All posts by z3u9t.icu

According to The Northern Echo, Newcastle manager Rafa Benítez has attracted interest from Leicester to take over as manager in the summer. 

It has long been speculated that the Spaniard could leave St James’ Park at the end of the season if he is not granted some new signings this month.

The Magpies are yet to make a signing in January, which is the root cause of the Champions League winning manager’s irritation in the northeast. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg, as the club also had a fairly uneventful summer. They did manage to bring some players in, but not as many as the fans would have liked, and perhaps not the quality to make Newcastle competitive this season in the Premier League. The fact that they are currently in 17th place in the league, only two points above the relegation zone, is indicative of this transfer approach from owner Mike Ashley.

This has been a terrible month so far for the fans, and the news that Benítez could be on his way out is surely the final nail in the coffin for them. Thus far, the fact that the club have such a high-profile manager has been the saving grace for the fans; lose him, and this suddenly becomes a calamitous month and season for The Magpies.

The Foxes are not having the greatest season so far, and the pressure is mounting on manager Claude Puel after a string of uninspiring performances. It is no surprise that they are interested in a manager like Benítez.

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Everton currently find themselves in the mire having lost four of their last five – including a 3-2 defeat to Millwall in the FA Cup – as pressure mounts on Marco Silva to start delivering the results.

The Portuguese has impressed in his last two roles – he couldn’t prevent Hull’s relegation in the 2016/17 season but ensured it went down to the wire, while he also did a good job at trigger-happy Watford the year after until a poor run led to his dismissal in January.

However, the 41-year-old is currently facing what is arguably his biggest challenge in the Premier League yet as he looks to take Everton to the next level – he is failing thus far.

Taking over from Sam Allardyce, who was sacked in May 2018 despite taking the Toffees from 13th to 8th, Silva has hardly been an upgrade on his predecessor from what we’ve seen despite there being such staunch resistance to the former England boss from those in the stands at Goodison Park. Win, lose or draw, Allardyce always seemed to end up the pantomime villain.

What could have been, then, if unpopular Allardyce was still at the helm?

Defence sorted & through in the FA Cup

Allardyce received criticism during his six months in charge of the Merseyside outfit for his direct approach, despite getting the results required to achieve an eighth place finish.

Say what you want about Big Sam, but one thing he guarantees when taking a job is that he will sort out the defence and it is highly unlikely that, had he been kept on for this season, Everton would be conceding in the manner they are under Silva.

The defeat to Millwall epitomised the struggles Everton have had at the back – all three goals were conceded from set-pieces as Silva opts for a zonal marking approach that clearly isn’t working.

Allardyce, while it might not be exactly what the fans want, would rather forego attractive football in favour of defensive solidity to avoid the kind of simplistic lapses that cost the Toffees so dearly against Millwall. Everton would likely still be in the competition with Allardyce at the helm, while also climbing the Premier League table.

Lukaku replaced instead of signing Richarlison

The area most in need of improvement is Everton’s strike force – Richarlison has been deputising up front in the absence of a quality striker but a man of his talents should be on the wing, driving at players rather than occupying the centre-backs.

Silva brought his former Watford colleague to Goodison Park in the summer, with the Brazilian commanding a £50m fee. There is no doubt that he is a good signing and possibly the best they’ve made in recent years, but Marcel Brands and co would have been better served addressing the lack of a clinical centre-forward first – something Allardyce would surely have been keen to address as powerful front-men have been a hallmark of his most successful teams.

The Toffees have been crying out for a striker of Romelu Lukaku’s ilk since the big Belgian departed in 2017 and, had Allardyce still been in charge for the summer transfer window, it’s certainly less likely that Everton would have signed Silva’s golden boy, Richarlison.

Instead, that huge sum, or even half of it, could have been spent on a new centre-forward to lead the line and provide Allardyce with the kind of target man that suits his game-plan. Despite Allardyce’s reputation for defensive football, Kevin Davies, Andy Carroll and Christian Benteke have all enjoyed affluent spells under him.

Changing stereotypes

When he succeeded Ronald Koeman in November 2017, Allardyce was presented with a squad that at face value was simply underachieving, but was a complete mess in reality.

The club had spent £145m on new arrivals, only two of which have been consistently solid performers – Gylfi Sigurdsson and Jordan Pickford – while others are no longer in Everton blue having flopped completely.

Allardyce managed to turn things around and guide the Toffees to an eighth place finish, despite the preconceptions about how his tenure would turn out.

Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin may be out for the season but it’s given him a chance to show off his new accessory. Check out the video below to see for yourself…

The former West Ham and Crystal Palace boss has garnered a reputation for being a relegation-beater and not much more than that. But had he been in charge of Everton for the 2018/19 season and kept getting the results, then that stereotype of his style of football would be getting debunked right now.

Ultimately, the aim at Goodison Park is to take the step up that would see them challenge the Big Six and, while Allardyce might not have done so in the most fashionable way, it is possible that he would be far closer to doing so this season than Silva currently is.

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Liverpool fans have been reflecting on the week’s Champions League action and they’re all saying the same thing – sign Jadon Sancho!

Tottenham romped past Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday night, as goals from Son Heung-min, Jan Vertonghen and Fernando Llorente gave them a comfortable lead to take back to Germany in three weeks time.

Son was absolutely electric as always, and Mauricio Pochettino’s side were quite superb in the second half.

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It wasn’t all plain sailing despite what the result suggests though, and Liverpool fans liked what they saw from Sancho, who dominated the first half.

Tottenham had Vertonghen at left wing-back, and the 18 year-old Englishman made the Belgian’s life miserable in the first 45 minutes.

The ex-Manchester City teenager, who has seven goals and nine assists in 21 Bundesliga appearances so far this season, made one key pass and completed three dribbles, and he may have had a tap-in if Christian Pulisic had squared his chance in the first half.

Jurgen Klopp is one of the best in the business at nurturing young, attack-minded talent, and fans are urging the Reds to splash the big bucks on Sancho this summer…

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Amid the joy of Celtic’s late win over Kilmarnock one small fact was almost overlooked – another clean sheet for Scott Bain.

In eight domestic matches since returning from their winter break Celtic have yet to conceded a goal with the former Dundee keeper the only defensive player to have played in all of those matches.

Jeremy Toljan and Jonny Hayes have come into the full-back roles while Jozo Simunovic missed out on Sunday due to his problems with playing on plastic pitches. But throughout the chopping and changing Bain has kept his goal intact for over 700 minutes of domestic action.

It was a bold decision by Brendan Rodgers to replace Craig Gordon with Bain, a player signed on loan as third choice back-up 12 months earlier before his transfer was made permanent last summer.

During the Betfred Cup campaign Bain was rarely troubled but it was his calmness on the ball that stood out, a two-fold benefit. As well as playing the ball out accurately the 27-year-old can take a pass from almost any position, adding to the confidence of his defensive team-mates.

Keeping the ball out of the net will always be the priority for any goalkeeper and Bain started his current run in the team with a remarkable triple save in the Scottish Cup win over Airdrie.

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Back in 2014 Fraser Forster went 1,256 minutes without losing a goal, setting a British record that included over 13 clean sheets before, of all people, Hayes ended that run with a wonder goal for Aberdeen.

Those sort of records don’t come around often. It’s unlikely that Bain will beat Forster’s record but with an eight point lead at the top of the table, the former Dundee keeper has already made a significant contribution to another title success.

Andre Green could become a key player for Aston Villa, should manager Dean Smith use him correctly and the first step towards that goal is to make him a regular starter.

Green returned from his loan spell at Portsmouth in January but missed two weeks worth of action due to a hamstring strain on his return.

He, however, made his first start again in Saturday’s defeat to West Brom at Villa Park and looked solid before he was replaced by Jonathan Kodjia with 20 minutes remaining.

The winger grabbed the headlines in the match against Sheffield United two weeks ago when he scored a stoppage-time equaliser after Villa had gone 3-0 down. Smith might find some consistency on the left-flank should he stick with Green for the remainder of the season.

The 20-year-old has shown in the past the potential he possesses and has a bright future ahead of him.

Getting more and more game-time at Villa would only do his game the world of good and under the guidance of Smith, he could develop into the prime attacker the club so drastically need.

Villa will have to do something truly special if they were to sneak into a playoff spot by the end of the season but, at the moment, Smith and the rest of his squad could start to look ahead to next season and explore the options they have.

Starting Green on a more regular basis will place a big amount of responsibility on his game and it could be exactly what he needs to excel as a bright young talent.

Villa travel to Stoke City on Saturday and Smith should consider giving Green a full 90 minutes to show his fitness and desire to attack with width against a Stoke team that has been vulnerable at the back the whole season.

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Adam Lallana has made 151 appearances for Liverpool since arriving at Anfield from Southampton in the summer of 2014.

The attacker is an extremely talented footballer, but there is no getting away from the fact that injuries have taken their toll on the now 30-year-old.

Lallana, who missed the 2018 World Cup through injury, has made 11 appearances for Liverpool this season, with nine of those coming in the Premier League.

He has not played the whole 90 minutes of a single match this season, though, and there is a feeling that the Englishman could be moved on this summer by sporting director Michael Edwards.

With that in mind, the Liverpool fans have been on social media discussing what kind of price the club could expect to demand for the playmaker.

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It would be fair to say that there was a range of responses, with some claiming that he could fetch more than £20m, whilst others were not convinced.

Lallana certainly has the talent to turn out for a top-four club, but his fitness issues will be a real concern for the Reds.

A selection of the Twitter reaction from the Liverpool fans can be seen below:

The 18-year-old Lewis Brunt could have a long and prosperous career at Aston Villa if his talent is perfectly managed and developed by the Birmingham club.

The midfielder was brilliant for the Aston Villa u-23 side on Monday evening as they beat Sunderland u-23 1-0.

The scoreline might not reflect the dominance with which the Young Lions played and Brunt came close on three occasions of finding the back of the net.

It was ultimately a late penalty from Alexander Prosser who gave Villa the win to boost their position for a spot in the Premier League 2 playoffs.

But, Brunt certainly showed why first-team manager Dean Smith should keep a close eye on him and why he could a future expert midfielder for the club.

Brunt has all the qualities of a midfielder and is exceptional in both attack and defence.

Villa have had their struggles in the midfield this season and only seem to have consistency whenever Jack Grealish plays.

Brunt, though, can offer the same level of composure and stability in the midfield and is more than capable of playing as an attacking midfielder or a defensive midfielder.

For Smith and the club’s management, this should be an exciting prospect as Brunt could become a key player for the club if he grows under the guidance of the manager and other senior figures.

He signed his first professional contract with the club in November last year and since then has been relishing the opportunity of playing in the u-18 Premier League and the Premier League 2 competitions.

If he continues this type of form Smith might be tempted to give him a run in the first-team next season in order for him to gain the experience of playing on the highest level.

For the Villa fans, though, Brunt should also be an exciting talent that could become a club-legend one day and lead the Villans to new heights.

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Arsenal fans have a tendency to hype up their players more than most, especially those who fall under the young and promising category. Perhaps that’s just the nature of modern football, but it has lead to a divisive question amongst the Football FanCast offices.

With that in mind, our writers give their verdicts below on a simple question – who is currently Arsenal’s most overrated player?

Jack Saville – Mesut Ozil

“While his talent is unquestionable it’s difficult to understand his reputation. An enigma who habitually fades into insignificance in high-magnitude fixtures, Ozil has consistently fallen below the standard set by some of the Premier League’s best playmakers. Arsenal should have cashed in on the Germany international by now.”

Harry Elnaugh – Matteo Guendouzi

“For sure, the 19-year-old has been impressive in some games but I don’t think he’s in the same bracket as other players his age. His application and work-rate are excellent but, for me, he gives the ball away too often and gets a bit carried away – a red card waiting to happen. Of course these are things that will be ironed out of his game in time but, for now, he is way over-hyped.”

Will Jones – Henrikh Mkhitaryan

“It seems harsh considering his recent form, but Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s general output since arriving in England has fallen well short of expectations. Considering the huge wages he is on at the Emirates Stadium, it’s hard to argue that Arsenal themselves aren’t the most guilty party when it comes to overrating the Armenian.”

Harry Sherlock – Mesut Ozil

“Much like at Spurs with Eriksen, no manager has been able to unlock Ozil’s full potential for an entire season. In fact, the Gunners often look better when he isn’t in the team and there can be no more solid evidence of his diminishing stature than that. He is clearly very talented – you don’t play for Real Madrid and Germany if you aren’t – but he is a playmaker and he has two Premier League assists this season. Two. Enough said.”

The Premier League has reached the closing stages. With less than 10 games less to play it really is squeaky bum time for Liverpool. Obviously, not many Kopites reading this would have rejected the chance to be in this position if offered it at the start of the season, though the manner in which they surrendered a lead on Manchester City means the pressure really is on. 

Not to be too cliché, but Jurgen Klopp and the Liverpool squad have eight cup finals left to play. Win them all and their destiny isn’t even in their own hands but that’s all they can do. One of the best ever league campaigns in the club’s illustrious history surely deserves a prize, right? This is Liverpool we’re talking about.

With that in mind, here, we are going to take a look at a couple that may stop them from winning the ultimate prize. Or give them the boost to do exactly that.

Chelsea (Home, 14th April) 

Chelsea has always been a fixture in red on Liverpool’s calendar, and with the points up for grabs being the difference for a top 4 finish for Chelsea, or a Premier League title for Liverpool, it will truly be a game to turn heads.

We’ve been here before. Someone slipped but that doesn’t really tell the whole story, does it? Brendan Rodgers playing into Jose Mourinho’s tactical trap back in 2014 didn’t help of course, so winning this fixture would be a huge psychological boost.

Even in more recent matters, Liverpool will want to right the wrong that happened to them in the cup, when Eden Hazard silenced Anfield with a wonderful solo goal.

The Blues haven’t lost a game at Anfield since 2012. They’ve got to at some point.

Newcastle (Away, 4th May) 

Newcastle vs Liverpool has always been an exciting fixture for both sets of fans, being the fixture with the most goals scored in it over the course of Premier League history.

Liverpool have struggled to get solid results in recent seasons at St. James’ Park, having last found a victory in 2013,  and with the new found form of the Magpies, the Reds will have to be wary of a slip up similar to Manchester City’s earlier in the season, which will only boost the Toon Army’s spirit.

With the fixture being the penultimate game in the season and against a certain Rafa Benitez, the Reds could find themselves under immense pressure.

As we have seen earlier this season already, they could crumble to an uninspiring performance.

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Sunderland fought tooth and nail for a 0-0 draw at Barnsley on Tuesday, where three points would have taken them just a point behind the second-placed Tykes.

Plenty of fans were frustrated with the goalless draw at Oakwell, but there are lots of reasons to be optimistic despite the relatively dull game.

The Black Cats failed to secure three points and also ruined their record of having scored in every league game this season, but here are three reasons why the trip to Oakwell was actually a success.

Pl>ymaker FC Exclusive: Jermaine Jenas reveals why Tyne-Wear is a more intense derby than anything London can offer – check out the video below….

The circumstances

It may be an overused cliché, but it was more important to not lose Tuesday’s clash than to win it, considering the circumstances.

Jack Ross was without his captain in George Honeyman, who is suspended, and Duncan Watmore, who provides something a little different for defenders to worry about out on the wing.

Honeyman in particular is a huge loss, as a potentially promotion-deciding clash away from home under the lights is exactly the type of game you need your captain to show up in.

The rest of the players, and Ross of course, deserve immense credit for putting in a shift and making sure they did not allow Barnsley to pull seven points clear. A defeat for the Black Cats would have been devastating.

The form

Take the promotion race out of the picture for a moment and look at the game objectively – Sunderland visited a side who have not lost at home since a 2-0 defeat to Millwall in March 2018.

The Tykes had won seven of their last eight at home and had been kept off the scoresheet at Oakwell just twice all season before Tuesday’s clash.

To rock up to your promotion rivals’ home ground, where they are practically unstoppable, and keep a clean sheet without your club captain is an incredible achievement by the Black Cats.

The fixtures

Finally, fans of the Wearside outfit should be relieved when they look at the upcoming fixtures, as Barnsley’s next game is away at Doncaster, who are fighting for a play-off spot.

The Tykes then travel to a Walsall side fighting desperately to stay out of the drop zone, before a home clash against Coventry, who are just three points behind the play-off chasers.

Meanwhile, Ross’ side take on Walsall at home, where dispatching teams fighting relegation is much easier than on the road, before games against Accrington Stanley, Rochdale and Burton Albion, two of which have nothing to play for while Rochdale lead the league in goals conceded with 75.

Fans may have been frustrated by the drab draw at Oakwell, but this time next year they could well be looking back at it as the turning point of their quest for promotion.