After another really worthwhile international break, during which England played two friendly games at Wembley, several issues came to light – pre match the English media were claiming we didn’t have a hope in hell of beating Spain. Post-match Sky Sports and expert pundit the wally with a brolly Steve Mcclaren were telling us that we were in with an excellent chance of winning the whole tournament this summer, and after the game last night it became clear that the only thing worse than getting hammered in those games was winning both as the ridiculous post match analysis is showing.

However, more worrying than all of this is the so called ‘support cast’ for Wayne Rooney up front. By now the world and its wife are aware that the big bad FIFA have banned Rooney for the opening stages of the tournament in the summer, and England must now find a way to navigate the group and score goals without him. It’s not that we don’t have options, it’s just that they aren’t very good.

Capello has the choice of going with an older and supposedly more experienced player, such as Darren Bent, or Peter Crouch, even Bobby Zamora, but are these really top class strikers who should be playing for the national side? None of the above strikers play for a so called ‘top club’ with both Crouch and Bent having been tried at international level on multiple occasions, with both coming up short. Andy Carroll cannot even start for Liverpool, and is not really tried and tested at International level.

There is the option of going for youth, with both Daniels – Welbeck and Sturridge impressing for their clubs and the England youth teams in the past – however they still lack experience at the very top level and it is more than reasonable to question if they could really take the pressure heaped on England at an International tournament. Both are in form at the minute and playing well for their clubs but it is just as feasible for them to have a long spell on the bench due to the competition for places at their respective clubs.

One thing that can be said about the young boys is that despite their experience at the very top level of international football, they are both comfortable playing in the Champions league – a competition that is arguably at a higher standard than the group stages of an International tournament.

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An option that people seem to forget about to replace Wayne Rooney in the group stages is that of Jermain Defoe. Say what you will about the player, but in Defoe you get not only a proven goal scorer but also someone that has experience at the highest level of football and has shown he can deal with the pressures and expectations of playing for England.

Yes, none of these players are Wayne Rooney, but dwelling on his absence for any longer will have a greater effect on the team in a negative sense and will only hamper the prospects of England.

If you look at the top international teams – take Spain for instance – if you take out David Villa or even Negredo or Torres, it obviously matters, but then you look at the players they have in the middle of their park – Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets – far, far more quality than England have.

Whilst it is the job of the chosen striker to get the majority of the goals, there has to be a contribution from elsewhere in the team, and England struggle with this. There is no really special player in the England side, who can make the difference in the tight games, and perhaps it is time, as Gary Neville has suggested, to start bringing through the younger generation in order to eventually win an International tournament – Walker and Rodwell showed last night England’s younger generation have more than a bit of talent between them.

Yes omitting players such as John Terry or Lampard may not be the way forward for everyone, but had Aragones not left Raul out of the Spanish squad before Euro 2008 and effectively changed the whole mentality of the squad, they could well still be waiting to win a trophy.

When England inevitably falter at the Euro’s, blame will be levelled at many factors, and should they fail to make it out of the group, whoever is chosen to replace Rooney will be the national scape goat, or perhaps it will be the referee, whatever the case, it is not the fact we are without a world class candidate to replace Rooney that will see us fail yet again.

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It is the entire mentality of the squad, manager – who has kept his promise to pick players on form about as well as Kim Kardashian kept her marriage vows– the media and their hype and the fans.

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The business that is Premier League football is moving on rapidly, with foreign billionaires pumping money into clubs and sponsorship deals boosting finance for all of the owners. Football has moved on in the past ten years with money now becoming one of the biggest, if not biggest, aspect of modern day football. Off the field issues are now publicised in the press and chairman and owners now have more say than ever in Premier League football.

Last week Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley sold the rights to St James Park, and it will now be called the Sports Direct Arena. The Magpies supporters were outraged at the decision to change the name of their historic stadium, just another move from the owner that has not been appreciated by the fans. Ashley claimed that the sale of the naming rights could bring the club around £10million a year that could be spent on improving the squad; something that is surely the most important thing for the club in the long run.

It is time for supporters to let the owners deal with the off the field situations and try to make money for the club that can be spent on moving the club forward. Ashley knows the meaning of St James Park to the fans but he, rightly, feels that moving the club forward to the next level is more important than the words on the top of a stand or being mentioned in newspapers.

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Geordie supporters can call the ground what they want, but if Ashley spends the extra finance on a goal-scorer or a pacey winger will the fans be upset then, pushing the club on to challenge for European football and becoming the force that they used to be in the Premier League. The most important thing in a football club is how they are doing on the pitch, if they are not playing well and losing games then the fans will be the first to jump on the bandwagon for new players, management and ownership.

I understand the history of St James Park, but it is just a name that the fans can still stick with if they please but they must think of the long term future. Manchester City are a club that are not short of money, but they find every way possible to keep topping up the bank balance. They sold the naming rights of their ground for over £100 million to Etihad, something that can now be reimbursed into the club; a win-win for supporters and owners alike.

Fellow North East clubs Sunderland and Middlesbrough have had to move grounds in recent years that have not worked out well for them, moving to a new area that produces lower attendances and unsatisfied supporters. Ashley needed to make some money some and this was a clever idea to improve the side for the supporters to be able to acknowledge his work.

Clubs such as Leicester City and Coventry City have moved to new stadiums away from the city centres that have affected attendances and support, making the move looking pointless and money making. Newcastle have not moved stadiums and abandoned their historic home, they simply changed the naming, something that can be ignored if necessary by the Magpies loyal followers. It is surely time to take a reality check of situations similar to this, if the team is improving on the pitch; something which Newcastle have undoubtedly done in recent years; then fans should back the players and staff to make the correct decisions.

The decision that Ashley made to just come out and tell the supporters of this name change may have been pre-meditated in the fact that the club are on good form and that may calm the fans reaction to the decision, but it did not work. I am not sure he would have made the statement on the confirmation of The Sports Direct Arena if the club were in the bottom three at this stage of the season.

It would have been a better decision to put it out to the fans and explained exactly what was going to happen, rather than come out with it at this stage of the season. Hopefully though, Newcastle supporters will see the benefits of money coming into the club on the pitch.

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Didier Drogba has rejected a Chelsea offer of a new contract and a loan deal to AC Milan, and instead will leave Stamford Bridge in the summer in search of one final pay day according to his agent.

The Ivory Coast international is in the last year of his deal with Andre Villas Boas’ men, and has not been guaranteed a starting place in the Premier League side’s starting XI this season.

The African forward’s representative Thierno Seydi has clarified that money will be a deciding factor in the veteran attacker’s choice of destination at the end of the campaign.

“Milan came in for Didier, but I said no straight away. Their offer, for a loan with an option to buy, did not interest us,” Seydi told reporters.

“He’s had the offer of a one-year extension from Chelsea, but that does not suit us. At his age, he has nothing left to prove as a player.

“Once you are well into your thirties, you have to go to a club where you can be certain you’ll be able to pay your bills.

“He will go where he is offered the most money. It could be the United States, Qatar, Russia or somewhere in Asia. He’ll go wherever he feels good from a financial point of view,” the agent concluded.

Nicolas Anelka is in the same boat as Drogba in that his contract at Stamford Bridge is running down, and both of the veteran strikers are expected to leave the London team come the summer.

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By Gareth McKnight

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Like most 90s kids there are several reunions I’d love to see S Club 7, Ash Ketchum and Pikachu and Vanilla flavouring with Coca Cola (remember that?) but unlike most Arsenal fans one reunion I’m not in favour of, is the return of our all time goalscorer and legend, Thierry Henry.

Arsene Wenger for all his success and attributes, has to be the most frustrating manager, no correction, the most frustrating man on the planet. The Frenchman continually refuses to buy, much to the annoyance of everyone associated with the Gunners and instead scans the globe for a cheap short term alternative which usually results in such signings as Sebastian Squilacci. Le Professeur should be looking not to cover Gervinho and Chamakh while at the African Cup of Nation but to be replacing the Moroccan and offering the Ivorian some strong competition for his place.

The era of Henry & Co. was a great time to be a Gooner and probably something that will never be eclipsed by Arsenal or any other team. The current Arsenal team is different in every way from the time of Pires, Bergkamp and Henry and for that reason it is time for the likes of Song, Vermalean and RVP to make this Arsenal team their own and successful in their own way. Bringing back Henry would undermine the current Arsenal squad, especially with the incessant media coverage that will continually highlight what Henry achieved in his time in North London compared to the success since he has left.

For once I’d love Arsenal to be linked with the players that the likes of Manchester City and Barcelona are chasing, I know we couldn’t compete financially but wouldn’t it be nice for Neymar to spotted at the Emirates having talks with the Gunners hierachy? Rather than talking loan deals for a player that left Arsenal for bigger and better things (a lot of people forget this, I mean if you loved us so much Thierry, why leave?).

You also have to look at Henry as a player, at 34 years of age will he still be able to run from box to box leaving an entire Spurs team for dead? Because that’s what we would all expect from the former Juventus winger, we all vividly remember the Henry that lobbed Barthez with his back to goal, could he still give us that va-va voom? It is true you don’t lose your natural talent but the former Barcelona player will have definitely lost a yard or two and despite having scored 15 goals in 29 games for the New York Red Bulls, which is an impressive record that Arsenal could do with ; you have to remember that Juan Pablo Angel was deemed prolific out in the States.

Think I’m being too harsh on our former skipper? Let me know at www.danieltblazer.com

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New QPR manager Mark Hughes has stated that he is not concerned about Joey Barton’s frequent Twitter messages, as long as they don’t compromise dressing room morale.

The combative midfielder displays his thoughts on the game, which are not always positive, on the social networking site and has previous slated fellow players, manager and club owners.

The latest controversy surrounds Neil Warnock’s dismissal, where Barton personally attacked the sacked coach over his conduct in losing his job.

Despite this, Hughes feels for the time being he does not have to address the issue.

“No, not at this stage. Joey understands what happens in the dressing room stays there and I don’t think it will be a problem,” he told The Daily Mail.

“If ever I felt that it was going to compromise us then we’d have a conversation and talk it through, but certainly I haven’t felt the need to do that up to this point.

“He’s a big personality, he thrives on it,” Hughes concluded.

Despite Barton’s controversial past, Hughes has recently stated that the midfielder will keep the Loftus Road captaincy.

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By Gareth McKnight

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New Fulham signing Mahamadou Diarra has admitted that he is looking forward to the challenge of playing in the Premier League, and has stated that he feels at home at the Craven Cottage club.

Martin Jol’s men signed the African midfielder on a free transfer earlier in the week, and Diarra has spoken of his first couple of training sessions with his new club.

“It has been a great pleasure to be here with the team for about a week now,” he told the club’s website.

“I loved my first week of training here. It went really well and everyone was smiling and welcomed me with open arms.

“I really felt welcomed at my new club. There is a feeling that people are happy for me to be here and I am certainly happy to have signed for Fulham.

“Fulham is open to players who like to play football, who give their best and who have a winning mentality.

“The club is ambitious and that was made clear to me by the hierarchy here.

“By speaking to the manager it is also clear that he wants the team to progress and move in the right direction and this made me want to sign straight away.

“I consider the 12 remaining matches as 12 finals for me.

“It’s up to me now to prove that I can do well and satisfy the team with good performances on the pitch.

“I have seen the team play and I am aware of how the players play and I find myself amongst a good and talented group.

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“For me, this is going to be a big challenge and an enormous adventure,” he concluded.

By Gareth McKnight

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Arsenal have their problems, that much has always been clear. Whether it be the injuries that continue to severely dent any ambitions the club may have going into a season, the fragility of a side who have shown in the past how spectacularly they can push the self-destruct button, or the apparent stubbornness of a manager who fails to address the glaring problems holding his team back. What yesterday’s AST meeting did was put into context just how much trouble—or potential trouble—the club could be in.

One of the main topics of discussion were the financial side of the club, where supporters were demanding to know why the club were so happily sitting on a confirmed budget of circa £50million while the team were performing so poorly on the pitch. It was as recently as the turn of the new year when Ivan Gazidis and Peter Hill-Wood claimed the club did not need the Champions League and it’s financial safety net, and that Manchester City were jealous of Arsenal’s position of still being in the Champions League and the FA Cup. While at the time those comments were highly embarrassing and not telling of the bigger picture, the club now look even more foolish having seemingly gone out of both competitions only a month later.

The fact of the matter is, Arsenal do need the Champions League; not because it’s imperative the club are in a good bargaining position with which to tie down players like Robin van Persie to long term contracts by competing with the elite, but so they’re in a financial position to remain competitive and not having to remain a selling club in order to subsidise for the lose of earnings from failure to qualify. The lack of transparency at the club as to who is withholding the potential to sign players and, in turn, save the club a further £45million has become a typical and saddening trait of the club. The opportunity was there, the money was there, but no action was taken. Supporters were fed a number of varying reasons as to why deals couldn’t be done; but the truth is, there was no hunger from the boardroom to better the squad. The blame was passed around from manager, who claims to have his hands tied, to board members who continue to insist that funds are available.

The point is, that £50million will have to be moved out of the transfer funds in order to make up for the lack of Champions League income. What is even more worrying were the suggestions that the club would fall foul of the Financial Fair Play if they fail to qualify for the Champions League. The Uefa ruling that the club have so passionately hide behind in the past could actually strike at the Gunners first. The club made it clear that they needed to sell in order to buy—and that’s with income from European football.

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It’s also quite clear that Stan Kroenke has little ambition to see the club do well. He is a collector of sports teams and spreads his purchases over a number of cities in America rather than staying in a centralised area. Can we infer from this that he has no desire to see the club competing and rather looking to make a profit when or if he decides to sell, or is it simply the fact that he has no money to invest in the squad due to his other sports interests?

The AST meeting, as well as the many people trying to gain a say through Twitter, were trying to figure out the direction of the club. The majority shareholder has not made himself clear, the board members, who have an average age of over 70, have not made themselves clear, nor is there any sense in the huge bonuses paid out to members of staff who have gone about their job poorly.

Worryingly for supporters is that if the board don’t know where the club is going or how they plan to compete in the future, then how can they possibly sell the idea of playing for Arsenal to future signings? How do the club plan on strengthening the side should they fail to quality for the Champions League, and what are the plans for the many over-paid players at the club if other clubs can’t afford to pick them up.

The level playing field that Arsene Wenger has tried to create in terms of the wage structure at the club has greatly come back to haunt him. From an outsider’s perspective, why is a club with a £130million wage bill unable to get the job done on the pitch? The fourth highest wage bill in the country should surely equate to fourth in the league at least. But that is not the clear definition the club have created. They are unable to give van Persie the kind of money he should be given because players like Johan Djourou and Manuel Almunia are taking significant chunks out of the wages.

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What makes this situation even more frustrating for fans who would like to see a change in manager is the question of who would want to come to a club that can’t move on almost the entire squad? A new manager would bring in fresh ideas, his own plans going forward and, most importantly, his own players and staff. But with little hope of Wenger moving on these players then how can anyone else in the near future.

As it’s always been the case, the supporters just need a little clarity during a hugely unclear period of the club‘s history. Calls for Arsene Wenger’s head at this moment would only exacerbate the situation, where a clearer perspective with which to evaluate in the summer would be the best move.

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Swindon’s 2-0 defeat to Crewe on Saturday was just the second league defeat this year.

Crewe hot-shot, Nick Powell’s 12th league goal of the campaign opened the scoring for The Railwaymen in the 29th Minute. After the break Swindon could not capitalise on any chances that where offered, and subsequently went two goals behind in the 65th minute when Westwood finished a neat move with a six-yard effort from an angle. With the introduction of new on-loan signing Lee Holmes in the 46th minute, many of the Swindon fans were hoping for a comeback, but this was not in the script as The Robins slumped to their 9th loss of the season.

Swindon Town’s manager Paolo Di Canio was understandably upset after Saturdays result: “Some of my players lost some humility, passion, and desire. I don’t want to burn what we have built. I have to discover why.”

This loss has dented Swindon’s lead at the top of League 2 to just 4 points but crucially they have a game in hand over their nearest rivals Torquay. Coincidently Torquay are the visitors to The County Ground on Tuesday night. This game is vital for both sides, Swindon are pushing for (forbidden P word) and want to extend their lead at the top, while Torquay will be boosted by their 4-1 victory over Burton on Saturday. 13 out of 15 points in the last 5 games for Torquay has catapulted them into 2nd place in the league and inflamed their desire for automatic promotion. A bumper crowd of over 9,000 is expected at the County Ground and a fantastic atmosphere will prevail.

The weekend…

Excited about the weekend is probably an understatement. Travelling down (From my hometown Grimsby) will occur on Saturday morning with 2 other Swindon fans (both converted after seeing Town play J). We will be staying in East London and driving over to Wembley in good time on Sunday morning to soak up the atmosphere around the stadium before we enter the illustrious Wembley Stadium. I am expecting around 30,000 Robins to be making the trip to the capital to hopefully see Swindon lift the Johnston’s Paint Trophy for the first time. As this would be Paolo’s first trophy as a manager I do not know how he will react but I am sure that it will be worth documenting in the future.

A trip down memory lane…

26th December 2004

Peterborough 0 Swindon Town 2

Attendance: 4,212 (601 Away Fans)

Goals From: Sammy Igoe (54’) & Super ‘Sam’ Parkin (85’)

Starting Line-up: Evans, Reeves, Ifil, Jenkins, Holmes, Hewlett, O’Hanlon, Igoe, Duke, Parkin, Roberts.

Why I Remember The Match: On the way to the game, my Grandad bought me my SatNav as a late Christmas Present, which I still use, although some of the roads have slightly altered now.

Beyond football…

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On a side note my thoughts are with Fabrice Muamba and his family at this tough time. Football rivalry aside, fans have pulled together fantastically and I hope that on behalf of all Swindon fans, Fabrice makes a full recovery. A talented 23-year-old who appeared at the 2011 European Under-21 Championship in Denmark for England Under-21’s, for whom he made 33 appearances.

A mention also for Liam Kelly, the Kilmarnock midfielder’s joy of winning the Scottish League Cup Final turned to tragedy as he found out his father, Jack Kelly has suffered a heart attack at the game. Thoughts and prayers are with Liam and his family.

By Swindon Town blogger Craig Kendall. You can follow him on Twitter @engoism. 

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Whilst it was sunshine and roses for Borussia Dortmund this weekend as they clinched the Bundesliga, elsewhere, the relegation battle moved a step closer to a decisive climax. The fight for survival has at times matched the entertainment the title race has provided; such have been the schizophrenic performances of clubs this season. Perhaps this isn’t unexpected considering five of the bottom six teams have all had a managerial change at some point this season.

Surprisingly enough, the two clubs who occupied the automatic relegation spots at the end of 2011 will probably both survive. Augsburg need three points to be absolutely certain of survival after a draw against Schalke, the result a testament to the progress made by coach Jos Luhukay and his players in the second half of the season.

Luhukay is the only man at a bottom six club not to have been sacked and that stability looks to have helped Augsburg. After all, the club’s board must realise the job he’s done is remarkable. Drawing 1-1 against Schalke is by no means a shabby result either as Sebastian Langkamp’s opener for the home side was cancelled out by another goal from the Bundesliga’s second top scorer Klaas-Jan Huntelaar.

That said, Schalke didn’t come away with anything when they played against the other team facing automatic relegation at the half way stage – Freiburg. They’re now assured of top flight football next season i after a goalless draw at Hannover.

Christian Streich replaced Marcus Sorg after a disappointing hinrunde (first half of the season). Streich and his squad were jubilant at the final whistle as the South Westerners moved seven points clear of Cologne with just two games remaining. Their result in itself was impressive, after all Hannover are the only club in the Bundesliga not to have lost at home this season.

There will only be one more visitor to the AWD-Arena and they won’t be returning next season as Kaiserslautern have been relegated to the 2. Bundesliga. This arrived on Saturday despite their first league victory in 21 games, a case of too little, too late.

If they were going to beat any team in division, it was going to be Hertha Berlin who were beaten 2-1 by the bottom side. The only spectacular element of Otto Rehhagel’s return to coaching has been in how badly the side from the capital have continued to perform. Yet again, Hertha were insipid at the Olympiastadion as they spurned a glorious chance to climb above Cologne and into the relegation play-off spot.

Cologne were the last club in the bottom six to dismiss their coach as Stale Solbakken was sacked prior to their game against Gladbach. They secured perhaps the shock result of the weekend in holding a Stuttgart side who would be in third had the season started in January. The Billy Goats actually had the better of the game on Saturday but were unable to eke out a win. After a close-range effort from Slawomir Peszko, Cacau slid home an equaliser to leave Cologne facing a nervy end to the season.

The only other side with relegation worries is Hamburg but they’re five points ahead of Cologne who still have to face Bayern Munich. In this particular instance, it’s hard to see the Billy Goats or Hertha (for whom it’s virtually impossible) escaping from the bottom three.

They must try to be philosophical if they are relegated. Eintracht Frankfurt, who were relegated last season, have bounced back immediately and are an example of how relegation offers a chance to regroup. With the way both teams have been playing, it’s also difficult to predict a win for either Cologne or Hertha in their final two games, hence why Augsburg and Hamburg look safe above the floundering pair.

However, judging by the entertainment offered in the Bundesliga basement battle, it would be surprising if it were to fizzle out meekly. So expect an upset or two then in the closing weeks of the season – German football is never as predictable as the irritating stereotype suggests.

For more on the Bundesliga, why not follow @archiert1 on Twitter

Matchday 32 Results:

Mainz 0-0 Wolfsburg

Cologne 1-1 Stuttgart

Hertha Berlin 1-2 Kaiserslautern

Hoffenheim 0-1 Bayer Leverkusen

Nuremberg 1-1 Hamburg

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Werder Bremen 1-2 Bayern Munich

Borussia Dortmund 2-0 Gladbach

Augsburg 1-1 Schalke

Hannover 0-0 Freiburg

Table

Rank

Club

Matches

W*

D*

L*

G*

GD*

PTS*

1

Borussia Dortmund

32

23

6

3

71:23

+48

75

CL*

2

FC Bayern Munich

32

21

4

7

71:21

+50

67

CL*

3

FC Schalke 04

32

18

4

10

67:42

+25

58

CL*

4

Borussia Mönchengladbach

32

16

8

8

46:24

+22

56

CL* Qual.

5

VfB Stuttgart

32

14

8

10

60:42

+18

50

EL*

6

Bayer 04 Leverkusen

32

13

9

10

47:43

+4

48

EL* Qual.

7

Hannover 96

32

11

12

9

39:43

-4

45

EL* Qual.

8

SV Werder Bremen

32

11

9

12

46:52

-6

42

9

1899 Hoffenheim

32

10

11

11

38:41

-3

41

10

VfL Wolfsburg

32

12

5

15

42:56

-14

41

11

1. FC Nuremberg

32

11

6

15

34:43

-9

39

12

1. FSV Mainz 05

32

9

11

12

47:48

-1

38

13

SC Freiburg

32

9

10

13

41:56

-15

37

14

Hamburger SV

32

8

11

13

35:56

-21

35

15

FC Augsburg

32

7

13

12

35:49

-14

34

16

1. FC Köln

32

8

6

18

37:67

-30

30

Play-offs

17

Hertha BSC Berlin

32

6

10

16

35:59

-24

28

Relegation

18

1. FC Kaiserslautern

32

4

11

17

21:47

-26

23

Relegation

Table thanks to Official Bundesliga Website

After the delights (or despair) of a double gameweek, there is now only two weeks to go until the end of the season, that lonely time of the year for Fantasy Football lovers. Nevertheless, there are certainly a few players who looking likely to produce points at this important time of the season.

Nikica Jelavic loves a good pair. In three of his last four games, the Croatian forward has bagged a brace as Everton have surged ahead of Liverpool. The last time the Toffees finished above the Reds was back in 2005 and with Jelavic leading their attack in the second half of the season; they look likely to repeat that feat. This weekend, the striker will play Wolves – a popular activity for any self-respecting forward. They haven’t kept a clean sheet since their first home game of the season against Fulham, so the likelihood of Jelavic scoring is high.

Then again, there’s always the PFA Player of the Season. Robin van Persie’s form has tailed off towards the end of the season but he’s still had an outstanding campaign. That said the two goals in his last eight games make him a slightly less tantalising option than he once was. What makes the Dutch striker appealing is the game at the weekend. So Norwich haven’t disgraced themselves in the Premier League this season but they’ve lost four of their last five away games. Perhaps we could see a final Emirates flourish from van Persie who has 15 goals in North London.

Another man who’s been prolific with a London club is Fulham’s Clint Dempsey. The American is enjoying his best season to date in England, scoring 16 goals in the Premier League. Dempsey has also not gone more than three games without scoring over the course of this season – a record which even van Persie cannot match. The attacking midfielder plays goal-shy Sunderland on Sunday and with Fulham usually strong at home it’s not difficult to envision Dempsey scoring once again.

However, Rafael van der Vaart also looks a great choice this weekend. He has 11 goals and six assists in this season. His performances particularly in the double gameweek were exciting. Against Blackburn and Bolton, van der Vaart grabbed two goals and an assist. This weekend, he faces another team in the relegation mix – Aston Villa. Alex McCleish’s side have been slowly drawn into the battle for the drop but with Spurs pushing for a Champions League place, van der Vaart warrants serious consideration ahead of this weekend’s fixtures.

The Captain – Rafael van der Vaart – After a fantastic double gameweek, why not back the Dutch attacking midfielder against Aston Villa too?

The Vice Captain – Robin van Persie – To complete our Double Dutch selection, Robin van Persie is also good value against Norwich.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

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