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Former Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler believes the issues facing Tottenham Hotspur at present are down to ego – accusing some Spurs players of getting greedy on the back of their recent achievements.

Spurs reached their first-ever Champions League final last season, but are a shadow of that side at the moment, with the weekend’s defeat at Brighton and Hove Albion set to stretch their wait for an away league win to nine months.

Fowler believes Spurs’ relative success and subsequent slump is something he has seen many times – and in his column for the Daily Mirror, suggested that the fundamental issue at the club is one of greediness.

He said: “It is clearer than ever Tottenham are in a real mess. They’re just not the same team, there isn’t the same togetherness as last season.

“It’s a fundamental problem that’s long been coming. I’ve seen it so many times in football, and it’s always based around ego.

“You get players – you get teams – who when they start winning… some of the people involved start to get a bit greedy.

“Sides like [Manchester] City and Liverpool – and I’d put the Spurs of last season in this category – no matter how good their ‘stars’ are, they are still a collective greater than the sum of their parts.

“Yet you are rewarded individually, and the biggest rewards go to the biggest stars.

“I see at Spurs, players getting greedy, not just for what they can earn, but for acclaim, too.

“Sometimes, people just get greedy in football.

Fowler may claim to have seen this all before, though his comments may have carried more weight had he foreseen the woes Spurs are experiencing at the height of their European escapades last season.

Now, his accusation of the Spurs players being greedy seems more like the best guess he could come up with.

What if Spurs simply overachieved last season (as some had suggested in recent days)? It seems quite unfair for Fowler to pin his own experiences onto this Spurs team, who may just require change (as others have considered to be the case this weekend) to get back to where they once were.

Or perhaps that’s too harsh on Fowler – though the weeks and months to come should tell us who has called it right about Spurs.

Spurs fans, is the squad’s mentality the key issue – or is it something else? Let us know in the comments below!

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

Sheffield Wednesday have entered the second international break of the season sitting in a pretty decent spot.

The victory over Wigan Athletic on Saturday saw the Owls move into eighth place, just one point from being in playoff contention.

It also means Garry Monk has picked up ten points from a possible 15 to begin his reign in south Yorkshire.

But this is an all too familiar feeling for some at Hillsborough – rewind back just a year; almost a year to the day.

Wednesday had beaten Bristol City 2-1 away from home, moving them to sixth in the league before some of the squad embarked for international duty.

Upon their return, the wheels firmly came flying off as the Owls lost four successive matches and even five of their next six with the club slipping from playoff hopefuls to languishing in mid-table.

This run of dire form ultimately cost Jos Luhukay his job by Christmas, and it is something that Monk needs to be fully aware of when the Championship resumes in just over a week.

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Lightning may not strike twice up in south Yorkshire, but considering Wednesday have only played three of the current top-12 this campaign, there are some tough fixtures lying in wait.

By December, Monk’s side will have faced league leaders West Bromwich Albion, Leeds United and Swansea City, so there are indeed games ahead that could leave those at Hillsborough feeling a sense of deja vu come the festive period.

The 40-year-old can look back on last season and use it as a warning to his side – there’s still a long way to go yet, and nothing has even been achieved to suggest that it isn’t out of the realms of possibility.

Wednesday eventually crumbled to finish 12th last season – if Monk can guide his side to results against some of those teams following the international break, then the rest of the Championship may well be put on high-alert.

Arsenal fans believe the creativity provided by the returns of Alexandre Lacazette and Hector Bellerin will help bring the best out of Nicolas Pepe.

The Ivorian has not had the best of starts to life in north London after his £72m move from the French side Lille in the summer.

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With just one goal in his first eight Premier League outings, the 24-year-old is yet to find the form that helped secure his club-record transfer from the Ligue 1 outfit.

As a result, he has come under criticism for his recent performances, particularly Arsenal’s 1-1 draw against Manchester United at Old Trafford, where he found himself to be very ineffective from an attacking perspective.

Fans are hoping that will change now though…

Pepe himself admitted to a French radio station that he is low on confidence but has no concerns about statistics and his adaptability to football and life in north London.

Gunners fans are fully behind the idea that the boost in creativity from Lacazette and Bellerin could be the key to unlock the potential that Pepe possesses.

Yu can find some of the best responses from Arsenal fans down below:

Unai Emery must have been watching a totally different game to the rest of us last night.

Despite sitting in fifth, two points behind Chelsea, patience is slowly wearing thin amongst Arsenal fans who just can’t seem to get their head around Unai Emery’s tactics.

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It’s quite damning that, following Monday night’s match at Bramall Lane, “Wenger” was trending on Twitter – with most tweeting under the hashtag questioning whether the club has progressed away from his rule.

It’d be interesting to see how many of the proverbial pitchfork-wielding “Wenger out” campaigns are now regretting their decision. The grass is always greener, as they say.

In life, if someone does something wrong, it’s always better that they then apologise for their wrongdoing and show remorse. Unfortunately for Arsenal fans, Emery didn’t seem to get the memo.

And for all those waiting patiently for some sign of remorse in his post-match interview, or at least acknowledgement of how poorly the Gunners played, they were left without as he tried desperately to convince himself and the footballing world that the Gunners deserved a point at the very least.

Needless to say, most reacted very, very negatively…

Tottenham will be hoping to repeat their performance this weekend as they travel to face Liverpool for the first time since the Champions League final.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Mauricio Pochettino made a mistake on Sunday as he benched Tanguy Ndombele against Liverpool.

On the chalkboard

The Frenchman was curiously missing from the starting XI when the teams landed before the encounter, having played against Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League in midweek.

He did come on as a substitute in the 63rd minute, though, replacing Harry Winks, and enjoyed an excellent cameo performance.

However, one has to wonder why he wasn’t included initially; Spurs struggled to exert any measure of control on the game prior to his introduction, as evidenced by the final possession tallies. Liverpool had 68% to Spurs’ 32%.

During his time on the pitch, Ndombele registered a total of 19 touches, per WhoScored, one shot and two key passes and a passing accuracy of 77%, higher than all but two of Spurs’ starting XI.

And his statistics so far this season are enlightening too, painting Pochettino’s decision in an even darker light.

He has played twice in the Champions League, along with seven times in total in the league, and his performances in Europe have been genuinely exceptional.

Per WhoScored, he has registered two assists, one shot per game, two key passes per game and 1.3 dribbles in the Champions League.

Defensively, he has also won two tackles per game, 1.7 interceptions and 1.3 fouls. He also has a passing accuracy of 89.1% from an average of 43 passes.

In the Premier League, he already has two goals to his name, one assist, 0.8 shots per game, 0.8 key passes and 1.1 dribbles. He also makes 2.3 tackles and has a pass completion rate of 83.1% from 29.5 passes.

Baffling call

Ndombele was signed for a club-record fee in the summer but here he was, on the bench, against perhaps the best team in the Premier League and technically speaking, the best team in Europe.

Per WhoScored, Ndombele is better than Moussa Sissoko in every attacking area bar dribbles, in both the Premier League and the Champions League, and is also a more assiduous defensive presence.

Both Victor Wanyama and Eric Dier have struggled for minutes this season and are not really direct competitors to his spot, while Harry Winks, meanwhile, makes more interceptions than Ndombele but is outperformed in every offensive category, even though his pass accuracy is higher.

The stats show that the Frenchman is better than the majority of the players he has been bought in to play alongside and yet, he was not introduced until the game was slipping away.

He should have been on the teamsheet from the outset, and while that is not to say he would have rescued his side from an Anfield defeat, he could well have had an impact on them keeping the ball an providing some sort of counter-attacking threat when 1-0 up.

That he wasn’t able to is the result of a poor Pochettino decision.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

Looks like there might be trouble ahead.

Speaking to the club website, Jutkiewicz spoke about how although things are going well at St Andrew’s, things really need to start picking up when they are on the road.

“It’s important to make sure your home form is good. We’ve had three home wins on the bounce now. It is certainly a positive and we’ve created a lot more chances than we have previously and hopefully we can start picking up more points away from home but it’s a start, for sure.”

This all comes in direct contrast to what Pep Clotet said in the aftermath of the Blackburn game.

He detailed that he was happy making St Andrew’s a fortress and then using the away games as a ‘bonus’.

However, now you’ve got someone who actually wants to use away games as a more effective weapon to gain points rather than just something to take or leave at the end of the day.

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Perhaps this is why Birmingham have been somewhat inconsistent this season when it comes to their successes away from home, because of a clash of ideas.

We have spoken before on FFC about how Clotet’s aims and ambitions might not quite be in tune with some members of the hierarchy at St Andrew’s, well now it appears as though he and his players might not be on the same levels as well.

This may not be the biggest problem that’s occurring at the club right now, it’s not as if there is a major clash over the style of play, or Jutkiewicz is being asked to play out of position and it’s hurting his game – it’s something that can be overcome.

However, a clash of ideas at a club is never a good thing, people need to all have the same agenda and ambitions in order to drive a club forward.

If the striker wants to be more aggressive in how the team handles away games, but Clotet is more passive, there’s going to be a coming together and that could eventually lead to disharmony further down the line.

Find out what happened when a world-record-holding freestyler attempting skills with the worst pair of boots available on eBay in the video below…

Whilst they continue to pick up points at home, this sort of thing can easily be brushed under the carpet somewhat. That being said, a club can’t simply base its foundations for a season purely on their home form and still maintain a level of ambition. So who is going to win this battle, the player or the head coach?

Manchester City fans are bitterly disappointed on the news that playmaker David Silva could miss the vital clash with Liverpool this week.

Indeed, following the weekend win over Southampton, Pep Guardiola confirmed that Silva is a major doubt for the game next weekend and will certainly miss the trip to Atalanta in midweek.

The champions will travel to Anfield on Sunday in what is set to be the biggest match of the Premier League season so far. A win for the home side could put them nine points ahead, with Liverpool’s late winner against Aston Villa keeping them six points adrift of City at the moment.

Silva has, of course, been of immense importance to the Sky Blues over the last decade and will be a huge miss this Sunday. The Spaniard has three goals and four assists in the league so far, and he continues to prove his worth to the club week in, week out.

Some fans have alluded to the fact Phil Foden could come in for Silva. However, most supporters are gutted by the news and can’t believe their luck with injuries this season.

Here’s what some City fans have had to say on this bad news…

This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets… 

Despite Aston Villa falling to a third consecutive Premier League defeat in their West Midlands derby against Wolves, Dean Smith can look to the promising and increasingly consistent form of one summer signing as a source of optimism in his side’s bid to retain their top-flight status in 2019/20.

Consecutive victories over Norwich City and Brighton had lifted both Villa’s league positioning as well as spirits surrounding B6, yet the stark and hard-hitting realities of the Premier League have begun to firmly ring true for Smith’s side.

They’ve now suffered three successive losses to Liverpool, Manchester City and most recently Wolves, sending the newly-promoted outfit to 18th place; just three points above the relegation zone.

Villa’s porous defending – having conceded the fourth-highest number of goals (20) so far this season – has been a clear drawback despite a distinct ability to attack with vigour and intent – having scored 17 goals, the second-highest in the bottom-ten. Central to the frontline’s relative success has been summer signing Trezeguet.

Signed from Kasimpasa, the Egyptian international has now scored in back-to-back Premier League games after a mixed start to life in England, with a red card against Crystal Palace in September halting his initially consistent presence in the starting XI.

After serving the one-match suspension, Trezeguet was resigned to a spot on the bench for three of Villa’s next four league fixtures, but Smith has re-ignited his faith in the tricky winger to start him in their last three fixtures, with a series of exceptional performances alongside goalscoring returns vindicating his manager’s decision.

Across the last two league games against Liverpool and Wolves, Trezeguet has had 24 touches in the final third – more than any other Villa player – whilst having received 22 passes in the opponent’s half – another team-high that highlights the winger’s ability to find space and offer a dimension of attacking purpose to his side’s frontline.

With six take-ons, Trezeguet is tied with John McGinn, highlighting how the Egyptian is not only finding space to receive passes but is also creating space to dart through opposition defences and provide the likes of Wesley with the type of service that the Brazilian front-man can thrive off.

These are tricky times for Villa with their desire to stay in the top-flight likely to be tested over the coming weeks ahead of the festive fixture list, but Smith can unquestionably take solace in the ever-improving form of his summer signing Trezeguet who is gradually growing into his role.

If the 25-year-old can retain his starting berth and continue to act as a source of both goals and creativity, then Smith will find it increasingly difficult to drop the winger from his place in the Villa starting XI.

Newcastle are reportedly interested in Arsenal’s Granit Xhaka but he is a transfer target that some fans aren’t keen on.

The troubled midfielder was stripped of the Arsenal captaincy earlier this week after a dispute with fans in the match against Crystal Palace, and The Times report that he will likely request a move away if he is left out of the next few matches.

It is believed the Magpies would seek a short-term deal as that would suit all parties involved, allowing them to pay just a portion of his £100,000-a-week wage, but despite that supporters still aren’t keen.

Some suggest he wouldn’t be an upgrade on what they currently have, comparing him to the likes Isaac Hayden and Jonjo Shelvey.

Interestingly, none raise the point of the bad attitude he displayed against his own fans, and are looking at things merely from a footballing perspective.

Here are some of the reactions from fans to the interest in Xhaka.