Category Uncategorized

Newcastle United’s takeover is still not complete, but as ever, it nears completion.

And it appears as if former Magpies boss Rafa Benitez has caught wind of the situation and is said to be interested in an emotional return to St James’ Park.

The Telegraph claim that the Spaniard, who is now in charge of Chinese Super League outfit Dalian Yifang, is keen on returning to the northeast side under new Saudi Arabian-backed ownership and already has an idea of the sort of players he could sign.

Premier League duo Ross Barkley and John Stones are two signings mentioned as United will have a new wealth of riches at their disposal.

Chelsea’s Barkley is valued at just £19.35m by Transfermarkt and has featured just 20 times this campaign, providing three goals and four assists.

The single toughest football logo quiz of all time…

World Class score: 95% | Expert score: 80% | Veteran score: 65% | Intermediate score: 45% | Amateur score: 30% | Try Again: 5%

Whilst Man City’s Stones is worth approximately £32.4m and has also been restricted in his game time, playing in just 12 Premier League games this term.

The Telegraph also state that Steve Bruce is likely to be given a chance to stay on as Newcastle boss, so Benitez may need to be patient if he truly wants to swap China for a return to Tyneside.

WHILE in other news, Lee Ryder delivers promising verdict on Mike Ashley at Newcastle…

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

Crystal Palace travel from south to west this Saturday to take on a Chelsea side who are absolutely flying going into this London derby affair.

Frank Lampard’s men are on a five-game winning streak in the Premier League, and have won eight of their last ten games in all competitions – the Blues’ last outing saw them come back from 4-1 down to record a 4-4 draw against Ajax at Stamford Bridge.

The likes of Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic are impressing in midfield, as is Fikayo Tomori at the back, although there is one man who is quite simply playing out of his skin at the moment.

Who is it?

Tammy Abraham.

The Chelsea academy graduate has had to be patient over the years as he waits for a chance at Stamford Bridge, scoring 23 Championship goals for Bristol City in 2016/17 and 26 league goals for Aston Villa last term, as he waited for his big break.

Having now been handed the No.9 shirt by Lampard and also the chance to shine in the first-team, the 22-year-old hasn’t looked back with a stunning nine goals in 11 Premier League appearances – Abraham is just one goal behind top-scorer Jamie Vardy.

Abraham – dubbed as a “brave” forward by Garth Crooks recently – has also netted in this season’s Champions League.

“Abraham clearly has ability, but he is also brave and not afraid to go in where it hurts. A crucial quality for any striker.”

Gary Cahill must be wary of Abraham

Another man who has had a fine start to the campaign is Crystal Palace’s Gary Cahill.

Signed on a free transfer after leaving Chelsea in the summer, the England international will be making his first appearance back at Stamford Bridge, and he has a job on his hands to contain the in-form striker.

Since becoming a Palace player, Cahill has won the club’s Player of the Month award for September while delivering some brilliant performances, although one thing that could be deemed as a blot on his copybook is his lack of pace.

Position-wise, and in terms of his leadership, the former Bolton man is exceptional, although if it comes down to a footrace between him and Abraham this weekend, Cahill will be in all sorts of bother.

As a result, what the centre-back – pinpointed as the “ultimate professional” by Asmir Begovic – mustn’t do is get too tight to Chelsea’s No.9.

“He’s the ultimate professional who controls his emotions very well. He was reliable and he had a good presence in the dressing room.”

As strange as it sounds, Cahill must allow Abraham space, rather than get touch-tight to the youngster who could then spin off the defender and leave him for dead.

In giving Abraham a few yards, Cahill would allow himself time to get a tackle in or simply assess the situation better, rather than getting sucked in where a simple give-and-go from Abraham would completely take him out of the game.

Crystal Palace fans have taken to Twitter to rejoice over the return of Vicente Guaita, after the goalkeeper was named in the starting XI to take on Leicester at Selhurst Park.

The Spaniard had missed the previous two games against Manchester City and Arsenal through injury, but Roy Hodgson immediately reinstated him into the lineup against the Foxes.

Wayne Hennessey started both of those games in the 32-year-old’s absence, and some Palace fans on Twitter certainly weren’t happy to see the Welshman in the XI against Arsenal – other supporters on Twitter felt that the side missed Guaita in the 2-0 loss to Manchester City as well.

His return couldn’t inspire Palace to three points as the Eagles fell to a 2-0 defeat, although there is no shame in losing to this Leicester side at the moment.

One fan called the former Getafe glovesman an “invaluable player” and also spoke of how much of a calming influence the goalkeeper is on the Eagles’ backline.

Another supporter echoed that sentiment by calling Guaita “reassuring”.

Let’s take a look at some more of the tweets from the rejoicing Palace fans on Twitter…

Leeds United returned to the summit of the Championship table on Saturday afternoon with an excellent 2-0 victory over Queens Park Rangers at Elland Road.

Marcelo Bielsa’s side secured all three points thanks to goals from Tyler Roberts and Jack Harrison.

The latter was the provider for the first as he teed up the 20-year-old with an accurate pass on the edge of the area before he pounced on a defensive mistake in the visiting backline to slam home an effort of his own eight minutes from time.

Watch Leeds United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Roberts was starting his first game of the season, having been restricted to five substitute appearances to date, and fans appear to be delighted with his impact.

One member of the Whites faithful believes the forward being back is like having a new signing at the club, claiming that he will only get better as the season goes on while another labelled him a ‘class act.’

A further supporter stated that the youngster was exactly what Bielsa has needed since Samuel Saiz left the club.

Here’s the best of the reaction:

Loads of Tottenham Hotspur fans on Twitter have called for defender Toby Alderweireld to commit his future to the club time and time again, but it appears that some have changed their stance on the centre-back colossus following the 7-2 defeat at home to Bayern Munich on Tuesday night.

The Belgium international’s contract with the north London outfit is due to expire at the end of the season, with no progress made on him committing his future to Spurs.

If he is waiting on an acceptable offer from Daniel Levy, he didn’t do his chances any good with a disappointing display against the Bundesliga giants, being part of a backline that conceded an embarrassing seven times.

Watch Tottenham Hotspur Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

To be fair to the 30-year-old he was actually one of the hosts’ better performers on the evening, making 10 clearances according to SofaScore, but it wasn’t enough to convince many that he isn’t “past it” and that maybe it is the right time for him to go.

Another individual even labelled him as “pathetic”, which suggests a complete change of viewpoint when it comes to Alderweireld’s future.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

[ad_pod ]

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…

Bury’s academy manager Mark Litherland has given a glowing review of Saul Shotton amidst reports the youngster will sign for West Brom.

What’s he said?

A report from the BBC this week has claimed that the Baggies are set to sign Shotton following the automatic termination of his contract at Bury, who were expelled from the Football League earlier this month.

The 18-year-old is now a free agent and has previously had bids rejected for him from Leeds United and Watford, so it could be quite the coup for Albion if they landed him.

Find out how a world-record-holding freestyler got on with the worst football in the world in the video below…

Shotton has only made six senior appearances in his career for the Shakers, but his former academy manager has talked him up, by saying:

“He is really comfortable on the ball and bringing the ball out of defence.

“He is also good in the air and reads the game well.

“What he has now been given by Albion is a huge opportunity and it’s up to him what he does with it.

“He played four games in League One when he was 17-years-old and still a first-year scholar and did very well – because of that there’s always been interest in him.”

Watch West Bromwich Albion Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Fits the bill

Baggies boss Slaven Bilic likes to play a passing style of football and that all begins by playing out from the back. This is emphasised by glancing at his previous jobs – for example at Besiktas, his team enjoyed 55% of possession and completed 81% of their passes during his final term in Turkey.

At present, West Brom are second in the league for pass success with 83.1% and their centre-backs are integral to that.

Both Semi Ajayi and Kyle Bartley, who have played every minute of this Championship campaign, rank inside the top four of the team for average passes per game with a passing accuracy of 83.1% or better too.

The review given by Litherland about Shotton highlights just why the Croatian would be after such a player, especially outside the transfer window.

Bilic was also quoted as saying “If there was a one-off situation, if it’s a young player and we can use him, then okay – we’d consider it,” so maybe there is even a first-team opportunity here for the promising starlet this campaign.

Those comments certainly bode well if he does eventually walk through the doors of the Hawthorns.

[ad_pod ]

This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets… 

Leeds United had started the season brilliantly, sitting top of the table after the opening stages of the campaign.

However, on Saturday that changed.

Their lack of ruthlessness in front of goal shone through as they spurned a succession of chances in a top of the table clash against Swansea.

They had 21 shots on goal, yet only three of them hit the target in a concerning afternoon for Marcelo Bielsa’s men.

For the first time in the league this term, they were defeated courtesy of a late strike from Wayne Routledge.

For all the opportunities they had, Leeds failed to get over the line and it may be days like this that they rue come next May.

But amongst the negativity, there was a positive from the loss. There weren’t many, but in Stuart Dallas they’ve found a player with almost unrivalled consistency in the side.

Stepping into the shoes of injured Luke Ayling, he’s become a revelation in a rather unfamiliar role of right-back.

Last weekend, he appeared in a position further forward but this time the 28-year-old was trusted defensively again.

Dallas’ capabilities going forward are rather unquestionable. After all, playing at left wing back in the playoffs, he notched two goals as the Whites eventually succumbed to Derby.

But Saturday provided a fine indication of his defensive qualities too.

Not only did he have two shots, but he was in the thick of the action when Swansea got on the ball as well.

Throughout the game, he completed three tackles and the same number of interceptions, per WhoScored.

Watch Leeds United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

As he usually is, he was a regular threat in the final third, providing a fine cross for Eddie Nketiah in the second half that he headed wide.

On another day he might have found the back of the net but this was not Leeds’ afternoon.

A 1-0 defeat isn’t something to get carried away with but amongst the concerns going forward, Dallas was a bright spark once again.

So far in 2019/20, he’s been invaluable, averaging a match rating of 7.09.

[ad_pod ]

[ad_pod ]

Lots of Manchester City fans have taken to Twitter to discuss Phil Foden’s comments about his lack of playing time at the Etihad Stadium.

The England Under-21 international is a real talent and set up two goals for Eddie Nketiah in his last outing for the Under-21 side, but he is finding chances hard to come by under Pep Guardiola at club level.

Foden has the likes of Bernardo Silva, David Silva, Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin De Bruyne ahead of him in the pecking order, and has managed to play just 10 minutes of Premier League football so far this season.

The 19-year-old insisted that he is ‘ready’ to play first-team football for the Citizens, whilst he also hinted that he isn’t too keen on listening to his teammates telling him to be ‘patient’.

One fan below thinks that this situation will be ‘the end of Pep’ and will turn out in similar fashion to Jadon Sancho’s exit from the club – the Borussia Dortmund forward is now one of Europe’s best.

Let’s see what the City fans on Twitter have been saying about the situation…

[ad_pod ]

[ad_pod ]

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…

Following the release of his new autobiography, Michael Owen has become involved in a Twitter spat with Alan Shearer over their time together at Newcastle.

What did he say?

Having arrived from Real Madrid, Owen’s career on Tyneside failed to lift off, with numerous injuries taking their toll on the former England international.

In the 39-year-old’s final campaign with the club, Magpies legend Alan Shearer took charge of the side’s final eight games in the Premier League, but failed to stave off relegation.

Watch Newcastle United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

In his book (serialised by The Daily Mirror), Owen claims Shearer blamed him for Newcastle going down, which led to the pair having an entertaining back-and-forth on Twitter.

Slap in the face

Forget the almost child-like spat on social media between a pair of grown men. Owen’s revelation that he regretted his move to Newcastle, and his apparent failure to take any kind of responsibility for his miserable time on Tyneside, is a major slap in the face for fans.

His comment that he felt he didn’t need to “justify” himself to Newcastle supporters is naive at best, and insulting at worst. The former Liverpool star was raking in a reported £120k-a-week for effectively sitting on his backside on the treatment table.

As The Chronicle’s Mark Douglas captures perfectly, far worse players than him have taken criticism on the chin and worked their socked offs to become heroes. Instead, Owen seems to be hell-bent on absolving himself of any blame, and intent on spiting Magpies fans at the same time.

In the end, the BT Sport pundit may have gotten exactly what he wanted. After all, any publicity is good publicity right?

But when it’s all said and done, his “unforgivable attitude” as Douglas puts it means Owen’s legacy at yet another club is tarnished. Respect should always be far more important than the numbers on your bank account. Sadly, the 39-year-old doesn’t appear to think that’s the case.

[ad_pod ]

[ad_pod ]

After a promising start to the season, Arsenal were brought back down to earth with a bang against Liverpool on Saturday evening.

The Reds claimed a 3-1 victory and were easily the better of the two teams. Mohamed Salah was on good form, netting twice, with Joel Matip scoring the other for the Anfield outfit. Only Lucas Torreira could respond for the visitors.

There were few positives for Unai Emery to take from the game, but one of them was the performance of Nicolas Pepe.

Check out fan reaction to Liverpool 3-1 Arsenal in the video below…

The Ivory Coast international was making his first appearance in the Gunners’ starting XI since signing from Lille in the summer, and he was the team’s best performer in the initial line-up.

Arsenal only managed three shots on target throughout the match and Pepe had two of them. He will have been disappointed not to do better with the one-on-one situation he found himself in during the first half, but he was still one of the few players who managed to get themselves into such a position.

The seven dribbles he completed was not only five higher than any of his teammates, but was also the most of any player on the pitch. Between them, Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah only managed five.

In terms of crosses, it was a similar story, at least in the Arsenal team. The 24-year-old provided four balls into the box, two more than anyone else on his side. Meanwhile, his passing accuracy of 91.7% was only bettered by Sokratis in a black shirt.

It wasn’t all good news though. He did only manage to create one chance, and Emery will certainly be expecting more from the wide man – he needs to be more of a creative force. However, for his first start for the club, it was an impressive display, and provides a much-needed positive from defeat against such formidable opponents.

[ad_pod ]