With the imminent departure of Victor Moses from Crystal Palace, the question everybody is asking is "where is he going to go?". A number of scouts attended Saturday's match with Plymouth in which Moses scored the only goal of the game, and later, manager Neil Warnock admitted he expected it to be the last time Moses turned out in a Crystal Palace shirt.
Nigerian born Moses has been linked with giants Barcelona and Real Madrid, but one would expect him to stay in England to pursue his career both domestically and internationally. Spurs and Liverpool are also rumoured to be interested in the 19 year old's signature, but surely Victor will want to be guaranteed first team football wherever he goes?
The chances of getting first team football at Spurs is very unlikely. You just have to look back to the summer where Tottenham splashed out millions of pounds on the double signing of Kyle Naughton and Kyle Walker. Walker was loaned back to Sheffield Utd and Naughton has one appearance to his name. The competition is very strong at Spurs also, with Keane, Defoe, Crouch all competing for 2 places on the front line. A move to Anfield would be risky also, with Benitez's job on the line, nobody likes to be bought by a manager who is on his way out! However, he could solve their striker issue with Torres currently injured and Ngog not being able to hit a barn door with a banjo. Everton (Dan Gosling) and Blackburn (Keith Andrews) are clubs that have successfully bought lower league players and brought them into the first team, but there have been no rumours of interest from either party.
Expect Moses to be snapped up by next weekend, but in whose colours will he be walking out in?
Sunday 17 January 2010
Tuesday 12 January 2010
Laws to take Burnley back to where HE belongs......The Championship
If Burnley are to appoint former Sheffield Wednesday manger Brian Laws as successor to Owen Coyle, they will be relegated.
How Burnley can justify appointing a manager who had very little success in his time as a manager is beyond me, is it to avoid having to pay compensation? Stints with Grimsby and Scunthorpe before Hillsborough are hardly the credentials for a successful managerial career with a newly promoted team in the top flight of the English game. Should the former Burnley trainee be appointed, he will be given a torrid start with a trip to Old Trafford on the 19th January and if Liverpool get past Reading tomorrow evening in the FA Cup 3rd Round replay, Laws will take the Turf Moor men to Anfield the following Saturday. Not the start you would wish for giving Burnleys away form this season. As if two away trips to two giants of the Premier league wasn't bad enough, he would then travel to play Bolton which is a mouth watering prospect for the Burnley fans given Owen Coyles departure. Burnley's first home game of the year sees Chelsea come to town, there will be no rest bite for Laws.
It seems certain that come the end of January, Burnley will be out of the FA Cup and have 3 league defeats. Looking further ahead, I can't see a Brian Laws led team picking up more than 9 points by the time Blackburn visit Turf Moor on the 27th March.
Worrying times for Burnley fans, relegation is a certainty should Laws take the job.
Monday 11 January 2010
Piers bites off Morgan he can chew........Loyal Coyle!!
I feel for Owen Coyle, having seen him be critcised for accepting the offer to manage Bolton Wanderers by big names like Piers Morgan, who calls Coyle "Judas Iscariot" and claims he is only moving across the M65 for the personal financial gain, allegations which I believe are far from the truth.
Coyle has been a loyal servant to Burnley and managed them in 116 games since he took them over in November 2007 . He led them back to the top tier of the English game for the first time in 33 years with a Play-off victory over Sheffield United, and add in a Carling Cup Semi-final in the same season, he quickly became a hero at Turf Moor.
The Scotsman - who earned an international cap with the Republic of Ireland - was linked with the vacant position left by Gordon Strachan at Celtic Park in the summer but turned down the offer of what is thought to have been double his salary. It seems, however, that when one of his former clubs came calling, it was too good to turn down. Coyle made 54 appearances for the Trotters between 1993 and 1995, scoring 12 goals before moving back north to Dundee Utd. Coyle is also following in the steps of many other successful Scottish managers in the Premier League and will be hoping to enhance his reputation further at the Reebok stadium. It seems the lure of guaranteed money in the transfer windows and taking over a strong squad were the defining factors for the move. Bolton are a much more well established club in the Premier League with their Academy and training facilities, while Coyle could not be guaranteed money to spend in the summer, should he have kept Burnley up. In sense it was money that lured Coyle to Bolton, but not to line his own pockets rather the cash he will have to spend on players. I expect him to do well and certainly maintain Bolton's Premier League status this season.
I hope that Mr Morgan's comments come back to haunt him at the end of the season, and Burnley go down, and Bolton stay up!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/article-1241919/Piers-Morgan-Graham-Alexander-Great-Owen-Coyle-betrayer.html
Coyle has been a loyal servant to Burnley and managed them in 116 games since he took them over in November 2007 . He led them back to the top tier of the English game for the first time in 33 years with a Play-off victory over Sheffield United, and add in a Carling Cup Semi-final in the same season, he quickly became a hero at Turf Moor.
The Scotsman - who earned an international cap with the Republic of Ireland - was linked with the vacant position left by Gordon Strachan at Celtic Park in the summer but turned down the offer of what is thought to have been double his salary. It seems, however, that when one of his former clubs came calling, it was too good to turn down. Coyle made 54 appearances for the Trotters between 1993 and 1995, scoring 12 goals before moving back north to Dundee Utd. Coyle is also following in the steps of many other successful Scottish managers in the Premier League and will be hoping to enhance his reputation further at the Reebok stadium. It seems the lure of guaranteed money in the transfer windows and taking over a strong squad were the defining factors for the move. Bolton are a much more well established club in the Premier League with their Academy and training facilities, while Coyle could not be guaranteed money to spend in the summer, should he have kept Burnley up. In sense it was money that lured Coyle to Bolton, but not to line his own pockets rather the cash he will have to spend on players. I expect him to do well and certainly maintain Bolton's Premier League status this season.
I hope that Mr Morgan's comments come back to haunt him at the end of the season, and Burnley go down, and Bolton stay up!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/article-1241919/Piers-Morgan-Graham-Alexander-Great-Owen-Coyle-betrayer.html
Sunday 10 January 2010
Kieswetter set for Lions bow
England Lions named their squad for next months tour to the UAE today, a squad that includes the experience of Ian Bell and the raw talent of a Craig Kieswetter.
The Somerset wicket-keeper/batsman Kieswetter had a great season at Taunton, scoring close to 1300 runs at an average of 59........not bad for a South African! If Kieswetter has a good tour with the Lions and another successful year with Somerset he could be knocking on the door of the full England squad, and will be ready to replace Matt Prior should his form dip. Kieswetter represented South Africa in the U19 World Cup in 2005 following the footsteps of current England batsman Jonathan Trott who played at both U15 and U19 levels for the Proteas. Add both Trott and Kieswetter to Kevin Pietersen and you could possibly have an all South African middle order.
Do the paying English public want to see players representing England who have been coached from a young age in South Africa or would they rather see 18 and 19 year olds progress through the ranks and onto the international scene from their own counties, players like Graham Onions and Paul Collingwood?
The Somerset wicket-keeper/batsman Kieswetter had a great season at Taunton, scoring close to 1300 runs at an average of 59........not bad for a South African! If Kieswetter has a good tour with the Lions and another successful year with Somerset he could be knocking on the door of the full England squad, and will be ready to replace Matt Prior should his form dip. Kieswetter represented South Africa in the U19 World Cup in 2005 following the footsteps of current England batsman Jonathan Trott who played at both U15 and U19 levels for the Proteas. Add both Trott and Kieswetter to Kevin Pietersen and you could possibly have an all South African middle order.
Do the paying English public want to see players representing England who have been coached from a young age in South Africa or would they rather see 18 and 19 year olds progress through the ranks and onto the international scene from their own counties, players like Graham Onions and Paul Collingwood?
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