Tottenham Hotspur boss Jose Mourinho has had his team selection against Wolves on Sunday questioned by Anthony Costa of The Last Word on Spurs podcast (March 2nd, 4:10).

What’s he said?

Spurs went ahead twice against Nuno Espirito Santo’s men but were ultimately beaten 3-2, with Raul Jimenez scoring a 73rd-minute winner.

Mourinho opted to start the game with a rather unfamiliar back three, playing Davinson Sanchez, Eric Dier, and Japhet Tanganga together. Serge Aurier and Ben Davies played as wing-backs.

That left both Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld on the bench, and Costa, a member of the boy band Blue, believes that the decision was the wrong one.

He said: “I’ve got to question some of the defending.

“To drop Toby, to drop Jan. What’s going on there?

“Have they picked up a knock in training, I don’t know?”

Money talks: How much did Levy pay for each of these Spurs stars?

A valid question

Costa makes a good point.

Both Alderweireld and Vertonghen have been key figures within Spurs’ defence this season and they have not missed the same game since November, when they drew 1-1 with Sheffield United.

That was in Mauricio Pochettino’s final game in charge and so to completely change the defence, with both players on the bench, seemed like a shocking decision from the Portuguese.

Admittedly, Spurs have not kept a clean sheet since the beginning of February, when they beat Manchester City 2-0, so one can perhaps understand why Mourinho was attempting to change things up. After all, that is their only clean sheet in their last five games.

Nevertheless, they conceded three goals against Santo’s men, with no single defender appearing to play well.

Leaving the Belgian pair out came back to bite Mourinho.

Meanwhile, Spurs fans have blasted one man!

Despite the late pressure from Aston Villa, Manchester City managed to hold out to win the Carabao Cup final 2-1.It was a visibly devastating blow for Jack Grealish, who could be seen on the floor after the game looking emotional, while Phil Foden went off to collect his Man of the Match award and winner’s medal.On the day it is the 19-year-old who stood out, and that has led to some saying that he is a better player than the Villa talisman.

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This comes after his performance in which he got an assist, two key passes, three dribbles, two tackles, a clearance and an interception.

In contrast, Grealish made one key pass, while failing to take a shot, dribble or any defensive contributions.

One suggested that “Mr Grealish could learn a thing or two from that boy”, while another stated that “if Grealish is £100m then Foden is £200m”.

This has led to some suggesting that the City youngster should be ahead of Grealish in the queue to get an England call-up.

Villa fans have shown that they are desperate to see Grealish in the England squad, so to see Foden included ahead of him, having played just 264 Premier League minutes this season, would be infuriating for them.

Did he really play for us?! No Villa fan has managed to name all of these obscure Villans….

However, fans outside of the club seem to think that Foden is more deserving of a place, with one saying “cmon Gareth do the right thing”.

Meanwhile, Villa fans reacted to a heartbreaking video of Jack Grealish.

March 10 is quite a special day for Liverpool as it was the day when the Reds completely demolished Real Madrid in the Champions League, winning 4-0 against Los Blancos at Anfield more than ten years ago.

It was quite a memorable night that not many fans need reminding of but just in case someone forgot to celebrate properly, James Pearce reminded them with a nice tweet on his Twitter profile.

The Athletic’s Liverpool correspondent even called it “Dossena Day”, giving a quick shout out to Andrea Dossena who was among the goalscorers on that night back in 2009.

Of course, the video itself Pearce shared came from Liverpool’s official website as the Reds were also very quick to celebrate that historic result on the biggest European stage in club football.

Other than Dossena, Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres were also on the scoresheet, bringing Los Blancos to their knees in the knockout stages of the Champions League.

It’s not really every day you see Real Madrid humiliated and beaten to the pulp so this one really is for the history books.

Liverpool fans, how did you celebrate “Dossena Day”? What was your favourite goal from that clash? Let us know down in the comments below!

Mikel Arteta has had a promising start to life as Arsenal manager.

The Spaniard was appointed in December 2019 following the sacking of Unai Emery, and has so far presided over 15 matches. To date, the Gunners have been on the losing end on just two occasions, picking up eight victories and five draws.

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During the January transfer window, the Emirates outfit signed Cedric Soares and Pablo Mari on loan, but if they want to compete with the elite clubs at the top of the table, they will need more recruitment – they are still in ninth place in the Premier League despite the upturn in form under Arteta.

Amongst potential recruits is Leon Bailey. According to the Daily Express, Arsenal are one of the sides said to be pursuing the Bayer Leverkusen man along with Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea – the latter are even said to be lining up an £85m offer.

However, this could very well be a disastrous signing from the Gunners if he were to make the switch.

Here are three reasons why…

Inconsistency

The Jamaica international burst onto the scene during the 2017/18 season, scoring 12 goals and providing six assists for Leverkusen in Germany. However, he has struggled to follow that up – he managed just five strikes and five assists last term, whilst he has started just seven games this term under Peter Bosz in the Bundesliga.

The seven goals and one assist he has managed in all competitions still show that there is talent there, but it is still worth considering that he has not fully gained the trust of his manager to be a guaranteed starter.

Overloaded on the left-wing and bad news for Martinelli

The Gunners certainly need reinforcements in some areas – they have conceded 36 goals this term, worse than seven of the other sides in the top 10, indicating that some new arrivals to boost the backline would not go amiss – but the left-wing is not one of them.

As it is, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Reiss Nelson and Gabriel Martinelli have all already featured in that role this season.

Of the three, it would likely be Martinelli who would be under the most pressure – as per Transfermarkt, he has played the most in that position, 14 times to be exact. Bringing in Bailey would surely mean his position would be under threat, which would be a shame considering his promise this term.

Extortionate sum

Arsenal are not exactly the richest of clubs in the Premier League. Reports have indicated that they could have a net spend of as much as £60m in the next transfer window – whenever that may be – which is not a huge amount in today’s transfer market. Eight clubs have recorded bigger numbers than that this season, including the Gunners themselves.

Therefore, given Chelsea are lining up an £85m bid, it would be nothing but madness from Raul Sanllehi to get involved in a potential transfer battle for Bailey.

Arsenal will need to be clever with their spending – this is not the way to do it.

Wolves have now gone more than two weeks without playing a game of football and it appears that the boredom may finally be getting to some.

Rui Patricio has spent the fortnight, like others, in self-isolation and though he is likely doing his best to keep active, he has suddenly decided to be creative with his razor and has unveiled a new look.

Normally bearded, the Portugal international has showed off his new moustache, with the rest of his face clean shaven meaning he does look rather smart.

The black and white filter he has used only adds to the effect, and it will be interesting to see if he sports the new look on the pitch.

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He almost looks like a new man, but he used the occasion of his post to share that he is thinking of his fans, telling them to stay safe throughout this period of uncertainty.

Patricio’s post has attracted a fair bit of attention. Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes, the keeper’s compatriot, has responded with a message, but Wolves teammate Daniel Podence has reacted with laughter, while the likes of Pedro Neto and Ruben Vinagre have also got involved.

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He could therefore be the subject of mockery and ridicule when the squad returns to the training ground, but judging by the confidence of his post it is unlikely he will mind too much.

In other news, Wolves fans are debating whether one transfer target would be a good addition to make in the summer…

Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk invited fans on Twitter to partake in a Q&A on Tuesday evening.In the absence of regular football matches, fans have been starved of the opportunity to see their heroes in action, but van Dijk’s social media interaction did something to bridge the gap between supporters and players.

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Hoards of questions flooded in for the Netherlands international to consider, and one question prompted a rather surprising answer.

Indeed, the former Celtic and Southampton star was asked who would win in a 100m sprint between him, Joe Gomez, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson.

His answer: himself or Gomez.

Given Robertson’s speed is one of the most outstanding and impressive qualities in his repertoire, the response certainly caught the eye.

Perhaps this was merely van Dijk’s way of subtly taking a dig at Robertson, but the Scotland international, who is valued at £72m by Transfermarkt, refused to take the bait if that was indeed the intention.

The 28-year-old has a tendency to glide across the turf in an effortless manner which suggests he always has an extra gear to find, so perhaps he could beat the flying left-back in a 100m sprint.

For now, however, we’ll just have to take van Dijk’s word for it.

In other Liverpool news, James Pearce has made an intriguing admission about Yasser Larouci…

Celtic are on course for domestic success yet again this season and although the January transfer window may not have initially turned out as planned, it now seems that the club may have had a lucky escape.

The Bhoys were embroiled in a transfer battle to sign then Slovan Bratislava striker Andraz Sporar, but missed out on that opportunity when the Slovenia international instead opted for Sporting Lisbon.

That move suggested Celtic had missed out on a fairly prestigious player, particularly as the 26-year-old impressed in his homeland with 20 goals in 27 games prior to his January move.

However, he has failed to replicate that consistency since moving to Portugal. Three goals in nine games is somewhat underwhelming and indicates that Neil Lennon made the right call in deciding not to buy the forward.

Celtic may have had to part with £7m too which is quite a considerable fee for them to have spent in January, particularly as the striker hasn’t been required.

The Glasgow outfit have extended their lead in the Scottish Premiership since and although they were knocked out of the Europa League, Sporar may not have been able to prevent that outcome anyway.

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The image above shows the striker’s reaction to missing a chance in the home leg against Istanbul Basaksehir. Although he did score in that match his other miss was crucial to the Portuguese side being knocked out, as Sporting lost the tie by a single goal.

Meanwhile, are writers have discussed what would happen to Celtic if a key player was to make a move this summer…

A lot of West Ham fans are reacting to the latest reports suggesting that centre-back Issa Diop has told the club that he wants to leave in the summer, via TEAMTalk.

The former U21 French International is a key part of West Ham’s defence and, since his arrival in July 2018, he has already played 64 times, per Transfermarkt. Now, it seems like he’s keen to depart – with London rivals Tottenham said to be leading the queue as per the report.

This season, he has managed on average one tackle per game, 1.1 interceptions per game and an impressive 5.3 clearances per game, via WhoScored, proving his importance to the cause.

It will be interesting to see how to club react to his request but, if they want to be a team pushing higher up the Premier League table next season, they surely need to keep their best players and Diop is one of them.

Here’s how fans have reacted to the latest reports:

What do you think will happen to Diop this summer? Join the discussion by commenting below… 

Alex Gidman has stepped down as Gloucestershire captain after four years in the role. The club endured a disappointing 2012 season, finishing bottom of the County Championship, although Gidman has said his decision is due to him wanting to focus on batting.Gidman, 31, who previously served three years as vice-captain, scored 528 runs at 25.14 in the Championship.Gidman said: “I am very proud of the contribution I have been able to make as Gloucestershire captain. But I have not enjoyed the role as much this season and feel the time is right for someone else to take over.”My intention now is to spend the time I was taking up with captaincy issues on improving my own game. My plan for this winter is to devote more hours to practice and fitness work than I have ever done. Hopefully that will result in lots of runs for the team next summer.”Tom Richardson, the chief executive, said consideration would be given to replacing Gidman as captain with an overseas signing for 2013 season. The club’s overseas players this year were Kane Williamson, Rob Nicol and briefly Ed Cowan although both New Zealand and Australia are touring England next season.The club’s director of cricket John Bracewell added: “Alex has faced a particularly tough period as captain trying to deliver success with a young and developing squad.”With all the extra demands on him, he has not been able to spend the time he wants to on his own game. He still has a stack of runs left in him as a player and I’m sure will benefit from being free of the worries captaincy brings.”

Everton’s summer plans have seemingly been put in motion whilst the Premier League has endured a downtime without any match action, and fans at Goodison Park have been reacting to the latest transfer news emerging this week.

According to Le 10 Sport, Toffees boss Carlo Ancelotti has asked the club to look at Ajax midfielder Donny van de Beek as a potential signing.

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And the speculation has divided Everton fans completely with some believing he’d be a fantastic arrival whilst others were worried that he would be another Davy Klaassen.

The 23-year-old maestro has been a key figure for Ajax over the last few seasons – he was part of the squad to make the Champions League semi-final, and has scored ten goals and provided 11 assists in all competitions this term.

Newcastle United are said to hold interest in him whilst Mundo Deportivo suggest he could be available for €50m (£44m) before listing Juventus and Manchester United as other plausible destinations.

Here’s what those in Merseyside have been saying…

AND in other news, Everton backed to make a sensational move for ex-Liverpool STAR…