I can understand why all the big boys will watch Morgan Gibbs-White this summer. He’s a player I really like.
He has been shining at Nottingham Forest since well before this season and has already turned out to be a better Premier League player.
He could have a stinking in Wembley on Sunday against Manchester City, but that will not change anyone’s opinion on him. I met him in Portugal last summer where we discussed and he seems to be so enthusiastic about the game. He certainly gave me the impression that he loves his work.
You can see him in the way he wants to get on the ball, whatever the score, and he works his socks for the team. He has an advantage for him, what I like, and he never hesitated to do these hard sites that I like to remind people.
A great indicator of his character is the way he manages disappointment. If something is wrong, it could show a little anger, and there is no harm in that, but it is able to park it and continue its game.
He is in a team where the manager demands that everyone is working hard on the ball and I never see him complaining about it. The only factor in its detriment is the fact that it does not get enough objectives. Five in the Premier League is not enough for a player of his qualities.
Morgan Gibbs-White was the key to the Pushed Nottingham Forest for football in the Champions League
He is not afraid to do hard sites, but can always add goals to his game to reach the next level
The man of Pep Guardiola was linked to Gibbs-White and will face the semi-finals of the FA Cup this weekend this weekend
The forest has a pragmatic approach. If he was part of a team further, it could put his skills in front of the goal in the foreground, but Nottingham Forest is a very good place for him to play his football right now.
It is now proven and tested in the division, but the only question mark against him is, if he started, would he be able to play as well in a side where the opposition treats you as if it was their cup final every week. It would be the challenge for him.
At 25, he arrives at the most productive point in his career where he should be in his pump for the next five to seven years. He is a creator, he has the pace of work, all the attributes, it’s just if he can go to double in the scorer every season.
I think he can mix it with the best and there are many more people than me who will think that too. Admittedly, people like Pep Guardiola or Mikel Arteta will think “that it would be a real asset for our football team”.
The forest now is not too different on the side that had the Liverpool number for a few years in my play days. They absorb the pressure and hit you during the break. You know what you are going to get.
On Sunday, there will be no surprise for both coaches. City will dominate possession, and Forest will seek to counter and obtain objectives on the break or via sets. City operates in equipment below what we used to see in the past five years.
It surprised me to read Kevin de Bruyne’s comments last week that he was shocked not to have been offered again.
He will know better than anyone in the past year that his influence on the team has been on the decline. It manifests itself not get your passes quickly enough, getting caught up in possession, not being able to make intense pressing for 90 minutes and a tendency to collect more muscle injuries. The panels have been there for 12 months. He would be the first to achieve this.
Kevin de Bruyne is surprised that he had not received a new agreement, but his influence in City decreased
Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva have also aged and no longer brings the same energy
Guardiola will want to refresh things in the midfield and could turn to Gibbs-White this summer
That he wants to stay here in the most demanding league in the world depends on him. The problem for any club here is that it will be difficult to match wages.
There may be no transfer fees, but paying it near the salary on which he is created for the director with others in the locker room by demanding the same thing and hitting the manager’s door. He could go to Saudi Arabia or America where he could be a superstar, but if he stays here, he must be honest with himself.
For City, it’s not rocket science. De Bruyne’s tastes, Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva have all aged and do not have the energy levels they used. This is what Pep will want to change this summer.
Liverpool deserves to embrace the triumph of the title
I was there when Liverpool received his last Premier League title in 2020, in an empty stadium because of Covid.
I was sad for the players because, I can tell you, to have this experience of winning a League title in front of Liverpool supporters is only one.
On Sunday, against Tottenham, is an excellent opportunity for the current team to taste this.
There are images of me that launch the former trophy of the first division in the air so that Ronnie Whelan can catch just after being presented with our former president John Smith. It was also against the Spurs in 1982. No one ever asked me why I did that and looking at the images, you think I never wanted the thing. Even today, I still can’t tell you why I did that. But it was my first title as captain and my instinctive emotion was to want to share it with my teammates.
The great thing was that Liverpool fans obtained what it meant to win this trophy. This meant that we were the best team in the country. You can also see this satisfaction in staff faces.
From Bill Shankly, the staff always insisted that it was the first target of any season: the title of the League.
They estimated that it said more about us as a group and more about them; How they had done this season in the management of the group of players with whom they had worked.
They often did not make compliments, but you could see him make them very happy.
When you are a player, you can think and say: “It was a difficult season”, but it also had to be difficult for them because they would share the low and the top of nine months.
Liverpool celebrated its first Premier League title in an empty stadium in 2020 due to the Pandemic Covid-19
Arne Slot, his players and the fans should cherish every moment if they get the point they need against Tottenham to seal the title on Sunday
The gray dynasty lives in Leeds
Eddie Gray must be extremely proud to see his big nephew Harry continue his large family dynasty in Leeds United.
It is not surprising that he wiped a tear while Harry received his beginnings against Stoke City while Leeds won in promotion. To also follow in the footsteps of his grandfather Frank, Father Andy and his brother Archie, who has already proven for the club, Harry will do well to reach the standards of his predecessors in the family. Admittedly, the big uncle Eddie and Grandad Frank placed the high bar at Elland Road.
Eddie was a sorcerer of a player and always a gentleman. We used to find ourselves on vacation in the south of France and run together. Although it is the best part of five more years, Eddie was still in front of me during these sunny evenings, along the coast of the Mediterranean. I never caught it.
Harry Gray became the last member of his family to represent Leeds United earlier this week
Eddie Gray was clearly very proud when he watched his backbone in Leeds
Vardy’s fairy tale should inspire the next generation
Jamie Vardy deserves a lot of credit for shaping the career he had.
At 16, Vardy was released Wednesday by Sheffield, but he did not take the road to your usual academic player who is released. Going via Stocksbridge Park Steels, Halifax and Fleetwood before winning a League title with Leicester City and playing for England is a fantastic success.
Jamie Vardy will leave Leicester, but is a brilliant example of never giving up your dreams
There is a lesson to learn here for any young budding footballer.
My own story was that I was sold by Spurs at the age of 19 for £ 30,000 in Middlesbrough.
Obviously, Spurs’ decision -makers thought I was not going to be good enough for them in the future and yet, five years later, I was transferred to Liverpool for a record between two English clubs of £ 352,000.
In this game, disappointment is guaranteed. This is how you treat it.
