All posts by h716a5.icu

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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…

149 games. 15 goals. 23 assists. Since breaking into the Arsenal first-team, Alex Iwobi didn’t necessarily set the world alight in his time at the Emirates. The Nigeria international had come through the Gunners academy and there was understandably an element of goodwill there, but his numbers never really stacked up to some of the more illustrious names in the Premier League.

Unai Emery revealed that following discussions with his left-backs over who they preferred playing with on the flank, Iwobi was the man they all unanimously pointed to. But in a team attempting to compete for titles both domestically and abroad, to not even break past the five-goal mark in the Premier League as one of the side’s attacking players is nothing short of an abject failure.

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So for the Gunners to fleece Everton out of a reported £34m for the 23-year-old is excellent business. And perhaps even more so than the financial element of the deal, it smacks of a ruthlessness the north London side have been needing for so long. Getting rid of players who simply didn’t perform at a high enough level and not constantly handing them chance after chance to redeem themselves.

It was common knowledge Arsenal wanted a new winger for the season and they duly got one with the arrival of Lille star Nicolas Pepe. The Ivory Coast international’s arrival upgraded the Gunners’ attack no-end, and perhaps added a sense of perspective on the lack of progress Iwobi had made since his breakthrough into the senior side in the 2015/2016 season.

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Losing one of the club’s academy products is always a difficult thing to do, but the Gunners’ ruthlessness in shipping Iwobi out on deadline day is a refreshing act of brutal honesty and decision-making.

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Fraser Forster has been linked with a move to solve the goalkeeping crisis at Celtic, and the fans would love to see him make a return to Parkhead.

With current incumbent of the number one spot Scott Bain picking up a thumb injury that could see him out for up to two months, Neil Lennon is expected to want another keeper in.

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One name who came up immediately was Forster’s, who enjoyed a very fruitful previous spell at Parkhead and is clearly held in high regard by the fans.

According to The Scottish Sun, Lennon would like to reunite the English goalie with the Celts, as he looks for Bain replacements.

And the rumours that he may be coming back to the Hoops have got fans very excited, who want him to come as much as they don’t want to see Bain or Craig Gordon as the club’s first-choice keeper this season.

Here’s what they had to say about the rumours of the Southampton stopper’s return on Twitter…

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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… 

Leeds’ start to the new season has been relatively comfortable and has gone by with little trouble.

After five matches, they are unbeaten, taking themselves top of the Championship table.

Their victory over Stoke was one of their most convincing yet, certainly judging by the scoreline as the defeated the Potters 3-0.

However, in doing so, they showed that they are overcoming one of the major concerns about Leeds heading into 2019/20.

On the chalkboard

Marcelo Bielsa sprung somewhat of a tactical surprise on Saturday as he switched things up to accommodate his injury issues.

Missing the match was Barry Douglas and Liam Cooper so the Argentine went with a three-man defence and a two-prong attack.

In came Gaetano Berardi, impressive in winning five aerial duels, whilst Ezgjan Alioski scored stepping in for Douglas.

One of the problems, however, was taking their chances on a regular basis, something that was noted by Tony Dorigo heading into the new term. Speaking to Yorkshire Evening Post last month he said:

“That was one of my big concerns. At one point we were creating a ridiculous amount of chances but we were in the bottom three for converting them and that doesn’t make too much sense to me.

“I don’t think it can all be aimed at the strikers, per se, because other players need to step up.

Last term, players like Jack Harrison and Tyler Roberts only scored seven between them, even if individuals like Mateusz Klich and Pablo Hernandez netted double figures.

But there is further evidence this season besides when Patrick Bamford missed six opportunities against Forest, that Leeds are beginning to become more clinical.

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In 2018/19, they had 17.2 shots per game, of which 5.3 were on target. Yet this season, despite having 17 shots each match, 5.6 are on target.

It’s a slim difference, but it shows they are beginning to change for the better.

Furthermore, the goals are being shared around, evident by Stuart Dallas and Alioski bagging against Stoke.

Bamford is leading the way with four in five Championship matches but Leeds already have eight different scorers in just six competitive games.

Gaetano Berardi picked up a rare collector’s item against Salford which adds to strikes for Eddie Nketiah, Harrison, Klich and Hernandez.

Major contributions are going to be needed from all over the pitch if Leeds want to get promoted this season and so far, their squad are proving up to the test.

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Andre Gomes had a bit of a stinker in Everton’s 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa on August 23 – and the club’s fans let him know all about it.

The Portuguese put in a much better performance against Wolverhampton Wanderers, though, as Marco Silva’s side scored late to record a 3-2 win.

According to WhoScored, Gomes had a pass success rate of 85% whilst he won two aerial duels and made four tackles during a much stronger display.

And the Everton fans took to social media after the match to praise the 26-year-old, having seemingly put a poor performance behind him to impress at Goodison Park.

Wolves looked to have snatched a point when Raul Jimenez made it 2-2 in the 75th minute following some lacklustre defending from Silva’s team.

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However, Richarlison netted his second of the match in the 80th minute to ensure that the Toffees would enter the international break off the back of a win.

And the supporters loved Gomes’ performance – as shown by the tweets below:

The Swiss winger committed an Instagram sin as he posted an old photo.

He would’ve got away with it as well if it weren’t for the eagle-eyed Mo Salah calling him out in the comments section.

Salah outed Shaqiri’s photo as being taken during last season’s Champions League final.

Luckily for the 28-year-old, Dejan Lovren came to his defence, saying that the photos from that day were only just being sent to the players.

Unfortunately for the Switzerland ace, this didn’t stop Salah’s comment from getting over 3,000 likes.

You’ve got to feel for Shaqiri, it’s quite a nice picture of him with a beaming smile, but Salah has put a dampener on the image by exposing him in the comments.

If only he’d held out for another 24 hours and he could have shared it with a throwback Thursday hashtag and spared himself from Salah’s banter.

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[ad_pod ]The international break can be a boring time for a lot of football fans.Of course, major tournaments are some of the best times to follow the beautiful game, but it truly is a tough task to get excited about Harry Kane scoring a hat trick against Bulgaria in a Euro 2020 qualifier.Indeed, as soon as the last league games have finished on the Sunday before a two-week break, many of us are left staring at our calendars counting down the days until the real action starts back up.However, it’s not just fans who are bored during this period. Liverpool’s Adrian is seemingly fed up with the lack of action.

He posted on Twitter telling fans to stop worrying about the lack of football as the Reds’ return to action is just around the corner.

Adrian is quite clearly keen to get back on the pitch as he’s currently Liverpool’s first-choice keeper, due to the injury Alisson picked up on the opening day of the season.

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[ad_pod ]Ah, Manchester United versus Leicester City. It’s got Jamie Vardy downing Harry Maguire written all over it, doesn’t it?United are yet to win a single game since their opener against Chelsea at the beginning of the season and welcome highflying Leicester to Old Trafford on Saturday.Indeed, it’s safe to say that the two sides have enjoyed two very different Premier League experiences this term. United have dropped points against Crystal Palace, Southampton and Wolves, while the Foxes, who currently sit in 3rd place, have picked up eight points in their four games.Watch Leicester City Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

As if things weren’t hard enough for the hosts, they face widespread injury problems to key players, including Paul Pogba, Luke Shaw, Anthony Martial, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Jesse Lingard – the first three of whom have already been ruled out of proceedings.

Leicester, on the other hand, boast one of the most exciting young sides in the Premier League. With the likes of James Maddison, Ben Chilwell, Wilfried Ndidi, Youri Tielemans, and Harvey Barnes at their disposal, as well as the free-scoring veteran Vardy. Did someone say a not-so-shocking result is on the horizon?

Former Leicester forward Kevin Phillips, who played 12 times and scored twice for the club, predicted how he thinks the game might go…

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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… 

Mason Greenwood may have understandably stolen all the headlines after scoring his first competitive goal for Manchester United on Thursday night, but one man who impressed just as much was Angel Gomes.

The pint-sized midfielder was another academy prospect given a chance to shine against FC Astana by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and he certainly did not disappoint. The 19-year-old operated in the number ten role for the Red Devils, and whilst it wasn’t a scintillating display, there were more than enough glimpses of the sizeable potential he possesses.

As part of a youthful looking front four, including the likes of Greenwood, Tahith Chong and Marcus Rashford, Gomes registered the most amount of touches of them all. The 5 foot 3 prospect always looked comfortable on the ball, and never shied away from trying to provide an option for his teammates in difficult positions.

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Being so short in stature, Gomes is always likely to be a difficult player for opponents to stop. His low centre of gravity coupled with his incredibly quick feet make him a defender’s nightmare, and out of the three fouls he won, one of them led to a free-kick in a dangerous area that his side weren’t able to convert.

His ten crosses were a game-high, and proved how assured he was at drifting wide and creating space for his teammates. Despite fading out of the game in the second-half, and subsequently being taken off in the 67th minute, the 19-year-old showed he is a young talent to more than keep an eye on.

Greenwood may be the academy product hogging all the limelight now, but it may not be too long before Gomes is similarly hailed too.

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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… 

Everton host Manchester City on Saturday in a match which could really test the resolve of their players, but one individual in particular will likely be looking forward to the clash.

On the chalkboard

That man is Fabian Delph, who made the £10m switch from the Citizens to Goodison Park this summer and will be looking to get one over his former team. Man City, though, are hot off the back of a 8-0 demolition against Watford, a danger Everton will need to be wary of.

As a result, the 29-year-old could be key to Everton’s chances of success, particularly his handling of Kevin De Bruyne, a player whose attributes he should be better prepared for than his teammates, considering he played with him for four years in Manchester.

However, the Belgian is in excellent form and seemingly has a point to prove after missed out on parts of last season through injury, already tallying two goals and eight assists in only eight games this term.

That means he is one of several key threats in the City side, but if Delph can disrupt the flow of the game and get in the face of his opponent then he could have some luck in negating the visitors’ threat.

Since joining the Toffees he has shown that he is capable of performing that role with an average of four tackles from the five games he has played, as per WhoScored, although his success in that department could rely on how often Everton choose to press.

A failure to close down the midfielder will likely lead to goals for the visitors. De Bruyne is brilliant at finding his forward, as evidenced by his average of 4.5 key passes per game, and failing that he is not afraid to go for goal himself.

According to WhoScored he has averaged almost three shots per game so far this campaign, a complete contrast to Delph, whose defensive role will have to continue on Saturday if his side are to get anything from the game.

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Looking at the stats, De Bruyne could dominate in all departments, with even his rate of interceptions matching that of the Everton man despite occupying more of an attacking role in his team.

However, Delph has got on the ball often and used it well for his team. Against Sheffield Wednesday he was a key outlet to his team with 78 touches, and a pass accuracy of 87% this season shows he doesn’t often give the ball away.

If he can stick to De Bruyne and limit his influence, which is he capable of, then he should help to reduce the threat posed by Guardiola’s side and perhaps even earn Everton a surprise result.

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

After a fruitless derby over the weekend, Real Madrid will be hosting Club Brugge at the Santiago Bernabeu this Tuesday night. And Los Blancos will be looking to continue their unbeaten streak but in order to do so, they will also have to contain David Okereke.

On the chalkboard

Zinedine Zidane didn’t really have the best opening to the 2019/20 La Liga season.

Early on in the campaign, the Galacticos struggled immensely with getting a clean sheet in the books, conceding in each of the initial five games across all competitions.

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Not to mention that the start of the Champions League was, in fact, the worst of the lot. Real Madrid not only lost the game at Parc des Princes against Paris Saint-Germain but they also did it while conceding three goals with absolutely no reply.

Now, however, their fortunes just might be changing since they’ve managed to keep a clean sheet in the last three games, the latest one coming from the Madrid derby at Wanda Metropolitano.

But even though Club Brugge are no Paris Saint-Germain, they do have a prolific young player in their midst that is bound to cause the Galacticos a lot of trouble if he isn’t properly taken care of.

And that’s where Sergio Ramos comes into play.

Experience vs youth

At the moment, Real Madrid’s defensive woes seem to be going out the exit door.

The last couple of games have indeed proved that Zidane’s troops do know how to defend, after all. But in the Champions League, everything is possible and no opponent should be underestimated.

Okereke is still only 22 years old but this season he has been extremely prolific for Brugge in their domestic competition. The young forward has scored four goals in a total of eight games played, six of which he started from the get-go.

His Champions League opener was also quite a good one as he tallied three shots in that game and one key pass in Brugge’s draw against Galatasaray, so Ramos could have his hands full with the 22-year-old.

But the experienced Spaniard is no slouch either, having averaged 1.6 tackles, one interception and 3.7 clearances per game so far in La Liga.

And bearing in mind the former World Cup and Champions League winner’s vast experience, Okereke might face a really stern challenge come Tuesday night – not that Ramos can afford to take the 22-year-old lightly.