The Premier League, for as far back as I can remember, appears to be going through a real dearth in terms of the overall quality and standard of the league. Now, more than ever before, games are won by the collective as opposed to individual moments of brilliance. After attending the Merseyside Derby at the weekend and seeing first-hand the teething problems that Liverpool’s central midfield partnership of Charlie Adam and Lucas are going through, it brought one thing to mind – who can lay claim to having the best central midfield partnership in the Premier League?

Man Utd this season have started with all attacking bluster, yet they still retain a degree of frailty at the back. This is in part due to the forward-thinking attitudes of the likes of Anderson and Tom Cleverley. Both make similar runs at the same time and as such, they leave the Utd back line exposed. Darren Fletcher has come back and done reasonably well, but as yet no real ‘partnership’ has emerged as such.

Man City can certainly lay a strong claim. They predominantly operate with a midfield triumvirate of Yaya Youre, Gareth Barry and Nigel De Jong. Toure is given a free role to attack the opposition, but De Jong and Barry usually sit in front of the back four and keep it simple. While there may be an understanding positionally, it’s rare that they dominate the opposition. They’re decent, but little more than a platform for their supremely talented forward line to build upon.

Chelsea are still going through a change in style and formation under new manager Andre Villas-Boas. He appears to chop and change depending on the opposition, which in turn makes a mockery of the media circus surrounding Frank Lampard. Ramires has shone brightly on occasion so far this term, but he still looks to be lacking a settled partner.

Liverpool are still most certainly a side in transition too, struggling between the sublime and the abject. Inconsistency has dogged Dalglish’s charges this season and while Lucas could most definitely be said to be one of the finest central midfielders in the league, easily the most improved, I still have my reservations about Adam. On no more than 3 separate occasions during the Derby match alone did I catch Lucas shaking his head in disbelief at another attempted Hollywood pass by Adam, when a simple 5 yard-ball was comfortably the best option available – The Scot clearly infuriates the Brazilian.

Newcastle have begun the season in excellent form and not enough credit can go to manager Alan Pardew for the superb job he’s done under difficult circumstances. Step forward our first major contender – Cheik Tiote and Yohan Cabaye. The pairing have dovetailed excellently despite their ‘partnership’ being in its’ relative infancy.

For the first time in a long while, the Newcastle defence is not the joke that keeps on giving. A lot of credit must go to Tiote for the job he’s done patrolling the space just in front of the back four. His ferocious tackling ability, while it may over step the mark at times leading to the Ivory Coast international currently in possession of a terrible disciplinary record, is exactly what the side needs.

Cabaye has adjusted to the English league fantastically well. Many were surprised that Newcastle were able to lure Cabaye away from current Lique 1 champions Lille, in what many saw as a sideways move at best for the French international, with Cabaye missing out on Lille’s Champions League adventure. However, he offers them real drive from the centre of midfield and excellent delivery from dead balls. Joey Barton who, I hear you cry? They’re certainly my nomination for best midfield partnership.

Spurs can also lay a strong claim. Scott Parker has settled into the Spurs midfield alongside Luka Modric excellently. So in tune are they with each other’s game, that they are the only side in the Premier League to complete more than 600 passes in two separate fixtures this season (Wigan and Liverpool).

[ad_pod id=’unruly-2′ align=’left’]

Parker keeps it simple and plays the short, easy passes and Modric is granted the platform and freedom to express himself. The greatest compliment that you can pay them is that Redknapp’s overdue return to 4-4-2 has gone relatively smoothly and now it’s Van Der Vaart that’s struggling to secure a place in the starting eleven, with the Dutchman having to be shoehorned into the side on the right of midfield – a tactical switch that is fraught with danger, as Arsenal’s goal on Sunday clearly served to highlight. A close runner-up in my eyes.

Everton certainly have the talent at their disposal, but with Moyes often forced to plump for a striker-less 6-4-0 or 4-5-1 formation, it leaves the players little time to settle into the same position. There may be potential further down the line in a Jack Rodwell/Marouane Fellaini partnership, with the Belgian mightily impressive in the Derby and Rodwell desperately unlucky to even be given a card by the ridiculously out of his depth Martin Atkinson. Ross Barkley also looks quite the talent to keep an eye on too.

Arsenal’s central midfield has been one that’s gone through a degree of upheaval over the last few months. Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere showed on occasion last term that Arsene Wenger may already have found his replacements for Fabregas and Nasri, but they’ll have to wait until February now with Wilshere out for the long haul.

A crisis of confidence has affected Alex Song’s game just when he was beginning to emerge as a player of great quality and Arteta will require a bedding-in period. One bright spark of their defeat to Spurs, though, was the performance of young Francois Coquelin and a bright future awaits him.

Casting my eyes around the rest of the league, the only other side that catches my eye is Swansea – with the likes of Mark Gower, Joe Allen and Leon Britton’s impressing for their ability to keep the ball under pressure.

There are of course other midfielders that stick out as being exceptional – Wigan’s James McCarthy, returning Bolton man Stuart Holden, Joey Barton at QPR, Aaron Ramsey at Arsenal and Danny Murphy at Fulham – but whether they are part of a ‘partnership’ yet remains to be seen.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Much in the same way as there appears to be a lack of genuine out and out strike partnerships in the league at the moment, the lack of central midfield partnerships is notable. Newcastle’s Tiote and Cabaye, for the time being, hold the mantle for me, although Parker and Modric look to have more potential going forward. It’ll be interesting to see whether Newcastle can continue their rich vein of form throughout the campaign, because if they can, a lot of it will be down to their dynamic duo Tiote and Cabaye.

Which pairing gets your vote?

[divider]

 FREE football app that pays you CASH

[ad_pod id=’qs-2′ align=’left’]

The 2011 FIFA Interactive World Cup (FIWC) winner, Francisco Cruz, yesterday lived every football fan’s dream as he attended the FIFA Ballon d’Or gala and met a host of the world’s top footballers, including Wayne Rooney and Gerard Piqué.

Francisco bettered 869,543 players at FIFA ‘11 in last year’s FIWC to take home the coveted $20,000 prize and win an invite to the FIFA Ballon d’Or, where he played FIFA ‘12 against the Manchester United and FC Barcelona superstars.

The FIWC is a virtual football tournament organised by FIFA and its presenting partners EA SPORTS and PlayStation, giving football fans the chance to live out their passion for football and to interact with other fans around the world.

Players compete against each other at the latest version of the EA SPORTS FIFA videogame to qualify for the Grand Final, where the FIWC World Champion is crowned. The online tournament takes place on the PlayStation Network and can be accessed through FIFA ‘12.

Portugal met England at the FIFA Ballon d’Or, as Francisco took on Wayne Rooney at a game of FIFA ‘12. Francisco’s native Portugal emerged comfortable 3-0 winners as Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice, with one of his goals being an unstoppable free kick that Joe Hart in the England goal stood no chance of saving. Finally the victory was sealed when midfield dynamo Raul Meireles added the third goal.

Prior to the match Francisco benefitted from speaking with football legend Sir Alex Ferguson, who gave him some advice on how to deal with big game pressure and get results.

Commenting on the match Francisco said, “It’s a dream playing against one of my favourite players. It’s a new experience and I would like to do it again next year, he is a good player. He kept possession of the ball well with England but he could not transfer that into goal scoring opportunities. He said he was the best FIFA ‘12 player at Manchester United and I believe him as he was very good. I had some good chances and I scored, but he could have scored one or two goals.”

Although Rooney was convincingly beaten by the FIWC World Champion he maintains he is the best player at Manchester United but admitted that Francisco would be able to beat all his teammates.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Rooney also added: “I play as much as I can. I think it’s a great game and something that I enjoy doing. There is quite a bit of banter when I play against my teammates, we all want to win so it gets very competitive.”

In comparison, Spanish sensation Piqué did well to only trail Francisco by 1-0, joking: “Wayne lost 3-0 [to Francisco], so I am better than him at FIFA ’12!”

Aston Villa striker Darren Bent has warned his side that they need to start picking up some Premier League wins to avoid being involved in the relegation battle.

The Midlands club are currently in 15th place in the standings, seven points above the dropzone, and the England attacker has admitted that he fears that his side’s top flight status could come into question.

“This season we don’t want to be dragged into it,” the marksman told Mirror Football.

“We just need to start picking up more results.

“We’ve got a few games which, on paper, people will say these are your best chances of getting points. After that we’ve got some seriously hard games.

“So we want to make ourselves as comfortable as possible by the time the bigger games come up.

“There have been occasions when we’ve had goal leads and had slow starts and we have to improve that as a team.

“I can’t remember the last time we got back-to-back victories but hopefully we can get a top-ten finish,” he concluded.

Villa take on Wigan at the DW Stadium on Saturday.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

By Gareth McKnight

[ffcvideo file=”tfcbtitle3″ type=”mp4″ image_type=”jpg”]

Who would want to be a football manager? It’s a job coated in a lethal concoction of pressure and unrealistic expectation, plus you have to work on the weekend.

The days are spent trying to please modern day ‘prima donnas’ and the nights are filled with a worry that the next game could easily be your last. At the very peak of success it’s undoubtedly brilliant but at the first sign of trouble, it’s always the coaching staff that will find themselves in the firing line.

Players on the other hand remain effectively untroubled by it all, the very idea that player could be sacked for a series of poor performances is ludicrous and yet it’s a regular occurrence in many other professions. There maybe the occasional fan’s scapegoat destined to rot in the reserves but when was the last time a professional footballer came out and declared that they’d just had a right ‘stinker’. It never happens, they sink back into the dressing room hoping all will be forgotten by Monday morning. Herein lies the issue, why do the players never find their heads on the chopping block when the chairman swings his axe?

Let’s take Chelsea for example, who will apparently forever struggle to replicate their achievements under ‘The Special One’. It appeared that Roman Abramovich had signalled a new dawn at the club with his expensive appointment of Andre Villas-Boas, yet just nine months later he has aborted such plans and essentially landed the club back at square one.

As speculation intensified surrounding the future of his Portuguese protégée, Abramovich saw fit to announce to his squad that AVB was here to stay. This appeared to be a refreshing change from the dreaded vote of confidence or the Billionaire’s usual trigger-happy response in the face of adversity. However, as murmurs of discontent continued to emanate from the Stamford Bridge dressing room, Roman resorted back to the ‘easy’ alternative and sent his manager on his way.

It doesn’t take a genius to realise the problems at the Bridge run deep to the core, there are many aging legs that are struggling to cope with the increased vigour and intensity of the Premier League. Perhaps Villas-Boas was guilty of making too many changes too quickly but the point remains that the next permanent manager will look to employ exactly the same tactics, and when the senior Chelsea figures inevitably kick up a fuss again, will we see history repeat itself?

Without wanting to victimise certain players I can’t help but highlight Frank Lampard as a point in case. For all of his positive attributes, he has to accept that at 34-years of age he can longer compete at the same level as years gone by. Instead of acting like the typical disgruntled bench warmer he should seek to adapt his game by dropping deeper and allowing the younger legs of Ramires to go marauding up the pitch.

In their prime Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes would operate in and around the strikers at Old Trafford but they have since evolved or rather matured and now concentrate on retaining possession and feeding the likes of Rooney, Welbeck and Nani in behind the oppositions defence. Modern day footballers seem increasing incapable of adapting their style at their manager’s discretion and will often voice their concerns in the public media. Can you imagine any past player daring to cross that line under the likes of Brian Clough?

Chelsea captain John Terry recently remarked that the players should share responsibility for the club’s current plight but notice that this message comes to light in the aftermath of AVB’s departure.

“Sad for Andre, because unfortunately it falls on his head, when I think the players would hold their hands up and say, ‘Clearly, we’ve not been good enough and we all made mistakes together’,” (Daily Mail)

An interesting response when you consider how many Chelsea players have actually ‘held their hands up’ in admission of such failures.

The issue of players shying away from criticism doesn’t solely exist at Chelsea, many would argue that the players at Arsenal cowered away when fans were calling for their manager’s head. There’s no question that Wenger has done more for the club than any of the current playing squad and yet despite this, he found very few prominent vocal supporters from within his squad.

Arsenal appear to be enjoying somewhat of a revival of late, ever since they emerged from the dressing room at half-time during the North London derby. There will be a number of Gunners scratching their head as to why Theo Walcott hasn’t been able to replicate that impressive 45-minutes across the entire season, and dare I say midfielder Tomas Rosicky is guilty of upping his game in recent weeks to secure his new deal at the club?

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

It always amazes me the instant impact a new manager can have at a club despite having very little time to implement their managerial style. Too often we hear phrase, ‘he’s installed a new sense of belief at the club’ when actually that translates as ‘we’re all glad that other blokes been sacked’. Perhaps this is an inevitable facet of human nature but the idea that a player wouldn’t give his all on the pitch because he doesn’t see eye to eye with his manager is beyond infuriating. There is definitely an ‘untouchable arrogance’ installed in certain players who have quickly realised they’ll get paid handsomely whether they playing or not.

Until players are willing to stand beside their manager to take the flack in the same way they do during their successes then I fear the average stint of a Premier League manager will continue to rapidly decline.

Join me on Twitter @theunusedsub where I’m currently reminiscing about Marco Reich’s performances at Crystal Palace before we made the fatal mistake of offering him a long-term contract.

[ad_pod id=’dfp-mpu’ align=’right’]

With the actions of certain other Premier League players, it’s easy to focus on the negative aspects of the beautiful game. The gentleman player, who is truly just happy to be playing the sport he loves, is dying breed. This makes Javier Hernandez a very special character indeed.

The Manchester United hit-man has been a revelation since his arrival from Mexican giants Chivas Guadalajara in the summer of 2010, averaging a goal almost every other game. This statistic is even more remarkable considering 10, nearly 50%, of his strikes have come from the bench, making him joint second highest goal-scoring substitute at United, tied with Ryan Giggs.

We have seen a certain player in recent times unhappy to play a role for his club from the dugout, but this is not something that bothers Chicharito, who just wants to do his best for the team:

“I don’t care if I am on the bench,” he told the Guardian.

“Last year I was on the bench for a long time. I still got into the team at the end of the season. Every player in every team wants to play as many minutes as possible. It is the gaffer who has the answers.

“I don’t have the answer to what makes me effective as a substitute. In football you can always come up with a reason for anything, perhaps it is nothing more than having a little bit of luck. I just know if I play one minute, or 10, or 90, I try to play the same way. My mind is always to do my best and help my team.”

This role is one that favours the little Mexican, who’s predatory instincts and burst of pace make him a tiring defenders worst nightmare. This was evident the Red Devils 3-3 draw with Chelsea, where Hernandez arrived, from the bench, to nod in the equalising goal completing United’s comeback. This is not the first time that he has done this either, a similar state of affairs occurred at Anfield, as the marksman again came on to bury a fine header levelling the scores, and securing a vital point for his side.

Hernandez’s goals have earned Manchester United nine points this term. Along with single points gained at Anfield and Stamford Bridge, he netted the opener in a 1-1 draw with Newcastle and contributed with two goals against Everton and Swansea to secure both of the Manchester club’s 1-0 wins. Without those strikes United would be in third spot, behind Spurs, with next to no chance in the title race. This record is even more impressive considering the front-man has been battling injury thus far, and as a result has been unable to maintain a run in the side.

Hernandez now looks to be getting back to full fitness after having to endure a stop-start campaign so far, which can only serve as a benefit to everybody at Old Trafford, as they look to overhaul local rivals City in the race for the title.

“Sometimes football is going to give you good things. Sometimes it won’t. It is part of the game. I just want to enjoy it because I am living a dream to play for Manchester United.”

With their fox-in-the-box happy with life at the club, and getting back to full fitness just when it matters, who would bet against United securing yet another title. Hernandez’s outlook on the game is one that should be admired, particularly in time of big egos and schoolboy tantrums.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

[ad_pod id=’dfp-mpu’ align=’right’]

Roberto Mancini has hit out at the standards of refereeing in this country and believes that referees don’t adhere to the same rules with all clubs. The Italian also mentioned that during his time in Italy he always felt that the English referee was the best around, however his feelings have since changed.

Elsewhere in the news Arsenal are keen to secure a new contract for Van Persie before the Euros; Sir Alex Ferguson has warned Ashley Young about his theatrics, while Roberto Di Matteo defends the actions of Didier Drogba.

[divider]

Headlines

Arsene Wenger is keen to tie Robin van Persie down to a new contract before the Dutchman flies out to the Euro 2012 championships – Guardian

Sir Alex Ferguson has warned Ashley Young about his theatrics, amid diving accusations – Guardian

Roberto Mancini has hinted that referees have separate rules for different clubs – Guardian

David Moyes has said he will discipline any member of his team who is seen taking a dive – Daily Telegraph

Roberto Di Matteo has defended the time wasting antics of Didier Drogba at Stamford Bridge in midweek – Sun

Joleon  Lescott has called on his City teammates to ensure that Manchester United don’t clinch the title in their own backyard – Independent

Mark Hughes has urged Gareth Bale to ignore the advances of Barcelona and remain at Tottenham to continue his development – Daily Mail

Anton Ferdinand claims he is shocked at some of the treatment he has received from supporters in the wake of the John Terry race affair – Daily Mail

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Roy Hodgson is not expecting a warm reception on his first return to Anfield since his sacking – Mirror

Tottenham are reportedly keen on signing Kasper Schmeichel to provide competition for Brad Friedel – Sun

[divider]

[ad_pod id=’unruly-2′ align=’left’]

Tottenham are ready to make a move for Ivory Coast international striker Arouna Kone, according to Mirror Football.

The White Hart Lane side are expected to lose Emmanuel Adebayor due to his wage demands, and Harry Redknapp is eyeing up new striking options.

With Marseille’s France international Loic Remy also a real target, Spurs are looking into making a move for Kone.

The powerful forward was on loan from Sevilla to Levante this season, and impressed by scoring 15 La Liga goals.

The African attacker is out of contract now however and available on a free transfer, with the likes of Atletico Madrid and Stoke also interested in the player’s signature.

Spurs are weighing up a move, but will wait until after the Champions League final to see if they are in next year’s top club competition before commencing their transfer plans for the summer.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

By Gareth McKnight

[ad_pod id=’unruly-2′ align=’left’]

Roy Hodgson was left fuming at Wembley last night at Belgium’s strong-arm tactics that has left England sweating over the fitness of players. The one incident that really frustrated was Gary Cahill’s suspected broken jaw that he received after being shoved into Joe Hart. Hodgson stated “Unfortunate is too kind a word. You take unkindly to those kind of pushes that take a defender into the goalkeeper and the consequences might be worse for us than the yellow card.” As well as Cahill, John Terry faces a scan today to determine his hamstring injury.

Elsewhere in the news Harry Redknapp is feeling the heat at Tottenham; Sir Alex Ferguson has been left frustrated by inflated transfer fees, while Patrick Viera believes that half of England’s problems is the lack of spirit.

Headlines

Roy Hodgson has been left fretting as both John Terry and Gary Cahill came off against Belgium injured. The England boss will await the scans today to help ascertain the severity of the situation – Guardian

Paul Lambert has kick-start another managerial merry-go-round by taking the managerial job at Aston Villa – Guardian

Nani has hinted at a move away from Manchester United as contract talks stall at Old Trafford – Guardian

Brendan Rodgers wants to make Gylfi Sigurdsson his first signing following arrival at Anfield – Mirror

Harry Redknapp is feeling the heat at Tottenham Hotspur as the club’s board are reluctant to offer him a new contract at the club – Independent

Patrick Viera believes that half of England’s problems are that they haven’t forged a good spirit and relationship between player, manager and club – Independent

Sir Alex Ferguson has grown frustrated at the inflated transfer fees he has been quoted for his top three targets. The United boss has been quoted £72m for Modric, Baines and Tiote combined – Daily Mail

West Bromwich Albion are tracking goalkeeper Rob Green whose contact at West Ham is coming to an end – Daily Mail

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Arsene Wenger has joined the chase for Crewe starlet Nick Powell, who has been a long term target for Manchester United – Mirror

Roman Abramovich is showing no signs of ending his summer splurge by targeting four new signings, with Theo Walcott and Cheick Tiote among the names mentioned – Mirror

Adel Taarabt has hit out at the rumours that he will never play for QPR again as long as Joey Barton is at the club – Sun

[ad_pod id=’unruly-2′ align=’left’]

Newcastle are close to finalising the signing of French defender Mathieu Debuchy this week, reports The Metro.

Despite Lille declining the Magpies’ original £5 million bid for the 26 year old, an improved offer could see Debuchy on his way to St James’ Park.

However, Inter Milan are the latest club to be interested in Debuchy, and could make a late attempt to disrupt the deal as their right back Maicon is subject to speculation regarding a move to Champions League winners Chelsea.

With Maicon believed to be on his way to Stamford Bridge for £6 million, the money would be used by Inter to directly replace the Brazilian with Debuchy, who impressed for France despite his teams disappointing Euro 2012 campaign.

The Lille right back is still on holiday, but will have some decision making to do when he comes back as Inter could offer him a better package financially, despite the relentless interest from Alan Pardew’s Newcastle.

Danny Simpson’s failure to renew his contract at St James Park meansNewcastle’s quest to find a right back is well into full swing, and signing Debuchy would mark the start of two or three more new arrivals, as the club have also been strongly linked with FC Twente striker Luuk De Jong.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

[ad_pod id=’dfp-mpu’ align=’right’]

Despite the friendly banter flying back and forth throughout many a North East workplace, the underlying bitterness residing in Tyne-Wear rivalries means Sunderland fans would usually dislike their manager announcing he sees emulating Newcastle United as one of his main targets.

Having been the region’s top dogs for three consecutive seasons, many of the Black Cats faithful felt confident of maintaining their superiority for years to come, but the Geordie enemy’s resurgence last season was in stark contrast to the hardship faced at the Stadium of Light and having seen their rivals leapfrog them once again, fans have now learned that Martin O’Neill believes his team should be looking to replicate such success. When purely looking at the sentiment behind trying to match another side’s improved level of performance, the Northern Irishman’s comments are encouraging and motivational, but given the hatred between sections of supporters, should the Sunderland faithful be pleased at having to gaze up at Newcastle once more when dreaming of prominence?

While it’s a sad sign of the times that Newcastle have regained their supremacy, the reality is they have become the benchmark for aspiring mid-table teams looking to compete higher up the league. It may not be something Mackems fans will appreciate hearing but despite the truth being painful at times, the club still have ambitious plans and should not be downhearted because the Magpies have enjoyed some brief success. O’Neill and Chairman Ellis Short have big plans for the club and though they may not have made huge strides in the transfer market so far this summer, the intention is to strengthen their squad before the start of the season. They may not have vast sums of money to spend but Newcastle showed recently that some intelligent scouting can lead to rapid on-field improvement without breaking the bank. Fans will know all too well which positions Sunderland need to improve but their methodical approach to signing Wolves’ Stephen Fletcher illustrates a desire to avoid overspending, having wasted many a million funding former managers Roy Keane and Steve Bruce. Though an economical approach doesn’t guarantee success, Sunderland still possess the financial capacity to spend big on a player should they see fit as O’Neill seeks to build a side capable of challenging for Europe.

[ad_pod id=’dfp-mpu’ align=’right’]

Given the setup at the Stadium of Light such targets are not beyond the realm of possibility and despite the club having little European pedigree, any desire to follow in the footsteps of Newcastle is not an admittance of inferiority but more an appreciation of what can be achieved by the so called ‘lesser’ sides. After all O’Neill is not citing Newcastle’s achievements as some sort of inflammatory stimulation but rather looking at what similarly statured teams are capable of. A few seasons ago Fulham were the side that the rest of the league looked up to after their 7th place finish and UEFA Europa League outing, a decade ago it was Everton’s rapid rise under David Moyes. Examples of relative success stories are understandably used to demonstrate why a confident preseason outlook is more than justified and is vital given the competitive nature of England’s top flight. Simply because O’Neill has chosen Newcastle’s topical accomplishments as the carrot with which to inspire his troops should not be misconstrued as a tasteless attempt to be divisive but as a natural desire to improve the team.

The former Aston Villa manager understands all too well the need to maintain his side’s progression next season and fans should be encouraged to hear that he is aiming higher up the table. A spirited rivalry adds passionate fuel to the derby day fire but an unhealthy obsession with all things Newcastle is unwise for they are just one of twenty opponents and, like everyone else, only offer six points in an enduring league campaign. Any concerns that the club’s mantra is solely based on matching Newcastle can be discounted for while it’s frustrating to see ones foes overachieving, there is also a begrudging acceptance that they deserved their accomplishments and a determination to challenge the league’s top sides is something every team possesses, regardless of affiliation.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Should Sunderland fans feel aggrieved that they are looking to follow Newcastle or is it just their rivalry being over-hyped to stir up trouble when it’s only natural to want to emulate your rivals?

Let me know your views and opinions by following me on Twitter – Tweet me @Alex_Churcher