running straight at the opposition is still prized. Analysis of Bundesliga football has observed fewer tackles per game since the sport's resumption post-lockdown, which could offer the division's best ball-carriers even more incentive to take players on. Top flight football returns in England with Aston Villa v Sheffield United on June 17, and there can be no doubt that Villa's chances of survival rest at the feet of Jack Grealish. Grealish's cavalier style and bravery both to receive the ball under opposition pressure and ride agricultural challenges has delighted neutrals. The sight of an outstanding individual rescuing a team also resonates with the Roy of the Rovers motif embedded in English football's psyche. Grealish has drawn 127 fouls from opposition players this season, 34 more than Wilfried Zaha who has drawn the second most. Grealish has been fouled more than Adama Traore and Richarlison combined. There are several ways of measuring the effectiveness of dribbling. One metric in which Grealish shows up well is Progressive Carrying Distance, the cumulative distance travelled towards the opponent's goal with ball at feet across the season. Grealish is second in the league in this metric, carrying the ball 6,972 yards since the start of the season. Only Zaha has posted a higher number, with Adama Traore and Harry Maguire rounding out the top four. Yes that's right, Harry Maguire.     Maguire is the only central defender in the top 10, so this method of distribution is both striking and highly unusual. When we talk about defenders playing out from the back, we tend to focus on line-breaking passes and long switches of play. The ability to drive forward with the ball is an overlooked skill.  Maguire's 6,187 yards carried also reflects a tendency of Manchester United's opponents to sit deep. Teams dropping off to cover the speed of Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Daniel James offer Maguire the invitation to begin one of his forays forward.  Since Michael's Carrick retirement, United have lacked a top class distributor in deep midfield so Maguire stepping in to this area of the pitch could well be born of necessity. In fact, there might be occasions when passing early and circulating the ball with the minimum of touches is preferable. A centre-back carrying the ball before passing can make things more congested for the receiver.  Do these numbers mean Maguire is one of the league's best dribblers? Not quite. Maguire has played every minute of United's Premier League season so his cumulative numbers are bound to swell. When Progessive Carrying Distance per 90 minutes is calculated, Maguire drops to 43rd - though that is still neck and neck with Nicolas Pepe and ahead of Giovani Lo Celso.  Moreover, you do not actually need to beat an opposition player to record a Progressive Carrying Distance.  When it comes to Players Dribbled Past across the whole season, Zaha remains well out in front 145 and you can rest easy...Maguire is nowhere to be seen in the top 10.  Traore is a commendable second with 127 and his Wolves team-mate Diogo Jota is fourth with 72, which makes it plain to see why Nuno Espirito Santo's team have such a slippery and dangerous attack. Sandwiched between them is Norwich's Emi Buendia, who could be one of the bargains of the summer for those seeking a dexterous and creative midfielder. As well as gliding past players, Buendia's Expected Assists per 90 minutes is bettered only by Kevin De Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez. No wonder many judges consider Norwich the best ever team to be bottom of the Premier League.   Explore beyond the headlines Become a Telegraph subscriber today and access our best sport articles and analysis – free for your first month.   Sign up here   Pick of the week   "The presence of Kane and Son means Spurs will be a different side in June to what they would have been in April. Although lots of the focus will be on the availability of the England captain, it is Spurs’ ability to use Son which is the game-changer for Mourinho. Kane will score goals in any system, so the tactical shape is not necessarily compromised with or without him. It is Kane’s strike rate which makes him so important. " Jamie Carragher on why Tottenham are lockdown's big winners - can they make the top four?

[BlueLyon 9,359]

As much as I despise United, I have to give big big credit to Rashford. He is a great example how to be humble and use the fame, connections and money in good way to help others and promote goodness.

In a football world full of divas and adults who act childish, Rashford is a nice change of pace and reminds me of old school strikers like Didi or Etoo who used their football achievements to do something good outside of football too. 

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Exclusive: Williams to be offered new deal by Manchester United

https://theathletic.com/1852552/2020/06/04/exclusive-williams-to-be-offered-new-deal-by-manchester-united/

Manchester United are set to offer Brandon Williams a major new contract to reflect his status as a first-team player.

Williams currently earns £4,000 per week and United plan talks on a significantly improved deal that would see the 19-year-old paid in keeping with his role in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side.

Williams agreed his latest contract in October after playing twice for the first team, but his rapid progress this season, which caught many by surprise, has meant a renegotiation is necessary.

He made his debut as a substitute in the Carabao Cup win over Rochdale, followed by a first start away to AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League, and has now featured 26 times, including nine Premier League starts, this season. Williams scored in the 3-3 draw at Sheffield United and has moved comfortably between left-back and left wing-back, even playing on the right flank at times.

He is expected to be an important figure on United’s run-in once the season resumes later this month, having gained high praise from Solskjaer at various points. After a stirring performance in the 4-0 win over Norwich City in January, the United manager said: “His hunger is a lesson for everyone who wants to be a footballer, the attitude he’s showing. It’ll be up to him, myself and the club to keep him that hungry. I don’t expect him to change because he’s got the heart for it.”

Later that month, United predecessor turned pundit Gary Neville wrote on Twitter: “I like Brandon Williams. He has that look in his eye of someone that would eat his opponent’s nose to win the match. Keep going, kid! Oh, he can play football, too, which is always a bonus.”

Solskjaer added: “He’s been absolutely outstanding since he came in. Every challenge we’ve put in front of him he’s tackled head-on.”

His impact has been noted at international level, too. Gareth Southgate is understood to believe Williams has the potential for full England honours. He impressed on his debut for England Under-20s this season and is expected to be called up by Aidy Bothroyd for the under-21s at the next opportunity.

Williams is from north Manchester and joined United’s academy aged seven. He has long told friends of his burning desire to make it at the club. Such was his ambition to play for United, he rejected loan offers last summer in the hope of breaking into the senior squad.

That single-mindedness has paid off and even though the speed of his acceleration into the team was unexpected, his high standards prompted figures within the club to speculate he had surpassed Luke Shaw as their best left-back at one stage.

Shaw responded with a series of excellent displays but the comparison now provides a reference for Williams’ negotiations. Shaw, as a full England international, is paid £190,000 per week.

United are very careful with players who come through their academy however, and Solskjaer subscribes to a philosophy where emerging talents are not given too much too soon. United’s manager took an early interest as far as Williams was concerned and his relatively modest current earnings reflect the club’s firm position.

When Williams signed his last contract in October his determination was to secure a place in Solskjaer’s side rather than gain a big pay rise on his previous deal, which had been his first as a professional.

But United made plain that further talks would take place once his position in the first-team had solidified and negotiations are now in the works. It is accepted that Williams is due a serious upgrade, with contemporaries earning considerably higher salaries. It is well known that Diogo Dalot, for instance, receives around £50,000 per week.

Williams is fully fit and ready for the restart of the Premier League, having kept busy during lockdown with regimes set by United’s sports scientists. He even roped in an unlikely companion for sessions, as revealed by coach Kieran McKenna.

“I think it’s important the players feel that sense of connection,” McKenna told United’s website. “I’ve tried to ring quite a few, especially the younger boys, to make sure they’re OK, and try to stop Brandon Williams tackling his dog on a regular basis!”

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Newcastle, Sunderland and shows of outright contempt for fans

WHAT A BUSINESS

It really wasn’t meant to be like this. As June approached, Newcastle fans were brimful of optimism that the long, drawn-out sale of their club by one universally reviled, despotic, tyrannical owner to another would finally be completed. They would be free to dream of a brave new dawn, a happy future in which Neymar was banging them in for fun up front and they were spending endless hours on the internet angrily pointing out London-based media agendas, typing the words “what about” more often than is humanly necessary and unconvincingly arguing that war crimes, beheadings and human rights abuses aren’t really anything to be concerned about if they are carried out in a way that doesn’t really affect you.

With no sign of the handover being completed, they remain on tenterhooks, the collective mood even more furious than usual as they accuse Newcastle’s hierarchy of a “dereliction of duty” for something that does affect them: the club’s ongoing refusal to loop them in on plans for season tickets and money already spent on them. With the remainder of the current campaign set to be played behind closed doors, card-holders understandably want to know if they’ll be getting refunds for matches they have paid for but will be unable to attend, while the Newcastle United Supporters’ Trust also wants season ticket payments for the 2020-21 campaign suspended.

“Without supporters, Newcastle United does not exist,” it wrote. “We have previously contacted Newcastle United to express our concerns at the lack of action to assist its supporters in a time of need during this unprecedented global health and economic crisis. You have called on the fans of Newcastle United for support so often over the years and when we called for you to stand by your supporters, you did nothing.” Unsurprisingly, considering the outright contempt in which Newcastle fans are held by the club’s owner, no reply has yet been forthcoming, despite other top-flight clubs having reassured fans that they will be refunded one way or another for games they won’t get to see.

Newcastle supporters should perhaps be careful what they wish for, as their neighbours have made sure to keep fans well-informed about what will be happening with their season tickets, prompting further anger. The Basket Case club in whose direction other Basket Case clubs tug their forelocks, Sunderland announced they won’t be refunding season ticket holders if the season isn’t cut short and their three remaining home games are played behind closed doors. They will instead offer fans a pass to stream the matches at home, which is much the same as an airline refusing to refund that expensive ticket you paid for a now-cancelled flight to New York, but showing you some video footage of Central Park and the Statue of Liberty instead.

In an astonishing show of contempt, Sunderland have also told fans who renew their season tickets for the next campaign there will be no refunds for behind-closed-doors then either, only the same offer of a streaming pass which at £10 costs considerably less than a ticket. “What about families who have three or four season tickets in the same household? It’s nonsense,” thundered supporters group chief Michael Ganley. Despite claiming to be “in dialogue” with fans, Sunderland have yet to provide any satisfactory answers, but may well suggest each family member watches on a different device to ensure everyone gets maximum bang for their buck. 

[MoroccanBlue 5,194]

Quote

CAS General Secretary offers update on Man City appeal against UEFA ban

Matthieu Reeb, the General Secretary for the Court of Arbitration for Sport, has confirmed that Manchester City's appeal against their UEFA sanctions began over video conference earlier today.

City are appealing UEFA's decision to fine them around £25m and issue a two-year ban from European competition, including the Champions League, for 'serious breaches' of Financial Fair Play regulations.

The hearing, conducted remotely due to the coronavirus pandemic, is closed to the public and media, and will take place from today (Monday June 8) until Wednesday (June 10).

According to AFP, Reeb confirmed that the hearing has begun and that the video conferencing arrangement is not posing any problems.

"The hearing has started well and the video conference is working well," Reeb is quoted as saying.

AFP also claim Reeb added that a verdict could be announced in July, as City wait eagerly to discover their fate.

He said: "Following the hearing, the Panel will deliberate and will start drafting the Arbitral Award containing its decision. It is not possible to predict at this time how long this process will take."

Other reports say City may have to wait until August to learn the verdict, but both City and UEFA would be keen to discover the result of the appeal before next season's Champions League competition begins.

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/man-city-cas-appeal-uefa-18381357

Imagine if these tossers get away with it.