All posts by h716a5.icu

Celtic’s search for a new manager is taking new twists and turns as the day goes by. That being said, the Bhoys are still no closer to discovering who their new boss will be.

Roy Keane had been the favourite but now it looks as though he won’t actually be penning terms in Glasgow.

What’s the word?

This has been an exciting week for Hoops fans. Lucien Favre is now reportedly interested in becoming their new manager while a further candidate has now opened up on the possibility of coming to Parkhead.

That happens to be Thierry Henry, a manager who revealed he was available this week if Celtic were willing to sit down and talk with him.

Speaking on The Robbie Fowler Podcast, he said: “With all humility, whatever is going to come my way – I’m not saying that should come my way – whatever is going to come my way I’m going to try to evaluate. I’m sure they’re going to work on what they’re going to work on.”

Henry added: “I don’t know what’s happening there, this is a club [Celtic] I respect a lot, but that I don’t know about.”

Dilemma for Desmond

Whether or not the Hoops hierarchy had Henry on their shortlist, they clearly now have a dilemma over what to do.

Keane has seemingly been ruled out of the reckoning but with Henry and Favre now putting their names into the hat, the race is set to hot up.

If Desmond has any sense, he’d surely opt for Favre if he was picking between the two.

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He may have been sacked from his post with Borussia Dortmund in December but he had done an enthralling job until that point, losing just 24 games at a win rate of 61.82%.

Henry, on the other hand, hasn’t really had a sparkling managerial career to date.

Known as one of the most feared strikers in the world during his playing days, his tactics have been unable to spark a similar feeling among opposition teams and managers.

His first job as a head coach was with Monaco but he failed to revive a sleeping giant and won just 20% of the matches he took charge of, proving victorious in only four games.

The 43-year-old’s next role was with Montreal Impact in MLS, a role he left in February to spend more time with his family.

Again, the Frenchman failed to set the world alight, winning only 31% of his matches in charge.

Henry’s managerial career has so far been a disastrous state of affairs. He is quite clearly not the man to bring success back to Celtic.

AND in other news, Bye-bye Christie: Celtic must swoop for 42-goal gem who can “sprint like Mbappe”…

Charlton Athletic return to League One action this afternoon, looking to build on their quest for promotion with a win over fellow challengers, Doncaster Rovers.

Nigel Adkins’ side make the trip to Yorkshire for the early kickoff and he has plenty to ponder in terms of team selection following a 2-2 draw with AFC Wimbledon last time out.

The Addicks currently sit outside the playoff zone, two points adrift in tenth place, though a victory could rocket them as high as fifth going into the 3pm kickoffs.

So, here is our predicted XI, as well as the latest team and injury news from south-east London.

Adkins could make as many as three changes from the Dons draw, one of which will be enforced.

11-goal striker Conor Washington had to be taken off just five minutes into that match with a hamstring injury, and the recently-appointed Addicks boss revealed in his pre-game press conference that he would not make the trip to the Keepmoat.

“Conor is not going to be available for selection,” Adkins said to LondonNewsOnline. “We’ll miss the Easter programme but he is responding as well as he can. It will be a big miss.”

So, top goalscorer Chuks Aneke is in line for a recall alongside Jayden Stockley in the attack.

Another change could happen in defence, and at left-back, with Ben Purrington getting an opportunity to impress his new boss.

The 24-year-old hasn’t been involved since being withdrawn at half-time against Blackpool six games ago but as he’s under contract next term – unlike Chelsea loanee Ian Maatsen – Adkins will surely want to take a look at his credentials before the summer.

Washington’s replacement before the international break, Diallang Jaiyesimi made an almost instant impact – 15 minutes after coming off the bench, he scored, so he may have earned a place over Albie Morgan on the right flank.

The rest of the line-up should remain much the same, meaning it’s Ben Amos between the sticks behind skipper Jason Pearce, Akin Famewo and Chris Gunter, with Jake Forster-Caskey and Andrew Shinnie continuing in the engine room whilst Liam Millar keeps his place on the left.

AND in other news, Adkins could find his next Lambert in £810k-rated CAFC beast who “can hold up a house”…

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Steve Bull, who is Wolves’ all-time top scorer with 306 goals, claims he does not regret spending his career at the club when he could have maybe played for a better team.

Bull played for Wolves from 1986 to 1999 after they bought him from rivals West Bromwich Albion, who were pushing for promotion to what is now known as the Premier League.

The former striker has a stand named after him at Molineux and is firmly in the record books as a Wolves legend, after helping guide them to the play-offs twice after joining the club when they were struggling in the Fourth Division.

Speaking on why he doesn’t regret not leaving Wolves for a team with better players and how football is full of ups and downs, Bull told FFC:

“You’re going to have your ups, downs, sad times and happy times but that is just football. It isn’t just one rocket launch, it’s not like that.

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“The play-offs defeat was one of the saddest days, but one of the best was seeing Wolves get to the Premier League – it was absolutely unbelievable.

“Do I regret not going to another club because I didn’t play top-flight football? No, because I played my top-flight football for England.”

Bull is still, the only player to score a half-century of goals in consecutive seasons for Wolves when he netted 52 goals in the 1987/88 season before getting 50 goals the following season.

Wolves are now in their third Premier League season since winning promotion in the 2017/18 campaign as they won the Championship.

Celtic are currently without a manager but that hasn’t stopped the Bhoys from considering new recruits ahead of the summer window.

What’s the word?

One player Celtic have been linked with on a frequent basis in the past is Aaron Hickey.

The teenager left the Hoops when he was still an academy player, joining Hearts in 2018. However, the Bhoys seemingly hold regret and have been keen to bring him back.

In a recent interview, Hickey admitted there was a heavy interest from his boyhood club last summer before he joined Bologna for a fee of £1.8m.

The 18-year-old commented: “I’m a Celtic supporter and it was massive for me, but I just didn’t think it was the right time to go there,”

In light of this, Celtic pundit Frank McAvennie gave his thoughts on the left-back when speaking to Football Insider: “It sounds like a come-and-get-me plea. He’s a good left-back the young boy, I would take him.”

Ideal Tierney successor

Ever since Kieran Tierney left for Arsenal in the summer of 2019, Celtic have been trying to find a solution.

They signed Diego Laxalt on loan from AC Milan but his future at the club is in doubt with the defender only on loan in Glasgow.

With Boli Bolingoli frozen out after his pandemic-related mishap last summer, the Hoops are in desperate need of finding another full-back.

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In letting the likes of Tierney and Hickey go, Celtic are obviously full of regret but they could make a huge step towards correcting their decision by bringing the latter back.

He has developed excellently in recent years and a move to Serie A is a testament to that. He sparkled on his debut for Bologna, earning rave reviews from the Italian press.

Gazzetta dello Sport wrote: “Debuted at 18 as if he’d always played here. In the first half he showed personality and quality, a player who was bought for almost nothing.”

Hickey is evidently wise beyond his age and like Tierney, possesses attacking qualities in abundance. In a scout report on the player, The Footie Analyst wrote: “One of Hickey’s key strengths is his ability to run with the ball at speed, utilising the space available to drive his team forward.”

That is near identical to Tierney, a player who is often so rampant down Arsenal’s left-hand side.

What sets him apart, however, is his versatility. The youngster is capable of playing on the right-hand side too. Having also featured centrally, Hickey has been compared to one of the finest to grace the game.

Former Hearts man Austin MacPhee once said: “He’s so young he could play a lot of positions. He could end up being like Busquets.”

With defensive solidity to his game too – he has made 1.4 interceptions per game this season – he would be an excellent addition.

Celtic should consider reviving their interest in Hickey when the time is right.

AND in other news, Celtic hero sees value soar by 257% after leaving, Rodgers called him a “big talent”…

Manchester City sealed their place in the Champions League semi-finals thanks to a 2-1 win against Borrusia Dortmund on Wednesday night.

After a nervy start, which saw the hosts level the tie on aggregate thanks to a goal from 17-year-old Jude Bellingham, Pep Guardiola’s side completed the turnaround, with Riyad Mahrez scoring from the penalty spot before Phil Foden fired in to make it 4-2 on aggregate.

Although the young Englishman may steal the headlines after his impressive goal, it was arguably Kevin De Bruyne who impressed the most at Signal Iduna Park.

As per SofaScore, the Belgian international would earn a superb 7.7/10 match rating for his display, with only Foden (8.3) rated higher from both sides.

However, despite featuring as a striker for much of the game, the former Wolfsburg man would contribute 57 passes compared to Foden’s 47 and was a regular threat to the Dortmund defence, taking five shots during the 90 minutes, which included a thunderous effort inside the area after he dispossessed Mateu Morey, which he was unfortunate to see come off the crossbar.

Whilst Foden would complete two out of four of his dribbles during the game, De Bruyne was extremely successful in his dribbling, as he completed all five of his dribble attempts during the game.

One of these nearly resulted in a superb goal as he left several Dortmund defenders on the floor before being denied by Martin Hitz in the Dortmund goal.

De Bruyne would also win 8/13 of his duels and contributed two tackles despite playing in attack, which represents how effective he was from both an attacking and a defensive perspective on Wednesday night, as he excelled in an unusual role.

After signing a new contract recently, sporting director Txiki Begiristain was full of praise for the midfielder, saying:

“His talent is unquestionable – but he is also a consummate professional whose dedication to Manchester City during his time here has been nothing short of extraordinary. He constantly seeks to improve, and his approach is the perfect blueprint for any young player looking to carve out a career.”

Therefore, whilst Foden contributed the winning goal, a lot of credit has to go to De Bruyne, who arguably ran the show at Signal Iduna Park, despite playing out of position.

And, in other news… Guardiola suffers huge City transfer blow with “outstanding” goal machine

Newcastle United have responded to the plans made by the ‘big six’ Premier League clubs for a European Super League.

Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Spurs and Arsenal have all agreed to become founding members of the competition, which is an alternative to the Champions League.

A statement released on Sunday night said the intention was to launch the tournament ‘as soon as practicable’.

‘Big six’ could be thrown out of Premier League

The Premier League have threatened to ban the six English clubs involved if they go ahead with the idea.

According to Sky Sports News’ Kaveh Solhekhol, there are calls from some of the other 14 top-flight clubs to suspend those involved from the current Premier League season, and Newcastle are among those to indicate their opposition.

According to Lee Ryder on Twitter, “#nufc sources indicate they would be completely against Euro Super League plans”. The Magpies are currently 15th in the table, eight points above the relegation zone.

Mehrdad Ghodoussi from prospective buyers PCP Capital Partners added on Monday morning that the “essence of the game and its competitive nature” was under threat.

Transfer Tavern verdict

In theory, clubs like Newcastle would benefit from the expulsion of the ‘big six’. Under new ownership, they could feasibly be one of the frontrunners in a much more closely-contested league.

In reality, though, the value of TV and sponsorship deals would likely plummet with the fracturing of the sport, and the clubs themselves would in turn become far less valuable.

In other news, Ryder delivered a promising update on the takeover. 

Liam Kennedy has dropped a claim on the European Super League (ESL) fiasco and its impact on the potential takeover of Newcastle United.

Writing in his latest piece for The Shields Gazette, the football journalist has claimed: “There are some, who are in the know, who believe this week’s events to have proven positive.”

The ESL broke down within 48 hours of it being announced as those involved in English football gathered in their numbers in mass protest over Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur’s participation in the money-grabbing scheme.

The competition would have been closed to these specific clubs and so a team like the St. James’ Park faithful would have had a mere slim chance of qualifying for it.

It would have also increased the wealth gap in the Premier League too, and the proposed new owners would have been wanting to take over in the North East with the hope of bridging that gap to the elite clubs.

ESL collapse benefits potential Newcastle takeover

The collapse of the ESL certainly benefits the chances of the potential takeover of the Tyneside club, as the top flight’s Owners’ and Directors’ Test (ODT) is now likely to come under review given the greedy intentions of the owners of the so-called ‘big six’.

A positive result for the Magpies in their pending arbitration case against the division would surely draw the proposed deal between Mike Ashley and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) group a step closer, and thus keep takeover hopes alive among the Toon Army.

If that arbitration case goes to plan, the potential Toon buyers may be able to leverage the intentions of the ‘big six’ owners to claim they were unfairly treated in the first ODT.

In other news, find out what ESL claim an industry expert has dropped on the potential takeover here!

After clinching his signing from fellow Premier League side Fulham, Leeds have understandably been cautious with Cody Drameh.

The 19-year-old is yet to make an appearance for Marcelo Bielsa’s first-team this season, instead, he’s been spending most of his time with the club’s U23s, where he has been shining at Premier League 2 level.

The young right-back has been a permanent fixture in Mark Jackson’s side, with the U23s recently clinching the Division 2 title after a victory over Aston Villa. However, now is the perfect time to get him some senior action/

In Drameh, Leeds see someone who has a really bright future in the game, with The Athletic’s Phil Hay making it clear just how highly they rate him behind the scenes.

He said: “When they were signing players like Drameh for example, they were talking about him being a long-term successor to Luke Ayling. Ayling is coming up to 30, he’s not coming towards the latter stages of his career, but he’s advanced now in years.

“Whereas Drameh is very young, and because of the talent he has, and he has looked extremely good in the U23s games, they hope that there is a Premier League right-back there who they’ve signed for a small fee from Fulham who will ultimately be worth a lot more down the line.”

Drameh’s potential is there for all to see, with Eredivisie scout Xander Wilkinson raving about his defensive nous, saying: “Defensively so impressive! His mind works quicker than most right-backs I’ve seen in a naturally defensive mindset. Tactically very aware of what is being asked of him, times his engagements well, needs to add a little more unpredictability going forward.”

LUTV commentator Tom Hill meanwhile described Cody Drameh as a “box of tricks” a couple of months ago after an impressive performance against Sunderland, and that bodes well for his future as a more adventurous full-back.

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With the Premier League now in its closing stages, and Leeds unlikely to really make a late charge for a European spot for next season, now is surely the time for Bielsa to unleash someone like Drameh and give him a taste of what it’s like playing in the big time in a relatively relaxed time of the season as he may be forced to play him in the next campaign, and throwing him into the heat of battle untested at this level during a potentially more crucial period could be a big risk.

Meanwhile, Leeds must surely unshackle this “frightening” star…

Manchester United will be aiming to extend Manchester City’s wait for the Premier League title as they take on Liverpool at Old Trafford today.

Pep Guardiola’s men will be crowned as champions if the Red Devils fall to defeat against their great rivals so there is even more motivation for them to claim victory against the Reds.

Considering that then, how many changes could United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer be tempted to make from the 6-2 thumping of AS Roma in Europa League action midweek?

We are expecting just two changes from the Norwegian for the clash – neither of them being much of a surprise.

Dean Henderson should be recalled to take his place between the sticks having seen David De Gea start on Thursday evening. The former Sheffield United loanee has started each of the last seven Premier League matches for the Red Devils.

Elsewhere, he should be shielded by an unchanged back four of Luke Shaw, Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof and Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

There should also not be any changes from the defensive midfield pairing of Fred and Scott McTominay.

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After his two goals against AS Roma, Bruno Fernandes is once again sure to take his place in a slightly more advanced position.

Meanwhile, there should be a slight tweek to the attack. Edinson Cavani is sure to start after his two goal and three assist haul in midweek and will once again be supported by Marcus Rashford.

Mason Greenwood should come into the starting line-up though at the expense of the £54m-rated Paul Pogba.

The 19-year-old appears back to his best form having hit six goals since the start of March in all competitions for Manchester United.

AND in more news, take a look at why Mason Greenwood simply must start for the Red Devils against Liverpool today…

Michael Ball has told Football FanCast that this Rangers team will be remembered forever if they manage to end the season unbeaten in the top-flight.

Steven Gerrard’s side moved a step closer to finishing off the season without a defeat over the weekend, as they thrashed closest rivals Celtic 4-1 in a one-sided Old Firm derby.

It leaves the club 23 points of second-place, having dropped points in just six games this season – all of them away from home, and all of them draws.

Rangers do still have two games of the season to go, against sixth-placed Livingston and fourth-placed Aberdeen.

Wins in both would take them to 102 points, and cap a remarkable season for Gerrard and his players.

And Ball believes that the incentive of going down in the history books will see the Gers get over the line, and become the first Rangers team to go a full season unbeaten in the Premiership since the 1800s.

He told FFC: “It’s a great incentive. It’s a very strange situation they find themselves in where the league is done and dusted but there’s still focus on trying to get results and that’s a good incentive for Steven to pass on to his players, that this won’t be forgotten.

“If you go through the whole season unbeaten, it’ll be a fantastic achievement for everybody and then you can go on a beach and celebrate in a better way – if you’re allowed to travel away!”