All posts by n8rngtd.top

Jurgen Klopp looks to have been handed another injury blow ahead of his side’s trip to Old Trafford in the FA Cup fourth round on Sunday, with Jordan Henderson reportedly unlikely to feature through injury.

The Liverpool captain was ruled out of the game in midweek against Burnley with a muscle strain and was certainly missed, as the Reds saw their long unbeaten home run come to an end at the hands of Sean Dyche’s side.

Goal have now reported that the 30-year-old is unlikely to feature against Manchester United this weekend, which is undoubtedly a huge blow for Klopp’s side.

The Reds lacked any sort of real fight or leadership against Burnley on Thursday, something you surely feel that Henderson would have provided himself, and would have demanded from his teammates if he were on the pitch.

In the absence of Virgil van Dijk, it could certainly be argued that the Reds are lacking any leaders on the pitch when the former Sunderland man doesn’t play, so not having either at Old Trafford could be a recipe for disaster.

The England international played as a centre-back for the visit of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side earlier this month and impressed against the dangerous front three, but it appears the Reds will be without his experience in midfield for the FA Cup tie.

Fortunately for Klopp, he does now have Joel Matip back fit, so he can partner Fabinho in defence, but the Reds will certainly miss Henderson’s experience in midfield if he cannot feature on Sunday.

The German manager has emphasised the importance of his captain in the past, saying:

If anybody who is with us still doesn’t see the quality of Jordan Henderson, then I cannot help them.

“Is Hendo the perfect football player? No. Do I know anybody who is? No. But is he unbelievably important to us? Yes.”

Therefore, it comes as a huge blow for Liverpool that he is unlikely to feature at Old Trafford on Sunday, as he could have been the catalyst for the Reds turning their disappointing form around with a morale-boosting FA Cup win against their old rivals.

And, in other news… “Of course he would” – Exclusive: Pundit claims PL beast would love to join LFC

A fresh claim on Graham Potter to Spurs has emerged this week…

What’s the word?

The Brighton manager sits high on technical director Steve Hitchen’s shortlist, according to the Daily Mail, who also claimed that he has other admirers within the Lilywhites’ hierarchy.

Ever-reliable football.london journalist Alasdair Gold added fuel to the fire on Thursday afternoon with an intriguing bit of information as he tweeted: “Told a number of the Spurs players had a lasting impression left on them by the style of Brighton’s play and would be happy if Graham Potter was pursued to become the club’s next manager.”

He also suggested that the 45-year-old has caught the eye of the club’s decision-makers with his brand of football, which would correlate well with the report from the Daily Mail.

Pochettino 2.0

It’s thought that Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy wants his next appointment to be ‘attack-minded’ with a strong focus on developing young players – i.e. not too dissimilar to Mauricio Pochettino, as per The Guardian.

This has been reinforced by The Athletic’s Jack Pitt-Brooke, who claimed that Spurs are looking for a “Pochettino-style coach”, and that’s where Potter fits the bill.

The Argentine was poached from a smaller Premier League club in Southampton but was known for his high-pressing tactics, a similar system and train of thought to the former Swansea man on the south coast.

Whilst Brighton’s results have been underwhelming and rather disappointing – only the bottom three have won fewer games – their performances have been worthy of better returns.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-latest-spurs-news-transfer-rumours-gossip-managerial-update-levy-mason-mourinho-sacked” title= “Read the latest Spurs news, transfer rumours, managerial gossip and more!”]

As outlined by The Athletic, Potter rates out as one of the best coaches in the top-flight, scoring 97 out of 100 for their coaching performance ranking system. He favours a possession-based system with plenty of build-up play and focus on dominating the final third through an overload on the wings and an intense press.

Potter has also trusted his youth, meeting another one of Spurs’ mooted criteria. Brighton have the fourth-youngest weighted average age (minutes played multiplied by age for all players) at 26.

Sat in 14th place, the Seagulls also have the best defensive record of any team 11th or below and have only conceded one goal more than Spurs this season – given that defensive mistakes have been a recurring theme, that’s quite impressive.

Back in January, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola was left blown away by Potter and his side. The Spaniard dubbed him “the best English manager right now” and claimed: “You have to be a top side to play that way. As a spectator, I like to watch these teams. I like watching Brighton play. I recognise it. When I was a football player, I would love to play in this team.”

There’s no denying that Potter would be a massive gamble but the same would’ve been said about Pochettino swapping the comfort of St Mary’s for a team competing in Europe.

The 45-year-old is perhaps as close to Pochettino 2.0 as Levy is going to get, so if that’s the criteria, then he has to be considered.

AND in other news, Levy could deal Spurs a terrifying blow by hiring “stubborn” 62 y/o who has “no plan B”…

Republic of Ireland legend Ray Houghton enjoyed a glittering international career, with his two greatest moments on that stage coming as he scored the decisive goal in the 1-0 win against England at the 1988 European Championships, before a repeat of the same situation and scoreline against Italy at the 1994 World Cup in America.

The midfielder was also a big part of the famous successful Liverpool team from the late 1980s and early 90s, winning the First Division and the FA Cup twice each between 1988 and 1992, before moving onto Aston Villa and lifting the League Cup in 1994.

Now retired, Houghton is set to swap the hallowed turf for a fishing rod to take part in an exciting new fishing programme called Angling Outlaws, which is to be shown on BT Sport next year.

We spoke exclusively to the football legend about a number of different subjects within the beautiful game…

What are your thoughts on the Celtic managerial situation?

“I think at the moment they’re probably doing their due diligence, which is probably the right thing to do, make sure you get the right person in because Rangers have already won the title. And I think people are getting a little bit panicky, because the Celtic fans want to see big names wanting to come to their club.

“I’m a Celtic fan. I grew up a Celtic fan. I don’t look at it as much as I once did. But yeah, there’s no doubt, you know, with Rangers doing as well as they are and Steven Gerrard, a big name in charge, Celtic feel that they could do likewise. And there’s been quite some names in the frame, Thierry Henry, Roy Keane, you know, amongst others. So, it will be interesting to see who they go for.”

Is Eddie Howe a big enough name?

“Yeah, I think so. Yeah, I think in many respects, as I said earlier, it’s about reinventing yourself, it may be a good place for Eddie. Just to go and because your only real opposition is Rangers, you get into Europe and you’ve done well, you know, the fans will enjoy that give a decent run.

“But your main priority is to finish first in the league. And they just need someone to take them forward again, hopefully the owners invest money in the club. I think that’s one of the stipulations that a big manager coming in would have, they’ve got you have the finances to take the club forward.”

Who’s going to replace Jose Mourinho at Tottenham?

“I really don’t know. They’ve had Pochettino who got them to a Champions League Final – the only time they’ve ever been in the Champions League Final. Tottenham is a huge job, it’s a massive club, they’ve got a fantastic stadium, they’ve got training facilities to die for, but I just don’t see them getting the funds and I don’t know if the owner Joe Lewis puts in anywhere near what other clubs do, or he’s prepared to go into debt or get loans to bring in players.

“There’s no doubt Pochettino and Mourinho are massive names, and whether they can have that calibre of manager again if the finances aren’t there, I don’t know. It’ll be interesting to see who Daniel Levy, who looks like he’s the main man at the club when it comes to the appointments, has got in mind. He thought Mourinho with his CV was going to be the game changer as far as bringing trophies to the club, and that didn’t happen.”

Could you see Steven Gerrard becoming the next Tottenham manager?

“Well, I think with Steven he’s learning. Look what happened to Frank Lampard. Frank went to Derby and had a good season. And then suddenly, the Chelsea job came up, and of course, he’s going to jump at it. You know, you might not get that offered that again. Was it too early?

“So, with Steve, he probably feels he’s still got a little bit of work to do in the managerial side. Every year he’s doing work as a manager, he’s learning about players and with all due respect to Rangers and the players that they’ve got, going to Spurs or Liverpool is a whole new level of expectation.”

Would you see David Moyes getting the Spurs job?

“If it was purely just only football that might be the case. But don’t forget David Moyes was at West Ham when they let him go. So, loyalty works two ways. The club weren’t very loyal to him, were they?”

Do Liverpool need to freshen up their front three?

“I think there were rumours of going after Werner before he went to Chelsea, but there are not an awful lot of strikers around. Harry Kane would be great because he’s like your finished article up front. I don’t know what the finances are like, all I know is that over the last few years recruitments been very good.

“Last season it’s really slowed, we brought in the lad from Preston was in for £400,000, we brought we brought in the other centre-back for Germany – that’s not Liverpool’s way. They buy the best. They did that with Salah, Mane, Allison, and Van Dijk.”

Ray Houghton will be joining Paul Parker, Tony Gale and Frank McAvennie on BT Sport’s Angling Outlaws, next summer.

With the help of Outlaw Pro, the four former pros will be trying their hand at fishing, with the quadruplet facing off at the end of the six-part series to see who knows their slide tackles from their tackle boxes.

According to reports, Leeds are eyeing a summer move for Real Madrid starlet Miguel Gutierrez.

What’s the story?

Marcelo Bielsa’s side are enjoying a fine return to the Premier League after several years away, with their weekend victory over Manchester City seeing them enter the top ten of the table.

Now, TEAMtalk claim that the Whites already have one eye on the summer transfer window, and have earmarked 19-year-old left-back Gutierrez as a player of interest.

The report adds that Gutierrez has been offered to director of football, Victor Orta, and that Leeds would be open to signing the teenager on loan with a view to a permanent deal.

Orta’s golden chance

The 19-year-old is highly-rated at both club and international level, with a profile done by Madrid’s official club website saying: “Miguel has a great ability to play the ball out from the back and is a real bonus when attempting to unlock things if games become stagnant. He’s technically very good and reads the game well to cover for his teammates.”

Spain’s U17s manager, David Gordo, has meanwhile raved about his prodigy, declaring: “If they give him minutes and he plays games, he will be a top left-back. He has the characteristics of the perfect left-back for Real Madrid. He has quality, ability to get forward, a nice strike, he is ambitious and he has a winning mentality… he has a very bright future.”

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-transfer-rumours-and-news” title=”Latest Leeds transfer rumours and news”]

Given that Madrid themselves have offered Orta the chance to sign him, everything is all perfectly set up for Gutierrez to make his way to Elland Road for next season.

A loan deal gives Leeds that extra security knowing that they don’t have to splash out a big sum of money straight up, and can instead see whether he’s cut out for Premier League football.

Meanwhile, Leeds must unleash this starlet if Raphinha is injured…

Mason Holgate delivered an error-strewn performance as he badly let Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti down by gifting Tottenham Hotspur a draw on Friday night.

Ancelotti opted to field Holgate as part of a three-man defence beside Michael Keane and Ben Godfrey for the visit of Jose Mourinho’s Spurs to Goodison Park, as the Italian sought to manage an adductor injury for Yerry Mina.

The Toffees were badly in need of a positive result against the north Londoners after a run of two defeats and two draws, but were forced to settle for a third straight stalemate after goals from Harry Kane either side of a brace from Gylfi Sigurdsson.

The result meant that Everton remained eighth in the Premier League table and a point behind Tottenham, who have played a game more, and they now trail the top four by six points ahead of West Ham visiting Newcastle on Saturday.

Everton will have felt that the win was there for taking having controlled every department of the pitch after Sigurdsson converted a penalty to equalise in the 31st minute, and they firmly deserved the lead when the Iceland international clinically volleyed home just after the hour mark.

However, defensive mistakes proved costly for the Toffees as a mix-up between Holgate and Keane gifted Kane an opening for his second of the night, which the England captain refused to waste by rifling an unstoppable effort past Jordan Pickford.

Kane had fortuitously opened the scoring midway through the first half after Keane failed to make purposeful contact with Tanguy Ndombele’s cross before Holgate’s slip left the 27-year-old unchallenged to lash home.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-everton-news-and-views” title=”Latest Everton news and views!”]

Neither Keane nor Holgate will have been pleased with their efforts to prevent Kane from moving two clear at the top of the Premier League’s Golden Boot race with his 20th and 21st goals of the season.

Everton’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League are now in relative tatters and must rely on results going away from West Ham, Chelsea, Liverpool and Spurs if they are to claim a spot for UEFA’s premier club competition.

Ancelotti will have been particularly disappointed by Holgate’s display, having seen the £16m-rated centre-back – who the Liverpool Echo’s Sam Carroll has previously dubbed as “Mr Dependable” – struggle more than Keane throughout.

Holgate could have done better to prevent both of Kane’s goals, having been in the perfect position to intercept Ndombele’s delivery despite Keane’s attempted clearance, only to slip at the crucial moment.

A communication breakdown later led to Kane bagging his brace despite Keane appearing to call for Holgate to leave Erik Lamela’s cross as he stooped to head clear the danger, only for the ball to ricochet into the forward’s path.

Kane’s double meant that Everton had to settle for a point, but the result could have slipped through the Toffees’ fingers were it not for Keane, who blocked two shots and made three clearances while Holgate ended the night with two clearances to his name, per SofaScore.

With Mina set to miss the next few weeks through injury, Ancelotti faces tough decisions over sticking with an unchanged backline or dropping one of his three centre-backs when Everton visit Arsenal next Friday.

AND in other news, a rarely-seen Everton outcast is wanted in a £10.5m summer transfer…

Sheffield Wednesday could lose their star forward Josh Windass this summer should they face relegation from the Championship…

What’s the word?

That’s according to reliable YorkshireLive reporter Dom Howson, who dropped a fresh claim over the future of the 27-year-old Owls ace earlier this week.

In response to one supporter in a recent Q&A, he said:

“I think they would struggle to keep Windass if they were relegated. I could see him having a lot of Championship interest. I know he was linked with WBA a couple of months ago.”

Bad news for Moore

The Owls have a tough task in staying up as it is, even despite their rampant 5-0 victory against Cardiff City last time out, they still remain seven points adrift of safety with only one game in hand on that 21st spot.

Windass has played a key role this season and is probably a player that Moore would love to keep around next season irrespective of what division they find themselves in.

In terms of goal contributions, the former Rangers man sits joint-top, having provided six goals and four assists. This accounts for a whopping 30% share of all the goals the Owls have scored in the second-flight this term.

He has also proven to be a versatile threat under Moore, playing in four different positions since the 46-year-old was appointed. Windass is the sort of player that fits the expansive, attacking style of football the ex-West Brom coach deploys.

Dean Windass highlighted a key part of his son’s game being his explosiveness in an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, only bolstering his credential in south Yorkshire under Moore.

“He’s a quick, explosive runner,” explained Windass.

Indeed, the £1.44m-rated dynamo would be a big miss for Wednesday. He is under contract until 2022, but as Howson claims, the Owls are unlikely to be able to keep hold of him if they go down.

AND in other news, Sheffield Wednesday eye Jordan Rhodes replacement in 23 y/o on a “different level”…

Southampton look to have been robbed blind in their negotiations with Tottenham Hotspur for Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in the summer, with the Danish international continuing to impress in Jose Mourinho’s side this season.

The former Saints captain was sold to the North London club for a reported fee of just £15 million, despite Southampton reportedly setting an asking price of £35 million earlier in the summer.

Of course, they were able to negotiate a deal with Spurs that saw Kyle Walker-Peters move the other way for just £12 million, which has proved to be an excellent deal for the club, but you could definitely argue that the South Coast club could have negotiated a much better deal for the defensive midfielder.

In his time at Spurs, Hojbjerg has seen his market value rise to a career-high of £31.5 million, despite being valued at just £18 million during the summer.

He has been a mainstay in Mourinho’s Spurs side this season, making 29 appearances in the Premier League and averaging a very solid 6.96 rating for his performances.

After impressing in Spurs’ 2-0 North London derby win earlier in the season, Mourinho was full of praise for the former Bayern Munich man, saying:

“Simplicity is genius. And the guy is so simple in everything he does with the ball. And I think he’s a phenomenal player. Congratulations, Mr Levy.”

The fact that Mourinho was saluting Spurs’ chairman Daniel Levy, who is renowned for his ability to negotiate transfer deals, suggests that even the Portuguese manager believes that they got a bargain when signing Hojbjerg.

Although Southampton were almost forced into a decision with Hojbjerg due to his old contract being set to expire at the end of this season, the fact that the Danish international’s value has gone through the roof during his time at Spurs definitely suggests that they could’ve demanded a bit more.

If he continues to impress with the Lilywhites, then you could definitely argue that Southampton were robbed blind by Levy in the negotiations for Hojbjerg.

And, in other news… Saints can forget about relegation after news on £75k-p/w star; Ralph surely buzzing

Celtic’s hunt for a new manager at Parkhead has really gathered pace over the last week or so. After suffering setbacks in their quest to appoint Chris Wilder and Jesse Marsch, they have identified a new man to lead the Bhoys forward.

That happens to be one of their former employers; Roy Keane.

The Manchester United legend finished his playing career in Glasgow and is now being viewed by Dermot Desmond as the man to lead Celtic’s new era.

According to reports, discussions have taken place over the role with an interview even occurring.

If he does indeed come to Scotland, how could his starting XI look next season?

This could be a significant summer of change for Celtic, both among the football hierarchy and with the playing squad.

Part of that could see Kristoffer Ajer and Odsonne Edouard leave. The former has been linked with a move to AC Milan while the latter continues to be touted with a switch to the English Premier League.

Liverpool have recently been linked with his services in a deal that could see Divock Origi go in the opposite direction. As a result, he is the first notable inclusion in Keane’s starting XI.

As many as seven new signings come into the team with another difference in the Celtic attack. Ryan Christie is axed from the starting XI after his disappointing campaign, scoring just five goals. Thus, Siriki Dembele starts on the wing. He has recently been touted with a move from Peterborough on a free transfer.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-celtic-manager-and-transfer-news-boupendza-mcgeady-marsch-mccarthy” title=”Latest Celtic manager and transfer news!”]

Liam Shaw, who has agreed a pre-contract, replaces Scott Brown in the middle of the park alongside Callum McGregor.

The majority of changes come in defence, an area where Celtic have often been found wanting this term. They’ve shipped 14 more goals than Rangers in the league while there’s the threat Ajer could leave.

With that in mind, Declan Gallagher comes in at centre-back. He’s regularly been tipped to make a switch to Parkhead from Motherwell.

There is no permanent move for Jonjoe Kenny at right-back so Dutch target Milan van Ewijk starts at right-back. There is a further change on the opposite side too.

Diego Laxalt is due to head back to Milan following the conclusion of his loan spell, so Romain Perraud could be signed from Brest. He nearly joined Celtic in 2019 and is now being eyed up by the Hoops hierarchy once again.

The final change is in goal where David Marshall returns to Glasgow. He is another to be tipped with a move in recent weeks.

AND in other news, Celtic could finally axe Christie by signing “outstanding” beast with 28 assists…

Lots of Wolves supporters have been talking about a potential return for Matt Doherty in the summer transfer window.

Football Insider have recently reported about Doherty, saying that Wolves are open to bringing the Irishman back to the club in the summer but only if Spurs are looking to lower their asking price for the defender in the summer.

The report states that while Nelson Semedo has shown signs of improvement after a slow start, he doesn’t offer the same sort of goal threat as Doherty did during his time at Molineux.

Doherty has made only 15 appearances in the Premier League, getting a couple of assists. He has played seven times in the Europa League too.

The former Molineux favourite is currently valued at £16.20 million, but it was at around £18 million when he arrived at the north London side.

The news about Doherty was relayed on Twitter by Talking Wolves. Lots of Wolves supporters made their views clear about a potential return for the Irishman.

What did Wolves fans make of the news about Doherty?

“Never go back….sends a negative message to the squad.”

Credit: @WV1Wolf

“If the point was to sell him to get someone else, then why are we re-signing him?? Makes no sense. If this is true, it is absolutely ridiculous.”

Credit: @iamrockymstar

“Given the reports of us having limited transfer funds, I don’t see this happening, not a priority.”

Credit: @GavinderPawar

“No thanks. Semedo is better and hoever has a higher ceiling. Never go backwards.”
Credit: @k3ym4n6
“I think this is bad business I would only play him as a midfielder.”
Credit: @SamCl0ver
“The buying him basically means a mistake was made selling him. Nuno is too stubborn and obstinate to admit that.”
Credit: @Gregvegas67
In other news, Wolves are looking to sign a Real Madrid youth graduate – read more here.

Many Liverpool fans fumed at forward Roberto Firmino as the Reds crashed to a dismal 1-0 defeat at home to Chelsea on Thursday night.

Jurgen Klopp’s side were inflicted with their fifth-straight Anfield loss – something that has never happened in the club’s history. Mason Mount scored the only goal of the game before half-time as the hosts struggled to piece together any attacking prowess.

Firmino started his 25th game of the 2020/21 campaign and found himself second best for the majority of the encounter.

Per Sofascore, Firmino lost possession 15 times, only had one shot on goal, played no key passes and lost five duels.

In what seems to be a case of ‘same old story,’ supporters once again pointed the finger at Firmino with many suggesting that he should be dropped from the team. He wasn’t the only one who looked like a shadow of his former self, but you can find some of the best fan verdicts down below.

Firmino feels wrath of Kop faithful

“Could we please give Bobby Firmino some time on the bench now? He seems completely lost atm…”

Credit: @JHLillevik

“Firmino should not have stayed on the pitch. So tired of him”

Credit: @IamIvan_91

“Firmino is finished. Heads gone.”

Credit: @mcdon_al

“Why on earth was Salah been taken off instead of Firmino, Firmino has been invisible tonight!”

Credit: @Kristiannc991

“Also I’m officially done with Firmino as an LFC player. Offers absolutely nothing anymore”

Credit: @SteLaverty94

“Get rid of Ox, Gini, Milner, Origi, Firmino all useless”

Credit: @lfcnoah1

In other news, Liverpool fans flock in agreement to Sky Sports pundit’s claim on star man.