All posts by n8rngtd.top

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There is no question whatsoever that Celtic defender Mikael Lustig suffered a nightmare day in the 1-0 defeat to Rangers at Ibrox in December, but he is on course to make amends when the two clubs meet at the same stadium on Sunday.

On the chalkboard

The experienced Sweden international was named on the team-sheet by former Bhoys boss Brendan Rodgers for the clash at the end of 2018, just prior to the winter break.

However, it proved to be a horrible day for the Scottish Premiership champions against their Glasgow rivals, and a nightmare 45 minutes for Lustig.

The 32-year-old was completely done by Ryan Kent for the only goal of the game and struggled throughout the first half, before being sacrificed by Rodgers, who suffered his first Old Firm defeat in 13 attempts as a result, at the break.

Ready to make amends

He certainly is.

The Swede may have been taken off with an injury issue in the title-securing 3-0 win against Aberdeen last weekend, but the Scottish Sun report that he will be available for the short trip across Glasgow on Sunday.

And he will arrive at Ibrox in good form, as a player who has been reborn under Neil Lennon having often failed to hit the heights previously this term under Rodgers.

Lustig is looking solid defensively and appears to have got his fight back, while he even found the net against the Dons as the Bhoys officially made it eight in a row.

With a spring his step and confidence flowing, the 32-year-old is well set to step up to the plate and do what he couldn’t do less than five months ago.

Controversial. Uncompromising. Leader. C’mon the Hoops’ Keith talks the future of Celtic’s evergreen captain Scott Brown in the video below…

He is likely to come up against either Kent or Daniel Candeias at the weekend, but he will be fancying his chances against either as Celtic look to make another statement in the final Old Firm of the campaign.

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Manchester United fans have taken to Twitter to slam Jesse Lingard for his dismal display against Cardiff.

The Red Devils sunk to an embarrassing 2-0 defeat against Neil Warnock’s already relegated Bluebirds, who grabbed all three points at Old Trafford thanks to a Nathaniel Mendez-Laing double.

Will OGS still be in charge of Man Utd come next May? The Flying Pig discusses in the video below…

A number of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side were in dreadful form on the final day of the season, but Lingard was especially bad – the England international did next to nothing on a dark day for the club.

At 26 years of age, you would expect Lingard to step up and be a leader in this team, but he was even outshone by 17-year-old Mason Greenwood, who was making the first league start of his career.

With defeat to Cardiff, United recorded a sixth-placed finish this season, and missed out on Champions League qualification in doing so.

The entire campaign has been a bleak one for United fans, but let’s take a look at what they’ve been saying about Lingard’s performance on Twitter…

They say that there is a fine line between genius and madness, and no player encapsulates that more than Alfredo Morelos.

The Rangers striker is without question one of the most talented players in the Scottish Premiership, spearheading Steven Gerrard’s side that will comfortably finish second in the table largely down to the Colombian’s 17 goals and eight assists in the league this season, but with all these contributions in front of goal comes eight yellow cards and four red cards.

Morelos’ disciplinary record has been the centre of much attention, with some fans thinking that the striker might be better off away from Scotland if this unwanted record continues into next season, and according to the player himself, he won’t be short of suitors.

Speaking to Primer Tiempo via Football Scotland, Morelos has revealed he has significant interest from clubs heading into the summer transfer window, saying: “There is a lot of speculation about my possible departure, but there is nothing concrete yet.

“I know that there are many interested clubs asking and as soon as there is something official I will be announcing it.”

Rangers could be in for a big payday if they decide to cash in on their troublesome attacker, but even if a massive bid comes in for Morelos, who is valued at £2.7 million on Transfermarkt, Gerrard must do all he can to keep hold of his star striker.

Morelos’ yellow and red card record is something to behold, but what the striker offers in terms of goals and assists is something Rangers will find hard to replace, and although a big fee will be tempting, the club simply can’t let go of their most important player if they are to challenge with Celtic next season.

Rangers fans, should the club keep hold of Morelos at all costs? Let us know!

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West Ham United have handed Joe Powell a new contract, the club have confirmed.

What’s the word?

The attacking midfielder has extended his stay at the club by one year following a promising 2018-19 season.

A versatile player, the 20-year-old can play on both wings and through the middle and enjoyed a loan spell at Northampton Town this term.

He played 10 times in League Two, scoring twice and laying on one assist, and has clearly outgrown Premier League 2 level; he played 12 times and scored seven goals while adding six assists.

Powell was also on the bench for the Hammers’ 1-1 draw with Leicester City in the Premier League and made his first-team debut in the EFL Cup thumping of Macclesfield Town, laying on two assists in a 28-minute cameo in the 8-0 win.

And the youngster is hopeful of adding to those appearances this term, telling the club’s website: “I’m delighted as I’ve got another year now to try and prove myself and hopefully this is the one where I push on into the first-team squad.

“I can’t wait for pre-season to start now and hopefully I can have a much better season than I did last year, then West Ham will want me to stay for the long term.”

First-team beckoning?

It is easy to latch onto youngsters coming through the academy at West Ham and tip them to make a breakthrough.

But Powell looks to be set for much more involvement next season.

He is perhaps right to claim he simply has another year to prove himself, but he has the natural ability to feature, particularly with Mark Noble approaching the twilight of his career and Jack Wilshere notably injury-prone.

Powell has been with the club since the age of eight and his longevity is likely to be rewarded next term.

And if he makes a first-team spot his own, he could end up saving the Irons a fair few million in the process.

Either way it’s a huge make-or-break season for the promising youngster.

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According to Football Insider, Liverpool are interested in signing Hull stopper David Marshall to replace Simon Mignolet, who has been made available for a transfer this summer.

What’s the word, then?

Well, £67m man Alisson Becker has made the No.1 shirt his own at Anfield since arriving from Roma, which saw Mignolet make just two appearances in the 2018/19 campaign.

The Reds have slapped a £15m price tag on the Belgian international’s head as they prepare to let him go this summer, which has opened the door to a possible pursuit for Marshall, formerly of Cardiff.

Luis Suarez certainly had no qualms about celebrating against his former employers in the video below…

At 34 years of age, the Scotsman would arrive with an abundance of experience and would provide competent backup for Alisson, although it doesn’t make complete sense with some wonderful prospects waiting in the wings.

Would be harsh on Caoimhin Kelleher

The 20-year-old prodigy has already featured for the Liverpool first-team in pre-season last year, and certainly impressed Jurgen Klopp with his performances.

The German said: “He is an outstanding talent. Outstanding. Very cool with the ball, you saw that in pre-season when he played in front of 100,000 people, that he wasn’t bothered about that which is a very important skill to have.

“If nothing serious happens, he will have a really fantastic future. I like him a lot and he will be in our squad.”

Kelleher impressed in the Premier League 2 for Liverpool’s youth team in 2018/19 and will definitely be checking the news most days to see whether or not an offer has arrived for Mignolet, as he would be deserving of taking the former Sunderland man’s place in reserve.

A move for Marshall would just be needlessly adding another player to the wage bill, and to sign a 34-year-old would mean he too will need to be replaced in a few years.

Klopp has shown he isn’t afraid to get the young guns involved around the senior figures since arriving on Merseyside, being bold in throwing Rhian Brewster and Trent Alexander-Arnold amongst the big hitters in the team.

Adding Kelleher to the bench on most gameweeks will help the talented young Irishman learn on the job and develop his obvious potential; this should definitely be Klopp’s act of choice rather than signing the ageing Marshall.

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It is time for Dele Alli to prove his worth to Tottenham Hotspur.

Ever since his move to the club from MK Dons and his emergence as a genuine star-in-the-making, Alli has loved the big games.

He is most prolific against Chelsea, netting six goals in seven games, but he has also scored twice each against Manchester City, Manchester United and Arsenal. Alli has one goal to his name against Liverpool, this weekend’s opponents in the Champions League final.

This is far and away the biggest game of Alli’s career.

He was involved in the World Cup semi-final when England played Croatia but now there is tangible silverware involved. The Champions League trophy will be lifted after the final whistle and Alli could be one of the 23 men to hoist it aloft, a winners’ medal draped around his neck.

He has shown signs, after all, that he is back to his best in recent months after a sub-par season.

After a mixed campaign, he laid on the most impudent of assists against Ajax in the semi-final, flicking a ball through to Lucas Moura to score his hat-trick goal in the 95th minute. It was an assist that only Alli could make, a touch only he could really see.

He is a player with an obnoxious amount of flair and the ability to twist opponents inside out when he is on it.

But, by the same token, he can go missing. He has been marked out of games in the past and has struggled to find his way back in when things go against him.

This weekend, there is no hiding place.

Alli will surely play; one cannot imagine him being benched even if Harry Kane is fit – that ignominious honour will surely befall Lucas Moura.

Now, then, is the time to grab the game by the scruff of the neck and prove that he is as good as Spurs fans believe he is.

Even in a mixed campaign, he has scored seven goals and laid on eight assists. As the season comes to an end, he can erase memories of those anonymous performances and those difficult outings.

If he turns up and plays his role as we know he can, he will yet again be discussed as one of the best young midfielders in world football.

It is down to Alli and only Alli to grasp the biggest opportunity of his life.

Now that the dust has settled from what was a roller-coaster of a season for Leeds United, boss Marcelo Bielsa will be looking towards where he can strengthen his side this summer ahead of another year in the Championship.

Having narrowly missed on promotion to the Premier League, it could be argued that if the Whites can keep the nucleus of their squad intact over the coming months, they will be strong favourites for the second tier title.

Yet in order to keep Leeds heading in the right direction, Bielsa must first make a definitive decision on the club’s goalkeeping issues.

Despite starting the 2018/19 campaign with Bailey Peacock-Farrell as his number one choice, the Argentine ended up losing faith in the Thorp Arch academy graduate and brought in Kiko Casilla from Real Madrid in January.

Although the Spaniard seemed to be the perfect signing on paper given his vast amount of experience in La Liga, he, unfortunately, failed to deliver for Leeds and was a complete and utter liability in their play-off defeat to Derby earlier this month.

With a conundrum on his hands heading into the upcoming campaign, Bielsa simply has to consider offering Peacock-Farrell another chance to impress as he didn’t do too much wrong, barring a couple of errors, during his 28 Championship appearances last season.

According to Football Insider, the Northern Ireland international is on the verge of agreeing a new deal with Leeds which will extend his stay at Elland Road for the foreseeable future.

If this is indeed true, it is imperative that Peacock-Farrell makes the step up required over the coming months to get himself in the best shape possible to help launch a sustained push for promotion.

Still only 22-years-old, the shot-stopper still has plenty of time left in his career to fulfil his potential yet the only way that will be able to do just that is by playing regular first-team football.

What do you think Leeds fans? Should Bielsa give Peacock-Farrell another chance to impress next season? Or would it be more beneficial for the Argentine to bring in a keeper when the transfer window opens in July? Get in touch below.

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Last summer Fulham untangled themselves from the brambles of a ferociously competitive Championship season and prepared for a triumphant return to the Premier League after a four year absence.

They did so with a highly astute coach in Slavisa Jokanovic and a squad that was perfectly blended with youth and experience with plenty of quality throughout. Most of all they had two facets that are priceless to any ambitious club: momentum and togetherness. Had they kept everything exactly as is and made no signings the suspicion is that the Cottagers would likely remain a Premier League club right now.

Only they didn’t. Insecurities set in, that or impatience to quicker get where they ultimately wanted to be. In the last summer transfer window, Fulham brought in 10 new players at a combined cost of over £100m and that’s when their dream imploded.

The incoming talent – seven of which were from overseas – struggled to settle and the unforgiving top flight doesn’t offer up rehearsals. Jokanovic meanwhile struggled to find his best eleven as momentum halted and any togetherness in the camp dissipated. Their relegation was confirmed in early April but bluntly they were down from the get-go.

The three clubs that have reached the promised land this time out would do well to learn from Fulham’s mistakes and that applies mostly to Aston Villa. Why? Because the respective squads of Sheffield United and Norwich City each contain just a handful of players with Premier League experience and, with the greatest of respect, those players hardly set the division alight.

Take nothing away from how exceptional the Blades and Canaries have been this past year but you still feel they will need to add a bit more established quality to their ranks in order to survive, even thrive at the highest level.

Whereas Villa already have that top flight experience. They already have that quality. Even factoring in the recent releases of Alan Hutton and Mile Jedinak, the Villans still boast a multitude of players who have previously represented themselves well in the top tier and this number includes defensive stalwarts Neil Taylor, captain James Chester, and Ahmed Elmohamady, along with the seasoned Glenn Whelan.

As for the quality Jack Grealish obviously stands out, having easily made the Championship Team of the year through a series of outstanding individual displays. Also in that team was young striker Tammy Abraham whose 26 goals in 40 games last season proved so vital to Villa’s success.

The 21-year-old hotshot is pertinent here because he is, of course, a loanee set to return to his parent club, as too are Tyrone Mings and Axel Tuanzebe in addition to their play-off hero Anwar El Ghazi.

It is the nailing down of these four to permanent deals that should be Aston Villa’s main priority this summer and then, with the sensible recruitment of one or two new faces, the club can retain its momentum and keep the all-for-one mentality that has got them to this point.

Most importantly of all they can learn from the horrible failures of others who sailed in the same boat before them.

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It’s been a talking point among the Claret & Blue Army for a couple of seasons now; when will Mark Noble be stepping aside to allow a younger player to take up a first-choice role in central midfield?

The Academy of Football product is 31 now and not many central midfielders make it into their 30s without taking up more of a squad position.

Noble is the skipper at London Stadium although that’s not the reason he’s still a regular, it’s more down to him losing very little of his ability, quality and stamina over the years.

It was thought that the arrival of Manuel Pellegrini, a manager that would perhaps prefer more dynamic options in the centre of the park, last summer would be the beginning of the end for Noble.

However, not only was he able to keep his place in the starting Xl when fit, the former England under-21 international was offered a contract extension during the 2018/2019 season.

But was there anything in that campaign to suggest that Noble will finally lose his place next campaign? Today we look at the statistics in order to answer that question.

As you can see from the above infographic containing stats from WhoScored, Noble impressively only missed seven league matches last term.

The 31-year-old, known for both his defensive and attacking capabilities, managed an eye-catching five goals and five assists during 2018/2019 enjoying playing with some new expensive attacking players and certainly flexing his so-called old muscles going forward.

The number 16 also weighed in with an average of 85.3% pass success playing mostly alongside Declan Rice in the centre of the pitch, precision as ever from the club captain.

One little bit of evidence that an aspect of Noble’s game is starting to fade ever so slightly can be found in his 0.7 key passes per game, suggesting that he’s not quite as creative as he used to be on a regular basis – he made 1.4 per appearance in the 2015/16 campaign, for example.

However, the boyhood Hammer comes roaring back with a superb average of 1.5 tackles per encounter, displaying that he hasn’t lost his bite in protecting the defence.

Overall, these figures tell us that Noble is far from ready to give up playing every weekend and that the Irons must wait to introduce a long-term partner for Rice, for the time being.

With Andy Carroll out the door and Javier Hernandez (AS) and Marko Arnautovic (Di Marzio) reportedly also heading in the same direction, a new striker seems to be a logical player on West Ham’s transfer list.

Maxi Gomez has long been rumoured with a move to east London with rumours of the Celta Vigo striker joining the club being reported by Sky Sports News as far back as January, but the Uruguayan hasn’t been the only striker linked with a move to West Ham, and a familiar name has entered the frame.

According to the Sun, the Hammers are interested in Bournemouth and England striker Callum Wilson and are plotting a £35 million move for the 27-year-old to fill the void left by the attackers who could potentially be leaving this summer, and although it is a hefty transfer fee, it would be a risk worth taking for Manuel Pellegrini’s side.

Comparing the Cherries man to West Ham’s most prolific striker last season, Arnautovic, with stats from WhoScored, it’s clear to see that Wilson does a lot more to contribute to goals, scoring 14 and assisting 9 compared to the Austrian’s 10 goals and 4 assists.

The English international is also more likely to be fouled per 90 minutes, winning 1.1 fouls per game to Arnautovic’s 0.4 per game. However, the West Ham man is more likely to retain possession with the first touch as the striker has on average 1.7 bad touches per game compared to Wilson’s 3.2.

With a new striker needed this summer, it is clear to see that Wilson will be an improvement on what West Ham’s finest could produce last season and that despite the hefty price tag, the England international will be worth the financial risk.

West Ham fans, would you take Wilson this summer? Let us know!