The Scot initially worked miracles at Norwich but was the victim of bad timing at Aston Villa and is not undeserving of another crack at top-flight managementThere were many replies under the tweet announcing Paul Lambert’s arrival as Stoke City manager. Quite a few contained the cry-laughing emoji, more than one offered season tickets for sale at a knockdown price and a single definitive statement declared “that literally might be the worst managerial appointment I’ve ever seen”. There were other examples, but you get the general gist.Social media being what it is, the Stoke hierarchy are unlikely to have to turned to Twitter expecting bouquets and acclaim. But Lambert’s appointment as successor to Mark Hughes has certainly not been met...
Mark Robins’ eye-catching Coventry deserve their headlines, Liverpool have a bargain in Andrew Robertson and Wolves are already good enough for top flightAmid all the hoopla over the departing Mark Hughes, it is right to take a moment to praise Coventry City. They were deserved winners of the third-round tie at the Ricoh Arena, despite giving up the greater number of chances to the visitors. The Sky Blues played with a determination and energy you might expect of a team assuming the David role in a Goliath encounter. But they were also calm on the ball and often quite cute on it, too. Their play was all the more striking, given the starting XI had an average age of 24...
The former Stoke City manager signed 33 players permanently in four and a half years but few lived up to their billing and he can have few complaintsWith time running out against Coventry City, Stoke City had two forwards up front, two in central midfield and two playing at wing-back. From one angle this was Mark Hughes chucking the sink at it; doing everything he could to prevent a humiliating defeat in the FA Cup third round. Another viewpoint, however, was that it was an indictment of the bad planning and organisation that has led to the Welshman losing his job after four and a half years at the club.Hughes was hired in May 2013 as a replacement for Tony...
Carvalhal needs immediate impact at Swansea, Schmeichel seeks redemption and Chelsea’s Azpilicueta-Morata combination threatens StokeThe wisdom of appointing Carlos Carvalhal as Swansea’s new manager is, to say the least, questionable: a man who was dismissed on Christmas Eve for underachieving with Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship does not inspire confidence. Still, he may prove successful: many doubted him when he arrived at Wednesday in 2015, and he started well there, reaching the play-offs in his first two seasons. But if he is to change things at the Liberty Stadium, he needs to do it immediately. After Saturday’s game at Watford, three of Swansea’s next four league games are against Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and Liverpool. If they do not beat the...
How will Arsenal cope with Liverpool’s fearsome foursome, the Mark Hughes ultimatum and whether Sam Allardyce will ever win over Everton fansIt would be a dereliction of duty if Arsène Wenger has not spent the past few days coming up with a way to stop Liverpool’s fearsome attack from running riot at the Emirates Stadium on Friday night. Arsenal’s manager cannot say that he has not been warned. He knows how much his team has suffered against these opponents since Jürgen Klopp’s arrival on Merseyside in October 2015 and nobody could say it was a surprise when Liverpool hammered Arsenal 4-0 at Anfield in August, with Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mané and Mohamed Salah inspired and Philippe Coutinho not even involved....