Aston Villa have taken the lead in their clash with Newcastle through Jacob Ramsey but the assist from Arsenal target Ollie Watkins made it.
The English striker is in serious form at present and showed his confidence with his assist for Aston Villa’s opener. The 27-year-old displayed great awareness to knock the ball down from a cross into Ramsey’s path when a lot of strikers might have gone for goal or not executed the knockdown.
It is no surprise Arsenal are interested in the Villa forward as they look for suitable competition for Gabriel Jesus. The Englishman is said to be admired by Mikel Arteta and it remains to be seen if the Gunners make a move in the summer.
Beautifully worked Aston Villa move ?
Ollie Watkins nods the ball down for Jacob Ramsey to drill home at The Holte End ? pic.twitter.com/V8lvvLxD8N
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) April 15, 2023
Jacob Ramsey fires it past Nick Pope and Aston Villa are flying to start the match!
Tottenham Hotspur announced a new deal to open a go-karting track inside their state-of-the-art stadium last week. The Premier League club joined forces with F1 to create apprenticeship and career opportunities for local youth while addressing diversity in the motorsport industry. In the bizarre announcement, there is a lesson for Scottish football. Whilst our game is authentic, we must maximise our product.
The London club have enjoyed an impressive few years in terms of exposure but matters on the pitch have failed to keep up with the growth in a business sense. Daniel Levy, the club’s astute taskmaster, appeared to loosen his grip of the club by appointing Antonio Conte and Fabio Paratici as Sporting Director.
Although, the rumour mill appears to suggest that The Lilywhites will again look for a new manager this summer. Spurs will endeavour to rectify this problem but they’ll continue to make strides with regards to their commercial wing.
Callum McGregor of Celtic celebrates at the final whistle as Celtic beat Rangers 2-1 in the Viaplay League Cup Final at Hampden Park on February 26, 2023 (Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images)
What does this mean for Scottish Football? Not an awful lot. It’s another example of how the Premier League clubs are using ever resource available to them to maximise profit and drive the gulf between other teams. The Premier League is the most viewed league in the world and it’s popularity is largely merited. Although, per capita, Scottish football is the best supported.
The Scottish game showed in the League Cup Final that it has a vibrant, colourful and exciting. But not only between Glasgow’s big two. This weekend’s game saw a number of interesting clashes at both ends of the table and in all divisions. Craig McGuffie scored a goal that’ll likely be touted for the FIFA Puskas Award, such was the quality from the Falkirk star.
The issue that Scottish football has is visibility. The existing TV deal, 3pm black-out hamstrings and isolationism from clubs results in fans, who would pay to attend or watch games, being ignored. This leads them to the visible, wall-to-wall English Premier League. With games from Friday night through to Monday night then Champions League/Europa League, there is a lot of football at the top level ready to be consumed.
There is an appetite for the Scottish game, the numbers do not lie. Celtic in particular is globally recognised as is their fierce rivalry, to a much lesser extent. Yet, inexplicably, bosses are contented to simply stand guard over the game rather than prompting new ways to make money out of it.
Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic are in terrific form and the Australian’s team are being noticed for their hard work, tenacity and goals. Yet Celtic are a different proposition, they are bigger than most Premier League teams and have a European-sized operation behind the scenes, similar to Rangers. As the two clubs attempt to compete with England and other European clubs, they pull further away from the rest of the league.
A policy of jealousy appears to have crept into the mantra of some clubs. They would rather seats were empty than be seen to take the money from Celtic (and indeed theRangers) fans.
Thousands of Celtic fans would’ve gladly paid to get into St Mirren’s stadium yesterday yet the Paisley club opted against it. Instead asking their own fans for a donation rather than allowing football fans to support their team. A baffling decision that cost them around £50k yesterday and £200k per season.
Livingston boss David Martindale made an interesting point. Following Brexit, English clubs have eyed the Scottish market with some interest. Rather than simply signing the brightest 16-year-olds, English teams should consider a strategic partnership with Scottish teams. By Martindale’s reckoning, this will improve Scottish teams and the game as a whole. It’s a novel idea but one that shouldn’t be off the table for clubs of Livingston’s ilk.
Celtic have manoeuvred well in the transfer market to tap into relatively untried markets. This is something that has had a major impact on the club’s performances on the pitch and will further improve the club’s already sound financial health.
Since the pandemic, fans have been more vocal in terms of what they want. Rightly so. The pandemic proved that there were different ways to work in every sphere of life so why should fans continue to be locked out of fixtures owing to the 3pm black-out. Revisiting an SPFL streaming service would tackle piracy and deliver an option for fans.
(Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Scottish clubs can moan about the chasm between Celtic and the rest but until they begin looking to maximise their revenue and fighting the status quo dictated by Sky, the game as a whole will not progress.
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When Manchester United stepped out onto the Anfield turf on Sunday afternoon, they did so in the knowledge that they were one of the form teams in the Premier League.
Liverpool have flattered to deceive for long periods of the 2022/23 campaign, though they always seemed to have fared well when United have come to town of late.
It’s doubtful anyone would’ve predicted what would unfold over the following 90 minutes, and it’s safe to say that Erik ten Hag and his troops were sent back up the motorway with their tails very firmly between their legs.
As brilliant as Liverpool were, particularly in front of goal, the visitors were their own worst enemies at times.
There was even a passage of play when United captain, Bruno Fernandes, gave the worst possible example of professionalism by simply giving up after Stefan Bajcetic went past him.
Thoughts and prayers with Bruno Fernandes after Stefan Baj?eti? ended his career tonight ? pic.twitter.com/Mnqz4T1mBg
Not too long ago, ten Hag suggested – per Sky Sports – that his former player at Ajax, Frenkie de Jong, was a ‘unique’ midfielder and would ‘strengthen any squad in the world.’
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It’s known that the Dutchman tried to reunite with his countryman in the January transfer window, but de Jong held firm, wishing to stay in Barcelona despite the Catalans seeming to be willing to do business with the Premier League outfit.
After Sunday’s debacle, ten Hag will surely go back in for the player, and his stats (provided by Opta) when compared to Fernandes make for decent reading.
Despite playing two games less, de Jong has only had 21 less touches of the ball. He hasn’t had quite the potency in front of goal that the Portuguese has, but in virtually every other facet he is a significant improvement on his contemporary.
United could certainly do with de Jong, but after Sunday’s result will he really want to come…
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Manchester United defender Diogo Dalot has shown his commitment to the club by returning early to training following his World Cup exit.
After players had finished participating at the World Cup, clubs offered their stars a short break as they rejuvenate following the tournament. Naturally, after playing in a competitive, hectic World Cup, players will be mentally and physically drained, so a few days away from football ahead of the Premier League return would be beneficial.
However, according to Manchester Evening News, one United player opted to return to training early following his exit from the World Cup.
Diogo Dalot in action for Manchester United.
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The report claims that Portuguese defender Dalot returned to training just six days after his country were eliminated from the tournament.
Most players were expected to return to training on Monday, with Dalot arriving at Carrington three days early.
With Dalot’s contract expiring at the end of the season, his decision will undoubtedly have gone down well at Manchester United and he could be hoping it convinces them to offer him a new deal, especially after his impressive season under Erik ten Hag.
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