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Has
Leon Osman slipped under the England radar?
Leon
Osman: England
Leon Osman has
never made an international appearance despite seven solid seasons with
Everton. Is he England’s ‘forgotten man’?
On
Saturday, a late Leighton Baines penalty cancelled out two Darren Bent
strikes as Everton shared the points with Aston Villa in a dramatic draw at
Goodison Park.
The
man who gave them the lead in the 38th minute, Leon Osman, put in
yet another solid display for the club he has been at since 1997. The
29-year-old, though, is yet to appear for an international side, despite being
eligible for Turkey and Cyprus (through his father) and England (through his
mother).
Osman,
at times, can frustrate the Everton faithful, but his quality is certainly not
in question – he’s been compared to Paul Gascoigne in the past and Liverpool’s
Joe Cole has stated that Osman was the better talent when they were teammates
at England youth level.
Osman
can be used both on the right and in the middle, and has even been used on the
left, cutting inside onto his favoured right-foot (an ‘inside-out’
winger) and generally causing opposition full-backs problems week-in, week-out.
Everton
have struggled this season, with the lack of a genuine, top-quality striker
their biggest problem, but Osman has been a consistent source of quality for
David Moyes’ side, making nineteen appearances in the Premier League, with five
assists and three goals to his name.
The
main criticism of Osman is that he can go missing in games, but, surely, Osman
is exactly the sort of player England are looking for? He’s a ball-playing,
skilful midfielder who can play all across the midfield and is able to use both
feet (something which the current crop of English talent is generally lacking
and something that other nations have instilled into their players with great
ease). He may be diminutive but he does flourish when coming up against big,
powerful defenders (against Birmingham, a team notoriously difficult to break
down, in October, he was the best player on the pitch as Everton won 2-0).
This
season, Osman has started on the left side more than on the opposite wing -
seven times to five times, and one in the middle. He’s been used as a
box-to-box midfielder in the past and is even useful in a defensive sense when
in a side-midfield position, something that could come in handy if he were
selected for England, as Fabio Capello prefers to play with attacking
full-backs.
In
the last England squad, Wolves’ Matt Jarvis, West Ham’s Scott Parker and
Osman’s teammate Phil Jagielka were all selected. The argument that Capello
only picks players from the so-called ‘big’ teams is nonsense, but, sometimes,
it does appear that Capello picks players that are getting rave reviews in the
media, as well as succumbing to the pressure of fans and club managers.
Osman
is very rarely given any credit for his performances. He might not be a
world-beater and he may struggle if put up against a top-quality international
full-back. But he’s a hard-working, determined, well-disciplined (he’s never
been sent off in the League and has only been booked twenty-one times since his
first Everton start in May 2004) and his passing and vision are both excellent.
England
and Fabio Capello are still trying to get over the debacle that was the 2010
World Cup and it is a mystery to me how a player who has performed so
consistently for so many seasons has seemingly escaped the attention of not
only Capello, but the English public too.
Osman
has been named Everton’s
Player of the Month for March – maybe it’s time to finally give Leon Osman
some international recognition.
Fans
can ‘go to hell’, says Fulham owner
Fulham
fans fury over Michael Jackson statue
Fulham
fans are furious with their owner, Mohamed Al-Fayed, who has had a statue of
Michael Jackson erected outside Craven Cottage.
Fulham
fans have reacted angrily after their owner, Mohamed Al-Fayed, decided that a statue of Michael Jackson should be
placed outside their stadium – Craven Cottage.
Al-Fayed, who was good friends with Jackson,
infuriated Fulham fans further by claiming that “Fulham fans will love it. If some stupid fans don't understand and
appreciate such a gift they can go to hell.
"I don't want them to be fans. If they don't
understand and don't believe in things I believe in they can go to Chelsea,
they can go anywhere else. People will queue to come and visit it from all over
the UK and it is something that I and everybody else should be proud of."
Fulham message boards were later besieged with
posters demonstrating their disgust at what Al-Fayed had said, with one member
of a Fulham message board labelling the Egyptian “an arrogant bully”. Another member stated: “I find this very disrespectful and insulting.”
Fulham fan Callum Kerrins told the Fulham Chronicle: "I wrote to the club
to complain, not that it will do any good. I feel really let down."
Another fan argued “that at least 90 per cent of Fulham fans are against the
statue, yet he wants us to go to hell and support someone else.”
Cottagers fans are clearly not happy, not just with
the statue, but with the way Al-Fayed has completely disregarded the thoughts
of Fulham fans, as ‘Ash’ told the Chronicle: "[Al-Fayed’s] comments were
disgraceful today. I've paid so much money to see my team play and you've
disrespected us all. We are entitled to our opinions. A public apology will be
nice. Stop favouring the tourists over the diehards."
Al-Fayed bought Fulham in 1997 and has seen the
London club rise from the Third Division right up to the top flight. Under Roy
Hodgson’s tenure, the club reached the Europa League final last year. Whilst
Al-Fayed has clearly done an awful lot for Fulham, the fans are obviously unhappy
with recent developments.
Fulham fans have set up a petition to try and convince Al-Fayed that the fans do not want the statue and
that maybe the owner should think about what the fans actually want, rather
than what he wants.
Kroenke
makes move for Arsenal
American
tycoon in advanced talks with Gunners
American
businessman Stan Kroenke is in advanced talks over the takeover of Arsenal,
which the Supporters’ Trust have welcomed.
American
tycoon Stan Kroenke is in advanced talks to take control of Arsenal, according
to Sky Sports.
Kroenke
is currently the largest shareholder at the club, owning a twenty-nine per cent
stake. If he were to purchase a further 0.09% of the Premier League club
Kroenke would have to make a bid for the remainder.
“Uzbek
billionaire Alisher Usmanov also has more than a 20 per cent stake in the club
- but now Kroenke has made a move to secure full control”, says Sky Sports. “Sky
sources understand that Kroenke has come to an agreement with fellow
shareholders Danny Fiszman and Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith to purchase their
shares.”
Both
own 16% of Arsenal and, therefore, if Kroenke were to confirm those deals, a
takeover bid would be triggered.
Arsenal
would become the fifth Premier League club to be owned by an American, along
with Manchester United, Aston Villa, Sunderland and Liverpool.
The Arsenal
Supporters’ Trust
has cautiously welcomed the news, releasing a statement on Sunday night: “AST
thinks it is really important that supporters remain involved in Arsenal's
ownership structure.
"Stan
Kroenke has a good relationship with the AST and recently supported our
fanshare scheme.
"We
are hopeful of having discussions with him to discuss how our members and
Arsenal supporters can keep their shares in Arsenal Football Club."
Kroenke
is the owner of Kroenke Sports Enterprises, which includes the Denver
Nuggets of the NBA, Colorado Rapids of Major League
Soccer, Colorado Avalanche of the NHL, Colorado Mammoth of
the National Lacrosse League and St. Louis Rams of
the NFL.
The
reaction to this news seems to be a little mixed; some Arsenal fans are
worried, given that there have been clubs in the Premier League who have
struggled with foreign owners; many Arsenal fans are happy for a sport-savvy
owner to come in and, as long as he doesn’t own 100% of the club and does
commit funds to Arsenal, they are happy to support him; while most are just
happy for some investment, or at least intention of investment.
In
other Premier League news, FC Porto manager Andre Villas Boas is being linked
with Liverpool. According to Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport (and Gabriele Marcotti), Villas Boas is
Liverpool’s top managerial target – apparently, the 33-year-old has a
pre-contract agreement with Liverpool. However, The Times’ Tony Barret quickly quashed the
rumours.
These
articles originally appeared on Sports Haze.
