Paper Round: Southgate risks fans' wrath by picking Stoke full-back Glen Johnson

Interim England manager Gareth Southgate sprung a surprise on Sunday night by naming Glen Johnson in his squad. Southgate was tasked with naming a group of players to play Malta and Slovenia over the next fortnight and opted for a largely predictable set of names... with one notable exception. Johnson, 32, has not featured for the national team in over two years and joins Kyle Walker as one of two right-backs in the squad.

Paper Round's view: The reaction to Gareth Southgate taking over as interim England boss was so overwhelmingly negative that it was inevitable that his first squad was going to get panned. But, while some of his selections initially seem strange, closer inspection suggests he had little alternative. England's talent pool is concerningly shallow at the best of times, but injuries to a number of likely call-ups saw Southgate forced to look at options that were likely to be unpopular but were still the right calls. Marcus Rashford's impressive form and phenomenal potential means he was always likely to be in the mix, but in the case of Glen Johnson and Jesse Lingard it was more a case of who else?

Southgate needed an attacking right-back who can offer an alternative to Kyle Walker, which would normally be Nathaniel Clyne, but the Liverpool man is unavailable. The same goes for Adam Lallana, who fulfils a similar role to Lingard, while Danny Drinkwater has also dropped out due to fitness, explaining the Leicester man's surprise omission. If anything Southgate deserves praise for resisting the urge to bring Jack Wilshere and Ross Barkley back into the fold. Both players need time away from the national team to develop out of the spotlight, and it would have been counter-productive to flip the pair straight back into the party before they had re-established themselves at club level.

Tottenham Hotspur dominate the back pages on Monday morning after halting Pep Guardiola's unbeaten run with a display that shows Spurs "are genuine title contenders" - according to the Telegraph. Tottenham's performance in the 2-0 win over City was the best of the season so far and not only showed that City are more vulnerable than their previous six straight wins suggested, but also underlined the increased depth and quality of the Spurs squad. Pochettino's side now have the only unbeaten record in the top-flight and have shown they should not be discounted in the title race.

Paper Round's view: Spurs were mightily impressive on Sunday, smashing City in a manner that means they will no longer be able to operate under the radar like they managed to for much of the opening six weeks of the season. Pochettino has built a well-balanced squad at White Hart Lane with a team spirit that nobody else in the division can yet match... but will that be enough to win the title?

In Paper Round's view, the answer is no.

A top four finish shouldn't be out of Tottenham's reach this season - which in itself would be an achievement looking at the competition they're up against with such significantly superior spending power. However, the extra attacking quality that Manchester City, Manchester United and, to a lesser extent, Arsenal have is likely to tell in the end.

America dominated the final day of the Ryder Cup to end their long wait for the trophy in the sort of style that redresses the balance - reports the Guardian. USA's 4-0 start in the Friday foursomes set the tone for what was to come and, while Europe responded to ensure there was still life in the contest going into the final afternoon, America showed why they were rightly favourites for the win with a rampaging run of victories in the singles to tie up a 17-11 margin.

Paper Round's view: The Miracle of Medinah was exactly that - a miracle. That sensational comeback four years ago has left European golf fans feeling that they are never out of the trans-atlantic contest, but that team was special and, unfortunately, this one was not.

USA had the stronger set of players, the home advantage, and the captain who produced the better picks, so it was hardly a surprise that the trophy went the way of the hosts. Rory McIlroy and co will feel like they could have done slightly more to tip the scales back in their team's favour, but in reality this was a win that sends out a statement and will set the Americans up with a far more positive attitude towards the contest in the future.