As a player, there can be nothing more devastating than the realisation that your stint at the summit of the beautiful game is over. The passion and hunger may still burn bright but as athletes fall the wrong side of 30, their body enters a state of decline and their ‘touch’ and ‘shooting boots’ become more elusive with each passing weekend.
Some players bow out from the sport gracefully while others frantically gather up thier wage packet like an anxious squirrel preparing for winter. The start of the new season has provided evidence that certain players are nearing the light at the end of the tunnel and should perhaps look to step down a division to prolong their already lengthy career.
Click on Rory Delap to reveal the players who are a shadow of their former selves
Early season struggles are usually to be expected for a newly promoted team, especially one which has made the significant transition from Championship to Premier League football.
Although Leicester City have surprised many with their promising start – their magnificent 5-3 victory over Manchester United being the highlight so far – Burnley have understandably had a tough time due to a glaring lack of quality in the squad and currently find themselves at the bottom of the table, a position which many believe they will occupy when the last ball is kiced in May. Leicester’s success aside, the expectancy is for teams that have climbed out of the second flight and into the promised land of the Premier League to discover that life in the top division is not as rosy as once imagined, and in this regard Burnley – as well as Queens Park Rangers, who joined the Clarets and Leicester in promotion from the Championship last season – are following the script.
However, there is a vast difference in the chances of Burnley and Queens Park Rangers of survival. Whilst relegation is the expectancy at Turf Moor, and it would be no shame if the Clarets did go down again, such a fate would be unacceptable for the R’s given their financial superiority over not only Burnley, but over a number of other established Premier League sides as well. That Rangers are struggling is a damning indictment of the current situation at the club, and indeed the way that it has been for a while.
News that the club could be banished to the Conference in the event of relegation from the Premier League if they fail to pay a hefty £40million fine incurred under financial fair play rules highlights the vast amounts of money that have been invested into the club since Tony Fernandes became the owner in 2011. Though Fernandes is an affable individual who genuinely cares for the club and who is respected by the fanbase – a rare breed of owner, no doubt – his naivety since taking over has perhaps been his one sin, and is something which he himself has acknowledged, stating in an interview following Rangers’ relegation from the Premier League two seasons ago that he felt that he had been exploited.
It isn’t exactly hard to see why Fernandes held this view. A calamitous season which ended inevitably in relegation is what Rangers had to show for his £50million investment, and although they have since bounced back at the first time of asking to regain their place in the Premier League, Fernandes has persisted in ploughing money into the club – a staggering 46 players have been signed since he became the owner three years ago.
In spite of Fernandes’ continued generosity, the initial signs for Rangers do not bode well. Their radical overhaul over the summer – which saw eleven players arrive and nine players leave – has echoes of their doomed expedition in the Premier League two seasons ago. A rapidly and expensively assembled squad lacking in cohesion was to blame then, and appears to be the cause of the R’s poor start now – seven of the team’s starting XI against both Stoke City and Southampton were new recruits over the summer, with Rangers amassing just one point from these two games. Such a significant remodelling of the team was always unlikely to yield immediate results, which is crucial in the Premier League.
To paraphrase Karl Marx, history repeats itself first as tragedy, then as farce, and this certainly appears to be the case at Loftus Road. By making the same mistakes as they did in their previous outing in the Premier League – namely a muddled, bloated transfer policy without a clear long-term philosophy – the R’s will receive no sympathy whatsoever should they get relegated again. For the money that the club has at its disposal, survival ought to be the minimum requirement, and in the eyes of clubs such as Burnley who can only dream of possessing Rangers’ wealth, relegation would see the London club get their just deserts.
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Ultimately, demotion to the Conference may not be such a disaster for Queens Park Rangers. Starting from scratch would serve as a humbling experience for a club which has tried to solve its problems, like too many clubs do in modern football, with money, money and more money.
For many the distinction between genius and insanity is quite a small one; and no one person epitomises this more in football than Liverpool’s very own Luis Suarez. People may well try to understand the inner workings of the enigmatic Uruguayan, but I doubt even the player himself would do his thought patterns justice.
Suarez portrays himself as a shy and retiring character, but with the hint of the devil inside him. We’ve seen this aspect of the forward before; twice banned for biting as well a racially aggravated fracas with United’s Patrice Evra.
I’m not for one moment defending Suarez, but for me some of these vices are central to him being the footballer he is. Of course in an ideal world Suarez would be a role model to the next generation in all aspects of his conduct; he couldn’t be further from that at the moment. But for me his dark side is all part and parcel of him, you cannot unfortunately have one without the other.
In a rare interview with French TV Suarez did his best to lift the lid on his personal side:
“I think that I am someone who is shy, really – I know how I am off the pitch in my everyday life, and I’m more of an angel with a little bit of the demon,” he said.
“It is very difficult for me to have this image because of who I really am. But I have learned about my behaviour, and today, you have to know I am someone very timid and for that I am very careful what I say.”
I think some would be a little surprised that Suarez views himself as being a timid character; on the pitch he exudes confidence and is more often than not at the centre of things. You don’t net 24 league goals in just 23 appearances if you are shy and retiring.
When Suarez walks onto that pitch he is a different beast, the devil in side him comes to the fore. Suarez may well be timid in his personal life, but the same just cannot be said of his footballing exploits.
Biting, diving and racist abuse are things we can do without in football; but a bit of passion doesn’t go amiss. Suarez realises this distinction and is supposedly working on it, trying to temper this inner devil and making it compatible with the world of Premier League football. Liverpool don’t want to lose the attitude that makes him so special, I think they just want it managed.
Suarez finally seems at home in England, and even questions about a move to France couldn’t dissuade the Uruguayan from his principal aims:
“Being able to play a Champions League match at Anfield, that would be incredible, something unforgettable,” he explained.
“I would really like to live this experience. Today with my club the main aim is to qualify for the Champions League.”
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Whether you love him or hate him you cannot doubt Suarez’s abilities. The very best always play on the edge, trying their best to gain that inch and push themselves to the very limits of their capabilities. Suarez typifies this, and most that admire his footballing talents wouldn’t want to do too much to harm it.
Some say things happen for a reason, others blame mysterious ways. Some jump to conclusions prematurely, while others just shrug their shoulders. The sacking of Nigel Pearson is an example of this sort of bewilderment – pundits and fans expressed shock that a manager could keep his team up in almost impossible circumstances and still be sacked. But sacked he has been.
And yet I can’t help feeling that this is all so reminiscent of Malky Mackay’s dismissal at Cardiff. Everyone thought Vincent Tan was nuts, but it turned out that Mackay was in the wrong, and not the sort of character Tan wanted at the helm of his club. When the text messages and racism allegations came out there was a collective ‘ohhh – I see’. The ‘ohhh’ moment here might just happen soon, and it will probably have something to do with a sex tape.
But it feels a little late to sack Pearson because of a tape that surfaced a month ago of a group of Leicester players in a fairly distasteful position. The fact that Pearson’s son was involved might point to guilt by association, but if the board think that’s real guilt and if they think that’s a sackable offence then they’re charmlessly deluded.
But even if they are that deluded, why wouldn’t they sack him it straight away? That suggests they weren’t going to blame the father for the sins of the son in the first place, so it’s strange to hear that the tape may have had some bearing on the decision.
So what happened in the meantime?
Speculation is futile, really. It doesn’t help us get to the bottom of the issue because we’ll never know until they tell us. But it’s worth doing it as a cautionary tale for others. It shows us that the Leicester board have either got this really right, or they’ve got it really wrong.
So if the tape is to blame, the most obvious conclusion is that Pearson has been less than contrite in his actions over this. Maybe he tried to stand up for his son and been sacked because of something he said.
That would seem to make sense given the Leicester City statement claims ‘differences in perspective’ were what forced the decision and given what the media have reported about fact it might have something to do with the tape.
Surely the board knew Pearson would stick up for his son? You can’t sack him for loving his family.
But why sack him at all if it wasn’t about this incident?
The answer might have something to do with Pearson’s personality. He doesn’t come across as a very nice guy, but then all we have to go on is his attitude towards the media.
The board, for their part, might see him as brash, crass and maybe unsavoury. And that’s not the image they want for their club. The sex tape perhaps reinforced that in their minds.
But if that’s the case, why not sack him months ago when he seemed to go mental on the touchline, swearing at fans and attacking players? What about when he called a journalist an ostrich? And they had a footballing reason to sack him then, too – they were bottom of the table and looked like going down. And that just makes his success all the more impressive.
And that’s why it looks like Pearson wasn’t just sacked for his son’s crime. What his son did was indefensible, but the father didn’t do it. If it was because he stood up for his son, then you have to wonder what the board expected him to do. Any father who loves his son would want to protect him.
In fact, that’s one of Pearson’s best qualities as a manager – the reason he attacked fans and journalists last season was because he was sticking up for his players. Whether that makes sense to us or not, that’s how Pearson saw it. And the fact that all the spotlight was on the manager definitely took the pressure off the players.
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So surely Leicester didn’t just sack Pearson because of that one incident. Surely they sacked him because that was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
And in some ways that makes it worse. Because if they didn’t like him anyway, they should’ve sacked him when he’d done something wrong, not when his son did. If they hated their manager anyway they should’ve sacked him earlier – if that’s the case, the very best we can call them is cowards.
This is not to say that the revelations about what happened won’t be favourable to the board and explain their decision. After all, I’m speculating here. And I’m speculating because I’m so baffled by the decision. There must be an ‘ohhh’ moment at some point that completely vindicates this decision because right now it still looks like a harsh one. But now is not the time for assigning blame, because we just don’t know the facts.
Maybe in the next few weeks we’ll hear the whole story, and then we can decide who’s right and wrong. For now, the story is a cautionary tale for managers to be nicer in the way they handle the press and the situations that arise during the season, because it might well contribute to your downfall over an incident you had literally nothing to do with. For owners and chairmen, it shows that if you stick by a manager then you need to do it because you actually think he’s the man to lead your team, because if you hate him already then you’ll just end up sacking him later, even when he’s done nothing wrong.
There was always a point of contention over Sir Alex Ferguson’s last proper delve into the transfer market, and that concerned the age and fitness of his last iconic purchase.
But on the back of Robin Van Persie’s electrifying, prolific, title-winning debut season, all of these doubts were put to bed. A £24m investment on an injury-laden 29-year-old was a risk, a risk that ultimately paid off. But that investment never signified a long-term cause of thinking – Van Persie is now walking a dangerous path, burdened by his rising age, vulnerable to the onset of decadent outlays supplemented by United’s imperialistic wealth.
The cold facts have now surfaced. Van Persie missed 17 Premier League games last season through knee and hamstring injuries, and despite largely maintaining his fitness for this current campaign, this has statistically been his least fruitful season for about half a decade.
There now seems to be a new, unique factor of influence regarding his continued place in United’s team, and that’s politics. Politics with Louis Van Gaal. If you delve into Van Gaal’s vast history of management, you’ll see a general pattern of how he occasionally has high profile bust ups with big-name players from his teams (be it Rivaldo, Marco Van Bommel, or Luca Toni). Van Persie actually fell into this category after Euro 2012, and history suggested at the time that he’d probably rarely feature again with Van Gaal at the helm. But Van Persie defied the odds and was eventually named Holland captain, which has laid a platform for there to be a sentimental chemistry between the two.
While a man of Van Gaal’s stature would refute the idea that he’d succumb to emotion and favours for one of his alumni, it seems strange that Van Persie has held down his starting place at United with such an assumed ease, given the way his presence alters the dynamic of United’s current team.
Now this isn’t to mask the shortcomings of the miss-firing Radamal Falcao, (who, despite his poor form, deserves to start more than Van Persie), but to consider the dis-located Wayne Rooney, who’s migrated further south into United’s midfield to accommodate the attacking potency which now surrounds their squad.
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If you follow the rationale that United will nearly always start with a diamond in midfield or three at the back, then a by-product of those formations is they’ll always set out with two players up front, a no.10, and at least two in midfield behind.
If Van Persie starts, Rooney is the first player to fall victim, slotting into a deep midfield role. United’s captain is by all accounts a decently versatile player with the attributes to adapt to the differing demands of that position, but his tenure there is more indicative that he’s generally wasted that far away from goal.
Despite the ocean of widespread criticism that’s surrounded Falcao, he and Rooney would both figure much better together as a pair going forward, with Falcao not being expected to prove as a link option to serve Van Persie. Falcao has never really been asked to do that in his career – to ask him of it now is calling on him to offer a service that he’s not inclined to – despite the fact that his link up play’s been generally quite impressive.
The rebuttal to that assertion is to ponder why Van Persie should be axed and not Falcao if Rooney’s destined to be pushed further forward.
The answer to that is three fold. First, Falcaos fo career has proven that he’s one of the greatest aerial strikers in world football (see here), which gives a variation to United’s attack that Van Persie doesn’t offer. Such would also lessen their reliance on Maourane Fellaini. Second, a Rooney, Falcao, Mata trip has hardly been tried at all this season and subsequently the Colombian’s performances have hardly been a fair reflection of him being supplied adequately. Somehow, people have forgotten just how good Falcao was before he joined Monaco.
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Third, and last, Van Persie is reaching the end of his career and is gradually (and naturally) declining. He’ll likely be gone at the end of next season when his contract expires. While most have written Falcao off, he only really has no chance of fulfilling his (skyhigh) potential if he’s given gametime in the right system. Falcao may have underperformed (like a majority of his South American contemporaries in the Premier League) but Van Gaal hasn’t played to his strengths yet.
United’s victory over Sunderland this weekend saw this all come to fruition – both Rooney and Falcao played better. Van Gaal should pursue this formula for now.
QPR could be in a worrying financial position after they reported a loss of £23million for the 11/12 season.
When the Hoops got promoted in 2011 they took a huge risk to guarantee they remained in the Premier League, doubling their wage bill from £29.74million to £58.46million and spending £25million on transfer fees in their first season back in the English top flight.
These figures don’t include any of the players that were bought in during the last two big spending transfer windows, outlays that will be added onto next year’s figures.
Tony Fernandes who owns 66 per cent of the club, lent the Loftus Road outfit a further £38.7 million last season with his fellow shareholders, something which has increased their net debt to £90million, according to The Sun.
If QPR get relegated in May they could be in serious financial trouble, with £20.5million from the latest transfer windows being added on to their debts the loss of Premier League money that would inevitably follow the drop. Clubs that are relegated will receive ‘parachute payments’ of £16million for the first two seasons which will shrink to £8million after, but the club will still have a huge wage bill – putting them in real danger of financial disaster.
The club have refused to comment on the latest figures, but when they announced the losses, Fernandes appeared to dodge the obvious strife his club finds itself in.
“When, alongside my business partners, I purchased a majority shareholding … my goal was to turn QPR into an established Premier League club. This remains my focus,” he said.
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Liverpool, West Ham and Aston Villa have also announced substantial losses for last season and they face a battle to sort out their finances before they start to see the consequences on the pitch.
Ronald Koeman did not leave Southampton on the best of terms with the fans.
The Dutchman was seemingly settled at St Mary’s and his impact at the club was a positive one given that he guided the team to their best Premier League finish in his second season.
The coastal outfit secured sixth place and qualified for the Europa League, but in the summer of 2016, Koeman opted to walk away from the club.
The 54-year-old took over from Roberto Martinez at Everton, but lasted just one full season as he was sacked in October following a dismal run of results.
Koeman remains out of work, but Sky Sports pundit Charlie Nicholas believes that Southampton would be open to re-hiring him, despite his previous decision to quit.
Mauricio Pellegrino is currently the man in charge at St Mary’s, but after a winless run of nine games in the top flight, fans are growing weary.
Nicholas has suggested that this weekend’s FA Cup third-round tie against Fulham could spell the end for the Argentine.
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The Scotsman told Sky Sports:
“I think this could be the final game for Mauricio Pellegrino. The only player he’s lost is Virgil van Dijk so there are no real excuses for how disappointing Southampton have been.
“Manolo Gabbiadini doesn’t look like he knows what the manager wants from him and I think they’d take Ronald Koeman back in a heartbeat, although I’m not sure the fans would be happy with that.”
With Virgil van Dijk leaving for Liverpool and just one player arriving, it’s been something of a frustrating transfer window for Southampton so far – especially with the south coast outfit dropping to 19th in the Premier League.
Furthermore, Saints look set to miss out on one of their prime targets this month in the form of Quincy Promes. The Netherlands international would have been an ideal remedy for Southampton’s limited dynamism in the final third and consequential lack of goals this season, but a deal is reportedly unlikely with CSKA Moscow unable to find a replacement.
However, Deadline Day isn’t over just yet and Southampton may have time to bring in a likeminded alternative to Promes. In fact, two already come to mind for Football FanCast – West Ham’s Michail Antonio and Celta forward Pione Sisto.
Antonio, who once enjoyed a loan spell at St. Mary’s, is proven in the Premier League but doesn’t have an obvious place in David Moyes’ plans and was publicly scalded by the Scot last night after turning up late to a team meeting. Transfermarkt value him at £16.2million.
Sisto, meanwhile, is more of a speculative investment at the age of 22 but after first gaining notoriety with FC Midtjylland, he’s shown good form in La Liga with four goals and nine assists so far this season.
So, Southampton fans, which Promes alternative would you like to see Southampton swoop for? Let us know by voting below…
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Wayne Rooney is a walking, breathing and kicking football conundrum.
No one can doubt the Manchester United star’s pedigree – five Premier League titles, a Champions League title and a career return of 173 goals and 89 assists in 374 league appearances speaks for itself. Add an insatiable work-rate and baby-elephant-like charm into the equation, and many – but not all – will argue that you have a world-class player.
But what is Wayne Rooney? How can one best define him? Is he a striker? Is he an attacking midfielder? Is he a number ten? Is he a false-nine? Some even believe, including Sir Alex Ferguson, the 28 year-old’s best position could in fact be central midfield.
That is the nutshell of the debate surrounding Wayne Rooney. Although a world-class talent with a world-class CV, perhaps a victim of his own versatility and selflessness, he is not a world-class anything. His finishing is too inconsistent to be a world-class striker, his frame too stocky to be considered a permanent option out wide, his attention to detail too corruptible to be considered a genuine number ten of a worldly standard, his short passing too inaccurate to be trusted in a deeper midfield role at football’s highest level.
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Evidence of this was prevalent against Uruguay yesterday evening. Just consider the contrasting fortunes of Rooney and Luis Suarez over the course of the 90 minutes.
Not that the England international was particularly poor – rather, one goal, two more good opportunities to score, three successful dribbles and two key passes suggests he was England’s best player in the 2-1 defeat, especially considering the abject performances of Steven Gerrard and Phil Jagielka to name a few.
Yet the Uruguay star fared significantly better – the difference being that his two shots on target in the entire match resulted in two goals. Suarez has always possessed that seemingly divine clinical streak that’s shared by the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi – not only in terms of his shooting but throughout his all-round game – Rooney however, does not.
He failed to take the opportunity of a hat-trick against Los Charruas, with his header ringing against the bar and his attempt to convert a Leighton Baines cross safely falling into Fernando Muslera’s hands, and let an equally fruitful chance, within the parameters of the box and Salvatore Sirigu at his mercy, wizz past the near post against Italy.
With that in mind, is it time we accepted that Wayne Rooney simply isn’t good enough at the highest level of the game?
Don’t get me wrong, I am a fan of Wayne Rooney. The 28 year-old must be a manager’s dream – an endless work-rate, the ability to pull off the sublime, a positional flexibility spawned out of his exceptional attitude and team spirit. Over the course of 90 minutes, there is no doubt that Rooney contributes positively with remarkable consistency.
When he’s struggling to produce on the ball, he’s makes up for it with energy and defensive commitment, and vice versa; the England international always finds some way to favourably influence the match. That showed last night, when Rooney persevered until the 76th minute to find his first ever World Cup goal.
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But football is not a zero-plus-one-sum game. That is to say, it’s not simply a logical case of putting in more than you take away to assure success or victory. Football is about moments, and whilst Suarez embraced two yesterday evening, as he did for Liverpool on endless occasions last season, Rooney failed to do the same.
I’m not referring to goal-scoring ability alone. After all, Rooney was on the pitch to create as much as he was to find the net last night. But that in itself is an equally disturbing concern – moved into the limelight of a central position after having a limited impact out wide against Italy, the England international, although impressive in spells, lacked invention and ruthlessness. It’s incredibly telling that despite England boasting 61% possession, the Manchester United forward created just two opportunities for his team-mates to score.
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Perhaps in another England team, perhaps against different opponents, perhaps on a different night, perhaps at the end of a less disappointing domestic season, Rooney could have propelled England to glory last night with a hat-trick. But the 28 year-old has never been the talisman his country desperately needs. He’s never been the man who delivers when the Three Lions find themselves in a now-or-never situation.
When you look at Luis Suarez’ role in Uruguay’s win, or Robin van Persie’s for the Netherlands against Spain, or Didier Drogba’s for the Ivory Coast against Japan, or even Lionel Messi’s for Argentina against Bosnia, there is a notable, worrying difference.
Perhaps it’s time we all accept that in comparison to other players labelled world-class, Rooney just isn’t quite the same calibre.
Adam Johnson could miss Sunderland’s Premier League home tie with Wigan Athletic despite making a return from injury against the MK Dons in the Capital One Cup.
The 25 year old was kept out of first team training on Thursday and may not be ready for Saturday, regardless of his five minute cameo at Stadium MK.
Manager, Martin O’Neill said to safc.com: “Adam did a bit of training yesterday and came off feeling okay, then just had what I’m hoping is a superficial problem.
“He had some x-rays and everything seemed fine, or certainly there’s been no new damage. He didn’t train today; we’ll see how he is with a late assessment.”
Already stretched on the injury front, the Wearsiders were handed some boosts ahead of Saturday, rested centre back pair: John O’Shea and Titus Bramble trained, while Seb Larsson also came through the session after the hamstring injury he picked up away at West Ham.
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O’Neill added, “Titus trained today, Seb did a bit, so did John. I’m hoping Carlos [Cuellar] can come through too.”