..::Football IV::..

[Wolverine GTR]

Man City boss Guardiola lauds 'outstanding' Toure

Manchester City are "so happy" to have Yaya Toure back in the team, according to manager Pep Guardiola.The former Ivory Coast international was frozen out earlier this season following a row between Guardiola and the player's agent, Dimitri Seluk.

But Toure has found himself back in the first-team picture over the past couple of months, and scored the opening goal from the penalty spot as City won 3-0 at Hull City on Boxing Day to move into second in the Premier League.

Kelechi Iheanacho and Curtis Davies' own goal added gloss to the scoreline in a game where Guardiola's side were made to work hard by their lowly opponents, and the Spaniard was full of praise for Toure's man-of-the-match performance.
"Absolutely deserved, since he's come back his performances have been outstanding," Guardiola told Sky Sports.

"He's a huge personality, and he always plays with good ntelligence.Congratulations because you did well in giving man of the match to Yaya."We are so happy that he's come back, he was always a part of us, but now he's back playing."

"[On Sunday] I talked with my kids, it was my boy's birthday, he tells me 'you're going to score' and I'm delighted," added Toure.

"I'm always delighted to play and to entertain the fans and that's what I want to do."To be a part of the team and winning is always a massive achievement and any opportunity I get I will take it."

The visitors did not take the lead until the 72nd minute as Hull battled hard, and almost went in front when Michael Dawson's header was cleared off the line by Bacary Sagna.

It was an important victory for City, who earlier in the day had seen leaders Chelsea rack up a 12th consecutive win to temporarily move 10 points clear of Guardiola's side.

"Yes [it was tough], like always," Guardiola said. "The first half we controlled, the second half we had problems and were lucky in the situation with Bacary."You always have pressure, the teams at the top are winning, [Manchester] United, Arsenal, Chelsea won but every game is pressure and like a final.

"Because you have a team in this league winning 12 in a row that means a lot. You have to win, sometimes you play before, sometimes after but the target is the same."

City lost John Stones to a knee injury in the first half, but Guardiola confirmed the defender had just taken a kick and will hopefully be fit for the trip to Liverpool on New Year's Eve.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Chapecoense plane ran out of fuel, authorities confirms

Aviation authorities have announced that the plane carrying Chapecoense to the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana final ran out of fuel before it could land.

The stricken aeroplane came down in Colombia, resulting in the loss of 71 lives – including many members of the club’s playing and coaching staff.It was initially suggested that technical problems had caused the tragedy, but it has now been revealed that human error was responsible.

The Civil Aeronautics agency say their conclusion is based on an investigation which involved the aircraft’s black box and other evidence.

Colonel Freddy Bonilla, Colombia's secretary for air safety, said: "No technical factor was part of the accident, everything involved human error, added to a management factor in the company's administration and the management and organisation of the flight plans by the authorities in Bolivia."

He added that Bolivian aviation authorities and the airline "accepted conditions for the flight presented in the flight plan that were unacceptable".The BAE 146 Avro RJ85, which crashed on November 28, had a maximum range of 2,965km, just under the distance between Medellin and its intended destination of Santa Cruz in Bolivia.

The jet was in the air for around four hours and 20 minutes when its pilot was instructed to fly in a holding pattern as another plane with a suspected fuel leak had been given priority.A radio message from the doomed LaMia flight captured the pilot repeatedly requesting permission to land due to a lack of fuel and ‘total electric failure’.

Criminal charges have been brought against LaMia co-owner Marco Antonio Rocha Benegas and air traffic controller Celia Castedo, but the whereabouts of the former are unknown and the latter has fled Bolivia and claimed asylum in Brazil.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

'Alli is like Lampard and must be given the freedom to crack on' - Murphy

Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli is ‘similar to Frank Lampard’, according to Danny Muprhy, but needs to be given the freedom in which to truly fulfil his potential.

The 20-year-old has enjoyed a remarkable rise to prominence, going from League One to the Premier League and senior England recognition in the space of 18 hectic months.

He enjoyed a breakthrough campaign at the highest level in 2015-16, with regular outings at Spurs delivering 10 goals and a host of admirers.Alli did, however, start to fade towards the end of the season and struggled to make an impact at Euro 2016.

He is enjoying another productive campaign this term, with four goals to his name, but now finds himself squarely under the spotlight.

Every performance is dissected in minute detail, with big things expected of a player considered to be the present and future for club and country.

Murphy is among those tipping the youngster to go far – suggesting that he could follow the lead of a modern day icon in Lampard – with Alli having shown that he is strong enough to ignore any critics and focus solely on getting the most out of his undoubted ability.

He told the Evening Standard: “He is similar to Frank Lampard in the way he appreciates space and times his runs to ensure he finds great goalscoring positions.He is hard for midfielders to track, or for defenders to pick up when he is running towards them.

“The only thing that he has lacked compared to last year is accurate finishing but I have not seen him hide once. Even if he misses a couple of chances, he will continue to make the same runs until he takes one of them.

“That probably sounds easier than it is. Even experienced players struggle with it sometimes. If things aren’t working for you, it’s hard to tell yourself to keep at it. I used to have chats with myself during games if things were going badly... 'Go and get the ball, make something happen.'

“Alli has that quality at a very young age. In his second season at this level, he will have realised that more opponents are aware of his qualities and will have made plans to try to stop him.

“But Alli is lucky because it is not easy to stop him. He is a terrific player who must be given the freedom to crack on. He is willing, he is brave, he is hugely effective. If he doesn’t play well for a game or two, what does it matter?”

Tottenham are next in Premier League action on Tuesday, when Mauricio Pochettino takes his top-four hopefuls to St Mary’s to face his former club Southampton.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Liverpool atmosphere 'similar' to Dortmund - Klopp

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp believes his team have developed an atmosphere similar to what he had at Borussia Dortmund.

The German led Dortmund to two Bundesliga titles to briefly halt Bayern Munich's dominance, although the latter have since won four straight.With his Liverpool team sitting third in the Premier League, Klopp said he could see similarities to his Dortmund side.

"We have an atmosphere which is as good as it should be because of all the people working here," he told UK newspapers. "We had our Christmas party last week and it was really nice having all the people around."It was a big difference after one year because you know all of them. After three months I still had no idea the name of certain staff.

"We have a completely different situation to last year. It is not the same but similar to what we had at Dortmund."Klopp's men begin a busy holiday period with a clash at home to Stoke City on Tuesday.

He is also considering January additions, but said his greater focus was on building his squad as a whole – with the likes of teenagers Ben Woodburn and Trent Alexander-Arnold given Premier League debuts this season."We are quite sensitive with this," Klopp said. "Too much of this, too much of that, always kills quality.

"It is good to compete for a position you want to have but if there is absolutely no chance [of playing] it kills development, that is for sure."A transfer should not be a solution only for the winter. Squad building obviously is a very important and sensitive thing."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

'The best goal I've ever scored' - Mkhitaryan revels in acrobatic effort against Sunderland

Manchester United attacker Henrikh Mkhitaryan described his acrobatic effort against Sunderland as the best goal of his career.

Mkhitaryan came off the bench to seal a 3-1 victory at Old Trafford on Monday, stunningly steering a backheel past Jordan Pickford.The Armenia international said it was his best, although it should have been ruled out for offside.

"That was the best goal I've ever scored," Mkhitaryan told MUTV."I was very excited. The first thing I did was look at the assistant and I saw it was not ruled as offside so I just started to celebrate."I was expecting the ball to be in front of me and then I realised I was in front of it.

"As the ball was behind me, the only thing I could do was a backheel so I did that and I succeeded."Goals from Daley Blind and Zlatan Ibrahimovic had put United in control, while Fabio Borini also scored a screamer late on for the visitors.

Mkhitaryan made his return from an ankle injury and said he was ready for more game time, with United's next outing a clash against Middlesbrough on Saturday.

"I don't have anything of concern from a past injury so I'm happy to be back and I'm happy to be back to help the team," he said.

"I will try to do my best for the next game. It's very important that we're in good shape and to keep going like this."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

'Every year it becomes more difficult' - Hughes warns Liverpool over title drought

Stoke City manager Mark Hughes believes Liverpool can win the Premier League, but warned it will only get tougher the longer their title drought goes on.

Jurgen Klopp's side are third in the table, nine points behind Chelsea but with a game in hand, ahead of hosting Stoke on Tuesday.The club are without a league title since 1990, the year they won the last of their 18.

Hughes, who won two Premier League crowns as a player with Manchester United, says it will only become harder to end the wait."Every year it's more difficult. Every year it keeps perpetuating it becomes more difficult," he said.

"Certainly when I was at United it was talked about before the season, during the season and at the end."And if you hadn't done it then it was debated again in a negative way. It was always there.

"That's maybe why, being part of that team [in 1992-93] and being able to do that [win United's first title since '67'], that team is remembered and revered a little bit because we were able to break that long line of difficulty of winning the league championship."

Liverpool have lost just two league games this season and a win over Stoke would see them return to second in the table.Hughes feels the club have regained belief, and a league title could follow."Do I think Liverpool can do it? Yes, they're capable without a doubt and they have the potential to win it," he said.

"Liverpool will feel this is a good opportunity to get rid of that weight and have a period of success like they had in the '80s and early '90s."They seem to have the belief they can and it seems a really positive club again."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Barclays Premier League Fixture 2016.12.27

Barclays Premier League Fixture 2016.12.27

Liverpool Vs Stoke City

​

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Liverpool 4-1 Stoke City: Reds ease back into second spot

Roberto Firmino put his off-pitch troubles to one side and Adam Lallana continued his fine form as Liverpool routed Stoke City 4-1 to reclaim second place in the Premier League.Brazil international Firmino was charged with drink driving after being pulled over by police in the early hours of Christmas Eve.

However, the influential forward showed no signs of distraction as he ended a six-game Premier League drought to put the Reds in front after Lallana had cancelled out Jonathan Walters' opener for his fourth goal in four league outings.

Liverpool continued to pour forward after the break and Giannelli Imbula scored in his own net before Daniel Sturridge's first league goal of the campaign completed a comfortable outing at Anfield.

Jurgen Klopp's men consequently close the gap to leaders Chelsea back to six points and can approach their crunch clash with third-place Manchester City on Saturday with renewed confidence.

Stoke boss Mark Hughes has never beaten Liverpool as a manager in the Premier League and his side stay 12th after their winless league run was extended to four matches.

The Potters withstood an early Liverpool barrage to take a 13th-minute lead. Erik Pieters dispossessed Sadio Mane on the left and his curling cross was met by Walters whose powerful header beat Mignolet, although the goalkeeper should have done better with his attempted save.

Mignolet made amends with a fine stop from former Liverpool midfielder Joe Allen's drive, with Pieters' follow up cleared off the line.

Another ex-Liverpool star Peter Crouch then preserved Stoke's lead by hacking Firmino's effort off the line, but the Reds' pressure told in the 35th minute.Lallana's first touch had seemingly let him down after good interplay with Mane, but Glen Johnson failed to clear and Lallana reacted quickest to drill past Lee Grant from a tight angle.

The turnaround was complete in the closing stages of the half when James Milner slipped in Firmino, who took a touch before beating Grant with a low effort that hit both posts before nestling in the back of the goal.

Liverpool continued in the ascendancy after the break and Milner was unfortunate not to add his name to the score sheet when he curled wide after playing a clever one-two with Mane.

The lead was extended shortly before the hour, though. Divock Origi sent in a low cross from the left and Imbula, who was trying to deny Mane a simple tap in, slid in and touched the ball over the line.

Sturridge, on as a substitute for Origi, then intercepted Ryan Shawcross' poor backpass before rounding Grant and slotting into the empty net for Liverpool's fourth.

There was a personal highlight for Ibrahim Afellay as the Stoke star made his comeback after an eight-month spell on the sidelines due to a knee injury, but the Reds comfortably saw out the match to warm up for the City clash in style.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Martial weighing up move to Sevilla, admits agent

Anthony Martial is weighing up a potential move to Sevilla due to a lack of first-team opportunities with Manchester United, his agent has admitted.

The 21-year-old has found Premier League starts difficult to come by under Jose Mourinho, scoring just one goal in 11 appearances in the English top flight this season.

He has subsequently been linked with a January loan move away from Old Trafford and Sevilla, who signed fellow Frenchman Samir Nasri on a temporary deal from Manchester City in the summer, have been credited with an interest.Martial's representative, Philippe Lamboley, has revealed that his client is willing to consider the idea of rediscovering his best form elsewhere.

"We are studying the Sevilla option in detail," Lamboley told ABCdeSevilla."Sevilla are a very good club, are in a good position in La Liga, play in the Champions League and have a great coach. That's all I can tell you."

Reports in the English media, however, have claimed that the Red Devils - and France coach Didier Deschamps - want Martial to stay in Manchester and win back his place in the team.

Martial has admitted that he is finding his limited role difficult to get used to, though he has pledged to work through it and earn his place in the side.

"This is a test I have to get through," he said earlier this month. "That's the way things go when you are still developing as a player and it forms your mentality.

"It is difficult because the only thing you want is to get out there and help the team and you cannot do that when you are on the bench. But that is a choice I have to accept."

The former Monaco starlet bagged 17 goals in all competitions in his debut season with United after joining the club in a deal that could eventually be worth as much as £58 million. He is currently contracted to United until June 2019.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Martial wa Loan or Sell karala baha​

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Ryan Giggs installed as favourite for Swansea managerial job

Ryan Giggs has been installed as the bookmakers' favourite to replace Bob Bradley as Swansea City manager following the American's departure from the club.

The Swans confirmed on Tuesday that Bradley has left the club after just three months in charge, with the club deciding to look elsewhere due to their poor Premier League position.

"Unfortunately things haven't worked out as planned and we felt we had to make the change with half the Premier League season remaining," chairman Huw Jenkins said.

"With the club going through such a tough time, we have to try and find the answers to get ourselves out of trouble."Giggs is the 4/6 favourite to take the vacant position, ahead of Gary Rowett, Chris Coleman and Alan Pardew.

The former Manchester United winger was linked to the job before Bradley took the job, and revealed that he was not appointed at the time due to 'mixed messages.'

“There I was enjoying my year out, and I get the call off Swansea," the former Wales international told ITV."I met with them a couple of times but in the end there was just mixed messages from the football side and the ownership side of the club.

“I just felt their ambitions did not really match mine, so it didn’t quite work out.”
Giggs was player-manager at Old Trafford following David Moyes' sacking, but has not yet held a full-time managerial position.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Klopp: Firmino goal important after difficult time

Jurgen Klopp believes it was important for Roberto Firmino to score in Liverpool's 4-1 win over Stoke City on Tuesday after a difficult time both on and off the pitch.

The Brazil attacker had gone six games without a goal heading into the clash at Anfield and made headlines for the wrong reasons this week when he was charged with drink driving.Klopp refrained from commenting on Firmino's personal troubles but was delighted to see him rediscover his scoring boots.

"Firmino played really well and he really deserved his goal," Klopp told Sky Sports."I cannot speak about his off-pitch issues, but he has been having a hard time on the pitch in recent weeks.

"He is always important to us, though. He is working hard and always has his moments."It was a fantastic goal, really surprising to shoot from there, unexpected for the defenders."

Firmino was not the only Liverpool forward to score a confidence-boosting goal, with Daniel Sturridge getting his first Premier League effort of the season just minutes after coming off the bench."Sturridge's was goal really important as well," Klopp added.

"It is good to see he is back and fit. We are losing Sadio Mane during the Africa Cup of Nations, so it is important to have Daniel back."His goal was wonderful, a special instinct he has. You cannot teach that. It was a bit speculation to move there [and hope for the backpass], but it was a great goal."

Although Liverpool eventually cruised to a comfortable win, they struggled in the opening 30 minutes and went 1-0 down when Jonathan Walters took advantage of some poor defending."It was a very difficult game, but a good result in the end," Klopp continued.

"That Peter Crouch was starting for them was a sign how they wanted to play. We could have done better in defence. Long balls are always hard to defend, so it was difficult.

"We should have done better for Stoke's goal. Mane was already there to collect the second ball. But it was a very good cross and a good header. You have to avoid crosses there, but we switched off for a moment."But Stoke could not continue on the same path in the second half because it was very intense for them."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

'You can’t teach what Ibrahimovic has, he's like Zola and Bergkamp' - Ashton

Manchester United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic boasts ability that ‘you can’t teach’, according to former West Ham and England forward Dean Ashton.The Swede has been an enigmatic figure throughout a distinguished career that has seen him collect league titles in Holland, Italy, Spain and France.

Those talents are now on display in the Premier League, with Jose Mourinho jumping at the opportunity to be reunited with a talismanic performer he previously worked with at Inter Milan.

United’s faith in Ibrahimovic to continue producing match-altering moments of brilliance has been handsomely rewarded, with the 35-year-old slipping seamlessly into the fold at Old Trafford.

He has been on a remarkable run of form of late, taking his goal tally for the season to 17 in all competitions.

Ashton is among those to have been impressed by Ibrahimovic’s contribution and has compared him to iconic figures of the recent past such as Gianfranco Zola, Teddy Sheringham and Dennis Bergkamp.

“You can teach most things in football, but you can’t teach what he has,” he told talkSPORT.“It’s what only certain players have. So I’d put Teddy Sheringham in that bracket, Gianfranco Zola, Dennis Bergkamp.

“This type of player, where it’s not about pace - I mean he’s not slow. He doesn’t run past players, that’s not what he does.“But it’s having spatial awareness, its being one step ahead of defenders - because your intelligence level is higher than other players.

“You can’t teach that!”Ibrahimovic was among the goals on Boxing Day as United swept aside Sunderland 3-1 at Old Trafford.

He now has 50 efforts for the calendar year in club football and will get one more opportunity to add to his tally when the Red Devils face Middlesbrough on New Year’s Eve.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Villa: Messi 'will sign a new contract'

David Villa is confident Lionel Messi will sign a new contract with Barcelona as he cannot imagine the Spanish champions without the five-time Ballon d'Or winner.Messi is out of contract in 2018 and the 29-year-old is yet to agree a contract renewal as speculation mounts over his future.

Former Barca team-mate and Spain's all-time leading goalscorer Villa - now captain of New York City in MLS - believes Messi's future will be decided soon."I think it will happen [a renewal] in the future, sooner or later," Villa said.

"Barcelona love Messi and Messi loves Barca, anything else we can't imagine."As for this year's Ballon d'Or, which was won by Real Madrid rival Cristiano Ronaldo, Villa said there should have only been one victor.

Despite leading Barca to last season's LaLiga title, Messi was unable to stop Ronaldo from capturing the 2016 prize for a fourth time.

"I think it is a difficult vote to evaluate," Villa continued."Sometimes, personal performance is counted over others because of the displays of the team. That happened this year and has happened in many others."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Southampton 1-4 Tottenham: Spurs come from behind to win

Harry Kane's missed penalty proved immaterial as Dele Alli scored twice for Tottenham in a 4-1 Premier League victory over 10-man Southampton on Wednesday.

The England striker had put Spurs in front with a headed goal after 52 minutes, Alli having earlier cancelled out Virgil van Dijk's second-minute opener.Kane then squandered an opportunity to put daylight between the teams when he fired a spot kick high into the upper reaches of the stand behind the goal.

Nathan Redmond was sent off for the challenge that led to Kane's ill-fated effort from 12 yards, but it took Spurs until the last five minutes to finally put the match to bed.Substitute Son Heung-min confidently swept a shot beyond Fraser Forster before Alli curled his second around the goalkeeper two minutes later.

The result sees fifth-placed Spurs close to within a point of north London rivals Arsenal, while Southampton head into their final fixture of 2016 in eighth.
Van Dijk showed no hint of being distracted by the transfer speculation surrounding him when he opened the scoring.

The Dutch defender rose highest to head home from a perfectly delivered James Ward-Prowse free-kick after a foul by former Saint Victor Wanyama on Ryan Bertrand.

Southampton continued to look most dangerous in attack, with Redmond drilling just wide after 15 minutes before Danny Rose denied the winger a shot inside the six-yard box with a desperate but effective challenge.Jan Vertonghen went unpunished when his arm appeared to make contact with the face of Jay Rodriguez and Spurs were soon level through Alli.

A deflected Moussa Sissoko cross hung kindly for the England international, who beat Van Dijk to the ball and glanced it past a flat-footed Forster.The equaliser came against the run of play and marked the beginning of a more even period of play, as Southampton ceded the control they had enjoyed in the early stages.

Tottenham finished the half strongly and Wanyama danced through the Southampton defence only to be denied by a Jose Fonte block before the break.
It took Spurs just seven minutes of the second half to move in front - another header saw Kane divert a whipped Christian Eriksen delivery beyond Forster.

The striker was presented with a golden opportunity to double his personal tally five minutes later, when Redmond was judged to have clumsily brought down Alli in the box to earn a red card and concede a penalty.

But Kane cleared the crossbar with his spot-kick before casting a frustrated glance in the direction of the piece of turf from which he had launched the ball into the stratosphere.

The miss was just Kane's second unsuccessful penalty in 12 attempts in the Premier League – and he scored from the rebound after the first.Eriksen rattled the crossbar as another chance came and went, but Spurs netted a late double through Son and Alli to put the result beyond doubt.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Bailly: Mourinho is the best in the world, it's a pleasure to work with him

Manchester United defender Eric Bailly has lauded manager Jose Mourinho as the best in the world and is excited to continue their work together.

Bailly, 22, arrived at Old Trafford from Villarreal in June in a deal reportedly worth £30million and has gone on to make 11 Premier League appearances this season.
The Ivory Coast international was full of praise for Mourinho, whose team are sixth in the Premier League table.

"He's a great manager, the best in the world, it is a pleasure to work and learn with him," Bailly said. "I hope it continues like this and that I stay at United for a long time."I'm truly happy, with my team and my team-mates. Bit by bit, I'm getting to know more."

Bailly has made 11 league appearances for United this season, settling in well in England.He compared the Premier League to La Liga, where he spent the previous two seasons, and said there were major differences.

"From what I see, football in Spain, they also have a great league," Bailly said.
"La Liga is the best in the world, but here it is different, very direct, there is more contact and more strength.

"And like I said, little by little, and with more training under this manager, I hope to improve. Manchester is a nice place, I'm happy here."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Estudiantes announce 'new signing' - 41-year-old Veron

Juan Sebastian Veron, 41, has come out of retirement to sign an 18-month contract with Estudiantes - and he will not be paid a penny.

Former Manchester United and Chelsea midfielder Veron started his senior career with the Argentine club in 1994 and enjoyed three stints in La Plata before retiring in 2014, when he was subsequently elected president.Veron had promised to play in the 2017 Copa Libertadores if supporters purchased 65 per cent of the boxes at the club's new stadium.

And the former Argentina international will fulfil that promise after committing to the club in a playing capacity until 2018, when he will be 43.

Veron will be free to play in both domestic and continental fixtures and his salary will "donated for the development of the club".

His first game will be against Bayer Leverkusen in the Florida Cup on January 8.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

'Did Mourinho call?' - Embolo refuses to open up on reported Man Utd interest

Schalke striker Breel Embolo has refused to confirm or deny he was the subject of a transfer bid from Manchester United.

The Switzerland international joined the Bundesliga club from Basel in June for a reported fee of €20million, which could rise to close to €30m depending on bonuses.

Schalke sporting director Christian Heidel claimed in July Jose Mourinho had been "desperate" to sign Embolo and there are rumours he called the player to persuade him to wait for a move to Old Trafford rather than accept offers from Schalke or RB Leipzig, another interested party.When asked about the alleged approach from Mourinho, the 19-year-old asked Blick: "Did he call?"

He then added: "I don't talk about other clubs. I'm glad I'm with Schalke. I decided on Schalke, that's all that matters for me."And Embolo has insisted he made the right decision by choosing to move to Veltins Arena.

"It was very important to me to make the right move," he said. "I wondered what would be the best for me and the result was that Schalke was the perfect club."
Embolo suffered a serious ankle injury in October, a problem that is expected to keep him out for the remainder of the season.

He managed three goals and two assists in 10 appearances prior to sustaining the injury against Augsburg, forcing him to undergo surgery.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

'Giggs should take the Swansea job before it is too late'

Former Manchester United defender Gordon McQueen has urged Ryan Giggs to put himself up for the vacant Swansea City job after Bob Bradley was sacked.

The ex-United States coach was relieved of his duties with the Swans rooted in the relegation zone after 18 games of the Premier League season. And McQueen sees a fellow United old boy as a capable choice for the job, although the fact he has never held a management position may play against him.

"My feeling is that they will look for more experience. They will learn from Bob Bradley who was not aware of what was required to manage in the Premier League and that will also go against Giggs," McQueen told Goal , as he asserted that Giggs' top-level experience would play in his favour.

"Of course it helps. He has obviously picked up experience, but that was at United's level, not Swansea's level. Believe me, it is a different game when you are scrapping for your life at the bottom."Where do you get successful managerial experience somewhere else. If you go to a smaller club you can still fail - most do. It will be very, very difficult for him.

"There are also some very experienced names in the frame, such as Chris Coleman, Roberto Martinez and Harry Redknapp, to name but a few. He is up against it."

Despite his reservations, McQueen insisted that Giggs needed to return to the game soon, having left Old Trafford when Louis van Gaal departed after a spell as the club's assistant manager."Ryan is in a difficult situation. He needs to be stepping in to a job soon because the longer he is out of the game, the more difficult it becomes," he pointed out.

"Even if he was to take a job lower down the divisions his chances of success are very limited. These guys are lucky to last a year or so before getting the sack so it will be very difficult for him to step into a top job right away.

"If I was him I would go into a league that he knows best and that is the Premier League. His best bet is to get a mid-table club where he might have time to get to know the ropes and make a name for himself as an astute manager.

"He needs to go in as the boss. He needs to make the major decisions. That is how you get noticed.And the Scot was adamant that, in the short-term at least, Giggs has no role to play at the club he represented for his entire professional career as a player.

"There is no way back for Ryan in the foreseeable future. Jose Mourinho has settled down and does not want him in his backroom staff.

"If he is offered the Swansea job then he should take it. It is very difficult but he might never get the chance again. It is a tough job. They might not have the finances to get out of trouble, but he has the kudos with the fans, and they would be happy with the appointment."

 

[Alucard_SxE]

Tell me if there's anyone better at finding gaps and finishing at the moment

Consistency!​