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New Hull City manager Marco Silva has insisted that he is not affected by the criticism that he has faced from football pundits.

Ex-footballers Paul Merson and Phil Thompson did not hold back when they gave their views on Silva’s surprise appointment at the KCOM Stadium.

During Sky Sports’ Gillette Soccer Special, both Merson and Thompson played down Silva’s ability to coach in the Premier League due to his lack of experience in England.

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The Portuguese coach was hired by the Tigers last week following the sacking of Mike Phelan, who was given his marching orders less than three months after receiving a permanent contract from the club.

Silva heads to England on the back of guiding Olympiacos to a record 43rd Greek league title, and prior to that coached Estoril and Sporting Lisbon.

According to the Daily Star, when asked if his achievements, which include guiding Estoril to Portugal’s top league and winning the Portuguese Cup with Sporting, means that he deserves more respect, Silva said:

“Yes, but for me it’s not important. I respect all the opinions and what the football people talk about.

“But I don’t care. For me it’s not important, what is important is my work with my players and what our fans feel, what they believe. That is what is important for me in this moment.”

The 39-year-old has a difficult task tonight as he faces compatriot Jose Mourinho in the EFL Cup semi-final first leg against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

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Our Fixture In Focus this weekend is, unsurprisingly, Manchester City hosting Tottenham on Saturday evening. Fifth meet second as a modern rivalry continues to bubble away. Tottenham have had the better of their Premier League rivals of late, but memories of several thrashings are still raw for Spurs fans.

Mauricio Pochettino and Pep Guardiola are two of the world’s most fascinating managers. Excellent tacticians, the pairing met in a battle of the minds earlier this season and Pochettino was the undoubted victor. It was a turning point in the seasons of both clubs, in fact, and Manchester City have seldom looked quite the same since.

As Spurs look to build on their recent strong form, this match is about Manchester City finding a way to keep pace with the top four. Defensive disasters have haunted their season and they face a Spurs attack who have been clinical.

There is plenty for Guardiola to ponder. Here are THREE things his City side simply must do on Saturday to claim a win…

Avoid a back three

The temptation may be to match up with Spurs in all areas of the pitch, but Manchester City cannot afford another sucker-punch defeat. While the back three has its uses for City, adopting that formation against Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen is simply asking for trouble.

It will leave too many three-on-three situations and the risk of being exposed is severe. Manchester City’s current defenders are simply not good enough in such areas to be able to cope with that pressure.

Overload the flanks

Assuming Spurs continue with their 3-4-3, there is a huge emphasis on Kyle Walker and Danny Rose defensively and offensively. Just as he did against Chelsea, Guardiola should overload the wide areas.

This has two benefits. First of all, it will force Spurs’ centre-backs to come out and support Walker and Rose. Secondly, it could pin them into their own defensive third of the pitch and significantly limit Spurs’ threat.

Attack the space

Spurs will still push up the pitch when in possession, even against Manchester City. Mauricio Pochettino’s team will rely on their pressing to save their defence from being exposed on the turn. Although it may go against a lot of what Guardiola’s side have shown this season, they must willing to ‘beat the press’ with targeted, direct balls into the space behind the Spurs defence.

City have the pace to do serious damage and occasionally reminding Eric Dier and Toby Alderweireld that they are at threat of a foot race can do little harm.

Granit Xhaka will be absent for the next four Arsenal matches following his dismissal against Everton at the weekend, his second straight red-card in his debut season in the Premier League.

Handed his marching orders for a two-footed scissor challenge, Xhaka has already earned himself a reputation as a hot-head who lacks discipline-which is nothing new when you consider his record abroad, as he’s been sent off FIVE times since the start of last season.

Naturally, comparisons to the likes of Paul Scholes and Gennaro Gattuso have followed; with both players being excellent in their prime but spending a lot of their time on the wrong side of the law.

Compared to the Premier League’s ‘nutcases’, Xhaka has joined an ‘illustrious’ list of hot-heads who did not take long to earn two red cards for their respective sides- although Xhaka, who took 19 games, has faired far better than team-mate Laurent Koscielny, who earned two red cards in his first eight appearances in English football.

At the ‘top’ of the rankings is former West Ham man Tomas Repka, who was sent off twice in his first three Premier League appearances. Remarkably, he stayed in East London for five years and made a further 164 appearances in the league.

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In a modern context, Celtic going an entire domestic season unbeaten is unheard of. The club have only had one unbeaten league season in their history and that was way back in 1898, when there were only 18 matches across a campaign.

The Hoops broke the legendary Lisbon Lions’ record for consecutive wins from the start of a season on Sunday, their 27th game this term without suffering defeat.

Incredibly they’ve won 26 of those matches, only Inverness Caledonian Thistle have managed to draw against them and that goal came in the dying moments of the game.

With four home games in February, the prospect of them losing anytime soon seems remote.

However, they do face one of their toughest tests of the domestic season with the visit of Aberdeen tonight. Although the Dons haven’t come close to Rodgers team, over the last few years they’ve certainly been the Bhoys’ closest challengers.

Can Rodgers inspire his side to an unbeaten domestic season?

Here are FIVE reasons why we think he will…

The fear factor

One of the key features of great Celtic sides of the past has been the intimidation opponents felt before a ball was even kicked, and Rodgers has brought that back to Celtic Park for the first time in over a decade.

Henrik Larsson, Chris Sutton, Stiliyan Petrov were just some of the names that brought a reputation with them into games that must have made defenders and midfielders pause for thought about their ability to match up these big names.

The increasing profile of Moussa Dembele and the likes of Scott Sinclair coming north means that teams across Scotland must expect defeat, or at the very best, a draw even when hosting the Hoops.

The treble

Unbeaten records and the like are all well and good but what supporters care about most is tangible success, silverware.

For players, coaches and the manager too the treble is the ultimate aim and may be the biggest factor in determining whether Celtic can keep up performance and concentration levels over the next few months.

It’s true that the Bhoys have a significant financial advantage over the other Scottish teams but that doesn’t guarantee anything – hard work and effort is still required.

Trebles are rare, even in Scotland. Celtic have only managed it three times in their entire history and the chance to win that in Rodgers’ first season in the club is a massive carrot on a stick for the entire club.

Squad kept intact

It’s been a long transfer window for Celtic fans as they’ve waited to find out whether they’ll retain their key players for the rest of the season and beyond.

Rumours have swirled around the likes of Kieran Tierney, Craig Gordon, Moussa Dembele, Erik Sviatchenko and Jozo Simunovic all month but it nows seems likely that Rodgers has managed to keep everyone happy at the club who has played a big part of their success so far.

That’s going to be vital if they truly want to make history this season. The Bhoys have a fantastic first-team and depth in most areas but losing the likes of Dembele would have been a significant blow given his impact on the side so far.

Late, late goals

Celtic’s determination to keep picking up points is evident in the way they finish matches this season. As shown by this stat from Norwegian journalist Christian Wulff, the Hoops are destroying teams in the final 15 minutes of games.

That will to win is going to serve them well if they carry their unbeaten streak towards the deep end of the season and the pressure and expectation begins to mount on them actually finishing the entire campaign without losing.

Fitness plays an issue here too. Celtic have arguably never looked as full of life and fit as they do now, even though that was a much-heralded aspect of Ronny Deila’s tenure at the club.

That’s making sure they are head and shoulders above the opposition no matter what, even if fans have to be patient and wait for the goal that gives them victory.

The entire team is scoring

Goals are coming from all over this Celtic side. Four players have scored ten or more goals in all competitions this season.

In the absence of both Moussa Dembele AND Leigh Griffiths on Sunday, Scott Sinclair stepped up to the plate to grab a double and move his tally onto 15 for the season.

It’s ability to find goals from all over the team that means Celtic are going to be a formidable force for the rest of the campaign. Even with big players out they always have a star or two who are going to make themselves count come the end of the 90 minutes.

Hoops fans don’t have to worry about an injury to one player or the form of another. This team is a unit and that’s proven by the variety of goalscorers and style of goals scored this season.

Tom Cairney has been one of the better midfielders in the Championship for some time. He impressed at Hull City, before improving further during two seasons at Blackburn Rovers and has produced arguably his best form to date since signing for Fulham at the start of last term.

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The Cottagers boast one of the strongest attacks in the Championship, netting the third-most times of any side this term whilst producing the most efforts at goal, and the 26-year-old has been instrumental in that as their chief playmaker.

Indeed, as our infographic shows, in addition to bagging six goals himself, Cairney has created a whopping 80 chances this season with six being converted into assists. He’s also completed 45 dribbles and produced a 93% pass completion rate – no easy feat when you’re making so many in the final third.

So when Tottenham come to town in the Fifth Round of the FA Cup today, Cairney will be the strongest candidate to inspire an upset against the Premier League outfit. Spurs fans be warned!

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Garry Monk has made an excellent start to life in Yorkshire, pushing Leeds United to 4th in the Championship standings and giving the Peacocks a real chance of finally securing a return to the Premier League.However, the former Swansea City boss has shared a concerning update to Leeds fans regarding his contract- as he revealed discussions over an extension are yet to start, with his current deal expiring at the end of the campaign.

Monk seems loyal to the Peacocks but fans will understandably be worried that he could be poached by a top-club this summer, particularly if Leeds fail to secure promotion, though the question marks around Massimo Cellino’s ownership and the discussions of a sale would have put a halt to any discussions.

Monk has left the door wide open for Leeds to make their move and the Peacocks will be expected to do so before the end of the season, whilst Monk is unlikely to walk away without sufficient reason.

Having finally given Leeds some stability though, it’s strange that Cellino and the board haven’t made their move to extend Monk’s deal.

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The London Stadium has divided West Ham United fans ever since the club moved into the Stratford-based ground last summer.

Plenty of supporters were unhappy to leave Upton Park, where the club was based for 112 years.

The Hammers’ current base is a world apart from their old ground in terms of size and quality.

It is the venue that crowned gold-medal winners during the London 2012 Olympic Games, but it has not bred much success for West Ham, who have won just eight of their 19 home games in all competitions this season.

There have also been smatterings of crowd trouble with rival fans at the Stratford base, but Gold believes that everyone connected with the club should be “proud” of the stadium.

It is currently the largest football ground in London with 80,000 capacity, but one can argue that a stadium of that magnitude is not fitting for a team that are mid-table in the Premier League.

Slaven Bilic’s men are currently 11th in the standings, 16 points adrift of the top six after winning just nine of their 27 league games this season.

Gold unleashed a staunch defence of the London Stadium on Twitter, but plenty of fans disagree with his stance.

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Everton manager Ronald Koeman has told star striker Romelu Lukaku that he must honour his contract after the Belgian told the club that he wouldn’t sign a new deal.

What’s the word, then?

Well, the 23-year-old was offered a new five-year contract that would see him become the highest-paid player in the club’s history, but he informed the Toffees hierarchy on Tuesday that he wouldn’t be accepting it as he wants to play Champions League football.

The Belgium international went a step further in an interview on Wednesday, claiming that the club don’t match his ambitions – leading his boss to hit back at his comments in his pre-match press conference on Thursday.

What did Koeman say?

The Dutchman said: “Everyone knows what can happen in football but you need to respect your contract.

“Of course I am not happy about that interview. If Everton is not a club with a lot of ambition I would not be manager.”

This isn’t going to end well, is it?

It’s a difficult situation for Koeman, because if it was another of his other players that had criticised the club in the media, he might be tempted to drop them from the starting XI.

However, Everton rely on Lukaku for goals and the fact that he is the joint-top goalscorer in the Premier League with 19 makes it even harder to remove him from the squad as the Toffees look to secure European football next term.

What happens next?

It will be interesting to see what happens when the Toffees host 18th-placed Hull City at Goodison Park on Saturday, as it is potentially a match where Koeman feels his side could get the win without their prolific attacker.

The former Southampton boss is still hopeful that Lukaku will commit his future to the Merseyside outfit.

He added: “They are still trying to get the contract over the line.”

Whatever happens at the weekend it feels as though the two parties are on a collision course, and it is a situation that might end with another success for player power.

When you think genius, you might think of the greatest philosophers or the greatest mathematicians. You might think of the most iconic world leaders, or the greatest artists and authors.

Personally, I think of Johan Cruyff.

He was an anomaly. An utter aberration. A man who played football like no one else. He didn’t physically play football after all, he played it with his mind. An esoteric pursuit that completely changed the game. A visionary, a departure, a flight of fancy – Cruyff is the ultimate because his contribution to the game wasn’t simply personal. He didn’t break records, he didn’t win golden boots, and only occasionally dazzled with skills. The reason he is a great is because he understood the game like no one else ever did and probably ever will.

Only a player like Cruyff could have improvised to score a goal like this:

His vision, his ability to see the game in a way that no one else could have was his gift. It showcases his talent, the way he formulated the game in his head and then was able to execute it perfectly with his legs.

The opening minute of the 1974 World Cup final epitomises the man. Straight from the kick off, the Dutch pass the ball around the back four. There was no West German pressure and intense whistles from the crowd. Then Cruyff gets the ball. The last man in the Dutch team, bar the goalkeeper: 20 players stand between him and the goal. And with 45 seconds gone in a World Cup final, Cruyff takes the ball all the way into the West German box and wins a penalty.

Franz Beckenbauer, the West Germany captain, protested the decision to English referee Jack Taylor: he walked up to Taylor and said, ‘well… you’re English.’

Holland lost the final – Cruyff would never win a World Cup – but his impact on the footballing world came in the style of football that he exhibited, both as a player and as a coach. Nine league titles and three European Cups as a player speaks volumes, but the fact he also won four league titles and a European Cup as a manager, too, is incredible.

Great players never make great managers. Sometimes great players have good managerial careers, but no one has ever had a playing career like Cruyff’s and then gone on to create something in the managerial world like he did. He is the author of the Barcelona style of play that we see today, the man whose vision gave the gifts of Pep Guardiola, Xavi and Andres Iniesta to the world. It’s all because of him that there is beauty and wonder in modern football.

There is no one goal, no one clip of football that can encapsulate Johan Cruyff’s contribution to football. No one piece of video could ever do that. That’s not surprising. Cruyff wasn’t a Pele or a Maradona whose careers can be summed up with a series of vines and clips, mountains of goals and skills after another. With Cruyff, you have to think in order to be able to understand it. It doesn’t simply happen before your eyes, but it’s something altogether more thoughtful, and ultimately more rewarding. It isn’t self-contained, it doesn’t have a beginning, a middle and an end, a first touch, a bit of skill and a goal. It is a sustained impact, shaping the world of football with each passing second.

Without Cruyff beauty would not be possible, and football will never be the same without him. But rather than mourn the loss, let’s celebrate the gain, the gift that he gave us just by bringing his genius onto a football pitch.

RIP Johan Cruyff 1947 – 2016

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Going in to April, Chelsea have a ten point lead at the top of the English Premier League. Barring a catastrophic collapse they will win the title and give Antonio Conte his first trophy in English football.

This does not, however, mean that interest at the top of the table going in to the final stages of the season is at an end. The battle for Champions League qualification is very much still on going and could very well go to the final weekend of the season.

At the start of the campaign the media narrative largely surrounded the appointment of Pep Guardiola as the coach of Manchester City, with questions surrounding whether he would continue his successful career in England. These questions seemed largely answered in the opening weeks of the season as City swept all before them in impressive style. Although as the season wore on, the age and quality of the squad was called in to question as results suffered.

In recent weeks the form of City has stabilised, though they were eliminated in the last 16 of the Champions League by AS Monaco. Now Guardiola needs to refocus his squad for the final stretch of the season. Failure to win the league in his first season is excusable but failure to qualify for the Champions League would be catastrophic.

The story of the season so far for Arsenal could well mirror that of Manchester City apart from the early season optimism and with a Champions League exit to Bayern Munich calling in to question the entire ethos of the club.

Arsene Wenger is under considerable pressure to walk away at the end of the season and the continuation of his contract could hinge on Arsenal securing a top four finish. Having made qualification for the Champions League a fine art over the last decade, Wenger will be looking to extract the very best from his squad to save his job…

Manchester City need to dominate the final third

At the start of the season, when City were at their enthralling best, the key to their attacking game was the role given to David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne in the centre of the pitch. Playing nominally as central midfielders who would take the number 8 role in the side they found themselves acting as almost a double pivot in the number 10 role.

By operating in the centre of the final third in this way, Silva and De Bruyne were able to dominate the opposition and set the tempo of the game in City’s favour.

Arsenal tried to fix their midfield issues in the summer with the signing of the Swiss international Granit Xhaka but the midfielder has yet to impress as the holding midfielder for the North London club.

If City are able to dominate the central space between the Arsenal midfield and defensive lines with the likes of Silva and De Bruyne controlling the tempo of the game, then they should have enough attacking firepower to see off the challenge of Arsenal.

With Sergio Aguero to pin the central defenders back and the pace of Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane in wide areas City are a fearsome prospect for any opposition team.

Arsenal need to attack the City fullbacks

One of the biggest issues that Pep Guardiola has found with his City squad is the lack of quality in the fullback areas. The likes of Pablo Zabaleta, Bacary Sagna and Gael Clichy were once passable at the top level but as they have aged their qualities have dropped off significantly.

Now the lack of quality in the wide defensive areas is one of the biggest weaknesses of this City side.

It may be time for Arsene Wenger to revert to using the Chilean international forward Alexis Sanchez in a wide role to take advantage of this weakness. With Danny Welbeck and Oliver Giroud able to play as the lone striker, Wenger could afford to move Sanchez to the left where his pace and energy could be at its most effective.

The pace of Theo Walcott on the right could have a destabilising effect on the City defensive structure that would prevent City from being able to transition quickly from the defensive to the attacking phase.

If Arsenal are able to overload the wide areas with support from the fullbacks for Sanchez and Walcott then we could also see the attacking strength of City lessened, as Sane and Sterling will have to track back and support the defensive phase far more than they would otherwise be comfortable with.

The question for Arsenal, however, will be whether to play the mercurial German international Mesut Ozil in the number ten position when an extra central midfielder could provide more strength to the team structure. Playing Ozil wide is not a realistic option given his lack of pace and desire to work back in the defensive phase.

Conclusion

The lack of European involvement for these clubs should see them start to adjust and plan for next season even at this early stage.

Expect to see Guardiola and City look to dominate in the attacking phase even more as the season draws to an end. The pace in the wide areas should be coupled with the presence of Silva and De Bruyne in the centre or the half spaces and opposition defences will be hard pushed to prevent them from breaking through.

Arsenal on the other hand have to prove to the watching fanbase that the players are still behind their coach and that they are capable of consistently playing the kind of football that brought the club so many admirers over the course of Wengers tenure.

Three points in this match will go a long way to securing Champions League qualification. The pressure is on.