Sunderland midfielder Josh Scowen has offered Black Cats boss Phil Parkinson plenty of food for thought after producing a stellar display in Saturday’s 2-0 win away to Gillingham, having been benched for the midweek draw with Rochdale.
Scowen initially joined Sunderland in January from Queens Park Rangers, but could have walked away from the Stadium of Light this summer through a clause in his £8,100-per-week contract that became active when the League One season was curtailed early due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
The clause allowed Scowen to move on if the Black Cats failed to secure promotion out of the third-tier and if the North East giants received an offer from a club competing in the Championship.
Scowen ultimately stayed yet sat out Sunderland’s season-opening draw with Bristol Rovers after sustaining a bruised ankle late in the Black Cats’ pre-season programme, but soon enjoyed a consistent run in the starting line-up until Tuesday’s draw with Rochdale.
Parkinson opted to drop the 28-year-old to the bench at the Crown Oil Arena and only called on him to feature for the final 16 minutes, though offered Scowen a recall at Gillingham and started the London-born midfielder.
The former QPR ace proved to Parkinson why he should be one of the first names on the teamsheet at Priestfield Stadium, with Scowen offering an excellent display and a persistent goal threat worthy of much more.
Scowen was guilty of blazing arguably his best chance of the first-team over the bar, before spurning a handful of good openings in the second period as Sunderland pushed for the opening goal.
But the £720,000-rated ace impressed nonetheless, as Chris Maguire and Lynden Gooch scored the goals to seal all three points, with SofaScore data showing Scowen as recording the game’s joint-most shots (four) with Gillingham’s Dominic Samuel.
Scowen was additionally successful with his only attempted dribble of the match, while completing 78% of his 32 passes for two key balls and three accurate crosses. He failed to direct a shot on target, though, with three efforts sailing wide and one blocked, including missing the one big chance to score.
Parkinson also witnessed Scowen contribute defensively with one clearance and one tackle, along with winning two of his five duels on route to registering 51 touches.
The Black Cats boss will find it very challenging to justify again benching Scowen when Sunderland host Ipswich Town on Tuesday night after the sensational efforts he produced at Gillingham.
AND in other news, Phil Parkinson risks a naïve call on a Sunderland man Jack Ross claimed had “not achieved anything”.
Kevin Phillips believes that Glasgow Rangers goalkeeper Jon McLaughlin will be regretting his move to Ibrox in the summer.
McLaughlin regretting switch
The 32-year-old made the move to the Gers from Sunderland during the summer on a free transfer. So far this campaign, he has made ten appearances in all competitions, keeping nine clean sheets. Allan McGregor, though, remains Steven Gerrard’s number one shot-stopper.
Speaking to Football Insider, Phillips says he believes McLaughlin will wish he stayed with The Black Cats. He said:
“It is a tough one for McLaughlin.
“When a huge club like Rangers come calling it is very hard to turn them down but any player in his situation will know that he needs to be playing football.
“The Euros are fast approaching and he will think he has got an opportunity of getting into that squad. But he needs to play football to cement his place in Steve Clarke’s plans.
“I think he will have a slight regret because if he was at Sunderland he would of course be playing week in, week out.
“Come January he might try and get a loan move somewhere because he will want to play regular football to keep his place in that Scotland squad.”
Long-term plus
Of course, McLaughlin would rather be playing every week than playing second fiddle to McGregor, who is 38 years old, and the back-up option has proven that he is more than reliable between the sticks. However, in the long-term, he should be happier north of the border than in Sunderland.
McGregor does not have too long left in his career, and you would guess that he may even think about hanging up his gloves if the Gers are successful this campaign in their quest for major silverware. McLaughlin should be in the Scotland squad irregardless of what happens this term, and he was always likely to be second choice for the Tartan Army behind David Marshall anyway. With Rangers, he has a real chance of winning trophies in the future, something that would not be the case in the north-east of England. Called “impressive” by Portsmouth’s Jamal Lowe last season, he certainly has the ability to play a big role for Gerrard.
For McLaughlin, it is about biding his time and remaining patient. For that, he will most likely be rewarded.
In other news, Rangers eye move for this Champions League man.
Gareth Bale and Tottenham Hotspur are a love story of old. Of course, their relationship goes way back to the times when the Welshman was one of the hottest players on the planet, blazing through teams in the Premier League. And all those years ago, Real Madrid made him the most expensive player in the world at that time.
But, his stay at the Spanish capital was all but rewarding. Yes, Bale won trophies and delivered some excellent performances but his relationship with the current gaffer, Zinedine Zidane, is mostly non-existent. As a result, the forward is no longer being used and he spends his time either yawning in the stands or playing golf under the Spanish sun.
Recently, however, he was tipped to join Spurs once again by former teammate Andros Townsend. He explained that the 31-year-old would be much happier back in London despite sitting on a £600,000-per-week contract at Real Madrid. Here’s what he said, as quoted by Express: “I think if anything Bale wants to go back to Spurs, the memories of Spurs, his happiness… he was the main man, he was loved. He was at the top of his game. So, if anything I think it would work the other way.”
Reportedly, the Welshman is refusing to be transferred despite Real’s best efforts and is adamant on seeing out his contract that runs until 2022. This is seen as some kind of vengeance for the club blocking his mooted move to China at the 11th hour last year and this is how he’s punishing them.
A move back to Spurs, however, at least according to Townsend, would be a much better alternative for everyone.
Verdict
It may not seem that way but Bale still has a lot to offer despite already being in his 30s. The Welshman has enough quality to play at the top level for at least a couple more years and maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea for Jose Mourinho to pull the trigger.
Real are desperate to get rid of him and that means the price could be just right. If Daniel Levy was to ever open the war chest, this is the time to do it.
Celtic skipper Scott Brown is on the wrong side of 30 and won’t be around forever, but their reported move to find his successor could have Neil Lennon on the verge of one major mistake…
What’s the word?
According to 90min, the Scottish giants have set their sights on Crystal Palace midfielder James McCarthy as the heir to the captain’s throne.
It’s claimed that the Hoops have concerns over the 35-year-old’s ability to see out the season and would like to recruit a replacement sooner rather than later.
McCarthy is their primary target with Brown’s contract set to expire in a year’s time.
Brown heir
Whilst it is a rather smart decision to try and find a new midfielder to take the legend’s reins, Nick Hammond could be on the wrong path with the 29-year-old Eagles ace.
Celtic are staring down at a historic season as they attempt to retain the Scottish Premiership for a tenth successive season and despite starting every match, Brown’s lack of mobility and pace has been a cause for concern.
But McCarthy shouldn’t be the man to take his position as he’s a pretty average midfielder. This season, the Irishman averaged 2.5 tackles, 0.5 key passes and 0.2 dribbles per game, via WhoScored.
Since 2014 in the Premier League, he’s only provided a total of three assists, so it would be a rather baffling move. McCarthy only joined Selhurst Park last summer for £8.5m and is known to be a boyhood Celtic supporter.
Maybe the club should put more faith in Olivier Ntcham instead and save themselves a substantial eight-figure fee. The Bhoys midfielder is a wanted man in the PL, but at just 24, he would be the better long-term option in the role.
Dubbed a “class act” by Roy Hodgson, McCarthy must be avoided at least until the Frenchman is given a proper chance to impress at Celtic Park.
It could save the club millions in the transfer market, something that would be wise given the report claims the champions would need to sell before they buy.
AND in other news, Celtic could be planning for life after Ajer with swoop for 6 foot 4 colossus…
Leeds United’s return to the Premier League has certainly lived up to the billing.
The free-flowing attacking football that Marcelo Bielsa is famous for hasn’t disappointed with the Whites enduring two seven-goal thrillers in their opening matches.
However, despite their incredible attacking intent, there have been some glaring issues going forward, and they were incredibly evident on Saturday.
Yes, Leeds may have netted four against Fulham, but two of those strikes came from set-pieces, while another came from a quick counter-attack.
The possession-hogging chance-creating machine that Bielsa built in the Championship was nowhere to be seen at Elland Road this week as United had just 50% possession and actually had fewer shots than their opponents.
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There is a glaringly obvious reason as to why Leeds weren’t as creative on Saturday, and that’s due to the fact that their best playmaker picked up an injury in the warmup.
Indeed, Pablo Hernandez played no part in Saturday’s fixture, being replaced in the XI late on by Rodrigo, but the 29-year-old couldn’t fill his fellow countryman’s shoes.
No shots, no key passes and just a 66.7% pass accuracy showed that the 29-year-old isn’t suited to play the midfield role that was asked of him on Saturday, and his underwhelming showing saw him hooked at half-time.
Now, we can’t completely write Rodrigo off, after all, he was playing out of position in a system he may not have fully learnt yet, but the fact that he’s seen as the number one Hernandez alternative should have some alarm bells ringing.
If anything, this strengthened the case for paying the £35.7m asking price for Udinese’s Rodrigo De Paul as having him able to slot in for Hernandez would have been a much more comfortable switch, considering that he plays that exact position while also being a similar creative force, averaging 2.5 key passes per game in Serie A last season.
Hopefully, this showing has opened Victor Orta’s eyes to the lack of depth in that area and he will pay the money to get the Argentine in before the window closes.
Leighton Clarkson has put pen to paper and committed his future to Liverpool Football Club.
As reported by the club, the 18-year-old has signed a new long-term contract after coming through the ranks of the academy. Clarkson has been a product of Liverpool since he was just seven and finally went on to make his senior debut earlier this season.
The defensive midfielder has played for both the U18s and U23s this campaign, as well as notching two appearances for the first team. Clarkson has four assists to his name this season and has no doubt added himself to the list of youngsters looking to their chance to impress Jurgen Klopp next term (via Transfermarkt).
Loads of Liverpool fans have flocked to the club’s post to show their support for the teenager’s big announcement. One supporter has sarcastically deemed Clarkson as ‘better than [Mason] Greenwood’ whilst another has replied with ‘FSG in’ as a tongue-in-cheek jibe towards the fans who have been slamming Fenway Sports Group recently over the lack of transfer action.
Read more replies from the Anfield faithful here:
Do you think Leighton Clarkson should be given more senior game time next season? Join the discussion in the comments below!
Manchester City might now be one of the richest clubs in the world now, but they are still a great example that having loads of money doesn’t necessarily make you perfect when recruiting players.
Even before the takeover, they were guilty of bringing in some big flops and that hasn’t necessarily changed over the last decade or so, although it has admittedly become a little rarer under the guidance of Pep Guardiola.
The successes 0f Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva, Sergio Aguero and Pablo Zabaleta make the failed transfers a little easier to accept, but sometimes you just can’t ignore how made some of the less successful signings have been at the Etihad Stadium.
So we’ve taken a look at Man City’s 20 biggest flops of the Premier League era, and it could’ve been more…
Maicon
First up is Brazil legend Maicon who would have perhaps have gone down as a completely different signing had the Sky Blues captured him four or five years earlier.
When the right-back arrived at the Etihad Stadium in the summer of 2012 for £3m, still a fair sum of money back then, he was the wrong side of 30 and beginning to battle with repeated injuries.
He would only appear 13 times before being shifted onto Roma a year later.
Bernardo Corradi
Would it be fair to say that Man City’s current Bernando (Silva) was inspired by his club’s Bernando from a decade before (Corradi)? No, probably not.
The hot-headed former Italy international striker was signed by Stuart Pearce prior to the 2006/2007 campaign and lasted just one term in Manchester before his loaning out to Parma and subsequent departure the following summer, scoring just three goals and collecting two red cards.
Nolito
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Pep Guardiola’s Citizens forked out the best part of £15m for a Spanish centre-forward in his pomp in the summer of 2016, Nolito – a year later the Spanish international was to return to his homeland with Sevilla.
In reality, the former Barcelona man, who impressed at EURO 2016, never adapted to the English game or way of life, infamously commenting not long before his City exit that he and his family had changed colour due to the lack of sunshine in England’s climate.
Roque Santa Cruz
Early in the reign of what is now known as the City Football Group, the east Manchester outfit were like a teenager after just receiving their first pay packet, splashing their cash on any old thing just because it’s their money and they can.
The £17.5m acquisition Roque Santa Cruz is certainly an example of that having been purchased based on a half-decent scoring record at Blackburn Rovers and a grand total of four goals for the Etihad side goes down as one of their worst PL era signings.
Christian Negouai
How could we not include in this list the only player in Premier League history to have been sent off in his only match in the league?
The great irony here is that Christian Negouai only made 11 appearances in total for the club but he somehow managed to get himself sent off on three occasions, with the other two coming in the League Cup and the FA Cup.
Jack Rodwell
Last seen refusing to give up his extortionate contract on the Sunderland documentary on Netflix, Jack Rodwell was one of the rising stars of English football when he swapped Merseyside for east Manchester in 2012 in a deal worth £12m.
But injuries limited the ex-England central midfielder to just 15 outings in his first season with the Citizens and even fewer the following term meant he was offloaded to the Stadium of Light after just two years, leaving the Etihad in a downward spiral in such contrast to the way he had arrived.
Laurent Charvet
The story of Laurent Charvet is rather similar to that of Rodwell; captured for big money after a couple of impressive seasons in England and moved on after two campaigns having barely made 25 appearances.
The right-back was simply never up to the task, utterly woeful, and the fact that he was deemed not even good enough to play for Sochaux in the year after his City exit says it all really.
Gerry Creaney
Manchester City v Charlton Athletic Nationwide 1st Div. 3/9/96 Pic: Tony O’Brien /Action Images
Manchester City’s Gerry Creaney celebrates his 87th minute winner
City fans might well want to look away for this one.
Imagine swapping one of your best players and fan favourites in Paul Walsh for someone as ineffective as Gerry Creaney, and also paying £500k for the pleasure, well that’s exactly what City did in 1995 and three years and four outbound loans down the line Creaney was released!
Jo
Talking of shocking moves, this one is up there with one of the worst transfers of all time in world football, let alone just for City and in the Premier League era.
Jo, who’s somehow played 20 times for Brazil and scored a few goals as well, signed for a fee believed to be a club-record £19m from CSKA Moscow in the 2008 summer transfer window and the Sky Blues certainly got value for money, if you count that as a miserly six goals in 42 games.
Jerome Boateng
On paper, Jerome Boateng was a huge waste of money for Man City but in reality, the move could have paid off if they were a little more patient with him.
Roberto Mancini saw his potential whilst he was playing for Hamburg, though the centre-back only remained under his reign for one injury-affected season and played out of position at right-back for most of it.
Nowadays we, of course, know Bayern Munich’s Boateng as the FIFA World Cup, UEFA Champions League and seven-time Bundesliga-winning global star.
Loads of Everton fans have been gushing as Rob Harris shared some news on his official Twitter page that UEFA are relaxing the rules of Financial Fair Play due to the negative impact that the global pandemic has had financially on several football teams around the world.
As per the journalist, the footballing body are set to postpone their break-even assessments for the 2019/20 season in the wake of the crisis, as they will now not come into play until the next campaign.
Several of the Merseyside faithful seem to think that this could be a good thing for them, as targets could potentially become cheaper and more money could be spent if FFP is less strict.
It is perhaps fair to say that the transfer spending of the Toffees has not always been up to scratch in recent years, for example in the 2017/18 term the Blues had a net spend of £69.14 million but only finished in eighth place in the Premier League table, outside of the automatic European spots.
Nevertheless, these EFC supporters see it as a possible opportunity to have a successful transfer window and try and thus climb higher up the league:
Evertonians, will Ancelotti go on a spending spree this summer? Comment below!
Despite finding himself on loan once again at Sheffield United, it appears Manchester United fans haven’t forgotten about Dean Henderson – certainly not after his very impressive comments.
The 22-year-old has yet to play a game for the Red Devils’ senior side, but only headed out to the Blades for another year after signing a new long-term contract at Old Trafford earlier in the summer.
Now, speaking to The Daily Mirror, the goalkeeper admitted that he still doesn’t believe he is a United player yet, and that he feels as though he has a lot of work to do.
The 6 foot 2 man further insisted that the reason behind his loan moves were for him to seize the initiative and not simply stay in a “comfort zone”.
After hearing Henderson’s words, United fans took to Twitter to voice their thoughts about their loanee.
Many supporters of the Manchester side insisted that the young shot-stopper proved he has an “elite mentality” and that he has an attitude that will take him very far in the game.
Check out some of the reaction of United fans below:
West Ham United must focus on rebuilding their defence this summer, according to Football.London.
What does the report say?
After a summer of investment, this has been a disappointing season for the Hammers, who sit 16th in the Premier League table with just nine matches to play.
With just a goal difference advantage over the relegation zone, the appointment of David Moyes following Manuel Pellegrini’s sacking has not yet born fruit.
According to Football.London, the club needs to overhaul their defence this summer, with the piece highlighting Ryan Fredericks, Winston Reid, Pablo Zabaleta Arthur Masuaku and Fabian Balbuena as players that could leave.
Meanwhile, it highlighted the emergence of Jeremy Ngakia and Ben Johnson, players with whom they can plan for the future.
Wholesale change
West Ham have conceded 50 goals in 29 Premier League matches this season and it is clear that change needs to be made.
Balbuena has seen his form depart him after a promising start, while injuries have hampered Fredericks and Reid.
The club have recently been linked with moves for both Matty Cash and Joe Worrall and further names could be put into the frame in the coming weeks.
In Issa Diop, the club have a player around which they can build, but elsewhere it is clear that a significant renewal is needed.