GLEN JOHNSON: BETDAQ Brand Ambassador Glen Johnson discusses Harry Kane’s situation at Tottenham, as well as previewing Liverpool v Leicester and Newcastle v Manchester United, while also looking ahead to the upcoming international break.
HARRY HAS TO MOVE ON FROM SPURS
Tottenham’s match against Bayern Munich was painful to watch, and I think losing 7-2 was a mix of a freak result, as well as Spurs having underlying problems.
I’ve been in situations where there are problems behind the scenes and there’s a divide between players. It can affect a team and their performance. It’s clear that something isn’t right there, and Mauricio Pochettino must take ownership and make sure it’s sorted soon.
If they don’t get their act together, players will want to leave, and they’ll have a major rebuilding job on their hands – and that could mean players like Harry Kane move on. I listened to Rio Ferdinand say that he thinks Harry should move on for the sake of his career to win trophies, and I agree with him.
If I was in Harry’s shoes, I would think that I can play elsewhere and have a much better chance of playing with better players and adding trophies to my cabinet. In a couple of years his goals could dry up at Spurs and he’d be out the door – there’s no loyalties in football and he has to look after himself first and foremost.
I don’t think he’d be suited to the Spanish style of playing, so he might have to wait for Sergio Aguero to move on at City before going there, but it’s not out of the question that could happen in my opinion.
If I was Harry, I know what I’d do – I’d be moving on for the sake of my career to win as much as I could.
FOXES WILL STOP LIVERPOOL’S WINNING RUN
I’m looking forward to the Liverpool v Leicester game this weekend – both teams are in great form and there’s extra spice added to this one due to Brendan Rodgers’ return to Anfield for the first time since 2015.
He’s spoken about looking forward to going back, but I’m sure he’ll be doing everything in his power to get one over on Liverpool. He’ll want to show he’s improved as a manager since he left Merseyside, and I think he’ll be brave and go for it against his old team.
Brendan divides opinion with some, but I’m sure he’ll get a decent enough reception at Anfield as he arguably changed the momentum for Liverpool and has helped towards what they are achieving now as a football club.
The Reds have looked unstoppable in the league, but the Foxes are where they are in the league because they are playing well. They’ll be looking at Liverpool’s games against Napoli and Salzburg in the Champions League and thinking they can cause similar problems.
Liverpool are on track to beat City’s record Premier League winning streak (18 matches), but I fancy Leicester to put a stop to that and get a result this weekend.
IT’S TOUGH MISSING OUT ON INTERNATIONALS
I always really looked forward to international football and playing for England. For an English player, it’s the pinnacle of your career and what you work so hard for.
I was lucky that I didn’t miss out on too many squads unless I had an injury, but it can be frustrating for players who aren’t involved in their respective international setups.
You go into training and there’s only a handful of players involved, while some of the under-23s also take part, then you might have a few days off. Some players liked that, but I just missed the buzz whenever I wasn’t involved in international football.
THIS UNITED TEAM IS UNRECOGNISABLE
Newcastle will not have a better time to face Manchester United than now – and they must be thinking they can get a result.
There were times I came up against United teams and thought ‘how are we going to beat them?’ when they had the likes of Roy Keane, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney over the years, but this team is a shadow of their old selves.
If I was playing for Newcastle against United, I’d be thinking that this is the best chance in years to ruffle Manchester United and get in their faces, and I think the Magpies will do that this weekend and win 2-1.
WEEKLY ACCUMULATOR
⚽ Liverpool 1-1 Leicester
⚽ Brighton 1-2 Tottenham
⚽ Newcastle 2-1 Manchester United
⚽ Southampton 0-2 Chelsea
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