Month: September 2018

Hibernian boss Neil Lennon believes winger Martin Boyle deserves an international call-up with Australia and the exposure would help him develop into a better footballer. The 25-year-old has only represented Scotland at the under-16 level but he has the qualification to represent the Socceroos with his father hailing from Sydney.

Speaking in a press conference, Lennon revealed that Socceroos coach Graham Arnold had a close watch on the attacker during the recent league game against Kilmarnock and hinted that he could receive a maiden call-up for the international friendly against Kuwait next month, he said: “An Australia call-up would be thoroughly merited for Martin.

Hibernian boss Neil Lennon believes winger Martin Boyle deserves an international call-up with Australia and the exposure would help him develop into a better footballer. The 25-year-old has only represented Scotland at the under-16 level but he has the qualification to represent the Socceroos with his father hailing from Sydney.

Speaking in a press conference, Lennon revealed that Socceroos coach Graham Arnold had a close watch on the attacker during the recent league game against Kilmarnock and hinted that he could receive a maiden call-up for the international friendly against Kuwait next month, he said: “An Australia call-up would be thoroughly merited for Martin.

“We had Graham Arnold here last week checking up on Milly and Jamie then he came to the game against Kilmarnock. Unfortunately Martin only lasted 45 minutes but Graham saw plenty of footage of him while he was here. He is a player that is of interest to Australia and I think that would appeal to Martin. International football would be great for his experience, to play at international level, especially for a country like Australia.”

Meanwhile, “Lennon revealed that Scotland had also previously expressed an interest in Boyle“before the summer trip to the Americas but unfortunately, he could not come into contention after he sustained a hamstring injury. Australia are presently entering into a major transitional phase with several seniors including
“Mark Milligan and Mile Jedinak“ having entered the final years of their professional careers and there appears a keen emphasis on offering opportunities to younger prospects.

Among those, Daniel Arzani has been earmarked as one who could make a huge mark with the nation in the future and it will be interesting to see how the teenager progresses in the coming years after making the switch to Europe. The 19-year-old recently made the move to Manchester City from sister club Melbourne City before sealing a two-year loan with Scottish champions Celtic.

After Huddersfield managed to stave off the threat of relegation in their debut Premier League season, they had little time to celebrate their achievements. As soon as one campaign finishes, the preparations for the next begin in earnest.

That is exactly what David Wagner would have had to do this summer as he plans for Huddersfield to extend their stay in the English top flight into a third season and beyond. However, that is a feat that is easier said than done.

After Huddersfield managed to stave off the threat of relegation in their debut Premier League season, they had little time to celebrate their achievements. As soon as one campaign finishes, the preparations for the next begin in earnest.

That is exactly what David Wagner would have had to do this summer as he plans for Huddersfield to extend their stay in the English top flight into a third season and beyond. However, that is a feat that is easier said than done.

In the past, many clubs have fallen victim to what is known as ‘second season syndrome’ and on the evidence of the first four weeks of this campaign, Huddersfield are showing all the symptoms of what can be a deadly illness.

It’s an illness that means a second season at this level ends in the ignominy of relegation. If this is to be avoided and the club end up getting the all-clear after finishing 17th or above come the end of the season, then it will need the likes of Aaron Mooy to deliver throughout the campaign.

The Australian international chipped in with four goals during the 2017/18 campaign, a contribution that, although it did not go unnoticed, is one that he will be looking to improve on as he bids to make sure his current employers are not sucked into a relegation battle.

Looking at the current football betting market for relegation from the Premier League, the prognosis does not look great for the Yorkshire based outfit. They currently find themselves second favourites for the drop at a price of 4/7.

And when you consider the fact that three teams will be demoted to the second tier of the EFL Championship at the end of this campaign, it is not something that will make for particularly good reading for fans of the Terriers.

Looking at their squad, there is not a great amount of fault that you can find; it is just that life has been made so much harder by the fact that promoted outfits Wolverhampton Wanderers and Fulham have raised the bar considerably after their large summer expenditure.

Championship winners Wolves have already won a lot of admirers after their early season performances. This probably comes as no real surprise after they spent in the region of £100m in the recent transfer window, an outlay that was matched by London-based outfit Fulham.

And although a new wave of incoming players means that the two sides will need time to settle and work out what exactly is their strongest eleven, they both look well equipped to deal with the additional cut and thrust that a step up in competition will bring.

Huddersfield may have a season of Premier League experience behind them, but at the same time, you do have to wonder where exactly the goals will come from and, more importantly, who will be the person or persons to provide them.

That’s a burden that former-Manchester-City player Mooy may have to take on his shoulders. The 27-year-old registered just three assists in Huddersfield’s debut Premier League campaign, and that’s a figure he will have to improve this time around if the club are to have any hope of staying up. Only time will tell if this is the case.

Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce has stressed that the club are no longer yearning to offload their key players to balance their financial books. Australian midfielder Mile Jedinak had recently been tipped to leave the Villains being the highest earner with them but Bruce has now indicated that the club are in a better financial position following the change of ownership.

Discussing the rumours surrounding Jedinak, Bruce said: “The one thing that the new owners have said is that nobody is for sale. That’s music to my ears. We don’t want to lose our best players. We all know in football that unfortunately these things do happen. But we will now be doing our utmost to make sure these things do not happen and not let them go anywhere.”

Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce has stressed that the club are no longer yearning to offload their key players to balance their financial books. Australian midfielder Mile Jedinak had recently been tipped to leave the Villains being the highest earner with them but Bruce has now indicated that the club are in a better financial position following the change of ownership.

Discussing the rumours surrounding Jedinak, Bruce said: “The one thing that the new owners have said is that nobody is for sale. That’s music to my ears. We don’t want to lose our best players. We all know in football that unfortunately these things do happen. But we will now be doing our utmost to make sure these things do not happen and not let them go anywhere.”

Jedinak struggled with minor injuries during the course of the 2017/18 campaign but he nevertheless made a mark during the final stages where he scored the goal, which took the team to the play-off final. Unfortunately, the west Midlands outfit could not cross the final hurdle against Fulham with a 1-0 defeat extending their wait for top-flight football.

Bruce has spoken positively about keeping the core of the squad together but the club could yet lose the services of Jack Grealish before the transfer deadline. The Englishman was hugely influential towards Villa’s promotion push after returning from a kidney damage last term and his performances through the campaign seem to have caught the eye of Premier League’s elite.

As things stand, both Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea are understood to hold an interest in the Villa graduate but the former are said to hold an advantage having managed to qualify for the Champions League. Mauricio Pochettino’s side are presently said to value Grealish at around £20m but Villa are likely to demand much more, considering they can now afford to work with a better financial security.