All posts by n8rngtd.top

Portsmouth have enjoyed a strong start to the 2021/22 campaign and are currently sat in fifth position in League One during the first international break of the season.

Danny Cowley’s side have 10 points on the board, with three wins, one draw and one defeat after five games. Only Sunderland (12) have more, with Pompey one of six teams tied on 10 points below the Black Cats at the top of the table.

The south coast side won their first three league matches of the season, beating Fleetwood, Crewe and Shrewsbury. They were then held to a 0-0 draw by Doncaster before losing 1-0 to Wigan in their last game of the month in League One.

A number of players caught the eye with their performances in August, including on-loan Manchester City goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu – who started four of the five games and impressed between the sticks with an average SofaScore rating of 7.30 (before denying Cristiano Ronaldo from the penalty spot in midweek).

Forget the Republic of Ireland international, though, as it was Clark Robertson who was Pompey’s star man in August with his excellent performances at centre-back, as his defending helped Bazunu to rack up clean sheets and earn a high SofaScore rating of 7.18.

He was a defensive powerhouse throughout the month as he helped the team to keep four clean sheets in five games in League One. The only league goal Pompey conceded in August came in the 1-0 defeat to Wigan, with none conceded in the first four matches.

Keeping a clean sheet is a team effort, but Robertson stood out with his dominance in defence. As per SofaScore, he won an incredible 74% of his duels on the pitch, averaging 6.4 duels won per game. This shows that he was able to dominate the opposition and prevent them from winning much against him, stopping attacks and creating opportunities for his team to hit on the break, or to alleviate pressure by retaining possession.

Robertson, who joined from Rotherham in the summer, also made zero errors leading to shots or goals to further illustrate just how reliable he was for Cowley at the back. This shows how he was virtually faultless in the five matches, which is why he was arguably Pompey’s star man during August.

His excellence at the back built a platform for the attacking players to do their work without needing to worry about silly errors behind them. With just one goal conceded from five league games for Cowley’s side, Robertson’s performances have undoubtedly been key to their strong start to the campaign.

AND in other news, Pompey fans will be buzzing with Cowley’s claim on gem tipped to “become a top player”…

Many Glasgow Rangers fans have been left buzzing as a post emerged showing Borna Barisic’s fantastic form for Croatia.

The left-back managed to bag himself the match’s highest rating (7.8) on Sofascore after an impressive international display for Croatia in their 3-0 FIFA World Cup qualifying home win over Slovenia on Tuesday night.

Barisic won no fewer than six of his duels in the game, and also managed to record one successful dribble, two clearances, four tackles, one key pass, one accurate cross and three accurate long balls, as well as achieving a 96% pass accuracy in the match (Sofascore).

It was certainly a performance he should be proud of, and the 28-year-old will now hope that he can carry his international form on at club level.

Rangers fans on Barisic news

These Light Blues buzzed as the ‘class’ news of Barisic’s rating was shared on Twitter, with one Gers supporter even going as far as to claim that he was ‘excellent’:

“Class but expected, best LB in the world”

Credit: @robertmcnaught

“1 corner vs that lot and BOOOOOMMMM BornaBear is back”

Credit: @imacdougall8

“Class but expected”

Credit: @trickymcfingaz

“He’s back.”

Credit: @wmwscgbm87

“Borna is back”

Credit: @EveryOtherSatu1

“He was excellent last night. Although, with the emergence of Sosa & Gvardiol at LB, I think BB will find it harder n harder to keep his place. Croatia producing excellent talents in that area of pitch, right now.”

Credit: @Noceros84

In other news, find out which Premier League club tried to sign this ‘magnificent’ Ger here!

Kieran Devlin, Celtic’s correspondent for The Athletic, has shared some inside claims on James McCarthy’s time at Parkhead.

The Lowdown: Livingston struggles

The 30-year-old was handed a first Hoops start under Ange Postecoglou on Sunday, but he failed to impress in a 1-0 defeat to Livingston.

The Irishman was the second-worst starter from both sides, as per WhoScored, with a lowly match rating of 6.04/10. Only Stephen Welsh recorded a lower score, with McCarthy making way with just under 20 minutes remaining.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/celtic-updates-13/” title=”Celtic updates!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Latest: Devlin claim

Devlin shared a story for The Athletic on Monday morning following Celtic’s defeat to Livingston. He was informed by dressing room sources that McCarthy ‘has struggled in training with the pace and intensity of Postecoglou’s sessions and the demands of his midfielders’.

The report added that the manager and his scouting department didn’t have meaningful input in regards to the midfielder’s arrival at Parkhead.

The Verdict: McKay’s mistake?

Dominic McKay recently left his position as Parkhead CEO, but with neither Postecoglou nor his scouts seemingly contributing towards McCarthy’s arrival, it could well have been McKay who pushed that deal through over the summer.

Postecoglou is now left with a 30-year-old fish out of water who could well be on big money following his £50,000-a-week deal at former club Crystal Palace.

On that basis, the Celtic manager may need to make it work, or else risk having a big earner sitting on the sidelines and not contributing much.

In other news: Front runners: Celtic leading the way to land ‘brilliant’ free agent who Ange has spoken about. 

Michail Antonio bagged a 90th-minute winner on his return to West Ham’s starting XI as they defeated Leeds United in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.

In a match that was, understandably, end-to-end at Elland Road, David Moyes’ side came out on top thanks to two second-half goals.

Raphinha opened the scoring for the home side inside 20 minutes when he fired home a low shot past Lukasz Fabianksi from outside the penalty box but the tide turned when Jarrod Bowen’s shot deflected in off Junior Firpo halfway through the second half.

The 31-year-old, who is the leading goalscorer in the English top-flight right now, then popped up with a cool, calm and collected winner in the first minute of injury time.

He caught the Whites on the counter-attack as he knocked the ball past Jamie Shackleton before slotting the ball around Illan Meslier, much to the delight of the travelling Irons faithful, who stormed the pitch.

A lot of the admiration and acclaim will certainly fall at Antonio’s feet, as it should and often does, but there was another name who arguably stole the show up in Yorkshire.

As predicted by Football FanCast pre-game, tricky winger Said Benrahma had the potential to have a field day against Marcelo Bielsa’s injury-ravaged backline and that’s exactly what he did.

On the left flank, the Algerian earned the second-highest rating (7.6) of any Hammers player, via SofaScore.

The £26m-rated dynamo recorded three key passes and made 90% of his 31 passing attempts as he proved to be a major creative outlet for West Ham at Elland Road.

He was also a constant thorn in Bielsa’s side as he fired off five of the team’s 20 attempts at goal, had three successful dribbles and registered the third-highest number of touches for the visitors (52), as per SofaScore.

Benrahma would’ve left the young Leeds duo of Shackleton and Charlie Cresswell with nightmares after that display.

The 26-year-old wizard even did the dirty work defensively, having recorded four tackles. A number that was only bettered by one player on either side – home defender Firpo – and he even won eight of 13 ground duels, only further showing his dominance on the aforementioned Whites duo.

Tom Clark of football.london was equally impressed with the £23k-per-week Irons star as he graded his performance an 8/10, and wrote:

‘A very lively start from the Algerian who came close with a long-range effort then moments later showed the work rate Moyes demands with a vital interception in his own box. He is now becoming a trusted player by the manager after being in and out of the team last season.’

All in all, it’s evident that Benrahma was a key cog in the Hammers’ last-gasp win over Leeds on Saturday afternoon. He may not have added to his three goals and two assists but he was certainly a persistent nuisance and one that ran the show for Moyes this weekend.

AND in other news, West Ham eye shock striker swoop 5 ft 9 “goal machine” who’s haunted Moyes before

Sheffield United have been handed a boost regarding the fitness of Sander Berge ahead of their upcoming Championship fixture.

What’s the latest?

In recent comments cited by Yorkshire Live, Slavisa Jokanovic revealed that he is hopeful the midfielder will be available for selection for the trip to Middlesbrough on Tuesday evening, with the 23-year-old having missed both the Blades’ Carabao Cup defeat to Southampton last week, as well as Saturday’s 1-0 victory over Derby County due to a hamstring injury.

Speaking about the current condition of the Norway international, the 53-year-old manager said: “He could be available for some of these next two games.

“I don’t believe it is something that has happened before. His injury history is not so short, so we must care about him and have some sort of guarantee that he is in a safe situation and an easier way to participate for us.

“We cannot force him or take some big risk, we are not in that stage of the season where we need to go in this type of direction.”

Jokanovic will be buzzing

While it is clear that Jokanovic does not want to rush Berge back into first-team action at the risk of aggravating the midfielder’s injury, considering how important a part of the Sheffield United side the 23-year-old is, the fact he looks to be available if required for the trip to Middlesbrough is sure to have left the Serbian manager buzzing.

Indeed, over his six Championship appearances for the Blades so far this season, the £16.2m-rated man has scored one goal, as well as making an average of 1.3 key passes, 0.3 interceptions, one tackle, 0.3 clearances and winning 5.3 duels per game.

These returns have seen the defensively-minded midfielder average a SofaScore match rating of 6.80, ranking him as United’s joint 14th-best performer in the second tier.

As such, the availability of Berge will undoubtedly provide Jokanovic’s chances of picking up a positive result at Riverside with a considerable boost, something that will certainly delight the Blades boss.

In other news: Sheff Utd dealt potential blow on “powerful” £6.3m-rated ace, Jokanovic will be fuming

Sheffield Wednesday have been handed an injury boost ahead of their League One clash against Oxford United at Hillsborough this afternoon.

After securing a 2-1 win over Wigan Athletic at the DW Stadium in midweek, the Owls are now set to welcome Karl Robinson’s men to Hillsborough for their next slice of league action.

What’s the story?

This comes after Owls manager Darren Moore revealed in his press conference on Friday ahead of the Oxford clash that Sam Hutchinson was taken off during the win over Wigan as a “precaution” but has trained alongside the rest of his teammates in preparation for the match today.

That means the 32-year-old could be available to take on the U’s at Hillsborough in what would be a big boost to the manager and his team.

Wednesday fans will be thrilled

Given how Hutchinson missed Wednesday’s league games against Rotherham United and Morecambe after picking up an injury against Fleetwood Town back in August, it’s good to hear that he has not suffered another injury and was taken off against Wigan merely as a precaution.

Taking into account how the 32-year-old has played in numerous positions for Wednesday so far this season such as centre-back, defensive midfield and central midfield, it’s safe to say that he has been an important figure for the team based on his versatility when called upon and the abundant experience he has under his belt.

Wednesday originally signed Hutchinson back in February 2014 on a loan deal from Chelsea before securing him on a permanent basis in the following summer’s transfer window. He joined Pafos FC on a free transfer 13 months ago before returning to Wednesday on a free back in January.

Overall, he has made 184 appearances for the Yorkshire club across all competitions, chipping in with seven goals and five assists along the way (per Transfermarkt). He is the Owls’ second-highest rated player so far this season according to WhoScored performance metrics, with a squad-high two interceptions per game illustrating his importance in stifling opposition attacks.

Looking ahead to the Oxford clash today, we feel that if Hutchinson in fully fit enough to play, he should definitely be in the starting XI, playing in whichever position Moore thinks he is needed.

In other news: Moore must ruthlessly axe £450k-rated dud v Oxford, he’s not good enough 

Graham Roberts believes Tottenham miss Christian Eriksen after the Denmark international moved to Inter Milan in January of 2020.

The Lowdown: Eriksen departure

Eriksen made the move to Spurs from Ajax in 2013 and ended up becoming one of the side’s best players, scoring 69 goals and providing 90 assists in 305 games (Transfermarkt).

However, he made it clear he wanted to depart, and moved to Inter in January 2020.

The Latest: Roberts thinks Spurs miss Eriksen

On Twitter, a Spurs fan said the club miss Eriksen.

Roberts answer was short but sweet and straight to the point. He simply said:

“Agree”

The Verdict: Never replaced

It is hard to disagree with this statement. After all, the £36m-valued 29-year-old (Transfermarkt) was an integral part of the side for seven years and even helped Spurs reach the Champions League final in 2019, which they ultimately lost to Liverpool 2-0 in Madrid.

It was after that match that he stated his desire to seek a new challenge (The Guardian).

Since then, things have not gone well for either. Spurs have only played one more Champions League campaign, while Eriksen has managed just eight goals in 60 games for Inter. Unfortunately, the Lilywhites fan favourite has not played since he suffered a cardiac arrest playing for Denmark this summer (Sky).

Perhaps a reunion of the two parties would not be the worst thing in the world if the playmaker’s health allows him to return to action.

In other news, this man has been urged to leave Tottenham.

Aston Villa shared their official team photo for the 2021/22 campaign on social media on Tuesday morning.

And, as to be expected, a number of Villa supporters have been heaping praise on the club update on Twitter.

Dean Smith’s side are set to face Wolves when domestic action returns this weekend, looking to make it three Premier League wins in four after impressive victories over Everton and Manchester United prior to the international break.

Villa currently sit 10th in the table with 10 points from seven games, and all senior players were on show in the squad photo.

A few fans believe that winger Trezeguet, who has been out since April with a knee injury, has been photoshopped into the picture, which is available to view here.

Villa fans react

These Villa supporters were quick to give their thoughts to the official club post on Tuesday, with a selection of responses available to view below – where one labelled it as ‘sensational’.

“Starting to feel like we have a team to be proud of not just 1 player.”

Credit: @CS_UTV

“I think I’m in love with Matthew Cash”

Credit: @JPAvfc_

“Sensational”

Credit: @ChrisEllis250

“the absolute talent in this photo”

Credit: @mxttxavxo

“So rare”

Credit: @ben_wangyan

“So much better taking team photos at VP than at BH”

Credit: @joeohara18

It’s an exciting time to be a Crystal Palace supporter, with their new era under the stewardship of Patrick Vieira’s getting off to an entertaining start.

Several new, young signings replaced multiple experienced campaigners over the summer to mark a new chapter in the club’s history, and things could get even better for the south London outfit in the seasons ahead.

Just last year, Palace secured Category One status after the redevelopment of the club’s youth academy, transforming their youth sides fortunes. And it could prove to be pivotal for their future prospects.

In the past, the likes of Jadon Sancho, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Emile Smith Rowe have grown up within close proximity to Selhurst Park but plied their trade elsewhere as the Eagles’ facilities were not at an elite standard.

But U18s coach Paddy McCarthy told the PA news agency (as relayed by F365) that the recent developments will be enough to entice talented locals to play for Palace in the future: “We have a great recruitment area in south-east London and within the M25. It is a hotbed of talent!

“And we now have a facility which is in the process of being up there with the best, a games programme in line with the best and we also have a pathway I would argue is probably better than others when you look at our history of getting players from the academy all the way through to the first-team,” McCarthy concluded.

One of the youngsters already benefitting from the improved infrastructure is 20-year-old Jake O’Brien.

Although the stocky Irish defender isn’t a native to south London, Palace’s ability to attract and then develop such a talented star is symptomatic of their newfound appeal.

The centre-back has made 19 appearances for the capital club since arriving from boyhood club Cork City on an initial loan deal in February, scoring four goals along the way.

“O’Brien collected nine Irish Premier League appearances with the Rebel Army before switching to south London,” Palace’s official website states.

“He hit the ground running for Shaun Derry’s men, scoring his first goal for the club against Sunderland in March 2021 – he added two more against Middlesbrough in their crucial 3-2 victory at Selhurst Park, as they secured a play-off place in their first season as a Category 1 Academy.”

His impressive performances for Derry’s charges have also caught the eye of several impressed onlookers, including journalist Dylan O’Connell.

O’Connell tweeted: “Jake O’Brien won the penalty (which was missed). I remember watching him breakthrough at Cork City. He came through as a RB and looked very good and physical for a teenager. Signed for Crystal Palace’s Under-23s and won promotion to PL 2 Division 1. One for the future.”

With Vieira’s squad currently light on numbers in the heart of defence and James Tomkins and Martin Kelly approaching the twilight of their careers, it might be a matter of when rather than if O’Brien forces his way into the first team setup at Selhurst Park.

And, in other news…Report provides exciting Palace transfer update that’ll leave fans buzzing 

With things beginning to look on the up for Celtic under the leadership of Ange Postecoglou in recent weeks, as the Bhoys have picked up 12 points from 12 available over their last four fixtures in all competitions, the 56-year-old manager will undoubtedly be hoping for yet another positive result when the Hoops make the trip to Hibernian on Wednesday evening.

And, with Jack Ross’ side being in rather contrasting form to Celtic at present, with Hibs currently on a run of three straight defeats in the league, Postecoglou will be more than aware that the fixture presents his team with a fantastic opportunity to close the gap on the current Scottish Premiership leaders.

So, will Postecoglou make any changes to the team which started the 2-0 win at St. Johnstone last Saturday? Here’s how we think Celtic could line up against Hibernian, along with the latest team and injury news…

With Postecoglou recently revealing that he has no fresh injury concerns ahead of Wednesday’s fixture, as well as suggesting James McCarthy could be in line to make a return to the matchday squad, we predict that the 56-year-old will make two changes to the team that lined up against St. Johnstone last weekend.

The first of these changes comes in the heart of the Celtic defence, with the £20k-per-week Cameron Carter-Vickers making way for 21-year-old Stephen Welsh – who could very much do with a run-out having not featured in any of the Hoops last four league fixtures.

The remainder of the back five is untouched, with Joe Hart starting between the sticks, while Josip Juranovic and Anthony Ralston retain their spots at left and right-back respectively, and Carl Starfelt lines up alongside Welsh at centre-back.

In the middle of the park, Callum McGregor, David Turnbull and Tom Rogic also retain their starting spots, with the trio having highly impressed for the Bhoys in recent weeks – while, despite his return to fitness, James McCarthy has to make do with a place on the bench.

The second change comes in Celtic’s front three, with the recently recovered Mikey Johnston replacing Jota on the left-hand side of the attack in order to afford the £900k-rated man some much-needed game time, while Georgios Giakoumakis and Kyogo Furuhashi line up alongside the 22-year-old.

In other news: Ange must unleash £2.7m-rated Celtic “phenomenon” vs Hibs, he’s a game-changer