Spindlers list May 4th

Goalkeeper - Hugo Lloris

Lloris may have conceded two at the weekend but he stopped that game from becoming a massacre for Tottenham, he was easily their best player on the pitch, which explained how poorly the team played. I understand a player was sent off against the hammers but still, you would expect a team with players like Tottenham to still hold some of their own. Instead they relied heavily on their keeper to actually keep them in the game and the goals he conceded he didn't really have any chance keeping out of the net, the own goal was unfortunate and the free kick was awesome, but Lloris should  be proud of his performance. Especially if he is looking for a summer move this year, that performance will have boosted his chances for that.

Right back - Bacary Sagna

How many full backs can you look at in this country and feel completely and utterly safe with in your defence? There isn't many, but Bacary Sagna is definitely one of those dependable defenders. What makes me pull my hair out though is that Arsenal haven't given him a new contract yet, with a player of his ability they should be more negotiable no matter what. Yeah he is 31 but still the man can carry your defence whenever he is on form and against West Brom he was on the best form of his season. He rarely wastes possession and he managed to look like he was playing against a Sunday league team this weekend. Wenger needs to delve deep into that pocket otherwise he is going to be left wanting at the back next season.

Centre back - John O'Shea

John O'shea returned to Old Trafford with a monkey on his back after previous lack lustre performances against the red Devils. This game he managed to get that monkey to leave him alone, he was an absolute rock in Sunderland's less than convincing defence and made Manchester United take half chances, whilst they could have gotten back into the game, the chances they took were never convincing enough to look like a wasted opportunity, John O'Shea made that happen and on that form walks into my team of the week.

Centre back - Michael Turner

A man of the match performance the the centre back means he gets a place in my list. He was great against Chelsea, potentially ending any chance they had of winning the title now. Turner will have every reason to be proud of his game, going to Stamford Bridge he bossed the Norwich backline and was more vocal than his keeper, which is insanity for me to see that a Keeper like Ruddy isn't bossing about his defence. If they can defend like this until the end of season then they might be able to keep their Premier league experience alive.

 Left back - Luke Shaw

So Luke Shaw gets back into my side for a second weekend in a row. I was thinking of putting either Whittaker or Pieters into this position for this weekend, but then during my stat hunt I found out that Luke Shaw had another awesome weekend for the saints, he was great getting forward and trying to make an attack against the Swans but was even better at getting back. Previously I feared that he was lacking on the defensive side but was great getting forward and was similar to that of Leighton Baines, showing the England future of left backs would be an attacking one, however over the past few weeks Shaw has showed his defensive capabilities are just as good as most Left backs years in front of him, but Cole could definitely help him improve in Brazil, if they are both on the plane.

Centre mid - Sebastian Larsson
Sebastian Larsson was actually great against Manchester United, he put in a strong shift against the deflated champions, starting the play which created his goal and managed to help Sunderland in the midfield, creating most of their attack. In a game which needed every one of the black cats' players to give 110% for the whole 90 minutes and Larsson was the model player for that game. I have accused him of being a lazy player who lacks passion for Sunderland but it looks like when it mattered he really cared in helping his team stay up, and also the goal was superbly taken by the Swede, who is fighting to not only keep his place in the Sunderland squad but needs to prove his point to the Sweden coach too.

Centre mid - Ross Barkley
That goal was not the only reason he is in my team of the week, but it was a big point to help me place him in the 11 this week. I felt that Robert Martinez making him one of Everton's key players this season was a piece of managerial genius, he has become one of the best young talents in this country this season and people wouldn't even bat an eyelid about him last season when he was struggling to even pass the ball correctly. He managed to beat nine players against City and his goal was one of the best I have seen this season from any player, having him in any side is good to have.

Centre mid - Stephen Ireland
Stephen Ireland has been the new image of a more attacking free flowing Stoke and his performance against Fulham was fantastic. His passing was something that we haven't even seen from Ozil this year, it was pinpoint when it needed to be and the through balls were put into the best positions, but he was also great at stopping the little attempts Fulham had at getting into Stokes half. I really like Ireland as a player and he necessarily hasn't been given the chances he deserved ever since he left Manchester City but under Mark Hughes he has been a new Player and next season if he can carry on this form and what is most likely going to be a stronger Stoke side then he could end up being in this section a lot more.

Right Wing - Marko Arnautovic
Marko Arnautovic is a moody, risky and crazy footballer. Spending any some of money on him would be a huge risk and Stoke managed to get him so easily due to him falling out with pretty much everyone at Werder Bremen, but you know what he isn't? A bad footballer. He was their best player on the pitch this weekend and probably was the main reason Stoke scored their first 3 goals. Having a hand in the opener, an assist on the assist mainly, then set up Assaidi's goal and smashing one in himself, he was amazing against relegated Fulham and appears to have finally find his form in the Premier league.

Left Wing - Oussama Assaidi
Assaidi played so well against Fulham, he dropped off the radar a bit since his scintillating form at the start of the season, but against Fulham he looks like he is getting back into it. His goal showed great partnership with Arnautovic, and the fact that all three of the faces that represent new Stoke got into my side is showing how convincing Mark Hughes' tactics are becoming. Assaidi was on fire and whilst his goal scoring threat didn't look to great, but his all around playmaking was fantastic and played a hand in the first and last goals.

Striker - Dwight Gayle
Only picking him because he managed to beat Liverpool with those two great goals... Well no that is a lie but it does also make me happier to pick him in the line up, but his performance was great, this position was so hard for me to pick. Initially I was between Dzeko, Weimann, Giroud, Gayle and Caroll, but took Caroll and Giroud out due to the lack of goals from one and the lack of all around play from the other. Then I lost interest in Dzeko because of his lack of ability this weekend to make his own goals relying on passes from his playmakers. Then it was between Weimann and Gayle, I liked Weimann against Hull and feel that he played really well but necessarily I looked at who they were playing at the end of the day and Hull do not compare to Liverpool at this stage of the season. Gayle scored two great goals against the champions elect and probably ruined Liverpool's chance of winning a title this season and this showed how far this kid can go if he keeps playing.

Captain -This week I am picking my captain, Bacary Sagna, was strong under pressure. Not just for himself but also for his defensive line and kept the other members from slipping up especially against a West Brom side which was desperate for points.

Manager of the Week - Sam Allardyce
Sorted out his squad so that they could take advantage of the sending off and they were convincing against Tottenham, they didn't have any real stand out players but managed to band together and get another Derby win for the third time this season.

The rising tide of Dual Nationals

More and more over the past ten years players who have two nationalities swap allegiancesto gain an International career or more so, have a potentially more successful one. In nations like America, France and even England players who have citizenship in that country decided against playing for a nation which may have been where they were born to play for somewhere which has a chance of playing in larger tournaments or even gain more International awards. The three players above in the image are all examples of Dual Nationals, Julian Green on the left played for all of the German junior teams but decided to play for his place of birth and recently gained his first cap for the US in a "friendly" against Mexico. Diego Costa is Brazilian born and raised but has played in Spain long enough to earn himself Spanish citizenship as well as a call up to Del Bosque's squad due to his lack of competitive caps for Brazil. Raheem Sterling should have been a Reggae Boy as they are affectionately known in Jamaica, being born in Kingston made Jamaicans feel he was their new upcoming star, until he snubbed the place of his birth for a England call up instead. Is this a fair rule? or does the ability to play for two nations due to some line of heritage ruin the chances of nations building up their young talent?

Firstly If I cover the positive sides to the policy and then I'll explain the negatives it allows you to look at it and decided whether or no the policy is for your liking. The main advantage of Dual Nationals is for smaller nations in the soccer world are able to gain some foreign talent that may not be good enough for their own home side but are definitely good enough for their new adopted home. The way it generally works for youth set ups in national teams is that the FA's create grass roots systems and therefore the better the system, in theory, the better the players they create but in some nations they cannot afford to create and develop these talents or even to implement a system itself therefore have to rely on foreigners gaining citizenship and playing for their national side or that their young talents go and develop abroad and the FA then have fingers crossed that they don't lose that talent to the national team where they went to develop. For instance this sort of situation has happened in the example of Eduardo and Croatia. Eduardo supposedly had no hope in hell in breaking into the Brazilian national team due to him playing for Dinamo Zagreb and other Croatian teams. Eventually he played there for long enough and earned the ability to declare Croatian Citizenship, jumping at the chance he took up the offer and was called up to national team, becoming quite a stalwart in the call ups for National side. The same situation had also happened within the USA on multiple occasions for their national team.

Another advantage would be relating to a players career, if they have the opportunity to make it onto the international stage with their adopted home for the team they are playing with, it can further their playing career and make them a better player. What I am trying to get across is the situation that imagine a player has the eligibility to play England in this case, but has no real chance of making it into the International side, meaning that his career maybe held back from it's true potential. Then he gets a notification from his agent or that nations FA that he is now eligible to play for their side if he takes up citizenry in that nation, let's say Canada in this case. It would lead up to the situation that if he becomes a constant player in the Canadian national team and shows his class on the bigger stage, no matter who he plays for, scouts will notice this and could lead to said player moving from Montreal to a European side like Marseille perhaps. Nadir Belhadj was born in France and was playing for small teams within the French League system until he was called up to the Algeria squad, after a few appearances for the winger in the North African side, he earned himself a transfer to the recently bought out Portsmouth side with their new supposed bags of cash, he had a fairly memorable time in Portsmouth managing to convince Pompey fans he was worth the 4 million spent on him.

It's not all good however, like I stated before, some nations young stars go abroad to further their development meaning that when they gain eventual citizenship it allows them to abandon their home nation to play for a team with more chances at winning a major tournament. When the young players travel away from home to experience the academies within bigger footballing nations, or more economically well off ones, it means they spend most of their young lives abroad, and potentially gaining the ability to declare citizenship in that nation. When they get the chance to show themselves off in that league or for a team it might garner interest from that adopted nations FA, and for many young players the opportunity is too good to turn down if it is for a bigger nation, leaving that smaller side left without their rising star and still in the thick of it in terms of growth. My favourite example of this is Raheem Sterling, the youngster was born in Kingston, Jamaica. He at first declared his aim to play for the Reggae Boyz and make them a stronger side, however when he broke into the Liverpool first team he gained a lot of attention from the English FA. Eventually, due to his gained citizenship, he was offered a call up from the English national side to play against Sweden in a friendly, leaving Jamaica without what was supposed to be their next big star. 

I feel personally that with the recent acquisition by Spain of Diego Costa, that the International stage is also becoming some sort of business, because it allows national teams to acquire stars as long as they have played long enough in that nations leagues. It doesn't feel right for me to see that players feel that it is simply fine to drop the nation that they are born in and might even be good enough to get into the national side, in some cases walk into the team, but because of the potential to play at a major tournament they go and abandon the team. I feel especially with nations like Spain also getting in on the act even though they have plenty of talent in their national pool shows that it is definitely becoming a situation of exploiting the rules of FIFA, for instance a few years back England were even thinking about offering Mikel Arteta a call up due to his passing ability, but that just wouldn't be right seeing the talent that England have playing for their teams in the Premier League. Also however I see the Diego Costa situation one of insanity, Costa is a world class player, he is definitely good enough to get into the Brazil squad, Scolari was even planning on making him his star at the upcoming World Cup and yet he turns his back on them to play for the World Champions, we don't know the reasoning behind Costa's defection, but according to the Brazilian footballing federation his decision was based off of the offer the Spanish put forward to him regarding financial awards for his appearances, which is an issue for multiple players.

For me, I feel I have no issue with the Nationals who change their citizenship in the case that they have no chance in playing for their home nation, that being of the case of Danny Cadamarteri for Gibraltar or Steven Beitashour for Iran. Both players have heritage for their nations and it feels right that they have the opportunity to play for them because of them having family from these nations but in the case of Diego Costa or Jerome Boateng, it feels wrong that they turn their back on their home countries for the fact that maybe they can reap more rewards for their International career and whilst I have no issues with players wanting the urge to win everything they can for their national side, but personally I feel in certain cases they are getting rid of all the hard work that should come with International call ups and is a short cut to success.

I'd love to hear your views and if you disagree, tell me why?