All posts by h716a5.icu

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According to The Daily Mail, West Brom winger Oliver Burke is considering a return to the Bundesliga, two years after leaving Germany, as he struggles to maintain a place in Slaven Bilic’s side.

The 22-year-old joined the Baggies for £15m from RB Leipzig in 2017 and has failed to live up to expectations, scoring just once in 23 appearances.

He was once likened to the next Gareth Bale during his teenage years at Nottingham Forest, but the Scot has only managed a combined 37 minutes through substitute appearances in this Championship campaign.

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With Bilic bringing in three new wingers on deadline day, it appears as if Burke’s time could be up at the Hawthorns and that’s something that many fans are more than pleased with.

One supporter said they would be lucky to sell him for a sausage bap whilst another claimed it would be a miracle if they even get £3m for the winger.

West Brom fans will want to cover their ears for the video below…

Others hoped Burke would go fast with an additional fan comparing him to Saido Berahino, labelling him another ‘wasted talent.’

Despite the links, no Bundesliga club has actually been named as a potential destination for the 22-year-old, so it remains to be seen whether he will remain at the club or exit before the European transfer deadline.

You can read the best of the reaction below:

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

Admittedly, the transfer window is a tough place for Premier League clubs to manoeuvre in nowadays.

European sides are aware of the huge influx of TV money in English top-flight clubs’ bank accounts, whilst Premier League sides can hold out for huge fees from divisional rivals – just look at Harry Maguire’s £80m move to Manchester United as an example of that.

However, despite this, there are few excuses for Southampton not going out and substantially upgrading their backline this summer.

The Saints’ defence was awful last term, conceding 65 goals across 38 league games – relegated Cardiff only conceded four more than that figure.

Centre-back Wesley Hoedt isn’t too popular amongst many supporters, seen by their response to one specifically poor performance and their hopeful reaction to him being linked to AC Milan.

Another centre-back in Jack Stephens faced criticism for his performance in the dismal 3-0 loss to Burnley on the opening day, as he lined up in a back three alongside Jan Bednarek and Jannik Vestergaard with Yan Valery and Ryan Bertrand as wing-backs.

So, with issues at the back as clear as these, why did the Saints then go and splash an initial £15m on Che Adams from Birmingham, and a fee that could rise to £15m on 20-year-old Mali forward Moussa Djenepo?

After that, it became apparent that sales were needed before Ralph Hasenhuttl could add another player to his squad, with this report stating that the Austrian was eyeing up a centre-back if the aforesaid happened.

Only on deadline day did a centre-back arrive in the form of Kevin Danso, with the 20-year-old joining on loan from Augsburg. But even then, he doesn’t feel like the certified defence-fixer that the Saints need.

The South Coast side’s transfer priorities should’ve been flipped around, with defensive recruits targeted before attacking additions. Having conceded five times already this season in the Premier League, Saints are already paying the price.

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[ad_pod ]How do you stop Bernardo Silva?It’s a question that almost every Premier League defence has been asking themselves over the past 12 months, yet there still seems to be no answer.Watch Manchester City Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

The Portuguese wizard has been exceptional over the past year or so. He earned himself a spot in the PFA Team of the YearÂlast term as he was one of the most important players in Manchester City’s title win.

Fortunately for opposition managers, the secret to stopping Silva is out there. Rather than watching hours of footage or partaking in scouting missions, Premier League bosses just need to check Raheem Sterling’s Twitter to learn how to halt the Portugal international.

Unfortunately, it seems the only way to stop him is illegally, and we suspect some tickling is involved too, judging from the photo.

Sterling jokingly posted on Twitter an image of him standing over his teammate, revealing the “best way” to stop the midfield maestro.

It seems that the search for the way to legally stop Silva is still ongoing – as if you wanted to implement Sterling’s tactics you’d quickly receive a few red cards, or certainly a few funny looks.

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

Lionel Messi is still very much waiting on his debut in the new 2019/20 La Liga season and if the recent reports are to be believed, he’ll have to wait a bit longer than expected. But, despite that not being the greatest of news for Barcelona, there’s still a silver lining in that story.

On the chalkboard

Of course, when Messi is injured, alarms are sure to be ringing in the Catalan capital. Barcelona depending on their little Argentine wizard is not really anything particularly new. The term “Messidependencia” is very much still a thing back in Spain and it basically supports the thesis that Barcelona are simply a far worse team without their talisman.

And when talking about someone of Messi’s pedigree and reputation, it’s difficult to see how any team wouldn’t miss such a huge influence on the pitch – this is, after all, a multi-time Ballon d’Or winner we’re talking about. But Barcelona of all teams should be well equipped for such emergencies and looking at their squad, they definitely are.

A necessary adaptation

There must be something in the air in Spain since both Real Madrid and Barcelona are suffering from the same injury woes. The Catalans have four players sidelined, three of whom are important players. Luis Suarez and Ousmane Dembele – who provided 29 La Liga goals last season – are also still unavailable and with Messi joining the fold, Barcelona might be forced to put some faith into their younger players and newcomers who are dying to get a piece of the action.

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The tactical adjustment Ernesto Valverde will have to do is something the club as a whole have to bear in mind for the not so distant future, when the likes of Messi and Suarez won’t be around to help them out in sticky situations.

And without those key big guns on the pitch, the team will have to find their groove and utilise every single asset they can in order to pull through. Luckily for them, they have numerous players waiting in line such as Carles Perez and Ansu Fati from La Masia, both of whom were present in Barcelona’s impressive victory over Real Betis last weekend.

The injury to Messi just might force Valverde to experiment a bit and give a chance to some of the other players he still has available. Not only that but the big-money signings like Antoine Griezmann and Frenkie de Jong have been brought in for this very cause: strengthening the team and banking for the future.

This might be an alarming situation for Barcelona but they should still be more than capable of dealing with it properly. If anything, it just might force them to get that taste of how things might look like without Messi and force them to act as a team rather than a one-man army. In many ways, this just might be their blessing in disguise.

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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…

Tom Davies may have played only 11 minutes for Everton so far this season but his form at national level shows he has something to offer Marco Silva.

The 21-year-old started in the England U21 matches against Kosovo and Turkey recently and has now featured for Aidy Boothroyd’s side on 12 occasions, with a single goal scored against Andorra.

At national level he has been given a more prominent role by his manager, acting as the anchor in midfield, sitting deep and keeping the midfield ticking over, allowing more creative players such as Phil Foden the freedom to roam.

It is a different role for the youngster who has previously stated he prefers to play as a box-to-box player, but one that has seen him thrive and earn praise from Boothroyd, who called his display against Kosovo outstanding.

By comparison, under Silva he has seen his game time at Goodison Park reduce, starting only 13 times last season compared to 26 starts in the campaign prior to that.

Davies has often operated in a box-to-box style but if there is one area of weakness in his game it is his lack of productivity in the final third, with just four goals and six assists in 90 games for Everton.

Against Kosovo he played a key role in his team’s opening goal and if he can replicate the composure he showed in the opposition’s half, with two key passes according to SofaScore, then he will become a more reliable figure for Silva.

Playing in a deeper role reduced the pressure on the midfielder to create going forward, and that made him more effective in defence.

With Jean-Philippe Gbamin set for a spell on the sidelines the Toffees lack defensive cover in the middle of the pitch and Davies has begun to show he is capable of fulfilling that role.

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He won possession back for his side on seven occasions against Kosovo, which indicates that his understanding of the game is improving with more game time, as is his positioning – with one interception also, though that is an area he will likely look to improve.

However, he is far from the finished article and in a more ruthless environment such as the Premier League he will need to improve his ball retention, having given the ball away on six occasions against Kosovo.

Davies was also dribbled past twice last night and against better opposition at club level there is a possibility he could struggle.

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Life hasn’t really been easy for Thibaut Courtois at Real Madrid so far.

The now 27-year-old goalkeeper joined Los Blancos in the summer of 2018 and has since become their first-choice man between the sticks. But that role proved to be rather difficult to perform for the Belgian.

In fact, Marca came out with an interesting statistic that showed just how difficult it actually is. They revealed that Courtois hasn’t been able to keep a clean sheet at Real Madrid since February, which is an extremely disappointing record to hold.

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Needless to say, as soon as the fans found out about it, they were left angry and in disbelief.

Many of them quickly took to Twitter to voice their disappointment and to slam their goalkeeper, with some calling him “pathetic” and “useless”.

You can see some of their reactions and replies in the collection of tweets down below.

Beware, though, it is not a lovely sight for any Courtois fans…

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

Ahead of 2019/20 there was a dilemma at left-back for Leeds.

Stuart Dallas ended last term brilliantly with two goals in the playoffs against Derby as he stepped in for Barry Douglas astutely. The Scot became an option again heading into the new season but Ezgjan Alioski and Leif Davis were also in the frame.

Douglas looked in good form against Wigan, putting in a performance which earned him an average rating of above 7 via WhoScored. But aside from that he hasn’t managed to achieve anything above 6.55.

With that in mind, it would make sense if Marcelo Bielsa stuck with Alioski, even now Douglas is back and fully fit.

On the chalkboard

After that match against the Latics, it looked as though Douglas was on his way to providing a solution to Leeds’ pre-season dilemma.

He looked comfortable and was able to provide two key passes, as well as winning two aerial duels.

But since the left-back’s time on the sidelines, Alioski has come in and been a revelation, thus making it incredibly difficult to drop him.

Douglas is the more senior of the two at 30 and that perhaps suggests why he started over the North Macedonian at the beginning of the term.

He spent a period out and came back against Stoke in the Carabao Cup. He then missed out the weekend after possibly over a lack of match fitness.

But he’s now had the international break to fully recover and get himself in gear, thus making him a viable option against Barnsley.

However, Alioski was in fine form for the Whites before the international break, contributing to two clean sheets in three games. He won five aerial battles in the process, per WhoScored, so if there is a decision to be made he is the right choice.

Against Swansea last time out the 27-year-old made a massive six tackles, as well as having three shots. Versus Brentford, he created the most goal scoring opportunities of any Leeds man with three key passes.

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Those outings provided evidence that he can cope in defensive and attacking scenarios. The latter will likely come in handy against a Barnsley side who have conceded nine and scored just four. Douglas is yet to score this season so that presents another reason as to why Alioski should play against a more defensive opposition.

The 5 foot 8 Leeds man can be used as a traditional full-back or even as a wing-back and after producing the goods for his country last week, claiming an assist, he should still be trusted. That’s despite his main competition for that role in the side now being fully available once again.

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Simon Mignolet has told The Daily Mail that he was frustrated in his final year at Liverpool due to a lack of game time, but fans have shown little sympathy for the goalkeeper.

The Belgian had been number one before Jurgen Klopp’s arrival, before losing his place to Loris Karius prior to the arrival of Alisson, who featured in all but two of Liverpool’s games in 2018/19.

Despite having two years remaining on his contract, Mignolet said he was desperate to depart this summer, revealing that his patience with his manager had run out due to “giving everything”  but receiving “nothing in return.”

It is a natural response from a player who spent a year on the sidelines when he could have featured regularly for another side, but Liverpool fans aren’t ready to show too much empathy despite him making 204 appearances for the club, as they believe he would have played more if he was good enough.

The former Sunderland player joined Club Brugge over the summer for a reported £6.4m, and he has since kept six clean sheets in nine matches for his new team.

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Here is some of the reaction from Liverpool fans to Mignolet’s revelation.

Rangers take on Aberdeen this weekend as the Gers look to keep the pressure up on cross-city rivals Celtic in the Scottish top flight.It’s been a good season so far for the Light Blues and a win against the Dons at Ibrox would certainly round off what has been a productive September for them nicely.What Gers fans want most of all, of course, is a return to the glory days and trophy wins this season – much as they did when the likes of Barry Ferguson played for the club.Indeed, the former Rangers midfielder has come in for praise recently from former Gers player Marvin Andrews who was speaking to the club’s official Twitter account.Andrews outlined Ferguson as a ‘winner’ and a ‘leader’ that hated losing in five-a-side contests in training, let alone games.He said of the midfielder:

And, these are the sort of qualities Rangers fans should want to see from their players this season as it rumbles on – starting with their clash with the Dons this weekend.

Yes, Troy Deeney posted an update that indicates he may be back in action sooner rather than later.

The striker shared a snap of him back on an exercise bike working on his recovery.

The attacker has certainly been missed by the Vicarage Road outfit so far this season, as they currently sit bottom of the league with just four goals scored, the joint-lowest in the division.

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Therefore, you can see why the return of a man who netted nine league goals last term would be welcomed, especially when it’s the skipper.

Deeney’s first-team comeback may still be a while away, but this post is certainly encouraging.