Ex-England International given permission to go for Stevenage Job

Ex-England international and Manchester United legend Teddy Sheringham has today been given permission by West Ham to speak to Stevenage about potentially replacing Graham Westley as their new manager. If Sheringham was to take charge of "The Boro" this would be his first full managers job since retiring from playing back in 2008.

The 49-year old is currently West Ham's forward coach and has been since May 2014. He has been highly credited as one of the key reasons to West Ham's new attractive attacking football this season. He has also been labelled as the key reason for Diafra Sakho winning the Premiership's player of the month in October 2014.

I personally feel sorry for Graham Westley as he has guided Stevenage to the League 2 play-offs, however Stevenage went out after losing 4-2 to Southend on aggregate. However, given that Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink turned Burton Albion from a relegation threatened side to League 2 winners in just 6 months, then Teddy Sheringham maybe Stevenage needs to get promoted at the end of next season.

Despite Teddy Sheringham still being fairly new to the coaching side of the game, his career has been filled with playing under great managers such as Sir Alex Ferguson who I'm sure he will take a lot of inspiration from the Scotsman's managerial success'. Having spent all season working closely with Sam Allardyce, then Teddy Sheringham may soon become a fantastic manager whether he gets the Stevenage job or not.

Argyle fans favourite Banton amongst those getting the chop

Plymouth Argyle have recently announced the list of players who shall be released at the end of the season.

8 players will be departing Argyle without their contracts being renewed which includes fans favourite Jason Banton and central midfielder Dominic Blizzard. Both men have regularly featured for the greens throughout this season with Banton having a lengthy loan period at Home Park prior to his permanent move.

Others amongst the list include experienced striker Marvin Morgan, future prospects Matt Lecointe, River Allen and Jamie Richards. Ollie Norburn is also departing after struggling to cement first team football with the Devon-based side this season.

Another disappointment for the Argyle fans is the news that Paul Wotton has confirmed his retirement from playing despite already being a first team coach at Plymouth. Wotton's illustrious career has seen him play 491 times for Plymouth Argyle who were his local side as a child.

This leaves Argyle with only 9 players currently signed on for next season as well as 6 players rumored to be offered new contracts which include first team regulars Lewis Alessandra and Peter Hartley.

Where next for Preston's play off hero?

It's now that annual time of the season where all football clubs are starting to release players from there clubs with Bolton Wanderers certainly following suit after today releasing 13 first team players. This includes English-born Jamaican international Jermaine Beckford who has had a fantastic loan spell at Preston North End this season with Beckford scoring 20 times in 35 appearances for "The Lilywhites" and he will be heavily missed at Deepdale.


Despite Beckford travelling around a lot in his 10-year professional career, he still has an impressive goal-scoring record having netted 158 times in 376 professional appearances at club level as well as 1 international goals in his 6 caps for the Jamaican national side. Nether the less he has proved to be prolific when playing his domestic football in league one scoring 113 goals in 199 appearances during his league one spells with Leeds United, Carlisle United, Scunthorpe United and Preston.


I feel that Beckford has the skill and ability to do well in a low level Championship side or a high level League One side and I feel given his vital contribution to Preston's Play Off campaign this season, regardless of where they are next season this could be his best possible destination. Having been there for the majority of this season then will settle in very quickly and would certainly feel at ease. However, there are also some other good clubs that I'm sure would be happy to sign a player of Beckford's calibre with Reading and Millwall being two of my other strong suggestions as to who should attempt to snap up Beckford in the summer.


Needless to say, he may coming to the later stage of his career the 31-year old still has the ability and capabilities of doing a good job wherever he goes and if used right, he may well have a fantastic 2015-2016 campaign.  


 

Fullham interested in Newcastle United Goalkeeper

Marcus Bettinelli has been a bright spark for Fullham this season and is heavily rumored to be leaving Craven Cottage at the end of the season. Kit Symons has stated that he will offer the 22-year old a new contract but with Chelsea stepping up their interest in Bettinelli, Fullham are almost having to look for an alternative option.

With Rob Elliot set to become third choice goalkeeper at Newcastle Untied, when Karl Darlow returns from his loan spell at Nottingham Forest then Elliot's lack of game time is only going to be shortened even more. Elliot will surely be set to look for a new club as he has only made 28 first team appearences in his 4-year tenure with "The Magpies".

Fullham have confirmed to be interested Elliot and I feel that if Elliot really wants first team football then this is probably his best option. He isn't getting any younger and with Elliot only playing 176 professional matches in his 11-year career then surely he would daft to turn down this opportunity.

Rob Elliot has shown signs of being a good goalkeeper and maybe a move to Fullham could get his career back on track as well as hopefully guding Fullham to a much stronger season than they've had this time around.

Conor Hourihane: Barnsley's Irish Wizard

It's fair to say Barnsley's season has not exactly been one filled with success and promise. However it's also fair to say that Conor Hourihane has certainly stood out from the rest of the crowd this season and has quickly become a fan favourite at Oakwell this season following his £220,000 move from Plymouth Argyle last summer.

Despite Hourihane being a natural central midfielder, he has certainly been one of Barnsley's best players this season if not the best being Barnsley's Top Scorer and having the clubs most assists this season in League 1. His contribution of 12 goals and 13 assists in 44 appearences (which include a goal and 3 assists in their 5-0 thrashing of Rochdale on the final day of the season) has certainly been a key reason behind them finishing 11th in the league with them only being 7 points short off the play off's although they only finished 11 points clear of relegation. 

Barnsley will certainly do a lot to keep hold of their star man this season with many Championship clubs such as Sheffield Wednesday and newly promoted side Bristol City also rumored with the 24-year old Irishman. Hourihane has proved to be a successful signing for The Reds this season after making 141 appearances at his former club Plymouth Argyle scoring 16 times and becoming club captain before turning 22-years old. Hourihane started off coming through the ranks at Sunderland as a youth player but however never quite made the first team with similar struggles happening at Ipswich Town shortly after.

I feel that if Hourihane can carry on in the 2015-2016 season in a similar fashion to how he finished this season, then whatever club he is playing for will certainly feel the success of his work. If Hourihane does this then maybe he could earn a place in the Republic of Ireland national set-up. Having played for his country 22 times at youth level, Hourihane is still yet to make his full international debut however I feel that he is close to earning a call-up very soon. 

Thomas Ince: Could his impact lead Derby County to the Premiership?

Since Tom Ince joined Derby County on loan at the start of February, Ince has been one of the hottest prospects in the Championship scoring 11 times and also providing 1 assist in his 17 appearences for "The Rams". Ince has certainly been playing his best football since he left Blackpool but why has he struggled at Hull City, as well as disappointing loan spells with Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest.

Ince has struggled to play regular first-team football since joining Hull City in the summer. When he has played he has featured in a variety of positions which has given him no stability and may have unsettled his future. Despite Ince being one of our countries brightest young talents, Ince has only seemed to perform whilst as either a winger or a right-sided attacking midfielder. I think personally he will only gel and perform given regular action in either of these positions.

Ince has only featured 13 times for his parent club this season with 8 of these coming on as a substitute. Because of his lack of time he has only scored once for Hull and has certainly seemed to struggle when playing out of position whether is was Hull, Palace or Forest.

I feel that if Derby get promoted, then Ince may join them on a permanent deal or if Hull get relegated then Ince's Championship experience could help them make a quick return to the Premiership. I feel that Ince should probably leave Hull and I feel he could make a serious impact next season at either a big-name Championship side or a newly promoted side such as Bournemouth. Ince needs to play regularly in a position he knows well otherwise his career may waster away.

PFA Team of the Year 2014/2015: The Best Of The Rest

Today the 2014/2015 PFA Team of the Year has been announced and it is certainly an incredible side full of world-class talent who have all had a sensational season. However, as always there is some debate regarding players who could've and perhaps should have been there. I have therefore decided to make a team full of players who in my mind could've have easily been in the Team of the Year.

Goalkeeper

Fraser Forster- Alongside Simon Mignolet, Fraser Forster currently has 13 clean sheets this season conceding only 21 goals in 30 appearances and being a key part of why Southampton have the joint best defensive record in the league. Despite Forster being sidelined for the rest of the season he has seriously impressed this season and he will soon give Roy Hodgson a selection dilemma for England's future first team goalkeeper.

Defenders

Nathaniel Clyne- I feel that Southampton's entire defensive line have all been key performers in the league and Clyne has been an instrumental part of this. Clyne has featured in 31 of the Saints 34 league fixtures this season averaging 3.5 tackles per game and he has also popped up with 2 goals for Southampton. Clyne has also managed to break into the England set-up making his first appearance against Italy in an international friendly last month.

Jose Fonte- The Southampton skipper has been at the heart of the sensational back 4. Fonte has played all but one of the Saints league games this season. Fonte has averaged 5.6 clearances which has made him the second highest in the side, only 0.1 behind defending compatriot Toby Alderweireld. Fonte has also averaged 3.1 clearances a match making him the joint 7th best in the league alongside Hull's Curtis Davies and Arsenal's Nacho Monreal.

Aaron Cresswell- The West Ham left-back flourished in his first season in the top flight after joining The Hammers from Ipswich for an undisclosed fee last summer. Alongside Swansea skipper Ashley Williams, Cresswell has played every minute this season with these two being the only outfield players to do so. Cresswell has contributed 4 assists and 2 goals this season which has heavily linked him to both a big money move with Chelsea and Manchester City as well as being rumored with a future England call up.

Cesar Azpilicueta- Azpilicueta is the only regular starter from the Chelsea defence who does not feature in the PFA Team of the Year however he easily could have. Azpilicueta is the 8th highest ranked in the league in average tackles per game. Azpilicueta has helped Chelsea charge for the title this season having played 26 of Chelsea's 33 league games this season. His passing, tackling, and holding of the ball have certainly made him a first team regular. Despite the big money move for Filipe Luis, Azpilicueta hasn't allowed him a look-in to the first team with his solidarity at left back.

Midfielders

David Silva- Despite Manchester City's poor end to the season, David Silva's fantastic season has been seriously overshadowed. David Silva has played 28 times for Manchester City scoring 11 times and providing 4 assists for City. This leaves Silva as the 10th top goalscorer in the league despite not being a prolific goalscorer. Alongisde Eden Hazard, David Silva leads the league's ranking of key passes per match averaging 2.8 key passes a game.

Mile Jedinak- Crystal Palace have not had a particularly stand out season but their captain Jedinak has had a fantastic season. Jedinak has the 6th highest average match rating in the league. In his 22 league appearences Jedinak has contributed with 5 goals and 3 assists as well as being 5th in the league for average aerial duals won per match averaging an impressive 4.6 average aerial duels won a game. He is also 2nd in the league rankings for average interceptions with 3.6 a game only 0.2 behind Arsenal wonder-kid Francis Coquelin. 

Cesc Fabregas- Fabregas' move to Stamford Bridge has been a very popular one for all Chelsea fans. Fabregas has an impressive 16 assists this season in the league being 6 assists clearer than any other player. Cesc also has the 3rd best average match rating in the league as well as popping up with 3 goals for the soon-to-be 4 time Premiership champions. He also leads the leagues charts for key passes in the league alongside David Silva.

Gylfi Sigurdsson- Tottenham fans will have been gutted when they sold Gylfi Sigurdsson back to Swansea at the start of this season. Sigurdsson is tied second in the assists rankings with 10 assists as well as 6 goals for the welsh side. He Icelandic wizard also averages an impressive 2.3 key passes per game putting him on par with Alexis Sanchez. His attacking influence has helped them have another strong season in the Premiership and he was certainly missed during his spell in London.

Strikers

Sergio Aguero- Despite City's lacklustre second half of the season, Sergio Aguero still leads the Golden Boot charts scoring 21 times and providing 6 assists in 29 games questioning why he did not make the Team of the Year. He also leads the leagues list of shots per goal averaging 4.4 shots a game. The Argentinian has had some trouble with injury and if City were still in the title race, who knows Aguero may even be a contender for PFA player of the year.

Charlie Austin- QPR may be destined to return to the Championship but that has not affected his ability to score goals in his debut season in the top flight. Austin has scored 17 times and has also created 4 goals in his 31 appearences for QPR. Austin has averaged 3.9 shots per game making him second in the league's list and with clubs such as Liverpool interested in the English forward, will his future in London hang in the balance?