Category Uncategorized

Gini Wijnaldum has completed his move from Liverpool to Paris St Germain, following an official confirmation on Thursday [Liverpool FC Official].

Spending five successful years on Merseyside, the Netherlands international made 237 appearances in front of the Kop faithful, registering 22 goals and 16 assists [Transfermarkt].

Within that timeframe, he helped the club win the UEFA Champions League, Premier League, Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup [Transfermarkt], so it is no surprise to see quite an emotional reaction from fans after his departure was confirmed.

Initially expected to sign for Spanish giants Barcelona, he has now opted to move to Paris, penning a lucrative three year contract until the summer of 2024 [The Athletic].

Now seeking a replacement midfielder, the Reds have been linked with moves for Porto midfielder Fabio Vieira alongside Barcelona starlet Pedri.

In light of the announcement of the deal, loads of Liverpool diehards took to Twitter to voice their opinion on the matter.

Reds fans react:

Replying to Liverpool FC’s Official Twitter account, this is how some Liverpool fans summarized their thoughts on the news:

“Thank you Gini Wijnaldum for bringing out the best in Liverpool. I hope you do well in your new club.”

Credit: @EristiawanR”All the best Gini wijnaldum Legend”Credit: @KivurugeL’Thanks for the past 5 years Gini! And good luck with PSG!’Credit: @jimbo888″Done immense things for us but he said Barca was the dream move, or was it about money all along….?”Credit: @26McMahon”Sad that we let him go, especially when Klopp wanted to keep him but yeah… Let’s hope we get a good replacement in (Tielemens, Bissouma?) “Credit: @01mJulian”Thanks & good luck Gini. It was memorable.”Credit: @The_Paul_Winn”‘nobody can take our memories from us'”Credit: @Cousama_O3″Should have kept him, if he was at another club on a free we would all want him, stupid decision”Credit: @johnpeatIn other news, Liverpool fans flock to a Rafael Benitez update.

Brendan Rodgers remains one of Tottenham Hotspur’s top managerial targets, according to reports…

What’s the word?

That’s the latest claim from 90min, who suggested that the 48-year-old is still in the running to take over from Jose Mourinho despite his reluctance to leave Leicester City.

Daniel Levy will not appoint Spurs’ next manager until the summer, with the club’s former midfielder Ryan Mason in caretaker charge until then, and the chairman is believed to be infatuated by the Foxes chief.

It is also claimed that he would be prepared to make Rodgers the second-highest paid manager in the Premier League behind Man City’s Pep Guardiola, who is thought to be on around £15m per year.

Pay whatever it takes

As targets keep coming and going, Levy could have his work cut out to find a viable and attractive manager to fill the vacant role at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Julian Nagelsmann and Erik ten Hag have quickly been ruled out of the running, and even though he seems committed to Leicester, there cannot be many better candidates out there than Rodgers.

Speaking about the interest in his services last month, the former Celtic and Liverpool boss praised Spurs as a club, claiming: “Tottenham is a great club, one of the biggest clubs in Britain but for me, I’m just in a really, really happy place in my life.”

Of course, he’s not going to come straight out and claim he’d be keen on swapping the King Power Stadium for north London, especially as the Foxes are battling for a top four finish, and that will be the centre of his focus.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-latest-spurs-manager-update-gossip-transfer-rumours-daniel-levy-enic-mason-mourinho-more” title= “Read the latest Spurs news, managerial gossip, transfer rumours and more!”]

You can never strictly rule it out, though. Levy has to throw the chequebook at him and do all he can to convince him to sign on the dotted line. If he wants Spurs back competing in Europe, particularly in the Champions League, then he must turn to Rodgers.

The 48-year-old has completely transformed Leicester on and off the pitch. It is looking like back-to-back seasons qualifying for Europe and he’s done that despite losing his best players every summer.

Stars such as Ben Chilwell, Harry Maguire, N’Golo Kante and Riyad Mahrez were all replaced adequately and it’s like the Foxes have never missed out on their presence. This sort of recruitment is desperately needed at Spurs, with the club in dire need of a rebuild.

Another one of his key abilities is to develop players, and there isn’t a better example than Kelechi Iheanacho, who until this campaign very much looked like he wouldn’t hit the potential with which he was once touted at Manchester City.

The 24-year-old has scored 18 goals and provided seven assists in all competitions this term, via Transfermarkt, leading to Dean Windass lauding Rodgers’ influence as “unbelievable” in an exclusive interview with Football FanCast.

With players like Dele Alli, Joe Rodon, Dane Scarlett and many more at Spurs, Rodgers would be very well placed to continue such a trend.

Furthermore, Mourinho has previously waxed lyrical about his former Chelsea coach, suggesting he is “creative” and a “very good coach.”

Only Sir Alex Ferguson has a better win percentage of any British manager to take charge of 50 or more games since 2000 in the Premier League, leading to Gary Neville lauding the 48-year-old “one of the outstanding managers in the league”.

It’s no wonder that Rodgers, who has won 54% of his games in charge of the Foxes, would be a dream candidate for Levy and Spurs. It could cost them an extraordinary amount of money to land him but, if it’s the price they have to pay to get a top contender, so be it.

Rodgers is absolutely perfect for Spurs; it’s as simple as that.

AND in other news, 45 y/o who left “a lasting impression on Spurs would bring shades of Pochettino to North London…

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, former Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Carlton Palmer has expressed his doubts over the possibility of his old club being sold this summer.

Wednesday were relegated from the Championship last weekend and owner Dejphon Chansiri has since come in for heavy criticism for his role, with fans demanding that he takes a “step back”.

However, The Sun on Sunday (via The 72) have reported that Chansiri has no intention of selling the Yorkshire outfit, although one interested party was quoted a £160m fee in any potential takeover.

Ultimately, for Palmer, there are a lot of reasons for why a sale in this moment of the time is highly unlikely.

Speaking exclusively to FFC about Wednesday’s future, the ex-England international said:

“The size of the club Sheffield Wednesday in League One is not going to be worth the money it’s worth in the Championship or the Premier League, so I doubt very much whether he’s going to sell now.

“He might get a few offers because people will try it on in the position that they’re in and see if he’s willing to sell, but we all know he’s not short of a few quid. He’s talking about righting the wrongs, so let’s see.”

Wednesday supporters wanting some sort of change after this season is very much understandable, and not just because of the club’s relegation to League One.

The instability at the Yorkshire outfit, with constant changes in the dugout, has also probably been a source of frustration.

After only managing a 2-2 draw at home to West Brom last time out in the Premier League, Aston Villa will be hoping to get back to winning ways when they take on Everton on Saturday night.

Dean Smith’s side were rescued by a late goal from substitute Keinan Davis and now face a Toffees outfit who will no doubt be bouncing after beating Arsenal 1-0 at the Emirates Stadium last week.

The Villa manager will have some big decisions to make both in defence and midfield, and it will be very interesting to see whether he looks to reward those who have performed well when given the opportunity.

With that in mind, below is a look at how Villa might line up for the trip to Goodison Park to face Everton.

In goal, Emiliano Martinez will be hoping to keep his first clean sheet in seven games, with the Argentine making some uncharacteristic errors in recent weeks.

The back four could see one key change with the return of Matty Cash, who served his one-match suspension against the Baggies last week. Alhough Ahmed Elmohamady certainly didn’t let Smith down with his performance, it would be a surprise if the summer signing doesn’t come straight back into the line-up despite the recklessness of his red card against Manchester City.

In midfield, Ross Barkley could be dropped following yet another disappointing outing in the Premier League, with the England international having not scored since the end of January.

The Chelsea loanee could well be joined on the bench by the £55,000-a-week Bertrand Traore who was the man to make way for a returning Wesley last week – the Burkina Faso international has also had his struggles in recent weeks, having not found the back of the net since the defeat to Leicester back in February.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-aston-villa-transfer-rumours-and-news-copy-copy” title=”Latest Aston Villa transfer rumours and news”]

In their places, Jacob Ramsey and last weekend’s hero Davis will surely be knocking on the door of making the starting line-up for the trip to Goodison Park and would merit their places in the side if picked.

Predicted XI: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Targett; El Ghazi, Luiz, McGinn, Ramsey; Davis, Watkins.

Meanwhile, Villa must avoid selling this star; it’s not Grealish…

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, former Leeds United midfielder Carlton Palmer has suggested that Sam Allardyce could be a good option for the Whites if Marcelo Bielsa decides to leave in the summer.

Bielsa’s current contract expires at the end of the season and the Leeds manager is yet to agree to new terms.

He has done an excellent job since arriving at Elland Road back in 2018, taking the Yorkshire club back to the Premier League and keeping them away from any real sort of relegation trouble. Bearing that in mind, it is easy to understand why some would fear losing Bielsa.

Palmer, however, does not believe Leeds’ Premier League future is dependent on the Argentinian, with the retired England international adamant that there are plenty of other capable coaches out there, including West Brom boss Allardyce, who labelled Bielsa as “so crazy” earlier this season.

When asked by FFC whether a Bielsa-less Leeds would find themselves in trouble next season, Palmer said:

“If he does go, you know, there are plenty of good managers out there. I think West Brom are going to go down now, so Sam Allardyce, if they don’t give him the funds to do the job to get them back up, he’s going to become available. He might be a good bet for them.

“So you can’t automatically assume that Leeds are going to get relegated if Bielsa leaves, but you can’t also underestimate the job he’s done with that squad of players and the way that they play.”

After such a successful campaign in the Premier League this season, following a 16-year absence away from English football’s top flight, Leeds will surely do everything in their power to keep hold of Bielsa.

Charlton Athletic have every chance of making the League One play-offs this season.

Heading into the final seven matches of the campaign, the Addicks occupy eighth place in the table and are only three points behind Portsmouth, who occupy that final play-off spot – and they hold a game in hand on Pompey, too. Win that game in hand, the south-east Londoners are only five points off Sunderland in third, who they beat last time out.

However, if Nigel Adkins is to steer Charlton back to the Championship within just two months of his arrival at The Valley in March, then he must resolve one of Lee Bowyer’s biggest problems – their abysmal home record.

On the Chalkboard

The Addicks sit 17th in the home league standings for results at The Valley this term – they have won six, drawn five and lost seven on their own patch, picking up just 23 points. That is the same return as Bristol Rovers, who are embroiled in a relegation dogfight, and fewer than every single team above them vying for promotion.

By comparison, the Red Robins are second-best in the division away from home, winning 11 and losing just four of 21 matches – a feat only bettered by Adkins’ former club Hull City.

Therefore, it’s abundantly clear that the Addicks need to quickly improve on their own patch, especially as five of their seven remaining league games are at The Valley.

That starts with Ipswich Town this Saturday, a crucial encounter as defeat could see the Tractor Boys leapfrog Charlton in the table, and that would certainly deal a blow to the Addicks’ hopes of breaking into the playoff zone. Adkins’ men will also face automatic promotion-chasing Peterborough United, fourth-placed Lincoln City and league leaders Hull at home in the coming weeks.

Under Adkins, Charlton are unbeaten in three matches, but each of those has been played away from south-east London, so there has to be some confidence that they can continue that form going into the weekend.

If Adkins can fix the poor home record that Bowyer left behind, then they should easily make the playoffs – and given that 71.5% of their remaining matches are at home, then any improvement would certainly bolster their promotion dreams.

AND in other news, Adkins must wave goodbye to 29 y/o flop, he’s just not good enough…

Keith Hackett has dropped his view on the VAR official not drawing lines for Harry Kane’s second goal for Tottenham Hotspur against Newcastle United.

The England international captain was put through by Tanguy Ndombele before striking the ball into the bottom corner to put Spurs 2-1 up at St. James’ Park before half-time in a game which eventually finished 2-2 thanks to a late equalizing goal from Arsenal loanee Joe Willock.

While the call to see whether Kane was offside was quickly checked by VAR, there was no sign of the usual incessant frame-by-frame line-drawing that has often occurred, and thus the goal was given.

Speaking to Football Insider, Hackett, who is a former referee in the Premier League, claimed that it was the right decision in the end and that he is not a fan of the lines being drawn for tight offside calls:

“I thought that was a good goal.

“There were screams of ‘Where’s the lines on this one?’ but I’m against the lines anyway.

“Therefore I think, actually, it underpins the fact that the match official, the assistant referee has made a good decision. They are capable of doing that at the Premier League level.

“We might have some iffy referees but in the main, we’ve got some outstanding assistant referees.

“There’s an expectation that every scenario should be checked. Ok, fine, if that’s what you want. But I think this is how football should be played and VAR should come in on what is a clear and obvious error and this wasn’t a clear and obvious error.

“I’ve been complaining about the lines all season so I was quite happy with that goal.”

More VAR controversy

Even though Hackett claims that the right decision was made in the end, the lines should have been drawn and visible in the context of the consistency of what has been happening for the rest of the 2020/21 term.

Kane may well have been found not to be offside, but the lines are drawn to make sure that he is either shown to be onside or offside and thus the correct call can be made.

Nonetheless, Steve Bruce’s team will not be too bothered by the incident as the Toon Army grabbed what could turn out to be a big point in their hopes of avoiding being relegated down to the EFL Championship.

In other news, find out what claim on the potential takeover Mark Douglas has dropped after comments from James Pallotta emerged here!

Many Aston Villa fans have been left stunned at the decision by Gareth Southgate not to pick Ezri Konsa for England for the upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

As per a tweet from the Three Lions, Conor Coady, Eric Dier, Harry Maguire and John Stones have all been picked as options ahead of him in the centre of the defence, as well as his club teammate Tyrone Mings.

Ollie Watkins has also been picked by Southgate for his first senior international call-up, but several members of the AVFC faithful were still left to question why Konsa was not selected with them for the three qualifying games against San Marino, Albania and Poland coming up.

It could have been the perfect opportunity for the 23-year-old to show what he can do ahead of the Euros in the summer, but now it looks more unlikely that he will make that squad given his recent omission.

Aston Villa fan reaction to Konsa omission

These Villa supporters fumed after hearing of Konsa’s omission on Twitter, with one fan saying that they were ‘shocked’ while another branding it as ‘scary’:

“Insane how Konsa didn’t make it but Dier did”

Credit: @ComboedOW

“I hope Konsa chooses Portugal now. Ridiculous he’s not included.”

Credit: @JAnnetts_

“Fully deserved for Watkins – struggling to understand how Dier gets in ahead of Ezri Konsa though! #utv”

Credit: @LeeGibson6

“Well done Ollie, but where’s Konsa?”

Credit: @marls74

“Konsa isn’t that’s shocking. Scary how this man picks his squads”

Credit: @andylynch80

“Shocked to not see Konsa but congratulations Ollie and Tyrone”

Credit: @avfcfanxoxo

In other news, find out what transfer update on one Villa star has left fans talking here!

يرفض يورجن كلوب المدير الفني لفريق ليفربول التخلي عن آمالهم في المنافسة على لقب الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز لهذا الموسم، رغم فارق النقاط مع المتصدر مانشستر سيتي.

ويتصدر مانشستر سيتي حاليًا جدول البطولة برصيد 56 نقطة، بفارق 11 نقطة عن ليفربول صاحب المركز الثاني، مع العلم أن الريدز لديه مواجهة مؤجلة.

وقال كلوب في تصريحات نشرتها صحيفة “مترو” الإنجليزية: “لا يتعين علينا إقناع أي شخص من الخارج ليؤمنوا بنا، إذا أرادوا أن يفعلوا ذلك، فليفعلوا”.

وأضاف: “إذا كنت معنا، ستستمتع بالرحلة وسنقدم كل ما لدينا، نحن على استعداد للمضي قدمًا بقدر ما نستطيع”.

اقرأ أيضًا.. ميرور: شكوك حول إقامة مباراة ليفربول وآرسنال في كأس كاراباو

وواصل: “هذا ليس الوضع للحديث عن قتال على اللقب، هناك 11 نقطة الآن مع مباراة مؤجلة لدينا”.

واستكمل: “في عالم عادي لن يحدث أي شيء، ولكن ما هو الطبيعي في الوقت الحاضر، نحاول القيام بدورنا، ليس هناك شيء آخر نفعله”.

Tottenham Hotspur legend Gary Mabbutt has told Football FanCast that Manchester United took inspiration from Jose Mourinho’s tactics to beat Manchester City at the weekend.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men won 2-0 at the Etihad Stadium, as goals from Bruno Fernandes and Luke Shaw ended City’s run of 20 successive victories in all competitions.

City’s last defeat before the game against United came in north London, as Spurs won 2-0.

Goals from Son Heung-min and Giovani Lo Celso proved decisive that day and the statistics are remarkably similar.

In north London, Spurs had 34% possession; United had 34% possession at the Etihad Stadium. Spurs had two shots on target, United had six.

Quite simply, both Spurs and United used their time on the ball better than Pep Guardiola’s side, as they utilised efficiency over possession.

Mabbutt believes that Mourinho’s tactics inspired United as they picked up all three points.

City did not fall into the same trap against Spurs at the Etihad, as they won 3-0.

Speaking exclusively to FFC, he said: “They go to Man City and basically they did to Man City virtually exactly what Spurs did to them in Man City’s last defeat, whereby you deny them space, they need that space to create their fantastic opportunities and to create their free flowing football.

“They were denied space by Spurs and by Man United, and both teams won two goals to nil.

“So yes, I mean, it’s just showing that every single team are fallible, every single team can be beaten. Get your tactics, right, which I thought Solskjaer did and, obviously, Jose did in the game at the new stadium at Spurs.

“And yes, so for me, it showed other teams that watch and go over those games, what do they do in those games that make it difficult for Man City, take those points and try and put that into when you play against them.”

Spurs will be aiming to repeat that 2-0 victory in the League Cup final when they take on City at Wembley.

A victory at the national stadium would end Spurs’ 13-year trophy drought, as they have not lifted a cup since their League Cup triumph over Chelsea back in 2008.

They have a blueprint to follow.