KANTE WINS PFA PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARD

Chelsea midfielder N’GoloKante has been awarded the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) Player of the Year award for the year 2016/17.


The 26-year old ranked ahead of his teammate Eden Hazard, Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane, Manchester United top striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Arsenal playmaker Alexis Sanchez.

On the other hand, Dele Alli beat his competitors to retain the Men’s Young Player Award for the second year in succession. Also, Manchester City’s Lucy Bronze won the Women’s Player of the Year award. Birmingham star Jess Carter picked up the Women’s Young Player of the Year award.

Kante is arguably the best buy in the Premier League this season after Chelsea snapped him up from the league winning side of Leicester City last summer. He has been spectacular in the role and he is on course for a double as Chelsea are favourites to lift the Premier League and the FA Cup.

WENGER HAPPY SANCHEZ OUT OF CHILE SQUAD

Arsene Wenger and Arsenal faithfuls would be delighted with the fact that top-notch striker Alexis Sanchez has been left out of the Chile squad competing in January’s china cup.


This is an early Christmas gift for Wenger who is looking to keep his top man fit in other to mount a credible title challenge in January.

The 27-year-old Arsenal striker has been in fine form all seasons scoring an incredible 12 premier league goals and providing five assists. His performance so far is responsible for his team’s overall success, and it would be a huge setback should Sanchez be injured anytime soon.

Wenger who is aware of the busy premier league fixtures at this period of the season is looking to manage collateral damages by keeping all his players fit in other to mount a title challenge in January. This news would no doubt bring some relief to the Arsenal boss who harbors the fear that Sanchez could be injured should he be selected in the Chilean squad for the January’s china cup competition.

Coventry City coach threatens to quit

Coventry City manager Tony Mowbray has threatened to resign from his post if the team doesn’t end their winless league run.


Mowbray has been in charge for 18 months, and after the draw played with AFC Wimbledon, Mowbray said: “I won’t be a burden to this club. I think I’m an honourable guy, and I won’t be around too long if we’re not winning. I won’t expect to be paid. I know this club needs every penny.”

After ten League One games, City are bottom of the log. The former Celtic coach took Coventry to the top of the League One just few months back, but fortunes have quickly changed. Mowbray took charge in March 2015 but after frustration in the summer transfer market, it seems he would take a walk. There have been continued protests from the club’s supporters against the club owners. Happenings are taking its toll on the players as only five goals have been scored in ten games. City have played six draws, and it seems the issues with the club would not end anytime soon.

Ronald Koeman comments on Communication gap between Players

Ronald Koeman reckons the players these days are so busy with technology that they develop a communication gap even with their own teammates and it results in poor coordination on the field.

Koeman brought up the game between Southampton and Newcastle United which was played at St. Mary’s Stadium the week before this and picked an instance from that game where three players in the defensive line of the Magpies went in the same route to tackle Sadio Mane, while, they should have gone in different directions and that error made a goal happen for the Saints.


According to Koeman, it could only have been the lack of communication on Newcastle’s part and nothing else. If there had been proper communication, different routes could have been taken and the goal could have been denied.

Koeman believes the players especially those who have grown up in this generation, they sort of build a different world for themselves and they remain busy in that world only. Face to face conversation just doesn’t come naturally to them.

That’s why, Koeman has set a rule for the Southampton players that when all of them are together, they will have to stay away from their electronic gadgets, their cell phones, laptops or whatever and instead, have a conversation among themselves to try and understand each other better and catch each other’s hints while playing alongside.

Ryan Shawcross says that Zlatan Ibrahimovic ruined his international career

Ryan Shawcross says that Zlatan Ibrahimovic ruined his international career after scoring four goals when he had just come on to see out the game.

England had a 2-1 lead going into the final 20 minutes of the match against Sweden in 2012. Shawcross was brought to defend this position and the Stoke City player was just making his debut for the national team. He would have been hoping for a much easier opponent than Ibrahimovic. Even though the PSG striker did not have a great record against the England national team or any of the English clubs, he had a fearful reputation across European football.

The game turned out to be one of the worst nightmares for Shawcross after he witnessed a masterclass from the big Swede. There was a major warning sign after the striker has scored the opening goal of the 20th minute. The real fireworks, though, came just after Shawcross was introduced. The striker scored an impressive hat-trick in the space of 15 minutes to win the match 4-2. The hat-trick included one of the wonder goals in the history of the game. Even though Ibrahimovic remains as one of the greatest strikers in the last few decades, Shawcross has not been forgiven for his part in the defeat.

Scotland full-back Alan Hutton is expected to start the crucial Euro 2016 qualifiers

Scotland full-back Alan Hutton is expected to start the crucial Euro 2016 qualifiers against Republic of Ireland in the summer.

The Aston Villa defender has had a good second half to the season and manager Gordon Strachan has included him in the squad. Ahead of the match, Hutton has revealed that the games against Ireland and England hold a special feeling for Scotland players and it is difficult to put a finger upon. After being regarded as the underdogs amongst the home nations, Scotland have a good possibility of reaching the Euro 2016. This would be their first major tournament in a long time.

Hutton is not ready to give up on this position, as Scotland target an away victory. The national team has won the last three matches with the 3-1 friendly defeat against England back in November 2014 the only sour result. Hence, the players go into the game with a lot of confidence. It is the exact opposite of the situation faced by Ireland, who have failed to kick on after the appointment of Martin O’Neill. The former Aston Villa manager did not make an immediate impact due to lack of competitive games. Now that the competitive games have arrived, he has been finding it difficult to motivate the players.