Aston Villa’s £15m signing from Brentford got back on track at Stocksbridge Park Steels and has the pace and eye for goal to reach the Premier LeagueAs Scott Hogan would no doubt testify, it sometimes takes rejection to change the course of history. “We wanted to sign him, 100%,” says the Rochdale manager, Keith Hill, “but he just wasn’t ready.”Almost six years before he completed his move from Brentford to Aston Villa for a fee that may eventually rise to £15m, Hogan’s career was already at a crossroads. The Salford-born teenager had just been released by Rochdale after failing to be offered a professional contract despite some impressive performances for the youth team. Related: Non-league to Premier League: Jamie Vardy...
After their side beat Bristol City for a first Championship win since 2 December, supporters await with trepidation the return of owner Fawaz al-HasawiFawaz al-Hasawi is expected to return to Nottingham this week, with the whiff of sulphur from the flares of Saturday’s protest against him still hanging in the air on the banks of the Trent. Nottingham Forest fans want him out of the club he purchased four and a half years ago but the Kuwaiti, who has performed more three-point turns than a learner driver, does not appear willing to leave and his motives for remaining become less clear by the minute.Not long after the shrieks of relief at Ben Osborn’s creative flair, which brought a first victory...
Graham Taylor took Watford and Aston Villa to the top flight while the former England manager was also a gentle man who was generous with his timeDuring a book signing in the summer of 2007 a stranger passed Graham Taylor a handwritten note relating to its author’s wedding, scheduled for the following January. “I got the letter and thought I knew what was coming,” Taylor said. “I thought I’d be asked to do a video message but to my surprise he wanted me to be his best man. I sat down with my wife and agreed to do it. The sheer cheek of it just tickled my senses.” And so it is that Taylor was the star turn at the...
Plymouth’s defence was classy and defiant, Ndidi excelled on Leicester debut, Batshuayi proved little and Stourbridge showed romance is alive, even in defeatThe triumphant celebrations after Plymouth Argyle’s 0-0 draw at Anfield were further confirmation that giant-equalling is the new giantkilling. In the modern world of the FA Cup, it is enough for David to draw with Goliath – especially as it means a second payday for clubs often in need of such a financial boost. For Plymouth’s players, it was about more than that. It’s easy to be sniffy about their ultra-defensive approach against the youngest team in Liverpool’s history, but most League Two teams would not have been good enough to pull it off. Plymouth defended with such...
Some got roughed up by Gary Neville, others had an obsession with Twitter, but from Michael Ricketts to Oumar Niasse, these players all have a dismal January transfer in commonAt 11.30pm on the first ever January transfer deadline day, Middlesbrough sealed the signing of the striker who was intended to revolutionise their team. “I was stuck in a rut at Bolton, training was the same all the time, things weren’t going the way I planned,” he revealed. “Hopefully that’s going to change here.” It didn’t change there: at the end of the following season, 18 months, 12 league starts and three goals after his arrival, he left for Leeds on a free transfer. Related: Premier League’s fear of the drop...