Mauricio Pochettino is the ideal man to take over at Chelsea in the eyes of Gary Neville.

The Blues are on the hunt for a new boss for the second time this season, having axed Graham Potter less than seven months after he succeeded Thomas Tuchel at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea s defeat to Aston Villa proved to be the straw that broke the camel s back for Potter, the result sending the Blues into the bottom half of the Premier League standings and way off the pace in the hunt for European football next season.

Inconsistent form plagued Potter s reign in west London, with results not improving significantly after Todd Boehly splashed the cash in a mega spending spree in the January window.

Those mid-season recruits have somewhat complicated matters moving forwa…

PSG winger Jeremy Menez has blasted the suspension of five France Under-21 players, including Yann M Vila, as hugely unfair.

The 25-year-old also spoke of his own disciplinary struggles and perceptions from the media as well as life in the French capital, with the arrival of Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Menez remarked that the suspension of M Vila and the other four players (Antoine Griezmann, Chris Mavinga, Wissam Ben Yedder and M Baye Niang) is extreme, given his own run-in with the French Football Federation after Euro 2012.

The suspension is hugely disproportionate. These are young players, and they did something stupid. It can happen to everyone, the former Roma player told Le Parisien.

These sanctions will cut their international momentum. Regarding Yann …

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta does not believe a temporary suspension of Premier League action is needed to slow down the spread of coronavirus.

On Tuesday, the Premier League confirmed 18 new positive COVID-19 tests in the week commencing December 21 – the highest number of positive results in a single round of tests this season.

Manchester City s game at Everton was postponed at four hours notice due to a coronavirus outbreak at the Etihad Stadium on Monday, while Fulham s match against Tottenham on Wednesday was also called off.

Eighteen positive cases surpasses the previous high of 16 recorded in the week commencing November 9, and mirrors the wider situation in England, with more people now in hospital due to the virus than at the peak of the first wave in Apr…

Jurgen Klopp feels Liverpool s struggles will make him a better manager in the long run, ahead of their game with Premier League leaders Arsenal.

The Reds have been perennial silverware contenders over the past half-decade, sweeping all major domestic and international club honours.

But they have seen a dramatic dip in fortunes this season, with the German unable to keep them in contention for a title charge on multiple fronts.

Klopp, however, feels the difficulties faced this term will only help him grow going forward, adding that he does not doubt his own ability.

In the long term, definitely, he said when asked if their hardships improved him. Definitely. You need to improve to get the best out of yourself, you need to know about everything.

…

Market: Exeter to beat Lincoln

Odds: 

With Exeter and Lincoln battling out a close fought 0-0 draw at the Sincil Bank Stadium on Saturday afternoon, the pair are now just 90 minutes from booking their spot at Wembley later this month.

For Paul Tisdale s Exeter side, after doing well to halt a late second-half push from Lincoln on Saturday, The Grecians will fancy their chances at St. James Park in the second leg. Conceding under a goal per game at home this year, Exeter have now only been beaten once at home in League Two since November 2017.  For the hosts, Exeter will be looking for forward Jayden Stockley to carry on his impressive form this season. The 24-year-old now has 24 goals in all competitions this year and also has seven in his last nine.

A…

Best Odds: 1/2

Bookmaker:

Turning their attention to FA Cup duties on Saturday evening, Arsenal will host fellow Premier League outfit Newcastle at an empty Emirates this weekend.

Arsenal

Starting with the hosts, while Arsenal might have broken a string of unwanted records after a hugely worrying start to the 2020/21 campaign, the Gunners appear to have turned a real corner over the festive period. Although Mikel Arteta might have seen his job at the Emirates come under real scrutiny after enduring their worst domestic start in over 50 years, the Reds have found themselves enjoying a recent boost. Last seen away at Premier League returners West Brom, the defending FA Cup winners managed to put on a thumping display in the Midlands. Eventually breezing past the …

Chelsea caretaker manager Frank Lampard believes the club must focus on their own project, and ignore outside opinion.

The Blues have struggled this season despite investing an eye-watering amount of money on players in the last two transfer windows, sitting in 11th place in the Premier League after 30 games.

Chelsea face Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday, who are four places above them, and the Seagulls have continued to thrive under boss Roberto De Zerbi ever since the London club took their previous head coach, Graham Potter, from them in September.

I think Brighton is a fantastic model. You can track their last five, six, seven years and see good progression and that s their path, Lampard said at a press conference on Friday.

Chelsea s path is a …

Emmanuel Adebayor has told of his difficulty in adjusting to life following the attack on the Togo national team at the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations.

The team bus came under fire after crossing the border into Angola, killing three people on board.

One of those who died was the team s press officer Stan Ocloo, who Adebayor described as a big brother , and the forward says he found it very hard to get back to normal after the incident.

Stan Ocloo was my big brother, Adebayor told L Equipe ahead of Wednesday s Africa Cup of Nations clash against Tunisia.

He counselled me, I called him when I was sad at my clubs.

I spent a year-and-a-half (trying) to digest because he died in my arms. I collapsed in tears, I saw everyone crying.

I though…

that they have completed the signing of Moroccan striker Mounir El Hamdaoui from Fiorentina.

The 29-year-old arrives at La Rosaleda on a season-long loan, with los Boquerones having the option to sign him outright at the end of the season.

This capture has marked the end of a long-drawn search for a new centre forward that has seen the La Liga signed linked with Nicklas Bendtner, Marco Borriello and few other high-profile players.

Just few years back, Mounir El Hamdaoui was regarded as one of Europe s most prolific strikers, having scored goals for fun in Dutch Eredivisie, but his career has since started taking a turn for the worse.

After failing to make a single appearance during the 2011/2012 season, the Moroccan joined Fiorentina, where he went on t…

FIFA has banned Saoud Al-Mohannadi from all football-related activities on a national and international level for one year following the vice-president of the Qatar Football Association (QFA) s refusal to cooperate with the investigatory chamber in the proceedings against a third party.

An investigation into Al-Mohannadi was opened in July and the adjudicatory chamber of the ethics committee has now opted to take action because of infringements of his duty to collaborate as a witness.

The adjudicatory chamber of the ethics committee, chaired by Hans-Joachim Eckert, has banned Saoud Al-Mohannadi, vice-president of the QFA and a vice-president of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), for one year from all football-related activities on a national and international level…