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EPL

Who are League One’s Dark Horses This Season?

The third tier of English football is unpredictable. It’s often a league of fallen giants navigating the consequences of years of financial mismanagement, competing against shrewdly run traditional lower-league clubs, new money, and the odd minnow.

 

Given the disparity in club size, resources, and transfer budgets, it might seem like an easy ride for clubs that have dropped from the Premier League and Championship. But this is rarely the case. Birmingham City, this year’s clear favourite, has already broken the League One transfer record twice this summer. Like Leeds United, Nottingham Forest, and Sunderland before them, they are expected to storm their way to the title.

 

Yet, all these clubs, despite their relative size, endured lengthy spells in the third tier. Nottingham Forest, for instance, faced a humiliating 2007 semi-final play-off defeat to Yeovil Town during their three-year stint. Sunderland, as documented on the hit Netflix show Sunderland ‘Til I Die, lingered in the third tier for four seasons. Leeds, who had played in the Champions League only a few years prior, needed three seasons to get promoted out of League One.

 

In League One, it is often the dark horses who sneak into the play-offs or get their recruitment spot-on over several windows, upsetting the frustrated fallen giants. This unpredictability makes the third tier as intriguing as it often is.

 

So, who are the dark horses that could go under the radar and sneak into the play-off spots next spring?

 

Lincoln City

 

The Imps are one of the best-run clubs in the lower leagues. This is perhaps best exemplified by the sacking of just one manager in the past ten seasons while continuing to make gradual, sustained progress.

 

It feels inevitable that, at some point, Lincoln will get their recruitment spot on and sneak into the Championship for the first time in their history—and there’s reason to believe this could be their year.

 

Michael Skubala, a highly regarded former Leeds United coach, guided his Lincoln side on a staggering 16-game unbeaten run at the end of last season, narrowly missing out on the playoffs on the final day.

 

With the summer arrivals of Dom Jefferies, an industrious box-to-box midfielder, Tom Bayliss, a creator who impressed at Shrewsbury Town last season, and JJ McKiernan, who’ll add dynamism to Lincoln’s attack, supporters will surely be quietly confident of sneaking into the play-offs in April next year.

 

Prediction: 6th

 

Leyton Orient

 

The East London club’s success hinges on one man: Richie Wellens. While the club has developed a reputation for being efficient in their dealings over the years, their success has been drastically amplified by their 44-year-old manager.

 

During Wellens’ three full seasons in charge of English Football League sides, he’s won the League Two title twice and achieved an impressive 11th-place finish in League One last season, as the O’s briefly flirted with the play-offs.

 

Wellens is looking to continue evolving his Leyton Orient side. He allowed his loyal, dependable right-back Rob Hunt to depart to strengthen with the arrival of the impressive Sean Clare from Wigan Athletic. The additions of Diallang Jaiyesimi and youngster Sonny Perkins will add flair to Orient’s attack.

 

Leyton Orient, as typical of a Wellens team, lacks depth. The manager prefers to pack quality into a small squad and gamble on getting lucky with injuries, then carrying players he does not believe will perform his tactical messages.

 

Prediction: 8th

 

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EPL

What will Goncalo Franco bring to Swansea’s midfield?

Swansea City confirmed the signing of Goncalo Franco for an undisclosed fee, thought to be well in excess of £1,000,000, earlier this transfer window. The 23-year-old box-to-box midfielder joins from Portuguese top-flight outfit Moreirense on a four-year deal and represents the type of signing Swansea supporters have been crying out for in recent seasons.

 

The Porto youth academy graduate has already made 82 appearances in Portugal’s top division, and his stellar performances at the base of Moreirense’s midfield last season attracted the interest of Galatasaray and Benfica, who both eventually pulled out of a move, enabling Swansea to swoop in.

 

Ball-winning skills, energy, and protection

 

Franco, who completed more successful tackles than any other player in the Portuguese Primeira Liga last season, will add energy, defensive stability, and steel to a Swansea midfield that was, at times, critiqued for being too lightweight during the 23/24 campaign.

 

Given the expansive, forward-thinking style of football Luke Williams displayed during the early stages of his start to life in Swansea last season and throughout his whole managerial career, Franco’s skillset will be a needed addition to protect a defensive structure that may sometimes be left vulnerable.

 

Technical quality, goals, and charisma

 

However, Franco is far more than a technically limited ball-winner. A quick skim through the midfielder’s YouTube highlights, which, admittedly, can flatter at times, demonstrates a player capable of carrying the ball, playing intricate passes through defensive lines, and even scoring a range of different types of goals.

 

There is one goal in particular—a 25-yard screamer during a 2-1 win over Estoril where the midfielder receives the ball under pressure but only needs one touch before unleashing an explosive shot into the bottom right-hand corner.

 

If Franco repeats the energy, tenacity, and charismatic style of play he demonstrated during his performances in Portugal’s topflight, the midfielder is likely to endear himself to the Liberty Stadium faithful in no time at all.

 

Does the signing of Franco represent a different approach to recruitment?

 

It is no secret that Swansea’s recruitment hasn’t been imaginative or good enough to take the club forward in recent years. But there are signs this is something the club is looking to change.

 

In January 2024, Swansea completed the signing of Ronald, a 22-year-old Brazilian winger who, similarly to Franco, had most recently been playing his trade in Portugal’s top division—a player the club hopes will continue to develop over the coming seasons. Meanwhile, the Swans have added South Korean international Eom Ji-sung, a 22-year-old midfielder who is hoped to carry the creative burden of Luke Williams’ midfield, on a four-year deal.

 

The signings of talented, young players from undervalued foreign markets signify a change in transfer strategy for the Swans. Over the past decade, Brentford, Norwich, and Brighton have demonstrated the effectiveness of signing players from undervalued foreign markets to bring in top talent capable of helping their teams to promotion out of the Championship and recouping significant transfer funds when eventually sold—something Swansea will surely be eager to replicate.

 

With the right blend of English Football League experience, and if Luke Williams’ team can address ongoing concerns regarding squad depth, this transfer strategy can pay dividends both in terms of on-field success and recouping significant profits on transfer fees paid.

 

Conclusion

 

Goncalo Franco’s signing marks an exciting move for Swansea City. His defensive prowess and versatile skill set align well with the club’s needs, style of play, and strategic direction. If Swansea continues to refine its recruitment strategy and add further depth and balance to the squad, the club may well see significant benefits both on and off the pitch.

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EPL

Can Wrexham become the most successful team in Wales?

Wrexham’s promotion to League One at the end of the 2023/2024 season felt inevitable. Few clubs within the lower reaches of English football could replicate the sense of certainty surrounding Wrexham’s recent success under the ownership of Hollywood’s Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenny.

 

The North Wales club’s recent promotion is comparable to what we often witness in modern elite-level football. A casual supporter with little in-depth knowledge of the sport could make a pretty good guess in August that Manchester City and Real Madrid will win the Premier League and Champions League, respectively, the following May. The same could easily be said for Wrexham’s recent rise to League One.

 

There is something unfamiliar, almost fantasy-like, about attending a game at Wrexham. The Racecourse Ground, which despite American interest is largely filled by passionate local supporters, has a ferocious, unrelenting atmosphere that feels a little out of place in League Two. This is a fanbase that, even when two or three goals down, genuinely believes their team is good enough to win a game and produces noise and intensity capable of turning a game on its head in an instant.

 

Why are Wrexham likely to rise through the leagues?

 

Rival supporters are eager to point out that Wrexham’s unusual spending power is the primary cause of this inevitable feeling and confidence booming through the stands. These claims are, to a large extent, valid. Wrexham’s annual wage bill for the 2023/2024 season was an estimated £5,576,400, significantly higher than any other League Two club and competitive with some of the biggest clubs in the league above, too.

 

Wrexham’s spending power is unique. Unlike many previously lower-league clubs that experienced rapid progression through the leagues due to disproportionate financial power, such as AFC Bournemouth, Hull City, and Blackpool, Wrexham has a significant revenue stream to fund their eye-watering spending.

 

Through the public profile of their Hollywood owners and the strategic planning of key boardroom figures, Wrexham is the first lower-league British club to tap into an untapped U.S. market, resulting in revenue streams, interest, and media attention inconceivable to almost all their competitors.

 

The successful inception of a brand and identity that both local and international supporters could buy into, driving vast revenue streams in the process, makes Wrexham an attractive proposition for top-quality players capable of winning the club success.

 

So, with this being said, can Wrexham become the most successful team in Wales?  What do Wrexham have to achieve to be considered the most successful Welsh club?

 

While Wrexham supporters, who’ve never previously seen their team finish beyond 15th in the old Second Division, are likely to witness their team achieve its highest all-time finish in the coming years, that alone will still be a long way short of the success of the traditional ‘big two’ in Wales, Cardiff City and Swansea City. Even if Wrexham rapidly rises from League Two to the Premier League, this isn’t unprecedented for a Welsh club.

 

Swansea won three promotions between 2004 and 2011 to see the club rapidly rise from League Two to the Premier League in just seven seasons, something that will be hard to replicate, even for Hollywood-backed Wrexham. Neighbours Cardiff completed a similar journey in 2013, as the club transitioned from the old Third Division to the Premier League in 14 seasons. Both Swansea and Cardiff have a major trophy to their names, too. The Swans won the League Cup in 2013, while Cardiff lifted the FA Cup way back in 1927.

 

The difficulty and rarity, particularly within modern football, of a club outside the top three or four clubs in England winning a major trophy cannot be understated. Giants Newcastle United, for example, haven’t tasted major silverware since 1955, while Tottenham Hotspur, Everton, and Leeds United have hardly experienced meaningful success in a generation. Wrexham joining their Welsh rivals in lifting a major trophy anytime soon seems unlikely.

 

Can Wrexham grow to compete with and eventually surpass their Welsh rivals in the near future? Probably. But eclipsing the historic triumphs and legacies established by the two biggest clubs in South Wales is, for now, something that is more likely to be depicted in a film than experienced in reality.

 

Click here to vote now on this topic.

 

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EPL

How Will Wales Set Up Under New Manager, Craig Bellamy?

The Football Association of Wales’ June 9th announcement that 78-time capped Craig Bellamy would become the nation’s new head coach prompted lengthy discussion about what the future of international football in Wales may look like over the coming years and months.

 

Everybody knew Bellamy as a player; the all-action former Premier League forward had an infamously fiery reputation during successful playing spells at Liverpool, Newcastle United, and West Ham United. The Cardiff-born man was best known for his deployment of aggression (occasionally spilling over the edge), tenacity, and physical prowess as he battled his way to an impressive accumulation of 81 Premier League goals.

 

Those who haven’t religiously followed the early stages of Bellamy’s coaching career—where he learned his trade at his home club Cardiff City before assisting current Bayern Munich manager Vincent Kompany at Anderlecht and Burnley—would be forgiven for believing the new-look Wales team may share similar values and principles to the relentlessness Bellamy so often displayed during his illustrious playing career.

 

Changing Perceptions

 

But Bellamy, a young manager who cites his biggest tactical inspiration as former Ajax and Barcelona legend Johan Cruyff, has consistently been part of progressive coaching setups centred around possession-heavy football and revolutionary methods in training, player recovery, and man-management.

 

The man once nicknamed “the nutter with the putter” (a reference to a golf club-related incident during his playing days at Liverpool) has gone to great lengths to reinvent himself. Bellamy has finally broken free from the hot-headed stereotype that comes to mind when retrospectively thinking of the Welshman’s younger self and instead created the perception of a tactically obsessed, strategic, deep thinker.

 

Spells at Anderlecht and Burnley saw Bellamy tasked with not only changing connotations around his personality and perceived temperament, but the way traditionally industrious, hard-working teams should play.

 

Bellamy’s pivotal tactical role as assistant manager in Burnley’s league title-winning 2022/2023 season, saw the Welshman change the idea around how Burnley should play and what it means to be part of the overachieving club. His team adopted an expansive 4-3-3 and built out from the back, a stark contrast to the long ball, hard-to-beat mentality installed by previous manager Sean Dyche.

 

So, what can we expect from Bellamy’s new Wales team, as the nation navigates the post-Gareth Bale era, with no glaringly obvious predecessor to carry the weight of expectation previously held by the former Real Madrid superstar?

 

Redefining the Wales national team

 

The recently announced Wales coach will have to continue redefining cultural and tactical systems as he embarks on a new journey in charge of the national team. Wales, who despite the superstar status of Gareth Bale maintained a strong team ethos during his playing career, will still have to evolve beyond reliance on a singular individual during Bellamy’s forthcoming tenure.

 

While Joe Allen and Aaron Ramsey did a stellar job of controlling games, particularly during the nation’s historic run to the 2016 European Championships semifinals, the presence and sublime of Bale enabled a level of leeway in performances, a get-out-of-jail free card hidden up the nations sleeve, that simply won’t be available to Wales in the coming years.

 

Bellamy’s team will need to be more tactically acute and advantageous of the array of technical talents at their disposal, something former manager Rob Page faced criticism for failing to properly utilise. Most notably, Ethan Ampadu, Joe Rondon, and Chris Mepham are all capable of intricately building possession out of the back towards attacking talents Brennan Johnson, David Brookes, and Dan James.

 

There is every sign this is something Bellamy will try to implement in his new team. Speaking to The Guardian after being appointed as Wales manager he claimed:

 

I think you need to move away from formations, we need to start looking at football differently, we don’t play formations, we play shapes. The idea is: ‘Can I create an extra player in a part of the field where you [the opposition] don’t have it?

 

This flexible approach to formations is something that’s prevalent in all the world’s best modern managers’ thinking and represents an early sign that Bellamy will want his team to play in a similar fashion to the elite footballing nations and attempt to go toe-to-toe with them, rather than sitting in a defensive block and hoping to snatch the points.

 

Irrespective of style, Bellamy will ultimately be judged on results and whether he can lead Wales to back-to-back World Cup finals, as qualification for USA’s 2026 tournament gets underway in early 2025.

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EPL

We’ve ranked the best #Swans strikers of the 21st Century.

Over the first quarter of the 21st century, the Swans have dramatically evolved from a financially troubled mess, languishing and underachieving in the fourth tier of English football, to become a club with one of the most recognisable playing identities in Britain, achieving eight years of Premier League football, and producing several players sold for over £15M in the process.

 

But who were the most influential attackers who helped to facilitate Swansea’s 7-year rise from League Two to the Premier League, where the club impressively survived for 8 seasons, won a League Cup, and earned the opportunity to play in Europe?

 

To determine our five most influential Swansea attackers of the 21st century, we proposed the following criteria, Goals scored, cult hero status and importance to Swansea’s success.

 

Have your save and vote now

 

4. Fernando Llorente

 

Llorente’s one season in South Wales won’t be forgotten quickly.

 

The former World Cup, European Championships, and Serie A winner is one of the biggest names to ever represent the Swans.

 

Llorente joined the Welsh club from Sevilla in 2016 and scored 15 times in just 33 Premier League appearances, including the equaliser and winner in a memorable 5-4 victory over Crystal Palace and a goal against Manchester City.

 

At the end of the 16/17 seasons, Llorente signed for Tottenham Hotspur for a fee of over £12M.

Season

Appearances

Goals

Swansea’s League Position

16/17

35

15

15th in Premier League

3.  Lee Trundle

 

The much-loved striker found the back of the net on 86 occasions for the Swans.

 

While Lee Trundle hasn’t played in the Premier League, contributed to major cup-winning success (although he did win a JPT!), or ended his Swansea career with a multi-million-pound move, the Liverpool-born striker was pivotal to the Welsh club’s revival.

 

Trundle, whose tricks and flicks built him a cult following not just in Swansea, but among Soccer AM viewers and general football lovers, too, arrived in South Wales in 2003.

 

The forward scored 39 league goals across his first two seasons, as Swansea were promoted out of League Two and then repeated his 39-league goal tally in his following two seasons, as Swansea narrowly missed out on back-to-back promotions to the Championship.

Season

Appearances (all comps)

Goals (all comps)

Swansea’s League Position

03/04

40

23

10th in League Two

04/05

50

23

3rd in League Two

05/06

48

22

6th in League One

06/07

40

20

7th in League One

09/10

21

5

7th in Championship

2.   Wilfried Bony

 

The former Ivory Coast striker scored several iconic goals for Swansea.

 

In wider footballing audiences, Bony may sometimes be on the end of ridicule for his underwhelming spell at Manchester City. But he’ll always have a special place in the hearts of Swansea supporters.

 

While leading the line at the Liberty Stadium, Bony was, for a short period, considered among Europe’s hottest talents. The striker scored 28 goals in 54 Premier League appearances for the Swans, featured for the club in Europe, and was adored by supporters, who reverberated “Come on Wilfried Bony, score some goals for Swansea” around rival Premier League stadiums.

 

Bony will be fondly remembered for goals in iconic victories over Valencia, Manchester United, and arch-rivals, Cardiff City.

Season

Appearances (all comps)

Goals (all comps)

Swansea’s League Position

13/14

48

27

12th

14/15

22

9

8th

1.  Michu

 

The Spaniard’s electric form at Swansea was short but sweet.

 

Michu’s surprise £2M arrival from Rayo Vallecano, where he’d scored 15 times in La Liga the year previous, must be among the greatest value signings in not just Swansea history, but Premier League history, too.

 

The striker scored a club record 18 Premier League goals during the 12/13 season, helped Swansea to their second highest-ever finish, and notched in the 5-0 League Cup final victory over Bradford City, where the Swans picked up their first and only piece of major silverware.

 

Despite goals against Malmo and Valencia in the Europa League and Liverpool in the Premier League the following season, the Spaniard could never recapture his sparkling form of the 12/13 season.

Michu’s legacy remains immortal, regardless.

Season

Appearances (all comps)

Goals (all comps)

Swansea’s League Position

12/13

43

22

9th in Premier League

13/14

24

6

12th in Premier League

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EPL

4 Football Corruption Controversies in Modern Football

Football is globally popular for its simplicity. Almost anywhere in the world, transcending social and economic factors, football in some shape or form is accessible to anyone. Whether it’s “jumper for goalposts” in a British park, playing barefoot on the sandy floors of Kenya, or street football in Brazil, anyone with a ball, a few friends, and a small open space can make adaption or interpretation of the beautiful game.

 

But when a game becomes so globally popular, it leaves itself vulnerable to being utilised for greed, profit, and power. The modern game, at times, drifts away from the simplicity of playing in the park as its integrity has become threatened by the corruption and greed of governing bodies, multi-national companies, nation-states.

 

Here are the four biggest modern occurrences and accusations of corruption in our globally loved sport.

 

1.  The FIFA Corruption Scandal (2015)

 

When it was exposed that many senior members of the historic gatekeepers of football, FIFA, had been involved in a large corruption scandal, shockwaves reverberated across news media across the world.

 

Officials, including the establishment’s President, Sepp Blatter, were accused of accepting bribes from the Russian and Qatari governments in return for votes for their respective successful 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids.

 

Furthermore, FIFA were accused of mismanaging their finances; serious concerns raised by Swiss and American authorities resulted in arrests due to several cases of wire fraud, money laundering, racketeering.

 

This was the corruption that was supposed to prevent wrongdoing across the sport, so when it became apparent that FIFA had been contributing towards the corruption, it fuelled a whole culture of mistrust and suspicions towards the game’s various governing bodies and elite interests.

 

2.  Manchester City’s 115 Charges (2023)

 

Manchester City have dominated English football for large parts of the last decade, but their success hasn’t come without its controversies.

 

While the allegations and charges against Manchester City do not relate to corruption in the traditional sense, such as bribery or match-fixing, the English Champions have been accused of breaking 115 financial rules between 2009 and 2018, including failing to provide the correct information to support the Premier League’s investigation. If found guilty, Manchester City could receive fines, healthy point deductions, or transfer embargos.

 

However, supporters have questioned why the Premier League have been unable to show any kind of punishment towards Manchester City despite longstanding allegations, when Everton, Nottingham Forrest and Leicester have already received punishment for significantly fewer breaches of financial rules in the same period. It has led some to question the prevalence of corruption within the Premier League governing body, but so far, there is no evidence to suggest this is the case.

 

3.   “Mes Que Un Club” (2023)

 

Barcelona, the artists of football with fingerprints of Johan Cruyff and Pep Guardiola all over the club’s philosophy, sanded purists all over the world when they were charged with referee bribery in 2023.

 

The Catalonian giants were charged with suspected referee bribery payments of over £7m to former vice president of the refereeing committee, José María Enríquez Negreira.

 

Barcelona denies any wrongdoing among a sea of other ongoing financial concerns.

 

4.  Juventus (2023)

 

Juventus, no strangers to accusations of financial irregularities and corruption, were handed a 15-point deduction in January 2023 after being found guilty of inflating transfer fees by Italian authorities.

 

In a case brought by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), Juventus were found to have manipulated fees in their financial records for capital gains benefits, with the swap deal of Miralem Pjanic and Arthur Melo involving FC Barcelona as an example.

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EPL

How far can Wrexham go with their Hollywood owners?

Wrexham have been the talk of football since Hollywood took control of the club.  The pair have invested millions into the club and the city and they talk about taking Wrexham to the Premier League.

 

Many clubs have owners that predict the same successes, but very few achieve, but is this different and can they really reach that level of success and overtake Swansea and Cardiff as the most successful club in Wales.

 

Listen to Craig and Kevin and their thoughts on the future.  https://open.spotify.com/episode/5NfSJl9mh69eDOClLj32pU 

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EPL

Scotland’s Chances in the EUROS

Scotland, a country that claims to have invented the ‘passing game’, inspiring South America and the rest of Europe to play the game in the way we’re familiar with today, has endured a miserable time on the international scene for as long as many can remember.

 

While the nation is an absolute hotbed of footballing culture and passion, boasting some of the greatest ever managers in the game’s history, such as Bill Shankly and Alex Ferguson, the largest per-capita average crowd attendances in the world, and two of the most globally recognised football clubs in Celtic and Rangers, the national team has struggled to ever experience much success.

 

Football is intertwined into the nation’s culture to a greater extent than perhaps anywhere else in the world. While those in Brazil will argue that their samba, beach style and passion for the game have had more influence on the global game, the significance of football to the people might be rivalled by what we see in Scotland.

 

With the absence of the sunny weather of Brazil, the rest of South America, and warmer climates within Europe, it can feel, for some, like there is nothing else to do in Scotland than attend or play football at the weekend.

 

So, why have the Tartan army been so deprived of any international footballing success? Despite its relatively small population, you’d imagine this football worshipping nation would be regularly present in EUROS and World Cup tournaments, and even reaching the final rounds on occasion.

 

Scotland’s Historic Qualification Horrors

 

To understand the desperation of the Scottish people to qualify and perform at this summer’s EUROS, you must recognise the agonising near misses and crushing failures of their past 30 years of international football.

 

Until the turn of the Century, Scottish supporters were used to seeing their nation compete at major tournaments – while they failed to win any silverware, the small country usually had a team they could be proud of, with some of their best talents playing prominent roles for English giants Manchester United and Liverpool. Qualifying for five consecutive World Cup tournaments between 1974 and 1990, Scotland was considered one of the world’s strongest footballing nations.

 

Scotland would experience limited success during the 90s. Still, they successfully qualified for two EUROS tournaments, as well as the France 1998 World Cup. However, the national team would then embark on a journey of failure and absence from major competitions that nobody could have envisaged.

 

In 2008 Scotland looked set to play in their first EURO’S tournament in well over a decade, before falling to a shock 2-0 defeat against minnows Georgia, who had a 16-year-old and a 17-year-old starting for them, and conversely missing out on that summer’s tournament in Austria and Switzerland.

 

It was a horror that stayed with the Scottish for another 12 years of disappointment until 2020, as the Tartan Army qualified for the EUROS and ended their 23-year absence from major tournaments.

 

Scottish supporters may have had limited expectations heading into their first major tournament of the 21st century, but registering just one goal and picking up a single point may have surpassed the dreads of even the most pessimistic Scottish fans.

 

Euro 2024

 

Nonetheless, Scotland, after finishing above Erling Haaland’s Norway in qualification, are heading off to this summer’s EUROS in Germany. There’s a rejuvenated sense of pride and expectation in a national team that’s been performing better over the past couple of seasons.

 

Defender Ryan Porteous suggested Scotland are “not far off” the best teams going to Germany this summer, and supporters will share some optimism. However, negotiating a tricky group with Germany, Switzerland, and Hungary, making up their fellow competitors in Group A, will be the first challenge for the Scots.

 

Bookies have Scotland at 80/1 to win the whole tournament, but progression out of the group stages and a new injection of Scottish pride will surely be enough for supporters who’ve endured such a torrid time since across much of the 21st century.

 

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EPL

Have Academy Teams in the Football League Trophy Worked?

The Bristol Street Motors Trophy, the JPT, the Pizza Cup, whatever you want to call it, the Football League Trophy is a staple of the football calendar in League One and League Two, but for the best part of a decade now, attendances have taken a pummeling, and fans appear to care about it less each year.

 

The big turning point for the competition was the inclusion of Premier League and Championship U21 and U23 sides in 2016. The addition of 16 teams to the trophy changed the format of the cup, with a group stage being added, with 16 groups, each consisting of three league teams and an academy side battling it out for a place in the knockout stages.

 

This Sunday, Wycombe and Peterborough will line up under the iconic Wembley arch in what will be the eighth final since the introduction of academy teams. With that in mind, let’s take a look at whether this has been a success and whether or not the competition is ever likely to become popular again.

 

Boycotts

 

The initial announcement of U23 teams joining the competition was met with backlash from fans, with many calling for boycotts. The bulk of fans stuck to their words, with the average attendance of games in the trophy taking a serious hit.

 

Pre-2016, the competition would average around 4,000-5,000 for games, hitting a high of 6,292 in 2010. While the later stages definitely inflate these figures a bit, for many fans, the competition was taken seriously, and it also provided a chance to maybe snatch a victory over a rival from the other league that you hadn’t played in some time.

 

Let’s examine this on a more individual level. I’ve chosen a team at random, Port Vale, and have looked at their home attendance in the competition. They break down as follows:

  • 2012/13: 2,744

  • 2013/14: 2,581

  • 2014/15: N/A (Knocked out away to Preston – 3,836)

  • 2015/16: 2,645

  • 2016/17: 1,111

  • 2017/18:1,037

  • 2018/19: 2,512 (7,940)

  • 2019/20: 914

As you can see, there is a clear drop-off after 2016/17. The anomaly in the mix is the 2017/18 season, where they drew a crowd of nearly 8,000 for a game with Stoke U23, a rare example of this competition serving up a fixture fans wanted.

 

What’s more depressing when looking at these numbers is that in the seasons prior to 2016, Vale had played the likes of Carlisle and Blackpool, teams with which they have no real connection, and they still drew respectable crowds. In the 2017/18 season, they had two local derbies with Crewe and Shrewsbury, games which should draw big numbers, even on a Tuesday night. The Shrewsbury game drew less than 1,000 fans, with just 965 turning out for it.

 

This was not an isolated incident, with fans regularly sharing posts of incredibly low attendances across the country. The record low is 202, which was in a game between Middlesborough U23 vs Burton in 2018. A shocking number that you would expect to find around the seventh-eighth tier of English football.

 

Has it been a success for the Academies?

 

This one is harder to quantify. Each year, 16 academies participate in the tournament, and there is no data available on how many of them have gone on to succeed.

 

One thing we can do, is look at how far they have advanced in the tournament and look at players that have helped teams progress. Chelsea U21s are the team that have gone the furthest. They were beaten by Lincoln City in 2017/18 on penalties, and their team from that day has some very notable names on it.

 

Trevor Chalobah, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Ethan Empadu, and Reece James all lined up at Sincil Bank that evening, and each has gone on to have a great career. However, how much the experience of playing in this tournament helped them remains to be seen.

 

There is just as strong an argument to be made that academy players benefit more from going on loan to teams instead. Of the four players mentioned above, three spent time out on loan, with two of them, Chalobah and James, playing in the Football League at Ipswich and Wigan, respectively.

 

Do Fans Want It?

 

While I can’t speak for all fans, the numbers tell a sorry story for the competition. The final will often pull a half-decent crowd, but ultimately, if you are a small club, you are not going to want to miss your club playing at Wembley.

 

We have also never witnessed an academy side reaching for the final. Would Everton fans really bother going down to London to watch their academy side take on Leyton Orient in the Bristol Street Motors final? I highly doubt it. The numbers would be alarmingly low and could really punish the other club, which would benefit from a bigger crowd and increased attention.

 

Ultimately, the change in format does not benefit the Football League teams at all. Fans do not want to attend games; it adds extra fixtures to the list (something Premier League managers regularly complain about), and it’s not really producing the big stars we were promised it would.

 

A return to the older days of bigger crowds feels highly unlikely, with many fans now seeing the tournament as an inconvenience until they reach the quarter-finals when the temptation of a trip to Wembley might pull a slightly bigger crowd.

 

Wycombe and Peterborough will no doubt put on a showcase of everything the Football League has to offer this weekend, as the final so often does, but it is time to reconsider this situation and try to breathe some life back into the tournament before it is too late.

 

Categories
EPL

Premier League player of the season candidates

As last year’s Premier League season was coming to a close, one name was dominating ‘Player of the Year’ debates on football talk shows, social media, and schools alike: Erling Haaland.

 

In truth, the Premier League had probably never witnessed a season where the Player of the Year was so glaringly obvious – even Luis Suarez’s mostly spectacular 33 goals of the 2013/2014 season, or Thierry Henry’s 30 goals of Arsenal’s invisible season struggled to match up to Haaland’s iconic demolition of the Premier League last season.

 

The Norwegian was unstoppable in his debut Premier League season. Any discussions about who the Player of the Season would be were already over by the end of October, as Haaland notched 18 goals in his first 13 Premier League matches.

 

The Premier League has been more competitive than we’ve been accustomed to in recent years. Manchester City, while still just a point off the top, haven’t quite blown the league away in the manner they so often do under Pep Guardiola.

 

Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool are often causing Guardiola headaches at the top of the table, and this season, Arsenal have emerged as genuine title contenders, too. With no clear standout team or player term, let’s have a look at those who can justifiably throw their hat into the ring.

 

Virgil Van Dijk

 

“They thought I was finished”, the towering Dutchman emotionally told an interviewee after his man-of-the-match performance in Liverpool’s Carabao Cup final win last month.

 

It was a moment of self-recognition that, despite the criticisms of his consistency and remarks he was past his best last season, he’d been in the shape of his life over the past six months.

 

Leading a Liverpool side expected to be in a transitional season to a very competitive title charge and looking so elegant, Van Dijk will surely be among this year’s Player of the Season candidates.

 

His significance to Liverpool was epitomised in their clash against rivals Manchester City last week, when Haaland went one-on-one to score against Van Dijk, only to be expertly marshalled wide, forcing a poor shot from the deadly Norwegian striker.

Even if Van Dijk doesn’t win the Player of the Season award or Liverpool misses out on the title in May, he’ll have solidified himself as one of the very best Premier League defenders of all time.

 

Phil Foden

 

We’ve heard about Phil Foden’s ability for years – in 2019,  Pep Guardiola, despite having previously coached Lionel Messi, Andrea Iniesta, and Xavi, labelled the silky Stockport-born forward as “the most talented player I’ve ever seen.”

 

While Foden had been an almost ever-present vessel in Manchester City’s several league titles and 2023 treble-winning season since it never quite felt like the Manchester City academy starlet had completely realised his potential and justified the early gushing reviews of Pep Guardiola.

 

That was until this season. For the first time, Foden has been the man Manchester City have relied on in big moments and driven the team forwards, rather than being just another cog in Guardiola’s winning machine.

 

The forward has 11 goals and 7 assists in his 28 Premier League matches, which probably isn’t a fair reflection of how consistently and skilfully he’s driven a Manchester City team that’s been slightly below par at times this season.

 

Declan Rice

 

Arsenal may have raised the eyebrows of sceptics after completing the £100M transfer of Declan Rice from West Ham United last summer, but the Englishman has added serious steel and physicality to an Arsenal team looking to go a couple of steps further than they managed last season.

 

Arsenal played glistening football at times during the 2022/2023 season, but in a way we sometimes expect of the North London club, they didn’t quite have the prowess and physicality to maintain a title charge to the final weeks of the season.

 

Despite promising young defenders such as William Saliba and Gabriel, Arsenal felt weak over the pitch at times. That won’t be a problem this time around; the English defensive midfielder has revolutionised the Arsenal midfield, adding strength but also admirations for his passing and ball-carrying ability.

 

If Arsenal are to lift the Premier League trophy in May, last summer’s acquisition of Declan Rice would have had played a big part to in the Gunner’s success.

 

Other Candidates

 

In addition to the three leading candidates above, the current Directors’ Box poll has suggested Haaland, Watkins, Salah, Odegaard, De Bruyne and Saka as other strong options.

Vote now on Directors’ Box. https://onelink.to/tf8udg