All posts by n8rngtd.top

[ad_pod ]

Everton manager Marco Silva’s position at Goodison Park is under threat following his side’s dismal recent run of form. The Toffees have lost four of their last five Premier League games – including falling to defeat against Silva’s former club, Watford, last time out.

The Portuguese coach must identify the cause for his team’s woes and rectify it before it’s too late.

Identifying the problem

Everton have struggled so much in recent weeks as they’ve been far too easy for opponents to pressurise and bully. Everton undeniably possess considerable talent amongst their ranks, including the likes of Gylfi Sigurdsson, Andre Gomes and Bernard.

Watch the video below to see the most insane overhead kick you will see this week…

However, the aforementioned trio, amongst others in Silva’s squad, are all guilty of being careless in possession at times, and failing to adequately protect the ball when they have it.

According to WhoScored’s stats, Everton have averaged 18.4 unsuccessful touches per league match this season – more that any other team in the division. On top of that, their record of being dispossessed 12.7 times per game is only better than Crystal Palace’s average.

Finding the solution

Until Everton are able to better protect the ball they’ll continue to struggle to accrue positive results. Needlessly gifting possession to the opposition so regularly causes avoidable pressure to build on Everton’s defence.

In terms of technical quality, Silva’s squad have the ability to take greater care of the ball than this. However, it could be a mentality issue. The manager has to find a way to inspire greater levels of endeavour out of this group.

Additionally, the Toffees lack steel. Idrissa Gueye is the only regular starter on Merseyside capable of physically competing with anyone in the middle of park. If they want to stop being pushovers, Everton must rediscover their bite. 

[ad_pod ]

Loads of Liverpool fans have been reacting to an injury update, as Fabinho is expected to play centre back against Bayern Munich with Dejan Lovren still out injured.

Lovren did not train with the first team ahead of Tuesday night’s clash against Bayern Munich, the club confirmed on Monday.

The Croatian international has been suffering from a hamstring problem that he sustained during the FA Cup defeat to Wolves, and is not expected to take any part on Tuesday night.

With Virgil van Dijk suspended and Joe Gomez still out injured, that leaves Joel Matip as Jurgen Klopp’s only centre back choice, and Fabinho is now expected to fill in alongside the Cameroonian.

According to The Times, the versatile Brazilian international will get the nod in the heart of defence ahead of Jordan Henderson, who was also considered for the makeshift role.

Lots of fans have been giving their verdict on the news, and you can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

[ad_pod ]

A recent revelation from BBC journalist Guillem Balague has confirmed that Leeds United were not the only side interested in appointing Marcelo Bielsa in the summer.

What’s the word?

Balague has provided some in-depth insight into Bielsa’s time at Elland Road via the BBC. The highly-respected journalist has spent four days at Leeds over the course of the past week in order to produce a documentary for BBC Radio 5 live, which will be broadcast at 8PM on Thursday evening.

Ahead of the release of the documentary, he has provided some preliminary insight via an article published on the BBC, and he made an intriguing revelation about Leeds’ pursuit of Bielsa.

Both Swansea City and West Ham United were in the market for a new manager in the summer and, according to Balague, both clubs made tentative approaches to appoint the Argentine.

Graham Potter and Manuel Pellegrini were eventually appointed to the respective clubs, but it appears that Leeds did well to lure their manager to Yorkshire with competition from a solid Premier League outfit looming large.

 Leeds United’s charm resonated with Bielsa

Balague revealed: ‘He joined because of the history of the club, because it is in England – a football land where he wanted to test himself – and mostly because he received assurances from Radrizzani, Orta and Kinnear that whatever Leeds would promise, they would deliver.’

With a chequered history in football management, the Leeds job represented a massive opportunity to establish a romantic legacy. For all his plaudits and collection of trophy-laden, top-level managerial disciples, his career is lacking a defining point of success.

The history of the club is key: Leeds are a huge club and whoever leads them back into the top-flight following their lengthy exile will go down in club folklore.

That opportunity was something which neither Swansea or West Ham could lay on the table for Bielsa and, combined with the assurances from the Leeds hierarchy, his decision to take the job represented something of a no-brainer.

[ad_pod ]

Nottingham Forest striker Daryl Murphy has started the club’s previous three Championship fixtures with Lewis Grabban out through injury, but as he struggles Martin O’Neill needs to turn to Leo Bonatini for the visit of Hull City on Saturday.

On the chalkboard

Well, the 6ft 3in centre-forward largely had to settle for substitute appearances under previous Reds boss Aitor Karanka, with the Spaniard preferring a formation that incorporated just the one striker – more often than not, Grabban.

However, the 35-year-old has featured far more regularly since his former Republic of Ireland manager took charge at the City Ground, featuring both before and after his attacking teammate suffered his setback.

He has struggled to make an impact as a lone man up top though, and he was especially disappointing during the 2-0 defeat to Stoke City last weekend where he failed to hold up the ball or provide the movement needed to cause the Potters problems.

Bonatini is the answer?

He can certainly answer O’Neill’s prayers.

Nottingham Forest emerged victorious in the East Midlands derby last Monday. Checkout the thoughts of some Forest legends in the video below…

The Brazilian proved last season with parent club Wolverhampton Wanderers that he can get goals at this level when he is confident, but the January arrival has only played 99 minutes of Championship football thus far.

The 24-year-old has the power and ability to help this Forest side out in the final third however, and he could help bring out the best from the likes of Joe Lolley and Matty Cash again following a drop off in terms of goals and assists for the wide duo.

He needs to be given his opportunity ahead of Murphy with the east Midlands outfit’s play-off hopes potentially hanging on it.

[ad_pod ]Loads of Newcastle fans watched their former star Hatem Ben Arfa help rip Arsenal to shreds on Thursday night, and they’re calling for the club to bring him “homeâ€.This isn’t the first time Newcastle fans have yearned to have prime Ben Arfa gliding across the turf once again at St. James’ Park, but this was perhaps his most eye-opening performance since leaving the club due to the opposition.The former French international, who scored 14 times and added 16 assists in 86 games for the Magpies, left Tyneside permanently in 2015, and has sandwiched a very unsuccessful spell at PSG between two impressive stints for OGC Nice and now Stade Rennais. 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….Stade Rennais, or Rennes, beat Arsenal 3-1 in the Europa League on Thursday, and despite not getting on the scoresheet Ben Arfa was running the show.Even at 32, he drew four fouls, managed three shots, all of which were on target, and also completed three key passes and a remarkable nine successful dribbles, per Whoscored.The Magpies still don’t have many creative players in their side, and the Twitter reactions down below are desperate to re-sign their former hero…

[ad_pod ]

Leeds United eased past strugglers Reading by a 3-0 scoreline at the Madejski Stadium on Tuesday night. The result saw Marcelo Bielsa’s side maintain their pace in the Championship title race.

Mateusz Klich opened the scoring for the Whites, before a well-taken Pablo Hernandez brace added gloss to the scoreline and sealed the points. One player who didn’t find the back of the net himself, but did make a huge contribution in the final third nonetheless, was right-back Luke Ayling.

Are fans being priced out of the Championship as well as the Premier League? The angry Bolton fan in the video below certainly believes so…

The 27-year-old defender registered two assists against the Royals and produced a fine all round performance. The Arsenal academy product was dynamic and aggressive going forwards and looked to be full of confidence. Considering he has struggled at times in recent weeks, this was a welcome return to form.

However, had the referee not veered on the side of leniency, Ayling may have been sent off for one particularly poor challenge.

After the match, plenty of Leeds fans took to Twitter to discuss the full-back’s contribution…

[ad_pod ]

The Scottish Premier League title race is almost over, and Steven Gerrard should use the last few games of the season to test out a new system that may help his side in the future.

After Celtic’s win against Dundee on Sunday, Rangers’ campaign is effectively over.

The Gers still have the Old Firm to look forward to, but there will be no silverware at Ibrox this summer, and Gerrard is surely already plotting his plans for next season.

The boss brought in a whopping 14 new signings during his first summer at the club, so there could well be some serious movement in the transfer market again, but what can he do with the players already at his disposal?

Well, with nothing left to play for this campaign, the gaffer should switch to a three at the back. It may not be a system he employs permanently, but the experience will only help his squad in the future, and hey, what’s the worst that could happen?

Former Wigan & Fulham man, Jimmy Bullard recently showed that he’s still got it! Check out the video below…

On the chalkboard

So what exactly does switching to a three at the back system do for the Gers? To start with, it would make life an awful lot easier for the midfielders, who would not have to spend half of every game filling in for the full-backs.

James Tavernier and Borna Barisic both like to bomb forward, and having three centre backs covering would allow the midfielders to keep their eyes forward, rather than constantly looking for gaps to protect because their full backs are nowhere to be seen.

The switch would also help Alfredo Morelos, who has been completely isolated in every match he has featured in since the beginning of March.

With Tavernier and Barisic getting the freedom to fly down the wing and get balls into the box, as well as more progressive and risky passing from the midfield, the feisty Colombian international would see far more of the ball and would rarely find himself isolated against two towering centre backs.

Boost for McCrorie

This could also be the perfect chance to get Ross McCrorie some regular minutes, as the 21 year-old’s lack of playing time is really quite baffling.

He is strong, a fantastic leader (he is captain of the Scotland Under-21 side), versatile enough to slot into a back three, and has the ball-playing abilities to spread the ball around from deep.

The youngster does tend to struggle with his discipline, but with nothing left to play for this season, now is the right time to iron out those creases in his game.

McCrorie could be a star for the Gers in the future, but not if Gerrard doesn’t take this golden opportunity to erase the mistakes from his game and get him used to the intensity of regular first-team football.

[ad_pod ]

Republic of Ireland youngster Ryan Burke has been offered a two-year contract by Birmingham City.

The news was confirmed on Wednesday, with Burke being one of the youngsters to be offered a professional deal by the Championship outfit.

Burke, 18, arrived at Birmingham from St. Pats in July 2017 and the club’s official website has called the defender ‘a mainstay of the Development Squad’.

Goalkeeper Zach Jeacock and midfielder Caolan Boyd-Munce are also amongst those to be offered professional deals by the Blues.

Burke took to social media on Wednesday to reveal his delight and that led to a number of the Birmingham supporters hailing the teenager.

Who are the best away fans in the Championship? Pl>ymaker FC’s Thogden gives his top 10 in the video below…

The first team might be going through a tough period, but the Blues are looking ahead and Burke will be hopeful of featuring for Garry Monk’s side over the next 12 months or so.

A selection of the Twitter reaction to the contract news can be seen below:

Newcastle legend, Alan Shearer, has had his say among growing anger over the decision to allow Fabian Schar to continue playing for Switzerland at the weekend, despite the player being knocked unconscious following a clash of heads.

Shearer knows a thing or two about the possible health effects that can result from playing football, having filmed a television documentary on the subject.

The Magpies’ all-time leading scorer used his column in The Sun to call the decision to let him stay on “ridiculous” and “nonsensical”, believing that the rules around concussion protocols in football need to be overhauled.

He said: “There is no way in the world that Fabian Schar should have been allowed to play on. It’s ridiculous.

“For games at the top level, there needs to be an independent doctor not connected to any country or any club. They can watch the footage and make a decision that is final.

“If there is any doubt whatsoever, you get the player off the pitch. There is no way an independent doctor would have allowed someone who was knocked out to carry on.”

Newcastle are rightly upset about the incident, and have questioned the Swiss footballing body about why he was not taken off immediately.

But, according to Shearer, they should not have had to do that.

“Newcastle shouldn’t have to get involved. It’s nonsensical. Switzerland let Schar play on and then pull him out of the next game two days later.”

The former Newcastle number nine has suggested that football should follow Rugby’s example of allowing medical staff to come onto the pitch whenever their is a serious looking incident, without having to wait to be invited by an official.

“Why should a doctor wait for a referee to call him on when there is something as serious as a head injury?

“Doesn’t that show how far behind rugby we are? If an independent doctor is watching the game, he knows what has happened and should be straight on the pitch.”

Head injuries and concussion are serious issues in the current sporting climate, and that the Switzerland decision has been roundly criticised from players, medical experts and fans alike, should result in FIFA, UEFA and other footballing bodies investigating the incident and reviewing their procedures for the future.

It is clear that something needs to be done now, as not making any changes could result in a similar incident resulting in the death of a player.

Failure to act before that scenario could have massive consequences for the game.

What do you think of the treatment of Fabian Schar, Newcastle fans? Should action be taken against the Swiss national team? Let us know…

[ad_pod ]

Robbie Keane believes that Tottenham Hotspur can beat Manchester City in the Champions League.

The former Spurs striker scored a genuinely superb goal on Saturday as a Spurs legends team took on Inter Forever, lobbing Julio Cesar with his back to the stopper.

The Republic of Ireland international is Spurs’ 11th-highest goalscorer, having enjoyed two spells at the club, and he insists that Mauricio Pochettino’s men have every chance of beating the Premier League champions in the quarter-finals of Europe’s elite club competition.

Speaking in the mixed zone after the 5-4 thriller, he said: “It’s going to be a tough one because you’ve got two fantastic teams.

“People will say City are the favourites because of how they’re playing at the moment but this Tottenham team can beat anyone on their day.

“They’re a difficult team to play against and have some top, top players. It’ll certainly be an intriguing game and I’m looking forward to it.”

Spurs have never progressed beyond the quarter-finals of the Champions League and face a significant task if they are to overcome City.

Pep Guardiola’s side racked up 100 points last season and are continuing to fight for the Premier League title, alongside Jurgen Klopp’s exciting Liverpool team.

City won 1-0 at Wembley earlier this season, in a game that was played on the remnants of an NFL pitch.