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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…

Mauricio Pochettino made a mistake on Sunday as he benched Tanguy Ndombele against Liverpool.

On the chalkboard

The Frenchman was curiously missing from the starting XI when the teams landed before the encounter, having played against Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League in midweek.

He did come on as a substitute in the 63rd minute, though, replacing Harry Winks, and enjoyed an excellent cameo performance.

However, one has to wonder why he wasn’t included initially; Spurs struggled to exert any measure of control on the game prior to his introduction, as evidenced by the final possession tallies. Liverpool had 68% to Spurs’ 32%.

During his time on the pitch, Ndombele registered a total of 19 touches, per WhoScored, one shot and two key passes and a passing accuracy of 77%, higher than all but two of Spurs’ starting XI.

And his statistics so far this season are enlightening too, painting Pochettino’s decision in an even darker light.

He has played twice in the Champions League, along with seven times in total in the league, and his performances in Europe have been genuinely exceptional.

Per WhoScored, he has registered two assists, one shot per game, two key passes per game and 1.3 dribbles in the Champions League.

Defensively, he has also won two tackles per game, 1.7 interceptions and 1.3 fouls. He also has a passing accuracy of 89.1% from an average of 43 passes.

In the Premier League, he already has two goals to his name, one assist, 0.8 shots per game, 0.8 key passes and 1.1 dribbles. He also makes 2.3 tackles and has a pass completion rate of 83.1% from 29.5 passes.

Baffling call

Ndombele was signed for a club-record fee in the summer but here he was, on the bench, against perhaps the best team in the Premier League and technically speaking, the best team in Europe.

Per WhoScored, Ndombele is better than Moussa Sissoko in every attacking area bar dribbles, in both the Premier League and the Champions League, and is also a more assiduous defensive presence.

Both Victor Wanyama and Eric Dier have struggled for minutes this season and are not really direct competitors to his spot, while Harry Winks, meanwhile, makes more interceptions than Ndombele but is outperformed in every offensive category, even though his pass accuracy is higher.

The stats show that the Frenchman is better than the majority of the players he has been bought in to play alongside and yet, he was not introduced until the game was slipping away.

He should have been on the teamsheet from the outset, and while that is not to say he would have rescued his side from an Anfield defeat, he could well have had an impact on them keeping the ball an providing some sort of counter-attacking threat when 1-0 up.

That he wasn’t able to is the result of a poor Pochettino decision.

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

They say don’t fix what isn’t broken.

And whilst looking at the raw numbers might suggest that there is a problem, if you look deeper into the situation, you might just realise that he isn’t the problem that needs fixing.

Whilst it may seem that Mateusz Klich isn’t pulling his weight so far this year, with just the one assist and one goal so far in the league, it would be rather harsh to place all of the blame on him.

On the chalkboard

First, let’s take a look at the assists.

If you take a glance at the number of high-quality chances he has produced, he has clearly given his teammates fantastic opportunities to find the back of the net. That can then be followed up by the graphic below which shows just how much Leeds are wasting their chances.

This isn’t something that’s much of a secret amongst those who follow and report on Leeds on a regular basis, you can sort of put two and two together to work out that it isn’t really his fault that his assist numbers aren’t blowing people away so far this year.

However, there is one other concern and that’s his goal return, this is certainly something that you can put down to him.

This time last year he had already got four goals in the league, and whilst his numbers might have looked slightly better if he’d have converted his penalty against Derby County, the drop off should not be this bad.

It should really be a case of just presenting him with as many opportunities as he can to find the net and hope that as many of them go in as they can.

Marcelo Bielsa has spoken about how his side need ‘six chances to score’, so if Leeds put him in a more advanced position, perhaps as an attacking midfielder rather than a central one, he can still help create the chances for the rest of the team.

At the same time he can get in and around the box to get on the end of chances created by the rest of the team.

Klich has received criticism in recent times but it really isn’t all his fault. For now, maybe supporters should cut him slack.

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

Marcelo Bielsa isn’t one to be coy in a press conference is he?

The Argentine doesn’t shy away from sharing anything and everything while addressing journalists, and this week he revealed one thing that he’s been focusing on in training.

Improving corners

Indeed, the gaffer told reporters that he’s putting a lot of emphasis on trying to score from corners in order to make up for the team’s lacklustre performances in front of goal.

Watch Leeds United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

It’s fair to say that Leeds do need to improve from set-pieces as they’ve scored just twice from dead-ball scenarios so far this term, but Bielsa shouldn’t be wasting too much time trying to work towards what will ultimately be a minimal gain.

Shouldn’t waste time

Contrary to the view that many football fans may have, corners actually aren’t that effective when it comes to scoring goals.

In fact, an article from the Guardian in 2017 states that just 3.2 per cent of balls into the box from this scenario actually lead to a goal.

Find out how to perform one of Ronaldinho’s most insane skills in the video below…

With Leeds taking 87 corners so far this term, if they had a goal return that represented the average team they would have scored 2.78 goals from those situations this season.

Bielsa’s side have scored two set-piece goals this term, and both happened to be from corners, so United are only 0.78 goals behind where they should be if we go off of the average.

Of course, the manager will want his team to be above average, but how viable is that for a squad in which only six outfield players stand at 6ft or above and none are over 6 ft 2? It seems like a mistake to focus on an aspect they won’t be able to dominate in.

Realistically, the 64-year-old should be spending more time on the training ground on finishing rather than looking for marginal gains in order to make up for the squad’s lack of ability in front of goal.

The Egyptian posted a multitude of photos from Sunday’s game against Chelsea, but it’s the first image in the album that catches the eye.

Watch Liverpool Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

The snap shows Salah receiving the ball and running so fast that the camera couldn’t capture a clear image of the winger.

It’s a crazy picture when you consider the hordes of cameramen sat around the side of the pitch with devices specifically designed to capture players in motion with minimal blurring – mission failed Mr. Cameraman.

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Some Crystal Palace fans have taken to Twitter to discuss the Holmesdale Fanatics’ move into the centre of the Holmesdale Road stand at Selhurst Park.

As The Athletic’s Matt Woosnam details in this article about the group’s move from the bottom left corner of the stand, the Fanatics were keen to switch location to enable the sound of their efforts to travel more, rather than be lost in the space between the Holmesdale and the Arthur Wait stand.

It was a process that required some smoothing over from Palace chief Steve Parish, with half-price season-tickets being offered to those who had to be displaced from the middle of the Holmesdale as a result, although the move hasn’t impressed some fans on Twitter.

One supporter said that the atmosphere was “better last season”, while another said that they can “hardly be heard” in their new position from the halfway line in the Arthur Wait stand.

Let’s take a look at some more of what the Palace fans have been saying about the atmosphere…

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Joel Matip is rapidly changing perceptions at Liverpool following a fine run of form.

The Cameroon international was once written off as a donkey, a player who could hardly balance on his on two feet, a defensive liability Jurgen Klopp ought to get rid of.

An injury to Joe Gomez, however, appears to have changed perceptions on Merseyside. The once ritually lambasted defender has stepped into the 21-year-old’s position and shone in his absence.

His latest showing against Manchester United provided yet another example of how much he has improved this season, and it’s about time that he was placed in a bracket alongside Andrew Robertson as one of the biggest Liverpool bargains in recent memory.

Granted, Matip’s task was made easier by Marcus Rashford’s lack of mobility and his afternoon would have looked altogether different had the England international been fully fit.

However, Matip was defensively solid in a multitude of different situations: he was dominant in aerial battles, winning four during the match, and he supplemented his ability to read the game with a willingness to step forward into United’s half by completing two dribbles.

All of Liverpool’s defenders are forced to accept the reality that they will live in Virgil Van Dijk’s shadow for as long as he remains at the club.

But, despite being signed for a fraction of the price, Andrew Robertson is not far behind Van Dijk and, considering Matip was signed on a free transfer, it’s fair to say he was a bargain on par with the Scotland international.

That’s an opinion which would not have been entertained at the beginning of the season, but a string of solid performances culminating at Old Trafford suggest that he should be held in the same bracket as Robertson in terms of value for money signings.

It’s good to see that the Spaniard isn’t willing to doubt the Wolves cause, especially after they finished an impressive seventh last season.

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what is letting Wolves down this time around – although the added burden of Europa League football is surely a factor – but their best course of action is to continue doing what made them so successful last term.

Luckily it seems as if the players still fully believe in the way they’re trying to play and the club’s ethos, despite the poor results.

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Taking to social media, 90min reporter Graeme Bailey has shared a West Ham United transfer update as their offer for Leeds United star Raphinha gets rejected.

The Lowdown: West Ham table marquee bid…

Over the past two days, big reports emerged of West Ham’s offer to sign the Brazil international in what was a surprise late January window move.

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Insider Claret & Hugh had broken news that big bids were lodged by the Hammers, all of which were turned down, though mystery surrounded who exactly they were made for.

90min now believe one of them was a sky high £50m for Raphinha – but it has been swiftly rejected as Leeds aim to keep hold of their South American star.

In an update, however, reporter Bailey has made an intriguing claim.

The Latest: Raphinha ‘would be keen’ to join West Ham…

According to the reporter, Leeds’ attacker actually ‘would be keen’ on a move to West Ham as the club’s £50m approach is knocked back.

However, he has also ‘loved his time’ at Elland Road and would only green-light a move with their ‘blessing’.

The Verdict: Come back in the summer?

Given this news, it isn’t impossible to think that West Ham could come back in for Raphinha in the summer when there is more time to orchestrate an agreement.

There is little doubting, from our perspective, that the 25-year-old is certainly worth breaking West Ham’s transfer record to sign.

Racking up a career-total of 59 goals, Brazilian international teammates Emerson Royal and Gabriel Magalhaes both believe he is a ‘phenomenon’ – as they stated on Instagram (via Subhankar Mondal).

However, after their £50m bid was rejected, a West Ham move for Raphinha could be a very difficult to pull off and it will be interesting to see just how far they could go to back manager David Moyes.

In other news: Sky Sports: West Ham eye 11th hour move for 82-goal striker as ‘another name’ emerges, find out more here.

Giovani Lo Celso’s stock could rise after an impressive loan spell away from Tottenham Hotspur, and the north Londoners shouldn’t hesitate in cashing in on their club-record flop.

After signing in a record-equalling £55m deal from Real Betis in the summer of 2019, the Argentinian midfielder has struggled to make his mark in England.

His 84 appearances in a Lilywhites shirt drew only eight goals and six assists, as per Transfermarkt, meaning he averaged a direct contribution just once every 328 minutes.

Considering he not only cost an extortionate amount from chairman Daniel Levy’s pocket but was also widely touted as a long-term replacement for Christian Eriksen in a creative role, those returns are nothing short of embarrassing and disastrous.

The Dane was rocking up an average of one goal or assist every 151.6 minutes – effectively providing double the amount of the former Paris Saint-Germain man in half the time.

Lo Celso is even among Spurs’ highest earners, raking in a whopping £100k-per-week and when factoring in what the club have spent on his salary and his transfer fee, then it becomes rather alarming.

In total, the 25-year-old, who is now valued at just £25m by CIES Football Observatory, has cost Levy and co an eye-watering £68m in over 130 weeks, and counting.

Luckily for Spurs, though, the 5 foot 10 flop has found his feet back in LaLiga for Unai Emery’s Yellow Submarines.

Across nine appearances, Lo Celso has only dropped below an average 7.0 match rating on two occasions, whilst Villarreal have only tasted defeat once since his arrival, as per SofaScore.

Only top goalscorer Gerard Moreno and skipper Dani Parejo have managed to have a better impact on the side this campaign, according to WhoScored, who reveal that the Spurs loanee leads the squad for dribbles (2.6 per game) and isn’t far behind for tackles (1.9 per game) and key passes (1.3 per game).

He’s clearly leaving his mark over in Spain but it was his form for Betis that caught the eye of Spurs, enough for them to pay a club record to sign him, so they should take these performances with a pinch of salt.

But it does allow them to potentially earn a pretty penny in offloading him come to the summer transfer window. They may struggle to get the bulk of that £68m back but they have a better chance now of earning something respectable.

It’s time for Spurs to part ways with this Mauricio Pochettino dud.

AND in other news, Spurs can finally replace Eriksen with “magical” £36m-rated gem, he won’t cost a penny…

Flocking to Twitter, many West Ham United fans have raved over a transfer update involving exciting young attacker Fabio Carvalho.

The talented teenager has continued to thrive at Craven Cottage since breaking into Fulham’s first team in 2020, clinching the EFL Young Player of the Month in August whilst continuing to show his potential.

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His current deal at Fulham expires at the end of the season, prompting clubs to take a serious interest in the England youth starlet, with West Ham apparently among his many suitors according to TEAMtalk. Indeed, they claimed that the Irons, and by extension owners GSB, have Carvalho in their sights as talks over an extension stall at his current club.

The Hammers are joined by Spurs, Liverpool and Southampton in being linked with the youngster, with that trio also believed to keeping tabs on the 19-year-old with a view to making a move.

West Ham fans rave…

Amid this development, plenty of West Ham fans have raved on Twitter, and it’s not hard to see why given Carvalho’s performances and high ceiling.

Check out some of their best reactions to the news that their club want him below, with one Hammers fan labelling the player a would-be ‘fantastic signing’.

“I’d take Fabio Carvalho. He’s the sort of signing we should be making, lots of potential but already proving he can score and perform at that level. Once the transfer window opens for us in about 10 days time … hopefully we make a move.” 

Credit: @RockyWhu

“Yes plz”

Credit: @IronsJoes

“Baller”

Credit: @jakewhu16

“please please please please”

Credit: @3ndtroducing

“This would be a fantastic signing.”

Credit: @WestHamUtdScout

“Wanted him years ago, would be perfect for Lanzini back up.”

Credit: @Icevain7

In other news: West Ham source: Newman makes move to sign ‘devastating’ forward after price plummets by £32m, find out more here.