Tottenham Hotspur

Premier League Wishlist: Part 2

Chris McGlynn EPL, Soccer , , , , , , , , ,

Continuing from where we left off, this is what is topping each Premier team’s wishlist as they head into the January transfer window. To see Part 1, click here.

Newcastle UnitedNewcastle United: Left Back
If you want to maintain that you belong in the Premier League, then Paul Dummett cannot be your best option at left back. Massiado Haidara has mixed in with him as well but neither one is ready to be a starting full back in England. The Magpies have allowed the second most goals in the Premier League this season. Some of that can be attributed to the rash of injuries at keeper but the poor play at left back definitely does not help.

Nathaniel RedmondNorwich City: Striker
In their return to the Premier League, Norwich has held their own, but if they plan to stay here they are going to need some attacking help. Youngster Nathaniel Redmond leads the team in scoring at the moment with only four goals. Cameron Jermone is the leading scoring forward with just three. Norwich needs to spend a little bit to bring in a quality goal scorer. In 11 out of 17 matches, Norwich has been held to one or fewer goals. That cannot continue if they want to start thinking about year 2 in the top division.

Morgan SchneiderlinSouthampton: Creative/Controlling Midfielder
To say that Southampton are reeling is a bit of understatement. This team finished just outside of a Euro League spot last year but find themselves in the bottom half this season with a lot of question marks. The departure of both Nathaniel Clyne and Morgan Schneiderlin over the summer has left this team starved of creativity and reliability. Infusing a player that can control the pace and create chances will give Southampton the boost they need back into the top half.


Bojan KrkicStoke City: Attacking Midfielder
Go ahead. Try to score against Stoke. It has been nearly impossible to net one against Mark Hughes side this year. That is a credit to the backline and the play of the rising star in Jack Butland Stoke have in between the pipes. Despite that, Stoke are midtable with the worst offense in the league. Scoring only 14 goals in 17 matches is a recipe for disaster. The lack of scoring options on the team is astounding. Stoke only have four players to score for them this season, and they are all strikers. Hughes needs to have someone from the midfield who can pose a threat as a goal scorer to push this team higher up the table.

Billy JonesSunderland: Defender (Any Position)
Sunderland are in danger of relegation. They sit just five points behind Newcastle and Norwich, who are just above the relegation zone, but the Black Cats are going to need some major defensive overhaul to stay up this year. Sunderland has allowed the most goals by any Premier League side this season, almost two per game. John O’Shea is on his last leg and Billy Jones commits a lot of fouls. This team needs to find some new blood to reinvigorate one of the worst backlines in European top division football.

Bafetimbi_GomisSwansea City: Striker
To say Swansea need some more scoring options is an understatement. Andre Ayew and Bafetimbi Gomis have accounted for 11 of Swansea’s 15 Premier League goals this season. As a result, Garry Monk is gone and Swansea is in free fall. Finding a reliable goal scoring option to supplement Ayew and Gomis would stop the bleeding and put Swansea back on track for staying in the Premier League.

TottenhamTottenham: Controlling Midfielder
Spurs reach the halfway point in a Champions League spot with a healthy goal difference. Spurs have only lost twice the whole season but have drawn a league high eight times. If Tottenham want to make a push for the top then they are going to need to control the game a bit more to avoid giving up late goals. They have a tendency of blowing late leads. Finding a midfielder who can hold possession and run with the ball late in games could prove to be the difference maker between Tottenham being good and great.

Troy DeeneyWatford: Keep Deeney and Igahlo
You might even be able to add Etienne Capoue and Nathan Ake to that list. They have been the core that has led Watford to a Europa League spot in their first season back in the top division. To say Watford has been impressive is an understatement. Deeney and Igahlo have been at the center of that. Deeney has scored five goals while setting up four goals. Igahlo has scored a whopping 12 goals and even chipped in two assists. Watford could easily finish in the top half if they can keep their key pieces in place.

Saido BerahinoWest Brom: Goal-scoring option
I doubt they will care where the goals come from but West Brom needs to score more. So far this year, they are averaging a goal per match and the teams leading scorers only have three goals to their names. Saido Berahino hasn’t helped the situation much with his refusal to play at times, especially when you consider that he is one of those players for West Brom to have scored three goals even though he only has eight starts to his name.

Enner ValenciaWest Ham United: Sell Enner Valencia
He played a lot last season but this year, Valencia has failed to work his way into the first team. He has been subbed on four times this season and has failed to make any sort of impact after joining the fray. He notably said that the club had forgotten about him. It is pretty clear that he is not fitting in and he has only scored four goals in his now year and half with the club. If West Ham could find a taker in the vicinity of the £12 million they paid for him last summer, the Hammers could look to improve the midfield and invest in a young defender or two to ensure future success.

 

Another step in the right direction for MLS

Chris McGlynn EPL, MLS, Soccer , ,

Yesterday was a very good day for MLS. The most obvious point would be the MLS All Star’s victory over English Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur. Obviously it would be more impressive if it wasn’t an All Star team playing against a normal club team but all the same it was a great spectacle for fans of soccer. They got to see one of the better English teams in person and see the top talent MLS has collected over the past few years.

Tranquillo Barnetta
Barnetta will join the Union in the coming days.

MLS clubs also announced two big signings yesterday. Philadelphia Union signed Tranquillo Barnetta on a free transfer from Bundisliga side Schalke FC. Barnetta might not be the biggest name but he represented Switzerland at the 2014 World Cup and has 75 caps for the national team. Then Eastern Conference rival New York Red Bulls announced the signing of Gonzalo Veron from San Lorenzo in Argentina. The 25-year old spent the last three years playing in the top division of Argentine football. Neither one of the signings is head turning or prolific but it underlines a greater theme going on in MLS this season.

Veron and Barnetta follow Didier Drogba and Shaun Wright-Phillips as MLS signings from the past week. Drogba is the biggest name there by far but the other three are all well respected players. Overall, they just add to the collection of big names and new talent infused into MLS over the last two seasons.There is still a ways to go before the league can start luring top players stateside during their prime.

Gonzalo Veron
The Red Bull hope Veron can bolster their attack as a winger.

However, this is easily the best collection of talent MLS has ever seen. That isn’t saying much but the level of talent in MLS exceeds previous level by a substantial amount. The success the LA Galaxy and the Red Bulls saw in the International Champions Cup highlights that fact. The MLS is starting to gain on the rest of the world in terms of being a competitive soccer league. They are nowhere near touching England, France, Italy or Spain but they might now find themselves more on par with Eredivisie in Holland or many of the South American leagues. They have certainly surpassed the Scottish Premier League and the Swiss Super League. I’m not saying that every team in MLS could beat teams from these countries but that the level of talent is higher overall.

Andrea Pirlo
Pirlo has already come over and begun his career with the expansion team NYCFC.

American soccer is still in infancy by comparison to Europe or South America but these recent additions have certainly caught them up, even if it was only marginally. On top of that, these big name signings continue to bring in new fans. Even if these guys are older, the sheer name recognition is bringing fans in the door. So far this season, average attendance per game is up almost 2,000 fans per game. Over the course of a season that makes a huge difference. MLS is on pace for a record setting season when it comes to total attendance, one that will push it to almost the same average attendance as Serie A in Italy and Ligue 1 in France.

There is no ignoring that soccer has taken hold in the US anymore. MLS is well on it’s way to challenging other leagues for the country’s attention. Average attendance for MLS games have surpassed NBA and NHL games. Granted hockey and basketball are held in much smaller arenas it is still a step in the right direction. MLS is not great by any stretch but it should no longer be considered a joke as it was even five years ago.

Giovani Dos Santos
Dos Santos is the latest international star to join the Galaxy.

If names like Andrea Pirlo, Stephen Ger   ard and Giovanni Dos Santos continue to choose to come to MLS despite their usually older age, MLS will eventually begin to draw other talent. It takes time and the league has started the gradual process. Hopefully this means that now it is only a matter of time for the league to really grow in terms of play. With rumors that Christiano Rinaldo and Zaltan Ibrahimavic could one day make their way to MLS, there is no shortage of aging stars looking to continue playing. Hopefully some of the younger stars begin to follow.