Easter weekend is always one of the most important times in the football league season and this year’s was no different.

The race for second and third spot has come down to three teams, Torquay United, Crawley Town and of course Shrewsbury Town.

The bank holiday fixtures began on Friday with Torquay taking on Accrington and Crawley hosting an in-form Crewe Alexandra side. For a lot of the afternoon results looked as though they could go our way with Crawley trailing for 88 minutes until a late penalty salvaged them a point and Torquay getting themselves a solitary goal in the last 20 minutes to give them a 1-0 victory.

So we knew what we had to do as we made our way to a rainy Moss Rose on Friday night. A victory would lift us two points above Crawley and keep us within three points of Torquay with a game in hand.

An encouraging first half display from the Shrews saw us go into the half time with a one goal lead thanks to a fantastic finish from in form striker James Collins. Second half came and we continued to dominate with two more goals, one from Mark Wright and another from Collins to give us a 3-1 victory with Macclesfield grabbing themselves a consolation between our second and third goals.

Any Town fans who were at Macclesfield will understand the conditions in the away end were hardly the best so it was nice to be back on our home turf on Easter Monday where Bradford City were the visitors.

We took the lead in the game through an early goal from Jermaine Grandison and continued to look dominate throughout what was a very entertaining first half. The game was a lot more even second half but we showed the resilience to keep our promotion march going with another three points and another game unbeaten at home.

Torquay got lucky again at Oxford on Monday, snatching a last minute draw after being reduced to ten men whereas Crawley come back from a goal behind to beat Barnet 2-1 away at Underhill to keep the pressure on.

So as things stand we stand in third position following the Easter period. We currently stand one point behind Torquay with a game in hand over them. Crawley have played the same amount of games as us but stand two points behind us as things stand. So I think going into the final five games of the campaign we are just ahead of the other two teams.

Of course this could all change on Saturday when Torquay host Southend United, who have the most away wins in the division, while Crawley have the easiest of the three games this weekend, hosting AFC Wimbledon. Whereas we take on Rotherham United who in the big news of the weekend have just appointed Steve Evans as their new manager and I’m in doubt the former Crawley manager will be hoping to make a good impression at his new club and do his old one a favour by finally breaking our home record.

Roll on Saturday!

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You can follow me on Twitter @LiamHoofe

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Chelsea forward Didier Drogba has stated that the Blues may well have rode their luck in beating Barcelona on Wednesday night, but is eager to score in the second leg at Camp Nou.

The west London side surprised the European champions in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final, with the Ivory Coast international scoring the only goal of the game in a 1-0 win.

With the return fixture next week, a Premier League fixture against Arsenal and the FA Cup final against Liverpool still to play, the African striker has admitted that the club are seeking success this term.

“We have to go there now and try to score another one,” he told Sky Sports.

“That’s football and I think we were a bit lucky.

“You have to work for luck to come and to happen. We worked a lot. We worked hard.

“It’s a difficult week, difficult 10 days for us after Spurs, this game, and then Arsenal, and then again Barcelona.

“It’s going to be an important, very decisive week for us, and I think we’re up for it,” Drogba concluded.

Meanwhile, The Daily Mail indicate that Drogba is close to agreeing a £6.7 million-a-year deal to join Shanghai Shenhua.

The ambitious Chinese side already have Nicolas Anelka in their ranks, and are eyeing his former team-mate, who is out of contract in the summer.

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By Gareth McKnight

Manchester City have identified Montpellier attacker Younes Belhanda as a possible summer transfer target, according to The Daily Mail.

The Etihad Stadium outfit have their hearts set on signing Lille’s prodigious talent Eden Hazard, but will face competition from some of Europe’s top teams for his signature.

It is believed that Belhanda is a fall-back option for the current Premier League leaders should a move for Hazard not materialise.

The Morocco international has been pivotal in unexpectedly leading Montpellier to the top of Ligue 1 title this term, chipping in with 12 goals and being shortlisted for the Young Player of the Year award in France.

Belhanda has also been tracked by a number of other leading European sides, and has a transfer value of around £10 million.

The African is adept on either flank or as a second striker, and will be considered by City should Hazard chose to sign for another club.

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By Gareth McKnight

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It was a frustrating 90 minutes as England spent a lot of time without the ball, camped in their own half against France in their opening Euro 2012 fixture. It is a less than desirable tactic but one that is frequently proven to provide results. In an attempt to encourage the England team to become more forceful in possession Martin Keown suggested in The Daily Mail that Steven Gerrard and Scott Parker should rotate in the midfield in a similar manner to that with Sami Khedira and Bastian Schweinsteiger did to devastating effect for Germany against Netherlands. But these are very different players and would it really be to England’s advantage to try and replicate this tactic?

Khedira and Schweinsteiger played as the deep-lying midfielders in a 4-2-3-1 formation for Joachim Low’s side but did not restrict their attacking movements. In fact, the Bayern Munich midfielder supplied the assists for both of Germany’s goals in the 2-1 wins. While it proved to be a success for Low’s team, Gerrard and Parker lack the dynamism of the German duo possessing a combined 11-years more.

Gerrard himself recently admitted in an interview with ITV that his years of bombing forward to join the attack are beyond him. Instead he must make his influence known from a deeper position, aiding the forward momentum with his wide array of passing.

In terms of his midfield partner, while Parker may have added the odd attacking injection during his time at Charlton Athletic, he lacks the finesse in the final third to make a telling contribution to the attack. He should not be encouraged to get forward simply because it worked for Germany. Even Khedira as a typically defensive player is a far better playmaker than the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder. That is not to disparage Parker, he is exceptionally good at what he does, so why change it?

We should not focus on emulating other countries and instead make the most of what he have in abundance: pace. Players such as Theo Walcott, Ashley Young and Danny Welbeck all possess terrific acceleration, as does Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. England would benefit most from using this to stretch teams and get in behind. In the current 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1 there is too much pressure on Gerrard and Parker to get forward with James Milner on the left it limits the options available when going forward.

The problem that comes with relying on speed however is that most teams defend against it by setting their defensive line deep, reducing the room for players to make the piercing run in behind. With the main complaint of England that they sit back too much and do not control the ball, the use of fast players in the wide areas could help over turn this.

By forcing the opposition to defend deep Steven Gerrard would be more readily able to help join the attack, adding an extra bit of class on the ball that is so frequently needed to forge the best of openings. In a 4-3-3 formation Scott Parker could sit and hold while the hard-working James Milner and Gerrard rotate in the responsibility of joining the attack.

In a 4-2-3-1 England could really make the most of their pace. When Wayne Rooney returns for the final fixture against Ukraine he could be used behind the striker as he so frequently likes to drop behind the play and pick up the ball. He could be supported from deep by Gerrard who would be required to attack less, enabling him to use his experience to pick the most opportune moments to venture forward.

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While the excellent displays of Germany and Spain in the this round of fixtures have been particularly inspirational, England should not pretend to be something they are not. It is unwise of Keown to suggest so and instead we should make use of what is so readily available to us.. When you are trying to loosen a bolt you pick up the spanner, not the hammer.

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Liverpool, unlike fellow decadent, former stars Leeds and Nottingham Forest, have had to endure a demise that has spread out over twenty years. Liverpool have descended from the most successful, feared side in Europe with a rich history and worldwide popularity to a team of perennial underachievers. That’s not to say that the current crop of Liverpool’s players are underachievers, they are probably achieving what most of us expected they would, but that the club itself is underachieving is not in doubt.

When Fenway Sports Group bought Liverpool it would be fair to say that they underestimated just how difficult it would be to restore the club’s former glories. Damien Commoli’s take on the American ‘Money-ball’ philosophy was bought into, as was the suitability of Kenny Daglish as manager; in retrospect neither decision was right.

Now, with the Fenway group having played their hand, spent their money, and failed, former Swansea boss Brendan Rodgers has been brought in to rebuild an expensively assembled but worryingly disappointing squad. Whilst the suggestion that, considering Liverpool’s recent strife, things can only get better may have an element of truth to it, Rodgers’ task is immense.

Rewind twelve months and consider the objectives laid out before Andre Villas-Boas as he began his ill-fated career at Chelsea. The Portuguese manager was faced with rebuilding a side whose two most iconic players (Terry and Lampard) were perceived to have too much power and well past their prime, and whose record signing was struggling for any kind of acceptable form whatsoever. The former Porto man came in with a reassuring bravado as he went about his business, culling certain stars and thrusting his ethos down the throat of a team who were very much set in their ways.

Rodgers is facing a similar problem. With Carragher and Gerrard entering the twilight of their careers and Andy Carroll still failing to justify has quite remarkable price tag Rodgers must transform this team quickly and effectively whilst simultaneously worrying about the problems that such sharp change can bring.

Villas-Boas faced two major problems. The first was that he ostracised certain key members of the squad in the name of progress. Secondly: he tried to instil attacking tactics and a fast style of play on a selection of players who had enjoyed success in their careers playing, for the most part, in the exact opposite style.

Rodgers will have to combat this problem. Will it be possible for him to change the way Liverpool played last season in to the style of attacking football that got him the job in the first place? Daglish’s tactics might not have been as negative as Liverpool’s goal tally suggested but they’re certainly some way off being Barcelona-esque.

Regardless of the style they were playing last year, some critics have been suggesting that Liverpool’s players are simply not up to playing fast-paced, passing football. Were this to be the case then Rodgers may well have to axe some prominent squad players; could this then be as damaging as it was for Villas-Boas?

Now, many Swansea fans will point to the speed at which Swansea’s squad adopted Rodgers’ attacking brand of football; however, Swansea’s previous two managers were Paulo Sousa and Roberto Martinez, both of whom coached attacking football. At Liverpool, Rodgers will not have the foundations laid down for him as he did before.

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Rodgers’ undeniable talent as a manager should be reassuring for Liverpool, yet the same was true of Villas-Boas when he arrived in London having won every single trophy that Porto had competed for the year before. For all of Swansea’s impressive performances, Rodgers has not enjoyed nearly as much success as the man who will act as a warning to him. There is potential in Liverpool’s squad, there is potential in their owners and Rodgers could well be the man to take this club to the heights of European football; but first he must tackle the paradox of instilling immediate change without the dangerous consequences that such transformations invariably bring.

Follow me on Twitter @H_Mackay

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Sao Paulo vice-president Joao Paulo de Jesus Lopes has confirmed that Paris Saint-Germain have been in touch in regards to Lucas Moura.

The Brazil international is currently on international duty for the Selecao in the Olympic Games, and has emerged as a transfer target for Manchester United.

With the Old Trafford side on the verge of agreeing a fee with Sao Paulo for the midfielder, PSG have come in with a last minute bid, which is believed to be more than United are offering.

Lopes has confirmed that contact has been made by the French side, but that the player will make the final decision over his future destination.

“We have been probed by PSG about Lucas,” Lopes told Le 10 Sport, translated to English by Sky Sports.

“Leonardo has a very good relationship with Sao Paulo. But for now nothing is definite.

“The possibility exists but it is down to the player’s interests. The policy of Sao Paulo is to follow the desires of the player. If the player wishes to leave, Sao Paulo will not create any obstacle. But we must receive a proposal that is appropriate.

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“It’s a financial issue. Paris Saint-Germain is a big club in European football and if the player’s interests and also the club’s are met, I do not see why it would not happen,” he concluded.

By Gareth McKnight

Arsenal are believed to be on the verge of signing Spanish winger Santi Cazorla, The Daily Mail reports.

The Gunners are eager to add strength in depth to their squad this summer and have already acquired Olivier Giroud and Lukas Podolski during the transfer window.

Cazorla, who was part of Spain’s squad for Euro 2012 but did not get the chance to shine, has impressed for Malaga in his first season with the club, helping the Andalusians to Champions League qualification.

However, the La Liga side are thought to be under financial pressure and the sale of their star winger is on the cards.

Arsenal are believed to have agreed a £16 million fee with the Romaleda club, with personal terms also already concluded too.

Cazorla now only has to pass a medical to become the third new Gunner of the transfer window.

However, Cazorla’s signature would cast more doubt over the future of Theo Walcott, who only has one year left on his current deal and is stalling on a new contract.

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By Gareth McKnight

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With a new manager and new style of play arriving on Anfield, speculation has been rife as to where captain Steven Gerrard fits into the new regime at Liverpool.

Injuries have disrupted the iconic midfielder’s recent seasons and as the team look to adopt a more patient possession game, some experts believe the England international may be encouraged to dictate play in a deeper role.

Comparisons have been drawn between him and Paul Scholes, who after coming out of retirement last year quickly became an integral part of Manchester United’s squad, adding composure and quality to a much maligned central midfield.

However Gerrard feels he can remain the box to box midfielder he has always been. The 32 year old told The Mirror, “I think people want me to say I can’t play in the same way anymore. That I need to go deeper to control the game and play a slower game – but believe me, it’s not happening not yet.

“I’ve spoken to the manager about what role he sees me filling and he sees me as an attacking midfielder. That’s good because I believe passionately I can play a dynamic energy-type game. People keep mentioning Paul Scholes but he’s four years older than me!”

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Robin Van Persie is the latest player on the treatment table at Manchester United and is a doubt for Saturday’s match against Wigan. The Daily Star reports.

Van Persie picked up a thigh injury in Holland’s 4-1 win over Turkey, causing Sir Alex Ferguson to fly home early from his holiday in America and immediately contact the medical team about the situation.

It is worrying news for Ferguson, especially as the Dutchman’s four goals in three games have proved to be crucial in securing victories over Fulham and Southampton.

Fellow striker Wayne Rooney is also facing a lengthy lay-off, so hope could rest with the likes of Javier Hernandez and Danny Welbeck to come to the fore against the Latics.

United could also be without Shinji Kagawa, after he complained of pains in his lower back in Japan’s 1-0 win over United Arab Emirates, but should recover in time for Saturday.

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Meanwhile, the Red Devils’ problems in defence have been well-documented, as Phil Jones and Chris Smalling are both out with long-term injuries, while Evans suffered soreness in his ankle after a comeback for Northern Ireland in Russia.

Well Saturday was another day to forget for Coventry City fans despite it being Mark Robins first game in charge. It was another lacklustre performance from the team which saw us waist chances and gift goals to the opposition.

Maybe we as fans were expecting change too soon with Robins only having two days with the players however you do expect some sort of reaction from the players which we didn’t really see. The players should have been playing to impress but for me there was only one player who did that and that was David McGoldrick. He was part of everything that was good about the City performance. He showed touches of quality, some real finishing ability and worked hard for the team as the lone front man.

A real concern for me is that it is a player on loan who seems to care the most and it shouldn’t be that way. One player in particular who I have been disappointed with ever since his return to the club is Gary McSheffery. He has had Premier League experience and he is a Coventry lad but you would not believe this is if you were seeing him play for the first time. The passion for the game seems to have gone out of him and it genuinely seems like he doesn’t really care that much anymore.

For me there is nothing more frustrating for a fan than seeing a player especially a local lad not giving there all for the team. I don’t know whether he has just lost his ability, lost his confidence or just doesn’t care anymore but something needs to change as he should be a star in that team but it’s just not happening right now.

I don’t want to just single McSheffery out though as there are a lot of players in that side that are massively underperforming. Robins pointed to this fact in his post match interview where he highlighted a lack of confidence as the biggest issue within the squad.

There are many differing views when it comes to the role that confidence plays in football but I am firm believer that confidence can often mean more than ability itself. It is all well and good having ability but if you don’t have the confidence to use it then the ability goes to waste.

This is something that affects even the best players in the world with the obvious example being Fernando Torres. Now no one can deny the fact that he is one of the world’s best but even he needs to believe in himself for him to do well. During his bad spell of form he was receiving heavy criticism with many questioning whether he had just lost his ability but all he needed was for others to believe in him again so he could in turn believe in himself. This change in attitude as people began to back him made all the difference and once again we now see him week in week out performing for Chelsea as their number one striker.

There is also the issue of mentality surrounding the squad. There is a losing mentality within the squad at the moment and has been for a very long time. This has to change going forward as even the new players within the squad seem to have accepted this and are not happy to lose but don’t try hard enough to win.

Applying this to the whole of the Coventry squad and it is understandable that we are where we are. Criticism and a lack of belief is abundant within the fans and this is clearly going to impact the team. Fans have been calling for so called ‘tough love’ to be handed out to the players and that maybe what is needed for some of them but definitely not all of them. Some will respond much better to having an arm put round them and trying to get them to believe in themselves again. It’s all about finding that right balance and I think Thorn was probably too soft on the players and allowed to relax and get stuck in the rut that we still find ourselves in. Robins on the other hand seems like he will not accept bad performances so readily and from what he has said in the press as well as what I have heard about him, I have trust in him that he will be able to find that balance.

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I have said before but the fans really need to play a role in this change in confidence and mentality. We need to start believing that these players are good players and we need to try to get behind them. I appreciate that it is difficult when we are seeing what we have been on the pitch. I do fully believe though that the combination of us fans, Robins and his coaching staff and we can get these players believing in themselves again. If we do then success could be just round the corner. These players are not as bad as their league position suggests and hopefully Robins will be the man to kick start our season by instilling some much needed belief back into the squad.

PUSB!!

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