All posts by h716a5.icu

Much has been made of Chelsa’s appointment of Maurizio Sarri. He seemed to be a sensical capture in the summer, given his play style and reputation across Europe, but it hasn’t quite worked out for him so far.

The Blues are still doing well, and they remain in the top four, but it’s fair to say that the manager has underwhelmed so far.

In truth, Sarri’s regime so far is reminiscent of Andre Villas-Boas’ run at Stamford Bridge. He started well but quickly failed to make a consistent impression – much like the new Chelsea boss.

In fact, now even his transfers are beginning to look reminiscent of Villas-Boas’. According to the Mirror, Sarri wants to sign Napoli defender Elseid Hysaj, with Cesar Azpilicueta’s spot in the team likely to be under threat as a result.

Villas-Boas made a point of replacing many of Chelsea’s core players, like John Terry and Frank Lampard, in favour of a younger, more youthful team, and this appears to be what Sarri wants to do with Azpilicueta.

That’s despite the fact that the right-back has looked good this season, and the fact that he’s the current club captain.

Of course, Sarri knows Hysaj from his time at Napoli, and so this is another case of the manager looking to bring in players that he knows. However, it’s hard to see this one working out for him, as Azpilciueta is not only fantastic on the pitch, but he’s so good off of it, too.

There’s a lack of leadership at Stamford Bridge, and Azpilicueta provides it in droves. He’s become the focal point of the team from a leadership standpoint, and that can’t be ignored.

Sarri’s tenure risks ending in disaster if he starts messing with the core players at the club. Azpilicueta is one of Europe’s best right-backs, and this move simply wouldn’t make sense. He needs the Spaniard now more than ever.

Thoughts?

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Crystal Palace put in one of their most professional performances of the season on Saturday, but with a few tweaks they can go one better against West Ham next week.

On the chalkboard

Roy Hodgson must have enjoyed his Saturday, as the Palace boss watched his side put in a near-flawless display against relegation candidates Fulham.

The Cottagers had 63 per cent of the possession per Whoscored’s stats, but didn’t register a single shot on target, and goals from Luka Milivojevic and Jeffrey Schlupp were enough to give Palace all three points.

The Eagles will now welcome West Ham to Selhurst Park next weekend, and Hodgson should unleash his deadline day signing against a hurting Hammers back line.

Check out the below above to see football played as you’ve never seen it before… in a maze!

Hammers in trouble

West Ham will welcome league leaders Liverpool to the London Stadium on Monday night, and it’s hard to see anything other than an absolute trouncing.

The Hammers are currently without commanding leaders Fabian Balbuena and Winston Reid, leaving the erratic and downright hopeless Angelo Ogbonna to partner young Issa Diop in defence.

If Manuel Pellegrini’s side do suffer a hefty defeat, then Palace can heap more misery on them next weekend by starting a front three of Wilfried Zaha, Michy Batshuayi and Andros Townsend, assuming Zaha does not receive a further ban from the FA for his red card at Southampton.

This front three has far too much movement, speed, trickery and guile for the Hammers’ makeshift defence to account for, and Batshuayi showed he is up to the task by setting up the second goal just minutes after coming on for his debut against Fulham.

Blessing in disguise for Benteke?

While throwing Batshuayi right into the mix against West Ham might seem harsh on Christian Benteke, who was decent on his return to the starting XI on Saturday, it could actually be a blessing in disguise for the big Belgian.

Aforementioned, West Ham are currently decimated by injuries and playing with absolutely no confidence, so the last thing they’ll want to see is Benteke coming on for the last 20 minutes of the match.

The 28 year-old could forge a new role at Selhurst Park as a super-sub, allowing the pace of Batshuayi to tire out the likes of Diop and Ogbonna before coming on to finish the job.

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Swansea City boss Graham Potter has confirmed that the Welsh club are in contract renegotiation talks with a trio of first team players – Daniel James, Leroy Fer and Mike van der Hoorn – as reported by Wales Online.

All three have played key roles for the Swans so far this season, so Potter will be glad to get their futures at the Liberty Stadium tied down. Both Fer and van der Hoorn’s current deals are set to expire at the end of this campaign. 

However, there does seem to be a concern amongst Swans fans that these deals are being offered simply so that the Welsh club can sell them for cash in the summer, rather than lose them as free agents. 

The indoor football skills in the video below have to be seen to be believed…

Many of these frustrations will be aimed at the club’s American co-owner, Jason Levien. He has the ultimate say in these decisions being made by the club.

After the story of the new contract talks broke, plenty of Swansea fans took to Twitter to give their reactions…

A new sense of hope was instilled at Southampton after Ralph Hasenhuttl’s appointment.

Following a disastrous start under Mark Hughes, fans sought for the German manager to turn things around. While it looked like Hasenhuttl’s magic might be working, when his Southampton side ended Arsenal’s four-month undefeated streak, there’s been little improvement since.

Hasenhuttl’s only won 4 out of 13 Premier League games, only managing to improve their attacking style by elevating Nathan Redmond and James Ward-Prowse’s form. However. Hasenhuttl’s been unable to solve their biggest issues, especially on the defensive front.

After a disappointing home defeat to Cardiff City, in which the visitors scored a last-minute winner, Southampton lay in the relegation zone again. To make things worse, Hasenhuttl spoke to German media towards the back end of last year and indicated that he’ll leave if Southampton are relegated (according to SportBild via Sports Witness).

At a point where Southampton’s season hangs in the balance, these comments could have a very adverse effect on the squad. In reality, he could lose the trust of his players, whose morale are down after a dim period. Hasenhuttl displayed a shocking lack of professionalism with these comments and his Southampton revolution has slowed after a promising start in Hampshire.

The former RB Leipzig manager’s own reputation is being questioned after showing lack of commitment to the Saints. While Southampton fans can pray for the best and hope Hasenhuttl can do enough to keep them in the Premier League, the German’s made no fans with his distasteful comments.

Liverpool will be focused on securing at least one piece of silverware in the current campaign as they’re in with a great chance of pipping Manchester City to the Premier League title and have the opportunity to go one better in the Champions League. 

Jurgen Klopp has worked wonders on the transfer front and with the players at his disposal since taking charge at Liverpool, which has helped the Reds challenge for silverware in recent times.

Interestingly, it appears as if the Merseyside club have the perfect opportunity to sign a player, as according to Le10 Sport (via Teamtalk), Liverpool have reportedly been given the clear run to sign Malcom.

Sadly, the Brazilian, who is valued at £36 million (by Transfermarkt), has completely flopped since moving to Barcelona as he’s found it extremely difficult to work his way into Ernesto Valverde’s plans, and he hasn’t exactly looked particularly impressive during his time on the field.

However, the Brazilian showed plenty of promise during his time at Bordeaux as he managed to notch 12 goals and produced eight assists. There’s no doubt that he has all the ingredients to become a world-class player but he just hasn’t been provided with enough opportunities in Spain.

Jurgen Klopp has been able to transform a number of quality players into world-class stars at Anfield, including the likes of Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah, with Andy Robertson not being far off.

There’s no doubt that the German boss can transform the Brazilian into a world-class player as he’s technically gifted and has the ability to perform at the highest level, so FSG simply must seal a summer deal for the winger.

The one thing that has stopped him from reaching his full potential is his self-confidence after a tough start to life at Barcelona, which is something that Klopp can easily sort as he’ll welcome him with open arms as a big admirer of the Brazilian, and he’ll be well aware of his potential.

The winger would fit into Liverpool’s system perfectly as he loves to get on the ball and looks to use his pace, and his ability to create and score goals would make their attack even stronger.

Liverpool fans – thoughts?

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Loads of Tottenham fans have been reacting to some comments from Christian Eriksen’s agent, who has told the club to forget contract talks until the end of the season.

Tottenham could undergo some major changes to the core of their squad this summer, with the likes of Eriksen and Toby Alderweireld both expected to attract interest from Europe’s elite once again.

Losing Eriksen in particular would hurt the club and fans to no end, as the 27 year-old has become integral to Mauricio Pochettino’s plans.

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His current contract ends in the summer of 2020, meaning he could pull an Aaron Ramsey and negotiate a free transfer away from the club next January.

Now, Martin Schoots, the Dane’s agent, has revealed in an exclusive interview with ESPN that they will not engage in contract talks this season.

“Christian only wants to focus himself on football,” he said, as reported by Football.London.

“Besides his technical, tactical and athletic skills, also this attitude has contributed over the years to his impressive transformation from world class talent to world class player.

“At this moment I would prefer not to join the speculations about contracts and transfers.”

Eriksen has scored five times and added nine assists in the Premier League this season, and you can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

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According to Calciomercato, Serie A side Napoli are set to make goalkeeper David Ospina’s loan switch from Arsenal a permanent transfer.

What’s the story?

The Colombian shot-stopper is thought to be keen on making his stay at the Italian club a permanent one, and the Gunners are apparently happy to see the 30-year-old go.

Ospina arrived at the Emirates Stadium from Nice in the summer of 2014, and made over 70 appearances for the club in all competitions over the next four seasons – winning two FA Cups in his time in England. Before the start of this current Premier League campaign he was allowed to join Napoli on a temporary agreement.

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Clearly there is no place for the 93-cap Colombia international in Unai Emery’s plans, and his future almost certainly lies away from Arsenal.

A replacement in mind

Emery must find a new goalkeeper this summer though. Not only does Ospina look set to leave, but veteran ‘keeper Petr Cech has also announced that he is going to retire at the end of this season.

That would leave Bernd Leno as the only established, experienced goalkeeper at the Emirates Stadium. The German is currently Emery’s first choice but there have been visible flaws in his game this season. 

Allowing Ospina to leave, rather than return to provide back up for Leno, suggests that Emery already has a replacement for this role in mind. That could mean that the Gunners enter the market for a new glovesman this summer, or 26-year-old Argentine Emiliano Martinez – currently on loan at Reading – could finally be given his chance to properly compete for the No. 1 spot.

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James Pearce of the Liverpool Echo has suggested that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain could make his first-team return for Liverpool against Tottenham Hotspur.

What’s been said?

Journalist Pearce posted the following on his personal Twitter account:

“No chance of Oxlade-Chamberlain being involved against either Bayern or Fulham next week. Will be after the international break before he makes 1st team return.”

It has already been confirmed that the midfielder will make his return from a long-term knee injury in Friday’s Under-23 clash with Derby County.

Indeed, Oxlade-Chamberlain has not featured for the Reds since damaging knee ligaments in last April’s Champions League semi-final with Roma.

Pearce has insisted that the former Arsenal midfielder will not be available to face Bayern Munich in the Champions League next week, or the Premier League clash with Fulham on March 17 ahead of the international break.

The 25-year-old, however, could be available to play some part against Tottenham in Liverpool’s final game of the month.

How big a part could Ox play?

Liverpool are still fighting on two fronts as they look to challenge for the Premier League title as well as compete in the Champions League.

It would be a big ask for Oxlade-Chamberlain to make a difference in Europe if Liverpool were to get through against the German champions.

However, the Englishman could realistically be involved in his team’s last seven Premier League games of the 2018-19 campaign.

After the Tottenham clash on March 31, Klopp’s team will travel to Southampton, welcome Chelsea and visit Cardiff City.

Are the media letting Jurgen Klopp off lightly for his lack of silverware? The Pl>ymaker FC squad have their say in the video below…

Then comes a home game against Huddersfield Town on April 26, before finishing the campaign with a trip to Newcastle United and home fixture against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Liverpool will be extremely careful with Oxlade-Chamberlain due to the severity of his injury, but he could play a big part in the final weeks of the season.

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Henrikh Mkhitaryan is a doubt for Arsenal’s deciding Europa League second leg last-16 tie against Rennes, per the London Evening Standard.

The midfielder has struggled with injury all season and has made just 18 Premier League appearances.

What’s the word?

Mkhitaryan missed the weekend’s win over Manchester United due to a back injury that he continues to struggle with.

Prior to that problem, the Armenia international was absent from eight games due to a metatarsal injury.

The Standard report that Mkhitaryan will be assessed on Wednesday and is a doubt to play in a game that the Gunners simply have to win.

Unai Emery’s men lost 3-1 in France in the first leg last week, meaning they need to record a 2-0 victory, at least, to have any hope of qualifying for the quarter-finals.

Mkhitaryan has played in six Europa League games thus far this season, providing two assists in total. In all competitions, meanwhile, he’s netted six times in 2018/19.

Risk him

If Mkhitaryan is fit enough to move freely, at least from the outset, this may be a risk that Emery has to take.

Arsenal were risible in France, playing absolutely terribly to leave their Europa League hopes hanging by a thread.

Mkhitaryan may not have averted the disaster but he could well be vital to the club fighting their way back into the tie.

At the Emirates Stadium, the Gunners will be expected to win and Mkhitaryan has been in the kind of form that could swing the game.

Prior to his injury, he scored once and laid on an assist in the 2-0 win over Southampton, as well as scoring once and providing two assists in the 5-1 thumping of AFC Bournemouth.

Emery may not be able to ignore him.

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A wave of Arsenal fans on Twitter think that their club shouldn’t sell on-loan defender Calum Chambers when he returns to the Emirates Stadium in the summer.

The former England international moved to Craven Cottage for the season in the summer 2018 transfer window, but hasn’t been able to prevent Fulham from sitting precariously in the Premier League bottom three with just seven matches left to play.

However, despite the Cottagers’ struggles, Chambers has stood out playing in both defence and midfield and he will be pleased for the game time he’s received in west London, making 24 league appearances in 2018/2019 so far.

This has prompted some Gunners to crave seeing the 24-year-old in red again, with one stating that they are “looking forward to seeing Chambers in an Arsenal shirt again next season.”

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He’s also impressed a selection of Arsenal supporters so much that they are not only making comparisons between him and current first-choice centre-back Shkodran Mustafi, they think he’s better than the German and would like to see him gone instead of Chambers when the transfer window arrives.

Below is our list of the best Tweets from fans of the North London club on the 6 ft utility man…