All posts by n8rngtd.top

Crystal Palace’s inconsistent start to the season continued with a 2-0 defeat to Wolves in the Premier League, a result which will no doubt remind Roy Hodgson that he still has his work cut out at Selhurst Park.

It was the second time in as many matches that Palace failed to keep a clean sheet, only this time, the Eagles failed to find the back of the net.

You could pick several holes in Hodgson’s side, namely their inability to turn a slight advantage in possession into goals, as Michy Batshuayi had an early effort ruled out for offside. Without wanting to rub salt in the wound, Wolves debutant Rayan Ait-Nouri opened the scoring shortly afterwards, before Daniel Podence doubled the lead a few minutes later.

However, this doesn’t excuse the shocking display by some of the senior players like Luka Milivojevic, who was red-carded in the closing stages of the game, although arguably none more so than Palace left-back Patrick van Aanholt, who turned out to be a total liability. In fairness, the 9-cap Netherlands international has only recently returned from injury, but that doesn’t hide the fact that it was far from his best performance.

SofaScore graded the 30-year-old as the worst player on the pitch with a lowly 6.2 rating – he lost possession 11 times, won just one ground duel out of six attempts, was dribbled past once and failed to make a single tackle all game.

Van Aanholt, who earns £55,000-a-week according to Spotrac, received a similar score from football.london, who insisted he was “thrust into the starting line up, perhaps a week or two earlier than Hodgson would have hoped”, whilst 90Min were far more scathing in their assessment as they gave him a grade of 3/10, claiming “like Clyne, was completely overwhelmed by the overload”, although the outlet admitted he “had no help but didn’t do himself any favours with some sloppy positioning.”

Despite the disappointing display, the Dutchman, who is currently valued at £7.2m via Transfermarkt, still played the full 90 minutes to mark his first start for the club this season.

However, he hardly did himself any favours whatsoever as Palace academy product Tyrick Mitchell has impressed in recent weeks, so his place is by no means safe and secure, although the Eagles are still waiting to receive the results from a scan after the 21-year-old picked up a knock in training which ruled him out of the trip to Wolves.

Hodgson will be hoping the veteran will be able to quickly find his feet before they welcome Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United to Selhurst Park next weekend.

AND in other news, Steve Parish must convince Crystal Palace’s Tyrick Mitchell to sign new contract…

Brighton are among three Premier League clubs reportedly showing an interest in signing Ryan Sessegnon on loan.

The Telegraph reported that the Seagulls, along with Burnley and Southampton, are keen on securing a loan move for the 20-year-old, who has drifted to the periphery of Jose Mourinho’s squad at Tottenham.

Spurs paid Fulham £25m for Sessegnon last year but the youngster has been unable to establish himself in north London, playing just 12 times for his current club and failing to make an appearance so far this season.

He showed his qualities in the attacking third of the pitch for the Cottagers in 2017/18, when he netted 16 times as they won promotion to the Premier League. However, he has often been deployed as a left-back during the formative years of his career, alternating between that and a left midfield role. [via TransferMarkt]

A winner of five individual awards at Fulham during that aforementioned 2017/18 season, the 20-year-old is also a Guinness World Records holder, albeit not for the most celebratory of reasons – he claimed the fastest-ever time to hit both goal posts and the crossbar, doing so in 7.75 seconds during England under-21 training in May 2019.

Quirky records aside, Graham Potter may see Sessegnon as an option in an area where he is not particularly well-stocked. Bernardo is currently the only natural left-back in the Seagulls’ squad and, having struggled for game-time in recent months, the Brazilian has been linked with a potential loan exit to the likes of West Ham and Newcastle (as per Sky Sports).

Although the Brighton left-back made more tackles (1.9 to one) and took more shots per game (0.5 to 0.2) than Sessegnon in 2019/20, the Spurs youngster averaged more passes per game (26.5 to 23.6) and had a superior success rate in terms of his ball distribution (77.4% to 73.6%).

Whether or not Bernardo will leave the Amex Stadium in this transfer window is unclear – he has started both of Albion’s Carabao Cup matches this term – but even if he stays put, Sessegnon could provide some welcome competition for the left-back slot.

It should also bring an end to Potter’s preference for deploying centre-back Dan Burn on that flank, while the Tottenham youngster’s ability to play further forward would offer the Brighton manager tremendous choice if the 20-year-old makes the move to Sussex.

Brighton fans, where would you deploy Sessegnon in the team if he joins on loan? Have your say by commenting below!

Everton could be handed an opportunity to offload one of their biggest mistakes from last summer if fresh reports are to be believed…

What’s the word?

According to The Sun’s Alan Nixon, Premier League rivals Burnley are keen to sign Toffees midfielder Fabian Delph as a direct replacement for Jeff Hendrick, who recently joined Newcastle United.

It’s claimed that Sean Dyche has ‘big interest’ in the 30-year-old but it’s likely to come down to price with the player currently valued at £9m by Transfermarkt.

The Times also believe that Everton would be willing to sell Delph following the arrival of Allan and likely additions of James Rodriguez and Abdoulaye Doucoure.

£17m nightmare

Delph cost a total of £10m with add-ons included after Marco Silva clinched him from title-winning Manchester City, but he’s failed to make such an impact at Goodison Park.

The veteran played just 17 times, averaging 1.6 tackles, 1 clearance and 0.4 key passes per game, via WhoScored, so it’s been quite an underwhelming signing all round.

Strangely, Richard Keys lauded the move, dubbing it as one of the steals of the window – a “robbery” in fact, claiming “he’s Everton’s James Milner. Again – like Luiz and Milner – a top pro.”

Marcel Brands made an exception against his normal profile, claiming that allowances would be made for “older, good value” targets but clearly that’s not been the case with the Englishman.

As per Football Insider, Delph is apparently picking up a whopping £120k-per-week in Merseyside, which means the club have blown around £17m on him already.

Therefore, if the Clarets do indeed try to sign him, Brands and co should absolutely accept whatever they can, especially after Carlo Ancelotti’s midfield revamp.

They simply cannot afford to continue to have Delph sat on the bench or in the stands next season.

If anyone was committing a robbery, it would be Delph on the Toffees rather than what Keys was implying.

AND in other news, Everton swoop for La Liga FLOP is a disaster waiting to happen…

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has spoken out about his outburst against Liverpool during their Premier League clash at Anfield last season. 

The two English heavyweights locked horns in a thrilling eight-goal fiesta which saw the champions defeat Lampard’s side 5-3 in July on the night that the Reds lifted the league trophy.

The frustrations evidently got to the Chelsea legend, who launched an expletive-laden verbal attack on the Reds’ assistant coach Pep Lijnders. It sparked a lot of reaction on social media with many Liverpool fans backing Jurgen Klopp’s retaliation to Lampard’s outburst.

However, the former England international has addressed his behaviour head-on whilst speaking to the High Performance Podcast (via Caught Offside).

“Yeah, I did regret that [the outburst],” Lampard admitted. “When it broke the next day and a friend of mine sent it to me in the morning, I was a bit embarrassed by it.”

Despite a tough penultimate match, Chelsea went on to beat Wolves 2-0 in their final league game of the season and cement a top four finish. The Blues have since had a very impressive transfer window, welcoming the likes of Timo Werner, Thiago Silva and Kai Havertz to the club.

“Because I was in the moment, but in the moment, I felt we turned up and it was the easiest day for Liverpool ever,” the Blues boss continued. “They won the league, they went goals up early in the game. And a few things happened with the bench, I’m not going to go into detail, but my feeling was, ‘I want to protect my club’.”

Lampard will be looking to put the whole ordeal behind him and start afresh this season as he hopes to challenge Liverpool once more – only this time, he will hope he has done enough in the transfer window to bridge the gap between them and last season’s champions.

What do you think about Lampard’s comments, Blues fans? Join the conversation in the comments below…

Glasgow Rangers have had a positive start to the new Premiership campaign.

The Gers currently sit top of the table after winning three and drawing one of their first four matches. So far, they are yet to even concede a goal, and have impressed in 3-0 victories over both St. Johnstone and St. Mirren, whilst they are currently six points clear of their fierce city rivals Celtic.

However, the goalless draw against Livingston on Sunday was their first real hiccup of the campaign, and it seemed they missed Joe Aribo’s creativity in the middle of the park – it is no surprise that the one game he missed in the league was the one match they have so far failed to win.

A photo shared on Twitter of the Nigeria international by the club’s official account has given the Gers fans the opportunity to wax lyrical about the 24-year-old. Indeed, he is already averaging three key passes, 2.3 dribbles and two shots per game in the league this term.

Many took to Twitter to share their thoughts, one even described him as the “guy Messi wants to be”, perhaps tongue in cheek given his strong start to the season. You can see some of the best comments from the social media platform below.

Let us know what you think!

Leeds United embark on their final Championship outing of not just the season, but also for the foreseeable future after clinching the title last week.

And even though, the Yorkshire giants have nothing to play for, they do welcome a side whose fate will be decided at Elland Road tonight.

Charlton Athletic occupy that final relegation spot and need a victory to hold a chance of remaining in the English second-flight. It’s a rather exciting finale at the bottom end of the table as three of six will be gone come 10pm this evening.

Marcelo Bielsa surprisingly tinkered with his starting XI last time out, but will he do the same here? or will the Argentine go full-strength out of respect for those teams fighting for their lives?

Here’s what we are predicting…

We’re expecting there to be as many as six changes as Bielsa, a man of integrity, finishes the season in strong style.

One controversial decision from the weekend was the reintroduction of Kiko Casilla between the sticks but Illan Meslier who has been ever-impressive in the Spaniard’s absence should take the reigns once more.

Whilst in front of him, it could be loan star Ben White’s last ever appearance for the club as he heads back to parent club Brighton this summer.

He’s likely to partner skipper Liam Cooper, who was dropped for the Rams fixture, with Gaetano Berardi out with a serious ACL injury.

Barry Douglas could remain at left-back with Luke Ayling returning in the place of Stuart Dallas, who earns a much-needed rest.

20-year-old centre-back Pascal Struijk has looked impressive in the Kalvin Phillips role, so it would be a shock to see him dropped here whilst fellow youngster Jamie Shackleton should also keep his place after a goal against Derby on Sunday.

Mateusz Klich missed his first game of the season but will surely return here, replacing Pablo Hernandez in midfield.

Another player who took his opportunity at the weekend was Ian Poveda and with Helder Costa out injured, he’s in line for a start whilst £10m man Jack Harrison could partner him on the other wing.

Patrick Bamford may also replace Tyler Roberts upfront.

AND in other news, QSI takeover looking less likely after Phil Hay update…

Manchester City return to Premier League action tonight when they welcome Arsenal to the Etihad Stadium as the English top flight resumes following a three-month coronavirus-enforced hiatus.

The fixture had been pencilled in for 11 March but was then postponed, with Gunners manager and Pep Guardiola’s former assistant Mikel Arteta tested positive for COVID-19. Thankfully the 38-year-old has since recovered and he now prepares to go up against his former boss for the first time as a manager.

For Manchester City, their hopes of a third successive Premier League title are merely mathematical at this stage, with 25 points to make up on Liverpool, and they will be eager to atone for their last outing, the 2-0 derby defeat to Manchester United on 8 March.

As Guardiola’s team finally grace their home stadium for the first time since the mid-February win over West Ham, Football Transfer Tavern predicts the starting line-up for the visit of Arsenal, anticipating no fewer than five changes from the XI that began the loss at Old Trafford. As per WhoScored, the Spaniard has the luxury of a fully fit squad from which to choose.

Ederson will almost certainly retain his place in goal, although there could be a much-changed back four just ahead of him. Aymeric Laporte is fit to return after the hamstring injury he picked up against Real Madrid in February, so he could slot in alongside Fernandinho at centre-back.

Neither Benjamin Mendy nor Kyle Walker started at Old Trafford but may be reintroduced to the defensive unit for the visit of Arsenal. Those changes would see Oleksandr Zinchenko, Nicolas Otamendi and Joao Cancelo all drop out of the starting XI, with the latter the subject of transfer speculation in recent weeks linking him with an Etihad exit.

Rodri and Ilkay Gundogan are likely to retain their places in midfield and Kevin De Bruyne, who scored twice in the 3-0 win over the Gunners in December, should come back into the line-up after missing the derby defeat with a back injury sustained in the Carabao Cup final. That would see David Silva dropping out of the team to make way for the Belgian.

The one anticipated change in attack sees Riyad Mahrez coming in for Phil Foden on the right wing, with the Algerian hoping to add to his tally of nine goals and 14 assists this season. Sergio Aguero should continue at centre-forward while Raheem Sterling might just about keep his place on the left wing.

Guardiola may decide to bring the fit-again Leroy Sane back into the team in place of the out-of-form England attacker, although with the German not playing a senior game in 10 months following his cruciate ligament injury, the manager could well prefer to bed in him gently with a run-out from the bench rather than throwing him straight into the line-up.

Man City fans, do you think this will be the team that Guardiola picks to face Arsenal tonight or would you make some changes to it? Let us know in the comments section below!

Many Aston Villa fans have heaped heavy praise on club captain Jack Grealish after news emerged of a £200k gesture he has made to the NHS.

The young attacking midfielder was in the press for all the wrong reasons as the United Kingdom went into lockdown due to the recent pandemic in March, flouting advice by attending a house party.

The 24-year-old has since apologised via a video link, but a recent raffling of a match worn Villa shirt has now gained him some plaudits, seeing him donate the money to the NHS.

The shirt gained £55,000 as fans of the club and the midfielder bidded for the item, whilst Grealish also handed his two-week fine of £150,000 for his lockdown rule break, straight to Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

Grealish’s future at Villa is not yet known after being linked with a move to both Manchester United and Everton.

Whilst the midfielder could leave the Midlands based club this summer, Villa’s own future is not yet known, sitting 19th in the Premier League as things stand.

Reacting to the former England U21 international’s gesture via @PreeceObserver, fans handed Grealish a response…

Villa fans, will Jack Grealish stay at the club beyond the summer? Let us know below…

Everton fans are reliving the emotions felt during the final game of the 1993/94 season, where they narrowly avoided relegation thanks to a superb comeback against Wimbledon.

Just three minutes into their final game of the Premier League campaign, Everton looked like they would be crashing out of the top flight after the opposition nudged themselves ahead through a penalty.

The match went from bad to worse after Wimbledon extended their lead through a Gary Ablett own goal and fans prepared themselves to face the dreaded drop into the Championship. But the class of 1993/94 had other ideas. After pulling one back through a Graham Stuart penalty, the Blues kicked into their highest gear and found two more goals through Barry Horne and another Stuart strike.

The historic comeback kept Everton in the Premier League and fans still remember the spectrum of emotions they went through during that day. One supporter has scolded the club, saying ‘don’t ever do that to me again’. Here’s a look at some of the other replies:

Do you remember this historic comeback, Blues? Let us know your memories from the game in the comments below!

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…

Pep Guardiola is no stranger to pulling through and developing young prospects.

Even stemming from his early days at Barcelona, the Catalan coach introduced La Masia players and kept them in his squad, and it was during his time that some of their greatest talents like Xavi, Iniesta, and even Lionel Messi, rose to prominence.

But one of his most recent and also one of the most successful projects was definitely the one of Raheem Sterling.

The 24-year-old winger was always a big talent but under Guardiola he has turned into a world-beater, going through a full transformation.

This is best seen in his ability in front of goal, which has greatly improved since his early days when he was heavily criticised for that exact same thing.

His coach addressed the issue himself, stating:

“The first season, he was scared [in front of goal], he was looking [and thinking], ‘Who is the guy I am going to pass the ball to?’. “He was not looking [to score even though] the keeper was there. We spoke about that and said, ‘Try to score goals’.”

But now, he’s banging in goals for fun, already tallying 14 in a total of 19 games played across all competitions up until this weekend in 2019/20 and 25 in 2018/19.

Needless to say, Guardiola’s magic worked wonders for him.

For that reason, Manchester City’s links to Bayer Leverkusen’s Kai Havertz don’t really come as a surprise, nor should they, as Sport Bild (via Metro) report Guardiola has taken an interest in the youngster but he’s not nearly the only one.

The 20-year-old attacking midfielder is one of the brightest young talents around and was once likened to Michael Ballack, who had a similar style of play back in the day.

Havertz has already registered 31 goals and 23 assists for his current team in the Bundesliga despite still being so young and practically at the very beginning of his career.

The knack for goals is already present in his profile but he’s far from being that developed goal-machine that he could become one day – but only if his talent is properly developed.

And who could be the one to take him to the next level? Why, Guardiola, of course.

Still, Sport Bild (via Metro) state that Bayer Leverkusen might ask for around £111m for the kid.

Are City prepared to fork out that much? It remains to be seen.

But one thing is for sure, under Guardiola, only sky would be the limit.

Don’t miss out on MASSIVE savings with Fan Deal Drops – shop now for the latest deals (USING LINK HERE) on TVs, laptops, football shirts & much more.