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The FA Vase is a competition that some football fans may have not even heard of.

This is surprising but with the domination of the mega-bucks TV deal, interest in higher-end football in England has never been more popular.

This has meant some tournaments have taken more of a back-seat role, but this season’s FA Vase could be a massive exception. The semi-final draw was made earlier today on talkSport and the two heavyweights were paired together, as they so often are.

Hereford FC will play Salisbury FC over two legs for the chance to walk out underneath the Wembley arch, and the tie will be a money-spinner for both sides.

But what makes this tie so special are the stories behind both of the team’s involved. Hereford FC didn’t even exist until the start of this season after the Hereford United of old were wound up in court in December 2014.

The local community came together and against all the odds, the club moved back to Edgar Street and into the ninth tier of English football – competing in the Midland Premier League.

The Bulls sit top of the League, unbeaten in 33 and have broken all Non-League attendance records along the way. It’s been a ground-breaking first season for the reformed Bulls and many have been captivated by their progress in such a short space of time.

Salisbury FC have a story of their own too. Only four years ago The Whites were playing in the Conference Premier, one division away from the Football League.

In 2014 the club were removed from the Football Conference for failing to pay their debts and reformed as a new outfit for their first season in the Wessex Premier League.

They too have been performing strongly this season and they sit eight points clear of their respective division with two games in hand of their clearest rival.

But with both clubs having historic pasts’ this tie could be one of the most popular FA Vase ties ever. The semi-finals are two-legged with the first ties taking place on Saturday 12 March and the return fixture seven days later on Saturday 19 March.

A bumper crowd is expected at Edgar Street for the first leg and media interest is expected to go into overdrive. Having a team like Hereford in this division is fantastic for non-league and grassroots football and their involvement in the FA Vase is no exception either.

The Bulls could become the first ever team to have a Wembley crown to their name in their first season in existence and it would be no coincidence either. They’ve been fantastic all year and a trip to the arch would be the cherry on the top of the cake, should they successfully get out of the Midland Premier League too.

For Salisbury FC its their first opportunity at major silverware since their reformation. It’s been a turbulent couple of years for their supporters and they too will be relishing a fixture against another Non-League heavyweight.

There’s no doubt that this could be one of the most exciting Vase fixtures ever, and with the final also on the horizon, it could be a fairytale ending for one of these phoenix clubs.

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Mark Hughes has been part of the Premier League framework for the past 10 years, first at Blackburn Rovers, then Manchester City, Fulham, Queens Park Rangers and now Stoke.

For a manager to take teams like Blackburn and Fulham to the Europa League is an incredible achievement, as well attracting players like Carlos Tevez, Pablo Zabaleta, Nigel De Jong and Vincent Kompany to Manchester City, all of which helped turn Manchester City into title challengers.

However, recently fans have forgotten his progress at these clubs, and are instead focused on the negatives he may or may not have had.

At QPR, Hughes replaced Neil Warnock, who led the Hoops to the Premier League, and helped keep them up the following season. Through buying players like Bobby Zamora, Djibril Cisse and Needum Onuoha, QPR escaped relegation on the last day of the campaign.

You’re probably wondering why he is slated, because this doesn’t sound so bad, but it’s what he did next that was the problem.

Hughes overspent on QPR’s wage bill the following summer, bringing in players near the end of their careers like Kieron Dyer, Park Ji Sung, Robert Green, Andrew Johnson, Ryan Nelsen and Jose Bosingwa. Not enough youth was bought, and after the Hoops got thrashed 5-0 by Swansea on the opening day, results didn’t improve.

The former Man United star was eventually sacked in November and replaced by Harry Redknapp, with his reputation as a good manager tarnished.

Few had belief in Hughes when he took the Stoke job, replacing fellow Welshmen Tony Pulis. The pressure was on Hughes to bring in a fresh system and to redeem himself, which he has done.

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He quickly released old stalwarts like Rory Delap, Matthew Upson, Mamady Sidibe, Dean Whitehead, Carlo Nash and Matty Lund, and brought in the likes of Erik Pieters, who would go on to cement himself in the first team.

By bringing in Marko Arnautovic on loan from Werder Bremen, it showed Hughes’ intent on making Stoke a great team, and he did by leading them to their highest position of 9th. He then signed Mame Biram Diouf and Bojan Krkic the following season, and by doing so had completely removed the long ball tag Stoke struggled to shake off for so long.

This current season has been no different. Hughes allowed Asmir Begovic, Robert Huth and Steven N’Zonzi to leave the club in the summer, which paved the way for further improvements to be signed.

Jack Butland has benefited from playing regularly, and the purchases of Xherdan Shaqiri and Ibrahim Afellay have helped to provide pace down the wings.

But should he be linked with more top jobs? After all, he has shown at Manchester City that he can cope with the pressure, and has recently been linked with the Chelsea job.

Considering he has been in the league for years, a big team should definitely take the risk on him, and who knows, he could continue to prove people wrong.

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West Ham fans and neutrals nationwide are left wondering what it takes for a player to get in the England squad nowadays. When the latest selection was announced, players such as Theo Walcott, Phil Jagielka, Raheem Sterling and more were all called up even though their club form hadn’t been setting the world alight.

For West Ham, currently fifth in the Premier League and one point off a Champions League spot, you would have thought that any English player within their squad would make the cut for two friendly games. It just makes sense, right?

However for Roy Hodgson – a former Fulham, Liverpool and Blackburn boss – overlooked ALL of them.

West Ham currently have genuinely talented Englishmen amongst their ranks: Aaron Cresswell, who should be fighting for a spot at left back, Michael Antonio, the sort of a winger England seriously need, and even Andy Carroll, Reece Oxford, James Tomkins and Sam Byram could all be considered. But no exclusion has polarised opinion quite like that of Mr. West Ham himself, Mark Noble.

The Hammers midfielder has always given his all for the club, and at the age of 28 is about to hit his peak. This season he has been one of the league’s best centre mids, with three goals and four assists in 29 games. He has been the level-headed character every team needs when the match requires steadying, and has been a calming influence in an exciting, inexperienced Irons unit.

But somehow Hodgson consistently overlooks the star, which is bizarre when considering England need quality in the middle of the pitch. Players such as Jack Wilshere, who is constantly injured, Jordan Henderson, who has been poor, and even the likes of Ryan Mason, Jonjo Shelvey, Michael Carrick, Fabian Delph and James Milner are being called up when their club form is inconsistent at best. Noble has been patient for an England call-up, turning down the approaches of the Republic of Ireland in order to stay true to his country.

Though Roy broke his ‘big club mentality’ label by calling up Leicester’s Danny Drinkwater, you can tell he did it to try and silence the critics. But players such as Noble are the ones truly missing out: they work hard to get a call-up and recognition, but don’t make the grade.

It’s not like he hasn’t been part of the England set up before: Noble captained the England U-18 team, played for the U-19 team and featured for the U-21s, too. In fact Noble took the u21’s to the final of the 2009 European Championship, only to lose 4-0 to Germany. He is a player who has already shown his dedication to England, and really should be given more of a chance.

Whether this means that Hodgson has to go or not is yet to be seen – or maybe the whole FA need to be completely restructured or changed. But this ‘big club mentality’ is not fair, and will stop players from wanting to play for their country, if they know that playing well doesn’t win them a place.

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Club legend Shaun Goater believes Manchester City could get another season out of controversial midfielder Yaya Toure – but only if his agent stops causing problems.

Pep Guardiola famously sold the Ivory Coast international to the Citizens during his time as Barcelona boss and The Daily Mail have tipped the Bayern Munich gaffer to axe Toure once again when he takes over at the Etihad this summer.

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That is by no means a stand-alone theory. Toure’s relaxed style of play has divided opinion in the Premier League for some time and now aged 32, the goal-scoring midfielder is notably declining. He’s netted just eight times in 42 appearances this season, compared to his 24-in-49 return from the 2013/14 campaign.

With his contract set to expire in summer 2017, it makes sense for City to part company this summer and outspoken agent Dimitri Seluk has already claimed Toure will ‘definitely’ leave the club at the end of the season.

He said in April; “He will definitely leave Manchester City, I can safely confirm that. Yaya is disappointed, of course. But he is a professional and he remains under contract so he will continue to do his best for City.”

Seluk infamously made similar claims back in 2012, just a matter of weeks after the Citizens lifted their first ever Premier League title, and again in 2014 over the issue of a birthday cake.

But club legend Shaun Goater,  who scored 84 goals in 184 appearances for City, believes the Etihad outfit could still get another good year out of Toure – provided his aforementioned agent stops stirring up problems.

Speaking exclusively to 888Sport, Goater said; “As long as his agent keeps talking then yeah [he should stay] but we all read things into Pep letting Yaya go at Barcelona. Maybe we can get another year out of him because he knows the Premier League well. If he is allowed to play and his agent does less talking then that’s how it could play out.”

“He has scored big goals in big games and elevated the club. When he is gone we’ll really appreciate and recognise what he done and for me he will go down as one of the great legends. Along with other brilliant players, he brought the club out of the shadow of Manchester United.”

Read the full 888sport interview with Shaun Goater here including his thoughts on Kelechi Iheanacho’s bright future and why Guardiola will win the Champions League with Manchester City.

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Having already made one notable signing in Granit Xhaka and activated Jamie Vardy’s £20million release clause, Arsenal are showing some real intent ahead of the 2016/17 campaign.

We’ve been here before, but things could be very different this time around. Arsene Wenger is into the last year of his Emirates contract and it will likely be his final campaign in charge unless the Gunners make a strong challenge for the English crown.

With Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United all welcoming new managers, Wenger’s boys face a serious fight to re-establish themselves as genuine Premier League title contenders. But the Premier League’s fixture list for 2016/17, released online just moments ago, should give us an insight into their chances.

With that in mind, Football FanCast have conjured up a list of the five fixtures that could decide Arsenal’s season.

Arsenal vs Liverpool – August 13th

Arsenal’s season starts off with a banger, playing hosts to Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool. This fixture always throws up a healthy spate of goals and with the Reds on the rise under the German gaffer, the Gunners really need to curtail that momentum via an opening day win.

WEST HAM VS ARSENAL – December 3rd

The Gunners claimed just one point against West Ham last season and must turn that around unless they want another campaign looking nervously over their shoulders at those competing for fourth spot.

Arsenal vs Manchester City – April 1st

Arsenal’s recent record against Manchester City is nothing to be sniffed at but any chance of winning the title will depend on them sustaining it into the Pep Guardiola era at the Etihad.

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SPURS VS ARSENAL – 29th April

Arsenal may have finished above Spurs last season but their north London rivals are undoubtedly on the rise. Beating the Lilywhites at White Hart Lane will kill that momentum and push the Gunners up the league table.

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ARSENAL VS MAN UNITED – May 6th

Just when the Arsenal-United rivalry appeared to be waning, the Red Devils appoint Arsene Wenger’s greatest nemesis in Jose Mourinho. Wenger’s beaten the Portuguese just once in his career but with United likely be contending again next season, taking points against them at home is imperative.

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Chelsea are set to step up the pursuit of Everton’s Romelu Lukaku in the next week by offering Asmir Begovic and Loic Remy as part of any potential deal that would see the Belgian international Lukaku return to Stamford Bridge after departing back in 2014.

The sticking point to any deal being completed at present is the £68m that has been quoted for Lukaku to be allowed to leave Goodison Park. Chelsea feel that the valuation of the player is nearer £45m but are now prepared to bump that price up by adding some of their fringe players into the bargain.

One of those is Loic Remy, who will have already found himself down the pecking order after the arrival of Michy Batshuyi this summer, and if Lukaku were to arrive then Remy’s chances of first team football would be almost non-existent. Therefore he may view Goodison Park as a good place to get back playing week in, week out.

Remy has already played for Newcastle and QPR, as well as Chelsea in the Premier League, so he does come with experience, but whoever comes in for Lukaku is going to have a huge void to fill – and you do have to wonder if Remy is necessarily the man to do so.

Antonio Conte is also prepared to let Bosnian goalkeeper Asmir Begovic leave as part of a deal to bring Lukaku to West London. Begovic, who featured 17 times last season for Chelsea, has been told that he will have to make do with being the designated No.2 again after dislodging Thibaut Courtois for parts of last season, with the news he may well feel that a move away from Chelsea and regular first team football may be more appealing.

Everton could do with some goalkeeper reinforcements after the departure of Tim Howard and you would have to argue that Asmir Begovic would be somewhat of an upgrade on current No.1 Joel Robles. With Robles being a Roberto Martinez signing you have to wonder if new boss Ronald Koeman would like to bring in his own man to play in goal this season.

Ultimately it all depends on whether or not Everton would rather have all the money they are after or are happy to make do with a deal made up of cash and players. The thing is, these kind of deals are never too successful for the selling club as they then end up taking a lower priced deal, while taking another club’s cast offs.

If Everton are clever enough then they should hold tight and try to squeeze as much money out of Chelsea as possible, as then they will be well tasked in buying a replacement that they actually want, not one that they have been given.

With still over three weeks of the transfer window to go there is certainly going to be a lot more mileage in this story, Everton fans will have to continue to wait with baited breath.

This article was submitted via our Write For Us feature. Think you can do better? Submit your own article via the link below, and give yourself the chance of winning monthly cash prizes…

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Arsene Wenger’s consistent pursuit of a striker this summer is a little repetitive. Missing out on players through a stingy approach or just an inability to accept that they need a high calibre finisher in their squad. Okay, so they’re at least trying this summer and that’s a good start for the Gunners.

The attempt at signing Alexandre Lacazette is a step in the right direction and at least gives the wealthy Arsenal season ticket holders hope that they can pick up a big name, high-scoring forward to compete with the classy, but occasionally disappointing, Olivier Giroud.

There is, oddly, a dearth of strikers in the market at the moment. The movement of these forwards is rare as a result, they are an extremely valuable commodity. Players who are scoring regularly are slapped with a rather ludicrous price tag before anyone can attempt to lure them away.

However, these mystical players are there if you look in the right places. Here are THREE Wenger should consider…

Romelu Lukaku

Lukaku’s immediate future looks certain to be away from Everton and there is likely to be a clamour of sorts for his signature if/when he does move. The domineering Belgian netted 18 Premier League goals last season and, at just 23, is breaking records with the ease of a potential all-time great.

His pace and power make him a monstrous challenge to mark, but there are questions over the subtler elements of his game. Lukaku’s ability to hold the ball up and link play is still far, far off the quality of Olivier Giroud, for instance.

It would take Arsenal to smash their own transfer record to secure the current Toffee and that is something Wenger is unlikely to do for a player still so unpolished.

Antoine Griezmann

Antoine Griezmann has been deemed unavailable by many because he recently signed a new contract. However, we all know that that means very, very little and the truly important ramification of that contract is the marked increase in his release clause.

The European Championship golden boot winner would command a princely fee to be lured away from Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid, but his stellar performances during an excellent club season and at the Euros show that he would be worth such a fee. Sharp movement, great acceleration and a cool finish, Griezmann would be the perfect striker to either rotate, or play just alongside Giroud.

A new forward is a must if Arsenal are seriously going to compete for the Premier League crowd and signing Griezmann would arguably make them title favourites.

Mauro Icardi

Icardi, after being a troublesome character in his earlier years, has become a near talismanic figure for Internazionale. Whilst he found the net on 16 occasions in Serie A last season, Icardi is still only 23-years-old and should be considered as one of the most promising forwards in European football.

Without the burning pace of Walcott or the strength of Lukaku, Icardi is actually a far more rounded forward than Arsenal currently possess. Able to link play comfortably and excellent at retaining possession with his back to goal, the Argentine has all the facets of his game to become an Arsenal hero.

Celtic have come flying out the traps domestically speaking as Brendan Rodgers goes in search of his first top-flight league title.

The Bhoys have swept all before them so far this season leading them to sit atop the Scottish Premier League with a 100% win record. This run so far culminated with a crushing 5-1 victory over fierce rivals Rangers over the weekend but now things are about to step up a gear.

The Glasgow club have travelled to Barcelona as they look to cause a massive upset at the Nou Camp against the Spanish champions.

The likes of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Andres Iniesta need no introduction ahead of the game and Celtic will have to be on top form to stand a chance of getting something.

They have some players that could help them do so, though, and so with this in mind, here are three Celtic players who need to rise to the occasion…

Scott Brown

Brown is a fierce competitor and will no doubt hassle the Spanish club’s midfielders, not giving them a moment’s rest.

The Scotland international kept Joey Barton quiet all game and whilst Ivan Rakitic and Iniesta are completely different propositions, Brown will approach the game with the same tenacity.

If he can disrupt the Catalans flow who knows what could happen

Tom Rogic

Rogic is a bright young footballer and arguably, Barcelona’s defence is there to be got at.

If Luis Enrique plays the same back-four that lost to Alaves, Celtic and Rogic shouldn’t be afraid to have a go because they are a better side than the new promoted team.

The Australian can unlock the door for the Bhoys, it’s just a case of keeping it open long enough for them to take advantage of.

Moussa Dembele

Dembele must be absolutely buzzing for this game after a hat-trick at the weekend.

The former Fulham man is only in the side because Leigh Griffiths is out but with another strong performance, he could give Brendan Rodgers something to really think about.

He may not bag three but he has the confidence and ability to ruffle feathers at the back for Barca and Rodgers should tell him to just go out there and make every second count.

What a fine weekend of Premier League football – barring a not so Super Sunday – and it’s not over quite yet with Liverpool set to do battle with Manchester United at 8pm this evening.Indeed, Chelsea kicked off the action with a 3-0 romping over Leicester in the former-champions-derby, whilst Swansea pushed Arsenal close to a shock upset in north London and Everton’s rearguard display earned them a hard-earned point against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.An impressive 22 goals have already been scored in Premier League matchday eight and we’re hoping that statistic will leave you licking your lips for more amid the quantitative-mad world the beautiful game now seemingly resides in.With that in mind, and courtesy of our mates at Squawka, OptaJoe and BBC Sport, we’ve accumulated the five best statistics of the weekend from the Premier League. Arsenal, Watford, Sunderland, Newcastle and Everton all feature in this week’s edition.

HOLEBAS GOAL MACHINE

Jose Holebas secured Watford a vital away win against Middlesbrough, courtesy of a thunderbolt that blasted it’s way past Victor Valdes. He’s just one of three players to score from outside the box on more than one occasion this season, good going for a defender!

ARSENAL DEFY THE ODDS

Arsenal are proving the old adage of ‘tougher to play against ten men’ still has relevance in the Premier League. Indeed, a controversial decision from Jon Moss saw Granit Xhaka pick up his fifth red card since the start of last season, but the Gunners still came away with a 3-2 win over Swansea City.

MEAN MIKE DEAN

Mike Dean’s controversial crusade against wrestling in the box took another twist on Sunday as he awarded a Burnley penalty for an apparent shirt pull by Dusan Tadic. Replays showed there wasn’t much to warrant a penalty, but that’s Mike Dean for you.

SUNDERLAND WOES

Sunderland’s season went bad to worse with a 2-0 defeat at the hands of equally troubled Stoke City. Incredibly, relegated rivals Newcastle United have won a Premier League fixture more recently than the Black Cats.

STEKELENBURG’S EXCLUSIVE CLUB

Maarten Stekelenburg etched his name into Everton folk law on Saturday, sealing the Toffees a huge point away at Manchester City by saving penalties from both Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Aguero. Only on seven occasions prior has a goalkeeper saved two penalties in the same Premier League match.

According to the Daily Star, Middlesbrough striker Jordan Rhodes has held talks with manager Aitor Karanka about a lack of playing time this term, and could leave the club during the January transfer window.

The Scottish attacker moved to the Teesside outfit in January for £10m from Blackburn Rovers, but has struggled to break into the starting XI, scoring six goals in 22 appearances in all competitions – which includes just four since Boro were promoted to the Premier League.

He has recently lost his place in the Scotland squad, and that could be the catalyst that sees the 26-year-old seek a move away in the not-so-distant future.

Aston Villa boss Steve Bruce, who came close to signing the striker during his time with Hull City, may be interested in bringing the Oldham-born forward to Villa Park as he looks for an instant return to the top flight, and here are four reasons why Rhodes would fire the Villans back to the big time…

He is guaranteed to bring goals

While Steve Bruce has a number of options available to him in the striking positions at Aston Villa with the likes of Jonathan Kodjia, Ross McCormack and Rudy Gestede at his disposal, the club have scored just 17 in 16 Championship matches this season.

Attack is an area that the former Hull manager could look to strengthen in January and Rhodes, who scored 83 goals in 159 Championship fixtures for Blackburn, would certainly fit the bill to sort their goalscoring issues.

He’d have a point to prove

If he did make the move to Villa Park in January – whether it was a loan or a permanent transfer – Rhodes would have a point to prove to Boro boss Karanka.

That would only be a good thing for the Villans, who would have a striker determined to show that he can be a success – and they only way to do that would be to score as many goals as possible.

He’s approaching his prime

It seems as though Rhodes has been around for years and years, but he is 26 and only just approaching his prime.

The Scotland international scored 20+ goals for Blackburn in three consecutive years between 2012 and 2015 – showing what a clinical finisher he is – and if he could recreate that sort of form at Villa Park with even more experience under his belt, they would surely make an instant return to the Premier League.

He would link up with Rudy Gestede again

Rhodes and Gestede scored 41 Championship goals between them for Blackburn in the 2014/15 campaign, and it is numbers like those that could have Bruce salivating at the thought of them working alongside one another again.

The duo seemed to have a brilliant understanding and if they were to link up and produce a similar goal return in the second half of the season, Villa would surely book their place back in the Premier League.