All posts by h716a5.icu

Three things are certain in life. Death, taxes, and every football fan loving Michy Batshuayi.

The Belgian international has asserted himself as one of the most likeable players in world football. From his brilliant social media presence to his impact on the pitch, Batshuayi’s presence in the beautiful game is one of the few bright spots in modern football, and Palace fans are enjoying his current loan-spell in south London.

The Chelsea loanee has notched up three goals for Roy Hodgson’s side already this season since joining the club January and the former Marseille man is looking like the solution to Palace’s striker problem that has plagued the club for some seasons.

With Premier League safety looking likely this season, attention has turned to the summer transfer window and to who Palace can bring in during the off-season, and Hodgson must assure the club can retain Batshuayi on a permanent basis.

And signing Batshuayi permanently on paper seems like a plausible idea.

Chelsea have shown many times in recent years they are a club who are more than happy to let go of promising players, and with the likes of Olivier Giroud and potentially Gonzalo Higuain as well as returning youngster Tammy Abraham all competing for one striker position, the Belgian international might push for a move away from west London.

However, with the Blues’ one-year transfer ban looking likely to take effect this summer and a cap being emplaced on how many players a club can have out on-loan, Chelsea might have to do the unthinkable and actually rely on youngsters who have come through the club and high-calibre players currently out on-loan, meaning Batshuayi could be forced to stay with the 2016/17 Premier League champions.

Chelsea will be allowed to sell players during this proposed transfer bad, though, and with a squad as big as what Maurizio Sarri has at his disposal Palace might get lucky and be able to tempt Batshuayi back to Selhurst Park.

In south London, the 23-year-old striker will be guaranteed first-team football, and as we have seen this season, Batshuayi is a striker who suits Hodgson’s style of play well and will only get better with consecutive minutes in the Premier League.

Palace fans, would you want Batshuayi on a permanent deal?

Will Crystal Palace’s striker crisis ever end?

Indeed, that’s probably a question every Palace fan reading this hopes to soon find an answer to, but for now, the Eagles still don’t have a proper striker aboard. Michy Batshuayi is destined to go back to Chelsea in a few months time, while both Christian Benteke and Jordan Ayew are failing to impress.

Seriously, seriously failing to impress.

The latter, in particular, has been a huge disappointment. Considering how Roy Hodgson signed him after watching his decent work at Swansea City last season, it was surely presumed he would be the answer to Palace’s striking issues. A mobile option to complement the excellent Wilfried Zaha sounded good in theory but has pretty much failed in practice. In fact, he’s been quite the opposite.

Despite having made 18 Premier League appearances, Ayew’s only scored a single league goal. Awful.

Even the creativity of Andros Townsend and Zaha’s swagger couldn’t inspire him to get his goal-scoring groove back. The Ghanian hasn’t been able to create an understanding with his attacking compatriots, fluffing in front of goal whenever they created opportunities for him.

Ayew has been unable to change up his gears as the season moves on. Even after watching Benteke fail time and again, he couldn’t capitalise on his failures by becoming a prominent goal-scorer for the Eagles. He’s missed big chances, being bullied off by defenders and hasn’t been able to use his mobility to good use.

It was his failures which forced Palace to bring in Batshuayi at the last minute in the winter transfer window, giving fans a mere glimpse at what could be.

Ayew’s failed to sustain under the pressures of the Premier League, with his flopped stint proving he’s best suited to the Championship.

Get. Him. Out.

Palace fans, would you be willing to give Ayew another chance next season? Join the discussion by commenting below. 

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One of Sunderland’s brightest youth prospects has suffered a major setback,  as Elliot Embleton will miss the remainder of the season with a grade three hamstring tear.

As reported by The Sunderland Echo, Embleton is out for the rest of the campaign after damaging his hamstring on international duty.

The 19 year-old, who has been on loan from Wearside to Grimsby Town since last summer, was on duty with the England Under-20 squad, and Grimsby boss Michael Jolley has now confirmed the injury.

“We had the news on Elliot, which was not good,” Jolley said.

“He’s got a grade three hamstring tear so unfortunately that’s going to be him for the season, which is very sad for us because he’s done so well for us, so we’re upset about that.”

Embleton has featured in 32 games for the League Two outfit this season and grabbed himself four goals and four assists, an impressive return from a teenaged midfielder who is used all over the pitch by his boss.

Pl>ymaker FC Exclusive: Jermaine Jenas reveals why Tyne-Wear is a more intense derby than anything London can offer – check out the video below….

And the fact that Jolley is so gutted about the youngster’s setback should tell you exactly how highly he rates him.

Embleton will likely be back on Wearside next season, but whether this injury stops him from competing for a first team place or not is still up in the air.

How impressive has Michael Hector been for Sheffield Wednesday this season Owls fans?

The defender, who is on loan from Chelsea, has thrived in England’s second tier for the Yorkshire-based outfit, delivering a number of stand-out performances for the club. Masterful displays in recent weeks against Sheffield United and Stoke City has seen Hector form a fearsome defensive partnership with Tom Lees which has contributed to his side achieving seven clean sheets in their last 12 games.

An outstanding level of consistency shown by the Jamaican international should force boss Steve Bruce into committing to permanently signing him in the summer. With first-team opportunities at Chelsea unlikely to arise in the near future due to the sheer amount of competition at the club, Hector would benefit from a move away from Stamford Bridge as it would allow him to fulfil his potential.

An undeniably talented defender, the former Reading ace will not want to get him caught in the cycle at the Blues which has seen players such as Lucas Piazon and Lewis Baker fail to reach their peak due to a plethora of short-term loan moves.

Considering just how good Hector has been for Wednesday, Bruce will undoubtedly have to spend big to warn off any other suitors when the transfer window opens in July but it is a risk that he should be willing to take. The 25-year-old has the potential to be a regular starter for the Owls for the considerable future and could play an imperative role in the future of the club.

However, any possible deal could hinge on the outcome of the 2018/19 campaign. With seven games to play, Wednesday are still in with a chance of reaching the play-offs and securing an unlikely promotion to the Premier League. If they secure top-flight football for next season, they will be more of an attractive prospect to Hector who has the ability to shine at the highest of levels.

What do you think Owls fans? Should Bruce break the bank to secure the signing of Hector? Who else would you like your club to sign in the summer?

Liverpool continued to pile the pressure on Manchester City this weekend with an excellent comeback win over Southampton at St Mary’s.

The Reds are keeping their title tilt going and Jurgen Klopp’s men will be keen to ensure they manage to finally snaffle a first Premier League title since the league’s inception.

The lack of January signings however could well prove to be a big problem for the Reds, with no action in the market and manager Klopp left with what he already had at his disposal.

However, there are already rumours beginning to surface about who the club might look to move for in the summer, and one man who is being linked with the club today is former Manchester United winger Memphis Depay.

The Dutch star has been in fine form for Lyon since making the move to the French side following a failed spell at Old Trafford, and he might well look at Anfield as the ideal sort of destination to prove the doubters wrong and show he can be a success in the English game.

Depay has been a bundle of tricks in Ligue 1, and has added plenty of goals and assists to his CV along the way.

With the story reporting that Sadio Mane could be the one Depay is replacing at Anfield if a move does go through, Liverpool would need someone who can fit into Klopp’s system and replace the goals and assists that Mane provides.

Depay could well be that man, and while it won’t delight United fans if he does move to Liverpool, he could be a massive success at Anfield and prove to be a shrewd addition by the Merseysiders.

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Toby Alderweireld’s departure from Tottenham Hotspur may well fix one of Mauricio Pochettino’s biggest problems at a stroke.

The Belgium international has a £25million release clause in his contract and doubts persist over  whether the defender will remain north London beyond the summer.

Indeed, Alderweireld has spent a total of four years in the capital and has emerged as a genuinely world-class centre-back.

But this season he has been at the centre of one of Pochettino’s biggest problems.

The Argentine has continually rotated between a back three and a back four throughout the campaign.

When playing the former, he has partnered Jan Vertonghen and Davinson Sanchez with Alderweireld. When using the latter, he has cycled through the three and has occasionally used Juan Foyth too.

It should be no surprise, then, that the uncertainty surrounding the defence has adversely affected the club.

This season, Spurs have conceded 34 goals in the Premier League in 31 games. In 2017-18, Spurs conceded 36 in 38 games. Indeed, they have not kept a clean sheet domestically since February in a 1-0 win over Newcastle.

Since then, Spurs have let in one against Leicester City and Arsenal, as well as two versus Burnley, Chelsea, Southampton and Liverpool.

Across the club’s last five games, they have played a back three, three times – in the 2-1 losses to Liverpool and Burnley and the 1-1 draw with Arsenal. In those games, Alderweireld, Vertonghen and Sanchez played together twice, but Alderweireld was not involved versus Burnley.

In the two games in which they used a back four, Alderweireld and Sanchez played together against Chelsea but the Belgian was replaced by Vertonghen against Southampton. Alderweireld was not even in the squad that day.

Last season, Spurs utilised a centre-back pairing of Sanchez and Vertonghen because of Alderweireld’s injury-riddled campaign.

The defender missed 23 Premier League games in a row through injury. In that time, Spurs lost just four times.

They beat the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea in that time period, and also recorded Champions League wins over Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund without Alderweireld on the pitch. Indeed, he sustained his injury against the Spanish giants and lasted a mere 24 minutes. When he was substituted, the two sides were level at 0-0. Spurs won 3-1.

Football FanCast quizzed Football.London’s Tottenham correspondent, Alasdair Gold, on this very issue.

He said: “Last year, Pochettino may have been weirdly helped, if that’s such a way of describing Toby Alderweireld’s injury, but Alderweireld’s injury meant he had to play Jan Vertonghen and Davinson Sanchez. They formed a very solid partnership and they knew what each other were doing and when it went to a back three, it was purely Eric Dier coming back into that back three. It was very settled.

“This year, he looks like a man who is thinking ‘I have to play Alderweireld, because he’s class’ but it’s now giving him an issue with Sanchez, who Pochettino absolutely adores, so he’s now got a thing of ‘I really want to play a back three but I can’t do it every match’ and it’s messy. You can see it in the goals conceded tally.”

Of course, much of the furore surrounding his future revolves around the asking price. Alderweireld is not a £25m defender; he is worth at least double that in the current transfer market.

And many believe that whichever club triggers the clause and acquires his signature will receive a genuine bargain. That may be true.

But, by the same token, Alderweireld departing will allow Pochettino to properly bed in a central defensive partnership that has already proved its worth in north London.

It is that rarest of things: A win-win situation.

It seems like only yesterday when Arsenal were the front-runners for Ivan Perisic.

The January transfer window saw the Inter Milan winger be linked constantly with a move to north London, and three months later the Croatian international has now been linked with a move West Ham.

According to Gazzetta dello Sport via the Sun, the Hammers are willing to meet the £35 million price tag Inter want for their 30-year-old winger, who is still being courted by Arsenal as well as Tottenham.

West Ham are braced for a big summer, with David Gold & David Sullivan likely to bolster the attack with the likes of Andy Carroll likely to leave the club this window, but Perisic isn’t the player the Hammers need.

The Croatian would no doubt be a big-name signing, and surprising one if that, but Perisic is simply just not what West Ham need this summer in terms of recruitment. The winger is no doubt a Premier League quality player, but he isn’t what Hammers should be targeting in this transfer window.

At 30, Perisic is heading into the winding-down years of his career, and in a league as fast as the Premier League the former Wolfsburg attacker will find it difficult to keep up with the speed of English football.

As well as age, Perisic’s nature to play on the left side of the wing means that star-man Felipe Anderson will have to be shifted around to accommodate the reported £35 million man, which could result in the Brazilian international being frustrated with playing out of position.

Perisic might seem like a good signing on paper, but with strikers leaving and fans preferring to see Anderson start on the left, the winger just doesn’t make sense for the Hammers as a summer signing.

West Ham fans, would you take Perisic as a summer signing? Let us know!

Although a lot has been made of Sheffield United’s rise in recent years, it could be argued that Chris Wilder would not have been able to achieve the success that he has at the club without his experiences at Oxford United and Northampton Town.

After moving to the Kassam Stadium in 2008 after a seven-year spell at Halifax Town, the 51-year-old missed out on securing a top-five finish in his debut season in charge of the Yellows before launching a challenge for the Conference title a year later.

Having led the standings at Christmas, a bad run of form for Oxford saw them have to settle for the play-offs where they would gain promotion to the Football League via a 3-1 win over York City in the final of the competition. Following four more years with the U’s, Wilder decided that it was time for a new challenge and so when Northampton came calling, he decided to make the switch.

Inheriting a side who were in need of a miracle to avoid relegation to the Conference, the former Alfreton boss entered the last two matches of the 2013/14 campaign needing two victories. Instead of opting for experience, Wilder decided to hand teenager Ivan Toney a start against Dagenham & Redbridge in what turned out to be a masterstroke as the forward scored twice in a 3-0 victory before backing it up with another goal in a 3-1 win against Oxford a week later.

These results kept the Cobblers in League Two and following a year of consolidations at Sixfields, Wilder assembled a squad which would go on to secure promotion as champions in 2016. This remarkable turnaround in fortunes was even more impressive when you consider that Northampton had received a winding-up order during this particular period before Kelvin Thomas eventually saved the club (via the BBC).

Wilder’s experience of overcoming adversity in the past could prove to be vital during the culmination of the current Championship campaign. With the Blades third in the league standings and three points behind automatic promotion rivals Leeds United, they cannot afford any more slip-ups if they are to finish in the top-two in May.

Having failed to pick up victories in their last two games, some United fans may be concerned about the mental strength of the players at Bramall Lane. However, whereas last season saw the club fall away at the back-end of the year, Wilder will not let his side repeat the same mistakes, especially when you consider that he has a much-better squad at his disposal.

If the Blades do however miss out to Leeds, they should not fear the prospect of the play-offs despite their miserable record in the competition. With the top three in the second tier being well ahead of the rest of the division in terms of consistency and quality, it would be incredibly surprising if Wilder does not lead his side to the Premier League via this particular avenue in May.

What do you think Blades fans? Can you club overcome recent adversity to secure promotion? Will Wilder’s previous experiences help him gain an edge over Marcelo Bielsa? Let us know below.

The prospect of securing a return to the Premier League is suddenly becoming very real for everyone involved at Sheffield United.

Monday’s stunning 3-0 victory over Hull City was made even sweeter by Leeds United’s unexpected defeat at Brentford which resulted in the Blades opening up a three-point lead over their automatic promotion challengers with just two games left to play this season.

Having been the underdogs for the entirety of this year’s campaign, United are now the ones being chased by their Yorkshire rivals. Although this is the ideal position to be in at this stage of the year, it can bring with it an expectancy to succeed which has to be dealt with in a proper manner by Chris Wilder and his backroom staff.

Whereas the club’s supporters will be expecting their side to secure the four points to finish in the top two in May, the players cannot afford to get carried away as if they do, there is still a chance that Leeds could launch a dramatic comeback in the next two weeks.

However, it could be argued that under the guidance of Wilder, there is little chance that they will be allowed to rest on their laurels as the 51-year-old has installed a fantastic work ethic at Bramall Lane since taking over in 2016.

With Leeds facing the tough task of having to overcome Aston Villa in Saturday’s early fixture, the outcome of this clash could give the Blades the chance to guarantee promotion when they face Ipswich Town later on in the day.

By securing a victory over the Tractor Boys, United could spark an evening of celebration in Sheffield that not many would have predicted at the start of the campaign.

What do you think Blades fans? Can your side overcome the final hurdle in this fascinating battle for promotion? Or do you believe that there is one more twist in the race for the top two? Let us know below.

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Mauricio Pochettino’s English has come a long way since he arrived at Southampton in 2013.

The Argentine relied on a translator until he felt he was able to fluently respond to questions in front of the media, and he has now established himself as something of a favourite in the British press.

Passionate, tongue-in-cheek and refreshingly honest answers have become the norm, but Tottenham’s manager can occasionally throw up some bizarre comments as well.

And his latest press conference discussing his side’s motivation for the rest of the season has left some fans in a state of confusion and, for some, huge concern.

The 47-year-old essentially claimed that Spurs’ motivation is wavering, with the squad stretched to its bare bones at times and still fighting on two fronts.

In response to his comments, plenty of fans were struggling to sympathise with his sentiments and suggested that there is absolutely no excuse not to feel motivated with the top-four hanging in the balance.

And the Lilywhites faithful will certainly be hoping their club are at their fighting best when they take on Bournemouth on Saturday lunchtime.

Here’s what the fans had to say in response to Pochettino’s admission…