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The return of Martin Jol to the Premier League would have been one welcomed by many neutral fans. The amiable Dutchman hasn’t been seen on these shores since he was sacked by Tottenham back in 2007, and a return to England with Fulham would have given him the chance to cut his teeth in the Premiership once more. The 54-year-old was being lined up to replace Roy Hodgson at Craven Cottage, which would have given him the unenviable task of building on a 12th placed finish and a Europa League cup final enjoyed by the Cottagers last season. On the face of it, it looked like an impossible task, and is this why Fulham wasn’t the right club to prove the Tottenham board wrong?

Since he’s been away Jol has plied his trade in Germany with Hamburg, where the Dutchman achieved some success, before returning to his homeland and taking the prestigious job of Ajax manager after just one season. Despite an impressive points tally, Ajax were pipped to the Eredivisie by one point by Steve McLaren’s FC Twente and once again Jol is on the move after just one season in the job. If he had of left Amsterdam he would have left behind the most high profile job in Holland, surely a move to Fulham wouldn’t have been the right way to go?

Martin Jol enjoyed three years at White Hart Lane in charge of Tottenham, during which time he built a good rapport with the Spurs fans. After finding his feet at the club, Jol led Tottenham to consecutive 5th placed finished in the league and back-to-back European qualification. In the summer of 2007 Jol spent big money on bringing the likes of Darren Bent, Younes Kaboul and Gareth Bale to the club, spending in the region of £40m and thus big things were expected. But a dismal start to the season immediately put the Dutchman under pressure and it wasn’t long until the Tottenham board gave him his marching orders.

You feel that since Jol’s been away he’s always kept one eye on the Premier League and was waiting patiently for his chance to return. The way he was dismissed at Spurs will stick in the back of his throat and it will also irk him that Harry Redknapp has achieved the Champions League qualification that he was chasing, something Jol will feel he would have achieved if left to finish what he started. Jol has to look at the bigger picture though, a return to the Premier League is desperately what he wants, but with Fulham he would not have been able to achieve his goals.

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It would be disrespectful to Fulham to say that Jol was considering returning to the Premier League in a bid to prove a point to the Spurs board but it was a major reason and the fact that he considered leaving a high-profile club in the form of Ajax shows this. It seems as though proving the Tottenham board wrong is at the top of Jol’s to-do list in the near future, Fulham simply wasn’t the club to do that at, but which Premier League clubs would provide the Dutchman the springboard he needed? The answer is not many, so maybe Jol would be better leaving the past firmly in the past, where it should be kept.

Last week’s Premier League encounter at Anfield between great English rivals Liverpool and Manchester United ended in a 1-1 draw as the teams cancelled each other out. While on the pitch is was a battle between two talented teams, off it two legendary Scottish managers were also doing battle.

In Liverpool’s dugout there was Kenny Daglish, in Man United’s, Sir Alex Ferguson. Both are rightfully icons are their respective clubs and both have been there, done it and got the t-shirt. However, neither can believe their eyes in this picture, but what have they seen?

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Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini is already relishing the prospect of an FA Cup semi-final derby with Manchester United.The bitter rivals are set to meet at Wembley in April after a sluggish City defeated Championship outfit Reading 1-0 in Sunday’s quarter-final.Micah Richards ensured City’s progression to the last four with a precise header from David Silva’s corner kick in the 74th minute.It was a rare moment of dominance for the top-flight side, who were clearly worn out from their trip to Dynamo Kiev in the Europa League on Thursday.Mancini was nevertheless thrilled with the victory; though he admitted City have a massive challenge on their hands facing United.”It is a great semi-final,” said City manager Manicni. “You could see what it meant to the fans at the end.””We are not fresh or 100 per cent at this moment but we deserved to win. We had 17 attempts on goal.””We are very close with all the top squads but we need to improve more and maybe next year we will be at the same level.””But it is important that we played a good game at Old Trafford last time and we have a chance to win, like them.”United have already beaten their cross-town rivals 2-1 in the Premier League this season, a game made famous by Wayne Rooney’s astonishing overhead kick winner. Reading boss Brian McDermott admitted he was contemplating a draw as the second half was playing out, and was gutted by Richards’ winning header just 16 minutes from time.”I thought we were going to get at least a draw,” McDermott said.”We pushed Manchester City a long way and if Tevez had beaten five and Silva had produced a piece of magic it would have been a bit different. But to lose at a set play was galling.””You could see what it meant to them the way they celebrated at the end.””Unfortunately, you are not going to get the semi-final everyone wanted; Manchester United versus Reading.”

Now Argentina have kicked off their World Cup campaign with two fairly convincing wins over both Nigeria and South Korea, can we finally start to talk about them as potential winners?

Their coach Diego Maradona, attracts a disproportionate amount of attention, obviously due to his status in the game as a player. As manager so far, he has overseen a mixed qualifying campaign that required some last ditch moments to get them over the finishing line and has put forward some bizarre team selections, but with the strength of talent that they possess in the forward line, possibly one of the greatest for any World Cup side in history, will that outweigh the relative weakness of their backline?

A lot has been made of Maradona’s quite frankly barmy selection policy for the World Cup, with the ridiculous exclusions of Zanetti, Cambiasso, Lucho Gonzalez and Gabriel Milito only adding fuel to the fire, but based off their opening two performances at least, they deserve to be ranked as serious contenders, something which the scapegoat management of Maradona has stopped them from being until now.

Before the tournament, I personally believed that this side were capable of reaching the semi-finals such was the embarrassment of riches that they possess even though there is a worry about their defence. Names such as Messi, Higuain, Diego Milito, Aguero, Tevez and Di Maria are not to be taken lightly and when on form are a match for any side. So it has proved to be, with Maradona’s charges helping turn a nervy 2-1 lead at halftime against South Korea, into a resounding 4-1 victory, despite a wobbly period at the start of the second-half. I just that it’s this ability to call on the aforementioned talents above and the strength in depth that Maradona has on the bench, that has the ability to come on and change a game, that marks them as being really threatening and they’ve been written off all too easily up until now.

But, and this has remained a major but against their candidacy for World Cup supremacy, their defence remains a tad shaky to say the least. It’s clear for all to see that they don’t have the best back four – they have a left winger playing at right back, a holding man playing at centre back, an ageing Heinze at left back and an inexperienced keeper’ between the sticks. Of course they do have the hulking and somewhat maniacal presence of Walter Samuel to help marshal the back four, yet the feeling remains that if you get at this defence, it may crumble under the pressure.

It would be hard to disagree with that view based on the evidence and most people predict as soon as they face a serious test that the sides shaky defence will be found wanting. But I still feel that no matter how bad their defence is, the forward line might just be able to bail them out in a ‘we’re gonna score one more than you’ mentality.

Against South Korea, Lee Chung-Yong managed to finish with a deft flick towards the goal just before half-time after catching the cumbersome Demichellis in possession, and all of a sudden Argentina’s Jekyll and Hyde character resurfaced and turned what was a routine win into a challenging one. The second half, South Korea as you would imagine, started brightly and with more purpose and the result was anything but assured. But then, and this is crucial to note, the strength in depth of talent up top managed to drag them out of a hole, with Messi instrumental in laying on chance after chance for his side. I fear that with an on-song frontline finally beginning to gel after years of underachievement, a degree of mental resilience in evidence and a siege mentality based around their coach Maradona, the signs are ominous and they look like a serious threat.

It’s worth remembering that out of their much-criticised back four, their two centre halves contested a Champions league final and their left back won the Lique 1 title this term, so they’re not quite the hopeless bunch of buffoons as some people would have you believe. Granted, Gutierrez does still remain a concern in an unfamiliar role at right back but they’re not the mugs they’re being made out to be by the ignorant press.

It’s fair to say that bigger tests await this side, but with Messi in form, the ubiquitous Javier Mascherano patrolling the middle of the pitch with barely controlled menace and the tournament’s top scorer up front, despite his poor finishing in the opening game against Nigeria in Gonzalo Higuain, then you have the basic ingredients for a decent tournament side. In 2006 Argentina looked to be the frontrunner for the tournament after displaying an intelligence of movement and control until they were knocked out in the quarter-finals to a decent Germany side, and is often the case as happened in 2006 with Italy, it’s often the unfancied giant that pulls through.

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It doesn’t take a great team to get to the semi-finals of the World Cup. England in Italia 90 reached that same stage with 2 wins and 4 draws and Terry Venables much-vaunted Euro 96 team reached the semis with 2 wins and 3 draws, so consistency is the name of the game. But with a side managed by Diego Maradona anything but reliable, it may just be in their unpredictable nature that they find their salvation, and as the saying goes ‘expect the unexpected’.

What does everyone else think – are Maradona’s team a serious threat? Or is it simply just  bit of good form going into the knockout phases?

Written By James McManus

Liverpool striker Andy Carroll has thanked the club’s fans for backing him after scoring against Everton at the weekend, and is keen to start hitting the back of the net on a more regular basis.

The England international got off the mark for the season as he bagged one of Liverpool’s two goals in a 2-0 win over Everton at Goodison Park on Saturday, and has thanked those around him for their support.

“The goal is for everyone really, Kenny [Dalglish], the others lads and the fans. Everyone who has stood by me,” he told the Liverpool Daily Post.

“It is a great feeling but it doesn’t really matter who scores the goals as long we get the three points and I thought it was great we did it here.

“The dressing room was just buzzing afterwards. Everyone was over the moon. This is by far the highlight of my time here, easily.

“Scoring against Everton and beating them at their place is special but you have got to keep it going.

“We’ve got Man United next game and I’ve got to make sure that I keep doing well week in and week out now,” he concluded.

Carroll is in the England squad to face Montenegro in Podgorica on Friday, and will compete for a starting spot with Darren Bent, Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck and Bobby Zamora.

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By Gareth McKnight

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Louis van Gaal has dismissed comparisons with the 2010 Champions League final when his Bayern Munich side meets Inter Milan on Wednesday.The two clubs squared off in last season’s decider, with Serie A champions Inter emerging 2-0 winners at Madrid’s Bernabeu arena.They meet again in the first leg of a round-of-16 tie in the same competition on Wednesday at the San Siro, but van Gaal has denied retribution was in the forefront of his mind going into the match.”For me, this match is not comparable to last year’s final,” he said.”And I also think our team has changed. Six or seven players are not there anymore and we are playing with a different line up. It might be still in the heads of some players, but for me it doesn’t matter.””If they are playing for Bayern Munich they have to know that we always have to win. But we don’t always succeed. And that is part of the sport.”But despite Bayern’s altered side, the Dutchman is confident he knows what to expect from Inter: “I don’t think Inter has changed that much. A few players are injured. (Diego) Milito is injured. Lucio is or has been injured. All the players are still there and they have signed a few more, so I don’t think Inter has changed a great deal,” he said.”The manager has changed, not only once, but twice. And that is probably their biggest change.”

In the aftermath of Fabio Capello’s announcement everybody has their views and opinions about the players that missed out, with  Theo Walcott’s omission dominating the focus of the English press.

But what about the likes of Adam Johnson, Michael Dawson, Tom Huddlestone and Darren Bent, who were all left out in favour of Shaun Wright-Phillips, Matthew Upson, Michael Carrick and Emile Heskey? Surely some of those players should feel hard done by?

For this article I will be making a case for Huddlestone, who I think is being wasted at international level and at least deserved to make the final 23-man squad off the back of an impressive season for Tottenham. The 23-year-old midfielder played in the majority of games in the Premier League for Harry Redknapp’s side and helped the north London club qualify for the Champions League after finishing the top four.

With his passing abilities Huddlestone has the ability to unlock a defence and if deployed in a three man midfield he could let the likes of Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard (both are being wasted at international level in a laboured 442) do what they do best. It looks as though Gareth Barry will get over his recent injury troubles, so England can play this way if they still wished to. But why is Carrick going to South Africa?

Manchester United’s Carrick has had an awful season at Old Trafford and has spent far too much time on the bench, but he has still miraculously made his way into Capello’s squad. Admittedly Carrick is a good passer of the ball but he doesn’t offer a whole lot else in my opinion. Whereas, Huddlestone has been described by his manager Redknapp as the best passer of a ball at Tottenham and they have the likes of Croatia’s Luka Modric amongst their ranks. As well as having great passing ability and vision he also boasts a great physical presence, which Martin Samuel of the Daily Mail suggests makes him as imposing as any centre-back. Physicality is important and we don’t want to see players getting pushed off the ball, so our deep lying midfielders should have been Barry and Huddlestone, not Carrick. West Ham’s Scott Parker could also have done a good job for England as a tough tackling midfielder, but his lack of England caps counted against him in the same way as it went against Huddlestone.

Like many other England fans I have an opinion on Capello’s selection and the optimism is starting to wane a little for me. For me the whole day was farcical as we got updates every half an hour or so about the latest player who was/wasn’t going.

Oh well, Capello’s a good manager and it seems as though we are in winning ways (even if it is winning ugly) and the Three Lions have a good chance as long as the Italian keeps those troublesome WAGs away, we avoid any penalty shootouts and every other nation has a few bad days.

Tom Huddlestone screamer against Bolton:

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Although the Premier League season starts at the weekend, the managers have by no means finished their business in the transfer market. Sir Alex Ferguson’s signing of Robin Van Persie from Arsenal shows that there’s plenty more still to come before the end of the month. Teams will already have their targets in place, or in some cases, chased them all summer to ensure they get the right men in to balance up their squads for the challenging months ahead.

The August transfer deadline always provides some last minute entertainment, just think back to Robinho’s move to Manchester City in 2008, announced just minutes before the window shut. Clubs will be hoping to complete their business a little earlier than that though and several deals are hanging in the pipeline waiting to be completed in order to finalise Premier League squads for the season ahead. We take a look at 15 deals that are likely to be completed before the transfer window shuts.

Click on Hugo Lloris to unveil the 15

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Wigan boss Roberto Martinez has stated that he is happy at the club, has the backing of chairman Dave Whelan and is glad he turned down the opportunity to move to Aston Villa in the summer.

The Spanish coach’s position came under jeopardy last term as the Latics were threatened with relegation, but with his chairman’s patience the side from the DW Stadium managed to stay in the top flight.

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Martinez has thanked Whelan for his confidence, when other owners may well have looked for a new coach.

“I want [my teams] to play in a certain way and not many people understand that. We were flirting with relegation and we were in the bottom three,” he told Mirror Football.”Many other chairmen would have changed direction in the way we play and got a different manager. I understand that is what happens.”But he [Whelan] said that whatever happened there was a three-year plan to do what I wanted to do. I can’t speak about other chairmen, I don’t know them. But our chairman is the reason why Wigan are in the Premier League,” he continued.Martinez was approached by Aston Villa in the summer to become their new man in charge after the departure of Gerard Houiller, but he has no qualms about turning Villa down.”I had a meeting with the chairman at the ground. I went in with an open mind, I wanted to know what the chairman wanted to do. The moment he wanted me to stay, the conversation was ended.”I have got a strong belief in what I want to do to progress to the next level. The chairman agreed, so we just carried on working as normal.”It wasn’t about the other football club or the other job. It was about the relationship with my chairman,” he concluded.Wigan travel to Villa Park on Saturday, with only three points seperating the two Midlands teams.Written By Gareth McKnight[divider]FREE football app that pays you to view ads[ad_pod id=’qs-2′ align=’left’]

Borussia Dortmund will host Schalke on Friday hoping to extend their already sizable lead atop the Bundesliga table to 14 points.

The league leaders have lost just once at their Westfalenstadion fortress this campaign – a 2-0 loss to second-placed Bayer Leverkusen in August – and are favourites to account for the 11th-placed side on the table on Friday.

Dortmund will take some tracking down in the second half of the season, even allowing for the long-term foot injury sustained by attacker Shinji Kagawa while on international duty with Japan at January’s Asian Cup.

Relegation-threatened Cologne face third-placed Bayern Munich on Saturday at RheinEnergieStadion, with the visitors aiming to extend their nine-game unbeaten streak in all competitions.

Tenth-placed Nuremberg are preparing to take on Bayer Leverkusen off the back of a morale-lifting 2-0 victory over Hamburg last Saturday, in which Israel midfielder Almog Cohen scored his first league goal for the club.

Despite lying in fifth place, Hannover have lost three of their past four league games but will be eyeing a return to form when they face lowly Wolfsburg, who have won just five games in 20 this league campaign under English manager Steve McLaren.

But Hannover will need to be wary of Wolfsburg’s new signings, bought with the funds raised from the sale of star striker Edin Dzeko to Manchester City.

McLaren added forward trio Patrick Helmes (Bayer Leverkusen), Tuncay Sanli (Stoke City) and Dieumerci Mbokani (Monaco) in a bid to bolster his firepower, also signing Anderlecht midfield enforcer Jan Polak, South Korea international Koo Ja-Cheol and Venezuelan prospect Yohandry Orozco.

Hoffenheim have the opportunity to back up their victory over Schalke last time out – their first since December 21 – when they host Kaiserslautern on Saturday, with the visitors bidding to avoid their third loss in succession.

Borussia Moenchengladbach host a bottom-of-the-table clash against Stuttgart, the loser of which will fill bottom spot on the table.

But the hosts have won two of their past three games and are hoping to continue their run to escape last place.

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Fourth-placed Mainz can deepen the woes of Werder Bremen on Saturday when the two sides clash at the Stadion am Bruchweg, with last campaign’s third-placed side languishing in 15th this term.

On Sunday, Hamburg host St Pauli, having seen their five-match winning streak broken by Nuremberg in their last start.

Sixth-placed Freiburg are targeting a seventh match unbeaten when they welcome Eintracht Frankfurt to the Badenova Stadion.