We Literally Need a Replacement, Richard.

January is normally the month that is dominated by the transfer window in terms of football, however with the recent sexism row at Sky, it's had to settle with second place.

Typically, I was expecting to be writing an article about a pending multi million pound move of <insert player here> to <insert team here... probably Manchester City> which would be a waste of money/worth it's weight in gold [delete as appropriate] but I certainly didn't expect to be speculating over who will be taking the leading seats for Sky's football coverage.

So after the stream of videos being leaked about Gray's chauvinistic tendencies and Keys' live publicity funeral on talkSPORT we are left with two empty seats at one of the world's biggest sports channels.  Sky are hardly scraping the barrel for cash, so the may not necessarily internally recruit for the position, but there are also a lot of prospective applicants within the company too.

Who will be 'cut' out to be the new Keys?

Ben Shepherd (Best Odds*: Evens)

Shepherd has recently joined Sky to present their Champions League shows during midweek, this could be the chance of a lifetime for him if he manages to jump to Sky Sports' flagship show in his first year at the company.  However, I think this will be his hindrance - would the Sky exec's want to rush him straight into the role?  He is a well known presenter after all... albeit not in sport.

Jeff Stelling (5/2)

Stelling has already proven himself to be an esteemed presenter who has an excellent chemistry with all the members of the Soccer Saturday crew.  He combines a good mixture of humour, knowledge and passion for the game but will his other commitments hinder him from taking the position? Would Sky want to risk losing the "unbelievable, Jeff" (unless Kammy comes with him of course) moments by moving him from Soccer Saturday to Super Sunday and Monday Night Football?

David Jones (7/2)

Jones has risen up through the ranks at Sky, starting as a pitch side reporter for the Premier League games, he moved to become a presenter for Sky Sports News and regularly hosts the prime time reports for the channel.  He also takes the presenter role for any Football League games, so he has experience already.

Ed Chamberlain (10/1)

Chamberlain, like Jones, started off as a presenter for Sky Sports News and has worked his way up the chain landing a role as the  host of the midweek Soccer Special programmes.  Like Stelling, he has experience interacting with the crew but always does seem like the "midweek replacement".

Gabby Logan (12/1)

Logan would certainly be a very interesting choice, appointing a woman to take over from a man who was fired for being sexist? It makes a lot of sense.  She is already hosting the BBC's equivalent of Sky's Soccer Saturday, in the form of Final Score and is a renowned presenter within entertainment and sport.  She has the CV for it, she would prove that Sky are not a "sexist company" but would it all seem a  bit forced?

James Richardson (20/1)

The absolute outsider, but if Sky want to go in a different direction then Richardson would be the answer.  Renowned as a charismatic presenter who has a fantastic knowledge of the game and has vast experience in the hosting role after the success of Football Italia and the Football Weekly podcast via The Guardian.  But would Richardson take the role?

* - correct as of 27th January 2011.

Who will bring the colour back to Gray's old seat?

Jamie Redknapp (Best Odds*: 8/13)

Redknapp has been nurtured into this role and it almost seems a given that he'll be taking the lead pundit role from Gray.  He's been one of the secondary pundits alongside a mixture of relative guest pundits relevant to the covered match for the past couple of seasons and has cemented his position in the television booth at the matches.  Jamie does literally have some odd interpretations of the word 'literally' but we've all grown to love it, right?

Graeme Souness (9/2)

Souness, like Redknapp, is a regular in the studio for Sky's live matches.  As an esteemed an experienced ex-pro and manager, he comes with all the right credentials to give the interesting and inspired views for the thinking points of the matches, hence his re-appearances on the show.  But when you think of Souness, do you think Sky presenter? Or do you think ex-pro/manager who gives his thoughts on Sky?

Chris Kamara (10/1)

Kamara and Stelling, the "dream team" of Soccer Saturday, could they make the move to Super Sunday and Monday Night Football in a way that people would not just be hoping Chris spurts out the word "unbelievable" followed by his colleagues Christian name?  There is more to Kamara than the token catchphrases we've grown to love, though.  He's the host of Sky's Goals on Sunday and comes across in a much more professional way on the Sunday programme in comparison to his pitch side demeanour on Soccer Saturday.

Ron Atkinson (250/1)

...Nah, scrub that thought.

* - correct as of 27th January 2011.

So from the potential candidates, whom I have only just brushed upon, there is plenty of competition both within and outside Sky. Certainly more candidates for the punditry position, but it once Gray's successor is made, will he be the new partner to Martin Tyler? Or just merely a studio pundit? A lot of questions, soon to be resolved.

Swans Not Firing on All Cylinders

The 2010/11 season has sparked a thought into many Premier League and Championship fan's minds - could this be the season that see's a Welsh side promoted to the Premier League?

Cardiff City have certainly come the closest in the past two seasons, in 2008/09 narrowly missing out on the final play-off position after an unpredicted 1-0 defeat against Sheffield Wednesday on the final day of the season, whereas they were pipped to the near £90 million post by Ian Holloway's superb Blackpool side last season.

[caption id="attachment_347" align="aligncenter" width="310" caption="Rodgers: The Ulsterman has made a very promising start at Swansea"][/caption]

However, this season it seems apparent that Brendan Rodgers' Swansea side will certainly be in the mix-up come the end of the season.  Last season the Swans suffered a similar fate to that of their South Wales neighbours, by throwing away an almost certain play-off spot due to a terrible run of form at the tail-end of the season.  One significant factor in this bad form - their lack to score goals.

In the 2009/10 season under Paulo Sousa, Swansea had 2nd meanest defence in the league, conceding only two goals less than league winners Newcastle but also only managed to score 40 goals - the lowest in the league.  Fast forward to the start of the current season and Sousa was recruited by Leicester (who's reign lasted a measly 3 months) which paved the way for former-Reading, Watford and Chelsea youth team boss Brendan Rodgers to take the helm at the Liberty Stadium.

Rodgers suffered a bumpy start, losing 2-0 to ex-Premier League Hull on the opening day of the season, but began to show potential in a 4-0 win against Preston followed by a string of good results later in the season including 1-0 wins over Burnley and local rivals Cardiff.  Currently they sit in 4th position, comfortably in the play-off places and only off the automatic promotion spot by goal difference.

Whilst the Swans fans are extremely happy with their progress in the league, they fear an old enemy in the form of lacking a clinical goalscorer will be their demise.  They will be eased by the fact that Swansea are only 9 goals off meeting their number goals scored last season, but the points they have lost out on due to the lack of a out-and-out goalscorer does not bear thinking about.

Home results such as the 1-0 loss to Bristol City, the 2-1 loss to Portsmouth and the 1-1 draw to Millwall are all games the Swans felt they could've won if they had a player with an eye for goal.

Rodgers has attempted to solve the striker solution with various players.  Frank Nouble was recruited from West Ham, scoring 1 goal in 6 appearances before being recalled by the Hammers.  Marvin Emnes joined on a months loan from Middlesbrough, proving reasonably successful with 2 goals in 4 games (including a South Wales Derby winner) but was recalled by new Boro boss Tony Mowbray after his impressive spell.  Recently Rodgers has resorted to looking down the leagues for a short-term solution, bringing in Welsh international Jermaine Easter from MK Dons on loan-deadline day - a move that was not met with optimism by the fans after being linked with bigger names such as Carlos Vela, Daniel Sturridge and Eidur Gudjohnsen.  Recently Easter has returned to his parent club after a disappointing spell with only 1 goal in six appearances.

[caption id="attachment_345" align="aligncenter" width="310" caption="Sinclair: Leading the way for the Swans [Empics Sport"]"][/caption]

It is one of Rodgers' signings that has provided goals for Swansea though, ex-Chelsea player Scott Sinclair has provided the Premier League-esque flair and willingness to the squad, contributing 14 goals in all competitions thus far.  But the squad can't rely on the England Under 21 star for all their goals.  The total of goals scored by other attacking players Darren Pratley (6), Stephen Dobbie (4) and Craig Beattie (3) don't even equal the number of goals scored by Sinclair.

The fans at the Liberty will no doubt be yearning for another player in the mould of ex-Swansea players Jason Scotland or Lee Trundle both achieved a 1-in-2 goalscoring ratio during their time in South Wales.

[caption id="attachment_346" align="aligncenter" width="320" caption="Moore: Will it be Moore the merrier in South Wales?"][/caption]

However, they will be hoping that Rodgers' eye for talent has shone once again after the club bought striker Luke Moore for an undisclosed fee from Premier League side West Bromwich Albion.  Moore was bought by WBA for £3 million from neighbours Aston Villa in the summer of 2008 and climbed up the ranks with players such as Gabriel Agbonlahor at Villa.

Rodgers' is slowly clearing the deadwood in the Swansea side, loaning out inefficent striker Gorka Pintado to Cypriot side AEK Larnaca, terminating the contract of holding midfielder Jordi Lopez by mutual consent, casting doubt on the future of winger Cedric van der Gun and giving no involvement to Finnish striker Shefki Kuqi who recently returned from a loan deal at Derby.

Surely these cuts would be suggesting that the Swans are not finished in this transfer window, with fans keeping their fingers crossed for more attacking players to join the ranks at the Liberty Stadium.  Thus far they have been linked with out of favor Stoke players Eidur Gudjohnsen and Tom Soares in addition to Southampton attacker Jason Puncheon who recently had a very successful, goal-scoring spell at Millwall.  But with the recent long-term injury to captain Garry Monk, Rodgers' will also be casting his eye on a short-term replacement in the back four, with names like Chelsea youngster Patrick van Aanholt and promising Motherwell defender Mark Reynolds on the shortlist.

Swansea have already established themselves as one of the top teams in the division, if not by position, by the style of play they implement.  By combining this reputation with the fantastic knowledge of youth players in the Premier League from Rodgers' tenure at Chelsea and some diamonds in the rough are sure to be found.

For example, Scott Sinclair was always going to be an unknown quantity in a full season in the first-team due to only having played at most half a season at numerous different clubs, but has shone under the manager's guidance and confidence in the player.  The fans can only hope that this would be the case with new recruit Luke Moore, as Rodgers' looks to bring out the best in another young prospect who has yet to fulfil his potential.

With just over two weeks remaining in the window, only time will tell if Moore is the solution to another potential goalscoring problem at the Liberty, or maybe it will be another signing who becomes the catalyst for the Swans' promotion bid.

Bolton Wanderers: Coyle’d and ready to spring

Saturday saw Owen Coyle's Bolton gain another valuable 3 points in an emphatic 5-1 win over Newcastle at the Reebok moving them into 4th place before the Sunday fixtures had kicked off (Manchester City overtaken them into 4th spot after their win over Fulham).

Since Coyle's arrival at Bolton after the dismissal of Gary Megson almost 12 months ago, much to the dismay of the Burnley fans that idolised the Scotsman, Bolton have started to adapt well to his attractive style of play. One player that has been remoulded under Coyle is Johan Elmander.

[caption id="attachment_291" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Super Swede: Elmander finishes off his wondergoal at Wolves in Bolton's 3-2 win at Molineux"][/caption]

Elmander never made the mark he was expected to make on the Lancashire side, but this season he has excelled alongside Kevin Davies, scoring 8 goals so far in this campaign - pretty impressive considering he scored 11 goals in total in his previous two seasons for the Trotters.  With Davies also gaining plaudits from the England camp as of late, confidence will be high for the two frontmen.

It's also worth noting that their strike partnership is debatably one of the most efficient in the league right now with 14 goals between them, 3 goals more than any other partnership in the Premier League (with Newcastle's Carroll (8) / Ameobi (3), Sunderland's Bent (6) / Gyan (5) and Tevez (9) / Balotelli (2) all contributing 11).

But all good strikers need good providers, which Bolton have in the shape of Matty Taylor, Lee Chung-Yong, Stuart Holden and Martin Petrov. Taylor and Petrov provide good Premier League experience, whilst competing for the left wing role, whereas Lee and Holden have promising futures ahead of them with their stellar recent performances.

Finally, at the back, there is the dedicated, consistent Jussi Jaaskelainen with future England prospect Gary Cahill leading the defence in front of him and his central defensive partner Zat Knight has pulled out some great performances too.

By no means am I suggesting that the Bolton squad would out perform the calibre of talent that you would find at top 4 clubs, however, the level of talent that Coyle is working with now as opposed to the players he worked with at Burnley obviously show that he is a manager that can get the best out of players.  To transform a side that was very physical and direct under Allardyce (and quite frankly a little lost under Megson) into a side that tries to outplay their opponents and have started to score freely is a wonderful accolade.

[caption id="attachment_296" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Owen Money: Coyle has brought success to Bolton recently, but has it come at a cost?"][/caption]

One worrying aspect for Bolton is the recent news of their spiralling debts.  In the last year their debts have almost trebled, rising from £13.2m to £35.4m with their net debt lying at a worrying £93m.  This is partially to do with the recruitment of new players in this season and last, such as Lee Chung-Yong, Jack Wilshere and Ivan Klasnic and also retaining all their current squad too, which wasn't necessarily the ideal outcome for the board.

"We wanted to shed players in the summer to bring the wages down but we couldn't because the market has died."

Claimed chairman Phil Gartside, however he does insist that they will not be forced to "sell" their key players, however "trades" may be used in the near future.

However, can these debts be solved by the successful football that Coyle has been demonstrating via his Bolton squad lately?  Based on current performances, a Europa League spot would be in the minds of the fans, and should be a possibility provided that the players keep their performances up to this standard but we all know things are never simple in football.

Teams like Aston Villa have had a rocky start under new manager Gerard Houllier, but are they due a good run?  Will they make any inspired signings in the Summer? And will their impressive youngsters, such as Albrighton, Hogg, Clark and Delfouneso start excelling further?  It's almost inevitable that Roy Hodgson will turn things around at Anfield too, after their disappointing start, they will be looking to push their way into the European spots - not to mention their Merseyside neighbours, Everton.

So, there's a long road ahead for Coyle and his Bolton squad, but things are looking bright up North and maybe there'll be a few European teams suffering the ultimate test of a wet, windy Thursday night at the Reebok next season.

The Unwritten Policy of Team Selection

[caption id="attachment_277" align="aligncenter" width="320" caption="Outspoken: Holloway's views have been widely agreed with by the public."][/caption]

Last Wednesday's clash between Blackpool and Aston Villa saw Ian Holloway's team lose 3-2, however spotlight was raised on the team selection applied by Holloway for the match, which saw 10 changes from the team that drew 2-2 with Everton in their previous match.

"We'll have to see if anyone else does it but, come on, it's been put there as a deterrent. It has set a precedent and I've accepted it."

Mick McCarthy, 18/02/2010

Wolves were fined for an identical "breach" of policy which saw them make 10 changes in a game against Manchester United which they lost 3-0.  It took the FA two months to make a decision, but Mick McCarthy's side were eventually fined £25,000 for making the changes.

McCarthy accepted the fines with no argument, stating "We'll have to see if anyone else does it but, come on, it's been put there as a deterrent. It has set a precedent and I've accepted it." Holloway, however, does not seem to be rolling over to the authority of the FA.

The outspoken Bristolian has been quoted in saying that he'll "quit if fined" and that the FA can't dictate which players are first-team players and which are not and he has an unquestionable point.  Due to the new rules of squad registration, every team must submit a roster of 25 players, with U21 players not required to make up those numbers.  Where does it state that some of those players must be played week-in, week-out?

"Let them try and fine me, it's an absolute disgrace. I'll show the Premier League."

Ian Holloway, 11/11/2010

These 25 players have all been picked to be used in competition, and of course the system could be "exploited" if a squad of U21 players were fielded, which would essentially give the whole 25 man squad a rest and would more likely be a weakened squad. Let us not forget that often a top 4 team playing in the Carling Cup would no doubt field an almost full side of youngsters or a general "weakened" side, but this is the Premier League - not the Carling Cup. Was this the case with Blackpool's squad against Villa though? Let's have a look at the squad run-down;

Richard Kingson - Ghanian national squad goalkeeper, 83 caps, played in the 2010 World Cup.
Chris Basham - a young player signed from Bolton, but still at 22 - thus must've been registered.
Rob Edwards - played 20 games for Blackpool in their last campaign.
Dekel Keinan - Israeli defender signed from Maccabi Haifa this season, 11 caps for Israel.
Keith Southern - a Blackpool player since 2002, played 45 games for Blackpool last season.
Ludovic Syvlestre - another new player, signed from Czech side Mlada Bolesav, has made 2 appearances for Barcelona.
Matt Phillips - youngster signed from Wycombe, part of the England U19 team.
David Carney - signed from FC Twente, part of the squad that won the Eredivisie last year, 31 caps for Australia.
Marlon Harewood - established Premier League player, playing for West Ham and Aston Villa previously.
Brett Ormerod - 36 games played last season, scored the deciding goal for Blackpool in the play-off final.
Jason Euell - Premier League veteran, playing for Wimbledon, Charlton and Middlesbrough - also the club-captain.

So, that's one U21 player, a few full international players and players who have featured heavily for Blackpool in the past.  Granted there a few new signings which haven't made as many appearances, but does that make them part of a weakened side?

[caption id="attachment_280" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Fringe?: Sylvestre is one of many new signings for the Tangerines yet to make a name for himself."][/caption]

Have we reached the stage where a squad registration must also come with a Football Manager-esque squad status attached to it?  Will Charlie Adam be the "Key Player"? With names like Jason Euell making up the "Backup to the squad" numbers?  I wonder how the new players such as Keinan, Sylvestre and Carney feel about making part of a weakened squad too?  From my perspective, it looks like complete ignorance on be half of the FA.

But on one side you have this logical view at the Blackpool squad, and the other side you have the notion of if Wolves suffered the fine, then so should Blackpool?  And if Blackpool do escape a fine, then it would be double standards.

Whatever decision the FA make, I hope it is a fair one, but I'm sure many will agree with me when I say that I really hope we don't lose Ian Holloway as a result of it.

We'll Be Right With You...

Apologies for the lack of content lately, starting a new job and running this blog just didn't seem to end up hand in hand.

We'll get some new articles up as soon as possible!

A Come and Get Me Tweet

Over the past few months there has been one person who has interested me more so than others on my Twitter feed; professional footballer, Leon Knight.  This is because Knight has been voicing, quite publically, his views on his previous employers (and there are plenty of them) in light of his state of limbo that he found himself in after getting sacked from Rushden and Diamonds.

This is a really interesting case, as Knight has not played for Rushden for almost two years now, yet the Blue Square Premier club are still holding onto his registration rights despite sacking him and terminating his contract.  Therefore, if another English club wanted to sign the player they would have to pay Rushden a compensation package of £30,000 for his services.

This clause has warded potential suitors away from signing him, so Knight has been forced to play his football outside of his home nation with clubs such as Greek side Thrasivolous, and Scottish teams Hamilton and Queen of the South.

[caption id="attachment_239" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Anywhere but home: Leon Knight playing his trade at Hamilton"][/caption]

If you look at his past you’ll see his resume littered with clubs he has only stayed with for one season – the reasoning for the majority of these clubs is some form of fallout with the manager, squad or board. So from the outside, an average fan like you and me would think one thing – troublemaker.  However, Knight has really used social networking to get critics and fans on his side.

• He has used the Rushden registration case to gain sympathy from fans, showing that he is a footballer (who did have a potentially great future ahead of him) that just wants to play but is being restricted.


• He has blasted the Rushden board publically, showing that won’t shy away from potential media backlash.


• He has continually praised the majority of his previous clubs, showing that he is a team player and does love the game.


• He responds to fans a lot of the time, answering questions that most players would dare to answer in respect to the backlash any answer could receive, showing that he wants to please the fans whenever possible.

After reading his tweets for a month or so now, I probably share the same view as a lot of other fans who have done the same – I feel sorry for the guy!  He obviously wants to play, he’s has had his problems in the past, but the relationship he has with the fans and the desire he shows for the game is obvious to see.  Essentially, Leon Knight has transformed his come and get me plea to a universal come and get me tweet.

From troublemaker to sorrow figure through one medium, Leon Knight, you are a very intelligent man.  Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mean this sarcastically either.  I genuinely think Knight has orchestrated a fantastic PR campaign and it was all down to one social medium and word of mouth – something that some PR agents would spend unspeakable amounts of money doing.

But social mediums like Twitter can often cause controversy too.  Leon Knight may not be a globally known footballer, however you can argue that case with Darren Bent.  When you have a global following, the media spotlight is a lot brighter, and that spotlight was shined in Bent’s direction after his Twitter outburst in 2009.

[caption id="attachment_238" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Controversy: Darren Bent put his eventual transfer to Sunderland at risk due to social networking."][/caption]

It came in light of the striker’s transfer from Tottenham to Sunderland in the Summer transfer window last season.  After Sunderland fans discovered the striker was an passionate tweeter, they were encouraged to sign up to the site and persuade him to join the club.  This sparked such replies in the realms of “Why can’t anything be simple. It’s so frustrating hanging round doing jack s***” and “Do I wanna go Hull City NO. Do I wanna go stoke NO do I wanna go sunderland YES so stop f****** around levy” (sic).

Bent later apologised for the rant, saying that he was acting out of frustration to his proposed transfer to Sunderland and did not mean to cause any offence to Daniel Levy.  After clinching his transfer to Sunderland, his Twitter account was removed so he could focus on the job at hand, and what a job he did in the North-East.  Since then, an account has been reactivated for the England striker, and he seems to be staying out of trouble for the meantime.

When you compare the Leon Knight and Darren Bent cases, they don’t seem to dissimilar.  A player wanting to leave the shackles of a club he does not want to be at, to show their fans that they have ambitions elsewhere.  But, if Knight was at a more high profile club than Rushden and Diamonds, the story could be a lot different for him.

In an age where social networking and technology are taking over our lives, it is no surprise that players choose to use these tools.  It gives them another output into the world and a closer connection to their fans, however it does open the floodgates for any negative media feedback and rarely will they pick up on any positive feedback, as is the way of the British media.

Incidentally, you can follow Leon Knight at http://www.twitter.com/LeonKnight82 - it’s a very good and interesting read.

U21 Spotlight: Marvin Sordell

Watford, thus far, have managed to set a very impressive record with their goalscoring ways.  All 21 goals scored by Watford have been by English players, and with them sitting in an unexpected 4th place, they'll hope the goals keep coming.  Marvin Sordell has played a big part in this record, scoring 5 of the goals (plus another goal in the League Cup), just one goal behind top scorer Danny Graham.

The Hornets are starting to develop a name for themselves with developing young talent.  It was at Watford where Ashley Young, before he moved to Aston Villa in 2007 for a club record fee, started to showcase what he has to offer.  More recently such talents like Scott Loach, first-team England U21 goalkeeper, and Sordell are still playing their trade at Vicarage Road.  And we can't forget where David James started his career before he made a name for himself with Liverpool.

Sordell's career, however, started at neighbouring London club Fulham where he played as a schoolboy.  Then he moved onto Watford and signed up for a two-year scholarship in 2007.  In 2008, he was loaned out to non-league side Wealdstone for a work experience placement (yes, even professional footballers have these).  He scored 2 goals during his short stint there where he made 5 appearances.

[caption id="attachment_224" align="aligncenter" width="320" caption="Instant impact: Sordell didn't hang around to showcase his talents for Watford"][/caption]

After impressing during his scholarship, Sordell signed a professional contract with the Hornets in 2009.  He made his professional debut only 2 games into the new season, replacing experienced striker Nathan Ellington in a 2-0 away defeat against Sheffield United.  Only 10 days later he managed his first senior goal too, forcing an eventual 2-1 loss to Leeds in the League Cup to extra time.

Manager Malky Mackay saw the player as a prospect, so during the January 2010 transfer window he was sent out on loan to League One Tranmere Rovers to gain more first-team experience.  The loan deal was initially for one-month but was later extended.  In total, Sordell managed 1 goal for the Merseyside team in 8 appearances.

As the tail-end of the 2009/10 season approached, Mackay opted to put his faith in Sordell and give the youngster some playing time, despite Watford having a potentially nervy end to the season.  He repaid the manager's faith by scoring a fantastic goal against Coventry, tipping off a 4-0 victory to regain the air of confidence in the squad.

[caption id="attachment_225" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Eye for goal: Sordell has managed 5 league goals already this season (Getty Images)."][/caption]

Fast forward to the 2010/11 season and Sordell has proved his worth.  As mentioned above, the young striker has managed 5 league goals in 10 games (achieving the desired 1 in 2 ratio so far) and they don't seem to be stopping quite yet.

As a reward for this fine form, in late September, Marvin was offered a new contract to hold him down at Vicarage Road.  A fine plan by the team as he seems to be following in the footsteps of previous youth successes.  It's not just the board and backroom staff who have noticed his talents either - Sordell was also nominated for Championship Player of the Month for September.

However, in signing a new contract with the club, he has shown good values and a level head in terms of the future.  Sordell was quoted in saying "...there is a long way to go before I can feel established...I can't afford to get carried away just because I have scored a few goals".  For a young player to have such modesty is a great thing to see, and will no doubt help him along his development.

[caption id="attachment_226" align="aligncenter" width="320" caption="Pace: Sordell uses his pace to his advantage in the final third."][/caption]

With the future of English football being heavily under the public eye in light of the disappointing World Cup campaign, players like Sordell are many years away from achieving such accolades, but will no doubt be one of the many players under the watchful eye of whoever will be England manager come the 2014 World Cup.  The first step for the player will be U21 caps, and if his form continues, Stuart Pearce would be a fool to pass up his talents.