Jose Mourinho slams his squads’ inconsistency. Louis van Gaal discusses United’s forwards, Arsene Wenger and Mauricio Pochettino explain Alexis Sanchez and Harry Kane’s slow starts, whilst Brendan Rodgers is delighted with Liverpool’s new-look frontline:
Mourinho bemoans lack of Untouchables
During Jose Mourinho’s first stint as the manager of Chelsea, the Portuguese manager claimed that eight of his first-team players were “untouchable”, with the Blues’ teamsheet one of the more reliable around. When quizzed if any his current Blues squad would warrant that appraisal, Mourinho admitted that none of his current players were consistent enough to fit into that category after a dire opening first couple of months to the 2015/16 campaign:
“Zero. To be untouchable you have to be consistent. You have to be a fantastic player but you have to be consistent. We have fantastic players, the players who gave us the title last season, no doubts about it, but football is about today, not about yesterday. To be a winner you don’t need to win all the time, you lose, you cannot win all the time, but you need a strong mentality every game, every day. In this moment I don’t have untouchables. I have very good players, players I like very much. I like my squad, I like their qualities, their human qualities, they are a very good group of guys. That’s a privilege to work with a group I like so much, no doubts about it, but untouchables, only consistency can give you that.”
Van Gaal Discusses Rooney’s Role
Since Anthony Martial’s insertion into Manchester United’s starting line-up, Wayne Rooney has been pushed back into the number-ten berth. This reconciles with Louis van Gaal’s desire to field a second striker in “the hole”, having previously stated that he prefers not to play midfielders like Ander Herrera in that position. Ironically, having blanked in the first four Gameweeks, Rooney netted his first league goal of the season last weekend from a withdrawn berth but, as his manager concedes, he will still occasionally call upon his captain to lead the line:
“I think that Wayne can play a lot of positions. He has shown that last season. I want to play with a first striker and second striker and maybe they are a very good duo together. We shall wait and see. He is a striker for me, and maybe I shall use him behind Martial, but when he plays with [Marouane] Fellaini, he shall always play in front of Fellaini because I want a striker who is running in behind.”
Van Gaal Impressed by Martial Qualities
Three goals in as many leagues starts is an impressive introduction to life in the Premier for Martial, who’s also displayed his creative capacity with the assist for Wayne Rooney’s goal against Sunderland. Moreover, only Lee Tomlin crafted more key passes (four) among forwards than the Frenchman (two) in the previous round of fixtures. Van Gaal is delighted with the diversity of Martial’s skill set, with the Dutchman even admitting that the youngster has surpassed his initial expectations after arriving from Monaco towards the end of the transfer window:
“I am very pleased with the performance of Anthony because he is not only a goalscorer, he is also an attacking point and he also prepares goals. So for us he is more important than I thought before he came. What I want of a striker is that he is an attacking point, that he is running in behind, preparing goals and running to the first post. These are not all the aspects of a striker, but Anthony Martial has done that today so I am pleased with his performance, but he can still be better and other players can be better.”
Pochettino Explains Kane’s loss of form
Harry Kane was afforded little time to wind down in the off-season, having travelled to the Czech Republic to partake in the U21 Euros. Tottenham’s chief marksman then returned late for pre-season, which Mauricio Pochettino believes contributed to his six-match barren spell at the start of the campaign. Aside from stressing the need to restore Kane’s confidence, Spurs’ head coach suggested that the England international’s desire to drop deep and link up play has affected his output:
“I think he is the same person and he has the same mentality as last season. But maybe at the end of the season he rested, went to the Euros, didn’t score at the Euros after three games, he came back late for pre-season and you need to recover the time. Sometimes you are not in the best scoring condition when you start to play, and you don’t score and your confidence goes down. This is probably what has happened, but this is a good experience for the future, to manage a young player like he still is. We try to assess the position on the pitch and sometimes he drops too much, but when we analyse it I think he is playing the same way that he did last season when he scored a lot of goals. The striker sometimes needs confidence and trust and maybe he has lost his confidence a little bit. It’s our job too to give back his confidence so he can start to score.”
Walcott on improving displays up front
Theo Walcott has flourished as the spearhead of Arsenal’s attack in recent weeks, bagging two goals in three starts in the league and two goals in as many appearances on the European stage. His form has consigned Olivier Giroud to a bit-part role of late, with Arsene Wenger resisting the temptation to rotate the form forward, handing Walcott four straight starts in the league. Discussing his role up top, Walcott acknowledges that there’s room for improvement in his hold-up play, though reckons his understanding with his team-mates is improving due to a consistency of pitch time:
“I have always said to the manager that I can always play in a three-man forward line so it is a good option for him. At the moment he believes I can do it up front and the more I play up front, the more the players will see the runs I make and what I do on the pitch as well. Up front you need to do the different side of the game such as holding it up for your team-mates and trying to play people in. The players with a big build like Olivier Giroud do that tremendously well. It is something I will definitely learn and get better at but if I can create more space for other players to come into the game, that is important as well.”
Rodgers hails Sturridge and Ings’ Partnership
Daniel Sturridge netted a brace in a 3-2 victory over Aston Villa last Gameweek, marking the first time since Spurs’ visit in February 10 that the Reds have recorded three or more goals in a league tie. Sturridge was the common thread across both those fixtures, having served up two assists during their 3-2 over the Lilywhites. Brendan Rodgers is excited for the Birmingham-born striker’s return and, with Christian Benteke sidelined due to a hamstring injury, the Reds boss reckons Sturridge’s partnership alongside the dynamic Danny Ings in a 3-4-1-2 is looking very promising:
“It’s not rocket science. The last time we scored three goals was when he started the game against Tottenham here (in February). If you’re going to compete at the top of the table you need to have big quality. We’ve got some very good players here. Daniel Sturridge has shown over his time here that he is a really, really top talent. And when you miss that sort of quality out of your team you can suffer for it. And he showed a great combination with young Danny Ings who obviously didn’t get a goal today but I thought he played his part up top with Daniel. It was very encouraging, it was the first time they’ve started and they showed that understanding. Good players do. Both can run in behind, both can come short, both press the game well, so it was very good.”
Wenger On Sanchez’ Return to Form
After serving up a single assist in the first six Gameweeks, Alexis Sanchez reaffirmed his capacity for explosive Fantasy returns last weekend, registering a hat-trick in a 5-2 win over Leicester City. The Chile international continues to post unparalleled numbers on the attacking front, with more attempts (38), shots inside the box (28) and penalty-box touches (67) than any of his counterparts. Arsene Wenger is now confident that Sanchez (who produced a goal and assist against Olympiakos last night) is finally back in top form, having regained his sharpness following a successful Copa America campaign with La Roja:
“He is back to his level. He won a big competition with Chile – the Copa America. I think as well mentally to adjust to the game on a mental level takes some time. I could see in training a different player in the last week or two and he has shown that today. I believe going forward he always looked dangerous.”
McClaren lauds Mitrovic Impact
Having served out his three-match ben, Aleksandar Mitrovic clocked 84 minutes during Newcastle United’s 2-2 home draw against Chelsea. Steve McClaren was relieved to welcome the Serbian back into the Magpies’ starting line-up, insisting that he’s the brings the best out of their squad – indeed, Mitrovic’s only two starts this term have coincided with Newcastle’s hard-fought draws against Manchester United and the Blues. Now McClaren is eager for the 6.2-priced striker to showcase his goalscoring talents and open his account in the coming weeks:
“Listen, the way we want to play – we have missed Mitrovic for three games – and the way we want to play, you need a damn good centre-forward, you need a damn good number nine and after today’s performance, it’s shown we’ve missed that. We had it at Old Trafford, we had it for 15 minutes against Arsenal and I think he showed today what he is going to bring to the team. His goalscoring, which is what he’s been bought for, we have yet to see, but certainly in terms of improving the team and building the team around him, he certainly can do that.”
Neil Explains Redmond Omission
Nathan Redmond kicked off the season with two goals in as many outings but was dropped to the bench for Norwich City’s trip to West Ham in Gameweek 7, following a string of patchy performances. The 5.7-priced midfielder then entered the fray at the 69-minute mark and regained the lead for the Canaries with his third goal of the season. Canaries boss Alex Neil revealed that he sidelined Redmond in response to his lack of form, preferring to employ him as an impact sub against tired legs:
“I actually told him yesterday when I left him out that he was going to win us the game today, and he was a bit unfortunate that he didn’t. He was in good form at the start of the season but I think in his last couple of games, I don’t think he’s been at the levels that he would expect from himself. I chose to make him an impact player today for us, and he certainly did that.”
Martinez Talks Up Deulofeu
After scoring the winner for Everton during a 2-1 win over Reading in the League Cup, Gerard Deulofeu was rewarded with his first league start of the campaign. The former Barcelona recruit took full advantage of his opportunity at The Hawthorns, claiming assists for both of Romelu Lukaku’s strikes to earn a ten-point haul in the FPL game. Roberto Martinez was particularly impressed with Deulofeu’s display and suggested the young Spaniard now has the application to match his undoubted talent:
“We all know the quality he has. What I thought today was that he showed he has the maturity to understand adversity. He never lost concentration, he never lost focus and he had two fantastic assists. But on top of that he wanted to stay on the pitch. Any other footballer of his type, once he’s done his job and assisted the winner, would be quite happy to get off and put his feet up. He has that understanding of what the team needs. He wanted to work hard and to stay there and be part of the winning team finishing the game. He has earned his starting position today and I was pleased in the manner he played in the second half.”
Advocaat looking to change tactics
A 3-0 loss to Man United means that Sunderland have now drawn blanks in their last three encounters, while only Newcastle United and Watford (both five) have chalked up fewer goals than the Black Cats. Dick Advocaat is searching for a solution to their lack of goal threat, having been disappointed with the performances of Fabio Borini and Jermain Defoe at the lone-striker berth. With the schedule starting to fall in his favour, the Dutch boss is contemplating a change of tactics in his attempt to guide the Wearsiders out of the bottom three:
“What we have to think about is do we need to change things? Last year we had working workers, I think. That also didn’t bring results. (Fabio) Borini and (Jermain) Defoe have struggled as lone strikers. We definitely have to look at a change of formation. Now we have to ask do we go on with 4-3-3 or do we have to find another solution? Do we have to play tighter, and play that way? We have to think about the way we are playing to find a way to be more successful than we have so far. If we have an idea about how to do that, you have to change it.”
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