All posts by z3u9t.icu

Keeping together a core group of players is a formula that great teams are built on.

The Class of ’92 infamously lead Manchester United to the most successful period in the club’s history, Arsene Wenger matured and crafted a team that went on to become Invincibles, and Barcelona’s La Masia academy has kept the Catalonian club in the top three best teams in the world for the past few decades.

For Steven Gerrard, the Gers manager has a crop of players that could go on to lead Rangers to domestic glory, but it is important the Liverpool legend keeps this core at the club.

Alfredo Morelos, Nikola Katic, Ross McCrorie and Glenn Middleton are a group of players who can remain Rangers for the coming years, and if the club is to compete with Celtic in the league it is vital Gerrard keeps hold of these four figures who can one day become heroes for the club.

McCrorie and Middleton are two players who have made the step up to the first-team football well this season, and although consecutive starts in Gerrard’s team has been patchy of late, there’s still no doubt these are two players who want to play for the badge and will likely be vital first-team players next season.

Current youngsters in the team aside, Rangers fans have plenty to be excited about in terms of prospects in the youth academy. The Scottish side last month became the first British team ever to win the Alkass International Cup in Qatar, an annual U-17 youth tournament that sees some of the best youth teams from around the world compete in.

Kai Kennedy, who has featured briefly for Rangers this season, was named Player of the Tournament and scored the winning penalty in the 9-8 penalty shootout against AS Roma.

As well as promoting from within and ensuring youngsters get regular time in the first-team, Gerrard has to make sure Morelos and Katic remain Rangers players for the next few seasons.

The Croatian centre-back has the potential to be one of the best defenders in the league, whereas we all know about the interest in Morelos from teams around the continent. These two central players have what it takes to push Rangers to that next level and become the most dominant team in Scotland.

It might take a season or two, but Gerrard has a golden generation of Rangers talent at his disposal for him to turn into a deadly force in the SPL, and finally get that sought after league title the fans are craving to have again.

Rangers fans, do the club have the current core of players to win the SPL?

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Manchester United fans have taken to Twitter to say that they don’t want to see Ole Gunnar Solskjaer be appointed as the club’s manager on a permanent basis, amid reports that the club may confirm the Norwegian as their new boss as early as this week.

There is no doubting that the former Cardiff boss has done an outstanding job since taking the reigns from Jose Mourinho towards the end of 2018.

Which “global superstar” has just been named Man Utd’s worst ever January signing? Find out in the video above…

Solskjaer has lost just three games since he stepped into the Old Trafford hotseat, with two of those coming against Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal – the defeat against the French champions in the Champions League last 16 was remarkably turned around in the second leg despite a two-goal deficit.

The former Red Devils super-sub has done well to keep United’s top-four hopes alive after a dismal start to the season.

Despite the fantastic results that Solskjaer has been overseeing in an interim role, some fans still aren’t convinced by his managerial credentials, and have consequently taken to Twitter to voice their displeasure at the news that he is set to be appointed…

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Liverpool fans on Twitter have been busy discussing just how badly they want to see the back of Dejan Lovren, after reports emerged that the defender is attracting interest from AC Milan, Roma and Napoli.

The Croatian signed for the Reds back in 2014 in a £20m deal from Southampton, where he quickly became a laughing stock at Anfield for some woeful performances and his haphazard decision-making.

Are the media letting Jurgen Klopp off lightly for his lack of silverware? The Pl>ymaker FC squad have their say in the video below…

He has regained a shrewd of credibility since Jurgen Klopp arrived on Merseyside, with his last-gasp goal against Borussia Dortmund perhaps the crowning moment of his Liverpool career; he has, for the most part, been a liability, however.

Additionally, with Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip now ahead of him in the pecking order, the 29-year-old looks likely to be stuck on the bench for the foreseeable future; perhaps now is the best time to cash in on him.

As a result of his error-ridden Reds career, a number of Liverpool fans on Twitter are overjoyed at the news of his potential exit…

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According to football.london, via Claret & Hugh, West Ham United remain interested in a deal for Celta Vigo forward Maxi Gomez.

The Hammers were strongly linked with the Uruguay international during the January transfer window, but the striker ultimately remained in Spain.

It is widely thought that Gomez will leave Celta this summer, though, and according to football.london, West Ham’s director of football Mario Husillos is working on a deal for the 22-year-old ahead of the 2019-2020 campaign.

The London club’s fans have been on social media commenting on the rumours and it would be fair to say that not too many expect the deal to take place.

Gomez has scored 11 La Liga goals for Celta this term and is regarded as one of the best young forwards in world football.

It will certainly be interesting to see what happens with the South American this summer.

And a selection of the Twitter reaction from the West Ham fans can be seen below:

It’s now confirmed that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is remaining at Old Trafford for another three years and fans are understandably elated because of how good he’s been so far. You Red Devils reading this must be absolutely delighted, considering how bad things have largely been over the course of the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era.

Spirit is flowing around Old Trafford as a result of the Norwegian’s stint as manager so far because the players are playing for the shirt once again, something that couldn’t be said when Jose Mourinho was in charge. Remember those days? Yuck.

It has been a quick change under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer but certainly a good one at that and, finally, England’s biggest club can start planning, something fans don’t need telling they’ve struggled with over the course of the campaign.

Manchester United fans right now though, are more concerned about whether he will be given significant financial backing over the summer to improve his team. If money really isn’t a problem and Ed Woodward is prepared to go all-out, a target looked at (via CaughtOffside) under Jose Mourinho should most definitely be looked at once again this summer and that is Bayern Munich’s, Joshua Kimmich.

Kimmich, (who is valued at £54 million on Transfermarkt) is arguably one of, if not the best right-back in the world right now and Man United would be very lucky to have a player of his quality in defence. Largely brought to an English audience this season for his performance against Liverpool in the Champions League, the sight of the German international shouting at Sadio Mane after missing would have pleased the United faithful.

Not only is he a formidable right-back but Kimmich is well equipped to play as a defensive-midfielder alternately as well for United.

At the age of 26, Kimmich is now reaching the very best days of his career so far and what an asset he could be at Old Trafford.

With Antonio Valencia set to leave this summer, the need for a top right-back is essential and what better way to replace the pair than to sign the best one around. That’s the Manchester United way of thinking.

Is signing Joshua Kimmich a good idea for Man United… Join the discussion and let us know below!

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Victor Wanyama may be back to his best.

The Kenya international was in imperious form on Saturday as Tottenham Hotspur thumped Huddersfield Town 4-0, just four days before their Champions League quarter-final second leg clash with Manchester City.

On the chalkboard

Wanyama is a truly excellent midfield player when at his best.

He is not, however, usually a goalscorer. But on Saturday, he opened the scoring in a straightforward victory, collecting a Fernando Llorente knock-down, skipping past a defender’s challenge and the goalkeeper and slotting home.

His goal was really the cherry on top of a particularly tasty cake in midfield.

Per WhoScored, Wanyama touched the ball 87 times and boasted a pass completion rate of 88%.

A fearsome operator when in full flight, Wanyama also completed two dribbles against a Huddersfield midfield that genuinely looks as though it might struggle to compete in the Championship.

He also completed four tackles, showing that regardless of the quality of the opposition he will never neglect his defensive responsibilities.

Huddersfield, of course, are cannon fodder for the best teams in England but there were numerous signs in the Kenyan’s display that he is almost back to his best.

A weight lifted

Spurs need midfielders.

Harry Winks missed out on the encounter against the Terriers through injury, while Alli may have broken his hand in the first leg against City. Eric Dier also remains on the treatment table with a hip injury.

Spurs’ reserves are so depleted that when manager Mauricio Pochettino wanted to give a rest to the iron-lunged Moussa Sissoko, he was forced to bring on Oliver Skipp, a talented youngster who played in the first test event at the new stadium, for the club’s Under-18 team.

Wanyama’s return, then, is manna from heaven for a team who are still fighting on two fronts.

It remains to be seen if he will be trusted to play again on Wednesday when Spurs visit City, hoping to seal qualification to their first Champions League semi-final in a generation, but Pochettino will be thanking his lucky stars that he even has the option to select him.

[ad_pod ]Southampton legend Matt Le Tissier was on top form as he defended his celebration of Saints’ win over Wolves at the weekend; the former striker responded to the irritated Molineux Stadium faithful with what he surely saw as an argument-ending stat comparing Ralph Hasenhuttl with Nuno Espirito Santo.

While numbers don’t tell the whole story, Football FanCast are here to explain the rest of it and exactly why Le Tiss’ indication that Hasenhuttl’s Southampton are better than Nuno’s Wolves might be right.

On the chalkboard

The Saints’ excellent run continued with a 3-1 victory at the weekend at Midlands outfit Wolves’s expense, although naturally the opposition fans had their excuses and retorts when Le Tiss took to Twitter to celebrate.

Indeed, the St Mary’s Stadium outfit were in dire straits when Mark Hughes was given the boot and former RB Leipzig boss Hasenhuttl subsequently appointed in early December, although the Austrian has completely turned things around.

While, as the Twitter user trading blows with Le Tissier says, Wolves are in a far, far better position in the standings, the stats suggesting that Southampton have been better than them since Hasenhuttl took the helm don’t lie.

Other than a 0.08 points-per-game margin, what does the Saints chief have on his Wolves counterpart, then?

How has Hasenhuttl done it?

The 51-year-old has instilled an excellent attitude – epitomised by new captain Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg – in each of his players and this has surely been a massive part of their huge improvement in 2019.

Leicester proved in 2015/16 that it’s not all about money and Hasenhuttl is proving that again, albeit not to the same extent, at St Mary’s Stadium with a squad he has inherited mere months ago and has had no part in building.

He has brought players in from the cold who are now on fire – pick any of James Ward-Prowse, Jan Bednarek and Yan Valery – and has got the Saints playing sublime, at times, and effective football.

Why should Southampton be more like Dortmund? Find out in the video below…

While Nuno’s Wolves are equally capable of proving magical moments on the pitch, the Portuguese struggles to adapt mid-game and this has cost last season’s Championship winners on numerous occasions, whereas, while he rarely gets his game-plan wrong, Hasenhuttl’s in-game management has been excellent.

Given half the funds in the summer that Wolves have spent on their squad this season, he will surely be able to transform his side into Europa League challengers for next the campaign if their recent run of form is anything to go by.

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To pardon the pun, Nuno Santo’s team were all over Arsenal like a pack of wolves on Wednesday evening. They were exceptional, putting a shambolic and embarrassing Gunners team to the sword as they won 3-1 at Molineux.

Diogo Jota and Ruben Neves were both vital to the win and the latter returned to form in some fashion. The team as a whole were also back in form, ending a run of three matches without a victory.

But of course they’d turn up against a big side. Wolves have done it so often since being promoted and they more than capitalised on Arsenal’s mental block away from home to pick up their 16th point against one of the top six in 2018/19.

But in Wolves’ ruthless display, one man and their most potent player this season nearly went missing. Raul Jimenez was barely involved in the build-up play on the night, and his displays since becoming the club’s record signing at the start of the month have dropped off a little.

Indeed the rest of the team have been poor since the FA Cup semi-final but Jimenez’s performances over the last three games have seen him go goalless, something that might develop into a concern considering the £30m they’ve now spent on him.

The Midlands club scored three on Wednesday but it could have been a lot more, particularly if Jimenez had been in form.

He spurned a fantastic chance with the score at 0-0, firing over from close range after Willy Boly’s flick on.

It summed up his day, failing to have a single effort on target whilst even against an Arsenal defence that has been bullied repeatedly, he didn’t win any aerial duels.

Raul Jimenez is turning it on for Wolves and Mexico right now! He definitely deserves the song in the video below…

His lack of dribbles and the fact he was also dispossessed led to a further disappointing evening for the Mexican who never really found himself in the thick of the action.

The 27-year-old has been magnificent this season and there is no denying his quality. After all, he’s found the net on 17 occasions, but this was a rare off day and one where Jota outshone him.

Sam Allardyce is good for one thing and one thing only. It is not pretty, nor is it much wanted by fans, but sometimes it is a necessary and painful procedure some must suffer if they want to survive in the Premier League. A bit like losing a leg to save one’s life.

Regardless of an extensive history that would suggest the Englishman could strike at any point, Everton fans probably thought themselves exempt from the Allardyce treatment. They had been one of the strongest teams in the competition, if not a little inconsistent at times, realistically what did they have to worry about. Ah, so very much.

Much in the same way that weeds thrive in certain conditions, Sam Allardyce comes to life in a struggling squad with very few ambitions other than fighting survival. Everton just so happened to be one of those teams in 2017.

A disastrous run of games under Ronald Koeman had left the Toffees into the lower half of the table and lost the former Southampton man his job, despite claiming European football the season before. There was only one thing for it: slap the panic button. Like Gotham City when they needed Batman the most, Sam Allardyce’s face was beamed onto the Liverpool skyline and the 63-year-old duly answered signing a short-term contract in November to run until June 2018 (as per The Guardian). Presumably when the Everton boardroom expected the mission to be complete – and not a day longer.

Allardyce may have hoisted Everton out of the relegation zone, but the mind-numbingly boring style that paved the way was too much for fans to handle. Take yourself off to a park on a Sunday morning and you will pretty much see the fundamentals of the former England manager’s style play out.

Allardyce was sacked just six months after taking the job.

Unsurprisingly ‘Big Sam’ has not yet been offered another job in management, and as the game moves on from his archaic style, we doubt he ever will. Instead, he bides his time and scrutinising others in the game as a pundit. People like Everton boss Marco Silva, who responded to his criticism in January (as per Daily Mail): “OK, maybe if it is David Moyes I would listen, because he did something really important at this club. But in this case it is not important at all.”

Time to take a break Allardyce.

Everton fans, what are some of your standout memories of Sam Allardyce? Let us know below… 

League One’s fascinating race for automatic promotion saw yet another dramatic twist occur on Saturday which would have delighted Barnsley’s supporters.

With fellow top-two contenders Sunderland and Portsmouth facing each other, the Tykes knew that by securing a victory over Blackpool at Oakwell, they would be able to gain on at least one of their rivals.

However, after making a slow start to proceedings, Daniel Stendel’s side fell behind as Tangerines midfielder Harry Pritchard saw his deflected effort wrong foot Adam Davies. Having overcome the shock of conceding, Barnsley levelled just before half-time as Cauley Woodrow fired in his 16th goal of the season.

Despite dominating vast sways of possession, the Tykes had to wait until the 60th minute to land the all-important killer blow as Liam Lindsay headed home from a corner to clinch a fourth consecutive victory in the third tier.

In what turned out to be a perfect weekend for the Yorkshire-based outfit, Pompey’s draw with the Black Cats at the Stadium of Light saw the gap between second and third extend to four points.

Although it cannot be understated how important these results are for the club’s hopes of securing automatic promotion, the fact that Luton Town lost again means that Barnsley should now be focusing on winning the League One title in May.

Now level on points with the Hatters, the Tykes can usurp Mick Harford’s side if they better their result next Saturday. Whereas Barnsley will be full of confidence heading into their clash at Bristol Rovers, Luton will have to overcome an Oxford United side who have been experiencing somewhat of a renaissance under Karl Robinson in recent months.

If they finish first in May, Stendel’s men will end a 64-year wait for a third tier triumph having last been victorious at this particular level in 1955.

What do you think Tykes fans? Should Stendel be targeting the League One triumph following Luton’s recent slip-ups? How impressed have you been with the German since he joined the club last summer? Let us know below.