Some squads are teams and others are filled with disperse individual talent. Think of the Germany team that won the World Cup last season, with no obvious stand-out star but lots of top-quality players working together and you think ‘team’.

By contrast, almost any Real Madrid team of the last decade could be considered a group of talented individuals expensively thrown together.

They’re the two extremes of the same issue, and most teams fall between it. Most teams have a best player, one who stands out, but most are able to integrate him into some sort of team structure. Sunderland, however, don’t seem to have much of a team structure.

[ffc-gal cat=”sunderland” no=”5″]

You’d expect that’s the first thing that Sam Allardyce will want to change about Sunderland. It just seems so unlike a Big Sam team to have a collection of individuals who don’t mould together into a team.

But what’s even worse about Sunderland is that it’s not even a lack of team spirit or cohesion that’s the problem, it’s the fact that you can’t even discern the best system to fit all of these players into.

And so the answer isn’t simply a unifying figure in the dugout. It’s not like Big Sam can just come in, unite the dressing room and suddenly Sunderland will start playing. Allardyce will have to come into the side and actually find a way to fit all of these players into the same XI.

The problem is having so many managers over the last few seasons. Allardyce is Sunderland’s third manager since Martin O’Neill left in 2013, and each time, a new man has come into the Stadium of Light with new ideas, brought the club away from the relegation zone, bought new players to start an overhaul of the squad in the summer and then been sacked at some point in the new season with the club fighting relegation again.

Is Sunderland’s novel strategy for beating the drop simply a case of waiting until things are dire and then hoping for the lift that a new manager brings the team in order to climb out of the bottom three? Credit where credit’s due, it’s an inventive one.

But what’s so strange about Sunderland is that they don’t actually have a terrible team. Steven Fletcher is a man on fire for his country in terms of banging in the goals – alright, a hat trick against Gibraltar is nothing to write home about, but he’s the only Scottish player to score a hat trick for the national team since 1969, and he’s done it twice in this qualifying campaign.

But players like Fabio Borini and Adam Johnson, Jack Rodwell and Younes Kaboul are all players who found themselves at clubs in or around the Champions League and failed to make the grade. They’re players with points to prove and Sunderland should be able to take advantage of that.

But the newer signings, Yann M’Vila, Ola Toivonen, DeAndre Yedlin are all in on loan. Yedlin is a frighteningly quick full back, Toivonen a cultured number ten and M’Vila a combative defensive midfielder. Which is fine, except with Larsson, Johnson, Jordi Gomez and Jeremain Lens, you have a midfield that seems to be pulling in a different direction.

There are so many defensive midfielders who have been signed by various managers and so many strikers who have been signed by various managers, and they’ve all been signed for different purposes in mind.

On paper, the squad looks like it’s made up, more or less, of individuals of Premier League quality. But the challenge for Big Sam is whether he can fit them all into one team.

Yet an even bigger challenge is coming up in January. Does Allardyce then go off and try to overhaul the squad in January? Because he can’t get an entire squad sorted in one transfer window. It will take a few to get the right players in and ship the deadwood out. But what happens if he’s sacked in the meantime?

There’s something wrong at Sunderland, and this is it. They need to give Allardyce the time to build the squad properly and make sure that he has a team that all pulls in the same direction. He has a lot of good players at his disposal, he just now needs to find a way to make them into a ‘team’.

[ad_pod id=’writeforus’ align=’center’]

Tottenham’s manager Mauricio Pochettino has admitted that it would be an hour to be asked to coach the English national team in the future.

The Argentine trainer has made real strides in the Premier League over recent years, firstly building the structure for Southampton to maintain their top0flight status.

Since moving to White Hart Lane, Pochettino has trimmed his playing squad and amassed a young and ambitious unit that looks able to finish in the top four this season.

With the comer Espanyol boss being regarded as one of the most progressive in the Premier League, he was asked if he would consider managing the English national team in the future.

Pochettino reconfirmed his happiness at Tottenham but admitted that being asked to coach the Three Lions would be an honour.

“It is very difficult for me to answer, but you never know what will happen in the future,” The Daily Star quote Pochettino as saying.

“If someone had asked me three or four years ago whether I would work in England, I would have said: ‘Of course not, because I don’t speak English.’

“But then the owner of Southampton called me and said he wanted me to manage their team. Now I am here and speaking English.

“It would be an honour to be asked. But I am happy to keep on working at Tottenham on the project we have here and I am still very young.

“I am always open for the future. But I am very happy here at Tottenham. I enjoy it a lot. The club shares the same philosophy I do.

“We are building something we want to achieve and Tottenham are giving us the opportunity to build this thing.”

Pochettino will need to be careful what he wishes for, as speculation linking Harry Redknapp to the England job effectively ended his tenure as boss at White Hart Lane.

[ad_pod id=’europcar-blog’ align=’center’]

[ad_pod id=’writeforus’ align=’center’]

With neither Liverpool nor Manchester United producing anything that can be remotely considered top-half Premier League quality, we’ve somehow survived the first 45 minutes at Anfield without falling asleep or dying of boredom.

Indeed, although derby clashes are often more about full-blooded tackles and off-the-ball-fisticuffs than tiki-taka entertainment, today’s installment of the northwest rivalry is taking the biscuit, the cake and the six-pack of beer you left to cool in the fridge.

Liverpool have mustered up a few half chances – Adam Lallana’s attempt to lob David De Gea with a header on the edge of the box particularly coming to mind.

But considering the global reach of this fixture is rivaled by none other in the Premier League and both clubs spent a medium-sized fortune on new players last summer, the first 45 minutes at Anfield has been a huge disappointment.

Never ones to hide their frustrations, Liverpool and Manchester United fans have been having their say on social media. Here are 10 tweets that subbed up the Reds and the Red Devils’ drab first half:

[ad_pod id=’writeforus’ align=’center’]

[ad_pod id=’europcar-blog’ align=’center’]

Joel Matip has agreed a pre-contract deal with Liverpool and will join the club from Schalke at the end of the season.The Cameroon international has been aligned with the Reds for much of the past few months, with a Bosman switch having been mooted with his contract winding down.Although Schalke have in that time attempted to keep hold of their man, Matip’s summer move to Liverpool has now been confirmed.And the 24-year-old has revealed that the lure of a new challenge after many years in the Bundesliga was a major factor in his decision:”I have always said that I would only leave Schalke for one reason: to get to know something new,” he is quoted by the Liverpool Echo. “I never even considered a move within the Bundesliga.”Although my decision is definitely not easy, I am convinced that now is the right time to take this step.”Schalke 04 will remain a big family for me. I was always proud to play for this great club.”I will do everything in the next few months to get the most out of this season so I do not feel guilty.”Matip will be the first major addition of Jurgen Klopp’s Anfield reign, with teenage midfielder Marko Grujic and the emergency loan signing of Steven Caulker the only deals to have taken place since the German’s arrival.The Anfield tactician is sure to be aware of the defender’s skills and temperament after witnessing him first hand on a number of occasions when in charge of Dortmund.

[ad_pod id=’car-survey’ align=’center’]

[ad_pod id=’writeforus’ align=’center’]

Newcastle have given themselves a fighting chance of Premier League survival. Whether it turns out to be too little, too late, we don’t know, but under Rafael Benitez they’ve hauled themselves to within a point of safety – albeit their biggest rivals, Sunderland and Norwich, have one game in hand apiece.

Benitez’s reign didn’t start in a convincing manner, but their last three games have yielded a solid five points – made all the better by tough games with Manchester City and Liverpool. This three-match period has coincided with Papiss Cisse’s return to form, with the Senegalese hit-man now firmly above big money summer signing Aleksandar Mitrovic, which is s surprise given the Serbian’s reputation prior to his switch to the North East.

Cisse netted the first of the Tynesiders’ two goals at Anfield on Saturday, and although that was only his third effort of the season in league action, he may be peaking at just the right time… which is good news if you like pizza!

Yep, that’s right. To give you a little more information, goals = pizza with Papa John’s, who will give you 50% off your next order if you back Newcastle and they score two or more goals in any of their remaining games this term. All you have to do CLICK HERE, sign up for FREE and back Newcastle (or any other team you desire in any of England’s top four divisions or Scotland’s top two) and wait for the goals to flow.

Although Cisse offers much positivity, Newcastle have only managed to net two or more times on 10 occasions this term, but with relegation at steak, their form may pick up against Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and Spurs.

Daniel Sturridge may well be the most frustrating footballer in the history of the English game. Liverpool fans will know what we’re talking about, with the forward having left them in a perpetual state of anticipation for much of the past two years as he consistently bounces back from injury, before quickly sliding off to the treatment table.

In fact, Sturridge has basically been a ‘one in two’ player since joining the Reds from Chelsea in 2013, albeit not in a scoring sense, rather in terms of availability for games. But, therein lies the problem, when he can play, he’s lethal – arguably the best finisher English football has produced for some time. He has the best goals-to-games ratio of any Liverpool player in the modern era, his movement gets the best out of the likes of Philippe Coutinho and he’s a constant worry of opposing players.

So what to do now that Paris Saint-Germain are looking to make a £45m offer is a real conundrum.

There is a sense of logic in accepting the bid should it come, and if that is indeed the course of action the Merseyside giants take, here are FIVE options they could pursue to replace Sturridge…

Alexandre Lacazette

Arguably the hottest name on the European striking market last summer, Lacazette remains at Lyon, but the coming window could be the one in which he moves on. Reports over January revealed that Newcastle had an offer of around £22m accepted by the Ligue 1 club, only for the France international to rebuff a move, so there is genuine scope for the player to head away from the Parc Olympique Lyonnais.

With 41 goals in his last 60 league outings, there’s no doubting Lacazette’s goalscoring credentials, and the success of players moving across the Channel in recent seasons suggests that the void in terms of quality between the two nations’ top tiers is not as large as it once was. Lacazette himself is known for his pace and clever movement, making him a ‘Sturridge-lite’ option, without the horrendous injury record.

Michy Batshuayi

We’ll stay in Ligue 1 and look at Marseille’s main man, Batshuayi, now. The Belgian is the latest top striker to roll off his nation’s conveyer belt of talent, and has really broken through with l’OM this term after being made the main man on the Mediterranean coast following Andre-Pierre Gignac’s move to Tigres in Mexico. 13 goals in 30 league outings this season is not the most amazing of returns, but the 22-year-old has weighed in with nine assists, showing that his willing running and hold-up play make him the sort of player that could lead the line and bring other players into the action in a fluid attack – the sort Klopp seems to appreciate.

Gonzalo Higuain

Not a typical; ‘Klopp player’, Higuain isn’t likely to run the channels for 90 minutes and ‘put himself about’, but the Argentine is, arguably, the best finisher in European football right now. Only Cristiano Ronaldo (28) has netted more league goals than the Serie A hot-shot (27) this season, with the ex-River Plate star almost single-handedly keeping his Napoli side in the race for the Serie A title.

There have been reports that Liverpool are sniffing around Higuain, but one suspects it would be tricky to convince him to turn his back on Champions League football in Naples. However, money speaks in modern football.

Mauro Icardi

Not dissimilar to Luis Suarez, Icardi is a bundle of energy, tenacity and controversy. The Argentine’s all-action playing style has garnered 43 league goals in the last three seasons, which is some return for a player who is now just 23 and has been playing in one of the worst Inter Milan sides in living memory. His desire to press and hurry opponents from the front seems tailor-made for Klopp’s ‘gegenpressing’ philosophy, while he’s known as being a player with incredible natural fitness – unlike Sturridge.

Carlos Bacca

At 29, Bacca is by no means a long-term option, but for an instant hit of energy and goals, the Colombian fits the bill. The ex-Sevilla man only signed for AC Milan last summer, but with the Rossoneri staring at the prospect of being out of the Champions League once again, financial factors may come into play and force them to accept decent offers for their star forward.

The 5ft. 11” hit-man has netted 14 in 30 league matches this season, and has scored over 200 times in his senior career.

With the best season for the Hammers in ages now completed, it’s time for Slaven Bilic and the backroom staff and board to review the year and to look at the necessary changes.

West Ham’s transfer targets have been well publicised for some time now and it’s common knowledge that the priority for West Ham is a striker or two who know where the goal is.

Sadly for West Ham, injuries up front prevented a consistent forward line from being fielded, but largely the strikers have been ineffective, as the team’s goals came from attacking midfielders in the main. Andy Carroll had a late revival and was equal with Dimitri Payet for league goals with nine apiece.

Injuries were also a major concern at the back and the re-shuffle that often took place meant that there was never a cohesive unit playing. If you look at Leicester, their back line seldom changed and that ultimately assisted their title win.

West Ham lost Carl Jenkinson at right back and brought in Sam Byram. When he wasn’t cup-tied, he was injured and Michail Antonio had to cover. James Tomkins also covered that same position and did exceptionally well, but he is a centre back and in that position, the Hammers are well stocked with talent.

Only Aaron Cresswell played in his usual position throughout, as West Ham lost defenders early in the season to a series of red cards and then injuries. James Collins, Winston Reid, Tomkins, Angelo Ogbonna and the out-on-loan Reece Burke are the centre backs, but within any sort of combination, West Ham shipped goals.

At one point, it was at least two goals every other game, if not consecutively. Two goals at Everton, then Chelsea, then Palace, two more at Leicester and three against Arsenal and a resounding kicking from Swansea.

With the players they have, why are West Ham still a team that leaks goals? It comes down to injuries and a back four that never stays the same.

Bilic said after the Crystal Palace draw that his side cannot keep having to score three goals to win games, and he has a point, because so often this season the Hammers have had to be on top form in front of goal just to get a point.

West Ham need to improve the defensive unit and so here are FIVE possibilities:

Nacho Monreal

Yes, he is currently at Arsenal and one of their better players, but we can dream, right? The seventh-highest interceptor in the entire Premier League this season with 105 attacks broken up, Monreal has had another excellent year. The Spaniard’s impressive performances at left-back for Arsene Wenger make him one of the only players in the squad that the fans don’t want replaced or strengthened on whenever the transfer window opens and could be excellent cover should Cresswell see pound signs in his eyes and leave.

Ashley Williams

One of the most consistent Premier League defenders, Williams has yet again been Swansea’s most important player. Williams made 99 interceptions this season and only 68 tackles, stats which prove his reading of the game is a cut above several mega-money stars.  The Welshman’s assured style in defence is one of the reasons Swansea recovered from the brink of a relegation fight.

Chris Smalling

Smalling has improved drastically under Louis van Gaal’s management and has become one of the Premier League’s best defenders. Calm under pressure, excellent in the air and with a great understanding of the game, Smalling provides the muscle and organisation in United’s defence next to the creatively minded Daley Blind.

[ad_pod id=’prem-flops’ align=’center’]

Gary Cahill

The England man is hugely experienced and very capable of doing a job at the heart of the Hammers’ defence. With his in-and-out appearances for Chelsea this season and a new boss on the way, Cahill needs first team football regularly, not just for his team, but his England future.

[ad_pod id=’prem-flops’ align=’center’]

Sven Van Beek

A player who almost decided to quit football altogether at 16 years of age, the Feyenoord and Netherlands Under-21 international is now 21 and has an incredible range of passing for a young defender, with his short and long game not really needing too much refinement at all. Adept at turning defence into attack, he is perhaps the least physical of Feyenoord’s central defenders, but he excels in terms of natural ability to anticipate what is going to happen and to snuff out the danger before the opposition have any chance to capitalise. One for the future and for a while he was under Ronald Koeman’s tutelage earlier in his career.

[ad_pod id=’prem-flops’ align=’center’]

For all of their clashing throughout the years, United and Chelsea can finally relate.

Both clubs are trying to find stability in turbulent times, as new managers and uninspiring 2015-16 seasons have created a sense of desperation in Stamford Bridge and Old Trafford. Both clubs finished outside the top 4 for the first time in Premier League history.

Now, Jose Mourinho can exact revenge on his old club by cherry-picking Chelsea’s players and transfer targets. The ‘Special One’ is only one more offseason acquisition away from rounding out his desired quartet.

Meanwhile, Antonio Conte is keen on finding answers to Chelsea’s middling finish. He has aggressively pursued a couple of centre midfielders, both of which would also fit nicely in United’s scheme.

The post-Mourinho era has begun in Stamford Bridge, or has it?

These are the THREE players who would be better off at Man United than Chelsea this season…

N’Golo Kanté

Chelsea have all but solidified terms with Leicester City’s star midfielder. Antonio Conte has taken a direct role in the Frenchman’s recruitment, offering the Premier League champions £29m for Kante.

Manchester United haven’t entered the Kanté sweepstakes, but the versatile midfielder is exactly the player Jose Mourinho needs. United’s defence is stout, and their attack is brimming with budding strikers and a world-class goal-scorer in Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

The gaping weakness is in the midfield, even after Mourinho recently acquired centre mid Henrik Mkhitaryan from Borussia Dortmund to stimulate the attack. United need a versatile, box-to-box workhorse to stabilise the midfield. Kanté is surely one of the best in the role.

Recent developments with Kante indicate that the chase for the Frenchman has turned into a bidding war. His buyout clause is £22m. Shanghai SPG have expressed interest in Kanté, galvanising Conte to up the ante.

United have no shortage of resources. Securing Kanté would give Mourinho his coveted fourth signing of the summer, while asserting early dominance over his old club.

Radja Nainggolan

The box-t0-box star dominated the midfield for Roma this season, and Antonio Conte took notice. The newly minted Chelsea manager has desperately tried to lure Nainggolan to Stamford Bridge.

As time has lapsed, the prospect of Naingollan sporting a blue jersey has dissipated. Roma rejected Chelsea’s £33million bid for the midfielder last week, and he has said he will likely stay with the Italian club.

What a rift Mourinho would cause if he snatched the Belgian midfielder from his old club. Like K’ante, Nainggolan is an exceptional passer with a relentless work rate. He even showed a bit of scoring in the EUROs.

He would perfectly complement the more attack-minded Mikhitaryan and Wayne Rooney in the United midfield. Nainggolan could change his mind with a lucrative offer and persuasive pitch from Mourinho.

Cesc Fàbregas

Two seasons ago, Fàbregas headlined the Chelsea midfield that led the squad to a title. The Spaniard’s 18 assists easily led the Premier League in 2014-15.

His performance withered last year, and now Fàbregas’ future with Chelsea is unsteady.

Mourinho has expressed interest in the Spaniard midfielder. The transfer potential likely hinges on whether Conte acquires N’Golo Kante, who would play Fàbregas’ role in the centre of the pitch.

Fabregas’ high volume, accurate passing would fit nicely in United’s midfield. A Fàbregas swoop would also make the Mourinho resentment that much stronger in Stamford Bridge.

Sunderland and Newcastle, despite finishing just one spot apart in the Premier League standings, enter next season on opposite ends of the spectrum.

Newcastle made history— in all the wrong ways— by becoming the most expensive team to ever be relegated. Owner Mike Ashley spent £80million on underperforming players last season and now the Magpies have limited resources and a squad that has failed to establish cohesion.

Conversely, Sunderland finished strong to ensure Premier League involvement next year. The club’s U21 team also placed second only behind Manchester United in the Premier League U21 standings.

Manager Sam Allardyce can augment the hate between the clubs even more by cherry-picking some of Newcastle’s best players.

Here are the three Magpies that Sunderland should target…

Daryl Janmaat

Deandre Yedlin showed potential at right back this season, but his future with Newcastle is uncertain as he is on loan from Tottenham. For security purposes, Sunderland must find an experienced right-back.

Janmaat can be that cushion. The attack-minded right back won the North East Player of the Year award in 2015, and he previously voiced his desire to leave Newcastle if they were relegated.

Sunderland need reinforcements in defence after allowing the second-most goals of any team in the Premier League last season. Acquiring an accomplished right-back who is eager to play in a top league seems like an ideal fit.

Aleksandar Mitrović

Aside from Jermain Defoe’s 15 goals, Sunderland struggled to find production from their strikers last term. Mitrović is a young, prolific goal-scorer that the Black Cats could implement immediately.

At 21-years-old, the Serbian has all the makings of a star attacker. He has the ability win balls aerially, can create goals at will and play multiple positions.

Defoe starred last season for Sunderland, but he will only keep that pace for so long. Mitrovic would complement the attack well and eventually replace Defoe as the squad’s lead striker.

Sean Longstaff

The 19-year-old has risen through the Newcastle system as a promising central midfield prospect. Sunderland need reinforcements in midfield, but acquiring Georginio Wijnaldum or Moussa Sissoko isn’t realistic.

Newcastle are keen to keep both players, and acquiring one of them would break Sunderland’s £14million club record transfer fee.

Longstaff provides long-term impact at a far more manageable price.

Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart has had a tough start to the Premier League season but it’s safe to say the majority of us didn’t see what was to come when Pep stepped into the Etihad hot seat.

The Shrewsbury-born shot-stopper was ruthlessly axed by the new manager and was shipped out to Italy. Goalkeeping is a profession where familiarity and stability are two of the most important components in your game. Lose those and you will begin to struggle – just ask Joe Hart.

A dodgy Euro 2016 campaign followed by Pep’s appointment has left the former Birmingham City loanee bottom of the pile at his parent club. And he didn’t get off to the best of starts at Torino either.

Whilst new City goalkeeper Claudio Bravo was doing everything he could to get Manchester United back in the game at Old Trafford, Hart was making blunders at his new club – on his debut.

His fumble from a corner kick allowed little-known defender Andrea Masiello to fire home an equaliser. A late spot-kick finished the story, which gave Atalanta all three points on Hart’s Serie A bow.

The England international’s performance was an eclipse of perhaps everything we’ve come to expect after a tough few months between the sticks. He’s managed to play on at both Manchester City and England without much challenge because, quite simply, he’s Joe Hart. But his downfalls have been truly revealed in the past couple of months and it’s left some supporters wondering how he got away with it for so long.

But his downfalls have been truly revealed in the past couple of months and it’s left some supporters wondering how he got away with it for so long.

Now, every time he kicks the ball for Torino we’ll know about it. We’ll know every time he makes a mistake or pulls off a save that ‘could see him integrated back into Pep Guardiola’s squad next season.’

It’s a season where Hart will be under the spotlight constantly and whilst some might deem it unfair to scrutinise his every move with such precision is unfair, it’s easy to do so for a player who has really suffered in form.

There will be that undoubted ‘settling-in period’ where the Torino fans will sing his name week in, week out, regardless of what happens on the pitch. But come Christmas, they will expect the Englishman to know the strengths and weaknesses of the defenders in front of him and how he must perform if the team are to do well.

He has that time to build up the rapport on the training pitch and familiarise himself with his colleagues but he needs to get to work quickly. This spell in Italy isn’t a break for Hart, it’s a time where he needs to get his career back on track.

He’s had the highs of silverware, success and invincibility. Now he needs to tough it out and show why he’s England’s number one. If he doesn’t, that title may slip away as well.

[ad_pod id=’writeforus’ align=’center’]