All posts by z3u9t.icu

Newcastle United did not approach the former Manchester United defender Jaap Stam to become the manager at St James’ Park, according to The Chronicle.

Stam, who is currently managing Feyenoord, told Voetbal International that the Magpies approached him just days after taking the reigns of the Rotterdam based-outfit.

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It’s another headache in the Mike Ashley story after the businessman’s sale of the club to a Mexican consortium fell through recently, with the Sports Direct owner coming across as ‘rude’.

Fans of the North East club had made their feelings known about their controversial owner since the resignation of Kevin Keegan in 2008 and have been unable to force Ashley out.

Supporters were not impressed with the club’s stance on Stam, contrary to his claims in the Dutch media. One fan said that he knows sources within the club that are consistently dishonest and is not aware of the Dutch manager of telling lies. Another supporter reminded fans that the club admitted at Keegan’s tribunal that it intentionally misled the press, public and fans of the Magpies.

Here you will find some of the best comments from Newcastle fans:

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The debate over Patrick Bamford only continues to rage on at Leeds.

He was at the centre of some fierce criticism from supporters last weekend but ahead of their outing with Charlton, he’s again attracted some heat.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Marcelo Bielsa attempted to explain the differences and similarities between the number nine and Eddie Nketiah.

Nketiah has been pushing for a start in recent weeks after bagging a late goal against Barnsley at Oakwell and the Argentine’s unwilling nature in starting him is starting to frustrate supporters.

Fans reacted to the comments on Twitter as some berated Bamford’s ability to find the back of the net.

The Elland Road faithful tormented the 26-year-old as one picked up on his conversion rate while a further individual said he was missing sitters regularly.

The former Middlesbrough striker has four goals this term but that comes from a total number of four shots per game, via WhoScored.

Nketiah, on the other hand, has scored the same number of goals in all competitions despite starting just twice.

Here’s the best of the debate.

Cenk Tosun scored a late winner as Turkey recorded a 1-0 victory over Albania in their Euro 2020 qualification match on Friday night.

The 28-year-old has now netted five times in his last six appearances at international level for a Turkey side very much on the up.

The 6-foot centre-forward is hardly getting a sniff for Everton, though, making just one Premier League appearance in the early stages of the 2019-20 campaign.

Tosun has not even made the squad for two of Everton’s last four league outings, which is somewhat of a surprise when considering Marco Silva’s side are not exactly flying in the final third of the field – netting just six league goals.

As expected, a number of Everton fans took to social media to react to their centre-forward’s effort on Friday night.

And it would be fair to say that many believe the Turk should be given more of a regular chance, potentially at the expense of Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

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A selection of the Twitter reaction from the Merseyside club’s fans can be seen below:

The winger has named his second child Pedro, and although he’s less than a week old it’s fair to say that we could see quite a lot of him over the next few years.

Lucas’ eldest child, Miguel, became a bit of a cult hero last season, after the Brazilian netted a hat-trick against Huddersfield Town.

Of course, the winger was allowed to keep the match ball after netting three goals against the Terriers, and he wasted no time in getting his kid onto the pitch for a bit of fun with the ball.

Fans cheered every touch the youngster took after the game in a very sweet moment.

Now, the next time the 27-year-old nets a hat-trick we could see the newest addition to the Moura family step onto the pitch with him, or crawl perhaps.

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In today’s West Ham United roundup, we take a look at what news has been making the headlines for the Hammers. Gary Neville believes the Hammers have a good chance of making the top six after defeating Manchester United, chairman David Gold questions VAR, and Arsenal are willing to let Stan Flaherty undergo a trial at West Ham.

Gold questions VAR

Report: West Ham chairman David Gold has taken to Twitter to call for a rule change in red card situations now that we have the addition of VAR. Gold believes teams should be able to appeal the second yellow card, after Arthur Masuaku’s double yellow against Aston Villa.

He tweeted: “Would it be fairer to be able to appeal a red card following two yellows after all he and the club could be punished twice, once for the sending off and two for the ban from the next game when on reviewing the incidents one of them was not worthy of a yellow.”

Verdict: Whether you love it or hate it, VAR is here to stay and will seemingly split opinions for the foreseeable future. Although, what has been one of it’s biggest flaws is not necessarily the decisions, but the manner in which it is used and what it is used for. For example, referee’s can overturn a straight red card if deemed an incorrect decision. However, officials cannot overturn the decision of a second yellow card, despite the outcome of the player leaving the pitch still the same as a straight red.

Quite frankly, as Gold alluded to, it doesn’t make sense to have VAR help straight red cards, but not a second yellow – the player will still leave the pitch and a ban will still take place. Truthfully, if we have the technology to right a wrong, it should be used to correct every bad decision and not just pick and choose what can and can’t be helped.

West Ham have a ‘really good chance’ of top six, says Neville

Report: Ex-Manchester United man Gary Neville believes West Ham could make the top six this campaign. He said on his podcast: “If West Ham and Leicester keep their squads fit, they have got a really good chance of getting into that sixth or fifth position.

“I looked at Manchester United’s team for instance on Sunday compared to West Ham and you would probably swap quite a few players into it.

“It’s the same with Leicester for the likes of (James) Maddison, (Youri) Tielemans, (Jamie) Vardy, Demarai Gray and others. They would get into this Manchester United team or bench.”

Verdict: It can be argued that this West Ham side has the best chance of cracking to top six since the club finished seventh in 2015-16 under Slaven Bilic. Back then, the club was led by stars such as Dimitri Payet, who scored nine goals in that year. Now, the likes of Sebastian Haller already has three goals, whilst Andriy Yarmolenko has two this season.

In midfield, Mark Noble continues to impress after his Man of the Match for his display against United, alongside Declan Rice who has so far averaged a performance rating of 7.05. Indeed, this West Ham side has massively improved it’s attacking options now and with Manuel Pellegrini at the helm, the club continues to get better.

It is, of course, still early days. Although, based on the poor start to the campaign from the usual top six contenders, the Hammers do have a great chance at finally breaking that top six barrier. It may take a bit of luck and hope of little injuries, but as of now, West Ham fans have a right to be excited.

Flaherty set for trial

Report: According to Football Insider, Arsenal youngster Stan Flaherty is set to undergo a trial at West Ham. The report suggests that the 17-year-old is hoping of transferring from the Gunners to a fellow Premier League club after been given the green light by the club.

Verdict: Flaherty is able to play in various positions on the wing and through the middle, and after scoring two goals and providing an assist in 11 games for Arsenal’s U18’s, the Englishman has seemingly caught the eye of West Ham.

The Hammers would also be bagging a man inform, after Flaherty scored with his first touch last weekend and netted a free-kick towards the end of Arsenal’s 4-1 win over Norwich, as per the report from Football Insider.

It is often good news if West Ham are planning on investing in youth talent, as they have such a positive track record throughout their history in bringing through some incredible players. This transfer could only be good news for both Flaherty and West Ham.

Arsenal are right in the mix challenging for the top four under new manager Unai Emery, who continues to impress in his first season over in English football.

The Gunners have put in some excellent performances at times, although once again inconsistencies have robbed them of a real chance of making a run at the top positions in the Premier League.

However, things are looking up in the long-term, and Emery will be confident of being a success with the Gunners as he continues to adjust to life on these shores.

With January very much a write off though in terms of new additions for the club, we here in the Tavern think the club need to start planning for the summer, and one man we feel would be a superb signing is PSV winger Hirving Lozano.

The Mexican winger, has been in quite superb form over in Holland this term, smashing in 15 goals and adding nine assists across all competitions, and his stock is definitely on the rise.

Lozano, who predominantly operates down the left, would be a superb addition for Arsenal, who often face a dilemma down that side of the field, with Aubameyang asked to fill the role or the under used Alex Iwobi sometimes slotting into the inside forward position.

The speedy PSV man would bring direct pace to the Gunners line up, something the team have lacked really since the days of Marc Overmars.

He’s bound to be a wanted man come the summer if he continues to perform as is, and Arsenal need to have their wits about them to ensure they sign the 23-year-old ahead of the competition.

Arsenal fans, what do you think? Good signing? Let us know in the comments!

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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… 

For Leeds, Saturday was the first blow in their pursuit of promotion.

In 2018/19, it took them nine matches to suffer defeat in the league but this time it took them just six.

Losing one game in August is highly unlikely to derail things but in conceding a sloppy goal it summed up some of their losses last season too, specifically in the playoffs.

The international break has probably come at the right time with the focus now being elsewhere for two weeks, but that doesn’t mean Marcelo Bielsa doesn’t have some big things to mull over.

On the chalkboard

In many ways, the Argentine’s approach is admirable. He sticks by his players and that’s never been more evident in not replacing Kiko Casilla over the summer.

The goalkeeper has started well, conceding just three times in the Championship, whilst his refusal to openly criticise those who perhaps don’t perform well is a pleasant trait to have.

At times, it’s been easy to predict the Leeds XI. Bielsa has preferred a 4-1-4-1 formation whilst he even revealed his team ahead of a clash with Wigan.

It was amusing but also a cause for concern. Despite the Whites winning, it gave their opposition an advantage ahead of kick-off.

But it’s now time for Bielsa to bite the bullet. It’s time for the 64-year-old to put aside his stubbornness and change his selection.

The fact he isn’t willing to criticise suggests he could stick with the same sort of side when they face Barnsley after the international break but this cannot be the case.

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This isn’t to say mass change is needed. After all, Leeds dominated against Swansea and on another day they would have swatted them aside with ease.

They boasted over 60% of the possession and had 21 shots yet couldn’t get over the line.

One of the main areas he could look to change is in attack and out wide. Bamford wasted four chances against Swansea whilst Jack Harrison managed just one dribble.

Considering he had six against Stoke, it should come as a slight concern considering the Manchester City loan man has only contributed to one goal this campaign too.

Leeds’ decision to keep a similar XI is currently holding them back and despite the form of Eddie Nketiah and Helder Costa, who have combined for goals twice, they’ve found no route into the starting XI.

Arguably, Bielsa has yet to pick the best team available to him. Until he does, it may continue to hold them back.

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West Ham United are reportedly interested in acquiring the services of Bayer Leverkusen striker Patrick Schick this month, with the Hammers looking to add depth to their squad given their participation in three competitions.

What’s the story?

According to Italian outlet Calcio Mercato, the East London club are looking to sign the Leverkusen forward this window, having not signed a striker since Sebastien Haller’s departure for Ajax last year.

The £36m-rated striker has been in exceptional form this term, having netted 18 goals in 16 Bundesliga appearances.

Schick joined Leverkusen in September 2020 from Italian outfit AS Roma, having spent the previous season on loan at their Bundesliga rivals RB Leipzig, where the Czech Republic international scored ten goals in 28 appearances.

Since his move, the striker labelled a “genius” by his national team coach Jaroslav Silhavy, has scored 31 times in 56 appearances, an astounding tally.

However, the 25-year-old could seek a new challenge and make the move to the Premier League by joining David Moyes’ side.

West Ham fans will love him

It is no secret that the East Londoners could do with a new striker with winger Jarrod Bowen being their main goal output of late.

Michail Antonio started the season excellently, scoring five goals in his first six Premier League games of the campaign. However, the Jamaica international has only scored three league goals since September.

With Moyes’ side still juggling three competitions and possessing genuine ambition of securing Champions League football by May, the Hammers will need a recognised goal scorer that they can rely on.

West Ham have managed to find goals from all over the pitch, scoring 41 in their 20 league games thus far. However, that may not prove sustainable and the Irons could do with adding a recognised goalscorer up front to help secure a top-four finish and progress in the Europa League and FA Cup.

Schick has had an immense start to the season, scoring more goals than games played. Should West Ham be able to find a fee suitable to bring the Czech from Germany to England, they could be a serious force during the second half of the season.

Moreover, the Irons have already had two Czech stars succeed at the London Stadium with Tomas Soucek and Vladimir Coufal being key contributors. Thus, fans would surely warm the forward pretty instantly should he make the move.

AND in other news, West Ham flop who lost the ball every 2 touches v Leeds may be costing Moyes top-four…

West Ham have had to go through their latest Premier League season with only one recognised centre-forward in their squad in the shape of Michail Antonio.

This comes as a result of their deal that saw Sebastien Haller join Ajax back in the 2021 January transfer window for a fee of £20m.

With the upcoming summer transfer window in mind, it seems as though a road has emerged for the Hammers to make a swoop for another striker that will be very familiar to a lot of fans at the east London club.

What’s the news?

According to a recent report from The Sun, Everton are willing to cash in on striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin in the upcoming summer transfer window, putting West Ham and Arsenal on red alert.

However, a deal is unlikely to come cheap with the England international currently valued at £40.5m according to Transfermarkt.

West Ham can replace Haller with Calvert-Lewin

Since making his senior debut for the Toffees back in December 2016 in a 2-1 league win over the Gunners, the Englishman has gone on to make 184 senior appearances for the Merseyside club across all competitions, scoring 56 goals and providing 17 assists along the way.

With 16 goals to his name in 33 league appearances last season, only Harry Kane (47) managed to have more shots on target than the Everton striker.

Despite only making ten appearances in the league this time around, the 25-year-old has still managed to find the back of the net three times and provide one assist as well as earning himself an overall performance rating of 6.84 from WhoScored, making him Everton’s joint-highest rated player for this campaign.

Labelled as a “fabulous” player by Sky Sports pundit Graeme Souness, Calvert-Lewin could not only provide the Hammers with another strike option in their squad after Haller’s exit but also some hefty competition for Antonio as their first-choice centre-forward given his prominence in front of goal.

If Everton are willing to negotiate a deal for their star striker in the summer, then GSB must jump into action and try their hardest at getting the Englishman to swap Goodison Park for the London Stadium.

With the east London club chasing European football once again this season, the prospect of playing in continental competition for a London club could be a very tempting proposition for the striker.

In other news: West Ham must swoop for £75k-p/w monster who Moyes will love, he’s “the new Vidic”

Aston Villa have reportedly joined some Premier League and European behemoths in the race to sign Denis Zakaria.

The Daily Mail listed the defensive midfielder as a player of interest to Steven Gerrard’s side on Saturday evening, and it has since had a number of Villa supporters talking on social media.

Zakaria, who plies his trade with Bundesliga side Borussia Monchengladbach, is out of contract at the end of June. The 25-year-old is valued at £24.3m and has made 144 appearances for his current employers, attracting interest from the likes of Liverpool, Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.

However, it now seems as if Villa are also keen on the Switzerland international as they look to bolster their defensive midfield ranks following Marvelous Nakamba’s injury. The Daily Mail named 10 players who are of interest to Villa, one of which was Zakaria.

Villa fans react

The AVFC Faithful shared the links on Twitter regarding the 6 foot 2 beast, whose 90.1% passing accuracy rate is better than any player to have started a league match for Villa this term. Here is what these fans had to say in reply, with many keen to see a move materialise.

“FINALLY, WHAT WE’VE BEEN MISSING”

Credit: @OP4C

“Please be true man”

Credit: @BallyLDM

“OHHH ITS MUSIC TO MY EARS”

Credit: @charliepowellm1

“WAIT WHATTTTTT”

Credit: @LordMillman29

“Things you love to see”

Credit: @K6Lion1874

“Exactly what we need”

Credit: @AJJ8Villa

In other news: Villa’s rivals now set sights on signing 6 ft 2 beast who has ‘put on a lot of weight’.