Everton manager David Moyes believes the only thing preventing defender Joleon Lescott from getting an England call is his lack of goals.
Lescott has adapted so well to life in the Premiership since his ?3.5 million summer move from Championship club Wolves that his name is one of the first on Moyes's team sheet each week.
The 24-year-old makes his 14th top-flight start when West Ham United visit Goodison Park today.
And with regular scorers Andy Johnson and Tim Cahill both injured, Moyes believes there is no better time for Lescott, who has not found the net in 16 months, to break his Everton scoring duck.
"I think Joleon would be closer to the England side if it was not for the fact that Steve McClaren is so strong in that area," Moyes said.
"He's played in left-back and center-back positions since he came here. No one has given him the run-around and he's handled all the challenges really well. He's not been done for pace or strength. The only thing missing from his game is goals and I have told him that," Moyes said.
"There's not a lot of defenders capable of scoring goals. John Terry can get you a goal and that's why he's playing for England. Defenders have to be consistent and reliable and Joleon is proving to be both. He's good to have around the place and I've been really impressed with him," Moyes said.
Moyes is demanding his team share the goals while Johnson and Australian midfielder Cahill remain on the treatment table.
Johnson, who has missed the last two games with a hamstring problem, could make a surprise return this weekend after resuming light training.
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
Taiwanese e-sports veteran Lin “ET” Chia-hung yesterday successfully defended his King of Fighters XV title at this year’s Evolution Championship Series: Japan (EVO Japan), securing his second consecutive championship. Lin claimed victory with a 3-1 win over Japanese pro gamer “mok” in the grand final, repeating his earlier 3-1 win against the same opponent in the winners’ final. The 40-year-old earned a ￥1 million (US$6,897) cash prize at the two-day tournament, which drew 294 competitors. Mok, Lin’s toughest rival in the bracket, took home ￥400,000 as runner-up. Lin remains undefeated in match sets against mok in King of Fighters XV, holding a 10-0 record,
Batting great Virat Kohli yesterday announced his immediate retirement from Test cricket, just days before India name their squad for a tour to England. Kohli, who scored 9,230 runs in 123 matches at an average of 46.85, posted his decision on Instagram five days after India captain Rohit Sharma called time on his own Test career. Since making his debut in 2011, Kohli struck 30 hundreds and 31 fifties with a highest score of 254 not out, mainly batting at number four in the order. “It’s been 14 years since I first wore the baggy blue in Test cricket,” the
RSS