Sunderland goalkeeper Simon Mignolet has stressed that the Mackems have the resilience to deal with Stoke City’s aerial threat this weekend.
The Black Cats have already faced both Newcastle and West Ham, who are known for their physical presence, and the Belgian international believes those tests should put them in good shape for this fixture.
It was only at the death, in Sunderland’s 1-1 draw with West Ham, that their defence was finally breached after dealing with a succession of long high balls that followed Steven Fletcher’s opening goal.
Again, despite struggling as an attacking unit, defensively Sunderland managed to minimalise the threat of Newcastle going forward in the Tyne-Wear Derby on Sunday.
Mignolet went on to say as much to the Sunderland Echo stating “You know what to expect from Stoke. It’s a bit similar to Newcastle and a bit similar to West Ham.
“It’s going to be direct and we know we’ll have to defend our own box well.
“Every game is different in the Premier League. But we defended really well at West Ham and did so again against Newcastle, so we shouldn’t be worrying about it.”
The Belgian keeper insists that there is a positive mood in the Sunderland camp with the side aware that picking up points and more importantly wins could really galvanise the club’s season.
He admits the side has to do more, but elaborated to the Sunderland Echo that there is still much to play for this season, saying “Hopefully we can get some points now over the next couple of games. Then there’ll be everything to play for.”
Sunderland will be looking to secure just their 2nd win in 16 games this weekend against Stoke at the Britannia Stadium.
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Martin O’Neill says he will try to persuade unhappy Sunderland fans to attend matches by getting his side to start scoring more.
A ticket incentive by the club to get more people to come to Sunderland’s next fixture with Aston Villa this Saturday may not be enough to encourage disillusioned supporters, after a miserable defeat by Middlesbrough in the Capital One Cup.
However, the Black Cats boss has set out how he will try to encourage fans to attend, understanding that some may be too disappointed to make the effort.
He said: “If a supporter chooses not to come on Saturday because he has been disappointed, I cannot tell him otherwise. The way I will change his mind about not coming here, if that is the case, is to first of all respond to the cup defeat and to secondly try and engineer some moves from which we can score a goal from and try, because of that to take away the frustration. That’s all but eventually someone deciding to come or not to come, that will be up to him or her. We know we have to do more to score goals. We have to look dangerous and when we get the ball in and around the penalty area, we can’t either pass the buck or lose it in really good positions. We have got to do better.”
O’Neill has also expressed how he is not used to having a team who are unable to manage scoring goals. He said: “Usually teams that I manage have been able to score goals and, naturally, I’m disappointed that’s not happening.”
Though Sunderland have had the bad news that Wes Brown will be sidelined until next year, the Sunderland boss is hoping that Seb Larsson, Danny Rose and Craig Gardner will return for Saturday’s Premier League fixture.
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In the eyes of supporters, the ‘super-sub’ is a term used to hail those who can influence matches with time rapidly running out. They are, by definition, superheroes capable of rescuing results when all appears lost.
They can fashion chances or find the back of the net when no one else can. They can spare the blushes of the elite or secure unlikely points for the minnows. It’s an affectionate tag for all, except those who are labelled with it, as it basically means you aren’t quite good enough for a place in the starting line-up.
The most iconic super-sub is without question, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The former Manchester United striker acquired the nickname ‘baby-faced assassin’, thanks to his youthful looks and prolific nature in front of goal. However, his crown of ‘most revered substitute’ in Premier League history is under threat, with fellow United forward Javier Hernandez (16) swiftly closing in on the Norwegian’s record of 28 goals from the bench.
Yet there is more to this pint-sized poacher than meets the eye. Whereas Solskjaer grew to accept he was unlikely to upset the lethal partnership of Yorke and Cole, Hernandez harbours the same movement, link-up play and eye for goal as his supposedly superior team-mates. The mindset of the modern footballer has evolved, meaning players will no longer settle for a prolonged stint on the substitutes bench.
Over in the blue half of Manchester, Edin Dzeko seemed genuinely offended when journalists bestowed him with the title of super-sub, after he emerged from the bench to complete another remarkable comeback in the recent fixture against Tottenham Hotspur.
“In the last few games the situation has been like this and I’m just happy to be scoring goals. But I will never be a super-sub, I want to play.” (Eurosport)
The Bosnian is right to feel aggrieved, having netted more goals than his equally expensive strike partners despite having started fewer games. Roberto Mancini is well aware of his desire to start matches on his feet rather than his backside, which has served only to heap more pressure on a man struggling to juggle a squad bulging at the seams.
The outspoken Italian will do well to satisfy all four members of his envious strike force, especially as his persistence with the inconsistent Mario Balotelli will inevitably push Dzeko closer to the Eastland’s exit.
Theo Walcott is another frequent bench warmer slapped with the tag of super-sub, thanks to his impressive auditions to replace the goals of Robin van Persie. The case of Walcott is curious, having been confined to the bench until a resolution is reached concerning his expiring contract. The standoff is causing unrest amongst fans, who remain helpless as their team continue to suffer on the pitch. The club simply cannot afford to lose another high-profile player, but if they won’t play him in his desired role, they risk losing him to another team that will.
It’s not just the starting XI outcasts that could be heading for the exit in the New Year, as those enjoying a rich vein of form will often find their names gracing the transfer gossip columns. Take Charlie Austin for example, I dare say Norwich and Sunderland are weighing up a move for Burnley’s goal machine in an attempt to find a cure for their impotence in front of goal.
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Demba Ba finds himself decorating both columns. The Senegalese striker has rediscovered his shooting boots this season but still appears disillusioned with his part-time role in Pardew’s attack. It’s becoming increasing apparent that both Ba and compatriot Papiss Cisse cannot effectively exist in the same line-up, which coupled with his £7m release clause could see the vultures start to circle Tyneside when the window reopens.
Managers are tasked with the impossible job of keeping their 25-man squad content across the course of an entire season. This is perhaps why we witness nearly every team adopting a fairly rigorous rotation policy, but this has a habit of unsettling the team and can have a disastrous effect on results. Transfer deadline day may be all the worse for it, but you can see why so many managers concentrate on preventing their stars leaving the club rather than bringing in reinforcements.
The January transfer window is tantalisingly close, with the faint aroma of hair gel and drying ink waiting to engulf your senses. While children anticipate the visit of Santa Claus, football managers await the arrival of new blood, in the hope they can revive ailing fortunes or cement their status at the top.
The Premier League’s swarm of scouts have been toiling away, like elves in a workshop, analysing potential targets and scouring the globe for that diamond in the rough. Some players already have one foot out the door but the majority will need to be coaxed out with a lucrative offer. Either way, it looks like being an incredibly interesting transfer period.
Click on Falcao to reveal the 15 names set to get Sky Sport’s Jim White hot under the collar
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Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has revealed that influential midfielder Yaya Toure is set to join up with the Ivory Coast squad for the African Cup of Nations after their FA Cup third round tie.
Mancini had previously said that he was hopeful Toure would turn down the chance to play in the competition to focus on all things City this season.
However, after discussions between the pair it seems the midfield maestro will now join up with his Ivory Coast team mates for their trip to South Africa after City’s tie with Watford on January 5th.
Toure could miss up to five Premier League games in his time away including two crucial games with Arsenal and Liverpool.
Mancini may well use the January transfer window to try and improve his squad that finished bottom of their Champions League group and is currently six points behind rivals Manchester United in the league ahead of today’s lunch time game with Newcastle.
“It is difficult. I think he will go to the African Nations Cup after that (FA Cup) game,” Mancini told The Sun.
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Steven Fletcher’s eighth goal of the season proved enough for Sunderland to see off Southampton at St Mary’s and move four points clear of the relegation zone.
The Scotland international has proven to be a key source of goals since his £12 million summer move from Wolves and he was the man on hand again to give Martin O’Neill’s men only their fourth win in 18 Premier League games this term.
A third successive 1-0 defeat left the Saints perilously perched above the drop zone with only goal difference keeping them above Wigan and out of danger over Christmas.
Despite not tasting victory since beating the Black Cats local rivals Newcastle towards the end of last month Nigel Adkins’ side started brightly and deserved a goal for their attacking efforts.
Gaston Ramirez, filling the creative void left by captain Adam Lallana, went close with a dipping volley that was comfortably held by Simon Mignolet before Rickie Lambert thundered a free kick just wide.
But just three minutes before the break Fletcher struck in a rare forage forward for the visitors, displaying his sharp penalty area instinct to turn Stephane Sessegnon’s mis-directed shot past former Sunderland keeper Kelvin Davis.
The home side responded in the second half and full debutant Emmanuel Mayuka had his cries for a penalty shushed by referee Howard Webb after going down under Carlos Cuellar’s hefty challenge.
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Jack Colback then had to be alert to clear Jose Fonte’s header off the line, while Jason Puncheon wriggled into a good position on the byline but couldn’t produce telling final ball.
With time running out Davis came up for a corner in the dying embers to no avail as Sunderland clung on to a valuable three points that will stand them in good stead ahead of Boxing Day meeting with Manchester City.
As we enter the last 11 days of the January transfer window, we can fully expect to see a deluge of last minute shopping as clubs delve into the market in order to save their respective seasons. There are plenty clubs looking to be busy in the market, so it looks likes we can expect a frantic close to the transfer window.
One of the managers that will be looking to spend is Arsene Wenger, who mentioned this week that most clubs wait until the last week of the January window as the prices tend to get slashed. The lack of activity so far suggests the Frenchman may have a point, but I guess we will be in a better position to make that call on February 1st.
This latest list looks at those great last minute deals and in SOME cases highlight that it sometimes pay to bide your time.
Everton manager David Moyes revealed last week that he was putting off signing a new contract to extend his stay at Goodison Park until the end of the season, leading to questions surrounding his future amid reported interest from Chelsea, but would the Merseyside-based club be able to recover from his departure if the worst scenario imaginable for most of the supporters came true?
The 49-year-old has presided over 500 games in charge of the club since taking over the reins back in March 2002 and he has not only steadied the ship and gradually moved them away from continual relegation battle but slowly established them as a top eight outfit with European ambitions; he is known to share an excellent relationship with the fans and a close personal bond with chairman Bill Kenwright, but are these emotional ties enough to keep him grounded at Everton for too much longer?
After earlier stating back in November that he would decide upon his immediate future in February, when the question was put to Moyes last week, he gave an honest answer tantamount to indecision, telling reporters: “I want to see how we do in the cups, I want to see how we do in the league, and it’s more than likely I won’t make a decision until the end of the season. I’ll give as much as I can, but I’ve said – and I’ve spoken with the chairman – that I want to see how the team does.”
Having previously stated an intention to manage abroad at some point in his career, with Germany and the Bundesliga mentioned as possible future destinations, it appears as if Moyes is starting to get itchy feet and the lack of silverware to validate the undoubted progress the club have made under his superb tenure seem to be grating on him.
This term, the side have branched out to a more expansive style of play at the expense of their customary defensive solidity, but they remain in the running for a Champions League berth still, sitting just six points behind Tottenham in fourth and with 12 league games left to play. For a manager that has done so much, the sense of actual achievement seems remarkably little on a bigger stage and there’s a sense that Moyes is still untested in Europe, which could hold back his claims for future bigger jobs, such as when Sir Alex Ferguson eventually retires at Manchester United.
In a recent poll conducted by the Metro, Moyes came out on top with 22% of Arsenal fans saying they would like him in charge by next season, ahead of Arsene Wenger on 19% and the likes of Michael Laudrup (17%), Jose Mourinho (15%) and Dennis Bergkamp (8%). If anything, that simply provides a snapshot of how respected he is within the game, with the body blow that Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich was dealt by Pep Guardiola’s decision to take the Bayern Munich job next season leaving a tantalising job up for grabs at Stamford Bridge, with interim head coach Rafa Benitez likely to move on with his face put firmly in the shop window for future reference.
At times, Moyes has appeared irrationally loyal to the cause almost at Everton, but a crossroads is quickly coming up on the horizon and he may jump without any threat of him being pushed in order to seek a platform that can grant him consistently what he so desires, a team capable of challenging for silverware. Had the Toffees pushed on in the manner they expected to in the past few years, he would clearly love to stay and do it at Goodison Park, but there are only so many times he can continue to bang his head against that glass ceiling and the surprise big money January moves for both Leroy Fer and Alvaro Negredo spoke volumes of a manager trying his best to create a lasting legacy acutely aware that his time was running out.
The stadium issue hinders the club’s long-term ambitions because it robs them of the financial security needed to truly compete at the top rather than continuing to represent the plucky underdogs punching above their weight. The model they have is that every summer a player needs to be sold to balance the budget and give Moyes something to work with, and that can be not only morale-sapping, but a tiresome and vicious cycle, with Marouane Fellaini and Leighton Baines both next in line should they miss out on a top four place this season.
Aside from Ferguson and Wenger at Manchester United and Arsenal, no other manager in the top flight has been at their current club so long; this is a side made in Moyes’ image and from top to bottom it has its ethos coursing through its veins, so a quick exit not only leaves the job of finding a suitable successor to replace the legend that sat in the chair before an impossible task, but the very culture of the club will require tinkering.
Along the way, with managers pleading for more time with their backs to the wall, patience is often trotted out as a guarantee of success, but Ferguson and Wenger both show that time can be bother a overwhelmingly positive force and a negative one. United look likely to stroll to the title this season yet again and mentioning Ferguson in the same breath as any other manager these days means you’re inevitably on a hiding to nothing because he is a freak of nature the sort of which football management is unlikely to see again for quite some time.
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Wenger on the other hand is clawing onto his position precisely because of his past achievements and his presence at the club these past five or so years has only served to do just as much damage as good. Like with every great sporting individual, knowing when to walk away is half the battle. Of course, Moyes isn’t in any danger of having a negative effect yet, but should he continue to hang around with his heart not in it as much as it was in the past, the club and the team will stagnate.
Should Moyes decide he has had enough this season, he can leave Everton with his head held high for what he has done during his 11 years in charge, but replacing someone is only half the battle. We’ve seen with Alan Curbishley and the subsequent fall from grace that Charlton endured that if a steady hand on the tiller leaves that this can have more destructive consequences to the very fabric of a club than even previously assumed. Moyes is Everton, and their fates are closely intertwined, but for the fans sake, while the man in the dugout may be pining for pastures new, they will be hoping they are able to keep hold of him for as long as possible.
When we consider just who has been the most pointless signing of all-time in the Premier League this season, one of our punters makes quite a witty quip. They claim that instead of looking just at all clubs and this season, we should consider Chelsea as a whole and compile a top ten list of their most pointless signings alone.
The club of course have more money than they know what to do with and it is exactly this, coupled with an owner who sees a player on a whim and decides to buy him that makes the West London club such easy fodder when it comes to making a few gaffs in the transfer market. Add to that their managerial merry-go-round and you can quite easily see how someone who was coveted by the old regime is seen as totally useless to the new one.
Whilst some clubs really do have to watch the pennies, Chelsea have found themselves criticised more than once for their ritual of picking someone, throwing money at their club and then leaving them on the scrap heap to rot when someone better comes along. From spending £50 million on a total flop to buying a youngster they only plan on loaning out, here are our top 10 ‘most pointless’ Blues signings.
Click on Stamford Bridge to reveal the top 10 ‘most pointless’ Chelsea signings.
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QPR goalkeeper Julio Cesar has revealed he will be leaving the club by mutual consent once the summer transfer window opens.
The 33-year-old was one of a number of high-profile names to join the London club last summer, as owner Tony Fernandes aimed to create an established top-flight side.
The Brazilian is clear that he will not be playing football in the Championship next term, as he bids to keep playing at the highest level ahead of the 2014 World Cup in his home nation.
The former FC Internazionale Milano stopper has been one of the more consistent performers for Harry Redknapp’s side this term, but he will leave by mutual consent, with his wages too large for the club to continue paying in the English second-flight.
Cesar said: “It is confidential. My future today is a question mark.
“I have three more years on my contract, but the manager has already made it clear that it will be hard for me to stay at the club. I am happy he thinks that way, it is a sign that my work is being recognised.
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