Siem de Jong Given Chance to Turn Page on Chequered Injury History at Sydney FC

Siem de Jong heads to Sydney FC to turn page on injury history. (AFP)
Siem de Jong heads to Sydney FC to turn page on injury history. (AFP)
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Siem de Jong Given Chance to Turn Page on Chequered Injury History at Sydney FC

Siem de Jong heads to Sydney FC to turn page on injury history. (AFP)
Siem de Jong heads to Sydney FC to turn page on injury history. (AFP)

Steve McClaren was attending a funeral and his phone had remained switched off for some time. When Newcastle United’s then manager turned the device back on, a string of increasingly desperate messages urged him to get in touch.

He called back. “There’s been a freak accident at the training ground, it looks bad,” reported the voice on the other end of the line.” McClaren wondered “who?” before quickly adding: “Oh no, not again. What on earth has happened to Siem now?”

As he pointed his car towards Newcastle’s Royal Infirmary, McClaren learned that another player had caught Siem de Jong in an eye. The initial prognosis from the RVI’s eye unit was that the former Ajax and Holland playmaker could lose sight in it.

Happily such fears were eventually allayed – although it took an operation followed by some months of blurred vision before all was right again – but that episode merely confirmed a growing suspicion. It seemed De Jong’s body was designed more for a leading role in an emergency room TV drama than wearing Newcastle’s No. 10 shirt. If someone ever attempts to identify the unluckiest man in football, the Dutchman will inevitably make the shortlist.

During his three years in the Premier League, De Jong made only 22 first team appearances, scoring one goal. He was also sidelined for some months with a collapsed lung – the second of his career – which raised all sorts of uncomfortable questions about his body’s suitability for elite level professional football.

The overwhelming frustration is that De Jong – who also suffered a torn thigh in England – is most certainly blessed with the brain, guile, technical excellence and, above all, vision to change games.

During a pre-season friendly for Newcastle against Hearts in Scotland he provided a perfect cameo of his art. After controlling a dropping ball, De Jong swivelled sharply, confusing his minder with an 180 degree spin before bisecting the opposition defense courtesy of a perfectly weighted pass for Dwight Gayle to run onto. The delivery was so good that the striker’s connection proved seamless, enabling Gayle to unleash a first-time, scoring, shot.

When McClaren’s predecessor, Alan Pardew signed De Jong on a six-year contract, he talked of re-constructing his entire team and re-vamping his tactical blueprint around the playmaker. Blessed with an eye for goal and an uncanny knack of joining the on-pitch dots and linking play, De Jong was hyped as both a gloriously subtle “Dutch Master” and “the new Teddy Sheringham”.

By the time Rafael Benítez succeeded McClaren such analogies were all but forgotten. Like Pardew, Benítez spoke warmly, and wistfully of De Jong’s “quality” but concluded he was simply too fragile for the rigours of English football.

Benítez likes playing with a No. 10 but it spoke volumes when one of the world’s leading coaches opted to deploy other, infinitely less gifted, players out of position in that role, while offloading the one member of his squad surely born to serve as a trequartista.

“I’m disappointed about the last few years,” said De Jong on departing Newcastle in 2017. “The lung and the eye were a bit scary but I want to write a new story now.”

A loan move to PSV Eindhoven was followed by a “permanent” return transfer to Ajax who, in turn, have now transported their once all-conquering captain to the other side of the world for the next chapter of his story.

Sydney FC, coach Steve Corica and the A-League can only trust that a new climate will finally allow De Jong’s body to catch up with a brain which is invariably a good yard quicker than anyone else’s on almost any football pitch he steps onto.

The Guardian Sport



Liverpool Comes up Short against Forest Again in Premier League as Man City’s Fallibility Returns

 Nottingham Forest's Chris Wood greets fans at the end of the English Premier League soccer match between Nottingham Forest and Liverpool at the City Ground stadium in Nottingham, England, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP)
Nottingham Forest's Chris Wood greets fans at the end of the English Premier League soccer match between Nottingham Forest and Liverpool at the City Ground stadium in Nottingham, England, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP)
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Liverpool Comes up Short against Forest Again in Premier League as Man City’s Fallibility Returns

 Nottingham Forest's Chris Wood greets fans at the end of the English Premier League soccer match between Nottingham Forest and Liverpool at the City Ground stadium in Nottingham, England, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP)
Nottingham Forest's Chris Wood greets fans at the end of the English Premier League soccer match between Nottingham Forest and Liverpool at the City Ground stadium in Nottingham, England, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP)

Liverpool will be glad to see the back of Nottingham Forest.

Two games against the big surprise of the Premier League season have yielded just one point for the leaders after their 1-1 draw at Forest’s rocking City Ground on Tuesday.

Liverpool has lost only once in 20 games so far this campaign — and that was 1-0 at home to Forest in September.

Four months later, Diogo Jota scored with a header from a corner in the 66th minute — just 22 seconds after coming on as a substitute — to earn Liverpool a draw that maintained its six-point cushion over Forest, which moved into second place in its improbable bid to qualify for the Champions League. And who knows, maybe more.

Forest was on course to record an unlikely home-and-away double over Arne Slot’s team after top scorer Chris Wood scored in the eighth minute.

Liverpool piled on the pressure late on but again failed to defeat Forest, which started the season more likely to be in a relegation battle than competing for the title.

"Before the season we needed to get as quickly as possible to 40 points," Forest goalkeeper Matz Sels said, referring to the total that typically is enough to guarantee safety. "With 17 games to go, we have got 41 so we can look a little bit higher."

Forest’s fans goaded Slot at times in a febrile atmosphere at the City Ground that hasn’t been this bouncing for a generation. The good times look to be back at a club that was famously European champions in back-to-back years under managerial great Brian Clough, in 1979 and '80.

Liverpool has a game in hand over Forest so is still in a strong position to win a record-tying 20th English league title. Arsenal is in third place, a further point back, and can trim the gap to Liverpool to four points by beating Tottenham in the north London derby on Wednesday.

"If we continue bringing performances like in the second half today," Slot said, "then we will not always be that unlucky that it ends with a draw."

City's fallibility returns

Manchester City showed more late-game fallibility in squandering a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 at Brentford.

City conceded in the 82nd minute and again two minutes into stoppage time after Phil Foden scored twice for the struggling champions, who are battling to simply qualify for the Champions League this season.

Prior to winning its last two league games against Leicester and West Ham, City had won just one in nine to drop out of the Champions League qualification positions. During that poor run, City conceded two late goals to lose to Manchester United while also throwing away a three-goal lead late in a 3-3 draw against Feyenoord in the Champions League.

"We have to manage (games) a little bit better," City manager Pep Guardiola said, "but today was not bad."

Yoane Wissa and Christian Norgaard were the scorers for Brentford to leave City in sixth place.

Last-gasp equalizer for Chelsea

Chelsea salvaged a 2-2 draw at home to Bournemouth thanks to Reece James' free kick in the fifth minute of stoppage time but saw its winless run in the league extend to five games.

Cole Palmer put Chelsea ahead with a cheeky finish in the 13th minute for his 14th goal of the season, only for Bournemouth to respond as Antoine Semenyo won a penalty — converted by Justin Kluivert — and smashed home a rising finish in the 68th.

Chelsea stayed in fourth place — at least until fifth-place Newcastle plays on Wednesday.

Potter’s first win Graham Potter secured his first win as West Ham manager as his new team beat Fulham 3-2.

Carlos Soler and Tomas Soucek scored first-half goals before Lucas Paqueta grabbed the crucial third for West Ham, which brought in Potter last week as a replacement for the fired Julen Lopetegui.

Potter’s first match in charge was a defeat at Aston Villa in the FA Cup on Friday.

Alex Iwobi scored Fulham’s goals to make it 2-1 and then 3-2.

West Ham moved 10 points clear of the relegation zone with the victory.

Orient set for City in FA Cup Third-tier Leyton Orient set up a fourth-round match with Man City in the FA Cup next month by beating second-tier Derby 6-5 on penalties.