The Top 50 Football League Players: 10-1

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TFN’s Chris Francis completes his run down of the top 50 players outside the Premier League…

10. Troy Deeney (Watford)

As with many of the Hornets this season, the big centre forward has failed to match last season’s level, but he still remains a remarkably complete package. At his best he can be a snarling, in-your-face threat from inside or outside the box. Needs motivating to keep his workrate honest, but on his day he causes problems.

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9. Sam Byram (Leeds)

Cardiff were reportedly quoted £8m for the Leeds youngster in the summer. Byram is a right back who is seen as much in the final third as the first. He is capable of lung-busting runs for a full game, and is a thoroughly modern, adventurous and physical player. Overlaps well, is strong in the tackle and is capable of playing further forward and more centrally. He took a clean sweep of the individual awards at Leeds’ end of season bash. A serious prospect. Continue reading

The Top 50 Football League Players: 20-11

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TFN’s Chris Francis continues his run down of the top 50 players outside the Premier League…

20. Ikechi Anya (Watford)

Right back is not usually the most exciting position (as Jamie Carragher put it, ‘no one grows up wanting to be Gary Neville’), but Anya is a rampaging, marauding, and high energy wing back with tricks, and would certainly add to the attacking threat of a number of Premier League teams.

19. Kieran Trippier (Burnley)

The best right back in league? Trippier is a defender first and foremost in a role that has become more and more an attacking weapon. He has developed his game this season to be more of a threat in the opposition half. A vital cog in an excellent Burnley side. Continue reading

The Top 50 Football League Players: 40-31

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TFN’s Chris Francis continues his run down of the top 50 players outside the Premier League…

40. Jason Lowe (Blackburn)
A rangy, strong midfielder who has caps for England at U21 level, Lowe has firmly established himself as a Rovers regular having made his way through their youth system. At the age of 22 he is approaching 100 league starts for the club, and already has a full Premier League season under his belt. One of those that Gary Bowyer needs to build his side around to get Blackburn firing properly again.

39. Franck Moussa (Coventry)
Moussa is not a big man at all, but he combines excellent technical ability with high energy. He has been central to a superb season for a homesick Coventry City in League 1, contributing 12 goals from an attacking midfield position already. Continue reading

The Top 50 Football League Players: 50-41

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TFN’s Chris Francis runs down his top 50 players outside the Premier League…

50. David Nugent (Leicester)
You either love this guy, or he’s never played for your club. The Nuge continues to show that is a better player than many give him credit for, as his work-rate, persistence and finishing continue to impress. He is a senior professional now and he is an example to the younger members of Leicester’s title chasing squad. 16 goals so far this season.

49. Gary O’Neill (QPR)
O’Neill is a highly experienced box to box midfielder who has played for most of his career in the Premier League. He is tireless, and has been strong this season as QPR have ground out rather than dazzled. A wise head as we move in to the tough stuff towards the end of the campaign. Continue reading

Aitor Karanka, Oscar Garcia and the Globalisation of the Football League

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TFN Editor Hugo Greenhalgh argues that the globalisation of the Football League can only be a good thing for the national game…

“This is a real change for our club but football is global now…and we were searching for a first-class coach”

In a year when the future of English football has been debated as intensely as ever, Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson’s comments last week made for interesting reading. Gibson was speaking to the media as he unveiled former Real Madrid assistant Aitor Karanka as Boro’s new manager. By his own admission, he was breaking out of the mould of the “little Englander” in appointing the first non-British manager to the Teesside club.  Gibson carried on, “Greg Dyke’s got his self-interest which is the FA and I’ve got my self-interest which is Middlesbrough Football Club”, referring to Dyke’s recent speech bemoaning the lack of English coaches as a contributing factor in the decline of the national game.

The FA Chairman may have had a point that the presence of foreign players and managers can stifle the progress of their English counterparts. However, if handled responsibly, a foreign influence can surely only bring benefits to England’s archaic football convention. Not only is Karanka an exciting appointment for Boro fans, it is a move that hints at a developing symbiotic relationship in Europe’s football landscape. Whilst the English leagues have much to gain from continental involvement, it would appear that European managers themselves are keen to coach in this country. Continue reading

Matt Tubbs: The Forgotten Man

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On the trail of one of the former rising stars of League football, Nathan Carr considers whether Matt Tubbs has faded into a forgotten man…

Footballers can often disappear into the wilderness: Afonso Alves, Luke Young, Amr Zaki, Freddy Adu, Denilson, Darren Bent, Florent Sinama Pongolle.

Unfortunately it’s now time to add the name of Matt Tubbs to such a list.

Born and raised in the cathedral city of Salisbury, Tubbs began his footballing adventure with local team Bournemouth as a schoolboy. In 2003, he dropped into the lower echelons of the English football pyramid by signing for non-league Dorchester Town. However, the move never materialised and he moved onto the place he knew best: Salisbury.

It was there where Tubbs really kick-started his career. His goals – 107 in 248 appearances – contributed towards Salisbury’s ascent up the divisions and his sparkling form even reaped an England C call-up. He made two appearances, scoring in each one.

Understandably, Tubbs’ star quality infront of goal was attracting interest from higher tier sides. Leicester were apparently monitoring his progress but the striker stayed loyal. At the end of the 2006-2007 campaign he signed a long-term deal and the following season went onto net his 100th strike for the club and finish the leading goal-getter. Continue reading

Has Welsh Football ever had it so good?

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In the wake of Swansea’s glorious League Cup triumph, The False Nine editor James Dutton explores the state of the Welsh game…

As the dust settles on Swansea’s emphatic Capital One Cup victory over the unlikely opposition of Bradford City, Blue Square Conference leaders Wrexham are due to travel to Wembley next month for the FA Trophy Final. Cardiff City sit eight points clear at the summit of the Championship with a game in hand, whilst Newport County sit just two points behind their North Walian countrymen, also with a game in hand.

Swansea’s meteoric rise from the basement of the Football League pyramid in 2004 to the heady heights of the Premier League, and now League Cup winners just nine years later, is an astounding tale. Next year the Swans will be playing European football; a chance for Welsh football to showcase its burgeoning ascension on the continent.  Continue reading