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It’s been a disappointing few weeks for Manchester City, who were not only dumped out the Champions League yet again before the quarter-final stage, but have seen their hopes of regaining the Premier League come to an abrupt halt.

After being outclassed by Barcelona, they momentarily found themselves in danger of falling out of the top four having fallen behind Arsenal and Manchester City in the table, but eased those fears with a valuable win over Aston Villa on Saturday.

But with pressure growing on Manuel Pellegrini and his ageing squad, there is expected to be plenty of change at the Etihad this summer with some high-profile exits on the cards and new signings in the pipeline.

The club are thought to be looking towards talented English players as part of their summer recruitment in order to fulfil the home-grown quota of players for next season’s Champions League, should they make it that is, and there’s a number of stars that have been linked with a move to the reigning champions during the transfer window.

And with this in mind, here are five English stars that could be high on Manchester City’s shopping list this summer…

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Theo Walcott

Since returning from a lengthy spell on the sidelines through injury, Theo Walcott has fallen down the pecking order at Arsenal. And with just over a year left on his contract his future at the Emirates is in some doubt.

The forward is keen to get back playing regularly and may feel he needs to move in order to do so.

While he has been heavily linked to Liverpool in recent weeks, Manchester City are also thought to be monitoring the situation and could give Arsenal the chance to cash in on the England star with a bid this summer.

Raheem Sterling

Raheem Sterling put all of England’s top clubs on standby after refusing to sign a new contract at Liverpool recently and could be set for a move away from Anfield if Liverpool fail to qualify for the Champions League.

Sterling has emerged as one of the league’s brightest talents over the past couple of seasons, and with his current deal set to run out in 2017, Liverpool are in danger of losing another star player.

City are reportedly one of the favourites to sign the 20-year-old, who are said to have made him on of their key targets this summer in a deal that could cost upwards of £50m.

Ross Barkley

Despite failing to produce the same level of football that saw him become a huge hit for Everton last season, Ross Barkley is still one of English footballs hottest properties, and remains a target for last year’s champions.

With the future of some of their star midfielders in doubt, Barkley has been targeted to add some much need energy in the middle of park and could be the subject of another large bid this summer.

The Blues are desperate to keep the youngster and have put a £50m price tag on him to try and fend off interest. While he may be advised to stay at Everton for a little while longer, the lure of City may prove too much for 21-year-old should they come calling.

Jay Rodriguez

Jay Rodriguez certainly won’t have fond memories of the Etihad Stadium after picking up a terrible knee injury at the back end of last season that put an end to his World Cup hopes.

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The cruciate knee injury has kept him out of action all season, but this hasn’t kept him out of the minds of City who have kept him on their radar.

It’s thought he could cost in excess of £20m should they look to prize him away from the South coast, but some impressive performances last season showed he could certainly be a useful addition to their Champions League squad.

Jack Wilshere

Arsenal must be fed up of Manchester City after the Blues have taken a number of their star men from their grasp in recent years. But they may not be done yet, and the next one that could swap London for Manchester is Jack Wilshere.

City are thought to be lining up a move for the midfielder this summer, and if willing to meet Arsenal’s valuation of £25m could well be in with a chance of landing the 23-year-old.

Wilshere once again has been plagued by injury this season which could well tempt Arsenal to cash in on the England star, but there’s no doubting that when on form he is one of the best midfielders in the division and one that would really improve the City team.

When told that your club is set to sign a highly rated young foreign footballer, it becomes somewhat of a tradition to type ‘said’ players name into a popular video based search engine.

From there you sit back, wonder why the video creator found it necessary to set the video to a Katy Perry soundtrack, and base your whole opinion on 4:47 seconds worth of tricks, flicks and general wonder goals from the players career.

The thing with a highlights reel is that you can find 4:47 seconds worth of class in any youngsters game. I myself scored my fair share of wonder goals during my younger, fitter days, and could easily fill up that kind of time-frame. However I could also add numerous video of my miss control or the tap ins that ended up in the farmers field onto my highlights reel. It’d probably be enough to keep you entertained for days, maybe even weeks.

YouTube’ing is always a lazy and naive way to judge a player and more often than not it proves to be unfounded. For example I dare you to search for ‘Emile Heskey- Greatest goals compilation.’ Some absolute genius/student with too much time on their hands has managed to stretch that out to more than six minutes, it was so good I almost wanted to sign him on Football Manager. Thankfully in the short time it took for me to close my browser and load up the game I suddenly remembered that he was in fact shite and that the video was brainwashing me.

However, sometimes it isn’t that easy to shrug off YouTube when forming an opinion, and other types of trickery come in to focus to also try and brainwash you. For example, what if I told you that the player that your club was interested in was Spanish and came through the ranks at Barcelona? What if also told you that the first video available on the player was a casual 4:47 seconds video of him having a friendly kick around with Ronaldinho when he was aged just 12. You’re automatically excited, right?

Well that’s the position that fans of Tottenham Hotspur found themselves in during the summer of 2011 as the attacking midfielder Cristiano Ceballos, who is now old enough to have started puberty, moved to White Hart Lane after a successful trial period.

It was a move that delighted Tottenham technical co-ordinator Sherwood, who said in an interview shortly after the transfer had gone through:

“Cristian trained hard and showed some real quality when he originally spent time here towards the end of last season and was even involved in some of the first-team training.

There was other interest in him too. He needs to be patient and if he can fulfil his potential we believe he can play at the top level.”

Now 18-months down the line, Ceballos has started to make a name for himself at the club as he tries to fight his way into the first team plans of Andre Villas-Boas.

The versatile attacking midfielder, who can also put a shift in on the flanks or when playing just off the striker, has been a regular on the stats lists this season having created countless opportunities and assists as well as burying the odd goal himself for the U21’s.

In fact he was the star man in last month’s win over Midlands outfit West Bromwich Albion as he got on score sheet twice and set up the third, helping his side to an easy 4-0 win.

Basically what I’m trying to say is that the midfielder is becoming instrumental in a side that is running away with the U21 title and that sometimes YouTube IS all you need to forge an opinion on a player.

Although it’s clear that it’s not just Ceballos doing all the hard work in such a successful U21 campaign, what is clear is the ability for the player to adjust to the English game and deal with whatever is thrown at him.

A case could even be made for the Spaniard to get a chance of first time action in the coming weeks. It’s no secret that the Tottenham ranks are thread bare when it comes to attacking options, especially when your two best chances of grabbing a goal (Bale and Defoe) have found themselves on the treatment table.

And yes I am fully aware that Emmanuel Adebayor plies his trade at the club, But I’m also fully aware that the Togo international has only found the back of the net seven times in the Premier League, around about the same amount of entries he’s got into this campaigns edition of miss of the season.

But when you consider that Ceballos and his U21 pals have found the back of the net 32 times in just ten games this season you tend to ask yourself why they couldn’t help the first team squad out with a bit of flair and goal scoring presence.

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There is no doubt that Ceballos has the skills to become a first team player next season, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Spaniards chance come a little earlier.

He could easily develop into a an iconic player at White Hart Lane, bringing the type of flair and creativity that Luka Modric once brought to the club.

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Newcastle fans are mercilessly mocking Sunderland after yet another late goal put the Black Cats on the brink of relegation to League One.

While most of the footballing world was enjoying an incredible night of Champions League football, Newcastle fans were reveling in the misery of their arch-rivals, as Norwich equalised late against Sunderland.

Chris Coleman’s side looked to be heading towards a huge win that would have left them just four points adrift of safety, but Ivo Pinto’s late goal levelled the scores, leaving the Black Cats’ survival hopes dangling by the thinnest of threads.

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Sunderland took the lead through George Honeyman, and will be ruing the missed opportunity after Aiden McGeady missed a first half penalty.

Newcastle fans were of course tortured plenty by their Wearside foes last season, but bounced straight back up from the Championship at their first attempt.

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Sunderland haven’t had quite the same luck, and now look almost certain to record back to back relegations.

It’s fair to say Newcastle fans are enjoying their rival’s downfall, and some of the best Twitter reactions can be found below…

Every season Arsenal bring in a top player, start strongly and then post-Christmas are back to their usual fourth place fight.

And though they have mastered this process, for a growing number of supporters it isn’t enough, despite the increase in competition for these places. 

Personally I like and respect Arsene Wenger. He is the last of the Premier League’s long-term one-club managers. Even though Wenger has managed other teams, namely seven years at AS Monaco, after 18 seasons as the Gunners’ main man, Arsene will forever be associated with the club. I’m sure he would like to stay until he is ready to retire, but some fans seem hell-bent on preventing that.

At 65, Wenger should stay for a few more seasons and then either retire or perhaps try something a little different in the shape of international management with the France national team.

Some Arsenal fans have forgotten that coming top four is an honour that not all clubs have achieved, let alone the amazing feat of doing it every season. He should be respected for this achievement, not resented. It is Arsene who led his 2003/04 squad through their ‘Invincibles’ season and has helped them win three Premier League titles and five FA Cups, making Arsenal one of England’s most successful.

Arsene has seen huge changes in English football from the spiralling wage bills to financial fair play and through-out he has kept Arsenal relevant and competitive. Even with a culture of managers getting the chop after just one bad season, some even less, Wenger has stayed true to his tactics and belief in his ability to take the team forward.

Now I understand that some fans like Wenger but I just feel that he doesn’t have the ambition or vision to take the club any further than he has.  After all ,Arsenal have finished third or fourth nine times in the last ten years and haven’t looked like winning the League since they did back in 2004.

But to bring in a new flashy continental manager may be exciting but there is every possibility that their fortunes could take a downward spiral in a similar way to Manchester United’s. Sir Alex Ferguson led United to top spot in his last season and yet, only 12 months later, the Red Devils were wallowing in seventh with no Champion’s League football on the horizon.

Arsenal will have to weigh up the pros and cons of that risk. At least now they are offering top European football played by some exceptional domestic and international talent. The Emirates was and continues to be a highly sought after place to ply your trade.

This season has seen Arsenal win the Community Shield and reach the semi-final of the FA Cup, they sit in third and are still in with a chance of progressing through to the Champion’s League quarter-finals. But I guess you can’t please everyone as, come the end of the season, when Arsenal finish in third or fourth like they always do, some Gunners will still be calling for Wenger to get the chop.

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If they do get their wish then let’s hope for their sake that they don’t live to regret moving on Arsenal’s most decorated manager.

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On paper this looks set to be an archetypal mid-table slog between two of the Premier  League less than glamorous sides. In fact the form of Stoke and West Ham mirrors each other with both recording just one Premier League win in their last six games. Although the Potters sit three points and four places above their opponents the disparity between the two sides is slim. Tony Pulis’ side have failed to build on their early season promise and European qualification looks to be slipping away. Scoring goals has been the key issue for Stoke with just 26 coming in their 27 games but should revel in the comfort of their home surroundings against the Hammers having taken 24 points from a possible 39 at the Britannia Stadium.

Similarly the Hammers have struggled to find the net this season, notching one less than Stoke, and its likely Sam Allardyce will set his side up to avoid defeat having lost nine times in 13 games on the road this term. Historically though they’ve enjoyed their trips to the Potteries and have avoided defeat in six of their last seven visits. Allardyce, however, won’t read too much into that as he desperately strives to secure West Ham’s safety after defeat at home to Tottenham on Monday left them just six points above the relegation zone. That being said they looked good for much of the game against Spurs but know they face a very different proposition when they lock aerial horns with Stoke.

Team News

Matthew Etherington and Michael Owen will have their fitness assessed before the game, while Robert Huth starts a three-match suspension. Despite breaking his nose at Fulham last week Steven Nzonzi could feature wearing a protective mask.

Captain Kevin Nolan is out with a broken toe, Mark Noble (arm) is a doubt but Guy Demel is available.

What the managers said…

“You take Manchester City, Swansea and the first half at Fulham last week out of it. And our performances away have been better this season. Even against the top teams, we’ve got draws at Liverpool and Tottenham, we went to Manchester United and gave them a game, went to Chelsea and were unlucky and went to Arsenal and got beat by a deflected goal. What we are doing is putting an infrastructure in place that a lot of Premier League clubs would like – and we are doing that and staying in the league at the same time. And all because we want a future with a good side in the Premier League.” Tony Pulis believes the critics are being unnecessarily harsh on his Stoke team (The Sentinel)

“Of course we are. We’ve always looked up the table this season and we’ve always tried to get into the top ten and with a good result on Saturday we can push ourselves a little bit closer to that. I think the away form hasn’t been as good as we’d have liked. I think our home form has been really, really good, even though we’ve lost a couple. We have to address that, we’ve got to be a little tighter and a bit more physical away from home and make sure we try and keep a clean sheet. And if we can do that, that gives us a good chance to get back to winning ways on our travels.” West Ham assistant manager Neil McDonald admits the club are concerned at their close proximity to the relegation zone (whufc.com)

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Pre-Match Statistic: Despite the Britannia Stadium being renowned a fortress for most teams Stoke have struggled against West Ham winning just once on their last seven meetings in the Potteries.

Prediction: Stoke City 1-1 West Ham United

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Newcastle fans are not impressed by Aleksandar Mitrović, after the Serbian striker said he was desperate to leave Newcastle.

The loan of Aleksandar Mitrović to Fulham seemed a strange decision at the time, with the Magpies struggling for goals and a lack of replacements available in the transfer market.

Islam Slimani was brought in on loan from Leicester, but the Algerian only made his debut last weekend due to an ongoing thigh problem.

Mitrović has been absolutely flying in the Championship for Fulham, grabbing eight goals in nine starts, and the 23 year-old says he needed to leave Newcastle.

“From the first minute here (at Fulham), I adapted really fast and my team-mates have helped me a lot. I feel good to play every game on the pitch so I hope that we’ll be able to fight for automatic promotion for the rest of the season,” Mitrović said.

“I needed to leave Newcastle because I needed game time and needed games in my legs and I was desperate to play football, to be on the pitch, to score goals.”

Scoring goals certainly hasn’t been a problem for the Serbian since the move, and fans haven’t been able to decide if he deserves another chance on Tyneside next season.

These latest comments won’t exactly help his cause though, and fans have often felt that he does not work hard enough to function in Rafael Benitez’s system.

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Some of the best Twitter reactions can be found below…

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Manchester City’s title chances will be significantly boosted if Wilfried Bony completes his big money move from Swansea to the Etihad Stadium this month, according to former England boss Glenn Hoddle.

The Sky Blues are currently two points adrift of table toppers Chelsea in the running for the big prize, with the eventual destination of the trophy expected to be Eastlands or west London.

Bony, who is currently away with Cote d’Ivoire at the AFCON, is expected to complete his switch to City before the month is out, where he will compete with the likes of Sergio Aguero, Edin Dzeko and Stevan Jovetic for a starting berth, and is seen as a key coup with Manuel Pellegrini having been without an orthodox centre-forward in recent times due to a series of injuries.

WANT MORE? >> Chelsea transfer news | Man City transfer news

And Hoddle feels that 2014’s top scorer in the Premier League with 20 goals will have a big say in where the title goes this term:

“For sure the deal gives City a much better chance of catching Chelsea,” he told Zapsports.com. “But I have to say with Bony’s signing it makes it far too close to call. Either side could win the title this season.

“I have a feeling it will be nip and tuck all the way to the very end. City clawed their way back to level at the top with Chelsea but then dropped a couple of points, but its going to be a little like that from now on in.”

However, Hoddle thinks that Pellegrini may have his work cut out fitting Bony and Aguero into his plans:

“Bony is used to playing up front on his own in the Swansea set up, but at City Manuel Pellegrini plays with two up top.

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“So how well City do in the second half of the season – once Bony arrives – will depend on how he can fit in with Aguero.

“But for me it is a positive move by City in their quest to hold on to the Premier League title and now it’s up to the coach to see how he can make them work together and forge an understanding together.”

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When a football club appoints a new manager it often brings about a time of upheaval. New backroom staff and players come in, new tactics and formations are utilised and, as is so often the case, the new man at the helm wins his first game in charge. Thankfully, John Sheridan and his Plymouth Argyle side did just that on Saturday.

In the days leading up to his first Argyle match, a home game against Morecambe, Sheridan had spoken about how he planned to take the game to the Shrimps and attack from the off. Simply the mention of attacking football had Argyle fans excited for the game, but with limited attacking options in the side it was hard to see the low-scoring Pilgrims finishing off many more chances than they did under Carl Fletcher.

Yet, just 16 minutes into the game, and Sheridan’s reign at Argyle, the home side were two goals to the good after a blistering start to the game. As the rain came down on a damp Home park the nervousness and stress that surrounded the last few months lifted from the crowd and was replaced with a sense of disbelief. Was this really happening?!

It was indeed happening and during the next 10 minutes Argyle proceeded to pass the ball around confidently and not let Morecambe back in. New loan signing Ronan Murray looked like creating something every time he got on the ball and Guy Branston, playing for Argyle again 13 years since his last spell with the club, looked like the perfect replacement for Darren Purse, who has gone to Port Vale.

Morecambe had the better of the later stages of the first half and the second period as Argyle dropped deeper and deeper, but when the Greens had possession of the ball they looked dangerous on the counter attack and the pace of Murray and Paris Cowan-Hall caused the Morecambe defence serious problems. And elusive clean sheet was not kept in tact when Ryan Williams somehow managed to beat Rene Gilmartin from 30 yards but Argyle held out for a vital victory.

Sheridan, who had impressed the Green Army in his interviews leading up to the game, then gave a refreshingly honest post-match interview. He didn’t just focus on the positives that led to the three points but also things he felt the team could have done better with and will look to improve on in the next few weeks. It would have been easy for him to be jubilant in the wake of a victory in his first match in charge but instead he switched the focus to the match at Southend, saying how he has a good record at Roots Hall and Argyle will be going there looking to win.

It may seem very generic stuff for a manager to say, but for Argyle fans it is just so refreshing. Carl Fletcher never enjoyed talking to the media which resulted in the Green Army hearing very little than the same talk week in, week out from Fletcher. Now we have somebody in charge that says it like it is and won’t hide away his real opinions on aspects of the game.

We are only one game into John Sheridan’s reign as Plymouth Argyle manager, but the early signs look promising. A good performance led to three points in a vital home game against Morecambe, the new gaffer has already made what looks to be two very good signings and he speaks to the media with a sense of confidence. There is still a long way to go until the end of the season but there is a positive air returning to Argyle again.

One cup final down, 18 to go.

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For more Argyle talk follow me on Twitter.

West Ham United striker Jordan Hugill has told whufc.com that the friendly match against Dagenham & Redbridge on Wednesday night is the ideal opportunity for him to prove to manager David Moyes that he is ready to help the club in their battle for survival in the Premier League.

The Irons brought the centre-forward to the London Stadium in a £10m deal from Championship club Preston North End on January 31 after Diafra Sakho and Andre Ayew departed, but he has played just 12 minutes of top flight football since then in the five matches he has been available for, with his own fans since describing his signing as pointless.

The likes of Marko Arnautovic and Javier Hernandez have been preferred up top, but with those two both on international duty Hugill is likely to get the nod against Dagenham, and it is a chance to impress that the 25-year-old is relishing.

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The Hammers’ number 17 told whufc.com: “For me, this game is perfect because it gives me a platform to show the coaching staff what I can do and that, if I’m called upon, I’m going to be ready for it.

“Hopefully I’ll do well and if I do the right things on the pitch, it’ll put myself at the forefront of the manager’s mind and show I am ready for it.”

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Three straight defeats by three-goal margins have left Moyes’ men just one place and two points above the relegation zone ahead of the potentially season-defining clash against the side below them – Southampton – at the London Stadium on March 31.

In a fantastic 17 year career as a professional footballer, defender Danny Higginbotham recently called it quits and decided to hang up his boots for good. Instead of the usual route of going into coaching, the former Derby County man when into Media as a football pundit for BT Sport.

The 35-year-old says that he felt out of love with the game, which is one of the reasons why he didn’t want to be involved in a coaching role at a club. Higginbotham also said that he is enjoying the quick transition from putting his boots on every weekend, to putting his suit and tie on to give his thoughts and opinions as a pundit.

Higginbotham exclusively told FootballFanCast: “It was a transitional period for me. I went to part-time football because I’d had enough of playing full time. The media thing started, getting little bits here and there, and I was really enjoying it. It was probably the best thing for me when I finished playing football, because I had enough of playing it. I got to a point where the media side of things was where I was enjoying it more. Don’t get me wrong, when football was at its peak, nothing could compare, but where it had got to, the media was far more enjoyable for me than actually playing.”

“Coaching and doing my coaching badges didn’t really appeal to me”, added Higginbotham. “Unless you’re at a top club, I think it’s very difficult not have your hands tied behind your back. One of the things with me was coaching and management was constant. I wanted to step back a little bit and spend more time with the family aswell.”

The Manchester born defender also served Premier League side Stoke City with distinction, playing a total of 109 appearances for the Potteries over a two year spell, scoring 11 goals in the process. Higginbotham openly said he has no idea why Ryan Shawcross is not in the England set up, saying he is one of the best five centre half’s in the Premier League.

“I think if you look over the last year or two, it will be difficult to name four or five more consistent centre back’s than him. A lot has been said, including myself saying that he seems to be the team that you play for. If you look at some of the players ability and form players have been showing and still not getting in the squad, and it applies for Ryan.”

Grappling and holding to an opponent in the penalty area has been widespread in the Premier League thus far, with Shawcross being a prime suspect. Higginbotham added that this may be one of the reasons why Hodgson is continually ignoring Shawcross.

“When it was brought up, particularly in the Swansea game where he gave away a penalty, Mark Hughes did something very clever and took Shawcross off the marking responsibility. This enabled Shawcross to attack the ball, which suited him better. Whenever he is in the penalty area, all eyes are on him about what he’s going to do. If that’s the reason why he’s not getting picked for England then that’s wrong. It can be something that can be easily sorted out which Hughes has done a Stoke.”

As well as playing for the Britannia Stadium outfit, Higginbotham once plied his trade at current high flyers Southampton and strugglers Sunderland. The recently retired player is one of many to be surprised at how well the Saints are doing, while he also thinks the Black Cats have a long season ahead.

“Southampton have surprised me. I don’t mind holding my hands up to that. After what happened during the summer, I thought it was a disaster waiting to happen, and I been proved completely wrong, which I’m more than happy about. I think what happens sometimes is when your star players move on; it enables other players within the squad to step up to the plate, and show what they’re capable of, and that’s what’s happened. I think Ronald Koeman’s come in, untested in the Premier League, and he’s been fantastic. He’s scouting network and player recruitment has been outstanding.”

“Sunderland on the other hand just can’t seem to get results together. There conceding too many goals and not scoring enough. It’s going to be difficult for them because one thing they don’t want to find themselves in is the positon they were in last season because they won’t be able to do that again.”

Higginbotham also had the honour of representing Gibraltar at the age of 34 years old, playing three times for the country before calling it a day. With lesser nations in the qualifying group stages being beaten on a regular basis, Higginbotham described talk of a different tournament being played, which gives nations lower down the rankings more of a chance of winning as ‘arrogant.’

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“The teams that get through to the major tournaments like the European Championships and the World Cup are there because they deserve it. When people say things about a separate FA Cup style tournament for the lesser nations is like saying why should a team from non-league play a Premier League team? I just think it’s an arrogant thing when people say things like that. Why shouldn’t the smaller nations have the opportunity to play against the lesser nations and have a great experience?  It’s something that they can tell their kids and grandchildren about. Look at Gibraltar, went to Germany, got beat 4-0, and gave a very good account of themselves.”

With a long and flourishing footballing career under his belt, its safe to say that many people will be looking forward to seeing more of Danny Higginbotham’s honest views and opinions in the media spotlight.

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