Bizarre Monthly Award Selections Prove Process Must Be Changed

The Barclay’s Premier League monthly awards always spark controversy but none more so than the announcement of this morning’s winners.

Manchester United’s young French striker Anthony Martial was selected by the population as the league’s best player for September along with Tottenham’s Mauritio Pochettino as Manager of the Month.

Martial has been impressive in September bagging 3 goals in 3 appearances for the Red Devils, but Leicester City and the league’s top scorer Jamie Vardy has returned 4 in 3 for his club.

Pochettino’s Tottenham were too, impressive, in September but with the exception of Spurs’ excellent 4-1 victory at home to Manchester City, were not exceptionally better than you would expect of them.

Roberto Martinez’ Everton side beat Chelsea in their September unbeaten run and arguably looked just as good if not better than Tottenham on the field in all of their games.

Andre Ayew of Swansea and Manuel Pellegrini won the August accolades, both of which received stern criticism from fans with Leicester’s Riyad Mahrez and West Ham’s Dimitri Payet both putting in impressive performances along with manager’s Alan Pardew and Claudio Ranieri performing far better than expected.

This leaves the question then; Is the award process flawed?

As the awards are voted for primarily by fans of the Premier League, clubs with larger fan bases find themselves with an easier opportunity to stain the voting procedure with their own club’s preferences.

Both Manchester clubs, Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham and Liverpool all contain much larger fan bases than any other in the Premier League so is it any surprise that these awards are constantly won by members of these clubs?

Maybe it is time for the awards process to be taken out of solely the fans’ hands?

Kane Must Stay At Spurs

Following recent interest from Manchester United, Tottenham starlet Harry Kane has an important decision on his hands.

After a successful first season breaking through in the Premier League during which he netted 21 times in the league along with a first European hat-trick on the continent, Kane finds himself in high demand.

Now a fully-fledged England international it is vital the 21-year old must remain in North London if he is to fulfil his potential.

Tottenham under owner Daniel Levy have accumulated a strong reputation as a selling club over the past ten years selling off assets like a Thatcher Conservative government of the 1980s.

The likes of Michael Carrick, Dimitar Berbatov, Luka Modric and Gareth Bale have all grown in stardom at Spurs, all of which replaced by their weight in gold in Levy’s tank-sized bank vault.

None of the famous four have suffered as a result of leaving White Hart Lane, in fact all four became better players because of the moves, Modric and Bale now leading lights in Real Madrid’s prestigious midfield, but for Kane the stakes are very different.

After just one season in the top flight Kane’s rise to fame has been one of the fastest in history. Two or three seasons of unparalleled first team football will surely aid him in his development, a development no better suited than at Tottenham.

Like Bale before him, Kane has a team built around him; the main man in a squad full of high-end Premier League players.

A squad built of nearly £200 million worth of talent, an anomaly then that Kane cost his club not a single penny.

It is no doubt that because he is the central figure in Pochettino’s plans his game has improved as a result. Bale’s development became very similar under Harry Redknapp’s stewardship after his exhilarating display against Inter Milan in the Champions League.

Bale exploded onto the global stage at the San Siro, something Harry Kane has been doing all season.

If Kane was to move to Manchester United this summer, he goes from being a big fish in a decent sized pond, to an average sized fish in a massive pond.

His game must not only improve first before making the big step up to one of the giants in world football, but he must also learn how to deal with the pressures of coping with expectation.

Both attributes he can achieve without too much trouble at White Hart Lane. His ability, with Christian Eriksen pulling the strings behind him, can reach new levels.

It is true that playing with Wayne Rooney week in week out at Old Trafford, Kane’s England career will benefit, but at United there is no guarantee he will play. At Spurs, Soldado and Adebayor are fading lights, he is the only man Pochettino has to lead the Tottenham attack.

To stay in North London means that Kane can follow in Gareth Bale’s footsteps and became a global phenomenon one day. For now, he must bide his time, play consistently and learn from those around him.

Raheem Sterling would have been advised to do something similar, but unlike Sterling, Kane seems to have his head screwed on the right way and be motivated purely by football; he wants to stay, and that should go a long way in Levy’s thinking.

If United or any other major footballing force were to lodge a big bid for Kane, Levy must resist the temptation to sell. It is true that he may not live up to the expectation that last season has given him but Levy must take that gamble.

For Tottenham to succeed in their goals of becoming one of the biggest forces in English football, fighting for titles and cup competitions, then Daniel Levy must cut a tradition of a lifetime and stop selling his prize tomatoes.

Kane is clever, he knows where his immediate future must lie and he owes Tottenham that at the very least. Levy must do the same, resist the draw of paper in his back pocket, and ensure Harry Kane is the biggest tomato he has ever grown.

Harry Kane – The Thirteenth Coming

 

Could it be lucky thirteen? Harry Kane might be England’s latest hot property to hit the headlines, but don’t get too excited about winning Euro 2016 just yet.

After Kane scored his first international goal on Friday night just 80 seconds into his national debut, the media predictably went into a state of frenzy.

The Tottenham youngster found the net with a truly characteristic right-place-right-time headed goal to join the ever growing group of England debutants to notch on their first Wembley outing.

The stats however, don’t look favourable Kane. The hype has come before, and customarily gone before. Many of England’s current squad members have passed through the same ritual as the 21-year old and all failed to live up to the needs of the nation.

The media hype unofficially began following England’s failure to qualify for the European Championships in 2008, when famously, under Steve McLaren’s enormous umbrella, they narrowly missed out through a Scott Carson calamity in the Wembley rain.

Wayne Rooney and Theo Walcott had both received the VIP treatment from newspapers up and down the country, but Rooney at least, ignoring all but one major tournaments he has appeared in, has lived up to the billing with 48 goals for his country.

Joe Hart made his international bow in 2008. His hype, much like Rooney’s has seemingly been worth it as the Shrewsbury born shot-stopper remains England’s undisputed number one.

However, following another disappointing display at the 2010 World Cup where England were knocked out with embarrassing ease at the hands of Germany, hysteria began to creep into the British media.

The re-building began in August and Jack Wilshere made his debut. Here was the answer to English football’s problems. A box-to-box playmaking midfielder, central to Arsenals renowned beautiful passing system, Wilshere was dubbed the next Scholes.

The years since have been less than kind to Wilshere. A period plagued with long-term injuries and rehabilitation courses, he has struggled to make his way back into the England set-up and has found himself pushed down the pecking order by Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson. In 2011, Pep Guardiola famously claimed his Barcelona reserves were all as good as Wilshere. The saviour never quite emerged.

2011 and 2012 saw a new wave of attacking talent break through the international ranks. Now under Roy Hodgson, Danny Welbeck, Daniel Sturridge, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Raheem Sterling all broke into the starting XI. All four received the praise of the English media.

With all four players still central to Hodgson’s plans today, they are undoubtedly positive additions to the national set-up. None of which have lived up to the hype set about them as yet but given their youth it is perhaps feasible to suggest that Sturridge and Sterling especially still have potential to improve. Whether they will, is another matter entirely.

The aftermath of yet another disappointing display at a major tournament, this time at the hands of a lacklustre, defensive display against Italy in Euro 2012, Hodgson fielded five new talents in 2013 and 2014. Ross Barkley, Adam Lallana, Andros Townsend, Rickie Lambert and Luke Shaw all made their international debuts.

Townsend and Lambert both scored on their debuts, like Kane, and Townsend was dubbed the next big thing by the press. As a result, whether directly or indirectly, Townsend’s performances for his club side Tottenham as they sought to replace the crater left by the departure of Gareth Bale temporarily hit new heights.

However, Townsend soon fell down the pecking order at Tottenham and has seldom appeared for England since. Only now is his club career beginning to pick back up.

Shaw is another example of this hype gone wrong. His performances for Southampton earned him a move to Manchester United, but he has suffered with injuries since the World Cup and amongst accusations he is not fit enough to compete at the top level, has rarely appeared for his club let alone his country.

Harry Kane therefore, is a new wave of English talent hyped by the British media. Following the worst display by an England team at a major tournament in years at last summer’s World Cup, expectations are at an all-time low.

In spite of this, Kane is still receiving the hype off the media that can either make him, or like club-mate Townsend and the rest of England’s failed stars, break him. With 19 goals in the Premier League this season, making him joint top-scorer with Chelsea’s Diego Costa, the hype does appear to be real.

With each game and each story published about him, Kane seems to be growing from strength to strength and his performances are testament to that. But, England, the media and the country as a whole, must be careful how much pressure is placed on his shoulders.

Hype him up too soon, he will be set-up for the biggest fall of a modern player since Wilshere. Hype him up too slowly, Kane may struggle to hit the heights he appears to be capable of. If he is nurtured and protected in equal measure, which means not blooding him in the senior squad too soon and allowing him to play in the Under 21’s European Championships this summer, Harry Kane could become one of the greatest out-and-out strikers England has produced for a very long time.

 

The Battle of Britain

With just hours to go until the 2013/14 Barclays Premier League season opens its gates, the race for the title is heating up.

Over the summer, an unprecedented amount of managerial change has taken place amongst the top end of the league.

Champions Manchester United saw club icon and manager of 26 years Sir Alex Ferguson retire beckoning a new era for the club. His replacement, handpicked as Everton’s David Moyes.

Neighbours Manchester City sacked prominent Italian Roberto Mancini after failing to win a trophy last season and replaced him with Malaga’s Manuel Pellegrini, whilst Chelsea replaced outgoing Interim Manager with former manager, and Blues hero Jose Mourinho from Real Madrid.

As the dust settles from the manager merry go round, there is one thing that unites these three clubs. Each and every one of them must spend to enhance their squads before the transfer window closes in a couple of weeks’ time, whilst embarking on another long domestic season.

Add Arsenal and Tottenham to that trio, clubs who stayed loyal to their respective managers, and you have two equally strong squads that must continue to spend to enable them to step up a level from European Top 4 contenders to potential league winners.

Manchester United have perhaps been the most active so far this summer. Despite only making one signing to date in the form of youngster Guillermo Varela from Uruguayan club Atletico Penarol, Moyes’ side have been linked with the most upheaval.

With top-rated players such as Barcelona’s Cesc Fabregas and Tottenham’s Gareth Bale being lined up for high profile moves to Old Trafford, the annual Cristiano Ronaldo rumours as well as Moyes’ former player Leighton Baines have been touted as reported targets.

Moyes knows he must sign one, if not two or three high profile players if he is to retain the Premier League title with others guaranteed to strengthen their squads. Thus we could see a couple of those names make the move to Manchester in the coming weeks.

United take the journey safe to London this afternoon to play newly promoted Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park looking to start their season with a win.

Manchester City wasted no time in picking up highly rated Brazilian Fernandinho along with talented Spanish winger Jesus Navas for big money in the close season.

As usual with the Sky Blues, it is unlikely that the spending will end there as their hungry owners have pinpointed that Mancini’s lack of spending was one deciding factor in his downfall last season.

City begin their campaign on Monday evening at home to Newcastle.

Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea are many people’s favourites for the title. With a squad which under the right leadership is capable of big things in the league, despite winning the Champions League and Europa League in previous years.

The league title has evaded them in recent years, so spending is viewed as a necessity at Stamford Bridge. There is doubt about record signing Fernando Torres’ future at the Bridge, and there is increasing speculation that Jose is keen to make a big money approach for England and United’s own unsettled striker Wayne Rooney.

If Mourinho manages to turn the club’s domestic fortunes around along with making a few big signings of his own, Chelsea could well be in the mix of things come May.

Chelsea begin their pursuit of the title at home to Hull, a club it has a rich history of performing well against at SW3.

Arsenal have kept with stability under Arsene Wenger. They know they must spend to drag the club back towards the top two of the division amongst unrest in the Emirates faithful with no trophy since 2005.

Rumours hit the press surrounding the £22 million signing of Real Madrid’s renowned goal poacher Gonzalo Higuain, who was allegedly on the brink of signing for Wenger. A goal scoring striker is one of the few things missing in the Frenchman’s master plan of style and elegance at Arsenal.

As it worked out, Arsenal missed out on his signature, leaving Wenger basking in a bed of uncertainty on transfer targets of his own.

With developments in the right places, stability and quality could be the boost that Arsenal have needed for the past 8 years.

Facing Paul Lambert’s Aston Villa at the Emirates this afternoon should be a formality for the Gunners but as ever with these two clubs, you can never quite tell.

North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur’s fortunes rely heavily on keeping hold of star Welsh winger Gareth Bale.

The speculation has surrounded Bale all season and has heightened in the past few weeks with interest reported by Real Madrid reported to be looking at spending a world record in excess of £100 million on the Welsh winger.

Spurs have signed Brazilian midfielder Paulinho and Spanish striker Roberto Soldado in recent weeks. Attacking flare is what has been missing for them so these two additions in the shape of the talented Brazilian and the Spanish international could be the key Tottenham have been searching for.

Should Andre Villas-Boas keep hold of Bale, Spurs could finally break their bad luck of previous years and get ever closer to challenging the top of the table.

The destination of this season’s trophy is anyone guess. With so much upheaval and unrest, anything could literally happen.

Here at Hold and Cover, we believe that come May, Chelsea are most likely to come away with the title with a combination of the strong squad they possess and the ever irresistible Jose Mourinho could prove the difference.

After a poor pre-season, Manchester United are many people’s tip for sliding down the table this season. However, we believe they will be much closer to the title than you would think. Alex Ferguson’s judgement hasn’t let him down before, and David Moyes is an incredibly talented manager who is capable of retaining the title for the Red Devils.

Manchester City are likely to be fighting it out for 2^nd with neighbours United, despite signing big over the summer, it feels like they will need a little bit of time to get used to the Pellegrini way of playing and perhaps this season might come slightly too early for the Blue Moon to rise.

We believe Spurs will beat Arsenal to fourth place this season after falling at the last hurdle last year. Their new signings, and keeping hold of Bale, for now, could be the extra fire power they need.

The Europa League spots are anyone’s guess. We feel the usual suspects of Liverpool, Everton, Swansea and West Brom are likely to fight for these places, with surprise package Norwich being lurking in the shadows after their highly fruitful summer of business.

Finally, the relegation places we consider to be a dogfight between five clubs. The three promoted teams, Cardiff, Reading and Hull are certain to struggle this season, but likewise so are last season’s strugglers Aston Villa and Sunderland, with Newcastle stabilising themselves at last.

If you had to choose a bottom three, we would suggest the three promoted teams will be favourites to go straight back down to the rough and tumble of the Championship next season.

But of course, nothing is certain, and the World’s greatest league is always a great debate around dinner tables and in pubs and parks up and down the country.

So grab your seatbelts, buckle up, and brace yourselves for another 9 months of twists and turns, ups and downs, and ins and outs of the beautiful game right on your doorstep.

Who do you think will win the league?

Who will seal that illustrious fourth spot?

Who is destined for Europa League football in 2014?

And who do you feel is certain to face the Premier League’s trap door square in the face?

Let me know your 2013/14 Premier League predictions.

Scott Parker Heading to White Hart Lane?

With rumours rife that West Ham have confirmed talks with Tottenham regarding the possible sale of Scott Parker, there is one question that becomes immediately obvious if the deal is done. Is he the direct replacement for £30 million rated Croatian playmaker Luka Modric?

With the pint sized central midfielder still the subject of rumours around the country involving his potential move to Chelsea and Modric being left out of Tottenham’s squad that faced Manchester United on Tuesday, you would be forgiven for believing that the two deals would coincide. However, in a recent statement about this weekend’s game against Manchester City, Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp claimed the 25 year old Croatian would play and that the saga was in fact “finished”.

If the scenario remains the same therefore, and Scott Parker also arrives from West Ham before the transfer window closes in less than a week’s time, then Redknapp’s midfield will be a topic of some debate. Centre midfielders in the shape of Tom Huddlestone, Jermaine Jenas, Sandro, Rafael Van der Vaart and Honduran Wilson Palacios are already on the books at Tottenham, not to mention Steven Pienaar, Modric’s Croatian counterpart Niko Kranjcar and ever growing talented youngster Jake Livermore all contesting for a place in Spurs’ boiler room. It is therefore, hard to see quite where all these big names will play a part in Redknapp’s plans this season barring a host of injuries in one position of course.

The answer to Tottenham’s midfield congestion could be Chelsea after all. With the impending arrival of Scott Parker at White Hart Lane, we may well see a deal struck with Chelsea for the big money sale of unsettled Luka Modric which would line the pockets of Daniel Levy nicely that’s for sure! Modric is a highly talented player no doubt but with similarly orientated Van der Vaart, Pienaar and up and coming Livermore already at Tottenham, coupled with the arrival of Parker, no one could blame Redknapp for selling his prize possession for a not too shabby £30 million. Looking at the facts, it even makes sense Harry.