There's a higher chance of convincing Toby to stay than Eriksen. He turned 30 last month and is not without his fair share of injury problems (unlike Eriksen who plays 50+ games a season and is literally never injured, probably the result of pulling out of every tackle). I think he saw last summer as his chance to move, with United clearly the preferred destination. I guess most teams would still view a 30 year old Toby at £25m an absolute snip in today's market, but perhaps he was surprised at how few truly huge clubs tried to move for him last summer? I mean the tabloids are now linking Arsenal and Chelsea with him FFS that's about as insulting as it gets. He'll probably bide his time, wait to see who meets the release clause and bids the highest wages, assess his options and, if no one particularly huge bids he can turn around to Levy and ask 'will you match that offer?' To which Levy will present him with a bike and politely but firmly invite him to mount the saddle.
I actually think we've got more chance in keeping Eriksen. I think Toby has wanted out since last summer, he's looking and waiting for the best offer - from whomever - and will take it. There was also a quote a few weeks back that to me (maybe I'm being cynical) just screamed "come and get me". I can't remember the source but in an interview Toby said along the lines of "I'm 30 but I still feel young, I feel like I can play for many more years" and to me that just implied that he's saying to potential suitors not to be put off by his dreaded 30 age and give him a big contract for multiple years. I'll give Toby his due in that he's remained completely professional and his performances haven't dropped but I think he's itching for the summer to come so he can pick up his huge contract, wherever that may be. With Eriksen, I think he only leaves if Madrid come calling, which is very likely but it's a case of Madrid or nothing for him, at least that's the impression I get. If Real move for others in the summer, I wouldn't be surprised if we see Eriksen sign a new deal. That said, I'm certain Madrid will move for him, so either way I think both are off but in terms of chances out of ten, I'd say we have a 1/10 chance of keeping Eriksen, 0/10 of keeping Toby.
That's the thing with Los Ladrones, they're very publicly stating their summer shopping list is (in order) Paul Pogba Kyllian Mbappe Eden Hazard Christian Eriksen In other words, they're all but saying Eriksen is their backup if they fail to sign Pogba and/or Hazard Also it's worth remembering what Rafa VDV said a few weeks ago in the Standard, namely he doesn't think Eriksen would be a good fit not because he's not good enough but because he's not got the right personality as he's quiet and pragmatic, whereas to play for Franco FC you need to be an egotistical twat - which is why Pogba and Hazard look like far better fits for that club that Florentino Perez built
Except the one against Juventus in last seasons champions league - Though one in 4 years is still rubbish
He has only scored from 6 free kicks in the PL in his entire career, or to put it another way: 1 per season, or worse if you factor in that 2 of them were in one game against Swansea. I think Bale scored that many in one season at his peak. The notion that Eriksen is a dead ball 'expert' has been false from the start, I'm afraid. Lazy punditry looks at how good he is at passing and long range shots and just assumes that he can successfully translate that into action when the ball isn't moving and no opposition players are anywhere near him, but that would be far too logical and predictable to truly be Spurs.
Not sure about that one. Modric is one hell of a player and is one of the fans favourites. He's not exactly the biggest ego... But yes he might not go because theres hardly any noises about him relative to some other players
He was certainly acting like a twat in the summer of 2011, to the point he refused to play in one of our league matches because we wouldn't sanction the move he was trying to force
Vulture Watch Today we head down to the lower leagues, where it is impossible or highly improbable that the following players will be promoted to the Premier League Swansea City Daniel James (21yo, Wales, left wing, contract until 2020) Pros: Pacy and knows how to dribble yet also has a good footballing brain; Has had a pretty good return in his debut season with four goals and seven assists, plus he's broken into the Wales team; Can play on either flank; The FA and FAW have stopped being morons and he'd now qualify as HG; We've recently been linked with him; Swansea appear willing to sell, as he was set to sign for Leeds in a £10m deal in January before Leeds' owners played silly buggers and the transfer window slammed shut Cons: In spite his form he's not played before this season, and for comparison's sake he's a year older than Marcus Edwards; His agent does appear to be a bit of a dick, mouthing off to the press after the Leeds deal fell through QPR Eberechi Eze (20yo, England/Nigeria, attacking midfield, contract until 2021) Pros: Good combination of pace, skill and bringing teammates into the game; We definitely need cover in attacking midfield; Can play on the wings as well as in the hole; Has the sort of attitude Poch likes; Ticks the HG box; Could be a late bloomer after being released by Arsenal, Fulham and Millwall before finding his feet at QPR; Supposedly on our radar for at least a year Cons: Very little end product, with 4 goals and 4 assists this season; He turns 21 in June and has only played one full season of professional football, while the likes of James Maddison and David Brooks have become more established in spite being around the same age he is Brentford Ollie Watkins (23yo, England, left wing, contract until 2021 w/option for a further year) Pros: Reliable source of goals from the flank for the last couple of seasons; Also pretty reliable for getting assists; Pacy; Stepped up well to the Championship having previously played for Exeter in League Two; Pretty handy from set pieces, so we can coach that out of him; There were reports of an interest back in November Cons: He turns 24 in December so is at an age where he'd be expected to deliver from the off, and that can't be guaranteed Said Benrahma (23yo, Algeria, right wing, contract until 2022 w/option for a further year) Pros: Has the same goalscoring prowess as Watkins but has a more creative edge; Skillfull; Came through the ranks at Nice, so has some top flight experience; Was a pretty reliable source for goals and assists in various loans to Ligue 2 clubs; Reportedly interested in February Cons: As with Watkins he's at an age where players should start delivering consistently, yet that can't be guaranteed; Only been called up by Algeria once, and you have to ask why that is; Non-HG, which could be an issue as he'd be a squad option as demonstrated with GKN for the last couple of seasons Stoke City See Hannover Bolton Wanderers Luca Connell (17yo, Ireland, defensive midfield, contract until the end of the season) Pros: Versatile, as he can also play left back; Has a decent cross on him, which so many of our players don't; A cash bid would likely secure his services, what with his contract status and Biolton having serious financial troubles - and we really should not try and take the piss; We have reportedly scouted him recently; HG, having been at Bolton for nine years Cons: Supposedly on the radar of quite a few other clubs, notably Everton, Wolves and Leeds; If we were to go in for him he'd most likely be an U23 player first and foremost for his first season Notts County Kion Etete (17yo, England, striker, contract until the end of the season) Pros: Has been on trial at the club in the last month; Would likely cost pennies due to his contract situation, County being bottom of the league, and their future being up in the air right now Cons: Would definitely be assigned to the U23s if he signed, rather than a first team player
Having seen him play for wycombe Eze is definitely worth a punt he scored some cracking goals and he is not afraid to take players on very good close control as well can only get better under poch
Slightly off topic, but it still annoys the **** out of me that Davies doesn't qualify, yet someone a year younger with the same history would. Ridiculous rule.
Eric Dier as well, who has captained England, doesn’t count. They need to rework the HG rule (which seems to be in place to fill two functions - promoting the use of a club’s academy players, and promoting the use of England-qualified players, but isn’t very good at doing either) into two rules to cover each category, with allowances for players who cover both. PL clubs need to be incentivised to develop and play their own academy players (instead of just creaming the top HG talent off other clubs) and also be incentivised to give England-qualified players important places in their squads.
Born in England to English parents, grandson of a former FA secretary and played at every level from U18 to the full England side. Won the U18 Premier League with Everton and spent 18 months with them. Joined Spurs when he was 20. Not home grown.
I'm guessing that the 29 'trafficked' children at Chelsea and the others at Citeh, Arsenal, Liverpool, etc. are 'Home Grown'?
Clubs should be rewarded for having England-qualified players like Dier and Tripps, academy graduates regardless of their nationality, and those who qualify for both like the two Harrys. The only tricky thing would be the definition of ‘academy’, for example someone like Harry Winks is fairly clear-cut but how do you define someone like Danny Rose? Or even Kane, who spent a lot of time on loan? ‘Academy’ status should be non-transferable, and ‘England’ status should only count for eligible players who make a certain percentage of possible appearances per year, based on availability for games due to injury etc., to stop clubs stockpiling England players just to hit quotas. This would play absolute havoc with squad management and therefore will never be implemented, but it would be nice to see a modification of the HG rules to better reward clubs for developing and playing their own talent, rather than just buying from other clubs, and to force teams to play more players who could help the national team. There is more chance of the former happening IMO (i.e. making an element of HG/Academy status non-transferable) than the England quota tbh.
...was on the books of Sporting Lisbon between the ages of 9-20 Barca fans didn't have trouble comprehending why Cesc Fabregas and Gerard Pique don't have HG status in La Liga, why can't Spurs fans comprehend why Eric Dier doesn't count as HG in the Premier League? Both sides made themselves look like dickheads with this: the FAW made it look like provincialism is the Welsh national sport (oh wait, it is...) while The FA looked like they couldn't be arsed to sort it out until it was a problem - a policy which is why Youtube and Steam are the sewers they are
I understand why this is the case hbic What I do think is that the HG rule tries to accomplish two different things and ends up doing neither very well. Clubs in the top English league should be incentivised to give top English talent a chance, something the current HG rules don’t necessarily do. They also don’t encourage clubs to nurture their own talent.
That's the thing, it isn't stupid. It's perfectly reasonable that, if a player spent the majority of their pre-21 career in one country, that's the one where they are HG. Tearing that up just because of what it says on their passport is UKIPpery at its worst, because based on that the Irish-born to Irish parents Robbie Keane would only be considered HG in the Irish league even though he came through the ranks at Wolves (which would also mean we'd be pretty ****ed if Troy Parrott made the grade) The real area where it makes sense is players such as Declan Rice, who were English born yet his mother's Irish as are his paternal grandparents, so which league should he be considered HG? The Premier League due to being born in England, or the Irish league because of his mother and grandparents? That's why it makes sense, after all if birth dictated your HG status Leon Bailey would only be HG in the Jamaican league More importantly Ligue 1 teams would be utterly ****ed given so many players coming through their academies were either born in Africa (i.e. Maxwell Cornet, Clinton N'Jie) or have north/west African parents, with both Zinedine Zidane and Nabil Fekir being born to Algerian parents while Moussa Sissoko's parents are Malian were told "Right, you may have come through the academy at (INSERT LIGUE 1 CLUB HERE) but you'll never be HG"...and that's definitely where it gets UKIPpy
Why can't you be homegrown in more than one country? Three years before you're 21? You can do that twice. Robbie Keane did. Crumlin United (seriously) and then Wolves. Parrott would be in the same situation with Belvedere and Spurs. There's also nothing to say that the rules have to remain the same.
