Ben White Leeds
Posted in2020-2021-Season Daily News

#PLStories- #GarethSouthgate explains call up of #BenWhite for England #LUFC

May 26, 2021
Gareth Southgate has explained why Ben White has made his provisional squad for the Euros. The England boss has hinted age and versatility hold the key both for the Albion man and Everton’s Ben Godfrey, who has also been included. Both players are 23. Southgate said: “They are both exciting young defenders, there are others we have been looking at that we really like. “These two are flexible, they play in different roles, this is a great opportunity to get to them a bit better for them to work with the team. BACKGROUND: BEN WHITE'S JOURNEY TO ENGLAND CALL REACTION: BEN WHITE ON HIS ENGLAND CALL “There is no way of knowing how long they will be with us at this stage but it should be a fantastic experience for them.” White has operated on the right of a back three, at right-back and in midfield for Albion this season.
Lewis Dunk Brighton
Posted in2020-2021-Season Daily News

#PLStories- #GarethSouthgate explains why he picked #BenWhite over #LewisDunk #BHAFC

May 26, 2021
England boss Gareth Southgate has explained his reasons for selecting Albion defender Ben White over his skipper and teammate Lewis Dunk. The 23-year-old received his first call-up as part of Southgate’s 33-man provisional squad ahead of the more experienced option of Dunk, who has already been capped by England. However, his omission from the squad came as a surprise to some pundits and fans including former England defender and manager Stuart Pearce. Read More: Stuart Pearce is surprised by Lewis Dunk’s omission from England squad But Southgate has explained that age played a part in his decision to pick White instead of Dunk. He said: “It’s less that we see him (Ben White) ahead of Lewis (Dunk), but Ben is a younger player and there is a bit of an investment for the future there. “We know Lewis has had a very good season with Brighton and I know Graham (Potter) is delighted with what he has done for them. “With Ben we have tracked him since he has been on loan at Leeds we have seen him play in midfield, we have seen him play across the backline, he is comfortable with the ball and he has got pace. “So we know it is still early with centre backs like Ben White, Ben Godfrey, Fikayo (Tomori). Centre backs usually mature much later. “But these guys are getting good experience at a young age in some of the top leagues in the world, they are working with good coaches at their clubs and we think it is a good opportunity for them to come and work with us.”
James Ward Prowse
Posted in2020-2021-Season Daily News

#PLstories- #JamesWardProwse reveals being in a ‘good place’ as he awaits England decision #SAINTSFC

May 25, 2021
JAMES Ward-Prowse says he feels "in a really good place" as he nervously waits to discover whether he has made the cut for England's Euro 2020 squad. The Saints skipper completed the remarkable feat of playing every Premier League minute for the second season in succession, with 90 minutes for his side at West Ham United on Sunday. But the 26-year-old is hoping his season is not quite done yet as Gareth Southgate prepares to name his 26-man England squad tomorrow. Ward-Prowse has six senior caps for his country, and scored his first Three Lions goal during the last international break in March, netting against San Marino at Wembley. The midfielder made his England bow in 2017, but had to wait two years for his next call-up as he battled for his place in the Saints squad. Ralph Hasenhuttl replaced Mark Hughes as Saints boss in December 2018 and Ward-Prowse did not make the matchday squad for the Austrian's third game in charge – a 3-1 win at Huddersfield – something he described as a "rock bottom" moment. But he battled his way back into contention and has not looked back since, becoming captain last year and the first name on the teamsheet every week. Speaking to the FA last month about the early weeks under Hasenhuttl, Ward-Prowse said: "I was in a really difficult position. I didn't know where to turn in terms of my career. "I had a lot of difficulties, trying to regain some form and trying to play regularly. I think that was a big moment for me to realise that with the change of manager, things weren't going to change as well as I wanted it to and that I had to revert back to the training pitch and show everybody that I was willing to fight and to show that I was able to play under this manager. "That was a big moment where I had to kind of step back and I remember on the way back from Huddersfield having a really good, hard think about how I would be going forward and how I could change to use this as a springboard to be better." He added: "I just did a lot of thinking myself. It was a real rock-bottom moment for me, but a great moment looking back at it to realise, actually, I need to change something, I need to do something different and work harder than I've ever worked before." Asked if he always believed he could make that breakthrough into the senior England squad again, even when he was struggling for regular minutes at Saints, Ward-Prowse told the Daily Echo: "You can’t think about England unless you do well for your club. So at that moment in time I wasn’t even thinking about England, I was more focused about playing for Southampton and to get in that team and to show the England manager why I should be there. "It’s not an easy journey. You’re going to have ups and downs, you’re going to have challenges come your way and you have to be mentally resilient, you have to be strong and believe in yourself. "Up to now I’ve done that and I feel as though I’m in a really good place."
Kyle Walker Peters
Posted in2020-2021-Season Daily News

#PLStories- #RalphHasenhuttl explains why he brought off #KyleWalkerPeters at Southampton #SAINTSFC

May 25, 2021
BOSS Ralph Hasenhuttl explained his tactical switch to take off Kyle Walker-Peters and move James Ward-Prowse to right-back at West Ham. Trailing 2-0 at London Stadium, Oriol Romeu was brought on in place of Walker-Peters after 60 minutes, making his return from a fractured ankle sustained in February. That meant the Spaniard slotted into midfield alongside Ibrahima Diallo with captain Ward-Prowse switching to full-back. Asked for his reason behind the alteration, Hasenhuttl said: “I think I wanted to bring him (Ward-Prowse) onto the highest line to have a few deliveries in from the side and behind the last line with his right foot, that is why I put him on the right-back position. "He (Walker-Peters) seemed to be a little bit running out of energy and that’s the reason is why I changed him." Saints went on to lose 3-0 in the capital and finish 15th in the top flight. Victory would have ensured a 12-placed finish.
Ralph Hasenhuttl
Posted in2020-2021-Season Daily News

#PLStories- #RalphHasenhuttl admits Saints have to make changes ‘either with current players or with others’ #SAINTSFC

May 25, 2021
BOSS Ralph Hasenhuttl admitted “the table doesn’t lie” after Saints’ disappointing second half to the season and added changes were needed “either with these players or with others”. The Austrian manager saw his side suffer a 3-0 thumping at West Ham on the final day of the campaign at London Stadium. After a promising start, a quickfire double from Spain international Pablo Fornals set Saints on the back foot. Declan Rice added another for the hosts late on. Victory would have ensured a 12th-placed finish for the St Mary’s side. In contrast, they ended the season in 15th – conceding 68 goals in the process. Only relegated West Brom shipped more than Saints across the league campaign. Asked how much of a mental and financial blow it was for the club to miss out on 12th spot, Hasenhuttl replied: “When you see how far away we have been from winning on Sunday – even if they score the first goal - we had a way of defending them that was far away from deserving something. “This is the reason why we don't have to speak about position 12. "Last season, after the break, we had the quality to go up levels, this season, especially the second half, we haven't been good enough. "This is the reason why we end up where we end up. The table doesn’t lie.” Saints’ have picked up just 17 points from a possible 66 available during 2021, losing 15 of their 22 league contests. The St Mary’s side had remarkably been top of the pile back in November, after beating Newcastle 2-0 at home. "I think it is not so difficult to analyse this season, to be honest,” said Hasenhuttl. “When you concede the second-most goals in the Premier League then we know very clear what is missing at the moment. “When you see from what chances that they (West Ham) make goals against us, I mean, I have never seen us conceding so easily. "But, okay, this is what we know, this is what we have to change. Either with these players or with others."
Ralph Hasenhuttl
Posted in2020-2021-Season Daily News

#PLStories- #RalphHasenhuttl says Saints’ slump in form a reality check for everybody #SAINTSFC

May 24, 2021
RALPH Hasenhuttl insisted Saints’ slump in form towards the end of the campaign provided a “clear reality check for everybody”. The St Mary’s side were left to contemplate a 15th-placed Premier League finish, having been top of the Premier League when they beat Newcastle back in November. A 43-point haul for the campaign is four places and nine points below where Saints finished last season – an 11th-placed return with 52 points in total. Asked whether some of his players’ performances meant they had played their way out of his plans for the summer, Hasenhuttl replied: “Yeah, a clear reality check for everybody and I can tell you the next season will not be the easiest in the league.” Saints signed off for the summer with a 3-0 defeat to West Ham at London Stadium. The Hampshire outfit were by far second best and undone by a Pablo Fornals brace, as well as a late goal from Declan Rice. Hasenhuttl added: “Congrats to West Ham. They deserved to win and we saw the difference between these two teams. “Between box to box we were on one level but in and around the box they were in position one - this was the big difference. “This is the reason why we play Europa League and we are safe in the league and that is it.”
Ralph Hasenhuttl
Posted in2020-2021-Season Daily News

#PLStories- #RalphHasenhuttl on disaster defending by Saints #SAINTSFC

May 24, 2021
MANAGER Ralph Hasenhuttl described Saints’ first goal conceded at West Ham as “absolutely a disaster” as they slumped to a wretched 3-0 reverse. Victory over the Irons at London Stadium would have put Saints 12th at the end of the 2020-21 campaign. But a double from Pablo Fornals and a late strike from Declan Rice ensure the St Mary’s side were left to settle for 15th spot. Saints had chances with the game goalless against the Irons, with Kyle Walker-Peters twice getting forward to work keeper Lukasz Fabianski. But Fornals’s first breakthrough particularly irked Hasenhuttl, with Jarrod Bowen allowed to waltz into the box and strike at goal in the build-up. “The first one was absolutely a disaster how we defend,” said the Austrian boss. “When you don’t run with your player in the box, what can you say? “I think it’s not interesting to speak about individuals. We are 15th in the table – this is where we should be. Our whole performance is not enough. “To play one half of a good season is not enough when you want to end higher in the table.” Only relegated West Bromwich Albion have conceded more goals than Saints in the Premier League this season. Hasenhuttl’s men have shipped 68 goals in total, at an average of more than 1.7 per game. Victory ensured David Moyes’s Irons booked their place to play Europa League football next season.
Graham Potter Brighton
Posted in2020-2021-Season Daily News

#PLStories- #GrahamPotter on #NealMaupay spat with referee #JonathanMoss #BHAFC

May 23, 2021
So now we know what Neal Maupay said to Jon Moss at Molineux. The full extent to which Albion’s striker lost his cool after the recent defeat at Wolves was spelt out in an FA report this week. The Seagulls are working to help their striker control his emotions at all times. But boss Graham Potter has revealed it might take a while to be where they need to be. Albion will be under Moss’s watchful eye for a third successive game when they go the Emirates. He reffed their defeat at Molineux and was VAR for the midweek win over Manchester City. Maupay will not be involved. Not directly because of his red card but rather his subsequent reaction which led to a further one-game ban. JOSE IZQUIERDO SUFFERS ANOTHER SETBACK Asked whether Albion were working to help their striker keep his emotions in check, Potter told The Argus: “We are and it’s an ongoing process. “Unfortunately, it doesn’t happen overnight. “You have got to make changes, you have got to do some work. “You have got to understand there is a possibility that can happen. “But then I think it is about how you manage everything daily. “It’s competition, it’s emotions. Sometimes the blood is rushing and you’ve got adrenaline and things happen. “That is part of football but it’s about managing it and keeping it under control. “In fairness to Neal, he has done that quite well over a period of time. “But, as he said and as we say, that time it wasn’t good and not acceptable and we had to accept the punishment and own up to it and try to improve.” The FA report was published just two days after Potter himself suffered an unprecedented loss of cool in his celebration of Albion’s first goal against Manchester City. Potter has admitted he made a mistake but will at least be able to empathise with Maupay. But then can’t we all if we think back? Potter said: “You sometimes forget they are human beings, they are young guys. “I don’t know what you were like when you were 24. “When I was 24, I was a lesser version of what I am now, that’s for sure. “You will make mistakes and it is just then how you respond to that. That’s the key. “If you can respond and say ‘Yeah, that wasn’t good’, own up and then try to do something about it, it’s an ongoing process.” Potter quickly apologised to Pep Guardiola for his own faux pas and revealed he has followed that up. He said: “We spoke after the game and I have got in touch through their guys to reiterate my apologies to them. “It wasn’t a great action from me. “Emotions got the better of me and caught up with me in the game. “As I have proven, I am a human being, not a robot, who is capable of making mistakes. “Hopefully they can judge me over a 46-year life, not a one-second action.”          
Graham Potter Brighton
Posted in2020-2021-Season Daily News

#PLStories- #GrahamPotter pleased with Albion’s progress on the pitch #BHAFC

May 23, 2021
Graham Potter is pleased with the progress Albion have made as he celebrates two years in charge of the club. The Seagulls had just survived the drop in the Prem under previous manager Chris Hughton, when Potter took charge on May 20, 2019. Since coming in the 46-year-old has guided them to two consecutive 41-point finishes, with a game still to go in this campaign. This season they secured their safety in record time with three games to spare, meaning they can look forward to a record five successive season in the top flight. As Potter prepares for his side for their final game of the season against Arsenal, he believes they have made good progress. He said: “Sometimes it’s hard to reflect back when you’re in the middle of games, but when I do reflect back and think where the club was two years ago on the pitch, I am really pleased. “It’s difficult to come in and change things around in the Premier League because results are hard to get and if you don’t get them, then you can be thrown off course. “We’ve managed to stay relatively ok. We’ve had two lots of 41 points and this time round we’ve got a game to try and beat it. That’s really positive, the performance of the team has improved a lot. “The thing we need to try and get better is the points to match our performances. That’s football and the margins are quite small, especially at this level. “But I look at the individuals we’ve introduced, some younger players and academy players that gives us a chance going forward.” Potter also picked out the highlight of his tenure so far. He said: "It’s hard to look past Tuesday night to be honest. "The Arsenal game – the first one after lockdown, was really important. "But when there are no supporters it maybe isn’t the same. "The fact that the crowd were in for Manchester City was amazing. "There were 8000 people that were committed to the game, happy to be there watching live football, supporting the team, appreciating the quality on the pitch. "To get the win in that way, it was a fantastic evening. I can’t look too far past that.