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I’ll start with the news concerning Roberto De Zerbi’s appointment at Tottenham. I was a bit surprised by the timing of the appointment, as I thought he’d have wanted it in the summer.
But I think it’s a good call, as they need a manager with Premier League experience. The fact there is no relegation clause is interesting, but I’m sure he could leave quite easily if Tottenham did go down.
Clinton was speaking on behalf of Freebets.com, the home of World Cup Betting Offers.
Clinton Morrison: 'Spurs have made the right appointment for a change'
He believes that he’s good enough to keep Tottenham in the Premier League, but it will be very difficult with some massive matches ahead. I think the club’s hierarchy has made the right appointment for a change, which certainly hasn’t been the case recently.
A lot has also been made about him signing a five-year deal, but in this day and age, you can sign as long a contract as you want. When it's your time to leave, or the club wants to get rid of you, it doesn’t really hold much value.
Saying that though, a five-year contract indicates he wants to be there for a long time. And it will take time to implement all his ideas there. His team won't be able to play the type of football that Brighton played, not at this moment anyway.
These players are low on confidence right now, but if he keeps them in the Premier League, then you’ll see him get the best out of these players next season.
Moving onto England now, and although their performances were disappointing, I feel there were reasons behind that. No player wants to get injured at this time of the season, because you want to be available for the World Cup. That has to be playing on your mind.
This also wasn’t the best England team either, as Thomas Tuchel probably had about five or six of the starters missing from the team that would probably be starting at the World Cup. I think it was more disappointing for the players that want to get on that plane or into that starting 11, as they didn't really have an impact.
So that's the biggest disappointment with those two performances against Uruguay and Japan. Harry Kane didn’t play in either of the two games, and you could see how important he is to this England side.
He's been fantastic this season for Bayern Munich, but if you've got a slight concern over his fitness, then it's not worth taking a risk in a friendly game, especially when he's got big games coming up in the Bundesliga and in the Champions League.
I think Tuchel has been very respectful in allowing these players to prioritise club football over international football at this stage of the season. He recognises how important Kane is to this side; he’s their main man.
As a former Ireland player, I was very disappointed to see them go out in the play-offs. I believe they would have gone on and beaten Denmark in the final. They were 2-0 up in the Czech Republic game, so to throw away that lead in a hugely important game was hugely frustrating.
Penalty shootouts are always a lottery, so it was a terrible way to go out. However, I do think we’re getting closer to returning to a major tournament. I definitely see progression there — there’s a structure in the team, and things are improving for Ireland.
I also wanted to talk about Newcastle chief executive David Hopkinson’s comments about Eddie Howe. He should have come out and publicly backed the manager, as they all go through spells where things don’t quite work out.
Eddie Howe's going through that now, but he’s done a fantastic job at Newcastle. I know the fans are disappointed because they lost the two derbies to Sunderland, but these things can happen.
Newcastle could still have a good end to the season and still be in Europe next season — maybe not the Champions League, but they could make it into the Europa League or the Conference League. I love Eddie Howe. I think he's a top manager, and it would be crazy if Newcastle got rid of him in the summer.
Finally, the FA Cup returns this weekend, and the stand-out game is between Manchester City and Liverpool. There's massive pressure on Arne Slot because I think that’s Liverpool’s best chance of bringing silverware through the door this year.
It will be a very tough game for them, considering how Man City are playing at the moment — you saw what they did to Arsenal in the Carabao Cup. They are getting their groove on, and Pep Guardiola will want another trophy for sure.
Liverpool are certainly the underdogs, and Slot will be under even bigger pressure if they lose that game.
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