10 Of The Best Young Prospects Around

In an era where players seem to be emerging on the scene at a younger age every year, we take a look at 10 of the most exciting youngsters around at the moment who are under 24.

1. We kick off with none other than Neymar. The speedy forward plays in the Brazilian League with Santos and he terrifies other defenses with his electrifying pace and sublime skill. At the age of just 20 there is no doubt that big things are sure to happen for him in the future especially when he has the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid fighting for his signature. He has already broken into the Brazilian National team with 9 goals in 18 games for them, which is impressive considering his age. Pélé described him as an 'excellent player' and he is proving him right as he continues to hit the back of the net with 41 goals in 86 games for Santos. He even won the FIFA Puskás award for the best goal in 2011. As he continues to progress and teams prepare to try and lure him the only question is can he do it in a better league? Only time will tell!

2. Next is a player who has only recently secured a transfer to Chelsea from Lille, Eden Hazard. The 21 year old joined the London club for a fee rumoured to be around £32m and caught headlines by leaving the drama until late. He didn't reveal who he would be joining until May when he tweeted "I'm signing for the champion's league winner". He is an attacking midfielder also used on the wings, with immense speed and quick feet. He possesses great technical ability and is an exciting player to watch. We all look forward to seeing what he can do in the Premier League.

3. Just turned 20 this month is Mario Gotze of Germany and Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga. He is an attacking midfielder who can also play wide. Quick off the mark and a wizard when on the ball he makes things happen. He has been described as "One of the best talents" Germany have ever had and already has 15 caps under his belt for the national side. Able to get his name on the scoresheet every so often, the already double league winner is an exciting talent for the future, watch this space.

4. Jack Wilshere will be a name most have heard of, the Arsenal playmaker is a tough tackling central midfielder who has excellent vision. He has been described by Arsene Wenger as a box-to-box midfielder and has proven this so far with his endless energy and tireless performances. Only 20 years old he has already won PFA young player of the year and was voted Arsenal's player of the season in his first full campaign. Has been hit by injury recently but will definitely come back stronger and more determined.





5. Phil Jones is perhaps one of the most versatile players around. He can play centre midfield, centre back or right back. Not the quickest but he makes up for it in strength, difficult to push off the ball and flying into crunching tackles all over the pitch he is a good prospect. Intelligent with the ball he is calm and composed even though he is only 20. A good signing for Manchester United and a future star for England for sure.


6. Mario Balotelli has been a familiar name in the headlines, at the age of 21 he has much to learn but also talent to offer. His 2 goal show against Germany was a clear indication of what he is capable of producing. Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini and Italian coach Cesare Prandelli have both taken the young striker under their wing, desperately trying to nurture his talent because both know that if he gets it right he is almost unplayable. He is a strong and fast striker who can strike a ball well and challenge competitively in the air too. He often suffers to due his poor attitude and has already received 4 red cards in his short time at Manchester City but if he can get his act together and maintain his discipline then he is a threat to any team he plays.

7. One of the youngest talents around is Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. He recently made his tournament debut for England and showed flashes of talent. Known as 'The Ox' he shows this with his powerful running and quick feet. He loves to take people on and has defenders worrying when he runs at them. He has already become the youngest English goalscorer in the UEFA Champions League and has many big things ahead of him. Definitely one to watch!

8. Romelu Lukaku is another of Chelsea's signings, the Belgian forward has been relatively unused in his time at Stamford Bridge but has claimed this was due to a poor relationship with previous manager Andre Villas Boas. He is big a powerful and has been dubbed 'The New Drogba' due to the similarities between their playing style, both have a cracking shot and are good in the air. He hasn't had much time to prove himself so far but from what he has shown so far he has loads of talent. Linked with a loan move to a Premiership team so he gain experience, when this powerhouse is unleashed he will be raring to go after waiting so long for his chance. He has shown lots of promise and could be the man who can replace Drogba eventually at Stamford Bridge.


9. Mesut Ozil has already emerged as one of the best playmakers in the world so it is very easy to forget that he is still only 23! The classy German secured a move to Real Madrid after a successful World Cup and has recently impressed even more at EURO 2012. He has an eye for a pass and incredible ball control making it difficult for opponents to dispossess him when he has the ball. A magician on the ball he makes his team tick whether it be Real Madrid or Germany, loves to have the ball at his feet with his immense technical ability. Calm on the ball he is never rushed, playing at Real Madrid has given him the chance to learn from players like Xabi Alonso. Although he is already a huge talent, at the age of 23 he will get even better and it's frightening to think what the result of that will be!

10. Finishing off our list is Christian Eriksen who is a young Danish attacking midfielder who represents Ajax in the Eredevisie. He was the youngest player at the 2010 World Cup and was named Danish footballer of the year in 2011. He widely impressed in February last year when he was name Man of the Match in an international match against England, taking plaudits from Frank Lampard and Rio Ferdinand. Although he didn't have a great Euro 2012 he still has much learn and will only get better he loves to take people on and create moves for his team.





Please leave a comment if you feel I left out any young stars or if you want to have your say. 

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it!

Could Andre Villas Boas Be The Man For Tottenham?

For a while now, Andre Villas Boas, former manager of both Chelsea and Porto has been linked with the Spurs job. The 34 year old divides opinion, is he the right man for the Spurs job who can take them forward?

His talent as a manager is undoubtedly prominent however success at Stamford Bridge was few and far between last season. He began his managerial career as José Mourinho's, more widely known as 'the special one', assistant. Wherever Mourinho went, Villas Boas followed whether it be Chelsea or Inter Milan. His own career only really started in 2009 when he became the manager of Portuguese side Academica. He got off to a flying start as when he joined the side were bottom of the league but with his guidance they reached a safe 11th place finish. They also reached the Portuguese League Cup semi-finals only going out to FC Porto. Villas Boas, or AVB as he has been christened in England had an immediate impact in Portugal, people weren't just impressed with the results he had obtained, he had added a new style to the club and this attractive football was ultimately what led to him being linked with the FC Porto job in Summer 2010.


AVB signed a deal at Porto on 2nd June 2010 and immediately found success after winning the Portuguese Super Cup, however this was only the start of an amazing season. He led the club to an unbeaten season which had only been done once before in the Portuguese League, this meant that Porto won the league title with over 20 points to spare. Again, similar to at Academica it wasn't just the results that were getting everyone's attention, his team only conceded 13 times in the campaign and he had introduced a flowing style of football helping to win over critics too. The success didn't stop there as he led the club to a treble by winning the Europa League and Portuguese Cup. On 21st June 2011, Villas Boas resigned as manager of the club.

Just the day after he was named the new manager of Chelsea, signing a 3 year contract. His previous success didn't follow him however. His side were below expectations and slipped outside the top 4. They lost a number of rival matches which didn't please Roman Abramovich. In a Champions League match against Napoli he chose to leave out 3 of arguably his best players in Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole and Michael Essien. This prompted questions about his managing and pressure began to mount as he wasn't reaching Chelsea's expectations. On 4th March 2012 he was sacked by Chelsea and assisstant manager Roberto Di Matteo appointed as a replacement. It was not an enjoyable time for the man who had previously enjoyed immense success in Portugal.

At the age of just 34, Villas Boas has already had a very 'eventful' managerial career with massive success at Academica and Porto but failure at Chelsea. Following speculation linking him with the Tottenham job it begs the question 'Is he the man for it?'. The answer, in my opinion is 'yes'. There are a number of reasons supporting his cause, not least of all his record in Portugal where he had an 88% win percentage. Another thing which supports him is his past, José Mourinho, unquestionably one of the best managers in the game at the present time, took him under his wing as a young manager and this can only be a positive thing as we forget that he is still young with much to learn. Although he ultimately failed at Chelsea, his career is similar to that of Roy Hodgson. Hodgson recently managed Fulham where he had success along with an excellent cup run in the Europa League. After this success he was offered the Liverpool job however it didn't work out for him and he left by mutual consent after just 31 games in charge. Following this he took the reigns at West Brom where he did an excellent job guiding a borderline Premier League side into a solid team that was difficult to beat. This short career is similar to AVB's as he began with success, moved onto a bigger club where it didn't work for him, Hodgson then went on to do well and this could be the same for Villas Boas at Spurs if he were to take the job. However, why could he not achieve at Chelsea? He had the resources in players and transfer funding but it just didn't work out for him. Admittedly if Tottenham were to appoint him it would be a gamble however in my opinion one that is worth taking.

Feel free to leave a comment as I have now made it so that anyone can comment as I would be interested to hear others' views. I have put a poll at the top right of the page too, so vote on there whether you think AVB would do well at Spurs. Also if you have any suggestions on topics for future article then I'd love to hear them too! 

Thanks for reading!

West Ham - Olympic Stadium?

A popular topic of debate among West Ham fans is undoubtedly the Olympic Stadium - Yes or No?

David Gold recently announced that a decision on the move has been delayed until around September time. It had looked as though West Ham had secured a move there but since early this year there has been many obstructions to the proposal from the likes of Tottenham and Leyton Orient. It is beginning to turn into a saga the longer it drags on and the longer it does the less chance there is of West Ham being awarded it, in my opinion. 

Most West Ham fans you speak to will be against the move however David Gold and Karen Brady are constantly insisting this is not the case in polls conducted. The move has both its advantages and disadvantages as most things do. Firstly, it will be easier for most to get to with it being situated very close to Stratford station and with a large number of fans attending from areas near the same line. Obviously its capacity is a good thing, 60,000, most fans will know that these days getting tickets to a game is far from easy and even in the Championship there were a number of sell out games with the lowest attendance being just 25,680 at a midweek game against Middlesbrough where they bought hardly any. West Ham is an unbelievably well supported club and tickets for the play-off final were in huge demand and I feel that we could nearly have filled Wembley ourselves. If we do well in the Premiership then we could easy fill 45,000 each week and probably sell it out some weeks so the increased capacity from the Boleyn is a positive. As much as most people love Upton Park, the facilities at the shiny new Olympic Stadium will inevitably be better and the whole stadium will be more modern and this is another good thing. A final benefit of a move to the stadium will be that, in my opinion, it will attract players. Being able to play in the Olympic Stadium in England is no doubt an achievement and having it as the home ground will no doubt attract players to West Ham, this could help us reach a new era where we are a force in the Premier League whilst challenging for trophies too.

There are many bad points about a move too. One of the most talked about topics of the move is the distance to the pitch. Although there have been claims that retractable seating will be placed over the running track, this has not been set in stone and will only benefit a small proportion of the stadium with the majority still being very far away. Being close to the players is part of what makes a matchday special and the Olympic Stadium might take this away from fans. Another point is that it is very open, for years it has been said that more enclosed and compact stadiums hold a much better atmosphere and great evidence of this is at out present home where many times a season 'bubbles' reaches an earsplitting crescendo that all hammers can be proud of. Perhaps having such an open stadium will let out some of the sound and the atmosphere of a game, for me, is one of the most important things, it is an essential part of the game and should be preserved as much as possible. On a side note, the open stadium will also mean less protection from the rain and wind for spectators which is not crucial but still something to be desired and considered. Possibly the biggest thing about leaving Upton Park would be what we leave behind. Upton Park has lots of history and fans have witnessed countless great games over the years there, it has a place in fans' hearts, many have even had their ashes spread there! Also, the effect on the surrounding area should be considered, bars, markets and other things will massively suffer from no matchday custom.

To conclude, I am strongly against the move, mainly because I love Upton Park - there is something special about it and if we leave we won't just be leaving behind a stadium, we will leave a legacy and that is something rare and difficult to create. Nothing beats going to the Central or Boleyn before a game, getting a traditional hotdog from round the corner or just the buzz you get when you get near to the stadium. 


Please leave a comment whether it be to discuss the article or voice your own opinions on the topic. Also, I have made a poll at the top of the page on the right, please vote to show your views.

Thanks for reading! 

Latest Football News Officially Launched

It is here! After setting up the twitter page, I have now made a blog! On here I will be posting articles on anything football for you all to read. I'll be asking for suggestions on what to post articles on so if you have any ideas then send them to me on twitter (@Latest_Footy) or put them in the comments. If you have any views you wish to share then feel free to comment them aswell. I hope to have a few articles on here soon so spread the word and get everyone on here! Thanks!