Roberto De Zerbi
Posted in2022-2023-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Roberto De Zerbi wants to see Jason Steele earn England call and considers him top goalkeeper #BHAFC

May 28, 2023
Albion’s head coach rates the achievement in restoring Lewis Dunk to the Three Lions on a par with taking the club into the Europa League. Now he would love to see Steele, the man he has propelled into the Premier League spotlight, earn similar recognition from Gareth Southgate. Steele returns to the scene of his Premier League debut as Albion face Aston Villa. That outing last season was as a stand-in for the suspended Robert Sanchez. Steele has been very much the No.1 in recent weeks and has impressed De Zerbi with all aspects of his game, including his passing from the back. The Seagulls boss said: “We will work in the next season to help Jason Steele to achieve the same target as Lewis Dunk “He has the quality to achieve a target so important. “I don’t want to speak about other keepers in other teams. “In my vision, my idea, Jason Steele is a top keeper. “It is difficult to find another keeper at the level. “I study football 24 hours per day but it’s very hard to find another keeper with these qualities, this courage, this knowledge to play.” Steele was seen as Albion’s back-up keeper, both to Maty Ryan and then Sanchez. But De Zerbi saw enough in training and cup ties to change that. He said: “I have to analyse the present and sometimes the potential and the future. “The past is not important for me. “You can change your life in one day if you believe in yourself and you believe in work. “I told him the same – ‘I give you the possibility to change your life, to change your career, and you have to believe in yourself because I help you and you help me’.”
Evan Ferguson
Posted in2022-2023-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Evan Ferguson praised by Ireland boss Stephen Kenny #BHAFC

March 17, 2023
The Albion striker has been named in the Republic of Ireland squad to face the Word Cup finalists in a Euro 2024 qualifier a week on Monday. Republic boss Stephen Kenny has been impressed with his efforts in the Premier League since breaking into Roberto De Zerbi’s side. Kenny said: “Evan has been very, very good and he’s made it look easy at times. He’s come in and he makes good decisions, he always seems to make good decisions. “He has a variety of attributes. He leads the line well and he links the play well and he has the capacity to score goals, so those are good attributes.” The Irish play Latvia in a friendly as they prepare to meet the French. Kenny said: “France have been the best team in the world over a period now because they won the World Cup in 2018 and then obviously lost recently on penalties to win consecutive World Cups. “They’ve been a phenomenal team, so them coming here to Dublin, we view it as an opportunity also. We’ve been building our own team for the last couple of years for this campaign and we’re excited by that.”
Jack Wilshere West Ham
Posted in2022-2023-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Jack Wilshere backs Eddie Howe for England job if Southgate leaves #AFCB #WorldCup2022 #NUFC

December 15, 2022
FORMER Cherries midfielder Jack Wilshere believes his old boss Eddie Howe should succeed Gareth Southgate if the England manager decides to leave his post. Southgate is reportedly considering his future after England’s World Cup dream came to an end following a 2-1 defeat to reigning champions France at the Quarter-final stage. With Southgate’s future in doubt, Howe has instantly been mentioned in discussions regarding potential replacement. Wilshere, who played under Howe at Cherries on loan from Arsenal, was capped 34 times by the Three Lions. In a column for the Sun, the 30-year-old gave a glowing reference for the current Newcastle United boss. He said: “If Gareth Southgate does leave the England job, I’d love the FA to try and get Eddie Howe. “I know how good Eddie is from my time at Bournemouth but people wondered whether he could make that step up to a bigger club. “Well, now he has shown at Newcastle how skilled he is at developing players and he’s turning them into title challengers. “The problem for the FA would be persuading him to swap his club for his country — and I’m not sure they’ll be able to do that. “He might feel it’s too early for him and that he wants more time to build success in the North East. “If he delivered silverware for Newcastle he’d be a god. “But the England job is the pinnacle for any English coach and it might be hard to turn down if there is a proper offer on the table.” Wilshere then went on to discuss Howe’s strengths, stressing how his attention to detail made players want to work hard for him. He restarted: “Eddie is so thorough in everything he does — from the way he organises the season, to his well-thought-out training sessions, to the one-to-one attention he gives players. “He’s a top man-manager. I’d only had Arsene Wenger as a club boss before I went to Bournemouth and he was a great man-manager, too — but in a different way to Eddie. “Arsene would give you a lot of trust and confidence and left you to get on with it.  Eddie was more detailed, probably because the level of player he had was not as good as Arsenal’s. “Eddie had to coach more. Arsene didn’t really have to tell Samir Nasri or Tomas Rosicky how to play between the lines. “Eddie would tell you how to do it and give you feedback — not always positive — but the way he did it made you really want to play for him. “I couldn’t recommend him highly enough.”
chris mepham Bournemouth
Posted in2022-2023-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Chris Mepham dreaming of starting Wales World Cup opener #AFCB

November 18, 2022
CHERRIES defender Chris Mepham believes he has given himself “the best possible opportunity” to start Monday’s World Cup opener for Wales. After some tough spells at Cherries, with high profile errors, injuries and being left out of the team, Mepham has risen to the challenge this season and been a staple of the team’s top-flight XI. He had started all of Cherries’ Premier League matches this season, playing all-but eight minutes, until missing Saturday’s win over Everton due to suspension. Mepham will be looking to add to his 33 caps in Qatar, with Wales set to get their campaign underway against USA on Monday. They will then face Iran and England in Group B. The 25-year-old is set to compete with the likes of Ethan Ampadu, Tom Lockyer, Joe Rodon and Ben Davies for a starting centre-back berth under boss Rob Page. “First and foremost, I want to play,” Mepham told Sky Sports. “I think I’d be lying if I said otherwise. You come here and it’s such a big stage. “For me it will be a dream to play on this stage. “My form has been good going into it. I’ve had a good run of games, which is something that I’ve always asked for. “I’ve given myself the best possible opportunity to be in that starting XI come Monday.” Asked if progressing out of the group is what Wales have in their sights, Mepham said: “100 per cent, that’s the first thing we’re looking at. “Come out the group, and see where that takes us. We’re more than good enough, we all know that.” The warm weather in Qatar has been a talking point this week, with temperatures upwards of 30 degrees. Discussing how difficult that is making preparations, Mepham said: “It’s tough. Playing in England, it’s obviously a very different climate, different altitude. “But I think where we’ve had warm weather camps in the past, we went to Portugal before the Euros, you kind of try and acclimatise yourself to it. “Naturally it’s going to be tougher. You’re going to need to get fluids on board a lot and I’d imagine there could be (drinks) breaks, I’m not sure. “But we just need to give a good account of ourselves and try and not let the weather and climate affect us.”
Ryan Christie
Posted in2022-2023-Season Daily News

#PLStories- AFC Bournemouth’s Ryan Christie speaks about Scotland duty and last premier league game before World Cup #AFCB

November 16, 2022
RYAN Christie is looking forward to meeting up with Scotland for a friendly against Turkey tomorrow evening (kick-off 5pm) – even if it is “strange timing” according to the winger. With club football on pause for the upcoming World Cup, little attention has been paid to the Premier League players representing their countries in friendlies leading up to the tournament. Traditionally, World Cup-bound countries would play against other teams as preparation for the big stage, however, with the unconventional scheduling of a winter tournament, there is no room in the calendar for friendlies. However, that is not the case for those countries not heading to the World Cup, with Scotland missing out on a spot in Qatar after losing to Ukraine in the play-off semi-final over the summer. A proud Scot who has represented his country 34 times, Christie revealed he was always keen to meet up with his international teammates, even if the important of the game with Turkey paled in comparison to other international fixtures occurring in November. He told the Daily Echo: “I always love going up and meeting with Scotland. “Seeing all the other boys again and representing your country, there's nothing like it. “So, yeah, obviously a bit of a strange timing for it, but I'm sure everyone will be going there excited to play for our country again, to come together as a group again.” Christie will be arriving at the Scotland camp in high spirits, helping Cherries to two wins over Everton prior to the pausing of club football. Prior to Saturday’s 3-0 win over the Toffees, Cherries had lost four Premier League games on the bounce. The former Celtic man believes that the three points earnt will leave everyone at Cherries with a smile on their face, whilst also leaving them keen to get going again after the World Cup finishes towards the end of December. He added: “It was huge. “Gaz (Gary O’Neil) I think going into the game, he was desperate for us to finish with three points. “It sends everyone away from this period and going into the break all happy and positive and looking forward to getting back into it. “So we did just that. Again, after two frustrating results and performance, so I think we're delighted.” Members of the Cherries squad not on international duty will have two weeks off before the club fly out to Dubai for a week-long warm weather camp, according to the Athletic. The report adds whilst in the United Arab Emirates, they will face Belgian outfit Royal Antwerp in a friendly.
James Ward Prowse
Posted in2022-2023-Season Daily News

#PLStories- James Ward-Prowse on World Cup hopes and lack of goals #SAINTSFC

October 27, 2022
JAMES Ward-Prowse admits he would be "lying" if he said the World Cup was not on his mind, as he looks to force his way into the England squad. There are now less than four weeks until the tournament starts in Qatar, with Gareth Southgate looking to put together a squad of 26 players to end the country's 56-year wait for glory in the event. Ward-Prowse has regularly been part of England squads in recent years, and has netted twice in his 11 senior caps. But the Saints skipper was left out of the final group for Euro 2020 and could face a battle for his spot again this time around. Asked if he was thinking about the upcoming World Cup, or if his focus remained purely on Saints, Ward-Prowse told Sky Sports: "I'd be lying if I said it wasn't. "I think it's on everybody's minds. Everybody's looking forward to it and there's still a lot of football to be played between now and then. "So concentrate on the club football and hopefully that will take care of itself." The 27-year-old reached double figures for goals for Saints last season, but has managed to net just once so far this term, that coming on the opening day at Tottenham. Discussing his lack of goals, Ward-Prowse said: "I've not had many opportunities with the free-kick side of things. But that's not the main focus of my game. "My game is a lot more about the goals and the work that I do for the team. "So as long as I do that right, the goals will come." Saints have recently turned a corner, picking up five points from three games over the space of eight days. That came on the back of four straight defeats and has lifted Ralph Hasenhuttl's men out of the relegation zone and up into 16th. "We know it wasn't the greatest start to the season, but last week was huge for us," said Ward-Prowse. "Five points is a good total in the Premier League, considering the opposition. "So we've got a good platform now to go to (Crystal) Palace on Saturday and look forward to that one." Previewing the trip to Selhurst Park this weekend, Ward-Prowse added: "Tough. I think they've really improved under Patrick Vieira. "We know it's a tough place to go. "We've had good games with them down the years and I'm sure Saturday will be another one." A message from the Editor Thank you for reading this article - we appreciate your support in reading the Daily Echo. Subscribing to the Echo means you have unrestricted access to the latest news, features and Saints coverage - all with an advertising-light website. You will also have full access to Saintsplus, your new home for Southampton FC tactical analysis, features and much, much more. Don't just take my word for it - subscribe today. Follow the latest breaking news in the Southampton area by searching Southampton News - Breaking News and Incidents on Facebook Follow the latest court and crime news on our dedicated group by searching Hampshire Court and Crime News on Facebook
Adam Armstrong
Posted in2022-2023-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Southampton forward admits ‘hard to see’ teammates ignored by Gareth Southgate for national team #SAINTSFC

September 29, 2022
SAINTS attacker Adam Armstrong is confident teammates James Ward-Prowse and Kyle Walker-Peters won’t “dwell” on the disappointment of their respective England snubs but admitted it was “hard” to see the duo left out. Saints captain Ward-Prowse was called up to Gareth Southgate’s squad for the final set of international fixtures ahead of this winter’s World Cup. READ MORE: How Saints' have added creative wrinkles to corner routines  But the midfielder played zero minutes across England’s two matches, not even making the squad for Monday’s 3-3 draw with Germany. Walker-Peters, who earned his first Three Lions cap in March, wasn’t even handed a place in the squad despite a strong start to the season. “It’s hard to see because they’ve played so well week in week out to deserve that call-up,” Armstrong told the Daily Echo ahead of Saturday’s Premier League clash with Everton.  “But every manager has got their own opinions and for example, Prowsey’s not one to dwell on things. He works hard every day and that won’t affect him one bit. He’ll keep being Prowsey and that’s the main thing.” Ward-Prowse pictured in action for England. Image: PA The snub this week leaves Ward-Prowse’s chances of making Southgate's squad for the World Cup in serious doubt. Regardless, Armstrong is confident his captain has the right mentality to move on from the disappointment, should it occur. “That’s what Prowsey’s very good at. Getting that balance in the squad of when you’re winning games, not to be too high and when you’re losing not to be too down. You have to get that balance right and I think he has that and we have that in the squad.” Ward-Prowse isn’t the only one needing to bounce back from disappointment as Saints prepare to host Everton this weekend, with Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side looking to move on from two consecutive defeats to go into the international break. Saints have already taken a Premier League best seven points from losing positions this season and Armstrong sees their ability to recover - led by Ward-Prowse - as a major strength of this young squad. “I think that’s the best thing we have in the squad. We never want to get too down, always work hard in training to put things right and it’s something we’ve been working on this season and hopefully it pays off on Saturday. “We’ve had a lot of time to work on things and the lads had a nice rest as well so that’s been the main thing. And yeah, getting everybody together again has been good. “I think the best way is to get back out there but as I touched on before, it’s been a good break and we’ve worked hard on things to put right and hopefully we can do that on Saturday.” A message from the Editor Thank you for reading this article - we appreciate your support in reading the Daily Echo. Subscribing to the Echo means you have unrestricted access to the latest news, features and Saints coverage - all with an advertising-light website. You will also have full access to Saintsplus, your new home for Southampton FC tactical analysis, features and much, much more. Don't take my word for it - subscribe here to see for yourself. Follow the latest breaking news in the Southampton area by joining our Facebook group - Southampton News - Breaking News and Incidents Follow the latest court and crime news on our dedicated Facebook group - Hampshire Court and Crime News
James Ward Prowse
Posted in2021-2022-Season Daily News

#PLStories- James Ward-Prowse describes pride while playing for England #SAINTSFC

April 6, 2022
JAMES Ward-Prowse described walking out for England as “the best feeling you can have as a player” as he expressed joy for clubmates Kyle Walker-Peters and Fraser Forster after call-ups. The Saints captain featured from the start for Gareth Southgate’s side during the 3-0 win over Ivory Coast at Wembley Stadium, unsurprisingly on set-piece duty for the Three Lions too. It was the 27-year-old’s 10th cap for his country, while there was caps one and two for the impressive Walker-Peters during the same camp – including a strong start to his career versus Switzerland. Kyle Walker-Peters has won on both of his England appearances (Pic: PA) The three England lads returned to Saints and started for Ralph Hasenhuttl in the 1-1 draw at Leeds United’s Elland Road, but the skipper spared time to discuss their international week. “Incredible, incredible. It’s the best feeling you can have as a player,” Ward-Prowse told the Daily Echo. “To walk out and represent the country was incredible. “And to be around those sorts of players and see up close how good these players are really inspires you to keep on striving to be in that environment on a more regular basis. “So yeah, a really positive week and I enjoyed it thoroughly. It’s great to see your clubmates get their opportunity as well.” James Ward-Prowse in England training (Pic: PA) While Forster did not make an appearance for Southgate, with Jordan Pickford and Nick Pope both completing 90 minutes, it was a surprise return for the giant anyway. Close friend of Ward-Prowse, Forster, returned to the England fold for the first time since 2017. His last cap came from an international friendly with Australia one year earlier. Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsdale and West Brom’s Sam Johnstone both withdrew from Southgate’s squad to afford Forster the late opportunity. “I think Kyle has thoroughly deserved it - he’s shown great consistency and quality this year so I’m absolutely delighted for him,” Ward-Prowse added. “And of course to see big Fras up there was great. He’s my best mate, I know he’s been through some difficult times and a little bit of frustration not playing as much but you can see the confidence and the happiness that it’s given him. Fraser Forster made a return to the England setup for the first time in five years (Pic: PA) “And he made some great saves versus Leeds to keep us in the game as well.” The England group will next meet up for a busy schedule of four UEFA Nations League matches across 10 days at the start of June, following the conclusion of the football season. Ward-Prowse and Walker-Peters will hope to return with the group, while Forster will likely have to wait on the status of those goalkeepers ahead of him if he is to land another shock call-up.
Ralph Hasenhuttl
Posted in2021-2022-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Ralph reveals surprise at Tino Livramento England U-21 involvement in 2 matches #SAINTSFC

April 3, 2022
RALPH Hasenhuttl admitted he was “not happy” to see Tino Livramento start twice for England under-21 during the international break, suggesting: “The message before was a different one.” Livramento went away with Lee Carsley’s Young Lions side despite Saints monitoring his knee concern, after recovering from a meniscus injury throughout the start of the year. Hasenhuttl had revealed that “two or three games in a row is not the best for his knee”, but he then went on to start both matches for England versus Andorra and Albania. After impressing with the national group, the 19-year-old was selected from the off again in the 1-1 draw with Leeds United at Elland Road, making it four consecutive starts in two weeks. After the match, Hasenhuttl told the Daily Echo: “Not happy about him starting twice for the under-21s because the message was a different one before. “But this is always the problem when you speak about something and then afterwards it doesn’t come this way. “I understand that he (Carsley) needs to win his games but we want to take care of a young player and an under 21s, a team that develops players, and you let him play twice from the beginning - I think it is not good for the player, but what can I say?” Livramento completed 90 minutes during the clash with Leeds, while 24-year-old French defender Romain Perraud sat out the contest on the bench. Asked if Livramento’s added gametime with England meant he was tempted to start Perraud and give the former Chelsea youngster time off, he responded: “No, we have also our games to play and our matches to win. “For us he is a very important player and very good today again. It’s important that his knee doesn’t show a reaction now but yeah, we must be careful.” The Austrian did not want to speculate on whether this incident would affect relations going forward when England under-21 opportunity comes up, adding: “This is a topic I do not want to speak about here.”
James Ward Prowse
Posted in2021-2022-Season Daily News

#PLStories- James Ward-Prowse reveals Rickie Lambert helped him perfect free-kick craft #SAINTSFC

March 31, 2022
SAINTS skipper James Ward-Prowse revealed how former teammate Rickie Lambert helped teach him his world-renowned free-kicks. Ward-Prowse made his 10th appearance for the senior England team in a 3-0 victory over Ivory Coast at Wembley on Tuesday. He was placed on set-piece duty before being substituted after 80 minutes in place of Conor Gallagher. But, speaking to talkSPORT ahead of the contest in the capital, Ward-Prowse revealed how ex-Saints striker Lambert had a huge impact on his highly-effective technique. The 27-year-old said: “I had to really go away and practice and try and perfect the dead-ball situations and being in the same squad as Rickie Lambert, who better to teach me? “He had a fantastic record of free-kicks and I learnt a lot from him. “I remember watching him practicing his free-kicks and I would loiter near him to be hopefully be asked to take one, or have that opportunity. “So, to be practicing with him was great and to see how easy it made it look was pretty special. “It was quite a nice moment to share the pitch with a Southampton legend showing me the way he takes free-kicks.” Former England international Lambert played 235 games for Saints in total, scoring 117 goals and registering 64 assists. Meanwhile, Kyle Walker-Peters came off the bench for the Three Lions on Tuesday to win his second senior cap. He replaced Arsenal’s Ben White at half-time during the victory for Gareth Southgate’s side. Fraser Forster, who was called into the squad as a late replacement for Sam Johnstone, was an unused substitute.