All posts by z3u9t.icu

Plenty of Crystal Palace fans have been reacting to the club’s reported interest in Wolves’ Dion Sanderson on social media.

According to Football Insider, the Eagles, along with Huddersfield Town, have joined Sheffield United in the race to sign the 21-year-old.

Sanderson is currently out on loan in the North East with Sunderland, becoming a regular under new manager Lee Johnson at the Stadium of Light in recent months.

His contract at Molineux expires in just over 12 months time, with the report claiming Sanderson could cost just £2m in the summer window.

The Englishman, who has tuned out on 22 occasions for the Eagles, is thought to be open to a move away, should his current employers decide to cash in the upcoming window.

Palace fans react

@cpfc_xtra shared Football Insider’s report on Twitter on Wednesday morning. This is what these Palace supporters had to say in reply to the transfer update, with one describing the defender as a ‘baller’.

“he would surely choose us right?”

Credit: @sam_paIace

“He’s a baller, probably got one of the big 6 after him”

Credit: @ReeceJMT

“would be too big of a step, we would be perfect”

Credit: @sam_paIace

“well you’d like to think he’d choose us considering the other two and Sunderland will likely all be in the championship next season and if Wolves have any sense then the next step will be to loan him to a premier league team. #CPFC”

Credit: @cpfcjude

“All the big clubs after him, what does that tell you. Just need West Brom and Newcastle to join the party now.”

Credit: @bellabiteme

“Versatile, physical, young, confident, cheap, fairly available and home-grown… ticks plenty of boxes for Palace. Can’t see any huge risk here”

Credit: @acjonesy1

In other news: Many Palace fans plead with current star as transfer comments emerge, find out more here. 

Charlton Athletic are on the verge of making a massive mistake over out-of-contract midfielder Jake Forster-Caskey.

The Addicks are starting a new era at The Valley after long-serving midfielder-turned-manager Lee Bowyer swapped south east London for another old home in Birmingham City.

In has come Nigel Adkins, with the side sitting ninth in League One, firmly in the hunt for a playoff spot come to the end of the season. But his job will be made harder if Charlton chief Steve Gallen doesn’t start planning for the future.

And the best place to start would be tying down their most influential player…

On the Chalkboard

The 26-year-old dynamo has now been at the club for five years but is arguably enjoying his best season in an Addicks shirt.

Indeed, Forster-Caskey current ranks as Charlton’s second-best player as per WhoScored ratings, grading at 7.18. Only Preston loanee Jayden Stockley is managing better (7.18).

In 26 league appearances, the £6k-per-week gem has delivered five goals and two assists, which puts him as their third-highest goalscorer, too.

Forster-Caskey offers an industrious box-to-box presence and that’ll be something Adkins will want to keep hold of, if he’s to persist with a 4-4-2 formation. You need someone that can contribute up and down the pitch.

As per WhoScored, the midfielder is averaging two tackles and 1.5 interceptions per game, showing an ability to not only read the game defensively but actually put that intelligence into action, as well as managing to average 1.4 shots and 1.3 key passes per game on top of his direct goal contributions.

Just before his departure, Bowyer emphasised how crucial he is to the team.

“We’ve missed him,” said the 44-year-old to LondonNewsOnline. “Jake will [drive his teammates on]. If you do see your teammate running and fighting and pressing then it has a natural reaction. You have to go with him because if not you stand out like a sore thumb. He does have that impact. He’s been here since day one when I was here. He does have that aura in the dressing room. He has that respect.”

Whilst ex-Addicks boss Karl Robinson has previously lauded him as “unbelievable.”

Letting his contract run down until the end of the season is a dangerous game to play, given his influence on the squad. Gallen is running the risk of seeing one of Adkins’ star players leave for nothing.

That would be catastrophic.

The Charlton director of football must tie the 26-year-old down as soon as possible.

AND in other news, Nigel Adkins could unearth his next Adam Lallana in “improving” 20 y/o gem

Many Southampton fans are far from happy with comments from Ralph Hasenhuttl on the club’s transfer plans ahead of the summer window.

It could well be a busy summer for the Saints, but mainly because they are likely to be fielding offers from other clubs for some of their star players. Striker Danny Ings has been linked with a move to Manchester City as Sergio Aguero leaves the Citizens (Sky Sports), while Tottenham are interested in signing central defender Jannik Vestergaard (Daily Express).

Speaking prior to Southampton’s match against West Bromwich Albion on Monday, Hasenhuttl shared the club’s plans. He provided some good news, saying that the likes of Ings and Vestergaard are not for sale, but he did also admit that the south coast outfit will need to look to sign players for below £10m, which is relatively cheap in the Premier League.

The comments were shared on Twitter by journalist Tom Leach, and it is fair to say that some Saints fans were far from happy, with one even calling the manager “deluded” following his remarks. Another took aim at what they saw as the flawed transfer dealings of former vice-chairman Les Reed.

These supporters took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the comments from Hasenhuttl below

“Hasenhuttl is deluded if he believes we will turn down good offers for Ings and Vestergaard, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Ward-Prowse go as well,”

Credit: @spmooney68

“This is all rather depressing stuff. Sub £10 million targets = dross”

Credit: @MarcTR4

“The issue is that who is going to pay good money for the dross that fills our squad? Thanks Les Reed for wasting so much money, guess that agents were throwing cash about”

Credit: @SpencerHoughts

“That’s them sold then!”

Credit: @davsExt

“So next year we lose Ings for nothing. £20m down the drain”

Credit: @scottfi54648411

“Sounds like another negative transfer windows on the cards. It’s near on impossible to sign PL quality for those prices. No doubt sign some fringe player from a bigger European club as usual and they struggle to adjust.”

Credit: @James90044529

In other news, many Southampton fans are unhappy with this transfer link.

Plenty of Crystal Palace fans have been reacting to Patrick van Aanholt’s first-half display against West Brom on social media. 

The 30-year-old was handed his 17th league start of the campaign, with Wilfried Zaha replacing Andros Townsend in Roy Hodgson’s only change from the defeat to Tottenham Hotspur last time out.

Palace went into the game in 13th place, knowing a win would leapfrog them into 11th position ahead of Leeds United following their lunchtime stalemate with Chelsea.

Left-back van Aanholt, valued at £7.2m by Transfermarkt, has made over 125 appearances for Palace and is facing Baggies winger Matt Phillips at Selhurst Park.

Prior to kick-off, van Aanholt averaged a Premier League match rating of 6.48/10 this season, as per WhoScored – and it seems as if numerous Palace fans think he’s having a tough time of it this afternoon.

Palace fans react

This is what these Eagles supporters had to say about the Dutch defender’s first-half display against Sam Allardyce’s side, with one describing it as ‘dreadful’.

“van aanholt playing against us”

Credit: @palacejacob

‘I hate Patrick van aanholt, quicker he leaves the better imo'”

Credit: @cpfc_sean

“Pva is dreadful, just letting Phillips cross”

Credit: @Kevbartleyy

“Any positivity has quickly gone. Pat looks awful already – giving the ball away and not stopping crosses – Eze not natural at helping PVA out either.”

Credit: @PaulGDJ

“PVA already spun inside out”

Credit: @Benteke_SZN

“3 minutes and PvA has been beaten 3 times by Phillips and lost the ball twice. Some going that.”

Credit: @lukec_1987

In other news: ‘Keep him far away’, ‘In a heartbeat’ – Palace fans react as managerial news emerges, find out more here.

Liverpool’s shock defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion has undoubtedly left both the team and the fanbase reeling. With issues in both defence and attack, the Reds struggled to make an impact in the final third and suffered their second consecutive defeat at Anfield.

Now, the big dogs await and Liverpool will be hungry to bounce back. Manchester City will travel to Merseyside in hopes that they can keep their own blistering run going but Jurgen Klopp and his men won’t be ready for yet another home defeat, especially not against their title rivals.

The reigning Premier League champions did well to secure two new signings on the January deadline day. Liverpool announced the arrival of Ben Davies from Preston North End on a permanent deal, along with Ozan Kabak from Schalke.

The £22.5million-rated centre-back joins the Reds until the end of the season, but the English heavyweights have the option to sign the Turkey international permanently, via BBC Sport.

Kabak could make his Liverpool debut against Man City on Sunday and he could be Klopp’s hidden weapon.

The man lauded as a “big talent” by Klopp has so much potential to be a huge coup for the Reds. They have been hammered by injuries to their backline this season and are currently without all three of their senior centre-back options. The biggest blow came when Virgil van Dijk ruptured his ACL early on this campaign, soon followed his partner Joe Gomez with another respective knee injury.

Klopp has promoted Rhys Williams and Nat Phillips to the first team in his hour of need, but three losses from their last five games speaks volumes for the Premier League champions. They cannot afford to keep leaking goals and dropping points or their chances of back-to-back titles will go from slim to non-existent.

A win over Man City today would be a huge result for Liverpool. It will allow them to close the gap and make the title competition a lot tastier. Kabak can help with this if Klopp selects him to start alongside Fabinho in defence.

According to WhoScored, the 20-year-old averages more accurate passes and more shots towards goal than Liverpool’s Williams and Phillips and whilst his main job is not to provide attacking impetus, it’s fair to say that Liverpool have missed the excellent passing and goalscoring ability of Van Dijk, and Kabak could help fill that void.

The Turkish titan established himself as a regular start for Schalke and has only missed one game due to not being selected. Kabak was suspended for four Bundesliga games and has started every other match this season.

Like Williams and Phillips, Kabak is a very young player but unlike that duo, he has plenty of experience at the top level and if he is fully fit, he should slot straight into the team alongside Fabinho, thus allowing Jordan Henderson to get back into midfield.

In other news, Liverpool interest in Raphinha could be the end of Xherdan Shaqiri…

With everything that Marcelo Bielsa has done at Leeds United since he was appointed as the club’s manager back in the summer of 2018, it’s no surprise that fans of the Elland Road side absolutely adore him.

‘El Loco’ brought the Yorkshire club back to the big-time of the Premier League after winning the Championship last season, and the Whites have more than just held their own in their return to the top-flight – even after the weekend defeat to Aston Villa, they remain just ten points off the top four.

But, with Bielsa still yet to put pen to paper on a new deal – his existing contract comes to an end this summer – reports are suggesting that Leeds have got their eyes on potential replacements.

According to journalist Bruno Andrade, Sporting CP manager Ruben Amorim is a name that is being “closely followed” by both Leeds and Leicester, with his impressive work at the Portuguese side being noted.

The 36-year-old is still very much a newcomer to management, having taken his first job as third-tier side, Casa Pia AC’s boss in the 2018/2019 campaign after retiring as a player.

The former Portugal international appears to be a bit of a maverick in the mould of a Bielsa, with Amorim already in his fourth stint as boss.

He helped Braga to the domestic cup in his first season in charge there, before retaining the trophy with Sporting a couple of months ago – the final of that game came against his former club, with both he and Braga boss Carlos Carvalhal, formerly of Sheffield Wednesday, being sent to the stands for arguing on the touch-line.

Aside from being a manic presence on the touch-line, just like the Leeds boss, it appears Amorim’s style of play is all about intensity and desire, with Portugal legend Jesualdo Ferreira, saying: “They all laughed when Braga announced it was promoting Ruben Amorim to manager. No one’s laughing now.

“Everyone who doubted him has been silenced. Ruben Amorim has injected aggression into Braga and maybe that was something they lacked. They lacked the mentality needed to go and win against big clubs in the league and he’s changed that.”

As a former top player for both Benfica and Portugal, Amorim could also bring a bit of credibility in terms of potential new signings at Elland Road who may have watched him play even quite recently, a la Mikel Arteta at Arsenal.

If Andrea Radrizzani does eventually find that Leeds have to appoint someone to succeed Bielsa, then he could find a dream replacement in the young and hungry Amorim.

Just like Bielsa has done in terms of bringing a bit of stability back to Leeds by staying longer than for just one season at the club, Amorim’s age could see him develop a real project in Yorkshire for a number of years if things work out.

Meanwhile, Leeds must get rid of this Bielsa favourite this summer…

The deal that saw Manchester City sign Benjamin Mendy for £52 million in 2017 looks to have now backfired, with the Frenchman’s market value having significantly decreased during his time at the Etihad.

The left-back briefly became the world’s most expensive defender as he joined from AS Monaco in the summer of 2017 and after his first few appearances for the club, the fee looked to be justified, as he made an electric start to life under Pep Guardiola.

However, he then suffered his first serious injury, a cruciate ligament rupture, which ruled him out for much of his debut season.

When he made his return in the 2018/19 season, he briefly showcased exactly why sporting director Txiki Begiristain had paid so much to bring him to the Premier League, as he registered five assists in just 10 Premier League appearances, averaging a superb 7.29 rating in what was undoubtedly one of the best, albeit short, spells of his career.

Unfortunately for Mendy, things have been completely downhill since then, as a number of injury problems have prevented him from ever establishing himself as a regular at left-back under Guardiola.

This season, in particular, has emphasised that Mendy is nowhere near the player he once was, as he has managed just eight appearances in the Premier League, averaging a shocking 6.45 rating.

The 26-year-old is arguably the fourth choice at left-back behind Joao Cancelo, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Nathan Ake at City, two of whom aren’t even natural left-backs, so it seems fair to suggest that a Man City exit could be on the cards for Mendy in the near future.

However, City will unsurprisingly not be able to recoup much of the £52 million they paid for him four years ago, as his market value has fallen off a cliff as a result of his injuries and poor form in recent seasons.

Transfermarkt currently values the defender at just £19.8 million, which is the lowest of any point in his City career, with his decline clear to see in recent seasons.

Whilst nobody would have predicted the number of injury issues Mendy has had to deal with at City, they unfortunately mean that he is not the same player that they signed in 2017 and therefore, considering the excessive fee City paid for him, his transfer will have to go down as a rare error by Txiki.

And, in other news… Some City fans were ‘underwhelmed’ by £63m-rated gem, but Txiki has delivered again

It’s not been very often where we could say that Celtic are enduring a tough season.

Over the last nine years, they have won every single SPFL title on offer. This term, however, they are in diabolical shape with their stronghold on Scottish football under threat.

Rangers are 21 points clear at the top and it’s evident that a major reshuffle is needed.

Neil Lennon’s job is under scrutiny while majority shareholder Dermot Desmond is reportedly planning upheaval behind the scenes.

However, the root of Celtic’s problems this term has been their playing squad. They haven’t been good enough and club captain Scott Brown epitomises that.

The skipper has looked slow and turgid, with an error-stricken display against Sparta Prague in the Europa League summing things up. Back then, he reacted too sluggishly from a corner which in turn, allowed the Czech side to find the net.

His tough-tackling nature will please supporters but he offers little else to Lennon’s side. It appears that the manager has begun to realise this too.

Brown hasn’t started for the Bhoys since the Scottish Cup final victory over Hearts. Ismaila Soro has consequently dislodged him in the XI, but Lennon can axe him from his plans once and for all by bringing through Luca Connell.

With 14 players self-isolating, the midfielder has been on the bench in the last two games but has never made a first-team outing since signing from Bolton.

The 19-year-old is a hot talent, though, and has the abilities necessary to succeed Brown in the middle of the park.

Crucially, he already has senior experience. The teenager played 12 times for Bolton in 2018/19, proving himself to be stern in the challenge – winning 1.9 tackles per game.

Immediately parallels can be drawn with Brown, someone who has made a living from throwing in rough tackles.

Due to those similar attributes, Mark Iles from Bolton News once commented: “He’s probably happier in front of a back four than maybe playing the number ten role but he has done both for Bolton. He likes to put a tackle in which Lenny [Neil Lennon] will love, so he has all the talents to make it.”

Capable of playing as a holding player, it certainly makes sense for Lennon to unleash him at some stage. After all, this is someone who regularly impresses on the training field too.

Former Bolton teammate Remi Matthews stated in 2019: “From day one, he has been sensational. I didn’t really know too much about him really until about two weeks before his debut, because he hadn’t really been training with the first team. Then, all of a sudden, he appeared one day, and you could tell straight away that there was something there.”

Evidently, Connell is someone who could very quickly make the step-up. Senior football seemingly doesn’t faze him and unlike a host of Celtic’s young players, he is already prepared to be thrown in.

His ability to win the ball back is something Lennon cannot ignore in Celtic’s bid to improve. He must consider bringing him through over Brown as having an eye on the future certainly makes sense given how far away from the title the Hoops currently are.

AND in other news, Lennon can ditch Hoops hero by landing 7-cap gem “desperate to play for Celtic”…

After a crazy start to the new Premier League season, November has provided an element of normalcy.

Manchester United are winning games again, Aston Villa haven’t thumped anybody 7-2 and the teams traditionally at the top of the table are generally proving superior to the ones at the bottom.

Indeed, the Premier League is starting to take shape more in line with logical assumptions, barring the odd exception here and there, and within that some players are beginning to truly thrive.

Honouring those who blossomed the most last month, below is our rundown of the November nominees for the GIVEMESPORT Fans’ Player of the Month award.

All statistics courtesy of Whoscored or Twenty3 – the November period covers games between 2nd and 30th of November.

The Goalkeepers

Nominee: Hugo Lloris

Premier League goalkeepers will be delighted to see scorelines in the top flight calm down somewhat compared to the first few weeks of the season, when every game looked in danger of becoming a multi-goal thriller. It’s got a little easier for the division’s shot-stoppers and clean sheets have become a lot more common, especially for our first November nominee – Tottenham’s Hugo Lloris.

Chelsea supporters are probably scratching their heads wondering why Edouard Mendy hasn’t made the shortlist despite making Frank Lampard’s side suddenly seem like virtually impervious title contenders, but ultimately Lloris finished the month with a perfect record – ten saves made and three clean sheets kept in as many games – whereas the Blues No.1’s returns were blotted slightly by his only concede of the season against Sheffield United.

Kasper Schmeichel, Lukasz Fabianski, Illan Meslier and Sam Johnstone all deserve mentions for impressive saves hauls, but ultimately Lloris was the Premier League’s least penetrable goalkeeper in November.

The Defenders

Nominee: Aaron Cresswell

November witnessed the rise of Leicester City’s action-packed centre-half Wesley Fofana – certainly one to watch at just 19 – while Antonee Robinson’s offensive contributions have no doubt played a part in making Fulham look competitive at Premier League level and West Brom’s Darnell Furlong topped the charts for both aerial duels won and interceptions.

But Aaron Cresswell’s form for West Ham this season has been nothing short of exemplary and after another month that saw him combine solidity in defence with impressive contributions in attack, we had no choice but to acknowledge the Irons stalwart with a nomination.

Cresswell was part of a backline that conceded just one goal in three games throughout the November period, the Hammers picking up maximum points in the process, but he also contributed going forward with five key passes and two shots. In fact, no defender has registered more key passes than the former Ipswich Town man this season.

The Midfielders

Nominees: Bruno Fernandes, Pedro Neto

Jack Grealish continued to delight throughout November but ultimately became a casualty of the time period we’ve looked at, with his goal-and-assist display versus Southampton falling into last month’s remit.

There was no such issue for Bruno Fernandes, however, who powered his way to being the most identifiable candidate for the November award, having finished the month with four goals and two assists to his name. The Portuguese is becoming something of a one-man band at Old Trafford and seems to be involved in virtually every Manchester United goal at the moment.

Meanwhile, we’ve also given the nod to Wolves’ Pedro Neto. A left-field suggestion, perhaps, but it’s often overlooked that the Portuguese attacker is just 20 years old. Despite his youth, November saw Neto score against Southampton and Arsenal in two important games for the Molineux outfit, while completing four key passes, five shots and five interceptions.

Spare a thought for Hakim Ziyech, who has really come into his own after being stuck on the sidelines for the first part of his Chelsea career, and West Brom’s Matheus Pereira, who is never far from doing something magical. Keep up the good work, and they might well make December’s shortlist.

The Strikers

Nominees: Diogo Jota, Jamie Vardy

Edinson Cavani has exploded onto the scene over the last month with three goals and an assist, including an incredible second-half performance against Southampton that inspired Manchester United’s 3-2 comeback, but something just doesn’t feel right about nominating a player who didn’t actually start a single Premier League game last month.

Leicester City’s Jamie Vardy has caught our eye, however, having scored twice and assisted twice throughout November and perhaps most impressively of all spread those goal contributions across three different games. He’s unsurprisingly been well amongst the shots as well, averaging three efforts at goal per match in November.

Meanwhile, we simply couldn’t leave out Liverpool’s Diogo Jota, who is surely the strongest candidate for the signing of the season in the Premier League. November saw him work his socks off to help the Reds clinch a vital point at the Etihad, before scoring in the 3-0 romping of Leicester with a superb header and netting an equaliser in Liverpool’s draw with Brighton.

You can cast your vote for November’s Player of the Month below, or by visiting https://www.footballfancast.com/fan-awards.

West Brom have swiftly appointed their new manager.

Sam Allardyce.

What’s the word?

The Baggies sacked Slaven Bilic on Wednesday morning, less than 24 hours after he steered his side to a 1-1 draw over Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.

And this evening, they confirmed the 66-year-old former Bolton, West Ham and England boss as their new manager. In an official statement on wba.co.uk, Albion revealed that Allardyce had signed an 18-month deal.

He will take training for the very first time on Thursday ahead of this weekend’s Midlands derby against Aston Villa.

Austin redemption?

Whilst the overall appointment of a forgotten manager like Big Sam is questionable, to say the least – there’s nothing to suggest that he will be well-backed by the board, unlike his predecessor.

In reality, it is the lack of relegations on his CV that makes him seem an ideal candidate on paper but it’s going to take an awful lot to turn around this sinking squad. It’s practically a Championship-level outfit with an owner unwilling to invest.

No one’s changing that around.

Although the change in manager could be of benefit to several players, most notably Charlie Austin, who was effectively finished under Bilic despite the Croatian dubbing him “magnificent.”

Last month, The Athletic’s Steve Madeley claimed the 31-year-old was unlikely to play for the club again, though he has come off the bench twice in as many outings recently.

He could well be in line for some redemption thanks to the likely appointment of Allardyce as there’s nobody better equipped in the Baggies side to play his direct and aggressive style.

Austin cost just £4m in Bilic’s first summer and went onto bag ten goals in 34 appearances (18 starts) on their way to promotion last term, whilst his record in the big time is pretty respectable – 34 goals and ten assists in 108 games, via Transfermarkt.

Evidently, the 66-year-old will know exactly what he’s getting with the former Saints and QPR talisman as he eyed a swoop for him in 2015 whilst in charge of Sunderland, as per ESPN.

Once dubbed “absolutely ruthless” by Sky Sports commentator Don Goodman, could Austin go from zero-to-hero under Allardyce? He may well make the Hawthorns erupt if he finds his tune again.

He ought to consider he’s earning a whopping £70k-per-week.

AND in other news, Lai heading for a Pardew-like mistake…