Charlie Austin- Is it time for an England call up?

First of all,  Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all. Secondly as 2015 looms I have decided to give my opinion on the debate on whether or not Charlie Austin should be given an England call up after his fine period of form with QPR.

Austin celebrating after his goal against Sunderland in August.

Charlie Austin has been the stand out player for QPR this year scoring 12 goals and getting 2 assists in 17 games. His tally of 12 goals equates to over half of QPR's total goals at this stage of the season. Without him it seems likely that QPR wouldn't be sitting in 15th at the halfway point in the season. However is this form that has made him 3rd top scorer in the Premier League this year ,behind Aguero and Costa, good enough to warrant a call-up to the national team? 

I believe it is. My main reason for this is that Austin has outperformed all of his fellow English strikers. The likes of Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck and Rickie Lambert have all scored less than Austin, with Rooney on 8 goals, Welbeck on 4 and Lambert on 1. Another aspect to consider is that these players all play for bigger clubs (Man Utd, Arsenal and Liverpool) and as such are surrounded by better players to supply them with goals, so it is even more impressive that Austin has outscored them. Finally Austin would offer something different for England. He can hold the ball up, take penalties, win headers and score with either foot. This would give England a very adaptable player who could slot in alongside and compliment any other Striker. For example if put alongside Danny Welbeck, Austin could hold the ball up and slot Welbeck through, he could also be on the end of crosses from Welbeck or the wingers. On the other hand, if put alongside Andy Carroll he could be the one getting on the end of through balls and scoring them. Similarly he could help supply Carroll in the air. For me these reasons make Austin a good choice for England and maybe 2015 will be the year he makes it.

Sorry for the brief post, brainstorming a lot of ideas at the moment.

James

Attacking Stars of the Season so far...

It's only the early days of November but the footballing world is in full swing in Europe. As a result, the heroes of this season have already emerged and in this post I'm going to give you my choices for the top players so far in Europe's top 5 leagues (This is going to be attacking players as I'm going to be looking at mostly Goals but also Assists).

1. Alexandre Lacazette- Lyon
It was a tight competition between Lacazette and Andre-Pierre Gignac of Marseille who both have 10 Goals and although Gignac has played less minutes, Lacazette gets my pick as he has 4 assists to Gignac's 1. The highlight of Lacazette's season so far has probably been the 23 year old's hat trick at home to Lille. 

2. Robert Lewandowski-Bayern Munich

Although not top scorer or top assister in the Bundesliga, the 26 year old has been in fine form since his move from rivals Borussia Dortmund in the summer. He has racked up 5 goals and 2 assists with his finest moment probably being scoring against his old club in this weekends derby.

3. Jose Callejon-Napoli

With 8 goals this season so far, the Spaniard is the Serie A top scorer and the former Real Madrid man also has an assist to his name. This weekend he continued his fine form with his 8th goal in 10 games, scoring late on against Roma to gain Napoli a 2-1 win.

4. Alexis Sanchez-Arsenal

This one is going to be controversial. I had to choose between Costa, Sanchez and Aguero. Diego Costa of Chelsea has 9 goals in 8 games, Sergio Aguero of Man City has 10 goals in 10 games and Alexis has 7 in 9 games. So obviously Alexis is not winning at this point and I have to mention that the other two are having fine seasons especially Diego Costa who is a new addition to the league. However when we look at assists , Costa and Aguero both have 0. Alexis on the other hand has 2, and when you take into consideration he is a winger rather than a striker, he is new to the league and has worse players to supply him (Arsenal being ,in my opinion, a worse team than Chelsea and Manchester City) the Chilean has to come out on top.Just. 

5. Cristiano Ronaldo-Real Madrid

This one was so very easy to decide. So far this season Ronaldo has played 9 games, assisted 3 goals and scored 17 goals. Absolutely incredible stats from the 2013 Ballon d'Or winner. The man from Portugal has had such a fine season it's hard to pick out one moment but scoring one and setting up one in the 3-1 win against Barcelona at the Bernabeu stands out to me. In such a high profile match, he completely outshone Lionel Messi ,leading me to finally start to swing towards Ronaldo in the age old Messi vs Ronaldo debate. 

Thanks for reading, 

James

Re: I'm back

After a bit of a hiatus, I'm now gonna get back to posting semi-regularly, starting tomorrow with a look at some stars so far in the big European leagues. 

James

Saturday 27th- Premier League Predictions

Here are my predictions for today's Premier League fixtures:

Liverpool vs. Everton

The weekend starts with the Merseyside derby. Liverpool have looked shaky of late with defeats to Aston Villa and West Ham whilst Everton have also not been at their best, losing to Crystal Palace last weekend. With Daniel Sturridge still out I can't see Liverpool getting a big win as Lambert and Borini just don't cut it for me and Balotelli is still settling in and is unpredictable at best, at the moment. However I also cannot see Everton winning this as they just don't seem to have that cutting edge this season. Lukaku is a quality player but cannot win this game on his own and the Liverpool midfield will limit what Barry and McCarthy can do to help him. Overall I am going for a low scoring draw as I both teams look in poor form and I can't see a clear winner.

MY PREDICTION: 1-1

Chelsea vs. Aston Villa

This fixture pits the Premier League's leaders Chelsea against surprise package Aston Villa. Chelsea have been rampant of late and were close to beating Man City last week before Lampard came back to score a late goal that will go down in Premier League history as a truly shocking moment.Aston Villa have been also good in the Premier League beating Liverpool at Anfield two weeks ago, however last week a virus hit their team meaning despite being dominant early on against Arsenal last week , they were eventually beaten 3-0 at home by The Gunners. This week I can't see Chelsea losing, as in my opinion right now they are the best team in the league, i think that Fabregas and Costa will be too much for Aston Villa's defence and I think this one will end in a 3-1 Chelsea win.

MY PREDICTION: 3-1

Crystal Palace vs. Leicester

Last week we saw Leicester put in a blinding performance to come back from 3-1 down in the second half to beat Man Utd 5-3. It was a quality match and it showed Leicester deserve to be here in the the best league in the world. However they now travel to a tough ground, Selhurst Park, the home of Crystal Palace. Palace are also in good form, last week beating Everton and I think that today they will win. Leicester are on a high after that win against United but if they do not keep their feet on their ground, Crystal Palace will do it for them in what will be a tough physical game. In my opinion the crowd will push Palace onto a 2-1 win.

MY PREDICTION: 2-1

Hull vs. Man City

Last year's FA Cup finalists Hull last week squandered a 0-2 lead at Newcastle to draw 2-2 and subsequently came back from Tyneside disappointed, and although at home today i can't see them getting anything from a clash with the champions Manchester City. City, who drew 1-1 at home to Chelsea last week, have an incredible squad and are full of confidence after beating Sheffield Wednesday 7-0 midweek. Hull have been lifted by the signings of Hernandez and Diame but are without a win in four matches. For that reason I have to go for a big City win.

MY PREDICTION: 1-4

Man Utd vs. West Ham

Man Utd need a win. Last week they were beaten 5-3 by Leicester after leading 1-3 in the second half. The result showed that they still have weaknesses, a lack of defensive prowess and a frail mental attitude. West Ham on the other hand have been good in the last few games, most notably last week when they went to Anfield and beat Liverpool 3-1. They look a changed team, playing in a very unAllardyce way , keeping the ball and playing neat passing football. Sakho, Valencia, Kouyate and Song all look like inspired signings and West Ham are in high spirits. But I can't see them winning today. Man United showed that even with a weak defence they still have Falcao, Di Maria and others to bombard a defence. This is why I have to tip them to win today.

MY PREDICTION: 3-1

Southampton vs. QPR

Despite losing many big players in the summer, Southampton have been impressive this year and look good value for a Europa League spot at this point in time. I have been particularly impressed with Dusan Tadic and Nathaniel Clyne both of whom scored against Arsenal in the Capital One Cup win for Soton. Meanwhile QPR are a team that have not yet found their feet and scraped a draw against Stoke last week. This is why I am going for a Southampton win.

MY PREDICTION: 2-0

Sunderland vs. Swansea

Swansea face a trip to The Stadium Of Light today without Wilfried Bony who was sent off in the defeat to Southampton last weekend. Swansea may feel they could've got more out of that game had he not have been dismissed, and I would have to agree. The team they face this week is Sunderland who look stronger than last year but are still yet to win this season. Swansea have been playing well but have lost two games in a row. I feel this match may be a cagey affair and because of this I'm going for a goalless draw.

MY PREDICTION: 0-0

Arsenal vs. Tottenham

The afternoon ends today with the North London Derby and this is always a passionate heated affair. The highest scoring clash in Premier League history always promises action and this year I'm sure will be no different. Last year Arsenal took both results in the League both 1-0 victories and I'm sure this year Spurs will be out for revenge. Arsenal are in good form in the League as they are still unbeaten and Sanchez looks to be a good player for them thus far. Furthermore Mesut Ozil proved that if he is played as a CAM he can be very effective last week against Villa. However losses against Dortmund and Southampton in other competitions are worrying. Spurs have had a mixed start to the Premier League, and at the moment look short on goals. A loss to West Brom last weekend was very disappointing and despite a midweek win over Nottingham Forest in the Capital One Cup, Spurs fans still seem annoyed at how the team has not yet clicked. I think that Arsenal will win today in what I think will be a thrilling clash and an advert for the Premier League.

MY PREDICTION: 4-2

Thanks for reading,

James

Starting Again...

Due to some computer related issues I can no longer access my old blog (http://itsaquestionofsport.blogspot.co.uk/) so all posts will from now on be on here, starting later today.

Sorry for the inactivity.

James