All posts by z3u9t.icu

[ad_pod ]We don’t want to speak to soon, but things could be looking up for Manchester United.Sunday’s opener versus Frank Lampard’s Chelsea side made for some truly refreshing entertainment. Every single player in the United squad came together in one harmonious united like a hive of bees, each commanding a vital function to which they performed with equal effectiveness. Lest we forget the state of the squad at the back end of last season (two wins in 12 in case you’d somehow managed force it to the back of your mind).Wave after wave of Chelsea attacks were responded to with Ferguson-era-esque counter attacking football; the harder Lampard’s side struggled, the tighter the noose squeezed.While we admit each and every goal had its own unique talking point, it was the host’s third, which saw the Paul Pogba-Marcus Rashford relationship in full force, which really perked our interest. And Rashford’s, it would seem…

Let’s hope for United’s sake that they’re able to keep this pair firing as they look to rebuild because it’s going to take something truly special to knock noisy neighbours Manchester City off their perch.

[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…

Danny Mills believes that Tottenham Hotspur will again snub Jan Vertonghen when they play Newcastle United this weekend, per Football Insider.

What’s he said?

The Belgium international has yet to make a first-team appearance for Spurs this season.

He was left out of the 3-1 win over Aston Villa in their first game of the season and also sat out the 2-2 draw with Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.

Davinson Sanchez and Toby Alderweireld have been picked for the opening two encounters and Mills believes that Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino will stick with that selection for the visit of the Magpies this weekend.

He said: “They’ll probably go: ‘We did okay, we did pretty well against Manchester City, we rode our luck at times.’

“They did what they were supposed to do, so it would be highly unlikely he would change it for this weekend.”

Spot on

Pochettino has no reason to tweak his backline.

Spurs have yet to keep a clean sheet this season but they are also the only side to play City away.

Keeping Sanchez and Vertonghen in the same team will only further their partnership and their understanding of each other.

Watch Tottenham Hotspur Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

At the same time, per Statsbomb, Newcastle have yet to complete a pass in the opposition box.

This game, then, does not call for the inclusion of Vertonghen; Sanchez and Alderweireld will do just fine.

[ad_pod ]

[ad_pod ]

Having arrived from Torino in the summer of 2015 for a reported £12.7m, it’s fair to say Matteo Darmian hasn’t exactly enjoyed the finest of Manchester United careers.

The Italy international has struggled to establish himself in the Red Devils’ first-team, and has been on the fringes of the squad for the past couple of seasons.

Reports in recent weeks had suggested the versatile full-back had agreed a deal to join Inter on a free transfer next summer, but it appears the 29-year-old could be set for a much quicker Old Trafford exit.

According to Gianluca di Marzio, Darmian will instead be moving to fellow Italian side Parma on a permanent transfer before the end of the transfer window this summer.

After hearing the update on the defender’s future, United fans took to Twitter to voice their opinions on the situation.

Many Red Devils supporters hailed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for getting rid of even more deadwood, and felt the Norwegian is showing he is a “man of his word”.

Some fans also praised Darmian for the way in which he has handled his reported departure, and thanked him for being the model professional and never complaining.

Check out some of the reaction of United fans below:

[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…

Writing in The Sun, Alan Shearer has suggested Manchester United have taken a “huge gamble” by not replacing Romelu Lukaku this summer.

What did he say?

The Belgium international completed his protracted move to Inter last month after weeks of speculation he could be on his way out of Old Trafford.

Despite losing Lukaku and then Alexis Sanchez, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side passed up on the opportunity to sign a replacement, and have just three recognised options up front. Now, Shearer has said the Red Devils have taken a major risk, and revealed it will place a huge burden on the remaining forwards.

Watch Manchester United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

He said: “Gareth Southgate’s assessment that Marcus Rashford is not a number nine is spot on. Even this season, when Manchester United’s main striker Romelu Lukaku left, boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer plays Anthony Martial down the middle.

“For England, it is not a problem because he will never play there (up front) ahead of Harry, and Marcus looked sharp against Bulgaria from the left. It is a bigger issue for United because they have taken a huge gamble by not replacing Lukaku.

“Going into the season with just Marcus, Martial and Mason Greenwood is very risky and that is a huge burden for those three to carry over a long campaign.”

Too much responsibility

United’s transfer stance on Lukaku and Sanchez this summer certainly feels admirable. The club will be without the services of a duo, who were proven Premier League goal-scorers, whatever their struggles last season. Heading into the campaign without a replacement speaks volumes of the kind of faith Solskjaer has in his young forwards.

But already, the perils of having such limited options are showing. An injury to Martial ruled him out of the Southampton draw, and so the Red Devils had to call upon a 17-year-old in Greenwood to try and find a winner. Such pressure at a young age can sometimes be overbearing, and the massive amount of responsibility United have thrust on to their players’ shoulders is a real cause for concern.

[ad_pod ]

[ad_pod ]

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

According to Goal, Wolves are keeping tabs on Wigan Athletic’s young forward Joe Gelhardt, but they face stiff competition from a whole host of Premier League clubs, including Liverpool.

What’s the word?

The striker is viewed as one of the Championship’s most promising talents and this week he will feature at international level after he was called up to England’s U18 squad.

Gelhardt has been at Wigan for seven years but has made just two senior Championship appearances for the club, most recently last weekend coming on for the final 27 minutes as they drew 0-0 with Barnsley.

The 17-year-old drew high praise from his Latics boss Paul Cook, who said he was ‘so comfortable at this level’ during a pre-season fixture against Premier League outfit Burnley.

Youth project

Wolves’ commitment to improving their youth ranks has been clear to see over the past two years or so.

Evidence of that was seen as recently as this summer when signed Bruno Jordao, Flavio Cristovao, and Renat Dadashov.

The club have also got Rob Edwards, the Under-23 manager, playing the same brand of football that Nuno Santo tries to deploy so that any step up a player makes will be all the more comfortable.

The potential move for Gelhardt only continues the Fosun trend of strengthening from the bottom up over at Molineux.

Their dedication to this philosophy has only been emphasised by head of recruitment John Marshall being specifically told to find the best young players across Europe.

Jeff Shi has also made comments in the past about how Wolves want to strengthen the academy. Signing Gelhardt, therefore, would help this significantly.

Morgan Gibbs-White and Ruben Vinagre continue to make waves in the first-team this season – both starting a Premier League game each, which only takes further measures in proving that a move for a highly-rated teenager like the one Wigan have in their hands would be the correct thing to do.

[ad_pod ]

[ad_pod ]

Leeds returned to winning ways in the Championship on Sunday as they left it late to claim all three points against Barnsley at Oakwell.

Patrick Bamford worked hard but failed to score from his five chances but his replacement, Eddie Nketiah, had another devastating impact.

He was able to prod home late on before a penalty from Mateusz Klich wrapped proceedings up.

However, it was Kiko Casilla that kept his side in the encounter, making six saves throughout. His display consequently earned rave reviews from Leeds supporters.

It was dubbed as his best game since signing by some fans whilst one said there was no doubt about him being the man of the match.

A further individual suggested the former Real Madrid stopper was immense against the Reds as he helped his side to a clean sheet.

Casilla hasn’t always had the easiest of times at Elland Road, making a sloppy mistake against Derby in the playoffs.

On this evidence, it looks as though Leeds fans are finally starting to warm to him.

Here’s the best of the reaction.

[ad_pod ]

[ad_pod ]

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

Back in the summer, Crystal Palace attempted to lure Brentford hitman Ollie Watkins to Selhurst Park, reportedly tabling an £11m bid for the Englishman.

Unfortunately for the Eagles, they saw their offer rebuffed.

The south Londoners may live to regret not pushing harder for the 23-year-old, as two factors since their failed bid will surely have seen Watkins’ value soar.

Firstly, the man with 27 goals in 100 appearances for the Bees has since signed a new long-term contract with the Championship side, taking his stay at Griffin Park to 2023.

As a result of that, Watkins’ value will surely have risen from the £11m that Palace seemed to value him at – that offer alone could be considered insulting seeing as Brentford reportedly demanded £15m back in 2018.

Another reason as to why the long-term Palace target may now command a much higher fee is his excellent start to the campaign.

Watkins has hit four goals in just seven Championship appearances so far this term, proving to be the shining light in Brentford’s poor start to the season – the Bees currently sit 18th having won just two games.

The 5 foot 11 forward averages 2.7 shots per game, while also making 1.7 key passes per game – his overall form has been very good in a poor Brentford side.

Watkins also draws 1.6 fouls per game – you can see why he’s on the Eagles’ radar.

However, it’s no good having a player on your radar if you don’t strike when the time is right.

Palace missed an opportunity back in 2018 to match Brentford’s £15m asking price and also failed to up their £11m offer despite reports stating that they were expected to make a second offer.

If the south Londoners were hoping to land their man for a similar fee, or even a cheaper price, they may now find themselves disappointed – they should’ve pushed harder before he signed a new deal and began the campaign in such fine form.

[ad_pod ]

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

It may now almost be a week on from Leeds’ disappointing draw with Derby but there must still be a feeling of what if.

What if Patrick Bamford hadn’t hit the post? What if Mateusz Klich hadn’t missed his penalty?

The answers to those questions would surely have been a Leeds win. They dominated Derby and had over 60% of the possession but conceded late on to Chris Martin.

Whether that finally provokes a change in Marcelo Bielsa’s team selection remains to be seen but one player that should be sweating is Jack Harrison.

On the chalkboard

The short story is that the Manchester City loanee desperately needs to improve if Leeds are going to create enough genuine goal-scoring chances.

Harrison has only scored once this season and that came on the opening weekend. Since then his displays have dwindled and are beginning to become somewhat of a concern, especially with Helder Costa watching on from the bench.

The Portuguese could command a fee of £15m next summer but he’s yet to be used from the start in the Championship.

He has claimed 14 assists in two terms in this division which is more than the 22-year-old who only has three to date.

The 5 foot 9 winger has incredibly low numbers and his inability to find another teammate is proving to be harmful.

Remarkably, Harrison has managed to complete just one accurate cross all season, something that happened against Nottingham Forest.

He attempted five last Saturday but none came to anything, something that rather sums up his season.

To show how damning that first statistic is, he’s attempted 31 crosses in 2019/20 according to WhoScored.

SofaScore provides a similarly damning stat – he has only provided one big chance.

When it comes to his overall contribution to the team it’s lacking in terms of quality. His pass success rate is poor and he fails to create anywhere close to the level of chances he should.

Some might say that isn’t necessary for a team that boasts Mateusz Klich and Pablo Hernandez who registered 21 assists between them last season.

However, when you fail to win a game that you dominate, as the Whites did against Derby, it’s contributions from players like Harrison that are brought to the attention.

If the wide man can’t find a way to improve his end product and crossing ability, he may be forced to watch on from the sidelines.

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

QPR travel to Wales on Wednesday evening to take on Neil Warnock’s Cardiff, as Mark Warburton’s side look to quickly bounce back from the 2-0 defeat to West Brom on Saturday.

The loss against Slaven Bilic’s men ended a run of four straight Championship wins for the R’s, so they were going pretty strongly until the Baggies put them to the sword.

With Warnock’s Bluebirds, they have only won three league games so far amid a campaign littered with draws – they have ended four out of nine matches with a single point to show for their efforts.

When the Londoners head to the Cardiff City Stadium, however, they must avoid doing one thing.

What is it?

Warburton must instruct his side to keep the ball on the floor and avoid going long where they can, due to the aerial prowess of Cardiff’s two centre-backs Sean Morrison and Aden Flint.

Flint is the highest-rated player at the club so far this season, with WhoScored handing him an average rating of 7.11 – Morrison is closely behind him with a 7.01 rating.

What we’ll focus on more specifically – as aforesaid – is the pair’s dominance in the air.

How good are they?

Well, Morrison wins a whopping 5.7 aerial duels per game on average in the Championship this season, with the 6 foot 4 colossus’ physical ability proving to be effective when it comes to winning his headers.

His partner Flint averages 0.2 more successful aerials duels with 5.9 per game in the Championship, and as the former Bristol City man stands at a towering 6 foot 6, the pair truly are a formidable duo with 11.6 successful aerial duels combined.

Jordan Hugill and the 5 foot 7 Nahki Wells will almost certainly struggle to match Flint and Morrison in the air, so Warburton must demand his side to keep the ball on the floor and exploit the Bluebirds that way.

If he tries a long-ball approach, the numbers suggest QPR won’t have an enjoyable Wednesday evening in Wales.

[ad_pod ]

Loads of Tottenham Hotspur fans on Twitter have been left fuming after The Daily Star reported that Daniel Levy is lining up England manager Gareth Southgate to replace Mauricio Pochettino whenever he leaves the club.

The Daily Star says that the 49-year-old is the north London outfit’s first choice to succeed the Argentine, whose team haven’t got off to the best of starts this season.

That said, they showed some fight to beat Southampton with 10 men on Saturday, which took any pressure that might have been building off a little ahead of hosting Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Tuesday night.

The report says though that this is likely to be the former Southampton man’s final campaign in charge of Spurs, meaning Levy needs to starting sniffing out potential replacements.

While Southgate led the Three Lions to a World Cup semi-final last summer, his only experience at club level was a spell with Middlesbrough in which he was sacked just under 10 years ago having suffered relegation from the Premier League a few months earlier.

Watch Tottenham Hotspur Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Tottenham supporters certainly aren’t impressed by the Southgate report, and while one labelled him as “the perfect yes man for Levy”, another said “I’d take David Pleat ahead of him”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…