Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham Hotspur must put the disappointing result at Selhurst Park behind them as they look to continue quest to secure Champions League football come the end of the season.

Going to Crystal Palace is always a tough task, but with the recent arrival of their new boss Alan Pardew, it was an even harder test for Spurs to overcome. For 69 minutes, Tottenham looked as though they had weathered the Selhurst Park storm, and were likely to head back to London with all three points, only for Dwight Gayle to coolly dispatch a controversial penalty and Jason Puncheon strike late to dash the Lilywhites’ hopes.

But it’s very important for Pochettino’s side that they quickly put the defeat to the back of their minds and get their season back on track as soon as possible – starting with Sunderland at White Hart Lane on Saturday. Tottenham have played the most games of any Premier League team so far and Mauricio Pochettino will have to utilise his whole squad in the coming months.

The Spurs head coach told the Independent: “We need to analyse all the players who played on Saturday (in the 2-1 defeat at Crystal Palace) and then we see who has a chance.”

The former Saints boss added; “Since the beginning of the season we have played 34 games, and we are the team who has played more than anyone. We need to manage. All players are important. We will see who can play.”

It’s been a rollercoaster season for Spurs so far. Things did not bode well for the North London club after being jeered off at White Hart Lane in a 2-1 defeat to Stoke City in Novemeber, but Tottenham have really got their act together. The Lilywhites have only lost twice in the league since then – Sunday’s 2-1 defeat to Palace, and a 3-0 loss at Stamford Bridge in early-December.

Exciting times lay ahead for the Spurs fans. As well as going well in the league, Tottenham have progressed into the knockout stages of the Europa League and are in the semi-final of the Capital One Cup. There they face two-legs against League One side Sheffield United, and after coming from two goals down, they eventually beat Burnley 4-2 in an FA Cup third round replay to set up a fourth round tie with Leicester City.

Mauricio Pochettino’s footballing philosophy that worked so well at Southampton last season, is starting to take affect at Tottenham Hotspur this term. Not only are Spurs getting the right results, they are starting to play some very attractive football too. Their shining light this season, is unquestionably the emergence of young Harry Kane.

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The 21-year-old has been in devastating form for the Lilywhites this season, scoring a phenomenal 17 goals in all competitions so far – including an impressive seven in his last eight appearances. Tottenham are currently three points off of Manchester United who occupy the last Champions League qualifying place.

Although Saturday’s result was no doubt a setback, Spurs are more than capable of putting things right straight away. Pochettino’s side have a run of very winnable games approaching, and if things go to plan, they should be contesting a League Cup final on March 1st.

Chelsea failed to take full advantage of Manchester City’s surprise defeat to Burnley at the weekend, with Jose Mourinho’s side held 1-1 at home by Southampton.

The Saints have proven this season that they are a hard-working and technically able side, with Ronald Koeman’s team unlucky not to leave Stamford Bridge with all three points.

Although it was an impressive collective performance from the South coast outfit, one man stood out however.

Morgan Schneiderlin’s considerable qualities are not a secret, but the French midfielder reminded the footballing world of why he is so highly rated by Southampton with a fantastic personal performance in West London.

The 25-year-old put in a talismanic showing and was a leader for the visiting side.

The France international was up against arguably the best defensive midfielder in the division, Nemanja Matic, but outplayed the Serbian enforcer.

Schneiderlin won ten tackles in the clash, while also intercepting Blues possession on nine occasions.

His hard work, positional discipline and sheer guts were key to the Saints winning the midfield battle and inhibiting Chelsea’s attacking stars as a result.

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Meanwhile, in possession Schneiderlin looked assured, with the bulk of Southampton’s passing style going through the critical midfielder.

Schneiderlin’s future has been a real point of debate over the last 12 months, with the Frenchman widely expected to join team-mates in a St Mary’s exodus last summer.

However, despite allowing the likes of Luke Shaw and Adam Lallana to` leave the club, Southampton refused to budge on their midfield general and insisted he was not for sale.

This stubborn approach has failed to end the speculation, with North London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham both heavily linked with a move for Schneiderlin at the end of the current campaign.

Although Koeman’s men will surely try to rebuff any potential approaches, the French star seems like the perfect addition for the Gunners.

Although the rise of Francis Coquelin has been notable this season, Schneiderlin offers something more going forward and would be the ideal box-to-box partner for the current incumbent in Arsenal’s midfield.

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The 25-year-old has the energy and desire to help Arsene Wenger’s men finally cast aside accusations of being too lightweight and a pushover in the boiler room, with a combination between Schneiderlin and Coquelin is an enticing proposition.

The Southampton man’s presence would allow the likes of Aaron Ramsey, Mesut Ozil and Santi Cazorla much more freedom to get forward and provide Arsenal’s defence a fantastic two-man screen.

His range of passing and urgency when in possession would also be an additional string to Arsenal’s bow and make the Gunners a much more dangerous proposition.

It is with good reason that Arsenal are continuing to be linked with the Southampton star; his arrival at the Emirates Stadium this summer could well be the spark to see Wenger’s side put forward a title challenge next season.

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Amid several murmurings that the Red Devils striker faces being left out of Manchester United’s future plans under Louis van Gaal next season, 31-year-old Robin van Persie isn’t exactly as widely revered around Old Trafford as he was just a few seasons back.

Before the talismanic No. 20 was ruled out for a lengthy spell on the side-lines with an ankle injury this term, Van Persie could simply do no wrong in the Premier League. He proved to be one of the major contributors behind United’s last league trophy success and seemingly won the world over as perhaps the best centre-forward European football had to offer.

In the wake of his latest injury, however, Manchester United have somewhat pushed on without their classy Dutchman on board – and have maybe even looked an all-round stronger unit as a result of his absence.

So, even if the former Gunners hero eventually returns to full fitness with a point to prove for Louis van Gaal next season, does Robin van Persie still have a meaningful future at Manchester United?

At the not so prime age of 31-years-old, perhaps it would be wise to say no, van Persie’s days in the ever-desired Red Devils shirt seem to be fast approaching their end. Obviously such a statement can be said a great deal easier when the player himself is currently injured and not out on the pitch doing his thing, but ultimately Premier League football doesn’t stop for anybody in today’s era – even those who used to boss proceedings in their pomp.

Back when he first emerged under Arsene Wenger at Arsenal, and even in his debut season for Manchester United, the Feyenoord graduate was pretty much untouchable. He had the intelligence and vision necessary to make it at the top, a confidence in front of goal that just isn’t found easily in the modern game – and with a vast array of elegance and technical skill frequently on offer from the Dutch international – Robin van Persie went down as an entertainer as well as a successful goal-scorer.

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His left foot was, and still likely is to a large degree, capable of wondrous feats. In true Marco van Basten style, the former Gunners man would take on shots from ridiculous angles, yet often came out on top as a result of his wild ambition. Van Persie just scores great goals for fun, so even if Manchester United decide to cash in on their star man in the summer, that notion won’t just up and disappear any time soon.

However, whether or not the technically gifted striker could still do the business at Old Trafford next season still remains questionable at best.

The Dutchman just seems to have lost his mojo somewhat under Louis van Gaal in 2014/15. Yes, injuries definitely haven’t helped, yes the manager’s team selections have been a bit all over the place and not left much room for momentum to grow, but in the end Robin van Persie still hasn’t been at his very best for a while now, even alongside some of the most high profile talent money can buy.

Perhaps he was somewhat sold short by Sir Alex Ferguson back when he first arrived at the club. The Scotsman’s retirement and the subsequent appointment of David Moyes were probably not in Van Persie’s thoughts when he initially joined up with the Red Devils, So while his most recent form has certainly been somewhat disappointing of late, it could be fair to suggest that the striker never expected to find himself in the scenario he is now.

Quite clearly he should have just stayed at the Emirates all along then. Despite the fact that he has now successfully won the illustrious Premier League title that so eluded him and his Gunners teammates at Arsenal, if van Persie had ultimately stayed loyal to Wenger, he would still have a place to call home now – in this somewhat stagnant and directionless period of his career.

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As the deadly No. 20 might just be available for the upcoming Manchester derby however, maybe the perfect opportunity to re-ignite his hero status in the Premier League is waiting just around the corner for the ever talked about Robin van Persie.

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Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has rejected the label that his team are boring following their 0-0 draw with Arsenal on Sunday, according to reports from the Mirror.

Gunners fans at the Emirates were singing ‘Boring, boring Chelsea’ as the Blues held out for a stalemate, but Mourinho has hit back by insisting that 10 years without a title for Arsenal is what’s boring.

WANT MORE? >> Chelsea transfer news | Latest transfer news

He said: “You know, boring I think is ten years without a title. That’s very boring.

“You support the club and you’re waiting, waiting, waiting for so many years without a Premier League title, so that’s very boring. But maybe they aren’t singing to us.

“Maybe, when you want to win a game and you’re at home and you take No9 off, maybe the home fans want to see Welbeck and Giroud up front. We had a very good experience.

“The boring team is the second team with more goals in the Premier League, the best team with the best goal difference. Only Manchester City have scored more goals than us.”

The Portuguese manager also pointed to his lack of strikers as a reason for his tactical setup, which saw the Blues start the game with four defenders and six midfielders.

“So I think we scored a lot of goals and, in a period where we don’t have Diego Costa or Loic Remy and we have only one striker, we need to work in a way where he can help us with all the matches we are having.

“We changed a bit our dynamic and we are not scoring so many goals as before. But, even so, we are the second team with more goals.”

Mourinho also believed that his side should have been awarded a penalty when Arsenal goalkeeper David Ospina took out Oscar in the area, with the Brazilian required to go to a hospital with a concussion.

The result pushed Chelsea even closer to the league title as they lead second place Manchester City by ten points, and will only need six more out of their remaining five fixtures to mathematically become champions.

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Fabio Borini is ready to leave Liverpool this summer and will have plenty of clubs to choose from, according to his agent Marco De Marchi.

The one-cap Italy international only made 12 Premier League appearances for the Reds last term after opting out of moves to both QPR and Sunderland last year in a bid to fight for his future at Anfield.

Brendan Rodgers’ decision to overlook him on multiple occasions – often deploying Raheem Sterling as a striker or using a ‘false nine’ system – has meant that the writing has been on the wall for the 24-year-old forward for some time, and now his agent, De Marchi, has confirmed that the ex-Chelsea and Swansea player is ready to move on:

WANT MORE? >> Liverpool transfer news | Latest transfer news

“Fabio wants a new experience,” he is quoted by talkSPORT. “We expected more consideration from Liverpool.

“There are teams from all over Europe interested in him.

“Top clubs in Europe are keen on him, from the Premier League to the Bundesliga and there also clubs in Italy, but many clubs in Italy have had coaching changes and that has slowed things down.

“He has no preference, he just wants a team that gives him a clear chance to prove himself.

“Right now he feels like a lion in a cage.”

Liverpool reportedly agreed a £14m deal with Sunderland for the striker last year following his fine loan spell at the Stadium of Light, but the payer himself turned down the move.

De Marchi has hinted that, although the price-tag remains in place, his client may move for a lower fee:

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“His current value is that given by Sunderland last year,” he said. “However, that figure could be affected by the season he’s had at Liverpool and the fact that in a year his contract runs out.

“For the time being, everything is on standby as the player is currently on his honeymoon but will return shortly.”

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The career of Andy Carroll is in the sort of gentle downwards spiral that looks comfortingly similar to so many we have seen before.

Kieron Dyer, Micah Richards and Joe Cole have all seen injuries ruin their careers but Carroll has yet to even get close to the heights that those three achieved, albeit briefly. Injuries have been Carroll’s downfall until now, but they can easily be used as an excuse for a player who has been a case of transfer misjudgement twice. Both Dalglish and Allardyce were lured into the idea of an ‘old fashioned English centre forward,’ but there is a reason that this type of player is seen as old fashioned and fortunately the English game has moved on for the better.

Carroll may see his future at West Ham, but Bilic, if he is to be as good as expected, must look to move on the ex-Newcastle man. The current West Ham squad has had a revamp worthy of a Sarah Beeny programme in the last couple of summers and Andy Carroll no longer fits the profile of a squad that should be looking at challenging for European football.

Yes, of course, squads need different options, but Carroll is an expensive plan C and his own development will be dramatically stunted if he is to spend another season or two on the fringes.

Diafra Sakho, Enner Valencia and Dimitri Payet are the faces of a new West Ham side, who have a new image of pace, guile and flair that isn’t exactly associated with Andy Carroll’s clumsy ‘target man’ play. The system to be favoured at West Ham is nothing set in stone as of yet, but we can be sure that the style of play will not be an Allardyce-esque long ball towards a big centre forward and will instead focus on playing through the quality of their midfield. Bilic might want to keep Carroll as a second option, but the Geordie needs to do the best for his own career and at 26 it is time for Carroll to play a full season.

Carroll is a throwback for many and West Ham are not looking to build around their big money signing anymore. Persisting injuries meant he has never really made a name for himself at West Ham and it is hard to imagine many other players with such unjustified reputations like Carroll. The difference from Carroll to other back-to-goal stars is his simple technique. Capable of winning the ball aerially, he has no subtlety to his heading direction and does not seem to have the ability to control and bring others into play. Peter Crouch, for example, is an infinitely better footballer than the ex-Liverpool star and has rightly enjoyed a better career in the top flight to date.

The obscene amounts of money thrown at Carroll by both Liverpool and West Ham will make any future move difficult. West Ham are unlikely to get anywhere near the amount they paid out and other clubs are not going to stump up a considerable amount of money for someone who seems to always be blaming his fitness for indifferent form. Injuries are a curse, but Carroll, unlike many, has never looked a player capable of living up to his hype regardless of fitness.

Pressure is piled onto English players and they deserve a bit of sympathy for such scrutiny. Carroll, however, has actually faced a ludicrous amount of praise for his performances. Both Rickie Lambert and Charlie Austin have risen through the leagues to demonstrate their own games that are so largely more mature, complex and talent-filled than Carroll’s.

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Carroll needs a fresh start (again) for his own sake and West Ham need to move ‘Big Andy’ on to create space for a player far more adept at playing for a side aiming at the top half.

Is Andy Carroll the worst signing (for both West Ham and Liverpool) of the Premier League era? And, has any club ever pulled off a better sale than Newcastle?

To celebrate 25 years of the Premier League each week in Football Fancast we’re going to be looking back at a memorable game that took place on the corresponding date. This time out we revisit a New Year’s Eve cracker that saw a relegation doomed side play the role of party poopers.

Nobody expected Blackburn Rovers to come away from Old Trafford on New Year’s Eve 2011 with all three points. Not the bookies who had them down at a mind-boggling 28-1 to achieve the feat. Not Sir Alex Ferguson who had one eye on Manchester United’s imminent away trip to Newcastle, a priority so pressing that he was content to omit a fit and firing Wayne Rooney from the squad despite the Reds being already depleted through injuries. And certainly not the general public who tuned in expecting a predictable drubbing dished out from a team one victory away from the top to a beleaguered side rock bottom of the Premier League.

Looking back though the clues were there that something memorable might just be on the cards. Each and every week the Rovers fans would sing for the dismissal of Steve Kean, a manager who was as unpopular among the Ewood Park faithful as he was ill-rated elsewhere. Yet the previous week, on Boxing Day, he had orchestrated a stellar 1-1 draw at Anfield and there were tentative signs that he was beginning to get some fight out of a side that included such obscure quiz answers as Mauro Formica, Ruben Rochina, and Radosav Petrovic. This trio accumulated 93 appearances for Blackburn during this miserable campaign. It’s fair to say this was not a vintage Rovers eleven.

Additionally United really were weakened by key absences, an injury list so severe that Ferguson had the straight choice in midfield of converting full-back Rafael Da Silva into a holding role for the day or turning to a promising academy player who was ripe for a debut. His name, if you haven’t already guessed, was Paul Pogba.

In the event, the gum-chewing veteran went with the Brazilian which reportedly peeved Pogba off no end, not that Fergie particularly cared for this game coincided with his 70th birthday and prior to kick-off the deserved acclaim flooded in. Now there was just the small matter of dispensing with a poor Blackburn side and taking the lead in a fiercely contested title race with City.

It didn’t take long for things to go awry. Dimitar Berbatov was probably not the ideal player to be marking the man-mountain Chris Samba at a corner and the Bulgarian displayed his defensive shortcomings by hauling the Rovers centre-back to the ground right in front of referee Mike Dean. Yakubu converted from the spot and it was very much game on.

Surprisingly United didn’t retaliate in the manner that we had all come accustomed to. There were dribs and drabs of attacking intent but Rovers had recently dealt with much worse at Anfield and were coping comfortably. For the remainder of the first half it was a rather insipid affair.

When Carrick, Nani and co emerged from the tunnel a full few minutes before the visitors after the break we can only imagine the settings on Ferguson’s hairdryer and sure enough a more cohesive and adventurous United resumed proceedings. A comeback seemed inevitable until Yakubu scored again, this time against the run of play, with an accurate angled drive past a stranded De Gea. The stadium deflated. This was Blackburn. This was Ferguson’s birthday. This wasn’t supposed to happen.

But then, almost immediately, the fightback was on. Berbatov took full advantage of a stray shot to head home and soon after the laid-back prowler grabbed a second benefitting from splendid work by Valencia out wide. United had scored ten in their previous two games and perhaps it was this momentum that took them forward now, pressing and pushing for a decider.

With ten minutes to go the decider duly came only to the shock of everyone concerned it took place in the opposing goalmouth.  David de Gea had looked nervy throughout and his unorthodox attempt to punch away a corner only spooned the ball into the air on contact with the burly youngster Grant Hanley. The teen merely had to nod it into the unguarded net to complete a quite remarkable score-line.

“This is the sort of result that can really make a young lad’s career,” an ecstatic Kean said later, referring not only to his Scottish defender but a team tender in years. Sadly the same did not apply to the manager who lasted another nine months before the Ewood Park faithful finally got their wish.

What happened next?

United were pipped to the title in the most extraordinary of last-gasp circumstances. In the summer of introspection that followed it’s hard not to believe that this result stood out as the one that got away.

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Blackburn were ultimately relegated, a woeful late run-in revealing that the fight and spirit shown at Old Trafford was sadly an exception to the norm.

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According to reports in The Mirror, Everton manager Sam Allardyce wants to offer Arsenal winger Theo Walcott an escape route of the Emirates Stadium during the January transfer window.

Despite scoring 19 goals in 37 appearances in all competitions last season, the 28-year-old has only featured for 46 minutes across three substitute appearances in the Premier League this term, with the majority of his outings coming in the Europa League and the EFL Cup.

The Mirror says that Allardyce believes the forward can add a goal threat and some pace to his Toffees side, but the potential arrival of the England international at Goodison Park would cast plenty of doubt over the future of Aaron Lennon.

Meanwhile, Leeds United have bounced back from a sticky patch of form to remain in the promotion race in the Championship, and the Whites currently lie one point outside of the play-off positions.

Manager Thomas Christiansen will already be thinking about additions he could make in the New Year to help them secure a top-six finish come what May, and bringing Lennon back to Elland Road 12-and-a-half years after he left for Tottenham could prove to be a shrewd move.

Here are three reasons Leeds should re-sign the 30-year-old if Everton buy Walcott…

They need more depth out wide

While summer addition Ezgjan Alioski has impressed and been a regular for Leeds this season – he has scored five goals and provided a further four assists in 20 Championship appearances this term – it’s also fair to say that he hasn’t exactly had lots of competition for his spot in the team.

The 25-year-old has played on both flanks during the current campaign, but with Pablo Hernandez injured in recent weeks and Kemar Roofe starting up top, Pawel Cibicki was given a rare start on the right against Norwich City last weekend despite usually playing as a striker.

It showed the lack of depth that the Yorkshire outfit have out wide, and if Thomas Christiansen could bring Lennon back to Elland Road then it would go some way to improving the issue.

He will want to play regularly

Lennon looked to be out of favour under former Everton manager Ronald Koeman, but the appointment of David Unsworth as caretaker boss and then Sam Allardyce permanently as seen the 30-year-old return to the first-team fold.

The winger has appeared in the Merseyside outfit’s last nine Premier League games – starting the majority of those – but that regular game time could become less and less if the Toffees sign Theo Walcott in January.

With fellow winger Yannick Bolasie edging closer to a return from injury and the club also being linked with another wide-man in PSV Eindhoven’s Hirving Lozano, Lennon may look to move on next month.

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Price tag

Lennon has just six months left on his Everton contract and with no signs yet that he will be offered a new one, he will either leave for a fee in January, or on a free next summer.

That is certainly a fact that will interest Leeds and Christiansen, who may relish the opportunity to bring the 30-year-old back to the club for a cut-price fee to boost their promotion push in the second-half of the campaign, as well as exciting the Elland Road faithful by bringing one of their own back home.

Do you agree, Leeds fans? Let us know below.

According to online bookmakers Ladbrokes, Southampton have been installed as the 7/4 favourites to sign Bristol City attacker Bobby Reid, and Saints fans have been quick to have their say on the 24-year-old.

Ladbrokes reports that the south coast outfit are leading the way in the race to sign the Championship star, with their Premier League rivals West Ham United, Leicester City, Newcastle United and West Bromwich Albion also said to be in the running.

Reid scored from the penalty spot for the Robins in their 2-1 defeat against Manchester City in the first leg of their EFL Cup semi-final tie at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday night, and he has also netted 12 league goals this term – just under half of his total tally of 25 during his career.

Southampton supporters took to social media to give their thoughts on the rumour, and while one said his goalscoring record “would give Shane Long a run for his money” with the Irishman not known for being prolific, another said “why not just give Sam Gallagher a go”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

Manchester United midfield duo Nemanja Matic and Paul Pogba struggled in their side’s 2-0 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley on Wednesday night, and Red Devils fans have urged the club to sign Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, rated at £49.5m according to Transfermarkt, in the summer as a result.

The duo started as the deep-lying midfield players in Jose Mourinho’s preferred 4-2-3-1 system, but they were overrun and lethargic against the likes of Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli and Son Heung-Min, with the former giving Spurs the lead after just 11 seconds.

Matic was also left on his own far too often as Pogba looked to break forward, and the Old Trafford faithful know who they want to see arrive at the club at the end of the campaign to solve the issue – Milinkovic-Savic who has been an impressive performer for the Serie A outfit with nine goals in 29 games this season.

Man United supporters took to social media to give their thoughts on the situation, and while one said “this game was a clear reflection of why United need to sign Sergej Milinkovic-Savic in the summer”, another simply said “Matic out, Mili-Savic in”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…