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      Arsenal boss Arteta urges club to splash the cash for new striker as club face transfer fight with Chelsea over Mudryk

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      MIKEL ARTETA piled pressure on Arsenal to sign another striker after warning that Eddie Nketiah can’t do it all on his own.The Gunners boss was delighted with Nketiah’s two-goal contribution in the 3-0 FA Cup win at League One Oxford.
      Mikel Arteta wants another striker to support Eddie NketiahCredit: Getty
      Arsenal appear to have missed out on Joao Felix to ChelseaCredit: Getty
      The Gunners are still trying to sign Mykhailo MudrykCredit: Getty
      That was Nketiah’s fourth goal in four games since Gabriel Jesus underwent a knee operation before Christmas.
      But Arteta warned: “Eddie is getting better and better but the problem is that we have only one striker and to cope for that many months until Gabby Jesus is back is not easy.
      “We have to get the most out of the players that we have at the moment but it will be great if we can get some reinforcements.”
      Arsenal are still locked in negotiations with Shakhtar Donetsk for Ukrainian international Mykhailo Mudryk but have lost out to Chelsea in their attempts to take Joao Felix on loan from Atletico Madrid.
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      That leaves all the onus on Nketiah and Arteta said: “Eddie has been patiently waiting for this moment but he has been preparing himself with the right mindset.
      “That’s why he is performing the way he is and once again tonight he showed what a great finisher he is.
      “He showed great composure with the timing of his runs and the decision making in waiting until the last moment when the keeper has committed himself shows his quality.
      “His understanding and work-rate were top class.”
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      Nketiah added: “I’m grateful for the opportunities and I just want to keep helping the team.
      “We knew it wasn’t going to be an easy night because the pitch was tough with the way we want to play.
      “We had a difficult start and we weren’t good enough in the first-half. But we stayed patient and we were better after the break and eventually got our reward.
      “Manchester City away in the next round isn’t the best draw for us but we’re all up for it.”
      The good news for table-topping Arsenal is they suffered no further injuries ahead of Sunday’s North London derby away to Spurs, with Arteta confirming that Bukayo Saka is fine despite limping off 15 minutes from the end of the game.
      Arteta said: “It’s always tough to win these matches. They are a direct team and we needed to control certain things better.
      “We needed more continuity, more speed and threat in our possession to create the spaces to open them up.
      “But we changed a few things in the second-half and found the openings to win.”
      Oxford boss Karl Robinson said: “My players can be proud of some of their display but we got a bit giddy in the second-half and that made us very vulnerable to their counter-attacking.
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      “We can’t get away from the fact that every team in the Premier League has been trying to stop Arsenal and they’re still five points clear at the top.
      “We won’t come across another team with that speed and quality. We tried to play our way but the reality is that we don’t compete at that level.” More

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      Unrecognisable Man Utd treble winner named manager of month for non-league side Scarborough Athletic

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      A MANCHESTER UNITED treble winner has scooped up the manager of the month award at non-league side Scarborough.The former Red Devil oversaw two wins and a draw in the month of December to win the prize.
      Jonathan Greening picked up the National League North manager of the month award for DecemberCredit: INSTAGRAM
      The former Manchester United midfielder was part of the treble winning sideCredit: Getty
      National League North side Scarborough beat league leaders Darlington and Peterborough Sports, while also drawing with Southport.
      And that was enough for the league to hand Jonathan Greening the manager of the month award.
      Greening took charge of Scarborough in May 2021 and led his team to promotion last season.
      Scarborough have maintained their good form and are sixth this term, five points off Darlington after losing their last two games.
      READ MORE ON MAN UTD
      But The Seadogs are still in the play-offs and going strong under Greening, who is in his first managerial job.
      Greening, 44, now looks unrecognisable with a bushy grey beard and smart trim.
      He was once famous for his luscious long locks as he spent three years at Old Trafford and was even part of the historic 1998-99 team.
      After featuring alongside the likes of David Beckham, Gary Neville and Roy Keane, he left United in 2001 to get more regular football.
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      The 5ft 11ins ace, born in Scarborough, then spent a further nine seasons starring in the Premier League, racking up 252 appearances in England’s top flight.
      But he finished his career with Yorkshire side Tadcaster Albion in the Northern Premier League Division One North, eventually retiring in 2017. More

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      Mikel Arteta goes wild on touchline AGAIN despite Arsenal being 3-0 up vs Oxford with Dixon calling him out for antics

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      MIKEL ARTETA went wild on the touchline again against Oxford – despite watching his Arsenal side cruise to victory. After an awkward first-half, a brace from Eddie Nketiah and a bullet header from Mohamed Elneny took the game away from the League 1 hosts.
      Mikel Arteta produced another eye-catching display on the touchline – even with Arsenal 3-0 upCredit: Getty
      From first-half frustration to second-half satisfaction, the Arsenal boss went through many emotions during the 90 minutes of actionCredit: Rex
      An impressive first-half showing from Karl Robinson’s side saw Arsenal have to fight to avoid an upset.
      And even though he watched the Gunners take a commanding 3-0 lead, boss Arteta grew increasingly animated and even caught the attention of co-commentator Lee Dixon.
      And the former Arsenal defender could not help but poke fun at the Spaniard, whose sideline antics has caused a stir among some fans.
      With the game winding to an end and Arteta frantically gesturing in front of the cameras, Dixon said: “[Arteta is] waving his arms about like he normally is.”
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      The pundit then added cheekily: “At least he has stayed in his technical area tonight.”
      The Arsenal boss had triggered a mixed reaction after putting on a show against Newcastle last week – and almost coming to blows with Eddie Howe.
      Arteta cut a frustrated and energetic figure as he watched Arsenal drop points in the league for the first time since October.
      Sky Sports pundit Graeme Souness claimed the 40-year-old would have felt “embarrassed” watching back his antics the next day.
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      Alan Shearer was also less than impressed with what he saw.
      But the Gunners gaffer said he would refuse to change his ways.
      Ahead of the FA Cup tie, He said: “I haven’t read the criticism of my behaviour and I am not part of that debate.
      “They can all have their opinions but I will always try to do my best for this football club, to defend my players.
      “And I will always have the passion that I believe the game has to be played with. But that’s me. That’s the way I am, on and off the pitch, for the good and the bad.”
      Some Arsenal fans love Arteta’s fired-up behaviour on the sidelinesCredit: Getty
      Arteta rested some first-team stars for the trip to the Kassam StadiumCredit: Getty More

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      ‘Bless him’ – Nottingham Forest star Morgan Gibbs-White trolled by his OWN WAG for failing to complete Rubik’s Cube

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      MORGAN GIBBS-WHITE has been trolled by his own partner after he was filmed him struggling with a Rubik’s Cube.The Nottingham Forest star was recorded battling with the puzzle by team-mate Brennan Johnson.
      Morgan Gibbs-White has been struggling to complete a Rubik’s Cube
      His partner Britney De Villiers revealed that he has been trying for almost a weekCredit: https://www.instagram.com/p/ClZDfEXIQng/
      The video has been shared on social media, attracting a lot of interest as the midfielder tried to solve the puzzle.
      On the video, Johnson claims that he has been sitting there for “two hours”.
      Gibbs-White’s partner Britney De Villiers poked fun at him for failing to complete it as she tweeted: “Sorry to bait him out, but he sits at the table for hours every day watching YouTube tutorials on how to complete it.
      “He hasn’t completed it once in almost a week. Bless him.”
      READ MORE ON TRANSFERS
      Fans also decided to poke fun at the player as one tweeted: “Come on it’s left left left right right left left right left right left left right. It’s not rocket science.”
      A second wrote: “Should improve his understanding of how important corners are.”
      A third added: “If you can unlock a Rubik’s cube, you can unlock the defence.”
      A fourth said: “He didn’t even get one side lol.
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      “I used to pull mine apart as a kid and then stick it back together use to fry my brother’s brain lol.”
      The Forest team have all been trying their luck at the Rubik’s Cube after January signing Gustavo Scarpa was spotted doing one in rapid time.
      The Brazilian completed the puzzle in 34 seconds on the team plane back from Southampton.
      Gibbs-White’s partner De Villiers is a model and content creator.
      She has built up a following on her Instagram of 184,000 people.
      De Villiers is a model and content creatoreCredit: https://www.instagram.com/p/ClZDfEXIQng/
      She has 184,000 followers on InstagramCredit: https://www.instagram.com/p/ClZDfEXIQng/ More

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      Golf course awaits Gareth Bale after shock retirement.. never did a player split opinion as much as Welsh wizard

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      FROM the left-back who failed to win any of his first 24 Premier League matches, to the devastating forward who became Britain’s most-decorated footballer.As Gareth Bale retires to spend more time with his golf clubs, few world-class sportsmen have experienced careers so unusual and so difficult to quantify.
      Gareth Bale won it all at Real MadridCredit: Getty
      The Welshman joined the Los Blancos from TottenhamCredit: AP
      Adored at Tottenham, worshipped in Wales, but was widely unpopular at Real Madrid — where he won five Champions Leagues and all 16 of his major trophies.
      Was Bale Britain’s greatest-ever footballer? Probably not. Most would place Bobby Charlton, George Best, Bobby Moore and Stanley Matthews above him.
      But was he British football’s greatest export?
      His longevity and his roll of honour suggest so. Perhaps only his fellow Welshman John Charles, a legend at Juventus in the 1950s and 1960s, could rival him for that accolade.
      READ MORE ON GARETH BALE
      Steve McManaman won hearts as well as European Cups at the Bernabeu and Chris Waddle is still idolised at Marseille — as is Kevin Keegan at Hamburg — but, generally speaking,  British footballers don’t travel well.
      And none has stayed at a major continental superpower as long as Bale’s nine years at the Bernabeu.
      Yet he outstayed his welcome, digging in his heels for the last few seasons, content to pick up a vast wage packet despite Zinedine Zidane — during two spells as manager — wanting to see the back of him.
      The ‘Wales, Golf, Madrid. In That Order’ banner he displayed after Wales qualified for the last Euros was never forgiven in the Spanish capital.
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      That episode showed Bale possessed a thick skin and a pig head. Long since referred to by Real team-mates as ‘The Golfer’ because of his love for that sport, Bale ended up owning what was supposed to be a derogatory nickname.
      Like a sizeable minority of elite footballers, Bale was never obsessed by his trade.
      He might have been an even better player had he been supremely devoted to the game — but as he announced his retirement yesterday, it is doubtful that he’ll have too many regrets.
      If there was a lack of passion for Real, there was nothing of the sort for Wales.
      Leading his nation to three major tournaments in six years — after decades in the wilderness — gave him greater pride than anything that he achieved in Madrid.
      Bale always took pride from playing for WalesCredit: AP
      He won the Champions League five times at MadridCredit: Instagram @garethbale11
      Making the semi-finals of Euro 2016, including a stunning quarter-final victory over Belgium, was a glorious adventure — even if it was ultimately ended by his Real Madrid ‘mate’  Cristiano Ronaldo.
      With Wales, Bale experienced true brotherhood, a sense of belonging and a fervent patriotism.Yet to witness Bale in his pomp as a club player was a thrilling privilege.
      To have been present at the ‘Taxi for Maicon’ night in 2010 — when Spurs defeated European champions Inter Milan, with Bale’s extreme pace totally destroying Brazil’s right-back — is to remember the old White Hart Lane throbbing and pulsing beneath your feet.
      And to be in Kiev eight years later when Bale, scorned by Zidane, came off the bench to score a sensational overhead kick in a Champions League final against Liverpool, was to marvel at majestic technique coupled with an uncommon strength of character.
      Bale, painfully shy as a young player and then doggedly surly in his later years at Madrid, was often doubted by his bosses.After Spurs signed him from Southampton as a teenager, he went through three managers and two entire seasons before he won a Premier League match.
      Primarily a full-back then, he was almost flogged to Birmingham City by Harry Redknapp, before he swiftly developed into a world-class winger.
      Later there was Zidane. After Bale had declared himself fit for a Clasico with Barcelona, only to limp off in the first half, his relationship with the Frenchman became almost non-existent, even as Real continued to rack up European Cups.
      It is sometimes argued that Bale’s five Champions League winner’s medals (he only truly featured in four) somewhat inflate his greatness.
      That he was a sometimes-peripheral player in a great team, rather than a truly great player.
      Yet before Bale had left Spurs at 23, he won two PFA Player of the Year awards due to his extraordinary ability to conjure match-winning moments. Only four players this century have emulated that feat — Thierry Henry,  Ronaldo, Mo Salah and Kevin De Bruyne — and all were Premier League title-winners.
      But Bale was good enough to claim individual supremacy in a Spurs team which won nothing.
      His decision to retire aged 33, after a brief, MLS title-winning stint with Los Angeles FC, might add to the idea that Bale wasn’t quite whole-hearted.
      Bale’s last club was Los Angeles FC in the MLSCredit: AP

      In truth, though, his body had been failing him for years —  his explosive pace long gone.
      On his final appearance in professional football, he was hooked at half-time after feeling his hamstring in the 3-0 defeat by England which sealed Wales’ exit from the World Cup.
      That was his 111th cap, with his 41st and final international goal having arrived against the United States in Qatar.
      After that England defeat, Bale claimed he wouldn’t quit  — a decision he reversed on reflection.
      Once Bale had lost realistic hope of achieving anything greater with Wales, attention turned to No 2 on his priority list on that infamous banner.
      And as he announced his retirement on social media, Bale anticipated, ‘An opportunity for a new adventure . . . ’
      Read More on The Sun
      So do not rule out a genuine attempt to carve out a career as a  professional golfer.
      Who knows, perhaps a wild card on the rebel LIV Tour? More

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      Man Utd must thrash out break clause fee as Erik ten Hag refuses to give up on Wout Weghorst transfer

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      MANCHESTER UNITED are still confident of landing Dutch forward Wout Weghorst on loan despite Turkish club Besiktas insisting no deal is in place.Weghorst, 30, is on loan at Besiktas from Burnley but United want to get him out of that deal and take him for themselves.
      Manchester United are negotiating with Besiktas to let them sign Wout WeghorstCredit: Getty
      However a Besiktas statement read: “The claim that there is an exit clause in our football player’s contract, stating that his contract can be terminated with a compensation of 2.5 million euros (£2.2m) in case of an offer from the Premier League, is fictitious.
      “However, the news that the player in question will leave the team on Tuesday is completely untrue. The initiative regarding Wout Weghorst belongs entirely to Beşiktas.”
      United will now have to negotiate a break clause fee for a player who has eight goals in 16 games in the league this season for Besiktas.
      Erik Ten Hag has been looking for another striker for his squad since Cristiano Ronaldo’s contract was terminated during the World Cup.
      READ MORE ON MAN UTD
      United have even been linked to a loan move for the man who’s place he will take at Al-Nassr, Vincent Aboubakar.
      But Weghorst remains their no1 target with the Netherlands striker believed to be keen on the move to Old Trafford.
      Eden Dzeko and Olivier Giroud have also been mooted as alternative options this month.
      United are looking for a short-term solution to bolster their attack, with Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial their only other striker options.
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      The club is planning to sign a big-name forward in the summer and has drawn up a wishlist of three names.
      England captain Harry Kane is said to be on the transfer shortlist along with Victor Osimhen and Benjamin Sesko. More

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      Arsenal player ratings: Vieira stakes claim for first-team spot, Nketiah scores again but Lokonga fluffs chance

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      ARSENAL swept aside League 1 Oxford as they got their FA Cup campaign up and running. The Gunners struggled in the first-half and fans may have been fearing a repeat of last year’s third round calamity at Nottingham Forest.
      Eddie Nketiah had another two goals to add to his lot this eveningCredit: Getty
      Vieira impressed with his key contributions from midfieldCredit: Dan Weir / MatchDay Images Limited
      But Mikel Arteta’s side got their act together and outclassed Oxford.
      Mohamed Elneny powered home a header after the hour mark from Fabio Vieira’s free-kick.
      Before two brilliantly taken goals from Eddie Nketiah sealed passage to the fourth round.
      Up next will be Manchester City in a mouth-watering cup-clash.

      SunSport’s Kiro Evans runs through who impressed, and who didn’t, for Arsenal tonight.
      Matt Turner – 7
      The American had to come storming off his line to charge down Matty Taylor at the beginning of the second-half.
      Apart from a couple of nervy moments in possession in the first 45, it was a straightforward evening for the back-up keeper.
      Takehiro Tomiyasu – 6
      Not always the most attacking full-back but Tomiyasu made some decent overlaps down the right of Bukayo Saka in search of an opening.
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      More memorably he caused chaos in the box for Oxford keeper Edward McGinty during corners.
      Rob Holding – 6
      Not always comfortable in possession but enjoyed a decent night deputising for William Saliba.
      More opportunities should beckon for the defender with the Europa League knock-outs quickly approaching.
      Gabriel – 7
      Spent far too much time with the ball at his feet in the first-half as Arsenal coasted.
      But looked steady at the back otherwise and made a couple of key interceptions and defensive headers.
      Kieran Tierney – 5
      Struggled to impose himself in the game and did not do enough going forward to worry Oxford.
      It was unsurprising to see him taken off after an hour.
      Elneny’s well-taken header provided the all-important breakthroughCredit: Reuters
      Mohamed Elneny – 7
      The Egyptian was not enjoying easiest game against Oxford’s robust midfield but got the breakthrough with a bullet header in the second-half.
      It was a nice moment for Elneny who struggled to replicate the dominance and control that either Granit Xhaka or Thomas Partey exercise in the Premier League.
      Albert Sambi Lokonga – 5
      The Belgian midfielder had a good argument for a penalty after his first-half shot appeared to hit the hand of the sliding Elliot Moore.
      But otherwise his performance bordered on the weak and ineffective and it remains difficult to work out what exactly he excels at in midfield.
      Fabio Vieira – 9
      The midfielder was Martin Odegaard’s replacement in midfield and was tasked with providing the creative spark – which he eventually did.
      After a quiet 45, he created a great opening for Bukayo Saka early in the second-half and then whipped in a brilliant free-kick to provide the opener.
      And then he put a fantastic ball on a plate for Bukayo Saka to put the game beyond doubt. Arteta will be watching closely.
      Bukayo Saka – 5
      Uncharacteristically quiet in the opening 45 and overall did not seem like himself.
      Walked off awkwardly in the second-half after 75 minutes of tangling with by aggressive Oxford defenders.
      Eddie Nketiah – 9
      Eddie Nketiah is not Gabriel Jesus. It’s a fact he will be regularly reminded of if he spends more than a minute on Twitter.
      However, not being Jesus is not always a bad thing. Unlike the Brazilian, the 23-year-old is consistently deadly in front of goal.
      Two brilliantly taken chances put this game to bed and underlined Nketiah’s skill of picking up dangerous positions and poaching goals with regularity.
      Eddie Nketiah has had to step in and fill big, Brazilian boots but has regularly found his goal touchCredit: Getty
      Gabriel Martinelli – 6
      Threatened to explode into life on multiple occasions but Oxford managed to re-apply the shackles before any damage was done.
      Ultimately would have wanted to contribute more.
      Subs
      Oleksandr Zinchenko (for Tierney, 60mins) – 7
      A decent appearance off the bench as he kept things steady and helped Arsenal control the ball.
      Granit Xhaka (for Lokonga, 60mins) – 7
      After watching Arsenal flounder for an hour, Granit Xhaka came off the bench and all seemed right for the Gunners again.
      He took control of the midfield and suddenly Oxford looked far less comfortable bossing the Premier League leaders around.
      Emile Smith Rowe (for Saka, 74 mins) – 6
      How good was it to see Emile Smith Rowe back? The midfielder has missed most of the season with injury but returned off the bench at the Kassam Stadium.
      And he almost scored on his comeback but had to watch his effort get deflected wide.
      Read More on The Sun
      Ben White (for Tomiyasu, 81 mins) – 6
      Did not get the chance to do much in his small cameo appearance.
      Marquinhos (for Vieira, 81 mins) – 6
      Off the bench late and did not find the time to make an impact with the game wrapped up. More

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      Graham Potter still sounds like he’s a mid-table manager and at an elite club like Chelsea that is not acceptable

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      THE problem with Graham Potter is that he still sounds like he’s the Brighton manager.After Chelsea were trounced at Manchester City in the FA Cup on Sunday, the Blues boss listed the teams his injury-ravaged side had been beaten by during their miserable run of three wins in 12 matches.
      Graham Potter has had a shaky start as Chelsea managerCredit: Getty
      He noted that Chelsea had lost four Premier League games — 1-0 to Newcastle, Arsenal and Manchester City and 4-1 “on a bad day at Brighton”.
      And had Potter still been manager of a mid-table club with mid-table aspirations, that would all have sounded perfectly acceptable.
      But not at Chelsea. Not even with ten players out injured. And certainly after their “painful” first-half no-show against a below-strength City.
      At an elite club, you cannot shrug shoulders at any defeat. There is a constant expectation to win. That’s why you get the big bucks.
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      A manager’s mindset, the way he works, what he says to his players and in public, must alter drastically.
      But Potter sounds like a mid-table manager in public and as a result he is losing the faith of many supporters.
      If he sounds like a mid-table manager in the dressing room and on the training field then he will lose the belief of many players.
      Now, this column advocated Potter for a major job just days before Chelsea owner Todd Boehly poached him from Brighton.
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      It was an enlightened move, a refreshing one for an English coaching community lacking in opportunity, and it suggested Boehly was going to be a very different owner to Roman Abramovich.
      Most neutrals will hope Boehly stays loyal to Potter — but, frankly, it doesn’t matter a stuff what neutrals think.
      Chelsea’s supporters — who gorged on glory for two decades under Vladimir Putin’s chum — have already turned on Potter and, at the Etihad, it felt as if several players were unconvinced as well.
      Potter is far from the only manager to suffer severe difficulties when taking such a step up.
      Potter applauds the Chelsea fans following Sunday’s mauling at Manchester City but the Blues’ supporters are fast losing faith in their bossCredit: AFP
      When David Moyes moved from Everton to Manchester United and when Roy Hodgson switched from Fulham to Liverpool, two outstanding managers of “lesser” Premier League clubs swiftly looked and sounded out of their depth.
      United players complained that Moyes was too concerned with opposition players — as he would have been at Everton — rather than concentrating on their own strengths.
      The fact that Moyes took with him his entire Goodison Park backroom team — as Potter took his staff from Brighton to Chelsea — made senior players feel as if they, the dominant force in the English game, were “turning into Everton”.
      At Liverpool, Hodgson had a habit of talking up results and performances which would have been accepted at Fulham but not at Anfield.
      Potter is far from the only manager to suffer severe difficulties when taking such a step up.
      These were tough gigs — Moyes with the near-impossible task of succeeding Sir Alex Ferguson, and Hodgson arriving at Liverpool while co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett were staging a civil war.
      Similarly, Potter is taking charge at a club reeling from the abrupt end of the Abramovich era.
      There is an excellent argument to keep faith with Potter, to write off this season and accept a lack of Champions League football next.
      The obvious example is Mikel Arteta. His Arsenal side were 15th at Christmas just two seasons ago, yet the Gunners hierarchy held firm and the Spaniard has now led them to the Premier League summit.
      Potter, a gifted coach with an excellent track record at lesser clubs, might well be capable of the same.
      Yet Arteta was a former Arsenal captain who knew the club. And the absence of match-going fans through the pandemic avoided the sort of scenes Potter endured on Sunday when Chelsea supporters sang for his predecessor, Thomas Tuchel, and booed off their team.

      It is not easy for a manager, his players nor an owner to ignore terrace opposition for long.
      On Thursday, Chelsea visit their in-form neighbours Fulham, who have beaten them just once in their last FORTY meetings.
      The only Blues boss to lose at Craven Cottage since the 70s was Jose Mourinho.
      On that occasion, in 2006, Mourinho dragged off two players inside 25 minutes, raged against refereeing injustice and publicly monstered his team.
      The likeably modest Potter wouldn’t react like that. But, then again, likeable modesty was never in the Chelsea job spec.
      ERIK WOUT FOR GLORY
      IF Manchester United had been seriously considering signing Wout Weghorst — the Dutch targetman relegated with Burnley last season — at pretty much any other time in the last decade, the idea would have been shouted down.
      It is testimony to the job Erik ten Hag is doing that many are seeing Weghorst as a potentially canny signing.
      Wout Weghorst is a potentially canny signing for Manchester UnitedCredit: Getty
      Weghorst is no celebrity.
      He won’t sell much merchandise or have an army of Instagram followers.
      But under Ten Hag, Manchester United feel like a football club, not a commercial club, once more.
      JUR NOT ON
      JURGEN KLOPP dislikes FA Cup replays so much, the last time Liverpool were involved in one against Shrewsbury in 2020, he sent Under-23s boss Neil Critchley to take charge of the match.
      Now that refereeing blunders have gifted his team a second stab at Wolves in a replay at Molineux next week, the question is whether Klopp — who earns £15million a year — will even bother to turn up for work this time.
      ED IN THE GAME
      NEWCASTLE have waited more than half a century for a trophy, so their fans would love to win the FA Cup more keenly than those of any other major English club.
      However, since the Geordie Arabia revolution their two ties in the competition have resulted in humiliating defeats by League One sides Cambridge and Sheffield Wednesday.
      Toon boss Eddie Howe is currently bulletproof — but fail to beat Leicester at home in tonight’s Carabao Cup quarter-final and his decision to field a significantly weakened team at Hillsborough will look like a major miscalculation.
      TRENT ON TO A LEWSER
      WATCHING Manchester City’s England Under-19 right-back Rico Lewis star in his side’s Premier League win at Chelsea last week, something became apparent.
      Pretty soon, Trent Alexander-Arnold won’t even be Gareth Southgate’s fourth-choice right-back, he’ll be fifth.
      Premier League ref Paul Tierney has shaved his head – like the game’s top whistlersCredit: Rex
      TIERNEY’S BALD AMBITION
      PIERLUIGI COLLINA, a former World Cup final referee and current Fifa refs’ boss, is as bald as a coot.
      Howard Webb, former World Cup final referee and new Premier League refs’ boss, is as bald as a coot.
      This year’s excellent World Cup final referee Szymon Marciniak, is as bald as a coot.
      And apparently it has not gone unnoticed in refereeing circles that ambitious top-flight ref Paul Tierney has had all his hair shaved off . . . 
      GOOD EVANS, EMI
      THE best revelation of FA Cup weekend was that Aston Villa’s World Cup-winning keeper Emi Martinez once played for Stevenage’s larger-than-life boss Steve Evans on loan at Rotherham — and that the two have remained in touch.
      There we were wondering who could possibly have inspired the Argie star to pretend Fifa’s Golden Glove trophy was his willy in that World Cup presentation . . .
      Emiliano Martinez celebrating with his World Cup Golden Glove awardCredit: PA
      SEND THEM TO COVENTRY
      DON’T you just love the romance of the Cup — especially when a non-league team defeats a former winner of the competition?
      Such as filthy-rich Hollywood-owned Wrexham dumping out a destitute Coventry City frequently threatened by homelessness . . . 
      Read More on The Sun
      HARRY SWINGS LOW
      IT turns out Prince Harry has done coke, weed, magic mushrooms, fought with his brother, dressed up as a Nazi, boasted about shooting people and been spanked in a field by a horsey older woman.
      So what? We already knew Harry was a rugby union fan.He just sounds like every other posh rugger   bugger you’ve ever met in the pub. More