All posts by h716a5.icu

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Some Liverpool fans on Twitter want to see Xherdan Shaqiri in the starting line-up against Southampton at St Mary’s on Saturday despite his lack of minutes so far this season.

The Switzerland international has often found himself as a back-up player, featuring for just 1,057 minutes in the Premier League last term, for the Merseyside outfit ever since making the move from Stoke City last summer, and it has been no different so far during the beginning of the 2019/20 campaign.

The 27-year-old’s only minutes from their three fixtures so far came in an 11-minute cameo from the substitutes’ bench against Manchester City in the Community Shield, while he was an unused member of the matchday squads against Norwich City in the Premier League and Chelsea in the Super Cup.

With the latter going the full distance on Wednesday with extra time and penalties, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see manager Jurgen Klopp rotate his side a little this weekend.

Shaqiri is versatile and could fill in either in an attacking midfield role or on either flank, and that could prove to be useful for his manager on Saturday as he looks to ensure that they maintain a 100% start to the season in the top flight.

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Liverpool supporters certainly see that as the case, with one simply saying “Shaqiri should start”, and another saying “Shaqiri on the right is perfect”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

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The Athletic’s Jordan Campbell believes he’s spotted a major flaw in Rangers’ Europa League opponents Legia Warsaw, and the fans are buzzing.

Campbell thinks that the Poles are vulnerable through the middle of the park, after spotting a gaping hole in their midfield.

He’s aware of the threats that they hold, naming their forward line as a particularly strong part of their team, but thinks that the Gers can get at the space left in the middle of the park, where the visitors leave big gaps between both the attack and midfield and the midfield and defence.

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This has got the Ibrox faithful very excited thanks to the quality that Steven Gerrard’s men possess. With the likes of Joe Aribo, Sheyi Ojo and Scott Arfield all capable of dropping into the space between the midfield and defence, the fans are hopeful of getting past Legia.

Having seen the scouting done by the journalist, the Gers fans seem optimistic about replicating last season’s feat of reaching the Europa League group stages this time around.

Here’s what they had to say on Twitter about Campbell’s analysis of Legia Warsaw…

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[ad_pod ]Some West Ham fans have taken to Twitter to discuss Harry Redknapp’s comments on what he could’ve achieved had he kept his academy prospects together whilst managing the Hammers.Redknapp was lucky enough to have players such as Rio Ferdinand, Glen Johnson, Jermain Defoe, Michael Carrick, Joe Cole and Frank Lampard come through the youth ranks whilst managing the club, all of whom went on to enjoy successful careers at both club and international level with an incredible 18 Premier League titles between them.

Whilst speaking to The Athletic, the former Portsmouth boss said he was ‘certain’ he would’ve won the Premier League title with the east Londoners had he been able to keep those six players together.

The likes of Lampard and Ferdinand went on to win the Premier League, Champions League and numerous other pieces of silverware in the game, as too did Cole, Johnson and Carrick. Whilst Defoe’s career was not as trophy-laden, he has still managed to score over 250 career goals and is still going strong with Rangers.

Find out which Premier League stadium has been ranked the worst in the video below…

Redknapp’s comments are bold, but there is no denying the talent he had on his hands.

Let’s see how some West Ham fans on Twitter reacted to his comments…

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Everton and Aston Villa are monitoring AS Roma prospect Vincenzo Venturino Muteba, according to TuttoMercatoWEB.

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The 17-year-old full-back is yet to play a senior fixture for his Serie A side, but enjoyed a respectable run of appearances in the Giallorossi’s youth set-up last season, with 21 outings across all competitions (TransferMarkt), including a late cameo in the Campionato U17s Final defeat to Inter Milan.

He also found the back of the net in a 3-1 win over Crotone during the regular season, and assisted Matteo Cancellieri’s seventh goal of the season with a cross in Roma’s 8-1 rout at home to Lecce last October.

Muteba has now been promoted to Roma’s Under 18s side for the new campaign, but his rise at the Stadio Olimpico is understood to have attracted the interests of Everton and Aston Villa, who are following the Roma-born prospect with a view to bolstering their respective academy sides.

It is not noted on what contract Muteba is currently tied to Roma on, which would ultimately determine how expensive his acquisition would prove to be, although a transfer would not be possible until January at the earliest either way.

TuttoMercatoWEB also do not suggest whether Muteba would be open to a move away from his boyhood side, with whom he has spent his entire career to date.

Everton making a move for Muteba could be seen as the Merseyside outfit trying to secure a replacement for Antonee Robinson, after the Milton Keynes-born, United States international joined Wigan Athletic on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee in the summer (BBC).

Robinson had been a regular option for Everton in the Premier League 2 before joining Bolton Wanderers on loan in 2017 and later Wigan (TransferMarkt), but the Merseyside outfit are now without a wealth of emerging talent in the left-back role with Matty Foulds the only recognised option for David Unsworth.

Muteba is a natural right-back, but dabbled between the wide defensive positions during the 2018/19 season, with seven of his appearances coming at left-back (TransferMarkt).

Do Everton need to look at new defensive signings? Let us know by commenting below…

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Since bursting onto the scene as a highly-rated prospect in his time at PSV, Memphis Depay’s career has been a bit of a head-scratcher to say the least.

The 25-year-old joined Manchester United in the summer of 2015 after a campaign in which he finished as the Eredivisie’s top-scorer with 22 goals – two ahead of second-placed Luuk de Jong.

However, his time at Old Trafford never really threatened to take off, and after just two stop-start campaigns in Manchester, he was sold to Lyon in January 2017.

The versatile forward has produced far better displays in French football, but there have been controversial moments off-the-pitch too.

One thing that cannot be doubted however is his talent. And on Friday night, the 25-year-old stole the show for the Netherlands as they beat Germany 4-2.

The Dutchman was a real live-wire throughout the entire game, and registered an assist and 100% success ratefrom his five attempted dribbles.

Having seen Depay be linked with the club earlier this summer, Liverpool fans flooded to Twitter to share their thoughts about the forward.

Many Reds fans simply insisted Jurgen Klopp’s side should sign him up immediately, whilst others marvelled at the prospect of seeing him strike up a partnership with Dutch teammate Georginio Wijnaldum at club level.

Check out some of the reaction of Liverpool fans below:

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

As quoted by The Shields Gazette, Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dubravka has revealed he is close to signing a new contract with the club.

What’s the word?

The Slovakian joined the Magpies from Czech side Sparta Prague, and has been a reliable figure in between the sticks for the Magpies, keeping 16 clean sheets in 55 league appearances.

Speaking after the 3-1 defeat to Liverpool on Saturday, Dubravka admitted he and the Magpies are in talks over a new deal.

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He said: “We’re in talks. I’m close. We are in contact and hopefully we can sort it out as soon as possible. I’m happy here so if I can stay longer here, I will be happy. Since I came here, people have treated me really well. I can say that I feel at home here. I’m glad that people think that I can stay here for the longer term. It’s such a big honour for me.”

Safe pair of hands

Despite committing a major mistake in the clash at Anfield, the 30-year-old has generally been one of Newcastle’s better performers since his arrival at the club.

Speaking to Sky Sports back in February, Newcastle legend Alan Shearer hailed the impact the Slovakian has had on the team. He said, via The Chronicle: “In general I think he’s been a fantastic buy, when you look at the fees that have been paid for some players. His handling, for the most part, has been superb. If he can get over the mistakes that have happened in the last few games then great but in the main I think he’s been a superb buy.

“He seems to be a very good character, not afraid to make a couple of mistakes – as all good players do. He’ll learn from those mistakes.”

Goalkeepers are always going to make mistakes, and Dubravka is no different. But Shearer’s comments on him being the type of character to learn from them proves why Newcastle are absolutely right to offer him a new deal.

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Manchester United got back to winning ways on Saturday with a narrow 1-0 win over Leicester City at Old Trafford. 

Marcus Rashford’s 8th-minute penalty proved the decider, which sees the Red Devils climb above the Foxes and into fourth-place.

Former Leicester defender Harry Maguire – who made the switch to Old Trafford in the summer for a world record £80m fee – put in a solid display for his new employers, registering an overall rating of 7.51 from WhoScored after winning four aerial battles and keeping a clean sheet.

However, it was young midfielder Scott McTominay who has impressed the United faithful on Twitter, after his hard (but fair) tackle on Leicester and England full-back Ben Chilwell.

United’s official Twitter account posted a GIF of the bullish challenge this morning, alongside the caption “Going in with everything you’ve got, a bit like Scott McTominay #MondayMotivation”.

Unsurprisingly, this sort of passion has gone down excellently with the club’s supporters, with one fan stating that the tackle was similar to the kind of tackles Jaap Stam and Nemanja Vidic used to put in. Indeed, the Dutchman hit the headlines for his crunching tackle against a Bayern XI player as recently as May of this year and Vidic put in his fair share of devastating tackles at Old Trafford, with this video from Manchester Evening News displaying that.

Here’s how some reacted:

United fans, how much do you rate McTominay this season? Let us know in the comments!

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Tottenham Hotspur collapsed again having taken a 2-0 lead away at Olympiacos on Wednesday night, with the match ending 2-2 in what was a disappointing start to their Champions League campaign.

Having only taken a point from their opening three group games last season, Spurs looked to be on their way to all three in Athens following goals from Harry Kane and Lucas Moura in the opening 45 minutes, but they were soon pegged back.

On a frustrating evening, the following images of Kane, Jan Vertonghen and Mauricio Pochettino from the match may well be of some concern.

Spurs boss Pochettino said after the game he wasn’t happy that his players didn’t respect the game-plan, and his sheer disappointment and anger appears to be shown in the above photo from the closing stages of the encounter.

In what could be a crucial season for both his and Tottenham’s future as they look to get a trophy under their belt, this image of him looking completely despondent is not good to see.

With his future looking in doubt at points last month following a report saying Bayer Leverkusen wanted him, Vertonghen remained at Tottenham – the fact Spurs fans on Twitter wanted him to start against Arsenal when he was being linked with an exit proves his popularity.

The Belgian’s contract is due to run out next summer however, and it remains to be seen whether he will stay beyond that point.

He may have been at fault for the penalty conceded against Olympiacos, but the above image of pure angst is concerning.

Perhaps a potential exit is looking more attractive for him after yet another Spurs collapse.

Tottenham’s main goalscorer and talisman completely lost it during a game – not something you see too often from the England captain.

His reaction sums up what was a frustrating night for the club and for him personally, where he was starved of service.

Rio Ferdinand told BT Sport post-match that if he was Kane he would be thinking about leaving as Spurs continue to make the same old mistakes, and who could blame the striker if he is starting to consider the same thing?

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Calum Chambers has impressed so far for Arsenal this season. Playing him at right-back may be the perfect answer to Unai Emery’s problems.

On the chalkboard

Arsenal struggled to beat Aston Villa last Sunday, and they weren’t helped by Ainsley Maitland-Niles’ red card. The 22-year-old, originally a midfielder, has been erratic in his form at right-back in the absence of Hector Bellerin.

The Spain international has now returned from injury, and came on against Nottingham Forest in Tuesday night’s 5-0 win in the Carabao Cup. However, his match fitness will still be an issue, and his form when he was previously fit was not exactly impeccable – managing a Whoscored rating of just 6.71 last season.

Fortunately for Emery, Chambers has proved to be versatile, and he could solve his issues on that side of the defence.

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Impressive both in attack and defence

There seems to be a belief that Chambers is a centre-back by trade. That’s where he has played predominantly in recent years but, from the 191 games transfermarkt have tracked positions for, he has actually played more games across his career at right-back.

This term, three of his four appearances have come on that flank, and to say he has been impressive would be an understatement. In all areas of the pitch, he has proven to be one of his side’s most consistent performers, despite not being a regular starter.

Already this season, he has one goal and three assists, which all came from the backline. Those three created goals came against Nottingham Forest in the League Cup, where he was able to display his attacking prowess. Alongside that, he managed to put in three successful crosses and had two shots at goal, one of which was on target.

Bellerin, meanwhile, scored just once in all competitions last term, and he made just two more assists than the Englishman across a campaign of 18 matches, whilst he averaged just 0.5 crosses per match and 0.5 chances created.

Defensively, his game against Eintracht Frankfurt was a perfect case in point. As the Gunners were put under pressure on a regular basis by the Eagles, the 24-year-old stood firm, making four interceptions, two clearances and one tackle as his side kept a clean sheet.

In fact, the team’s record with the England international on the pitch is worth analysing. So far, they have conceded just one goal in the 314 minutes he has been on the pitch, compared to nine in the 404 they have been without him.

Last season, Bellerin conceded 25 goals across 1535 minutes, which works out one every 61.32. A lot more frequent, obviously, and while it is unfair to put all of the blame at the feet of the 24-year-old, he should certainly take some responsibility for it.

He may not be seen as a guaranteed starter, but he brings a lot more to Emery’s team than it seems. So far, he has done all he can to prove he deserves a chance at right-back, and the manager has little to lose in giving it to him.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

The Athletic’s Phil Hay has expressed his concerns with Leeds and their inability to find a solution to break down Charlton at the weekend – issuing his thoughts on Twitter.

What’s he said?

Typical Leeds. That’s how Saturday afternoon at The Valley felt.

Marcelo Bielsa men dominated possession, perhaps by their most dominating number yet this season at 71.6%.

They also had 19 shots but they failed to score as they succumbed to a 1-0 defeat. The Whites got themselves in multiple positions but couldn’t find the back of the net.

Eddie Nketiah and Adam Forshaw went close but they were ultimately left to settle for their first dropped points away from home this season.

It was a game that caused concern, understandably so given they dropped to fourth, but Hay gave his assessment the day after. He said:

Where will the answers come from?

Despite the fact Leeds couldn’t find the back of the net, their lack of ability in finding an answer to Charlton’s resistance was alarming.

It was rather ironic that what fans had demanded didn’t come off either.

Helder Costa has been the topic of debate in recent weeks, as has Nketiah but neither of them were able to cough up the goods.

The former was particularly disappointing in losing possession of the ball 17 times while the Arsenal loanee also missed a wonderful chance at the near post.

Bielsa has teased playing him and Patrick Bamford as a pairing for some time now but they met by a stubborn Addicks defence who were intent on not conceding.

They played well together against Brentford as the former Boro man created the space for Nketiah inside the area but this time there was no such fortune, perhaps because of how little they’ve played alongside each other.

The change to a 3-5-2 system had worked against Stoke last month when they won 3-0 but this was another solution that failed to work.

Perhaps starting Nketiah on his own could work or bringing Tyler Roberts back into the starting XI can provide a fix.

Only time will tell.