Author: index

KOEMAN: BARKLEY MUST SHOW ALLARDYCE HE DESERVES A SPOT

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Former Southampton manager Ronald Koeman has tasked his player Ross Barkley to impress and earn a call-up to the national team under Sam Allardyce.

The current Everton coach is set to hand Barkley a game when they take on former Everton coach David Moyes’ Sunderland.

Barkley was overlooked for the Euro 2016 under former Three Lions coach Roy Hodgson, and Sam Allardyce excluded him from the 2018 World Cup qualifier against Slovakia. He faces he fresh hurdle of impressing at Everton, and impressing enough to get an invitation under Allardyce.

“He’s still a young player. He was disappointed not to be selected,” Koeman revealed. “It’s good to have that support, but not just support, to also ask him why he thinks he wasn’t selected. I don’t like that [when players blame others]. First, you have to look at yourself. Every manager will select the best players and the best team.” Koeman added.

Koeman continued, asking the player not to point a finger at anybody else, but improve on his performances. He opined that maybe Allardyce wasn’t impressed with Barkley’s performance when he saw the game he played against Stoke City. Allardyce mentioned that he had the English player on his mind. (more…)

Sam Allardyce Does Not Want a Fallout with José Mourinho

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Sam Allardyce says that it would have been difficult confrontation with Manchester United manager José Mourinho since he has international duties to take care.


Allardyce was recently named as the England manager and he has been waiting for this job throughout his career. In the past, national team managers have frequently clashed with Mourinho over the availability of players for meaningless friendly matches. Mourinho has tried to avoid sending his players to international duty so as to give them more rest and the recovery time. This has also been down to avoiding injuries from meaningless friendly matches.

Allardyce, though, says that he will only work towards the improvement of the England national team and may be prepared to fall out with other managers if they attempt to prevent his objectives. In the past, Allardyce and Mourinho have fell out with each other only once. Mourinho was the Chelsea boss while Allardyce was at West Ham. Both teams were involved in a 0-0 draw and Mourinho criticised the tactics of Allardyce by saying that they were primitive. Allardyce wanted by claiming that he did not care about Mourinho’s comments. Apart from such an incident, they both have got along well but now their priorities clash and hence there is a potential for new rivalry.
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Sam Allardyce wants and needs more English stars

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Sam Allardyce replaced Roy Hodgson as the head coach of the England national football team and now he has the responsibility of guiding the England national side to victory in their upcoming World Cup qualifying matches.


England has a qualifying match scheduled to take place on September 4 as they face off with Slovakia and Sam Allardyce has already voiced his concerns in relation to certain issues revolving his new squad.

The biggest issue that England has to resolve or find a way to improve is regarding the amount of national players that are being developed which seems to be decreasing as each year passes by.

Out of the entire Premier League, only 34% of them are actually eligible to perform and represent England at the international stage and this is something that seriously affects the chances of the English side to compete at the same level as other nations as they simply do not have so many options compared to other national sides. (more…)

Raheem Sterling being psychologically affected concerned Pep Guardiola

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As soon as Pep Guardiola got to know that his would-be pupil Raheem Sterling is psychologically affected by the growing dislike towards him, the new Sky Blues boss was quick to connect a telephone line to the playmaker to provide him some comfort.

Sterling is someone who is unable to remain disconnected with social networking sites and other platforms used by the fans to share their views and that is probably why he has gone into a negative mind-set.

One of his recent photos on a photo sharing social website suggests that he is hurt to have seen himself become as unpopular as he has. He can’t quite make peace with that which a sportsman has to.

However, to be fair, for a guy who has just entered his twenties and doesn’t have enough maturity one requires to deal with the highs and lows of professional sports, he needs an arm to be put around his shoulders at times.

Of course, Roy Hodgson would have had a word with him trying to provide him some peace and a psychiatrist is present in the England camp too who was in fact a Liverpool employee in the past and so knows Sterling well. (more…)

DANIEL STURRIDGE MAKES RETURN TO ENGLAND TRAINING CAMP

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Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge makes his return to the training camp of England ahead of their Euro 2016 campaign, where they are seen among the favourites aside France, Germany and Spain.


The player didn’t join the warm up matches ahead of the continental tournament. He even missed the second successive warm up game of Three Lions when they defeated Australia on Friday by 2-1, having earlier defeated Turkey by the same margin.

The 26-year-old England international missed the games due to his calf injury concerns he sustained during the loss to Spanish opposition, Sevilla in the Europa League final. The head coach Roy Hodgson named the forward in his 26-man provisional team list that will prosecute the tournament much earlier this month after the final round of the Premier League matches. The tactician hoped to name his final pick on the 12th of May but eventually postponed it.

The list was eventually cut by one when Manchester City midfielder Fabian Delph was moved to the standby list after picking up an injury. Two players are also due to be removed to meet the final 23-man squad to play the tournament. The two players would likely be any of Jack Wilshere – mostly due to fitness concerns though he has done well in the warm up games, Marcus Rashford – despite his goal against Australia as there are enough options up front, Ross Barkley – due to a little drop in form, Andros Townsend and Danny Drinkwater – as there are options, aside Sturridge himself.  (more…)

ENGLAND COACH PLAYS DOWN CARROLL’S CHANCES

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Head coach of the English team, Roy Hodgson, has downplayed the chances of West Ham striker Andy Carroll featuring for the Three Lions in the Euro tournament in France this summer.
The striker has been linked with a call to the English final squad due to make France later in the year due to his recent performance for The Hammers.


Andy Carroll has seven goals in 26 appearances for West Ham this season. The 27-year old striker received wide acclaim for his superior aerial strength that helped him put three goals at the back of the net in the crucial encounter against The Gunners.

“Every time someone scores a goal and he’s English it is ‘why is he not playing for England?’

“I’m certainly not going to pick him on the basis that he scored a hat-trick, so therefore has to be in the England team,” Hodgson said.

Carroll has not played for the national team since October 2012. He has two goals credited to him from nine appearances. (more…)

Raheem Sterling and Hart left out of England squad

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Joe Hart and Raheem Sterling are going to miss the next England games due to injury. Both players have been injured during the Manchester derby on Sunday. Raheem Sterling suffers from a groin injury while Joe Hart is suffering from a calf problem. Both players are expected to be absent for four weeks.

On the other hand, Danny Drinkwater is reaping the benefits of Leicester surprising season and has earned his first selection with the England team. Aged 26, the former Manchester United youth team player is set to compete with the likes of Dele Alli, Jordan Henderson, Ross Barkley and Adam Lallana for a place in midfield.

Roy Hodgson has been impressed by Drinkwater’s contribution to the rise of Leicester and is set to give him some playing time in one of the two games. The England manager wants to see whether Drinkwater will be able to replicate his Leicester performance with the England team.

With Carrick likely to miss the Euro finals and with Wilshere still injured, Danny Drinkwater has an excellent chance to make it to the Euros provided he can maintain the form that he has been showing so far this season. This would be a formidable reward for a player that has given everything for Leicester this campaign. (more…)

Alan Pardew believes that England manager Roy Hodgson should use his winger Wilfried Zaha

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Alan Pardew believes that England manager Roy Hodgson should use his winger Wilfried Zaha as his wild card option at the Euro 2016.

England go into the competition flush with confidence, which has been acquired after a brilliant qualification campaign. However, there is a fear of England being found out in this major competition as has been the situation in recent decades. After going into major tournaments as favourites, England have flattered to deceive. They have failed to get past the quarter final stage of any major tournament in the last two decades.

This time around, the presence of many new faces ensures that there is a hint of unpredictability surrounding England. Other teams, however, will be able to learn about the players by looking at the qualification campaign. Pardew says that England should have a wild card in the squad and this element of surprise is important in such a big event. The Crystal Palace manager has identified Wilfried Zaha as the perfect choice for this job. Even though Zaha has been a winger in his career, Pardew says that the former Manchester United man has the ability to make a big impact while playing through the middle. Ironically, this is where England appear to be the strongest. (more…)

Mark Hughes claims that defender Ryan Shawcross may have to start performing

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Stoke City manager Mark Hughes claims that defender Ryan Shawcross may have to start performing for club before thinking about international action under Roy Hodgson.

Shawcross made his debut for England three years ago, but his international appearances have been restricted despite his impressive performances at club level. He does not appear to have quite convinced the manager Roy Hodgson especially in the face of competition that includes players like Chris Smalling and Gary Cahill. These are players representing top clubs and Shawcross will find it difficult to get into the England team right now according to Hughes.

The impressive performances of Shawcross cannot be more aptly demonstrated by the fact that the club are chasing a fourth consecutive clean sheet when they take Sunderland this weekend. Stoke City have been unable to make huge inroads into the league table largely because of their troubles upfront. The club has averaged less than a goal per game. This is significantly lower than several teams around them. However, they have also conceded less than a goal per game. This is actually one of the better records in the Premier League with only the likes of Arsenal, Tottenham, and Manchester United being capable of a better record. (more…)

Roy Hodgson has confirmed that striker Wayne Rooney will not be part of the starting line-up

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Roy Hodgson has confirmed that striker Wayne Rooney will not be part of the starting line-up against Spain.

This is one of the several friendly matches lined up for the England national team as a preparation for the Euro 2016. Rooney has not been in great form for the last couple of months and it makes sense to try out new players for the national team. It is highly anticipated that Tottenham forward Harry Kane will be starting the game. Kane has been in fine nick over the last few weeks. After ending the goal drought with a rebound effort against Manchester City, Kane recently scored a hat-trick against Bournemouth.

Hodgson says that he is expecting better performance from the 21-year-old, who has always delivered for the national team whenever he has been selected. Spain are not the force to reckon with they were once, but even then, England are expected to give them a lot of respect. Vicente del Bosque will be fielding striker Diego Costa, who has been woefully out of form for club and country, despite pressures to go for the likes of Alvaro Morata. Rooney has scored seven goals in the last eight appearances for England, but he will only start the game against France a few days later. (more…)