Jobi McAnuff says he will hold talks with Reading at the end of the season and is refusing to make a decision on his future just yet.
The Royals are heading for a swift return to the Championship following Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Norwich and if that is the case then there will be big changes in the summer.
One or two players will want to move on while new Royals boss Nigel Adkins will also be looking to clear the decks a little bit in order to make way for new blood.
McAnuff, who has a contract until 2014, could be one of the players asking to leave, but for now he would rather focus on seeing out the remainder of the season.
“We’ll have a look at it, obviously, once that time comes,” McAnuff revealed. “We’ve got a few games here to make the most of it – we have to try to dig in and get results.
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“We’ve all got our own pride and we don’t want to finish bottom, that’s for sure. So we’ll be trying to pick up as many points as we can between now and the end of the season and address things then.”
Currently, Tottenham have some fantastic youth products on their books. Although they may not be able to compete with the two Manchester Clubs and Chelsea in terms of finance and resources, they’ve certainly planned for the future well.
In recent times, Jake Livermore has been a shining example to Spurs youngsters that it is possible to break into the first-team at White Hart Lane, even if they’re playing a higher standard of football than ever, and in the past the North London academy has produced Sol Campbell and Ledley King.
Well, next season could be the chance for a number of youngsters to follow Livermore’s foot steps, and not only have an impact on their club but also the Premier League.
Here’s the top five Tottenham starlets who could have a huge impact next season.
Click on Souleymane Coulibaly below to unveil the 5
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Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has revealed that captain Steven Gerrard will be offered a new contract with the Premier League club.
The Reds star has 18 months left on his current deal, but his manager is keen to secure his long-term future quickly.
The Northern Irishman praised the 32-year-old’s influence at the club, claiming he still has many years of service left to give:
“Steven is vital to us and I recognise that.” He is quoted by The Guardian.
“I know he has 18 months left on his contract but I would want him to go beyond that for this club and this team.
“What I would say with Steven is he has a real hunger to succeed. He may be 32 years of age, but he’s still got so much left. He applies himself right, he eats well, he recovers well, he works well, he does everything right.
“This is a guy who has led his life right as a football player and that allows you to play well into your 30s.
“I would want him to stay beyond his current contract and extend it. There is absolutely no question about that.
“He has played every minute of every league game for us which shows what an incredible figure for us he is.”
He went on to defend Gerrard, who has been criticised by some during the course of this season:
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“You look at his stats this season and he is right up there as one of the most influential midfielders in the Premier League.
“He’s at the top in chances created, passing, possession; all the important things. I find it incredible he can have had any criticism at all.
“It is absolutely ridiculous. From seeing him every day working, and seeing him playing in the games, it’s incredible.”
Liverpool youngster Suso has revealed he wishes to stay at Anfield and does not want to leave under the Bosman ruling when his deal expires at the end of this season.
The Spanish teenager was brought to the club in 2009 by ex-Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez. The winger admits he feared for his chances at the club following Benitez’s exit in the summer of 2010.
“Rafa was the one that called me and convinced me to go to Liverpool when I was at Cádiz but soon after he left. The truth is, I thought that might be a problem and that things might get worse,” he said.
Three bosses later, Suso has finally progressed to finding a role in the first team under Brendan Rodgers, who has fielded the talented youngster three times in the Premier League so far this season.
The Spaniard appears to be enjoying life under Rodgers, and is happy at Liverpool.
“Brendan Rodgers is a coach that if you prove to him that you can perform, if you work hard, he has no problem in putting young players in the team. I have started three times and things are going well.
“I’m happy here, very comfortable. This is the ideal club for me in every sense. This is like a dream for me.
“We have been talking about a contract since the start of the season. We’re nearly there – we’ll sign soon” he added.
The Liverpool manager clearly rates Suso highly, and admits he rejected offers for the winger over the summer.
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“We did have a couple of offers for Suso in the summer, but I always said I didn’t want him to go.
“He’s in the last year of his contract, and it’s something we will look at,” said Rodgers.
You perhaps knew that Tottenham Hotspur were in for something of a tough day as soon as the starting line-ups were filed, before their 4-2 defeat at the hands of Chelsea last Saturday.
The subsequent losses of both Gareth Bale and Mousa Dembele left Andre Villas-Boas’ side looking somewhat anemic on paper, and so it proved in practice, too, as the Lilywhites came unstuck at the hands of Roberto Di Matteo’s classy Blues side.
But although there was a rightful sense of overwhelming of disappointment come the final whistle, there shouldn’t be any need for overwhelmingly drastic post mortems. Spurs suffered a tough day under even tougher circumstances but fans shouldn’t start basing a catalogue of gloomy seasonal predictions off the back of the Chelsea result. It’s time to harness a little perspective at White Hart Lane.
So often it feels that those who frequent White Hart Lane, inhibit an almost perpetual inability to do things by halves. When a defeat occurs, it has to be deconstructed, picked apart and used to forecast a whole series of potential long-term issues ahead. A league loss to the outstanding team of the Premier League so far has produced some pretty startling forecasts from a small section of supporters. Take your pick from AVB’s inability to set a team up to a perceived need to invest £50million in players come January.
The truth is that, of course, both the team and the manager made mistakes during the weekend. Spurs again appeared to sit back after taking the initiative; despite his limitations against the Chelsea midfield, taking off Tom Huddlestone for Jake Livermore proved to be a poor substitution and none of the Tottenham back four came out the game with much to shout about. Especially not William Gallas, with the Frenchman suffering his second roasting against his former employers of the calendar year and perhaps his most chastising in recent times.
Yet, you don’t even need to prefer your glasses half full, to gauge a sense of perspective about Saturday’s events. Spurs’ loss of Gareth Bale would be somewhat akin to Chelsea losing their most potent attacking outlet and had Juan Mata not been playing, you can play devil’s advocate as to how well they would have done. Throw in the very glue that bonds Villas-Boas’ 4-2-3-1 together in Moussa Dembele, and you’re already facing something of an uphill battle.
But while the aforementioned pair rightly have taken prominence in Spurs’ list of absentees, let’s not forget the others that have been missing in action. Throw in Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Younes Kaboul and forgotten man Scott Parker, and you can forgive Villas-Boas for being a little proud with how his team coped on the weekend. That’s your first choice left winger, central midfielder, left back, centre half and current club player of the year, all out on the sidelines.
And still, Spurs can count themselves more than a smidgen unlucky to come away from the game without taking anything. The Lilywhite’s amassed 23 shots against Chelsea, even with the loss of their two creative lynchpins in Bale and Dembele and although you can attribute every goal conceded to a mistake somewhere along the line, both Gallas and Kyle Walker picked an unfortunate day to produce a couple of real howlers at the back.
While there has been a degree of reactive disdain towards the Frenchman, despite performing nowhere near as bad as what some have discredited him with in recent weeks, you couldn’t escape the feeling that his performance against the Blues was a watershed one for all the wrong reasons.
For Kyle Walker, his goal-producing cock-up in injury time had been coming for a number of weeks now and this time, he didn’t get away with it. The stick he’s received from some has gone well over the line but there’s no getting away from the fact he needs to raise his game considerably in the coming weeks. Hopefully with help from both fans and management, we’ll slowly see him coaxed back into form.
And although impatience may be growing in some quarters, the truth is that this team are still finding it’s feet under a new system, especially at home. Spurs have steadily grown in confidence, but they remain a cautious prospect when playing at White Hart Lane and after another improvement in their last home tie against Aston Villa, a visit from the league leaders was never going to represent a tie to incrementally improve their performance. Villas-Boas is getting there, but there’s no magic wand to get their home form going. It takes time.
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Furthermore, the context of the loss certainly does nothing to keep expectations well within balance, either. The home support were loathsome to endure chants of ‘Champions of Europe, we know what we are,’ but the fact remains that their London rivals are a better side, however much that may hurt fans to utter. The next time Tottenham come up against an attacking unit as talented, mobile and devastating as Chelsea’s, might not be till they go to Stamford Bridge in the April of next year.
If losing to a team that could well end up Premier League champions- while their own starting XI were depleted by injury- constitutes a terminal issue for Spurs’ season, then there isn’t much hope for the rest of the league, is there? Let’s not forget, on the same day Spurs were sunk by Mata’s magic, there was another team in North London that put in an abject performance in a 1-0 defeat away to Norwich City.
The nature of the defeat on Saturday and the opponents who inflicted it upon Tottenham, have made the wounds of the weekend’s proceedings a little bit sorer than usual. But fans can’t let the pain of a one-off game catalyze an outrageously gloomy forecast. A win against Southampton on Sunday can see Villas-Boas’ side hop into fourth and regain momentum in the push for Champions League football. For a side that is very much one still in transition, that’s not too bad at all.
Are you reading much into Spurs’ defeat at the hands of Chelsea during the weekend? Let me know what you think on Twitter: follow @samuel_antrobus and bat me your views on all things Tottenham.
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson took a swipe at the physical size of Tony Pulis’ Stoke City side ahead of their clash today, as reported by The Sun.
Sir Alex claimed that former United striker Michael Owen would have to ‘bring his ladder’ if he had any chance of playing and he called Pulis’ team the ‘jolly green giants’.
Somehow we can see the Stoke manager having a quiet word with the Manchester United boss when the two meet on the touch line today.
Sir Alex told The Sun: “The jolly green giants are coming to play against us tomorrow.”
“Michael is not allowed to play unless he brings a ladder. They are the biggest team in Europe.
“You can get yourself all in a fangle about that because they are a handful at set-piece play and with their long throw-ins.
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“But you can’t make a terror for yourself. Hopefully we can play our game and get the result we want.”
When the first international break of the season comes around it gives a club time to reflect on a their start to the domestic campaign and assess how their new faces have settled in to their new environment. For the Gunners they can look back on the first two weeks of the new term with a broad smile on their face. Three games in, no goals conceded and five points from a possible nine on the board. Not bad after a summer that saw Arsene Wenger wave goodbye to his two most influential players. A 2-0 victory at Anfield last Sunday certainly laid bare a slight modification in philosophy at the Emirates Stadium with many attributing the North Londoners’ promising start to the influence of Steve Bould following his promotion to assistant manager in place of recently retired Pat Rice. It may only be early doors but Bould’s influence has already shone through with the Gunners back four visibly brimming with confidence, structure and discipline Wengers’ new number two is rightly taking the plaudits for that. With an attack bristling with new blood, fresh energy and bags of creativity there is a sense that the club, having removed any remnants of past glories, are now ready to move forward and finally end its seven year trophy drought.
This week on FFC is Abou Diaby the man to the hole left by Alex Song in midfield and why is Bacary Sagna criticising the Gunners current transfer policy?
[divider]
Best of FFC
Will new rulings see many look to Arsenal as the ideal blueprint
What state do Arsenal currently find themselves in…
What is going on with Cesc Fabregas?
Are we looking too much into his influence at the Emirates?
This Diaby fever can last all season…
A genuine upgrade at Arsenal?
What does Wenger do with this embarrasment of riches?
Arsenal star hails Bould’s influence at the Emirates
Kouyate confirms Arsenal transfer talks
Arsenal hopeful of securing a new deal
[divider]
Best of WEB
[divider]
When Does A Stadium Become Home? – A Cultured Left Foot
Could he be on his way back to Arsenal? – Gunnersphere
The Other Man That Makes Arsenal Money – Online Gooner
Can he really be Arsenal’s new Song? – Gunnersphere
Don’t tell me that you think it’s green … – Arseblog
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Peter Hill-Wood defends Arsene and Arsenal – shock / horror | Steve Bould fan club grows and grows… – Le Grove
So we didn’t play that well then, the opposition were just poor! What Rubbish! – Highbury House
Jack Wilshere Will Surely Be Key To Arsenal’s Season – Transfer Tavern
[divider]
Quote of the Week
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“I expected the departure of Robin van Persie. We all expected it. It was ‘obvious’. But the Alex one, it was a surprise! He is 24 years old, he has three years remaining on his contract. I still do not understand. It is huge loss for the club. When you see the two best players of last season leave, you have a lot of questions. Sometimes in the street the fans talk to me. I can understand they are upset. I am just like them, I don’t understand everything. At Arsenal you come back after holidays, you make preparations, and you see two players leave and the season resumes – it has been like that since I have been at the club. I am used to it now” Bacary Sagna criticises Arsenal summer transfer policy
Tottenham Hotspur face a battle to sign Nice attacker Alassane Plea as West Ham United have launched a £27m bid, according toÂSky Sports News.
What’s the word?
The 25-year-old has been a relatively unknown figure on English shores, but he has seemingly attracted the attention of some Premier League clubs.
Tottenham are believed to be one, but West Ham have taken the first step by submitting a bid worth £27m, according to Sky Sports News reporter Kaveh Solhekol.
How far will England get in Russia? Tell us now and win any World Cup shirt of your choice.
It is easy to see why clubs have been impressed by Plea due to his performances for Nice in the 2017-18 campaign.
In 48 appearances in all competitions, the forward scored 21 goals, 16 of which were struck in Ligue 1, and created seven assists.
Not only have West Ham tabled an offer, but reports add that Borussia Monchengladbach have had one bid denied, while Newcastle United hold an interest.
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”258359″ player=”12034″ title=”The World Cup Twitter Report”]
What should Tottenham do?
Mauricio Pochettino could do with recruiting a new attacking player, and there is no doubt that Plea has skill and ability to find the back of the net on a consistent basis.
However, with the level of interest, it is unlikely that this deal would be a smooth one, and the North London outfit could find themselves spending too much time in a bidding war when they could be focusing on other areas of the pitch to strengthen.
Tottenham are not in desperate need of a goalscorer considering the fact that Harry Kane netted 30 times in the Premier League last season.
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Also, no disrespect to the clubs who are pursuing Plea, but Spurs are a higher calibre outfit, so perhaps it is concerning that only mid-table teams are interested.
It seems years ago now, well in fact it was years ago, but Kieran Richardson’s loan move to West Brom back in 2005 proved to be one of the most genius pieces of <a href=”https://www.footballfancast.com/premiership”>Premier League</a> business in the history of the competition. The former <a href=”https://www.footballfancast.com/team/manchester-united”>Manchester United </a>youngster was in lethal form and at times appeared to be keeping the Baggies up single-handed. At the end of the season, West Brom avoided relegation with much of the plaudits going to their young loan signing.
The English top flight is littered with youngsters just waiting for a first-team opportunity and the chance to make a difference at a smaller club in order to stake a claim for a first team spot back at their parent club.
We don’t have room to tell you all of them, so here is a collection of the Top 15 Premier League youngsters that clubs should consider loaning in January that would be beneficial to both parties.
<p style=”text-align: center;”><a href=”https://www.footballfancast.com/?attachment_id=195945″><strong>So click on Tom Carroll and see if any of our starlets catch your eye</strong></a></p>
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Former Liverpool winger Steve McManaman believes Luis Suarez will stay at the club for years to come, reports the Daily Star.
The Uruguayan signed a new long term contract worth a reported £200k a week in December, and McManaman believes he is set to honour it despite continued interest from Arsenal and Real Madrid.
“I think he will stay. He’s signed a new contract,” McManaman said.
“It’s important for superstars to play in the Champions League every week. It is the over-riding fact that they want to test themselves against the best players.
“Liverpool are on the right track. If they finish suddenly finish sixth in the league there will be question marks but if they win the league or second or third and are in the Champions League there won’t be any assumptions about whether he stays or goes.
“He will stay and it will be up to Liverpool whether they want to sell him rather than the other way round.”
Liverpool closed the gap on league leaders Chelsea to just one point after a 2-1 win over Sunderland last night, and McManaman believes they can challenge all the way in the title race.
“They have got real strength in depth,” headded.
“Like Arsenal everybody was expecting Liverpool during March to drop points but they go to Old Trafford and won, go to Cardiff and won and suddenly everybody starts to think that they are quietly chipping away.
“It would be great if they did but it will be hard with Man City at Anfield, Chelsea at Anfield.
“Anybody who has been involved with Liverpool does not expect miracles this year. You don’t expect to jump from seventh last year, 20 points behind Manchester United, to winning the league.
“You just want progression and we have had it in bucketloads this year.
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“If Liverpool can qualify for the Champions League without having a qualifying game, finishing first or second, that would be even better.
“If they win the league that would be incredible.”