All posts by h716a5.icu

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Former Chelsea star Pat Nevin cannot believe that his old side have leapfrogged Tottenham Hotspur in the race to finish in the top-four, per the Blues’ official website.

What’s he said?

Chelsea beat Watford 3-0 at the weekend to secure qualification to the Champions League in 2019-20.

Spurs, meanwhile, lost to AFC Bournemouth on Saturday, while Arsenal dropped points against Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday.

The two results mean that, unless Arsenal beat Burnley and Spurs lose to Everton with an eight-goal swing involved, Mauricio Pochettino’s men will join the Blues in the competition next term.

But Nevin has been amazed that his former side have been able to sneak in ahead of Spurs and is astonished that they could still finish above them this season.

Using his column on the Chelsea website to take a swipe at their London rivals, he said: “Before going to the Chelsea v Watford game I was down on the south coast for the Bournemouth v Spurs match. Once more Spurs managed to implode when the pressure got to them but it was also clear they were jaded. Before the game, I noted that they had won only three in their last 10 league games, but it was more than that, they lacked a team spark in that first half.

“With Champions League football for next season in the balance, I was amazed at how sluggish they looked in that first 45. With a little further consideration it became apparent that just too many of their players were running on empty.

“They have a limited squad in terms of depth, their Champions League run has stressed them too far and in the season after a World Cup, it was all just too much to overcome. They didn’t manage to or weren’t able to, rotate their squad enough, especially the most vital players. That’s why they have only picked up 10 points from the last 33.”

Ignores key injury woes

Nevin clearly has his Chelsea glasses on but he is ignoring perhaps the key reason for Spurs’ woes: injuries.

The main reason Pochettino has been unable to rotate his squad is that so much of it has been in the treatment room.

The likes of Harry Kane, Harry Winks, Dele Alli, Serge Aurier, Eric Dier, Victor Wanyama and Moussa Sissoko have all been injured at one point or another in 2018-19, while Son Heung-Min had to leave the club behind to represent South Korea in the middle of the campaign.

That they are in the top four at all, then, is nothing short of a miracle.

Nevin said that he noted the club’s results across the past 10 games; he clearly didn’t pay any attention to their injury list.

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Bright Enobakhare has had a thoroughly successful loan spell with League One side Coventry in the second half of the campaign.

His performances have been excellent for the Sky Blues and, despite only being with the club since January, he was named their young player of the year.

However, while discussing whether he should get another chance at Molineux on Twitter, Wolves supporters were split on the future of the 21-year-old.

One fan said that by keeping him around he could save the club £20m in future investment in the transfer market. Two other supporters meanwhile made comparisons between him and Adama Traore, claiming that Enobakhare had the same dribbling ability but a better final ball.

However, there were less convincing responses too with a further tweet suggesting Niall Ennis was higher up in the pecking order and another commenting that he wasn’t ready yet.

In 18 matches since arriving at the Ricoh, Enobakhare has scored six goals. He was able to play a bit part throughout Wolves’ Championship winning campaign last year, playing in 21 matches.

Here’s the best of the Twitter discussion surrounding the Nigerian’s future:

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Tammy Abraham scored the decisive penalty as Aston Villa beat West Bromwich Albion on spot kicks to make the Championship playoff final.

West Brom, who had Chris Brunt sent off late on, recorded a 1-0 win in the second leg of their semi-final, which forced a penalty shootout.

The Baggies scored their last three penalties, but Villa only missed one of their five to ensure that they would be present in the final.

Abraham held his nerve to register at a vital period.

The Villa fans, however, were not pleased with what they saw from the on-loan Chelsea forward during normal and extra time.

Abraham has had a fine campaign – scoring 26 times in all competitions for Dean Smith’s side, including in the first leg of their playoff semi-final.

It was not the striker’s best night at the Hawthorns, though, and many Villa fans took to social media to criticise the two-time England international prior to his shoot-out heroics…

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Modern football is very, very strange.

What happened to the days of winning a trophy and just being proud of your side, focused on your own team’s achievement and celebrating the success with fellow like-minded supporters whilst blocking out the rest of the world?

That would be the realistic reaction for winning one trophy, perhaps.

So, to win three pieces of silverware should induce gloating and righteousness of the highest order, with extremely little care for what anyone else thinks or doesn’t think about the magnitude of your accomplishments.

Are Man City better than Arsenal’s ‘Invincibles’? Fans discuss in the video below…

Why am I talking about this?

Well, in the build-up to Manchester City’s 6-0 FA Cup final win over Watford, Pep Guardiola revealed that he felt his side were underappreciated by the media.

The Spaniard pinpointed the fact that Paul Pogba’s angry confrontation with Manchester United fans after the final day defeat to Cardiff was at the forefront of the Daily Mail’s sports coverage, and not his side’s second successive title win.

Why does he care?

Why does the former Barcelona boss need validation from the media so badly when he, his players and the supporters are more than aware – and appreciative – of the club’s hugely impressive achievements?

Respect is earned, not given. Guardiola also touched upon how much more the media favoured Manchester United and Liverpool, England’s two biggest clubs with a rich history embedded in them.

City will get there. Guardiola may not be in charge when they do, but the Citizens will reach those heights in a few decades.

This mentality is stemming down into the supporters’ thinking as well.

Just days after Guardiola called the media out for their lack of interest in City’s achievements, one fan stormed the press box at Wembley after the 6-0 FA Cup final win – the biggest margin of victory since Bury beat Derby by the same scoreline in 1903.

The supporter embarked on a expletive-laden rant about how Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah will probably be on the back pages of the next day’s papers instead of City’s record victory and the resulting confirmation of a domestic treble.

Again, why is this the first thing on that man’s mind?

He was seething, waving his plastic City flag furiously towards the onlooking journalists as if he’d just seen his side relegated to the bottom tier of the English football ladder.

Modern football is a weird cauldron of egos in need of validation at every turn, and a little ruffle of the hair whenever they do something good; everyone just needs to chill out and be proud of their achievements without needing to be told how good they are.

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Everton are lining up a bid for West Ham United defender Aaron Cresswell, per Football Insider.

What’s the word?

The full-back made just 20 appearances in the Premier League in 2018-19 and was not included in the squad for any of the club’s final five matches.

The Toffees, the report claims, are looking to bring in a potential replacement for veteran left-back Leighton Baines, whose contract expires this summer.

Lucas Digne, of course, has emerged as the Toffees’ first-choice in the position.

Cresswell has subsequently emerged as a target, with the Hammers unlikely to demand too high a fee and his Premier League experience making him a low-risk acquisition.

The 29-year-old joined the Irons in 2014 from Ipswich Town and has made 179 appearances.

A £4million signing, Football Insider claim the Hammers will want double that figure to £8m to countenance a sale.

Selling the wrong left-back

Cresswell is a better left-back than Arthur Masuaku.

The pair have been sharing duties under Manuel Pellegrini this season but the latter is simply not as good as the Englishman.

He is too reckless, too naive when it comes to his defensive positioning, to be regarded as first-choice.

Cresswell, though, is the one who has been shunted to the sidelines.

The Hammers could well receive £8m for a player who will be 30 in December, but they would be better off placing Masuaku on the transfer list and potentially doubling that figure.

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Toby Alderweireld has confirmed that he expects to stay at Tottenham Hotspur this summer, per Sport360 via the London Evening Standard.

What’s the word?

The Belgium international is currently preparing for the Champions League final, with Spurs set to play Liverpool in Madrid this weekend.

Alderweireld has a £25million release clause in his contract that can be triggered by an interested party this summer. His current deal expires next summer.

He has not been pushed to the fringes of the squad this season, however, playing a total of 49 times in all competitions.

And, when asked about his future, he has suggested that he expects to be a Spurs player on the first day of the 2019-20 season.

He said: “I’m going to say the same thing that I’ve been saying for the past couple of years.

“The only focus is Spurs, because of this focus I think I had a good season as well.

“I have one year left on my contract, so in my head, I will play for Spurs next season.”

Promising signs

If Spurs do nothing else but keep Alderweireld this summer, their transfer window will have been a success.

The former Southampton defender is perhaps the finest centre-back the club has had since Ledley King.

And if they can offer him fresh terms and potentially convince him to stay, or even if Alderweireld fails to attract a single bid, they would have secured their biggest signing of the transfer window.

His form this season has been integral to the club’s pursuit of the Champions League trophy and he could well become a European champion this weekend.

All the more reason, then, to offer him that new contract.

Rangers have already gone big this summer on new signings, and they aren’t stopping just yet.

The Glaswegian side have made a plethora of signings already with transfer window yet to officially open for another few weeks, and one name who has been long rumoured with a move to Scotland is Oldham Athletic defender George Edmundson.

The 21-year-old defender was subject to a reported bid last week, and now according to the Daily Record, the centre-back has handed in a transfer request which could all but see the youngster head north of the border.

The report also indicates that Rangers could have to spend up to £1 million on the defender, and although it might seem like a pricey fee for a player who plays in the English fourth-tier, Steven Gerrard has to bite the bullet and pay the money upfront to get Edmundson.

In the short-term, it will be a small financial problem as it could mean Rangers might not be able to sign a player to a few hundred thousand, but the long-term effects of Edmundson signing for the club greatly outweigh what happens in the next few months.

The defender has the skillset and mentality to thrive at Rangers, playing with a maturity well beyond his years and adding a calming presence to the Gers backline, and if Edmundson is to progress well with the Scottish side, it could mean big financial gains in the future.

£1 million is a bit too much for a defender in League Two, but what Rangers gain from Edmundson will all but benefit the club in the long-term.

Rangers fans, will Edmundson be a good signing? Let us know!

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Up until a few months ago, a lot of Arsenal fans were undecided when it came to Mesut Ozil. The German playmaker looked like he was being unfairly forced out of the club by Unai Emery, but as the facts continue to come out it looks like some of the Gunners have been backing the wrong corner. Even if Ozil is being forced out, that is looking more and more like the right decision to make anyway.

The German creator has scored just five goals and registered an awful two assists for the Gunners this season. To put that into perspective, both Mark Noble and Victor Camarasa of West Ham and Cardiff have bettered those stats, and so has Ryan Babel of relegated Fulham, despite the fact he only signed for the club in January, stats via Premier League.

On the chalkboard

It would take a very brave Arsenal fan to step up and defend the performances Ozil has contributed in the 2018/19 season, but then again, poor defending has also been a staple of the Gunners’ season.

Aaron Ramsey has proven to be the man that the fans thought Ozil would be and his exit is hitting the fans a lot harder than Ozil’s eventually will. However, with a contract until 2021 the German could be here to stay.

No one in their right mind is going to buy the attacking midfielder. This season has seen him fall well below expectation, culminating in his anonymous Europa League final performance. To make matters worse, after dropping a shocker in his 77 minutes in the pitch, Turkish outlet Fanatik claims he had a dispute with Emery afterwards, repeatedly saying ‘you are not a coach’ to his manager.

If it looked like Ozil might be able to steal a living at Arsenal for any longer before that Europa League final, he now seems to have well and truly burned his bridges.

The stats are all stacking up against him, and despite the fact Ozil is 12th on the list of Arsenal players to have played the most top-flight minutes, he’s been dispossessed the 3rd most of any of the squad, stats via Premier League.

If the playmaker does have a future in North London then Emery will be keen to make sure it’s not a comfortable one. The German has had a harsh lesson this season in which he’s become very friendly with the bench, and whilst the fans will be desperate to see him off and free up some valuable funds, finding a suitor will be more than a tough ask.

Since Ralph Hasenhuttl took the reins at St. Mary’s, what has impressed Southampton supporters most?

For some fans, it will undoubtedly be the improvement of the style of football. For others, they will be delighted with how the Austrian has revived certain players.

Former Southampton man Nicky Banger, though, cannot help but feel pleased with the younger players Hasenhuttl has started to integrate into the first team.

“I think that shows the mark of the manager,” Banger told the Daily Echo when speaking about Hasenhuttl’s willingness to ignore age when picking his starting XI. “He has given players the opportunity.”

And among those players include Yan Valery and Josh Sims, who have rarely let the former RB Leipzig boss down when called upon.

The former, in particular, has really impressed and has since gone on to nail down that right-back/right wing-back spot in the Saints’ starting XI.

The French youngster is now on course to becoming one of the leading right-backs in the Premier League and he has Hasenhuttl to thank.

That sort of youth development and with the talent Southampton’s academy is capable of producing, Hasenhuttl really could be the man to usher in a new era at St. Mary’s after a couple of disappointing years on the south coast.

If he’s given a decent-sized transfer budget, all the ingredients are definitely there for the 51-year-old as he looks to bring some permanent smiles back to the faces of the Southampton faithful.

Southampton fans, can Hasenhuttl take the club forward? Join the discussion by commenting below. 

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The U21 European Championships are just around the corner and England are almost ready to go. James Maddison, Leicester City’s attacking midfielder, will be joining the Young Lions’ 23-man squad as one of the nine midfielders called up by coach Aidy Boothroyd.

The Foxes’ star has taken to

/Byxuz9ml16N/” data-lasso->Instagram to showcase his new boots that he’ll be wearing throughout the tournament, and it was met with a lot of support and love by his fellow England teammates, friends and the national team’s official account.

Of course, the boots are so special because they honour his great late friend Sophie Turner who lost her battle with cancer not so long ago.

Many of his teammates and friends were quick to point out this was truly a touch of class from Maddison with many replies with heart emojis supporting this move and applauding the player.

Even England’s official account admitted this was truly a great act from the young 22-year-old as they pointed out it was quite the lovely touch.

Other players, teammates or not, were also not immune to this touching tribute to a late friend. Well done, Maddison!