There is a long-established myth that to succeed and be influential in the Premier League you need to be physically big and strong. However, the arrival and success of smaller players like Luka Modric, Jack Wilshere and David Silva is quickly dispelling this notion.
We often hear about young English players who never made it in the game because they were too small, and the argument and debate over the size of players is often brought up whenever a player who is slighter in stature – for example, Luka Modric – moves to England. There is often talk about whether they will be able to cut it in the English game and cope with the rough, competitive nature of the Premier League.
The Premier League is physical in nature, and it isn’t something that everyone can adapt to, but many players who are slight in stature (Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri, Lucas Leiva) have shown that you can be influential as a smaller figure in the English game. Smaller players often succeed because they have the technical skills necessary to be influential in the Premier League. They often have exceptional touch, awareness and desire which more than makes up for any lacking physical attributes. Players like Tim Cahill often break the stereotype surrounding size in the English game. Cahill is a very aggressive player and a great header of the ball despite his stature, banishing the thought that you have to be big and imposing to succeed in this league. The Premier League is a rough, competitive league – more so than many across the continent – but it appears that size doesn’t matter so much nowadays, and it is other attributes like attitude, skill, and fitness that will ultimately determine a players success in the top flight.
English football recruitment has always been largely based around physical ability and size, recruiting kids who are the biggest and strongest, at the expense of smaller but more technically gifted players. It is difficult to say whether this form of discrimination has lessened in the recruitment of young players, but the lack of small, technically gifted English players suggests that it hasn’t.
The English game needs to take a look at the rest of the world and the success of smaller figures on the continent. The Barcelona and Spain squads are both filled with technically gifted players who aren’t exactly giants. It seems that size is certainly less of an issue in terms of youth recruitment in Spain than it is in England and their successes on the field must in some ways be attributed to their youth development system.
Barcelona and Spain do also have some bigger stronger players, and this mix or blend of the two opposites appears to be a vital mix for a successful team. There is always a suggestion that teams like Arsenal-who have several smaller players-need beefing up in the middle and that they lack the stong physical presence required to be successful in this league. Perhaps this illustrates that it is key to have the best of both worlds in order to have a successful side in the English game.
It has been always been thought a necessity to possess taller, bigger, stronger players to succeed in the Premier League, but that is gradually changing. There is often a debate about whether Lionel Messi would have the same effect if he were to play in England, but judging by the success of other players of similar stature – Tevez, Wilshere, Aguero – if you are good enough, then you are big enough.
There is no doubt that the pace and competitiveness of football today requires increased athleticism and a strong physical presence in your side, but there is plenty of room for the smaller player in the Premier League. It seems that the key is in how you utilize size, with smaller players possessing exceptional speed, vision and intelligence on and off the ball, which can be just as key as any physical advantages. Size clearly has some advantages, but other qualities still persist resolutely in the game, and there is certainly a place for the smaller player in the Premier League.
Does size still matter in the Premier League? Let me know your thoughts below or follow me on Twitter @LaurenRutter for more comment and debate.
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Spurs rampant victory over Liverpool was certainly a wake-up call for the Merseyside outfit as much as it was a kick start to the North London club’s season. The pace, power and panache of Spurs’s performance was a joy to behold. They played at a high-tempo that their fellow rivals for that highly-coveted fourth place simply could not cope with. They accomplished all of this without mercurial talent Rafael Van Der Vaart in the starting line-up – with the Dutchman returning from a spell on the sidelines, in his absence, have Spurs moved on without him?
Last season Spurs were dynamic in spurts but lacked a striker of sufficient class to put away the consistent stream of chances that they created. A shift in formation from the 4-4-2 of 2009/10 that saw them finish 4th was changed to a 4-5-1 to accommodate Van Der Vaart – Spurs missed out on Champions League football for a second consecutive season finishing 5th.
I’ve long subscribed to the view that 4-5-1 and Spurs simply don’t fit. They’re a side steeped in the tradition of open and attacking football. While last term they were entertaining, particularly on their European escapades, they lacked consistency in the league, dropping points to team’s that they should be beating on an all too regular basis.
While Van Der Vaart’s own personal form was good, with the midfielder contributing 13 league goals, a handsome return on a £8m investment, those around him suffered for form when compared to the previous campaign. There has rarely been a better example of a player being exceptionally talented, but at the same time simply not a good for the rest of the side as Van Der Vaart so obviously is with Spurs.
His presence and the side’s subsequent dipping league form are little more than a consequence of a lack of long-term planning on manager Harry Redknapp’s part, with Van Der Vaart arriving on transfer deadline day with minutes to spare. A bargain, most certainly yes, but to what cost on a wider scale has his arrival changed the club ‘s previously successful style of play?
Luka Modric is one the finest players in the league and the man that makes Spurs tick. To put it simply, if you don’t rate him higher than Van Der Vaart and more key to Spurs’ future ambitions, then you should revoke your status as a football fan through sheer lack of knowledge.
Modric looked far more comfortable alongside Scott Parker against Liverpool than he ever has done when playing beside Van Der Vaart. There’s a school of thought that Modric’s creativity is stifled by Van Der Vaart’s presence and that it stops Modric getting the best out of his magnificent ability – I‘d certainly subscribe to that view. Spurs also have Sandro and Tom Huddlestone among their ranks – an enviable strength in depth in a crucial area and Van Der Vaart’s prospects of an automatic return grow smaller by the match.
The knock-on effect Van Der Vaart’s presence in the starting line-up had on Jermaine Defoe is also worth noting. While I am far from being Defoe’s biggest fan, he went from scoring 24 goals one season, to 9 the next. He may have suffered from being in and out of the team due to a mixture of injury and suspension, but that is quite a drop in one season.
One thing has become clear – Defoe performs best with a partner beside him rather than behind him. In Emmanuel Adebayor he now has that, and Spurs now have the quality striker that they so desperately required last season.
Indeed, even for Holland, Van Der Vaart has led a troubled life, seemingly proving difficult to fit in unless a formation is accommodated to suit his needs. In the end, during last summer’s World Cup, Holland coach Bert Van Marwijk finally decided he’d had enough of trying to shoehorn both Wesley Sneijder and Van Der Vaart into his starting eleven and dropped the latter after the group stages. The result – an unexpected run to the final and Sneijder wins the Golden Boot.
Van Der Vaart is obviously a quality player. He combines goals, vision and technique to constitute a real threat to whoever the opposition are, but he can quite rightfully be considered a luxury player and at times he flits in and out of the game.
He was surprisingly left out of Spurs initial Europa League squad, despite his injury, which led the player publicly questioning the decision. His stock has never been lower at the club than it is right now.
A lot depends on how much faith Redknapp retains in Defoe. Adebayor should rightfully be seen as the club’s first-choice striker. Redknapp could just as easily switch to Adebayor up top by himself with Van Der Vaart in behind him. This could be a useful tactic in Europe, but in the league, it may lead to a regression just when Spurs look to have found their attacking straps once more.
With Defoe scoring and Niko Krancjar performing ably in his stead; Modric and Parker beginning to form a decent understanding in the middle, the current Spurs side looks a lot more balanced than last season’s. Van Der Vaart would do well to return to full fitness soon, for this current Spurs side are in danger of moving on without him.
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Eden Hazard’s agent has stated that his client may look for a move next summer, with the Arsenal and Liverpool target quickly becoming a big fish in a small pond at Lille.
The Belgium international playmaker helped Rudy Garcia’s side to the Ligue 1 championship last season, and has been linked with a transfer to clubs in England, Spain and Italy.
With an impressive start to the season under his belt already, speculation of a move has been started again by his agent.
“He has shown from the beginning of the season that he is able to play for any of the big clubs, including Real Madrid,” representative John Bico told Mirror Football.
“Eden has matured in every aspect. Perhaps next summer will be the moment to leave in search of the biggest challenge.
“Arsene Wenger wanted the player but Lille said no to the sale last summer. It’s certain that Real Madrid have been watching.
“I don’t think [Zinedine] Zidane’s presence will necessarily decide things. Zidane has always praised him but that, on its own, will not be sufficient,” he concluded.
The creative midfielder is sure to be much vaunted again come January, and Arsenal could use his vision to fill the void left by Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri.
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Tottenham have suffered their first European defeat of the season at the hands of Rubin Kazan, with the Eastern European outfit recording a 1-0 win over the English side at the Central’nyj Stadion on Thursday night.
The White Hart Lane team fielded a side of mostly young and fringe players, with the only senior men included being William Gallas, Jermain Defoe, Roman Pavlyuchenko and Sebastian Bassong.
Steven Pienaar also made a return from a groin injury, and played the full 90 minutes of the Europa League tie.
Things went into the interval all square, but a Bibras Natcho free-kick on 56 minutes sealed the victory for the home team.
The defeat sees Harry Redknapp’s men drop from first in Group A to third, with a home game against PAOK and a trip to Ireland to face Shamrock Rovers still to play.
Assistant manager Kevin Bond took charge of the side in Redknapp’s absence, and despite the loss is still upbeat about Spurs’ chances of qualifying for the knockout stages.
“We were under no illusion how good a side they were,” Bond told BBC Sport.
“It’s going to be tight right until the end, but with the games we have got left it’s still in our hands to qualify and we feel confident we will do,” he concluded.
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Spurs now take on Fulham at Craven Cottage on Sunday and will welcome back their big name players. The North London outfit will be aiming to make it seven wins from eight league games, as their search for a top four finish continues.
So far this season there have been 438 goals in the Premier League, and we’re not even half way through. If this scoring trend were to continue throughout the season then that would leave us with around 1,100 goals, which would be a new record. In fact the defensive side to our teams just seems to be having a bit of a shocker all round really. Last year’s fad was snoods, this year it’s to have a leaky defence. And this fashion isn’t confined to the lower teams either. When was the last time you saw Arsenal concede eight in one game, or Man Utd concede six or Chelsea concede five at home? What is it about our league that has suddenly invited upon itself the desire to attack without inhibition and allow our defences to bear the brunt of the consequences? Is it lesser players, or a change in tactics, new strikers in the league or are the referees playing their part too?
Tactics
Obviously tactics play a part; in particular Andre Villas-Boas and Arsene Wenger are guilty of ignoring the defensive side to their jobs. Admittedly both have improved recently but Andre Santos’ admission that he had never spoken to Wenger about his defending is a worrying indictment of the way Arsenal football club is managed. Sure, Pat Rice handles the defensive side to the team but it would be reassuring for Arsenal fans to at least know that Wenger was playing some role in the defensive coaching of his side. To be fair to Wenger his side’s defensive performances this year are much better than last year and with the return of Thomas Vermaelen they look far more sturdy. Similarly with Villas-Boas despite his defensive struggles as he adapts to life in the Premier League the last two games have proved that his side are making progress.
However whilst there is some debate as to whether the top English clubs are not as good as they once were, the other argument is that the lower teams have got better. What this means is that firstly any team feels like they can beat any other, which lends itself to more attacking play and therefore more goals scored and conceded. It also means that because life at the bottom of the table is so tight a points total of around 40 come the end of the season may no longer be enough to keep your side up. This means that the lower teams have to take more risks against the bigger clubs in order to stay ahead of their rivals.
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New players
One of the factors that are definitely playing a part is the influx of foreign money in to our league. If you think that in the last couple of years Man City alone have brought Sergio Aguero, Mario Balotelli, David Silva and Edin Dzeko. When players like these come to your league they are obviously going to score goals, and plenty of them too. Whereas in the past teams playing Man City had to worry about Samaras they now have to worry about Aguero. It makes sense that we would see more goals, even if Wenger is doing his best to keep the goal tally down by buying players like Chamakh and Park.
Referees
However the factor that surely has the largest impact upon our ever more permeable defences is the crackdown on strong tackles by referees. Everything is a foul these days. Take the Blackburn vs. Sunderland game on Sunday for example. Scott Dann’s header was ruled out because Sunderland goalkeeper Westwood came for the ball and missed it. Despite there being nothing wrong with Dann’s goal it was ruled out and that is typical of our referees’ attitudes towards both the defence of goalkeepers and the punishment of defenders in modern football. Clearly the more stringent approach from officials was introduced with the best of intentions but the way it has affected the game has gone too far. Yes, tackles were perhaps too vicious twenty-five years ago but today we have fallen victim to the type of play-acting that would make the Royal Shakespeare Company proud. What’s the point of having tall physical defenders if they can’t use their physical presence to the full advantage? What’s the point of having the courage to attempt a last ditch tackle, as Rio Ferdinand did against Newcastle, if you’re only going to get penalised for it even if you win the ball. The consequence of this culture in today’s football is that the defenders are at a natural disadvantage, and it shows. Defenders, like all players, need to have confidence in their ability and their actions in order to perform effectively; but how can they have confidence when the line between an acceptable tackle and a dangerous one is blurry even for the referees?
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Since the three nominees for the FIFA Ballon d’Or 2011 trophy were revealed back on 5th December, we have been waiting with bated breath for the award to be handed out. That day has arrived and the three nominees from La Liga, Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid and Lionel Messi and Xavi of Barcelona, will be hoping they’re victorious tonight.
Here on Football FanCast we have been given exclusive access to the FIFA Ballon d’Or Gala in Zurich and will be bringing you the latest news and behind-the-scenes photographs from the event. Will Messi win his third Ballon d’Or trophy in a row, or can Xavi or Ronaldo pip the Argentina forward to the award?
Check out the latest from the FIFA Ballon d’Or Gala below…
12.30pm
Braving the cold blustery winds of Zurich, Football FanCast has arrived at this year’s FIFA Ballon d’Or Gala to celebrates football’s most outstanding moments of the past year. There are several different awards that will be handed out this evening and we will announce the winners as and when they are announced.
Award Categories
-FIFA’s Ballon d’or
-FIFA’s Women’s World Player of the Year
-FIFA’s coaches of the year for Men and Women’s game
-FIFA’s Team of the Year
-FIFA’s Presidential Award
-FIFA’s Puskas Award
-FIFA’s Fair Play Award
Remember to hit our Facebook page – (http://www.facebook.com/FootballFanCast) to see updates and pictures of the day.
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Lionel Messi is clearly the hot favourite among the gathered journalists, with Ronaldo coming in a close second. Nobody is giving Xavi much of a chance, which is a shame because if anyone is deserving of such an accolade then it is the Barcelona Legend.
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2.30pm
Women press conference has commenced and the opening exchanges is talking up the ‘Live Your Goals’ campaign http://www.fifa.com/womensworldcup/liveyourgoals/aboutthecampaign/.
Homare Sawa, Abby Wambach and Marta are on stage with Sawa and Wambach looking back and talking about the past 12 months and the Women’s World Cup in particular; where Japan’s Homare Sawa (who took a clean sweep of the player awards in Germany) defeated USA’s Abby Wambach in the final.
Marta is happy to continue playing in the USA and help re-establish the League to its former glories, but hasn’t ruled out a move to Europe in the future. Abby Wambach likewise is unsure where her future lies, especially with it being an Olympic Year.
Not many questions from the floor, but those on stage were very excited about the gala this evening.
A list below of the candidates for the Player of the year for both the men and the women’s award
We have now reached the FIFA Interactive World Cup to find the best gaming player on the planet. Over 900k players entered LIVE qualifying events around the World, with each of the winners going on to Grand Final, along with the six regional winners from the FIFA 12 Playstation Network.
After three days of gaming took place to find its eventual winner and after a 4-1 victory in an epic final at Los Angeles’s Mayan Theatre, Francisco Cruz from Portugal was crowned the FIFA Interactive World Cup 2011 champion.
You can watch the final here:
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Francisco Cruz looked very modest about his achievement and is looking forward to defending his title in the coming year.
Wayne Rooney presented the award to Francisco Cruz, before declaring that he is the best FIFA 12 Player at Old Trafford, although Phil Jones will like to tell you different. Rooney fancies his chances against Cruz, if a game can be organised backstage.
3.30pm
Sir Alex Ferguson, Pep Guardiola, Lionel Messi and Xavi enter the stage for the press conference ahead of their respective awards. Cristiano Ronaldo and Jose Mourinho are not attending due to Real Madrid’s preparation against Malaga tomorrow night.
After the initial introductions of the men on stage and their achievements within the game, the floor was opened up to questions from the floor. A lot of the questions were thrown at Sir Alex, who duly answered those questions thrown at him:
When asked about whether Ole Gunnar Solksjaer will make a decent manager in the future:
Ole Gunnar Solksjaer will make a superb manager in the future and one day he could be sitting on the stage like myself and Pep Guardiola alongside me in the future. He was always destined to be a manager, given his attitude and his willingness to learn.
When pushed on whether Pep Guardiola (who has won 9 out of 12 trophies he has competed for) would be the ideal replacement for him when he finally calls it a day at Old Trafford,
Fergie smiled and asked the question, “Why would Pep want to leave Barcelona?” Fergie went on to say he believes that Barcelona are the fantastic team of the moment and feels they can certainly go on to win the Champions League.
Sir Alex Ferguson was also complimentary of Lionel Messi when asked about whether the Argentinean can be considered one of the greats of all time.
World Class footballers can play in any generation and Messi certainly believes he is in that top bracket. Guardiola concurred with Ferguson’s view that football is in the presence of one of them in Lionel Messi.
Pep Guardiola, Xavi and Lionel Messi have stressed that their success is down just as much to their teammates, rather than themselves. No more so than Iniesta in my opinion.
4pm
It never ceases to amaze me at Press Conferences the tame nature of the questions and random questions that are asked. Whoever would have thought a question about Belhadj and matches in Qatar would have been brought to the table.
As the aforementioned tame press conference and plenty of niceties exchanged as you would expect. I’m sure had a certain Mr Mourinho been up there the type and tone of questions may have been different.
We will post up the news stories from these Press Conferences later tonight, so be sure to look at our Facebook Page (http://www.facebook.com/#!/FootballFanCast) for further photos and updates from the 2011 Ballon d’Or.
There is a gentle calm about the place as the players and managers go off and get themselves dolled up for this evening’s gala. I think the results will be a formality, although the FIFA World XI is by no means a guarantee.
5pm
The Media Room is clearing as the pre-show is set to commence in 20mins time. Catch the latest updates of the Ballon d’Or from our facebook and Twitter Pages – http://www.facebook.com/#!/FootballFanCast or @Football_FanCast
6pm
Kay Murray and Ruud Gullit take the stage and the Ballon d’Or gala commences.
Lionel Messi looks as cool with a look of ‘its in the bag’, while Fergie is looking round smiling round to all an sundry
Sepp Blatter gives his opening speech to the ceremony where he introducing to the audience that the likes of Beckenbauer and Pele are in the building. He is talking about the year that was 2011 and how he is keen to clean up the game.
Simone Farina comes to the stage on the request of Blatter so he can be commended for exposing those looking to match fix in Italy. Simone Farina is awarded a FIFA Award for Fair Play.
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6.30pm
Pele ‘the king of football’ has come to the stage ahead of the announcement of FIFA/FIFpro World XI -Casillas, Alves, Ramos, Pique, Vidic, Ronaldo, Xavi, Alonso, Iniesta, Rooney, Messi…not a bad team.
Sepp Blatter pays a glowing tribute to Sir Alex Ferguson before bestowing him with FIFA’s Presidential Award. The Scot looks deeply touched by it all and he pays tribute to the excellent players that shared the same level of ambition and belief.
Lothar Mathaus awards Norio Sasaki with the Women’s Coach of the Year award – largely down to Japan’s World Cup success. The coach pays tribute to all the support the nation has recieved in light of the terrible earthquake that rocked their country and believes their support willed their team on to success.
7pm
Pep Guardiola wins the men’s coach of the year award. The Barcelona boss would like to pay tribute to all the people that made the football club what it is. He is deeply honoured to manage the football club and it means the world to him. Guardiola is the ultimate gentleman and a worthy winner.
Neymar wins the goal of 2011 – a worthy winner I think you will agree:
[youtube 0mQLT0_lOsM]
Homare Sawa scoops the women’s award for 2011 – no surprise giving she cleaned up the awards at the World Cup.
The Real Ronaldo comes up on stage to annouce the winner of the Ballon d’Or for 2011. Looking back at his goals just shows what a player the Brazilian was.
Lionel Messi wins the award and claims it was an absolute pleasure to win it and he wants to share it with his teammate Xavi, who it has been an absolute pleasure to play with. The Argentine took 47.88% of the vote, with Cristiano Ronaldo 2nd with 21.6%.
A wonderful occassion and I want to thank you for joining Football FanCast today at the Ballon d’Or at FIFA’s Congress Hall
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You have to feel for Andre Villas-Boas. He inherited a somewhat broken strike force when he took over at Chelsea. Drogba, whilst still able to perform at a high level, is undoubtedly past his best, Torres has failed to settle ever since his high profile move last January and Anelka is out of favour; so much so that he has been allowed to leave in the upcoming transfer window. Apart from that the Portuguese manager has Kalou and Sturridge at his disposal.
Recently Villas-Boas has been using Drogba, to decent effect, in his team. However there is a problem with this. Drogba will be leaving for the African Cup of Nations. You get the feeling that in order to get the best out of one of his strikers Villas-Boas had to put his faith in one of them, he had to inspire belief in to either Drogba or Torres. He chose Drogba, which is fine, but it won’t have done Torres’ confidence any favours.
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Because both Kalou and Drogba are playing for the Ivory Coast you would presume that they would be in the competition for a reasonable amount of time. If you combine this with the sale of Anelka then Chelsea could be without Drogba, Anelka and Kalou come January, and a few weeks in to February as well. During this time they also have to play rivals Manchester United, and, if Torres hasn’t found his form by then, Sturridge will have to lead the line. There is no doubt that Sturridge is improving with every month that goes by; but after all the money they have spent over the last five years how are they in a position where Daniel Sturridge, a striker who last year was playing for Bolton, will be their main striker?
Nobody is saying that Sturridge will not be up to the task, but at a crucial time in the season was it not a little short-sighted of the Chelsea manager to get rid of Anelka in a time of need? Torres will always be a talented player, but he is heinously inconsistent at the moment and whilst Anelka has not been scoring goals of late his build up play is always exceptional and the fact that Villas-Boas has had him training with the reserves seems a little insulting to a striker that a) has given a lot to Chelsea, possibly more than he has given to any club and b) could be a useful part of the squad whilst the African players are away.
Anelka may not have acted as the front man for Chelsea in Didier’s absence, but his presence, and the experience that goes with it, could have been invaluable next to Sturridge who, although talented and athletic, still has a lot to learn.
Who knows, maybe Abramovich has told Villas-Boas that he is willing to back him in the January transfer window. But even if that is the case who are Chelsea going to buy? How much money will Abramovich really be willing to spend in January after being burnt with Torres a year ago. And, if Villas-Boas hasn’t already lined up a potential target then, no matter what he thought of Anelka as a player, it was rash to agree to his sale before he had a replacement lined up. Chelsea have options up front, don’t get me wrong, Mata is excellent and Malouda has not totally lost his worth. But do they have enough options to cope with the loss of Drogba and Kalou? I’m not so sure. The competition for places in the top six is incredibly tight and this is exactly the sort of problem that could cost Chelsea their objectives, and that is before you even consider the possibility of an injury to Sturridge or Torres. I can understand that Anelka’s contract is up at the end of the season and it may have made financial sense to sell him in January, but is anyone really going to tell me that a team that could pay £50m for one player, couldn’t afford to let Anelka run down his contract in order to provide cover for the potential six weeks that Drogba could be away for? It seems unlikely.
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Bolton manager Owen Coyle has admitted that he is interested in signing Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha, and wants to bolster his squad before the transfer window closes on Tuesday.
The 19-year-old has impressed this season with The Eagles, and has been linked with a raft of Premier League clubs, including Liverpool and Manchester United.
The Trotters also have their eye on Zaha, as Coyle looks to strengthen.
“I think there’s players out there, and Zaha is certainly one of them, that I think would enhance our club for years to come on a permanent basis, and there are one or two on a loan capacity I’d love to bring in before the deadline on Tuesday,” Coyle told Sky Sports.
“If it transpires then great, but it won’t stop me targeting good, young players to bring to this football club that I think I can develop and make better, and that’s what I’m trying to do.”
Meanwhile, one man on his way out of the Reebok Stadium could be Kevin Davies, with Sunderland keen to sign the veteran attacker.
Bantams boss Martin O’Neill has confirmed his interest in Davies, who is out of contract in the summer.
“I did make an enquiry and Owen would obviously want to try to keep him. I may well follow that up tomorrow morning,” he admitted.
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QPR defender Clint Hill has stated that Mark Hughes’ bust-up with Martin Jol after the team’s match with Fulham shows that the Welsh manager has a fighting spirit.
The Loftus Road club lost 1-0 to Hughes’ former employers on Saturday, and the Rangers boss brushed off Jol’s advances as he felt that the Dutchman was being patronising.
However, Hill feels this is a clear sign that Hughes has the required spirit to keep the London club in the Premier League.
“He has certainly got spirit,” the player told Mirror Football.
“I was lucky to play against him a few times so I know that. He cares, like everyone else, and doesn’t want this club to go down. He will be frustrated.
“We feel the whole world is against us. We are having no luck at the moment, but we will come back on Monday and dust ourselves down,” he stated.
Hill also acknowledged that defeats have put QPR right in the relegation mix, and that it will be a battle to stay in the English top flight.
“The last three games have been massive – and we haven’t got any points.
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“There’s always belief. The mini-league is getting smaller during every game. There’s five teams involved and if we can finished first or second in that league it will be a massive achievement,” he concluded.
Charlton head in to Saturday’s game against 6th placed Notts County, following a frustrating result on Tuesday where they suffered their first home defeat of the season.
Only their first defeat of 2012, in a game that Charlton dominated for long periods ,but they were undone by a moment of class by Anthony Wordsworth and then a very fortunate break for their secondas a Ben Hamer kick was charged down by the persistent Steven Gillespie which looped in to the back of the net. But what would have seemed to be a bad night was lifted slightly with the news that Walsall had managed to beat Sheffield United 3-2 leaving the Addicks still 13 points clear at the top of League One.
We head in to the game with Notts County knowing they have beaten their opponents once this season following a 2-1 victory at Meadow Lane on match day two. But Chris Powell will know that they will have a much tougher challenge this time. County are a revitalised side under Keith Curle who in his opening 4 games has led County to three wins and one draw, conceding just the one goal.
This has taken them from a mid-table obscurity to currently occupying the last playoff spot. With talisman Lee Hughes suspended for Saturdays game, Notts County must now look elsewhere for inspiration, probably with Jeff Hughes, who is currently their top scorer with 15 goals, even if a number of those have come from the penalty spot. It may also be a return to his former club for Sam Sodje if he is the County backline. Sodje played for Charlton during 2007-08 season on-loan and then permanently during the 09-10 season being a key member of the play-off semi-finalists during our first season in league 1.
We will be relying on Captain Johnnie Jackson to carry on leading the way for the team. He is currently going through his best spell in his whole career, a career which started at Spurs and en-route to making it to the valley did include a short spell at meadow lane, with Notts County during the 09-10 season. Jackson is currently on 13 goals for the season and is fast become a set piece specialist for the Addicks scoring free kicks and penalties this season, plus being a key corner taker at times. It would be fair to say it would be a massive blow if the former Colchester man was lured away during the summer.
Powell’s Charlton now must make sure they get the 3 points this Saturday, to make sure Tuesday was merely a minor blip and not an end of season slump. Would it be fair to say maybe 5 more wins and the championship is ours? Certainly a major collapse would be the only thing to stop us getting our hands on that sought-after trophy. But they will not be taking anything lightly and until that (P) or (C) is next to their name, and must take ever match very serious to make sure they have no Cardiff City type collapse.
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With Charlton leading the table since late September they look like worthy winners. It would be a travesty if they didn’t make it now so come on lads five more wins and the title will be ours.