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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…

After seven games of the Premier League season, Southampton striker Danny Ings would probably have preferred a better start.

The former Liverpool striker has mustered just two goals in his seven league appearances, recording an average rating of 6.67 from WhoScored for his efforts so far.

However, one thing has been somewhat masking his underwhelming start to the campaign.

What is it?

Goalkeeping errors.

Ings’ two goals have both come courtesy of goalkeeping errors by the opposition.

His first Premier League goal of the season came after Liverpool stopper Adrian smashed the ball at him in an attempt to clear his lines, before it rifled beyond the Spaniard into his own net.

Following that blunder, the one-cap England international netted his second Premier League goal this term after Tottenham stopper Hugo Lloris tried to be too clever with the ball inside his six-yard box, where Ings robbed him and tapped home.

Neither of Ings’ two goals were of his own making – although you could praise his desire to press – but without those two mistakes, the Southampton No.9’s poor form would probably be more exposed.

What’s going wrong for Ings?

After moving to St Mary’s in a deal worth a fairly significant sum of £20m, you would expect more of Ings given how much he cost.

Since becoming a Saint, the 27-year-old has scored just nine goals in 31 Premier League appearances, a strike rate that isn’t too impressive for a player meriting such a fee, while also being one of international pedigree with experience of playing for Liverpool.

Ralph Hasenhuttl doesn’t seem to fancy Ings too much either, seeing as the Austrian has started the forward in just four of the Saints’ seven league games so far this term.

His double against Portsmouth in the Carabao Cup will hopefully do him some good, but as of now, goalkeeping errors are helping to mask Ings’ poor form in the Premier League.

It remains to be seen if he can climb out of the hole he currently finds himself in and actually start making things happen for himself.

Matty Longstaff’s Premier League debut will undoubtedly be one of the most memorable games of the midfielder’s career.Watch Newcastle United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Even if he goes on to win the Ballon d’Or, the World Cup and the Champions League he’ll always remember scoring the winning goal against Manchester United in his first-ever start for his boyhood club.

To make things even better, he was lining up alongside his big brother in front of a packed out St James’ Park.

It really must have been an indescribable feeling for the 19-year-old, but he tried to put it into words as he took to Twitter after the match.

“It doesn’t get much better than that.â€

It may seem like a bit of a strange thing to say after making your debut, but it is going to be tough for the midfielder to top this feeling and this performance in the near future after his first match for the Magpies was went like a dream.

It’s great to see the teenager showing so much passion on social media after the game, and for his sake, we hope he’s wrong in his tweet and his career only continues to get better after his electric debut.

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

It’s certainly no secret the one thing holding Leeds back this term – their inability to score goals.

A controversial red card and penalty certainly played its part in a defeat against Millwall last weekend but it wasn’t their first warning when it comes to failing to take their chances.

Before beating West Brom, Leeds had 73 shots in their previous four matches but only scored three goals in the process.

It was a run of games that raised question marks over the Whites. Before that clash against the Swans, they were unbeaten and sitting pretty at the top of the Championship.

Things may be tight at the top of the division but they now sit fifth after that 2-1 loss at The Den.

On the chalkboard

Patrick Bamford has been Leeds’ biggest goal threat in the league this term and is their joint-top scorer with four strikes.

Despite that, he’s now gone goalless in six matches, something that is understandably holding Leeds back. He’s working hard but that shouldn’t stop him from being under pressure.

After all, Leeds lack someone capable of finding the back of the net on a regular basis and sit tenth for goals scored.

But it’s Gjanni Alioski’s role within the team that perhaps provides the most damning indictment of Marcelo Bielsa’s side and why they could end up being left behind by their promotion rivals.

The above graphic courtesy of Experimental361 shows Leeds’ biggest goal threats and it has the North-Macedonia international sitting in second place.

Considering he’s been playing the vast majority of his football at left-back this should be a huge concern.

Alioski is a dynamic full-back and scored seven times last term so it’s evident he’s capable going forward. However, it says an awful lot about the lack of impact those in the attack are having.

He is above Pablo Hernandez and Mateusz Klich who netted 22 times between them in 2018/19 while his number of goals scored per 90 minutes this season is only fractionally smaller than Bamford’s rate.

This graphic demonstrates just how poor Leeds have been this term in front of goal, sitting towards an ‘energetically wasteful’ category.

Fulham and West Brom are more of a ‘constant threat’ and that’s indicative in the fact they’ve scored five and six more goals than Leeds respectively.

It’s incredibly alarming that the west Yorkshire side have just over 12 shots taken per goal. They also average nearly 17 shots per game.

If they’re having to rely on someone like Alioski, who was involved in the goal against West Brom and then also scored against Millwall, it’s damning.

Leeds had five players who scored over a handful of times last term but it appears they could struggle to match that this campaign.

It’s something that could just prove vital in their quest for promotion.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s In The Pipeline series, which takes a look at some of the most promising young talent either linked with clubs or emerging from their academies…

Everton manager Marco Silva has said that academy star Anthony Gordon is “really close” to getting his first taste of Premier League action.

To date, the 18-year-old Merseyside-born player’s first team experience amounts to just two minutes of Europa League football in December 2017.

However, the former Watford boss should certainly bring him in sooner rather than later, with the club’s recent transfer activity proving that splashing the cash doesn’t always guarantee success.

Over the last three seasons, Everton have spent extortionate sums on forward players, including £45m on Gylfi Sigurdsson, £50m on Richarlison and a whopping £24m on monumental flop Davy Klaassen.

In this time, Everton have twice finished eighth (2017-18 and 2018-19) in the Premier League, and have failed in their bid to secure Champions League football.

Similar to super clubs such as Manchester United, the Toffees have proved that buying players does not always work.

Not only is it far from a foolproof strategy, it’s a huge financial risk and one that can have a detrimental impact on the development of young players attempting to break into the first team.

Watch Everton Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

United’s decision to sell Romelu Lukaku in the summer depleted Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s attacking options and seemingly opened the door for Mason Greenwood to challenge Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial for a starting berth.

Unai Emery, Frank Lampard and Solskjaer have all showcased a willingness to trust in their respective club’s academy products this season, and perhaps it’s time Silva did the same with Gordon.

Down in the youth ranks, the teenager has been taking most of the plaudits, scoring six goals in six games this season, and there are few bigger fans than his manager David Unsworth.

Following the 2-2 draw against Arsenal in August, the U23’s boss told Everton’s website: “They were two great finishes. If chances come along, you want them to come to Anthony Gordon because he is in such a rich vein of form.

“He’s grown in stature as a player. He can still be better physically, in terms of being able to go for 95 minutes – and he will do that. His desire and application is there.

“He is such an explosive player. He’s progressing really well and when he reaches his full potential, he’ll be some player. It’s not a question of if, he will do. He’s got that star quality.”

This summer, Everton invested £25.1m in Moise Kean, who has so far failed to even look like scoring, registering 1.1 shots per Premier League game for his new club.

More recently, the Daily Express suggested that the Toffees are keeping tabs on Yussuf Poulsen, who Transfermarkt value at £31.50m.

As the story of the season so far suggests, these expensive deals do not guarantee goals or Premier League points and, considering the club’s new stadium is set to cost a reported £500m, it seems unlikely that Everton’s period of spending can go on indefinitely; Tottenham Hotspur can attest to that.

And given Gordon’s ability to play in multiple roles across the attacking front-three, do Everton really need to fork out any more millions when the youngster is on the cusp of a senior breakthrough?

Silva’s suggestion that he fits a similar profile to Richarlison suggests not.

“I will tell you, unfortunately for him maybe it is the position on the pitch where we have most quality, where competition is hardest.

“He can play in the three positions in our attack line, more or less the same profile as Richarlison, who can play left, right, or behind the striker. Or even alone up front.”

Gordon has indeed proved to be a valuable asset for the U23’s and with the team scoring just six Premier League goals so far, it might not be too long before Silva shuffles the pack and introduces this fine talent into the first team.

After all, the local lad could prove to be a future star and save Everton millions in the transfer market.

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

Did he pass his third audition?

With Michael Dawson out injured, Sabri Lamouchi has been giving other players their chance to prove if they can keep the captain out of the team not just now but potentially for the future.

Tobias Figueiredo played against Blackburn Rovers and Wigan Athletic, but now it was time for Chema to be given another opportunity, having previously started against Brentford earlier in the month and replaced Dawson when he was injured against Stoke City.

Having been brought to the City Ground in the summer from Levante, his opportunities have been limited thus far, so how did he do in his latest outing and has he done enough to cement his place for the long term?

Watch Nottingham Forest Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

On the chalkboard

It was certainly a bit of a mixed night for the Spaniard.

Whilst he put in a relatively comfortable performance for the majority of the game, he played huge parts in both of the goals that the visitors conceded.

For the first strike, not only did he lose his runner in Josh Magennis, but also played him onside when he turned in Jon Toral’s shot. Then for the second he was caught out of position and was forced to play catch up as the Spanish midfielder squared the ball to Jarred Bowen.

If you take a look at his statistics from the game (taken from WhoScored), he completed 85% of his passes which was above the team average (84%), won eight aerial duels (double that of Joe Worrall in second) and made three tackles (joint-most of all in the team).

If he can replicate this sort of form going forward, then there shouldn’t be a question as to whether or not he can be the long term replacement for Dawson.

However, he just needs to work on his concentration, because whilst the statistics might be impressive, if he’s at fault for the goals they concede then his usefulness won’t last long.

So the Thomas Muller to Manchester United transfer saga is back under way again. The Bayern Munich man has been perennially linked with a move to Old Trafford, and was suggested to be a target for the Red Devils back when Louis van Gaal was in charge of the club.

A move to Manchester has failed to materialise for the forward, but that apparently isn’t the end of the story. According to respected German journalist Christian Falk, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side are keen on signing Muller in the upcoming January transfer window.

The attacker has found game-time with the Bundesliga champions limited this season, with Robert Lewandowski being preferred in the number nine role by Niko Kovac.

Watch Manchester United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

After hearing the latest update surrounding their long-running chase of the German, United fans flooded to Twitter to voice their thoughts on the matter.

Many supporters of the Manchester side insisted the move simply didn’t make sense, and that he is far from good enough at this current stage of his career.

Check out some of the reaction of United fans below:

Southampton fans have taken to Twitter to react after The Sun reported that Erik Stoffelshaus is being lined up as a candidate to become the club’s Sporting Director, replacing Ross Wilson.

Wilson recently departed for Scottish giants Rangers, and the Saints are seemingly keen to find a replacement swiftly.

Stoffelshaus forged his reputation in Germany with Schalke, where he helped bring players such as Manuel Neuer, Mesut Ozil and Ivan Rakitic to the Bundesliga side.

Additionally, the man also wanted by Manchester United was a huge success in Russia, where he played a part in Lokomotiv Moscow’s captures of Jefferson Farfan, Grzegorz Krychowiak and Fyodor Smolov.

The south coast side are presumably still hurting from their embarrassing 9-0 defeat to Leicester at St Mary’s, so they will be hoping that Stoffelshaus can help get them back to the glory days under Mauricio Pochettino and Ronald Koeman – if he does replace Wilson, that is.

Let’s take a look at how some of the Saints support reacted to the news on Twitter…

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Jurgen Klopp has said that Gabriel Martinelli is a “talent of the century”.

What did he say?

Arsenal and Liverpool played out a thriller in the League Cup on Wednesday night. The Reds won on penalties, but that was only after a 5-5 draw in normal time.

Watch the moment Granit Xhaka’s Arsenal career may have come to an ugly end in the video below…

Martinelli, who joined the Gunners for £6m in the summer, scored twice, taking his tally for the season to seven goals. During the post-match reaction, the former Borussia Dortmund boss spoke glowingly of the 18-year-old, saying:

“Sepp van den Berg as well, he played an incredible game.

“That’s really difficult to deal with these guys. Martinelli’s pretty much the same age but he’s a talent of the century, he’s an incredible striker, so it’s really difficult.”

Lacazette out

Arsenal truly put their money where their mouth is during this summer transfer window.

They spent £137.16m, their second-highest spend in one window, on five permanent arrivals, as well as the loan addition of Dani Ceballos.

So far, those new faces have struggled to hit the expected heights at the Emirates Stadium. In all fairness, William Saliba is on loan at Saint-Etienne, but David Luiz has been part of a defence that has conceded 14 goals in the Premier League, whilst Ceballos and Nicolas Pepe have just four goals and five assists between them despite having made a combined 28 appearances.

Kieran Tierney spent the first part of the season injured and is only just coming into the side.

Watch Arsenal Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Martinelli, though, has been the one true revelation in the first few months of the campaign. Those seven strikes have come in just four starts as well, having scored in each one of those.

Despite that, he is yet to be included in the starting line-up in the Premier League. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is the first-choice striker for Unai Emery, and rightly so, having scored eight goals in his first 12 games of the term.

However, Alexandre Lacazette is ahead of him in the pecking order too.

The 16-time France international has scored 38 goals in 94 appearances for the Gunners but, at 28 years old, his market value – currently at £63m according to Transfermarkt – is probably as high as it is ever going to be.

Such is Aubameyang’s goalscoring record – 49 in 77 matches for the north London outfit says it all – the former Lyon man is unlikely to ever be the undisputed first choice for the Gunners.

The Gabon international, though, has just a few years left at the top considering he is already 30, which is why it now makes sense to let Lacazette go and promote Martinelli to be the first back-up option. After all, talks over his future were already had in the summer.

He will still make his appearances in the cup competitions and, when Aubameyang needs a break, he can play in the league too. By the time the former Saint-Etienne forward does hang up his boots or move on, the teenager will be ready to take over.

“Talent of the century” is a huge appraisal of his ability. To truly develop, he needs a clearer path and more playing time. Lacazette’s departure, therefore, would allow both of those things to occur.

Tottenham Hotspur face Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League on Wednesday in a must-win encounter.

Spurs lie second in Group B, with four points from their first three games. Red Star are only a point behind, while Olympiacos have a point to their name. Pole position Bayern Munich have won all of their first three, including a 7-2 thumping of Mauricio Pochettino’s men.

The game throws up some selection quandaries for the manager; it is not known if Jan Vertonghen or Erik Lamela will be fit, while Son Heung-Min was left distraught after the injury sustained by Andre Gomes at the weekend. Mauricio Pochettino has said that he is likely to play, however.

Thus, one has to imagine that there could be a number of changes from the XI that played Everton; Harry Kane, of course, missed that game with a virus but he faced the media on Tuesday and should be fit to feature.

Football FanCast has taken a look at how Pochettino should line up his side.

Paulo Gazzaniga will play in goal because of the injury sustained by Hugo Lloris.

While one feels Spurs would benefit from switching to a three-at-the-back formation, they may have to go with two central defenders if Vertonghen is ruled out.

In that case, Davinson Sanchez and Toby Alderweireld should play, while it feels like the time to stop the Serge Aurier experiment.

Juan Foyth played some part in the game against the Toffees and the 21-year-old deserves a chance to show that he can play in the right-back role regularly. Ben Davies ought to keep his place to ensure Danny Rose can come back in at the weekend.

In midfield, Tanguy Ndombele was excellent on Sunday, constantly driving forward with the ball and looking for a killer pass. Partnering him with the hard-running Moussa Sissoko makes sense.

Further forward, having Son in the team would be a boost considering he’s already scored three times in the Champions League this season, while Lucas Moura should play on the right for extra speed and goal threat.

Giovani Lo Celso could be the man to replace Christian Eriksen, who failed to register a single dribble or shot against Everton, but it makes more sense for it to be Dele Alli, who scored against Everton and should keep that momentum going.

Having Kane back fit answers one question instantly: he has to play up front.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

QPR have hit a sticky patch in their form but Ian Holloway is full of praise for Mark Warburton and what he is trying to implement at the club.

What did he say?

During Holloway’s spell as manager it is fair to say the R’s were inconsistent at best, and lacked a direction which meant they finished 18th and 16th in 2016/17 and 2017/18 respectively, in what were his only two seasons at the helm.

Last season was also a period of struggle for the club, leading the board to appoint Warburton, who has appeared to turn things around in a short space of time despite losing Luke Freeman and not having much money to spend, relying on loans and free transfers.

They now sit 10th in the Championship, but the entertaining and passing style is a marked improvement – evidenced by their 26 league goals – and an aspect of Warburton’s management that hasn’t been lost on Holloway.

Speaking to the Brent & Kilburn Times, he said:

“It is about having an identity, we have a young team and the manager has done fantastically well. What he talks about with his tactics, you have to give it time to be put into practice.

“You have to find your identity and what you find with Mark is that he is not critical, he gives constructive criticism.

“They are open but I love it. It is entertaining and hopefully with the budget and what he has been given to deal with, it will work.

CEO Lee Hoos spoke recently about that same identity, and with the former Rangers boss in place the club seems to have a long-term plan, which should be a big advantage over the coming months.

Watch Queens Park Rangers Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

Open football

Holloway is encouraged by the new entertaining brand being played at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium, and although some fans have likely warmed to the football, it is not a sustainable method of success.

Warburton seems to be aware of the team’s shortcomings, though, recently going back to a five-at-the-back system which could have proved effective against Middlesbrough if it weren’t individual errors.

Should QPR fix solve their weakness at the back they should be well-placed to move up the table. Warburton’s style is clearly getting the best out of his players going forward, with Nahki Wells, Jordan Hugill and Eberechi Eze all contributing on the goal front.

The latter is especially enjoying life under the new boss, and his joy playing in such a way could be a key factor in his upturn in form.

If Warburton can continue to get the best out of players like Eze then he should receive the board’s backing to bring in his own players, and with time the R’s can expect to progress.