All posts by n8rngtd.top

Andrea Radrizzani has signed off on some seriously smart decisions during his time at Leeds, with the signing of Patrick Bamford being one of them. However, one call he recently made is a bit of a head-scratcher. The chairman opted to extend Gaetano Berardi’s contract until the end of the current season, despite his ongoing injury woes.

Over the last two seasons, the right-back has missed a total of 38 matches due to a flurry of injuries. He is currently sidelined at the moment with a ruptured ACL and may not feature again for Leeds.

Leeds should have cashed in on Berardi

Fitness issues aside, Berardi was becoming more and more of an inconsistent starter for the Whites. Last season, Berardi was dropped for 22 games and started just 12, playing a minimal role in the club’s historic Championship-winning campaign (via Transfermarkt).

The defender also sparks worry surrounding his discipline. He has missed a whopping 18 games during his Leeds career due to red card suspensions, which is not a trait Marcelo Bielsa will want to advertise in the Premier League. The top flight strikers will be able to exploit his lack of discipline and could seriously hurt the defence by drawing in fouls from him.

Radrizzani’s decision to extend his contract doesn’t make much sense, considering the fact he is on a reported £35,000 per week, which he will be earning whilst on the sidelines recovering from injury.

Leeds will need to take to the transfer market in January to bolster their options in goal as well as attack. Spending a mammoth £1.6million on Berardi’s wages for the year seems like a complete and utter waste of money. The 32-year-old will likely be leaving the club at the end of this season on a free contract. Radrizzani must surely be wondering why he bothered tabling a new deal in such a strange scenario.

In other news, Signing Fraser Forster will help Leeds improve Illan Meslier…

Sunderland forward Chris Maguire must put his recent struggles into the past and respond against Gillingham on Saturday, after Black Cats boss Phil Parkinson opted to snub a potential recall for Aiden McGeady.

Parkinson has stated that he is yet to change his stance on McGeady’s future at the Stadium of Light, per the Sunderland Echo, having told the 34-year-old to train with the Under 23s and find a new club late last year.

McGeady has since returned to the North East after a loan spell with Charlton Athletic, raising the potential for Parkinson to go back on his word and utilise the former Republic of Ireland international after Sunderland’s unbeaten start to the season came to an end against Portsmouth before a draw at Rochdale.

A recall has yet to be offered as Parkinson has previously suggested McGeady’s exile came down to a desire to change the culture at the Stadium of Light, while protecting the pathway for young talents to breakthrough.

Parkinson intends to keep that path open for Elliot Embleton, having hinted as to why McGeady continues to be overlooked.

“Aiden at the moment has had to have an injection in his knee anyway,” Parkinson said, via quotes by the Sunderland Echo. “He had a spell of training with the U23s, but at the moment he’s in the treatment room with a similar problem to Jordan.

“He’s [Embleton] another player who I’m looking forward to seeing emerge for us. Unfortunately, we’ve had to be patient with him but if he can get through today, we’re expecting him in the run of games we have coming to get some minutes with the first-team.”

Parkinson suggesting he will continue overlooking McGeady and favour waiting for Embleton’s return should come as welcome relief for Maguire, who could have seen his place in the side come under threat otherwise.

Maguire has been struggling for form in Sunderland’s recent league fixtures following his return from the hamstring injury that prevented his involvement in the 0-0 draw at Charlton, with the £4,400-per-week forward offering just one shot on goal and no key balls in the defeat to Portsmouth before again failing to register a shot on target at Rochdale.

Parkinson even opted to haul Maguire off with 15 minutes still on the clock at the Crown Oil Arena, having lost three of his five ground duels, misplaced five of six attempted crosses, did not attempt any dribbles and lost possession 10 times, per SofaScore.

Gillingham on Saturday presents Maguire with a perfect opportunity to respond knowing that Parkinson is happy to omit McGeady in anticipation of Embleton’s return, but his slack run cannot continue for much longer.

Any further issues will surely begin to leave Parkinson considering the benefits of recalling McGeady, who former Celtic boss Neil Lennon lauded as being unplayable on his day during their time together at Parkhead.

“He’s a mercurial talent, and on his day is unstoppable,” Lennon said, via quotes by the Chronicle. “He has undoubted natural ability.”

AND in other news, Phil Parkinson has been urged to start a Sunderland star who “has a bit of everything”.

Michael Obafemi enjoyed a breakthrough season with Southampton during the 2019/20 campaign as he made 22 appearances in the top-flight, but this season has been a lot less fruitful for the 20-year-old and Ralph Hasenhuttl should consider loaning him out.

In his 22 Premier League appearances last season, the striker was able to contribute a fairly impressive three goals and two assists (per WhoScored), so it was perhaps expected that he would continue to feature for the Saints this season.

However, this season has seen him manage just 13 minutes of Premier League action, as well as just six minutes in the Carabao Cup, suggesting that the Austrian manager currently has no plans to give him a starting berth in his squad.

Considering the form of both Danny Ings and Che Adams this season, this is perhaps unsurprising, whilst the loan signing of Theo Walcott means that it was also perhaps unlikely that he was going to be a regular for the South Coast club this season.

That being said, fellow academy prospect Dan N’Lundulu has also featured in the top-flight this season and has been on the bench for two other fixtures (per Transfermarkt), suggesting that he may well have moved above Obafemi in the pecking order.

As a result, the Ireland U21 international should perhaps be sent out on loan, as to ensure that his progress isn’t stifled too much by sitting on the bench for the Saints.

Considering he has already made 29 appearances in the Premier League in his career, there would surely be no shortage of interest in the striker from sides in the Championship, and perhaps a loan to the second division would help him realise his potential.

Hasenhuttl admitted earlier this season that:

“The problem with Michael was always he would play one good game and then fall back a little bit and was not professional enough to force or keep his position in the team or in the squad.

“This makes it too easy for others to go above him. I think this is what he must learn.

“Once he is in the squad, don’t give it away so easily and try to be aggressive and dangerous in front of the goal.

“I think this is something he misses, but he’s young, he still has to learn a lot and this is a kind of mentality but is also a kind of quality.” (per Hampshire Live)

Therefore, it seems clear that the Austrian manager is not fully convinced by Obafemi and a positive loan spell could be just what the Irishman needs to regain his confidence and put him back into Hasenhuttl’s good books.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast correspondent Tom Ward, Carlton Palmer has delivered his verdict on Arsenal’s treatment of German star Mesut Ozil.

The Gunners stunned English football when they decided to leave the playmaker out of both their Premier League and Europa League squads for the current campaign.

Ozil is famously on a wage of £350k-a-week in north London but hasn’t played all season.

In fact, the 32-year-old hasn’t been seen in an Arsenal shirt since a 1-0 win over West Ham in early March. It’s rather incredible that a player of his ability isn’t featuring in the side but there are a host of reasons to potentially explain his absence.

Mikel Arteta has previously revealed that he wasn’t included for ‘football reasons’.

It’s hard to believe that though when you consider the Gunners scored just once from open play in the entity of November in the Premier League. It’s made even worse when you assess the statistics from last season. Despite his lack of game time, the number 10 was still Arsenal’s best creator with 2.1 key passes a game.

Why therefore is he not playing? At one stage this season, Arsenal had managed fewer shots per game than any of the bottom clubs across Europe’s top five leagues.

Surely Ozil would be of use to Arsenal then? That’s something Palmer certainly thinks.

Speaking to FFC, he suggested that the former Germany international was being mistreated. The pundit was clearly baffled by the situation, saying:

“I’ll come back to how can they be struggling when somebody like Ozil’s not getting a game. I just don’t get that.”

Palmer continued: “I think that’s a bit of a personal something, a personal vendetta that’s gone on there with the club and if you’re paying that type of money, and he’s a talented, talented player, and you’re not winning football matches, there’s something wrong if he’s not playing.”

Indeed, it would be a shock if we saw Ozil in an Arsenal shirt ever again.

His contract expires at the end of the season and it would seem that Arteta has already moved on from him. It’s a sad end to his stay at the Emirates Stadium.

A lot of Liverpool fans have flocked to a tweet posted by Reds news Twitter account @AnfieldEdition, which relays journalist Paul Gorst’s claim that Jurgen Klopp may field a ‘more senior team than many anticipated’ versus Midtjylland in this evening’s UEFA Champions League clash. 

Liverpool’s final game of the 2020/21 Champions League group stage has been described as ‘a rare chance’ for Klopp to rotate his squad significantly, with the 2018/19 Champions League winners already qualified for the last 16 of this year’s competition in first place in their group. 

However, after taking to Twitter to reveal that Andy Robertson, Georginio Wijnaldum and Sadio Mane have all travelled with the squad for this evening’s match, Gorst indicated that he believes plenty of first-team regulars may still take to the pitch for this game – many may have expected to see a team made up of fringe players and youngsters. 

So, what did these Liverpool fans have to say about Gorst’s claim?

Many Reds fans are seemingly baffled by the journalist’s claim and replied to @AnfieldEdition’s tweet to share that they don’t think Liverpool should field many first-team regulars versus Midtjylland, with some supporters criticising Jurgen Klopp over the news and even calling it ‘ludicrous’. 

In other news, some Liverpool fans have been criticising Dejan Lovren over his recent comments about his Anfield departure.

If anything summed up Wolves’ last few weeks, it was their performance against Burnley on Monday evening.

Without Raul Jimenez, Nuno Santo’s men struggled in front of goal and ultimately, fell to a 2-1 defeat.

The concerning part of this was that they couldn’t even blame their formation. It was a four-man backline that saw them suffer back to back defeats to Liverpool and Aston Villa but on this occasion, Nuno went with his tried and tested three-man defence.

It was a strange XI with the likes of Rayan Ait-Nouri and Owen Otasowie given rare starts. They didn’t do much to vindicate their selection with Fabio Silva coming off the bench and nearly rescuing a dejected Wolves side.

Defensively, they were absolutely bullied by the high ball of Burnley who hit them on the counter-attack and scored two sweeping goals.

A large part of the poor defensive performance was down to Romain Saiss, someone who was caught out of position and in no man’s land for Ashley Barnes’ opener.

Even worse than him, though, was Max Kilman. The defender has enjoyed a breakthrough season at Molineux but unfortunately, this was one of his poorest displays to date.

Playing at right centre-back, his communication with skipper Conor Coady was clearly lacking. He didn’t step up at the correct times which allowed Burnley to get in behind on a few occasions.

Kilman struggled with the speed of the Clarets’ counter but also with the high balls, winning just one of the six duels he contested throughout the tie. That meant the youngster lost a colossal 83.6% of his tackles and headers.

For a Wolves defence that prides itself on playing from the back, his passing was also poor, amassing a success rate of only 76%. Furthermore, Kilman made two fouls which allowed Burnley to gather precious time in the closing moments of the clash.

The 23-year-old has rarely put a foot wrong since being thrust into the first-team but this was a concerning performance, one that will leave Nuno rather annoyed.

With competition for places at the back fiercely competitive in this Wolves side, he will have to show improvement.

AND in other news, Nuno made a colossal Wolves blunder over “exciting” £40.5m star…

For Celtic, this has already been a long arduous season. We’re only in December but it’s been full of immense drama.

The Hoops were dumped out of the Champions League in the qualifying stages and then conceded 19 in just six matches following their entrance to the Europa League. Being knocked out of that competition was a huge disappointment but the biggest frustration has come domestically.

Although the Bhoys have won the Scottish Cup, they are considerably off the pace in the SPFL and are in danger of losing their grip on the league crown.

It would now be a great surprise if it went any other way but Rangers’. Fortunately, they have a January transfer window to try and solve their woes. Naturally, the position they’ll look to strengthen in is defensively.

Celtic have shipped nine more goals than their arch-rivals despite playing three fewer games but one of the players linked with the club has been Philadelphia Union centre-back Mark McKenzie.

He’s one of the rising stars in MLS but Nick Hammond and Lennon could save themselves millions with one simple trick in the immediate future.

That’s to play Nir Bitton on a more regular basis. The Israeli has received vast waves of criticism during his stay at Parkhead, something that Brendan Rodgers described as “incredible” when he was still in Glasgow.

Yet, in a season where the likes of Shane Duffy and Christopher Jullien have provided drama at every corner, Bitton was safe as houses against Hamilton on Boxing Day.

He won a colossal seven aerial duels, taking his tally for the season to a massive 33 from just ten outings. It’s an almighty statistic but where he stood out above others a few days ago was in terms of reading the play.

Jullien and Duffy were at sixes and sevens throughout the Scottish Cup final but Bitton registered four interceptions versus Hamilton, producing the type of solid performance that Lennon needs to see more of.

If the Israel international manages more displays like this, it may just dissuade Hammond from entering the transfer market for a new defender.

All eyes are on Lennon and the hierarchy now.

AND in other news, Celtic must swoop for “extraordinary” colossus, he’s BETTER than Barkas…

The future of Kieran Gibbs at West Brom seems rather unlikely with Sam Allardyce at the helm, according to emerging reports…

What’s the word?

Reliable Baggies reporter, Steve Madeley of The Athletic, claimed earlier this week that the 31-year-old’s recent pre-game withdrawal had angered the new Albion boss to the extent of potentially offloading him this month.

He wrote in a recent column:

“An absence of leadership has been evident and Albion may also be in the market for a left-back if they can secure an exit for Kieran Gibbs. The player’s withdrawal with a thigh strain during the warm-up for the 5-0 defeat by Leeds, exposing the untested Lee Peltier at short notice, is understood to have angered Allardyce.”

Tony Pulis flop

Gibbs has been at the club since 2017 when Tony Pulis secured the former Gunners full-back from Arsenal for £7m. He’s thought to be on around £55k-per-week, which makes him their second-highest earner.

Despite looking rather unfair on the face of it, perhaps Allardyce is actually onto something here.

The Premier League veteran was usurped by Conor Towsend before he picked up a lengthy injury and that’s rather damning as it was only three years ago that he was competing in League One.

It also speaks volumes that Gibbs ranks out as the worst player on WhoScored, being graded a 6.11. No player who has started three or more matches has managed a worse rating.

The ten-time England international even let Slaven Bilic down badly earlier this season when he was sent off against Everton for what the Croatian described as a “stupid” reaction.

He is simply not justifying that massive wage whatsoever.

That £7m signing has turned out to cost Albion a total just over £16.5m and overall, it’s hard to say that it has turned out to be a great move.

Gibbs has absolutely ransacked Guochuan Lai’s pockets, though the only thing on his side this month is the fact that Allardyce is short on options in the role and additions of a centre-back and a striker are more pressing needs.

AND in other news, West Brom target could become their next Youssouf Mulumbu…

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, former England centre-back Steve Howey has urged Cenk Tosun to join West Brom this month.

The 29-year-old striker was Baggies boss Sam Allardyce’s first signing during his time at Everton, splashing out £27m to Besiktas for his signature, though things haven’t gone to plan since.

In three-and-a-half seasons at the Toffees, the Turkish forward has only made 58 appearances, scoring 11 goals and providing six assists. He was even sent out on loan to Crystal Palace last term, where he scored just once in five games, per Transfermarkt.

Tosun has played only 43 minutes in the Premier League under Carlo Ancelotti this season and has subsequently been linked with a reunion with Big Sam.

According to Sky Sports, the 66-year-old is keen to bring Tosun to the Hawthorns to bolster his frontline, as West Brom rank among the worst three clubs in the top-flight in terms of goals scored.

It’s claimed that any loan deal would be with a view to making the move permanent if Albion avoid relegation – it’s thought that the 45-cap striker is currently earning around £100k-per-week.

On the back of these reports, when we asked him if Tosun would be a good signing for the Baggies, Howey claimed it would be an “absolute no brainer,” for the player to make such a move. He said:

“For [West Brom], I think you’ve got [to say to the player] ‘there are X amount of months left in the season, you’re not playing. We’ll give you an extra little bit more – if you keep us up or if you score X amount of goals, or if you do this, there’s an extra bit in it for you’, so for a player who isn’t playing and is fit, it’s an absolute no brainer, win-win!”

Even in Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s absence on Tuesday night, Ancelotti snubbed Tosun from the starting XI as the Toffees defeated Wolves 2-1. Indeed, he didn’t even come off the bench despite the game heading into the final 20 minutes all-square.

Meanwhile, over at the Hawthorns, Big Sam is currently dealing with a shortage of striking options. He’s sanctioned the loan exit of Charlie Austin to former club QPR despite the serious injury suffered to Karlan Grant.

Tosun would be a welcome addition to the Albion squad given the circumstances, Howey certainly seems to think it would be a good move for all those concerned.

AND in other news, West Brom heading for transfer disaster over the next Stephane Sessegnon

Andre Gomes was Carlo Ancelotti’s true hero in Wednesday night’s 1-1 draw with Leicester City, as the Everton midfielder stepped up to fill the void left by Abdoulaye Doucoure.

Ancelotti was without his £20m summer signing from Watford with Doucoure suspended after being issued his fifth yellow card of the Premier League campaign at Wolverhampton Wanderers earlier in the month.

The Frenchman’s continually evolving relationship with Allan had helped to see Gomes forced out of the starting line-up, with his midweek appearance at Goodison Park marking the 29-cap Portugal international’s first top-flight start since November 1.

Gomes was given a run for his money at home to Leicester with the Foxes often dictating the pace of the game as Everton sat in deep to protect their initial one-goal lead, but stood up to the test only to be let down by Jordan Pickford.

Gomes’ efforts in the engine room beside Tom Davies played a key role in the Toffees’ staying ahead following James Rodriguez’s curling first-half opener, struck on his weaker right foot after Wesley Fofana’s unconvincing clearance fell into the Colombian’s path.

Yet another horror moment from Pickford would gift Leicester a draw, having only managed to push Youri Tielemans’ shot on to the post and into his net, despite getting both hands on the ball.

Everton were set to move up to fourth in the table with a win and with two games in hand on the Leicester in third, but ended the night seventh and will host Newcastle United on Saturday looking to claim what will only be a third home victory in eight league games.

Gomes had his work cut out stepping in to the fill the void of Doucoure in Ancelotti’s midfield, with the Frenchman an instrumental aspect of the Italian’s plans with only centre-half duo Michael Keane (64.2) and Yerry Mina (62.2) averaging a higher number of total passes (50.7) per game, per WhoScored, as they set the Blues up to play out from the back.

Doucoure also offers the third-most successful tackles (1.9) among those to have featured more than once for Ancelotti this term, and has the ability to give an outlet in attack after setting Everton up to break with the fifth-most shots (0.8) and sixth-most key balls (0.7).

Gomes may have been unable to match Doucoure’s offensive output against Leicester with the 27-year-old failing to create a single direct goal-scoring opportunity for himself or a teammate, yet he helped to stamp the Toffees’ style on the game with more successful dribbles (5) than any player for either side as he progressed the ball up the field.

His drive to bring play forward, rather than palm off possession, additionally saw Gomes cover the second-furthest distance with the ball at their feet by an Everton player at 174-yards, and with the most progressive carries (4) beyond the defensive 40% zone of the field to push Leicester back into their own territory, per FBref.

But it was defensively were Gomes flourished, with the £18m-rated ace recovering 14 loose balls – more than any player who featured – and with a game-high four tackles attempted and three won. He was also the only Everton player to win possession in the middle third of the pitch (2) and with three-times the number of pressures (9) as any of his teammates in the region, to thwart Brendan Rodgers’ side in many of their countless attacks.

It remains to be seen if his efforts are enough to earn a start in Saturday’s showdown with Newcastle, who won the reverse fixture 2-1, but Gomes’ performance will undoubtedly have given the former FC Barcelona midfielder confidence of a reprieve after months as nothing more than a back-up.

AND in other news, Everton are in talks over the future of a £6.5m-rated flop courted by several sides…