Newcastle are preparing a move for West Ham defender James Tomkins, according to reports from talkSPORT.
The Magpies have endured a tough start to their Premier League campaign, notching 20 points in 20 matches.
One reason for this has been the club’s shaky defence, which has conceded 37 goals, one more than bottom placed QPR.
This has forced manager Alan Pardew to set his sights on defensive options and he has highlighted Tomkins as one of his top targets.
The Hammers star has become frustrated this season by a lack of first-team opportunities, leading to speculation that he may be willing to leave London.
Last season Tomkins struck up a solid relationship with Winston Reid, but this term Sam Allardyce has elected to partner the New Zealand international with James Collins.
The Upton Park club will be reluctant to allow the 23-year-old to leave, but he may hand in a transfer request should Newcastle’s interest further.
Tomkins graduated from the East London outfit’s famous academy set-up, making is debut during the 2008 season.
He left the club later that year to join Derby on loan, but returned to the West Ham first-team for the 2009/10 season.
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His impressive form last year gained him a placed in the Great Britain team for the 2012 Olympic Games.
Marcus Rashford has proved that, even amid the most competitive era of the Premier League, promising youngsters can still break through at a club the size of Manchester United. No doubt, the England international enjoyed his fair share of luck, but he had the talent to take his opportunity and is now an important player for club and country.
With that in mind, we recently looked at some of United’s best performers at Premier League 2 level this season, and then asked Red Devils supporters to vote for which youngster has the best chance of becoming a future star at Old Trafford – with Angel Gomes, Joe Riley, Demetri Michell and Zachary Dearnley the four candidates.
And our poll revealed that the vast majority of Red Devils supporters, a whopping 85%, believe 17-year-old attacker Gomes has what it takes to become a key player at first team level.
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Can Gomes break into Jose Mourinho’s starting XI next season, United fans? Let us know by commenting below…
As Premier League campaigns go, this one has the early signs of one of the most unpredictable and surprising ones to date.
Chelsea, perhaps somewhat unsurprisingly, are the early pace setters and appear to be going for an unbeaten season, while Liverpool have arguably already failed in their attempts at replicating last season’s superb title challenge.
Southampton have gone from relegation favourites to top four hopefuls in the matter of a few months and Sam Allardyce is fast dispelling his reputation as a long ball merchant and turning West Ham in to a side playing attractive football fighting for a Europa League spot.
And, to top it all off, we’ve got Alan Pardew still in a job at Newcastle after steering them in to the top six for a couple of weeks and QPR’s Charlie Austin being touted for an England call up.
So we asked the Sunday Express Chief Football Correspondent John Richardson for his thoughts on some of the Premier League’s big talking points of the season so far. Here’s how he sees it…
Which Premier League sides apart from Southampton has surprised him so far this season?
West Ham, because a lot of people thought they would be in relegation trouble. There was a lot of talk during the summer about Sam Allardyce losing his job or maybe even walk out because he was under pressure to play a more expansive game. He was told to bring in an attacking coach.
The Sam Allardyce of old may have walked but he is a bit more mature these days, knows what the game is all about. He brought Teddy Sheringham in to help with the forward coaching. Allardyce is an excellent manager in his own right. They deserve to be where they are at the moment in the top six. They have played some good football, they’re hard to beat.
The fans are off his back, but I don’t think many people would have predicted this. Most would have predicted he would have been one of the first managerial casualties of the season but instead he has gone from strength to strength.
Who is the next manager likely to be sacked in the Premier League?
It changes from week to week in the Premier League. Usually around February/ March time they get twitchy. I would say Mauricio Pochettino has to watch his back, there’s talk about Harry Redknapp under pressure.
I hope Burnley stick with Sean Dyke because they knew it was going to be a tough season. I spoke to one of the directors at the start of the season and he said they would stick with Sean no matter what happens. It’s easy to say that at the start of the season than say January or February when you’re bottom of the league and you’re staring the Championship in the face.
The one under the greatest pressure has to be Pochettino.
Do Tottenham have to finish in a European spot for Pochettino to keep his job?
No and yes. I think Tottenham would like that. He did a fantastic job at Southampton but it isn’t going well at Tottenham. You have to question some of the buys and see who they get in the January transfer window.
As long as he buys well in January and we see some improvement, I think he will be safe but if they drop further and if this supposes unrest between him and the players continues then the pressure increases. He’s a capable manager as he has shown at Southampton but he needs to start doing the business at Tottenham fairly rapidly.
Was Mike Ashley right to stick with Alan Pardew especially after the bad run of form at the start of the season?
It’s a complicated situation there because it’s not always about results at Newcastle. Why a lot of the fans want Alan Pardew out, they feel he is a yes man to Mike Ashley. In an ideal world, they would want Mike Ashley to sell the club because they feel the club won’t go forward with him in charge. He’s a good business man but he doesn’t give the club money, he sells the best players. 52,000 have turned up every other week thinking ‘Where is the club going? There is no ambition’.
They have felt that Pardew has always said yes to what Mike Ashley wanted. That’s why they have had a downer on Alan Pardew. I don’t think it is to do with results. They haven’t been fantastic but they have improved over the past month winning five on the trot. Really it was the case they wanted someone to stick up to Mike Ashley and you would of thought anyone that did wouldn’t be in the job very long so it’s a no win situation. So what I am really saying is nothing has changed.
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If Newcastle wins ten games on the run, there will still be people unhappy with Alan Pardew. In certain respects he can’t win.
Should the likes of Charlie Austin be selected ahead of Rickie Lambert for England?
Yeah probably, Rickie Lambert has been a disappointment so far at Liverpool although he could argue he hasn’t had many opportunities. You can’t blame him going from Southampton to Liverpool because it was the club he supported as a kid.
You do wonder about that decision though because he was a regular at Southampton, scoring goals and in form which lead to him being selected by England. Roy Hodgson is very loyal to players and I suppose as far as he’s concerned although Lambert isn’t receiving playing time, he still knows him as the player he selected at Southampton so he stuck by him.
Personally I think the likes of Charlie Austin and Danny Ings probably desire to be ahead of him because they are scoring goals in the Premier League and the under 21s and should be given an opportunity. Rickie Lambert is quite lucky.
You may love or loathe the January window, but there is no question that it represents an exciting time in the Premier League calendar.
It is fair to say that you can take a majority of the gossip with a pinch of salt for the large part, but in my mind it is the rumours that make it so intriguing and we all, fail not to buy into them or dare to dream that they may come true. There have been plenty of outlandish ones over the years, but would we have it any other way?
This latest list is a collection players who will enrich the Premier League and certainly add huge value to it should they move in January – they have all been linked, but whether they actually sign remains to be seen.
According to Spanish paper Sport, Jose Mourinho is desperate to sign Samuel Umtiti.
What’s the word?
The 24 year-old, valued at £36million by Transfermarkt, has gone from strength to strength since joining Barcelona from Lyon in 2016, and is rumoured to be one of Mourinho’s main targets for the summer.
The Red Devils have also been heavily linked with Real Madrid’s Varane, so it is clear Mourinho is interested in adding another centre back.
The report from Sport claims the Portuguese manager is in constant contact with the player’s brother and agent, Yannick Umtiti.
Would he be the right choice?
There is no doubt Manchester United need to add another centre back. Daley Blind is on his way out, Phil Jones is injury prone, and Chris Smalling just isn’t very good. Eric Bailly has had his own problems with injuries, but the hope is that a big money signing could compete with Bailly and Victor Lindelöf for the starting positions.
Umtiti is certainly a good player, but if it were a choice between the Barcelona man and Varane, then the Madrid star is a better option. Umtiti’s ball playing skills fit right in at Barcelona, but he is relatively small for a centre back, especially a Premier League centre back. Jose Mourinho in particular is a big fan of having plenty of height in his teams, so Varane might be a better fit.
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Umtiti is also loved at Barcelona, so could be very costly to lure away from the Catalan club. While Varane is highly respected in Madrid, a summer clear-out at the club could mean players like the towering Frenchman are available for a reasonable price.
Manchester United fans, would you prefer Umtiti or Varane? Let us know in the comments below…
After eight games played so far this season, Southampton sits in third place in the Premier League with five wins, one draw and two loses with their most recent results being an 8-0 win against Sunderland. They have scored 19 goals (second highest in the league), only conceded five goals (lowest in the league), and earned 16 points. With this incredible start, can The Saints continue their good form and finish in the top four this season?
This impressive start is one that no one expected, especially after the amount of key players from last season that had left the Saints over the summer. Italian Graziano Pelle, Serbian Dusan Tadic and Englishman Ryan Bertrand arrived at Southampton during the transfer window, and have been fine replacements for English trio of Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana and Luke Shaw.
All three new arrivals have played in The Saints first eight games of the season, Pelle has scored six goals, Tadic has provided seven assists, and all three have currently have a whoscored.com rating of higher than 7.3. Frenchman Morgan Schneiderlin has also played well for The Saints, scoring three goals and earning a pass success percentage of 88.4%, the highest out of all the frequent starters at the club. All of these players under the guidance of manager Ronald Koeman have made the transition from last season to this an easy one.
After eight games last season, Southampton had 15 points and was sitting in sixth. A top four spot was only a point away but despite this position, The Saints ended the season in eighth with 56 points. There was a point last season in November when they climbed up to third and some questioned if they could even win the league but obviously that didn’t happen.
You have to be careful what you say so early into the season. Whilst Southampton are sitting in third, West Ham are in currently sitting in fourth but no one is saying they’re going to finish there or even near there when all is said and done. Southampton is currently 8/1 by the bookies to finish in the top four but they are 7/4 to finish in the top six. Maybe asking can the Saints achieve a European spot and a top six finish is a more realistic target, rather than finishing in fourth or higher. This is a target which everyone can agree on.
Southampton have played against three of the top eight from last season in this campaign, losing to Tottenham and Liverpool, but winning against Arsenal. These are the teams they need to beat to make European qualification more of a reality. They have a good run of games against mid and lower table teams coming up till they face three killer fixtures starting from the end of November. These games are against Manchester City at home, Arsenal away, and Manchester United at home. Keeping momentum high going into these games is paramount if will benefit The Saints, as it will give the side confidence in these tough fixtures. Winning these games will make it more like that Southampton will play European football for the first time since the 2003/04 season.
If Southampton continue their current good form, they will finish the season with around 77 points. That amount of points by a team would have given them a fifth place finish last season, good enough for an automatic spot in the Europa League group stage. It’s surprising to say, but The Saints will need to step up their game if they want a top four finish, but a European spot is certainly a possibility.
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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was not overly disappointed by his side’s 2-1 Champions League defeat to Olympiakos, and highlighted the performances of his less experienced stars as encouraging.
The result left them as runners up to Schalke in Group B, with the German team claiming a draw away to Montpellier.
With qualification for the final 16 already guaranteed, the Frenchman decided to rest a number of his first-team regulars.
This contributed to the negative score-line, but Wenger was happy with the performances of some of his fringe players:
“Some of the young players did very well for an hour and that’s very positive,” he told SkySports.
“It wasn’t the result we wanted but it was a very encouraging game.”
The display of 20-year-old defender Jernade Meade was singled out by the manager as being particularly impressive:
“He tired late on but he was my pick,”
He was however unhappy at the manner in which his team conceded the equalising goal:
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“It was a goal kick, simple as that. What a FIFA official is doing behind the line, nobody knows.
“It’s not the right decision but you have to cope with it. After that they scored a good goal.
Tomas Rosicky opened the scoring for the Londoners, before goals from Ioannis Maniatis and Kostas Mitroglou sealing victory for the Greek side.
A few months ago, Sam Allardyce was something of a saviour on Merseyside, steering Everton clear of the Premier League’s relegation battle after an abysmal start to the season under Ronald Koeman. But fast forward to present day, and all is not happy in paradise.
Indeed, in addition to results taking a sharp downturn following the bounce the November appointment initially provided, style of football has been a real sticking point with some fans – it must be said that Everton aren’t performing in a manner you’d expect of a side hoping to break into the Premier League’s big six.
But there are some counter-arguments to consider here, particularly that Everton are still aren’t completely safe from the drop, so it’s not as if Allardyce can allow the team to open up and play expansive football, and that he’s inherited an imbalanced squad from Ronald Koeman.
With that in mind, we recently asked Everton fans whether Farhad Moshiri and Bill Kenwright should sack Allardyce and the verdict of our poll was almost completely unanimous, with 96% wanting the former England gaffer to receive his marching orders.
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Who would you bring in to replace Allardyce, Everton fans? Let us know by commenting below…
Scotland last night voted no to independence after a long few months of ifs, whats and maybes. We here at FFC Towers are glad that our friends north of the border will be staying put, and we’ve decided to celebrate by naming a British XI to applaud the union of the nations.
As well as the English and Scottish, we’ve got the ever-improving Welsh in on the act too, to create a side that would certainly book a spot at EURO 2016.
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CLICK ON DANIEL STURRIDGE TO REVEAL THE XI
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Manager: Sir Alex Ferguson
There’s only one choice when it comes to a gaffer for this little lot. Sir Alex is, arguably, the greatest manager of all time following his stunning time at Manchester United, and his driven personality and uncompromising style could whip any set of players into shape. As his assistant we’ll have Ryan Giggs.
Fraser Forster
Even though Joe Hart is perhaps one of the best around, we’ve plumped to start Forster in or XI thanks to the former’s tendency for errors. The now Southampton ace carved out his reputation in Scotland with Celtic and now looks set to challenge for England’s No 1 jersey over the coming years. Commanding, strong and an excellent shot stopper, Forster is our man.
Glen Johnson
A worrying lack of options at right back sees Glen Johnson get the nod. The Liverpool man may be a much-maligned figure for his dip in form, but with bags of big game and tournament know-how, we’re sure he can function in this XI effectively.
Gary Cahill (C)
At the back we have Chelsea stalwart and captain of this ragtag bunch, Cahill. The tough-tackling Englishman looks set to take over from John Terry and club level and is certainly beginning to show the heroic playing style of his senior team-mate in the white shirt for England. There aren’t many better centre-backs in Britain right now.
Ashley Williams
Alongside Cahill we’ll have Williams. The Welshman captains his national side and has proven himself to be a star performer in the Premier League with Swansea – attracting big club attention along the way. He may not have the level of pace he possessed a few years ago, but his experience and strength are key attributes.
Leighton Baines
The standout left-back in Britain is undoubtedly Baines. The Everton man is great going forward, solid defensively and can whip in a mean ball from set-pieces. His attacking intent would bless any side, so he virtually picked himself here.
Darren Fletcher
The Scot will anchor our midfield. Fletcher may have had a torrid few years, but his fitness is creeping back and we think his ability to clean up in front of the backline will be a great asset. Fletcher has bags of big game experience from his time with Manchester United, making him a key cog in this XI.
Aaron Ramsey
The Welshman has really developed into one of Britain’s top midfielders over the course of the past few years. A horror injury threatened his career at a young age, but ‘Rambo’ has bounced back and built on the potential he showed in his early years at Cardiff. The Arsenal ace was a sure fire choice for this side.
Raheem Sterling
The most advance of our midfield three is young Sterling. The 19-year-old is, arguably, the best teenager in European football and has thrived in the ‘No 10’ role since being moved in from the wing by Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool. His pace and great strength – well, for a small-framed player – are very impressive.
Gareth Bale
The world’s most expensive player takes up the role on our right flank. Bale is now a star turn at Real Madrid and has really pushed on since leaving Spurs – which is some feat seeing as he was voted the best player in the Premier League while at White Hart Lane. The flying Welshman looks set to be the talisman of this team.
Steven Naismith
He may not be the most fashionable player, but Naismith brings real nuisance value. The Everton man has kicked on massively in recent months, settling in well since moving to the Premier League, with his industry and eye for goal big plusses.
Daniel Sturridge
Controversially we’ve axed Wayne Rooney as we go for a pacey approach (Wazza has been poor at international level for a while) with Sturridge our man. The prolific goal-getter knows where the goal is and has shown that his form at club level translates to the international game.
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Bench
Joe Hart – Not a bad back-up ‘keeper.
Phil Jagielka – A decent stand in for Williams or Cahill.
Alan Hutton – Tough and uncompromising. Useful for a late defensive display
Jordan Henderson – Bags of energy and a sprinkling quality.
Shaun Maloney – Creative and experienced, could be useful off of the bench.
Wayne Rooney – Well, he has to be on the bench.
Steven Fletcher – Guarantees goals.
Scotland stays! Man United & Liverpool stars make UK XI.
It has been another positive week for Coventry City on the field with a 2-1 win against Morecambe in the FA cup second round.
It was by no means a classic FA Cup tie but it was a game that was all about us getting through to the next round. Despite the fact we had a slightly weakened side we were in control for the majority of the 90 minutes and created more than enough chances to have won the game more comfortably.
With the team being without the likes of David McGoldrick and James Bailey in it there was a chance for others to make an impression. O’Donovan a man who has been a bit of an outcast at the club since his arrival was given a rare start. However despite a hard working performance from him there was a distinct lack of quality there and at times it was easy to see why he has not been in and around the team a great deal.
More positive though was to see McSheffery get himself another goal this time from the penalty spot. His recent improvement could be something to get excited about. We have all seen what he can do and know that he can be a player of real quality. We have not seen this since his return to the club and it is about time that he shows us fans why we adored him so much in his previous stint with the club.
Another player in the goals again was Carl Baker and many a time I have slated Baker who has never really recreated the form he showed for Stockport. Just maybe he is finding his feet again and one thing I am sure of about him is that he is very much a confidence player. The fact he is getting himself a couple of goals along with having some real influence on games should mean his confidence is receiving a massive boost. This can only be a good thing and I hope that this new found confidence continues and he keeps getting himself in and amongst the goals.
All in all it was a good day at the office for everyone involved at Coventry and the draw for the third round made for a perfect weekend for the Skyblues. A repeat of the 1987 FA cup final as Coventry face Tottenham Hotspur away at White Hart Lane.
I for one cannot wait for this match and a first trip to White Hart Lane is going to be something to savour. Tottenham are a top side with world class players and we all know that a victory is unlikely but it is the FA Cup and anything can happen.
This will undoubtedly be a great occasion for all involved and I’m sure it will bring back some great memories for those supporters lucky enough to remember the famous triumph of 1987. Unfortunately I am not one of them and I am hoping that Coventry can create another historic FA cup moment which can be celebrated by the club as a whole and all of us long suffering fans. With the drama that unfolded in the 1987 Final the script could already be written and another historic victory could be on the cards.
This cup tie is definitely one to look forward too for fans and players alike but there are plenty of important games to think about before it, starting Tuesday night against Sheffield United.
It’s another cup match and a real chance of some silverware for the club. Robins has already shown his intentions with his team selections that he wants to go all the way in the Football League Trophy and I don’t expect this to change. It is a chance to instill some much needed pride back into the club and would be a huge step forward in terms of changing the mentality at the club to a winning one.
Now Sheffield United will be no easy task with them being one of the clear favourites to win the trophy themselves but we more than matched them early on in the season and we have improved significantly since then. In my eyes we have a real chance and I’m excited about the prospect of potentially going to Wembley.
Many will say the Football League Trophy doesn’t matter and is a bit of a nothing competition but I like it as it gives the smaller teams in the country some real hope of not only winning something but to play at the best stadium in the country. Its every players dream to play at Wembley, its every managers dream to manage a team there and its every fans dream to watch their team play there. This trophy makes them dreams come true for clubs who wouldn’t otherwise get that chance and for that I am grateful that it exists.
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This game also gives us another chance to improve our stuttering home form. We are currently in the middle of four consecutive home games having drawn one and won one.
The fact we are unbeaten and that we were seconds away from winning both games is positive . However we need to try to continue this and make the Ricoh a place that other teams fear. We can go some way towards achieving this over the next two matches and if we do then the rest of season could be bright for the Skyblues.