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Football News: Everton Aim For Titles, Poch Kept Lloris At Spurs And 8 Other Stories Of The Day

Everton Aim For Titles, Poch Kept Lloris At Spurs And 8 Other Stories Of The Day
Image from: zimbio.com

1. Martinez believes Everton should be winning trophies
Roberto Martinez has said that his Everton side are capable of winning trophies and that now is the time to do so. Despite the Toffees not having any trophies to their name since 1995, when the FA Cup and Charity Shield (now the Community Shield) were won by Joe Royle's side, Martinez claims that Everton should add to the Merseyside club's impressive trophy cabinet this season. They are currently just inside the bottom half of the table in 11th, with a defence leaking like a sieve, but the Spaniard believes their time is now. "As Everton manager, I take responsibility; we have to be a winning team," Martinez said. "We should be winning games and winning titles, not just looking to compete and hope for a win. Winning is in this club's DNA and it has been too long since we won a title. We have the talent at this club: we are not quite the finished article yet, otherwise we would be top of the league, but we have to try to win something in the next five months." They are now preparing for a midweek League Cup semi-final with Manchester City, quickly followed by a 3rd round FA Cup match with Dagenham and Redbridge at the weekend in their pursuit of the trophies Martinez wants.

2. Toni considers retirement
Italian striker Luca Toni, now firmly in the veteran stage of his career at the age of 38, is trying to make up his mind on retirement in the summer. Toni may hit 39 in May, but his four goals in nine matches this season for Verona suggests he still have something to offer in Serie A. "Everyone says I signed on to become a director of Verona, but the truth is I am still a football player and I haven't decided yet whether I'll retire in June or in 2017," he told Tuttosport newspaper. "I've been supposed to quit for the last four years and I'll make a decision in the spring. A lot will depend on how the season goes and how I'm feeling, so whether I want to keep challenging myself all over again." Toni has ruled out becoming a coach, as he suggests it is too stressful.

 

3. Lloris credits Poch with keeping him at Spurs
Hugo Lloris has admitted he was considering his future with Tottenham Hotspur prior to Mauricio Pochettino's arrival from Southampton. The Argentinian manager has transformed Spurs into potential title challengers and Lloris has been quick to heap praise on him. "I've flourished completely here," Lloris, who signed a new five-year contract shortly after Pochettino joined Spurs in summer 2014, told L'Equipe. "I can even say that since the arrival of Pochettino I found new benchmarks. My second season here was complicated, I had kept a certain level of performance but collectively there were too many gaps and it had been against the big teams. I had not felt a strong club, but rather an unstable one, with a coaching change in the middle of the season, just the opposite of what I like to see in football. I was actually asking myself questions until Pochettino arrived. Even when it was not working yet, he said: 'Do not worry, we will get there.' His speech was clear, we suddenly knew where we were going," Lloris added. "With the quality of the workforce, and work ethic that is in training, there is no reason that we [won't] progress." Spurs are currently fourth having taken maximum points over the Christmas fixtures.

4. Rhys Williams moves to Charlton
Australia's injury plagued utility man Rhys Williams has headed to Charlton Athletic for a short term loan in an attempt to regain fitness. The Middlesbrough player has been plagued with achilles problems since rupturing it back in January 2014, and he now hopes his 28 day loan will re-establish him as a first team player. Williams, who can play in midfield or defence, is hoping that the loan will give him a chance of breaking into the high-flying Boro side on his return.

 

5. Jones injured yet again
Manchester United defender Phil Jones has once again suffered an injury. The England defender picked up a recurrence of a previous injury during the 2-1 win over Swansea City, one of many he has suffered since joining the Red Devils from Blackburn Rovers. There was also a problem for Ashley Young which forced his withdrawal from the game, though Louis van Gaal has no fears over Ander Herrera. "Jones is injured, more or less the same injury as before. Young has played a lot of matches in a row, so he was stiff and had to be changed. It was not voluntary; I changed them because I needed to change. With Herrera, it was because I wanted to waste time, as Swansea did all match," Van Gaal told Manchester United's official website after the game.

6. Scott Arfield pledges his future to Canada
Scottish midfielder Scott Arfield has pledged his future to the Canadian international team, as Canada look to build a team to qualify for the World Cup. Arfield, who plays for Burnley in the English Championship, was born and raised in Scotland and told BBC Scotland last May, "It would be the pinnacle of my career if I could pull on a Scotland jersey." Now the 27 year old has pledged his international future to Canada, despite having represented Scotland at U19 and U20 levels. Arfield managed 36 appearances last season as Burnley suffered relegation from the Premier League, scoring on his Prem debut versus eventual winners Chelsea.

 

7. Hammers hit with injury blow
Manuel Lanzini is having a huge impact for West Ham United during his loan spell from UAE side Al Jazira, but has recently been one of the victims of the injuries that seem to have cursed the Hammers over the last couple of months. The 22 year old Argentinian finally returned from injury during the 2-1 win over Southampton on Monday but has now already suffered another blow. Starting the match against Liverpool, which West Ham went on to win 2-0, he was impressive but then was forced to go limping off before half time with another injury problem, which the Hammers fear could lead to them missing their star man for another 4-6 weeks. "We will know more about Manuel's injury after the scan on Monday but it could be 4/6 weeks," West Ham co-chairman David Gold posted on Twitter. "He was superb today."

8. Hammers teen makes case for his future
Norwegian teenager Martin Samuelsen has headed to League One's Peterborough United on loan from West Ham United. Yesterday the 18 year old made a case for his long term future to be at the Hammers, as he hit a hammer for the Posh against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane:

 

9. Spurs release youngster
Tottenham Hotspur have released their youngster Kenny McEvoy so that he can find a permanent move elsewhere. The 21 year old U21 Ireland international was unable to make a single first team appearance for Spurs, spending the first half of the season on loan at League Two York City. He will now be free to sign for anyone, with York hopeful of tying him down to a permanent deal. McEvoy announced on Twitter on Sunday: "I can tell you now that after five years at Tottenham I am no longer a THFC player. In my own head I made the decision five months ago that I wanted to go elsewhere to start my career as first-team player, as I did not see it happening at Tottenham no matter how much effort I gave it. I can't thank my lawyer enough for helping me get out and Tottenham agreed a month ago to finally let me go. Thank you to my wife for putting up with my decision and all the rubbish in the meantime, not knowing what was happening, and having to put her own life on hold. At least now it's down to me, which is what I have always wanted. The decision was purely my own and, wherever I go next, I know that I will be happy playing as a first-team player, and I'll have the chance to prove people wrong that have ever doubted me. Thank you to the fans at Tottenham that did support me. I appreciate every one of you. Let's see where the future takes us."

10. Not all Premier League players throw money around...
Mark Noble is proving that some players in the Premier League are good with their money, as West Ham United's Mark Noble proved when he decided to save 5p by grabbing a carrier bag:


In fact he was so pleased with his find, he found time to tweet evidence of his frugality:

Written by Tris Burke January 03 2016 12:51:32