Category Uncategorized

[ad_pod ]

Speaking to Football Insider, Noel Whelan has gone on record to say that Leeds United should be hesitant to use Gaetano Berardi again.

Berardi’s last appearance for the Whites was a shocker. The defender was sent off against Derby in the playoff semi-final second leg, and that game has seen the 30-year-old receive a lot of backlash.

The BBC Radio Leeds pundit doesn’t believe he should be given a second chance though, and he has urged his former club to rethink their stance on the Switzerland international.

What’s been said then?

Whelan didn’t hold back in his criticisms of the versatile defender.

“It was a stupid challenge from Berardi when he was on a yellow,” the ex-Leeds striker told Football Insider. “You can’t afford to have players like that.

“He looked like he was playing for rag-a****d Rovers. He has got previous when it comes to rash tackles and daft mistakes. Just when Leeds needed their experienced players to keep a nice steady head and regroup, that happens.”

Can’t be trusted

Whelan is right about Berardi, and despite him being a good player he costs Leeds with these silly errors far too often.

The former Sampdoria man can play anywhere across the back four at a competent level, and his numbers when he plays as a centre-back tell a huge story.

Before the Derby game, he had an impeccable record when stepping in as a centre-half this season, but this most recent incident of indiscipline could be the final straw as it once again highlights the main problem in his game.

This is becoming far too often of an occurrence for the Whites. The Swiss man has now been sent off more times than anyone else in the club’s history except for Alan Smith.

Perhaps there is still a place for him at the club, but he certainly shouldn’t play in such high stakes matches in the future. Leeds’ interest in Yoann Barbet may mean he drops down the pecking order next season, and he will most likely only be called upon in the most desperate of times.

[ad_pod ]

According to The Sunday Mirror (28/04, page 68), Aston Villa are monitoring Cameroon striker Stephan Bahoken who is currently plying his trade in Ligue 1 with Angers. By signing him, the Villans can repeat a certain previous success.

What’s the word?

Stephan Bahoken has been in excellent form for Angers this term after making the move from Strasbourg last season. In 28 appearances, the forward has netted ten goals, with four of those coming in his last ten outings.

He’s scored some important strikes too, with goals coming against the likes of Rennes, Nice, Marseille and Monaco. Bahoken, therefore, clearly relishes the bigger games.

However, according to The Sunday Mirror’s report, the Villans will face competition for the striker’s signature. Also keeping a close eye on the player are recently promoted Sheffield United, as well as Derby and Swansea.

It’s not known what sort of fee the French club would command for his services but Transfermarkt rates him at as little as €5m (£4.32m).

Kodjia trick replicated?

The addition of Bahoken would be shrewd, especially with Tammy Abraham’s loan deal at the club expiring at the end of the season.

Current Villa striker Jonathan Kodjia also played for Angers, and as a result, Villa can hope for similar success if a deal for the Cameroon international goes through.

Kodjia scored 15 goals for the French side before arriving in England with Bristol City. He had no trouble adjusting to English football and given Bahoken’s style of play and the goals he’s scored, it suggests he could also adapt to life in Britain. A short loan spell with St Mirren should also have helped in that regard.

Angers have deployed a similar formation as Villa this season which means he’d be suited to their style of play too. In France, he’s been playing as a lone forward, thriving off space he finds in behind.

Given that Kodjia has struggled at times this term, he could be a timely replacement. Both players like to dribble with the ball and because of that, it’s difficult to see the pair playing as a two-man attack.

[ad_pod ]

Youri Tielemans has been some signing for Leicester City.

The 21-year-old joined the Foxes on loan from Monaco during the January transfer window.

And the 5 ft 9 ace’s numbers at the King Power Stadium have been very impressive indeed.

In 10 Premier League appearances for Leicester, Tielemans has scored twice and provided five assists – the latest of which came against West Ham United at the London Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Indeed, the midfielder set up Harvey Barnes in stoppage time as Brendan Rodgers’ side came from behind to draw 2-2 in the English capital.

In this era of ‘big 6’ dominance, has finishing 7th become as good as winning a trophy? The Pl>ymaker FC squad have their say in the video below…

Brendan Rodgers would like to sign Tielemans on a permanent deal this summer, but Tottenham Hotspur are also being linked with the Belgium international.

Many of the Foxes supporters took to social media in the aftermath of the West Ham match – some just to praise the midfielder, but others have called on their club to sort out a permanent deal ahead of this summer’s transfer window.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

Comebacks are rarely successful in football, but for Jay Simpson and Leyton Orient, all parties will be hoping for success.

After being released by MLS side the Philadelphia Union at the end of last year, Simpson returned to the club where he enjoyed his most success at, Leyton Orient, and the striker is already proving to be a helpful option for the O’s in their quest for promotion back to the Football League.

Simpson has already scored once since re-joining the club in February, a 47th minute strike away to Barrow AFC in a 3-2 win, and heading into the business end of the season with Justin Edinburgh’s side still top of the National League table, the former Arsenal academy product is a quality option to have in any non-league team.

A player O’s fans know well, Simpson’s past term with Orient was one supporters both loved and scratched their heads over.

A player who scored 25 goals in one season and was named in the League Two Team of the Season as the east London side just missed out on a promotion play-off spot, injuries and rumours of a move to League One teams resulted in the striker only have one real productive season for Orient.

Following his most productive season in professional football, Simpson was only able to make 14 appearances the following campaign as back and thigh problems kept the striker out of most of the football, and with the club heading in a downward spiral, the forward made the move to MLS where injuries and lack of game time plagued his time in Philadelphia.

Nevertheless, Simpson is still a player Orient fans respect and hope does well with his return to the club. His performances so far have been good, and if he stays with the team if they are promoted back to the Football League, Edinburgh will have a quality striker for the division as well as free-scoring Macauley Bonne.

Orient fans, can Simpson re-find his form if the club are promoted? Let us know!

Arsenal are on course to qualify for the Champions League again if they manage to see the season out on a positive note and keep their current place in the top four. That’s good news, right? All is well. 

The idea of playing in the Champions League again will attract a lot of interest from some of the best players in the world who might consider the Gunners as their next destination. Arsenal should, therefore, set their sights on big-name players and not try to claim any free players from lower leagues only because it would save them a lot of money.

That kind of thinking is exactly what got the Gunners into this mess in the first place.

As is the case with the club’s interest in signing Charlton’s Joe Aribo as their first possible recruit of the summer when his current contract at the Addicks expires.

The Mirror reports Arsenal will have to contribute a small compensation fee but the 22-year-old is keen to make the move to North London to join one of the biggest clubs in Europe. But, given that the Addicks are fifth on the League 1 table, wanting to sign someone like Aribo doesn’t say that much of the ambition Arsenal have to be a European powerhouse again.

Should the Gunners get the extra cash from competing in the Champions League next season and the new Adidas deal also set to offer a lot of financial help to the club’s transfer budget, Arsenal can surely aim higher than someone like Aribo.

The midfielder has scored six goals in 22 games for Charlton this campaign, which is by no mean any worthy record to attract interest from the third most successful club in English football.

Despite Aribo saving them a lot of money, Arsenal should rather spend their budget wisely in the summer and target players with worthy midfield reputations, who can properly fill the void that Aaron Ramsey will leave.

By making a big signing, Arsenal will also make a big statement to their Premier League opponents that they are back to compete for the league title again.

Arsenal fans, would you agree that the club needs to start aiming higher? Join the discussion by commenting below… 

[ad_pod ]

Wolverhampton Wanderers youngster Niall Ennis impressed and scored twice for the U23s in their 3-1 win against their Southampton counterparts at Molineux on Monday night, and his display suggested he is ready to following in Morgan Gibbs-White’s footsteps.

On the chalkboard

Well, the 19-year-old made his first-team debut as a late substitute in the FA Cup replay win against Shrewsbury Town last month, but aside from that and some outings in the EFL Trophy he has had to settle for appearances in the Premier League 2 this term, netting eight times.

This was the case again on Monday in what was a top-of-the-clash, but it was the hosts who came out on top with the teenager playing a huge part in his team picking up all three points.

Ennis opened the scoring in the ninth minute with a simple tap-in, but it was his second that was particularly special as he weaved through some Saints players outside the penalty area before firing a low shot into the far corner.

He came close to netting his hat-trick before he was denied by the woodwork, in a display that surely would have impressed Nuno Santo.

Wolves Fan TV are in no doubt that their side should have come away from Stamford Bridge with all 3 points on Sunday. Check out their views in the video below…

Big chance incoming?

Gibbs-White has taken full advantage of the opportunity he was given earlier in the season, making 21 Premier League appearances this term – even if the majority of those have come from the substitutes’ bench.

His emergence proves that Santo isn’t afraid to blood youngsters if he feels they are good enough, and having already handed Ennis a few minutes last month it proves that the starlet is very much on the Portuguese manager’s radar.

With little to play for in the top flight aside from securing a seventh-place finish, the teenager should get the same chances that Gibbs-White has already had – who knows, he may even prove himself as a viable attacking option for the 2019/20 campaign.

[ad_pod ]

Liverpool have fallen into a remarkably bad habit of relying too heavily on Mohamed Salah.

This is perhaps understandable. Salah has grown into a world-class player on Merseyside and his performances last season alone attest to his genuinely superb ability. In 2017-18, the Egypt international scored 44 goals in 52 games in all competitions. Thirty-two of those goals came in 36 Premier League appearances.

That is an almost unattainable level of success and it is nigh-on impossible to replicate, particularly in England. This season, he has scored 20 goals in 38 games, 17 of which came in 29 Premier League appearances.

This drop-off was inevitable and it is not evidence that he is a one-season wonder. However, there has been a noticeable dip in his form in recent weeks, particularly in big games. This, too, is not evidence that he is anything resembling a ‘bottler’, but his performance against Everton was such that he actively hindered his team.

Salah has failed to score in five of his last six games. He did not score against Manchester United or against the Toffees and he also drew a blank when Liverpool lost to title rivals Manchester City. Indeed, the only top-six side he has scored against this season is Arsenal.

That Jurgen Klopp continues to expect moments of magic from him, then, is naive at best.

Against Everton, Liverpool headed into the game knowing that only a win would see them top of the league at the end of the weekend. Their 0-0 draw has them a point behind City with nine games of the season remaining.

Klopp chose a front three of Divock Origi, Salah and Sadio Mane. Mane played through the middle.

But with a midfield of Jordan Henderson, Fabinho and Georginio Wijnaldum, there was no thrust from the centre of the pitch, no tempo-setting player who could push Liverpool forward. It fell to Salah, yet again, and he did not deliver.

He had two shots on goal, one of which was one-on-one with Jordan Pickford. Given time to pick his spot, having wriggled clear of his marker, Salah sent a side-footed effort into the England goalkeeper’s midriff. He appeared so terrified of missing the target that he forgot to put any real power into his effort.

The former Chelsea winger was also dispossessed three times throughout the game, per WhoScored, while his pass success rate of 70% ensured that Everton were routinely able to mop up possession in defence. In fact, Origi’s rate was 63% and Mane’s was 65%. For top-level Premier League footballers, that is, quite simply, appalling.

Everton then, faced very little of the ‘heavy metal’ football that Klopp so regularly demands of his players.

With Salah seemingly burnt out – he has played 90 games for the club since joining in 2017 and also featured for Egypt, despite injury concerns, at the 2018 World Cup in Russia in the summer –  and Roberto Firmino injured, the German must find a way to bring the best out of the 26-year-old once again.

Packing the midfield with water-carriers will not do it, however; there needs to be dynamism in Liverpool’s attacking play.

As it is, they are simply sitting back and hoping Salah pulls something out of his bag of tricks.

It worked last season, but this season it appears that he is simply too tired to conjure the wonders the Reds desire. This is a glaring problem which is threatening to define the club’s season.

Will burnout ensure a continuation of Salah’s lacklustre form or will growing pressure to respond to shifting title-race dynamics galvanise him into a timely and scintillating goal scoring run?

ينوي نادي برشلونة المنافس في بطولة الدوري الإسباني التواصل مع مهاجمه الشاب أنسو فاتي ووكيله الحالي خورخي مينديز، من أجل مناقشة مد عقده داخل قلعة “كامب نو”.

ويمتلك فاتي عقدًا مع برشلونة حتى يونيو 2022 مع وجود بند يتيح للنادي الكتالوني تمديده لعامين آخرين ليستمر ضمن صفوفه حتى عام 2024.

اقرأ أيضًا.. فاتي يدخل التاريخ وإنجاز جديد لـ ميسي وكومان في مباراة برشلونة وفياريال

وقالت صحيفة “موندو ديبورتيفو” الكتالونية، إنه بعد تألق الإسباني المميز يوم أمس الأحد في مباراة فياريال ببطولة الدوري الإسباني وإحرازه هدفين وتسببه في ركلة جزاء أحرز منها ميسي الهدف الثالث، يرغب برشلونة في تفعيل بند التمديد في عقد فاتي من أجل ضمان استمراره، نظرًا لوجود بعض الأندية المهتمة بضم اللاعب، وعلى رأسها مانشستر يونايتد.

إذا حدث ذلك، سيكون فاتي قد وقع على عقدين مع برشلونة في نصف عام في الفترة من يوليو إلى ديسمبر 2019 وتمديد وشيك في الأسابيع القادمة، وهو ما يؤكد اهتمام الإدارة بموهبة مثله على المدى البعيد.

[ad_pod ]

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.

Kieran Devlin was speaking about Patryk Klimala’s position at Celtic during a Q&A on The Athletic following the 3-1 victory against Kilmarnock.

What did he say?

The match was another good one for Celtic’s strikers, as both Odsonne Edouard and Leigh Griffiths managed to get their names on the scoresheet.

However, while Klimala will likely be happy that his team earned three points which should help them on their way to being champions, it was another frustrating day for him on a personal level, as the Poland youth international was left on the bench.

Devlin was asked about the 21-year-old during the Q&A after the game, to which he replied: “Have heard people inside the club aren’t impressed with him so far but it’s also only been six, seven weeks.”

He then went on to add: “Klimala was always a strange one from the start, underlying reports were never that impressive. Seemed a bizarre move to sanction for that money.”

Watch Celtic Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

Concerning signs

That this type of talk is already emerging should be seen as a deeply worrying sign for Celtic and their new striker, who only joined in January.

Since then, he has played just 15 minutes across two substitute appearances in the league, and wasn’t even on the bench for the two games prior to most recent one.

He has one start and a substitute appearance in the Scottish FA Cup, from which he has recorded one assist, but it is league selections which would show Lennon having faith in him.

The greatest rivalry in world football: Test your Old Firm derby knowledge below…

The 21-year-old had scored seven goals and added a further three assists in 17 Polish Ekstraklasa matches before making the January move, but it seems as though he has done very little to show Lennon he could get those sort of numbers for Celtic.

All of this is definitely a damning indictment on his time at Celtic Park so far.

Indeed, the future doesn’t look promising so far.