Ange Postecoglou knows James Maddison is eager to make up for lost time but has admitted the Tottenham playmaker found his spell on the sidelines tough.
Maddison will return for Friday’s visit of Manchester City in the FA Cup after almost three months without football due to ankle ligament damage.
It halted Maddison’s brilliant start to life at Spurs and Postecoglou revealed the England midfielder struggled at times during the longest absence of his career.
Stepping up preparations
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial)
“Not low but it was tough for him, because he does love his football, he loves the environment of football clubs, he loves the dressing room,” Postecoglou said.
“He’s kind of a force within that. It…
Opening the 2021/22 Serie A campaign with a real statement on home soil last weekend, Inter Milan managed to make it back-to-back wins after a thumping 3-1 victory at the Stadio Marc Antonio Bentegodi on Friday night.
Despite falling 1-0 down away at Verona, the defending Italian champions really put on an eye-catching second-half display on the road as they extended on their early-season bounce under new boss Simone Inzaghi.
With their latest summer addition enjoying what was a fairy tale start to life at the Nerazzurri, we have taken a look at all the major talking points from Friday s showdown in Veneto.
A stunning 24 hours for Correa
With it only announced 24 hours prior to Friday s matchup at the Stadio Marc Antonio Bentegodi that Joaquin Correa had comple…
Stuttgart winger Johan Audel is being mentioned as a possible target for FC Nantes, .
The newly promoted side look set to stay without top scorer Filip Djordjevic, who is wanted by top Ligue 1 clubs.
They are, therefore, in desperate need of attacking reinforcements and they are believed to be weighing up a cut-price deal for Johan Audel.
The 29-year-old joined Stuttgart in the summer of 2010 from Valenciennes, but he was unfortunate to pick up a serious knee injury just few months into his career in Germany.
It is for that reason that he only made three Bundesliga appearances for the Swabians although he has been appearing for club s reserve side since recovering from injury in November 2012.
With his contract set to expire in a year s time, Stu…
John Carver says he understands why some Manchester United fans may be growing frustrated with Louis van Gaal s style of play.
Newcastle United head coach John Carver says frustration towards Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal is understandable.
Despite Van Gaal s side losing just twice in their last 21 games ahead of Wednesday s Premier League trip to St James Park, frustration has been evident at Old Trafford with regards to the style of play on show.
The Dutchman has guided his side to fourth, but Carver can see why some fans have not been entirely won over.
It s difficult for Man United fans because they were always on the front foot, going forward, lots of crosses and exciting football, he said.
Now it has changed slightly because th…
Picking up what could be a crucial 2-1 win against fellow promotion hopefuls Crewe over the weekend, Plymouth now find themselves within touching distance of climbing into the automatic positions. With the mood in their camp once again on the rise after another eye-catching performance on Saturday, the Greens have won three of their last four appearances and even more impressive, fans around Home Park have seen their side win seven of their last nine contests since New Year s Day. In the midst of what has been an extended purple patch, there is no doubt that Tuesday s traveling support will be hugely excited by the recent success of leading marksman, Antoni Sarcevic. Once again finding the net against Crewe last time out, the 27-year-old has recorded back-to-back strikes and now has fou…
As for the visitors, while Norwich might still be seen as a landslide favorite for the drop this season, Daniel Farke s men did send shockwaves across the Premier League last weekend. Putting in an eye-catching display on Friday night, the Canaries picked up a 1-0 win over top-four contenders Leicester at Carrow Road, a result that brought an end to their four-match winless run in the top-flight. While last year s Championship winners may have booked a North London showdown thanks to a 2-1 win over Burnley last month, a huge part of Norwich s continued issues at the foot of the table have come down to some problems outside of East Anglia. Hit with what was a 3-0 hammering away at Wolves in their last appearance on the road, the former Borussia Dortmund coach has seen his side land just …
Treated badly
Championship club Peterborough United have parted company with their manager Darren Ferguson. The club sit bottom of the Championship having won just two of their first sixteen games.
Exit
Ok, I hear you say, football is a results business and Mr. Ferguson has failed to get results and should therefore not be surprised that he has been shown the exit door.
The reality, however, is slightly different and this decision has actually confirmed to me that the football world, in England anyway, has finally gone totally mad.
Defeats
The thirty-seven year old son of Sir Alex Ferguson took over at Peterborough in January 2007 when they were on a run of six straight defeats in League Two.
The following season he led the club to …
Will his return boost Liverpool?
Saturday 21st November
Birmingham v Fulham
Birmingham are still hovering just above the relegation zone but continue to show the sort of determination needed to stay in the top division. Having said that, four goals in six home games is a serious problem.
Fulham have recovered from a disappointing start and are now in a more realistic mid-table position. However, they have only managed one win away from home so far this season.
Neither team scores many goals and this one is unlikely to be a bonanza in that department.
SoccerNews prediction: 0-1
Burnley v Aston Villa
When Wigan won comfortably at Burnley a few weeks ago I thought that would be the beginning of the end for Burnley who had started well at hom…
Arsene Wenger is keeping a close on Monaco youngster Kylian Mbappe and has compared the attacker to Thierry Henry.
The 18-year-old is regarded as one of the brightest prospects in Europe, becoming Monaco s youngest debutant and goalscorer in 2015-16, erasing Henry s name from the record books on both occasions.
Mbappe has built on those performances this campaign and his good run of form has not gone unnoticed by Arsenal and Wenger.
Mbappe is like Henry, maybe not exactly, but it is true that he has similar qualities. The talent and potential is similar, Wenger told beIN Sports.
It now depends on whether he has the same desire, intelligence and motivation that Thierry had. The next two or three years will tell us that. But the first signs are very p…
French midfielder N Golo Kante has enjoyed an incredible few years
In the summer of 2015 Leicester signed a little-known French central midfielder called N’Golo Kante from Nice for a smallish fee by Premier League standards.
I dare to say that the majority of Premier League fans will not have known much if anything about the Frenchman
The diminutive and energetic midfielder was hardly a glamour signing. However, what he helped Leicester achieve last season was nothing short of a football miracle.
He was the catalyst, as he dominated the centre of midfield in many games and covered every inch of turf during matches.
It would now be hard to find any football fan who is not familiar with the little French international midfielder, such has been hi…