All posts by h79snht.top

Michail Antonio has established himself as a key player for West Ham United in recent seasons and he’s proven to be vital this term.With eight goals this season, Antonio is way ahead of the chasing pack as West Ham’s leading scorer in the Premier League and that could suggest where the Hammers’ problems lie, as no other player has more than three goals.[ad_pod id=’now-tv’ align=’centre’]In fact, Antonio has led the way valiantly over the past two seasons and his tally of eight goals has seen him equal the number he set during the entirety of the last campaign.

Whilst it shows that West Ham have a very capable asset on their hands that they need to hold on to, it makes it clear that a top-class striker is desperately needed at the Olympic Stadium and the club have to splash out this January.

It says a lot that Andy Carroll is the only recognised striker to have found the net in the Premier League this season, netting two goals.

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Sunderland have a tough battle ahead in second half of the Premier League season. Currently in 19th place, they’re a point behind safety.

If they’re to avoid the drop they need a massive improvement. They’ve won just four of their twenty-one games this term, drawing another three for a points total of just fifteen.

David Moyes has struggled to get his team playing and that’s never been more true than over the last month with the Black Cats failing to win their last six matches in all competitions.

An exit in the FA Cup to Burnley has only added to their woes and they must regroup now or face dropping into the Championship.

Is there hope for them? Can they turn this around? They certainly have some quality in their team so if they can make a few key changes then they have every chance.

Here are FIVE things they must do if they are to avoid relegation in May…

Keep Defoe

At times this season, Jermain Defoe has been the only thing keeping Sunderland going. His form for the Black Cats has raised speculation that he could be set for a move away from the Stadium of Light this January.

If that happens, we can’t see any way Sunderland can avoid the drop. Moyes will know this and must be doing everything in his power to keep him at the club.

The former England international has scored 12 goals already this season, just a few behind the league’s top scorers, who are playing for successful attacking teams in the top six of the table.

They say the only thing that keeps you up is goals and Defoe has plenty of them, regardless of how his teammates are playing.

Find a defensive partnership

Sunderland have failed to find a consistent defensive partnership this season that can keep out the opposition. With Lamine Kone in Africa on international duty, the problem is only heightened this month.

The Black Cats have only kept two clean sheets in their last 10 matches and are often starting games knowing they’ll have to score a double to even have a chance of winning.

That can’t continue and Moyes must find an answer across the backline whether from within the squad, from his options in the youth teams or in the transfer market.

If they continue to ship goals at the current rate they’ll be playing in the Championship next season. Only Hull and Swansea have conceded more than them so far.

Add more creativity

With a striker of Jermain Defoe’s quality leading their attack, Sunderland should really be scoring more goals. Only two teams, Middlesbrough and Southampton, have scored less than they have this season.

A large part of that is their lack of creativity. It says everything that the man with most assists in the team is Defoe himself, and he only has two.

The likes of Fabio Borini and Adnan Januzaj should really be contributing more. Moyes must get his team on the ball more in the final third to allow what little creative talent they have to conjure up more chances.

Defoe may be scoring plenty, but he can’t keep doing it on his own.

Bring in competition for Mannone

The injury to Jordan Pickford has been a massive blow to the Black Cats. Since Mannone has come in, he’s conceded 11 goals in 5 matches.

Pickford is likely to be out for the rest of January as well as February and that’s too long to go without quality between the sticks. Whether it’s a loan move or a permanent deal, Moyes needs to work his contacts like never before to add a presence at the back who can win points for Sunderland.

By the time Pickford is fully fit and able to play, it could be too late for their hopes of staying up.

Turn up at home

Sunderland’s home form has been dismal this season but it’s where recovery is most likely to come from. Eleven of their fifteen points this season have come at the Stadium of Light.

They’ve failed to win their last three matches at home though and they must start capitalising on the energy of the Black Cats supporters.

Results like the 3-1 loss in the latest home fixture against Stoke are simply unacceptable. A few more like that and even Sunderland’s famous resilience in the latter stages of the season won’t be enough to stop the inevitable.

Unfortunately their next set of home fixtures are as tough as they come with matches against Spurs, Man City and Southampton over the next 6 weeks.

Can they find the strength and pride needed to show they’re no pushovers in their own manor?

Every great adventure has a journey. And every journey has a story behind it. Nowhere is that more true than in football.

From fans who follow their side across the country to the clubs themselves whose season can definitely be described as a journey. Europcar, Arsenal’s official car and van rental partner, understands that the journey is just important as the destination. They have been exploring the ‘Footballing journey’ this season to discover the stories behind some great and meaningful journeys.

They recently managed to sit down with three Arsenal players to find out about their footballing journeys throughout their careers…

Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin knows a thing or two about travelling.

The youngster has established himself as one of the best defenders in the game over the last few years and, as a result, has had the privilege of playing the game all over the world.

He may still only be young but the Spaniard will already be used to spending most of his time travelling to and from games, especially as Arsenal continue to compete in Europe consistently – 24 consecutive years to be precise.

Bellerin recently told Europcar, Arsenal’s official car and van rental partner, about his traveling habits, from his best journey to the music he prefers to listen to when travelling and the ground he enjoys traveling to most.

He explains what surprises him when he’s travelling in Turkey, his love for house/hip-hop and why he enjoys reading on long journeys.

You can see what the defender and his teammates enjoy/dislike about their travels in the video below…

Worst journey to a match?

Probably when we’ve travelled to Turkey, people over there – there’s four lanes in the motorway and they use six. It’s quite chaotic, but it’s nice to travel to a different country though and see how it is – to see the different cultures.

Aside from Emirates Stadium, which ground is your favourite to travel to?

Even though it’s pretty close I would say Vicarage Road, because I played there for a few months a couple of years ago and it’s like a second home for me when we play there.

Which is your favourite ground to play at?

I would say Old Trafford is a pretty good ground to play at, I won a tournament over there when I was 15 years old with Barcelona which was a pretty big thing. Every time I play there I remember that time. It’s a special stadium to me. We were champions of the world when we won that tournament, I have special friends still from that year.

Name one item you can’t travel without…

Apart from my phone probably a book, if it’s a long journey you have a lot of time and I don’t sleep. Right now I’m reading a book by Ed Smith, What Sport Tells Us About Life which is interesting and a good read.

Are you early, late or on time?

I’m always early.

Driver or passenger?

I like driving a lot but if it’s a long journey I prefer to be the passenger.

City or countryside for driving?

I prefer country roads, so you don’t have to stop at every traffic light.

Car journey anthem?

If it’s a long journey something I can get hyped to, because I don’t want to fall asleep or get bored so probably house music or hip hop.

Favourite companion on a long journey?

It would have to be one of my friends, I wouldn’t say one – the friends I live with, we know each other a lot. There’s one who I won’t name but he always falls asleep so he wouldn’t be the best one! He can sleep in the backseat while I talk to another friend in the front!

Read about Granit Xhaka and Mesut Ozil’s travelling habits, too!

Inspired by Iain Macintosh’s journey with Everton on CM01/02, I’ve decided to boot up Football Manager 2017 and take Aston Villa back to the glory days of the 1980s.

Previous episodes: Episode One, Episode Two, Episode Three, Episode Four, Episode Five, Episode Six, Episode Seven, Episode Eight

I gave myself a couple of weeks off just because I can. This isn’t an easy business, it’s tiring.

The news of Tom Ince’s arrival at the end of episode 8 only added to my belief that we can get promoted, despite our severe inconsistencies.

It’s a new year but I intend it to be a new Villa. A Villa that has waved good buy to the past few years of pain, disappointment and underachievement and is now ready to begin competing properly.

I have a month to make some changes to my squad and I intend to use that wisely.

First up, though, is Cardiff away. Ryan Giggs is in charge there and he has them in 18th position, six points off the relegation zone. We’re unbeaten in three games and just six points adrift of the automatic promotion spots.

Here’s a look at my new man. He doesn’t look it but he’s delighted to be here.

Before I can even get down to properly organising for Cardiff I’m asked to confirm Aly Cissokho’s transfer to Burnley for £925k. I completely forgot that was happening. With pleasure.

Now on to more important matters.

Tom Ince will make his debut while Ross McCormack gets a start because, despite his inability to jump over a three foot wall, he doesn’t have such excuses in this world.

If ever there was an award of the worst players in the history of the game, my boys would win it hands down.

He may have scored but at one point Jordan Ayew was capping off an incredible solo run from his own half with a shot from 40 yards that hits the corner flag. Tom Ince did something similar and I’m already considering transfer listing him.

We were 2-0 up after 30 minutes, for heaven’s sake! Then some bloke I’ve never heard gets Giggs’ boys back in it before Rickie Lambert pings in the equaliser from about 25 yards. I’m done.

Ok, so I’m not quite done. Bristol City have just offered me £18.5k to take Alan Hutton off my hands. I’d like a bit of whatever is in the water in Bristol because that’s a lot money for someone who isn’t very good. Accepted.

I’m in a better mood now I know Alan Hutton’s moving on. He’s on £30k-a-week, which I could do a lot with. Hang on, I was paying him more a week in wages than I sold him for. Football.

Regardless of all that, it’s my second Second City Derby and it has even more magic around it. It’s the FA Cup 3rd Round and Birmingham arrive at Villa Park hell bent on revenge after the way I beat them earlier in the season.

I’m making a few changes for this one; Gary Gardner, Tommy Elphick and Felipe Mattioni are replaced by Mile Jedinak, Nathan Baker and Leandro Bacuna.

Win this and it probably won’t matter if I don’t get the club promoted come the end of the season, but I’m not going to take that risk. I fully expect my players to bounce back from dropping two valuable points against Cardiff by dumping the enemy out of the cup.

This was the most one-sided game of football in the history of the game – yet it was goalless. How on earth does that even happen? We had 19 shots and eight corners in the first 45 minutes alone but had absolutely nothing to show for it.

We were huffing and puffing but couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net. I’m pretty sure I could hear sniggers and giggling from the away end, that’s how pathetic we were in front of goal.

Mile Jedinak didn’t help, either. Just thirty seconds in to the second half and he thinks it’d be a wonderful idea to use his fist to win an aerial duel instead of his head. He’s already been booked, early bath.

Thankfully we held on and managed to secure a replay, though Birmingham being in worse than us in front of goal helped too.

I really need to strengthen my squad, that much is clear. Having blown most of my January transfer budget on Tom Ince I now need to be a bit shrewd. I’ve scoured the Premier League U23 sides for some bargains and immediately place a bid for Arsenal’s Rob Holding and ask to loan Chuba Akpom.

Conor Hourihane is also a main target, just like in real life. Realistic, huh!?

Some will say I’m a bit of a wheeler dealer in the transfer market, and they would be right. It is brought to my attention that Diego Poyet is STILL a free agent. Not being able to sign him in the summer because of my own stupidity still keeps me awake at night, so I’ve offered him another contract.

Suddenly I’m on the verge of several January transfers and I need to sell one or two to balance the books. If i could I’d sell each and every one of them.

Akpom joins on loan until the end of the season and Conor Hourihane arrives in a £2.2m deal from Barnsley. Rob Holding also arrives on a permanent deal – £4.5m!

All I need now is Diego Poyet to arrive and my January business will be complete.

A trip to 5th placed Wolves awaits and I couldn’t be more confident. All three of my new signings are thrown straight in to the starting XI.

Three points here will consolidate our position in top six at the very least as we’re three points safe of 7th placed Sheffield Wednesday.

Conor Hourihane, signing of the season? Bit early to make such a bold claim but it took him just 30 seconds to announce himself as a Villa player by scoring this screamer…

But while one new signing made the headlines for all the right reasons, another didn’t. Rob Holding was the defender who was dispossessed in the build up to Wolves’ equaliser but, overall, he did have a decent game so I’ll let him off.

That’s our third consecutive draw but we are five games unbeaten. I feel as though we should have won each of them but with the new signings I’ve made, this is now a good platform to build on.

It’s over a month since we last felt the wrath of defeat and confidence among the squad is high. Despite my constant criticism towards my players, I know I’ve got a good bunch of lads, it’s just a shame they only pick and chose when to turn it on.

It’s time for the replay with Birmingham and as always, losing is not an option. Either Liverpool or Derby await in the 4th round. I’m hoping it’s Derby but pitting my wits against Liverpool is a challenge I relish; I’m desperate to have that opportunity.

In the build up to this huge game, Ross McCormack hands in a transfer request because he’s had his head turned by Hull City. His lack of ambition is infuriating so I agree to let him go if they come in for him, which they haven’t.

As a result I decide I’m going to leave him out of this game but I’m reminded that all three of my new signings are cup tied and I’ve lost Jordan Ayew and Albert Adomah to AFCON, so I have no choice but to play him.

Well, it may have taken extra time but we’ve finally won a game and we’ll welcome Liverpool to Villa Park in the fourth round.

Bringing on Rudy Gestede for the woefully bad Jonathan Kodjia worked wonders. Gestede, who hasn’t exactly been in my plans so far this season, levelled the game 10 minutes after coming on and then nabbed the winner in extra time.

The Villa fans are understandably happy. The enemy have been beaten and it gives them even more satisfaction that the goals were scored by someone as bad as Rudy Gestede.

Preston North End are up next and, as always, I expect victory. They may be in the bottom three but Justin Edinburgh’s men tanked mid-table Brighton 7-0 in their last game, so I’m naturally wary of what they can do to me. After all, I did get smashed 7-0 by Huddersfield earlier in the season, proving my players are not immune to being completely useless.

I can welcome back Akpom, Holding and new hero Hourihane for this and despite him being a complete diva, McCormack starts again. He’s got me by the short and curlys here and it’s getting embarrassing.

Ah, so Tom Ince does still exist. He has been incredibly underwhelming since I signed him but here he finally decided to show his real ability. His first goal was a simple tap in, but his second was out of this world…

We’re now 5th in the league and four points off the top two. Promotion is well and truly in my sights with still a long way to go in the season.

First, though, my biggest test as Aston Villa manager awaits. Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool are in town and I don’t have my strongest squad available.

This could go one of two ways. I pull off a huge FA Cup upset or Liverpool make an example of my tactical ineptness. I can’t help but expect the latter.

Thankfully Ayew and Adomah are back from AFCON, so my top scorer returns to the starting XI without a second thought.

Notice I’ve changed my formation again? I couldn’t risk pushing so many players forward against Liverpool and them punishing me. I want to win this, but will have to do it on the counter, so I’ve gone defensive.

This is where my reputation as the worst tactician in the game is either confirmed or consigned to the history books. This is my moment to prove the world wrong…

Tactically inept, I hear you say? No chance. This guy knows what he’s doing. James Jones has an answer to everything. James Jones knows how to handle the attacking might of Liverpool.

We enjoyed 62% of the possession against a strong Liverpool outfit and have earned a credible draw, forcing a replay at Anfield.

Jurgen Klopp ran out of answers to his own questions. Not even super subs Danny Ings and Sheyi Ojo couldn’t help him. There were confused faces everywhere, even my own admittedly. Did I just do that?

We didn’t win, but we had the chances to do so and no one would’ve denied us the respect had we managed to find a winner. Still, this is an early sign that no only can we compete at Liverpool’s level, I’m actually not a bad tactician. Who’d have thought it after the mess I experienced at the beginning of the season?

The final game of what has been an extremely long January sees us travel to 11th placed Brentford.

It’s a been a good month, particularly when it comes to recruitment. I’m hoping to get rid of a few players to lighten the wage bill before the window slams shut. Hull still haven’t come in for Ross McCormack (lol) and I still can’t believe someone actually paid real money for Alan Hutton.

Diego Poyet hasn’t signed yet. Why is it taking so long?

The moment I reach deadline day, everything happens at once. Crystal Palace make an attractive £9.75m offer for Ayew, rising to £13.25m with add-ons. He’s my top scorer and I don’t have time to replace him so I reject it, and he’s absolutely fuming with me.

He’s so annoyed that he demands I sell him immediately. I tell him to do one, he’s not going anywhere. The team then pipe up and ask why I’m not granting Ayew’s wish of joining Crystal Palace but they’re happy again when I tell him them we’ll be weaker without him. I wanted to tell them that I was actually doing him a favour by not letting him sign for Palace because they’re not very good, but the game doesn’t offer such high banter levels.

Jordan Amavi follows suit because he wants to join Celta Vigo. The same scenario plays out, minus the other team being rubbish banter.

Fulham ask to loan Micah Richards and have asked to buy him for £475k after he plays 20 games. He has no future at Villa Park. Accepted

And Rudy Gestede, who I completely forgot asked to leave the club earlier in the season, will go to Reading on loan until the end of the season. They’re paying 60% of his wages, which is a boost financially.

Deadline Day has been busier than expected and I have a game to prepare for. Playings demanding to be sold, others demanding answers for why their team mates aren’t being sold. What next?

Where the hell is Diego Poyet!?

I’m so overwhelmed by how well my tactics worked against Liverpool I’m using them again here at Griffin Park. It’s dawned on me that all good tacticians have one tactic for home games and teams they should expect to beat, and another for when playing away from home and against tougher opposition. I’m adopting that approach now.

Jordan Ayew’s little episode means he’s benched. He’s sulking. Instead of being in south London to discuss terms with Crystal Palace, he’s sitting on the bench on a freezing cold, hail-ridden night at Griffin Park. Love it.

Another draw, but the performance was very good. I like this new set up. We had 26 attempts on goal, 12 on target and had more of the ball, it’s just we couldn’t score. Again.

I can only image the wry smile on Ayew’s face when we continued to fail in front of goal. All 26 times we tried and failed to hit the back of the net, each one giving Ayew some weird, sick sense of achievement.

Anyway, while one love affair ends, another begins…

After months of trying to make him a Villa player, Poyet thought it’d be funny to leave it until the very last minute of the window to let me know he’s happy to sign on the dotted line. Rubbish banter.

He’s finally a Villa player, though, and his arrival effectively ends Mile Jedinak’s Villa Park career as he moves to Bursaspor on loan until the end of the season.

So January is over and so is the transfer window. I’m the busiest team in England, bringing in five new players. I also sent a bunch of youngsters out on loan, sold two players for more money than I should’ve and loaned out two others.

Here are my arrivals…

And my departures…

In terms of results, it was an unbeaten January. Way too many draws for my liking but as I said before, this is a good platform to build on.

February will be a difficult month. We have an FA Cup replay at Liverpool to look forward to, as well as important Championship clashes against Nottingham Forest and Newcastle.

And as you can see by the way top half of the Championship table looks at the end of January, beating those two will be vital if I’m to get this club back to where it belongs…

January can be a cruel mistress for clubs, but we’ve dealt with her well. Jordan Ayew didn’t, though, which strangely makes me want to laugh hysterically to myself like one of those cheesy movie villains who has a cunning plan up his sleeve.

But I don’t have a cunning plan. I’ll probably give in and start him against Forest next week…

<< Click here for Episode Eight 

If it was not bad enough being on the end of a 5-1 hammering, Arsenal have been made fun of by their opponents Bayern Munich on Twitter.

Arsene Wenger’s men are on the verge of being knocked out of the Champions League at the last-16 stage for a seventh season in a row after a second-half capitulation at the Allianz Arena.

The Gunners conceded after 11 minutes when Arjen Robben struck, but they pulled themselves back into it when Alexis Sanchez found the back of the net with a follow-up to his saved penalty.

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The second half was dismal for Wenger’s men, though, as Thiago Alcantara scored twice, while Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller also contributed with goals.

After the match, Bayern’s English Twitter account opted to rub it in by reminding Arsenal that they were beaten by the exact same scoreline at the hands of the German giants in 2015.

On that day, Muller, Lewandowski, Robben and David Alaba scored.

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While Spurs were busy getting knocked out of the Europa League last night, Lyon were putting in the performance of the last 32 as they ran out 7-1 winners over AZ Alkmaar, securing an 11-2 aggregate victory. Comprehensive, to say the least!

The star of the show at Parc Olympique Lyonnaise was undoubtedly Nabil Fekir, who smashed a hat-trick as his side eased into the last 16. The French attacker is a name that Premier League fans will know much about given the sheer quantity of links between him and English sides, but West Ham supporters will have been particularly interested in his showing given that he was a £20m target for the club last summer as they hunted for a new forward.

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Ultimately no deal came to fruition, with Fekir’s own long-term knee injury contributing to him staying in Ligue 1, but this off-season may see him move on, and the Hammers, if they can persuade him to relocate to east London, will surely be interested on the back of his showing vs. AZ…

As the numbers show, Fekir contributed to four of Lyon’s seven goals, netting three himself and weighing in with an assist, which is particularly impressive given that he only had six shots at goal. On top of this, he was fouled a whopping five times as the Dutch side failed to contain his movement and speed of thought, while 88% of his passes found their intended target, which is impressive given the bulk were played in the final third.

West Ham may find it tricky to lure Fekir to the London Stadium, but they should give it a go.

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It has been another miserable night for Arsenal as they were heavily beaten by Bayern Munich 5-1 for the second time in less than a month.

Arsene Wenger’s side have closed the door on another failed Champions League campaign, which has ended at the last-16 stage.

The Gunners already had a mountain to climb after losing 5-1 at the Allianz Arena in the first leg, but not many predicted that the team would be on the end of an embarrassing 10-2 aggregate defeat.

There was some hope in the early stages when they entered the half-time break one goal to the good thanks to Theo Walcott.

It was an impressive first-half display, but Arsenal crumbled upon their return as Robert Lewandowski, Arjen Robben, Douglas Costa and Arturo Vidal got on the scoresheet.

As well as conceding five goals, the North London outfit were down to 10 men after the 54th minute when Laurent Koscielny was sent off for bringing down Lewandowski in the penalty area.

Not only did the result cement Arsenal’s Champions League exit, it was their biggest home defeat for 19 years.

Plenty of Arsenal fans have expressed their anger on Twitter, while others took the opportunity to poke fun.

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Michail Antonio is yet to earn a cap for England, but he has been called up to the international squad for just the second time in his career.The West Ham United utility man has caught the eye of Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate, and it is clear to see why following an impressive showing this season.Antonio will be part of the international squad for a World Cup qualifier against Lithuania and a friendly with Germany.There are many aspects of the 26-year-old’s game that has earned him a call-up, particularly his versatility given that he can play across the midfielder, in defence and in a forward role.Antonio has started in all but two of the Hammers’ 28 Premier League matches this season, scoring nine goals and producing three assists.One of his major strengths in an attacking sense is his ability to score headers, and impressively, is leading the way in the Premier League charts.

As Opta’s tweet shows, no other player in the top flight has scored more headers than the West Ham man over the past 18 months.

There was joy for Antonio on Thursday when he was called into the squad, but disappointment for his teammate Andy Carroll, who was overlooked once again.

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As reported by The Daily Mail, Rangers striker Martyn Waghorn is being chased by four clubs in England, all looking to bring the striker back down south this summer.

What’s the story?

Waghorn has scored his fair share of goals at Rangers over the last two seasons and that’s probably why he’s attracted the attention of managers in England.

The Mail reckon the four clubs in for him are Leeds United, Huddersfield, Sunderland and Nottingham Forest.

Perhaps raising the most eyebrows is Forest, who are of course managed by ex-Rangers boss Mark Warburton.

With the striker about to enter the final year of his contract, it’s a crucial summer in deciding whether he has a future at Ibrox or not.

Sometimes not the most popular player in the team with supporters, would his move be the correct decision for all parties?

Underrated?

Waghorn sometimes get stick for what is perceived to be less than committed performances but you can’t argue with his goal record over the last two seasons. He’s scored an impressive 43 goals in 67 matches, firepower that any club should be hesitant to lose.

This season too he’s getting the job done with 15 goals in all competitions for the Gers. That means he’s their top scorer by a distance of 6 goals, with Kenny Miller closest behind him on 9 for the season.

Getting rid of that kind of contribution is risky indeed. Goalscorers like Waghorn are hard to come by, especially if you’re working on a strict budget. For our money, Pedro Caixinha should be making the striker a key part of his plans next season.

As for the player himself, after years struggling to score the goals expected of him in the Championship, he has it good right now at Rangers and is clearly enjoying his football. He should stick around in the efforts to win major honours for the club once again.

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On Saturday lunchtime, Everton played Liverpool at Anfield.

Not only is a Liverpool-Everton fixture one of the biggest games on the British sporting calendar, it’s also one of the biggest club derbies in world football. For anyone interested in sport at all, it’s a must-see event. For everyone in Liverpool, it’s a hell of a lot more than even that.

And for Everton manager Ronald Koeman, it was probably even greater still: not only was he taking on a role as one of the lead protagonists in a giant of a football game, but he was leading an Everton side in beaming form to the lair of their local rivals with an eye on Champions League qualification. It would be the first time Everton had qualified for the Champions League since 2005, when they were (very) controversially dumped out by Villarreal at the play-off stage.

This is a manager who has been touted for some of the biggest jobs in world football, but who has already tried and failed at a giant of the European game, Valencia, where he won just four games out of 22 and took his side from four points off the top, when he was appointed, to 35 points off top by the time he was sacked just six months later.

His final game was a 5-1 thumping away to Athletic Bilbao, the worst away defeat in Valencia’s history, where he suffered the ignominy of watching on as the crowd sang ‘Koeman please stay’ – though it certainly wasn’t the Valencia fans singing it. He’d lost the dressing room, the fans and the board, so not even winning the Spanish Cup could save him from the sack.

Clearly this is a man who wants a second crack at the big time (‘ambition’ is a word never far away from the Koeman entourage and uttered every time he moves away from a loyal club for a traditionally ‘bigger’ one), and if you’re an ambitious man, then a Merseyside derby is surely a game you should be putting your all into.

That’s the context. A man with big aims and big past, one of the biggest derbies in the world, and Champions League football probably hanging somewhere in the balance for both teams. Pretty big, then. And yet, 14 hours before kick-off, Koeman took to Twitter to throw a sarky, late-night jibe the way of Martin O’Neill, via the warm and loving lap of the internet.

You see, the Everton manager knows what he’s doing when he posts on Twitter late at night in the style of Donald Trump, another Twitter wit currently in the process of running a giant into the ground. Koeman is a man who posted a photograph of a Christmas tree on Twitter only to see it descend into a volley of online abuse because the decorations were red. He knows that whatever he tweets is likely to be picked apart by everyone and anyone, and yet he still felt the need to bite on the baited hook just hours before the biggest game in his managerial career.

And it was his biggest. Not just because it was a derby, and not just because Everton still had a chance – albeit an outside one – of qualifying for the Champions League. It wasn’t his biggest just because his club is trying to match the ambition of its top striker, nor because other top clubs may well be watching with interest to see how he handles the big games. It was not just the biggest game of his career because he still has something to prove.

It was not just any one of those things, but a mixture of them all, and all at the same time. That’s why it was the biggest. But Koeman’s primary thought didn’t seem to be about the game, but about his playground spat with an international manager over a player he never plays anyway.

James McCarthy has started just seven Premier League games this season, and has seen his playing time scuppered not just by injuries but also by Koeman’s opinion that Gareth Barry, Morgan Schneiderlin, Idrissa Gueye, Ross Barkley and Tom Davies are all better options than the Irish international.

After the derby on Saturday, Koeman used his press duties to get away from the distraction of the match and back to the real issue of his sabre rattling against O’Neill.

The very bluff and bluster present in Koeman’s tweets hours before kick-off was displayed by his team on the pitch. Their bark was worse than their bite, their fur coat hiding only callow, goose pimpled skin: nothing of substance lay underneath.

And so there are legitimate questions to come out of all this: just what is Ronald Koeman more interested in, winning the game or winning the argument? And if Everton ever do get into a title race, what does this say about their manager’s ability to stand up to the ‘mind games’ that top of the table clashes usually involve?

If Koeman thinks Everton can be a big European club under his watch, he’s the man who has to prove he’s a master tactician of more than just the ‘blame game’. And if it thinks that he can use Everton as a stepping stone to something bigger, like the Barcelona job, then he needs to put more effort into actually succeeding at Everton first.

But right now, Ronald Koeman looks like he’d be more comfortable on the sofa with Jeremy Kyle than on the bench at the Camp Nou.