All posts by n8rngtd.top

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When Manchester United announced on March 28 that they had appointed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on a permanent basis following a successful period in caretaker charge, the following Red Devils fans were clearly delighted.

It would be fair to say things haven’t really gone to plan for the Norwegian in just under three weeks since then though, with their 3-0 Champions League quarter-final second leg defeat against Barcelona on Tuesday night their third loss in their previous four matches in all competitions.

It was also their fourth successive defeat away from home – the first time that has happened since Solskjaer was playing for them in 1999 – as the cracks begin to appear.

Selecting a clearly out-of-sorts Ashley Young backfired as his mistake led to Lionel Messi’s opener for the La Liga leaders, while previously in-form players such as Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford are now struggling.

Things need to turn around quickly if they are to secure qualification for Europe’s elite club competition next season, as they currently lie two points outside of the top four in the Premier League standings.

Man United supporters on Twitter were certainly beginning to question their manager via social media during their most recent defeat, to suggest some are already changing their tune and doubting the decision to keep the 46-year-old on.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

Chelsea were seen off with relative ease this weekend by Liverpool as the Reds moved closer to securing a first Premier League title.

It was a decent enough showing in parts for the Blues, but they ultimately came up short following a well taken goal by Sadio Mane and a stunning second half strike from Mo Salah sealing the deal at Anfield.

There was much to be admired about the Chelsea display and but for a bit of luck in front of goal, Eden Hazard could and maybe should have brought them level moments after going two down.

However, there was also elements of the display which highlighted the need for the club to bring in new faces in the summer if they can, and while Christian Pulisic is already a done deal for the club, their impending transfer ban could well ruin any other plans they might have.

There is an obvious need for a central striker in the Chelsea squad, with Gonzalo Higuain not exactly pulling up many trees during his loan spell.

The future of Eden Hazard too remains unresolved, and it could be worrying times for the Blues if they do lose Hazard and are forced into not being able to make new additions.

Ageing defenders too are also an issue, with the likes of Luiz and Azpilicueta probably past their best, and in midfield, both Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Ross Barkley have thus far failed to make a real stamp on the first XI under Mauro Sarri.

There are plenty of questions left to be answered of course, but it is certainly a time when Chelsea will be hoping for a bit of luck in their pursuit of success.

It’s been clear that Kieran Trippier has suffered from a World Cup hangover, but Spurs can’t afford to carry passengers. If a mega-money offer comes in for him, the club would be right to accept it and find someone new.

Football Insider have claimed they’d be willing to accept an offer of £50m for the right-back, and if they recoup that much money from a player they bought for £4.4m, that’d be great business looking back but also looking forward too, as they build a team for the future.

With their new stadium and Champions League semi-final place, Spurs are forging a reputation as one of the most promising sides in Europe. Pochettino should be able to attract world-class talent to White Hart Lane in summer and just think of what they could do with that £50m.

It’s fair to say Trippier wouldn’t have had such a shocking campaign had he not played the maximum number of games in the World Cup this summer, but perhaps his inability to recover quickly enough is a warning as he nears his 29th birthday in September.

Serge Aurier has been plagued with injuries too, so it’s clear the club need to buy a player in that position, even if Trippier stays. If he does, they won’t be spending much on a new right-back. If they sell Trippier, they have the money to buy a world-class youngster to own the position for the next 10 years.

It’s all about planning for the future, and even though the Englishman may be much better after a summer break, he still needs replacing in the long term, and his sale can be the catalyst for that change.

Should Levy get £50m for the former Burnley ace, he truly is a negotiating genius.

Spurs fans, do you think your club should sell Kieran Trippier in the summer, and, if so, who should replace him? Join the discussion by commenting below…

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Tottenham Hotspur fans were gutted with Vincent Janssen’s display against West Ham United on Saturday.

The Dutchman came off the bench on Saturday as Spurs chased the game against the Hammers, though he could not save his side from a deserved 1-0 defeat.

The result was Spurs’ first loss at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium but Janssen did have the chance to rescue a point for Mauricio Pochettino’s men.

Juan Foyth, playing at right-back, surged down the flank in injury-time and found Janssen at the back post with a pin-point cross but his resulting header was weak and cleared off the line.

He has scored just six goals for Spurs in total and, prior to his cameo appearance against Brighton & Hove Albion in midweek, had not played for the club since 2017.

Janssen will certainly not be involved in the Champions League semi-final first leg against Ajax in midweek as he is not registered – such was his low standing at the club when such decisions were taken – and fans were left disappointed with his display, with many choosing to focus on that late miss.

Take a look at the best of the reaction below!

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Celtic are reportedly in the running to sign Livingston goalkeeper Liam Kelly, but he is not the type of signing the club should be aiming for.

What’s the story?

According to The Scottish Sun, both Celtic and Hamburg are interested in Kelly, who will be available for just £50,000 this summer.

The report claims he has a clause in his contract that allows the knockdown fee, and that the 23 year-old “looks certain” to move on after just one season in West Lothian.

Ipswich, Wigan, Barnsley and Reading are all interested as well, while Hamburg and the Hoops continue to monitor the situation.

Be sure to check out the incredible story of the man who rose from a Tanzanian refugee camp to become one of Australia’s biggest football stars in the video below…

Pointless signing

There’s no question Kelly would be good value for money at just £50,000.

The former Rangers youth player, who never appeared for the Gers’ first team, has 14 clean sheets in 33 Premiership games this season, an impressive return for a side in the bottom half of the split.

He has also shutout Celtic twice already this term, first at the Almondvale Stadium back in November and then a fantastic performance to protect a 0-0 draw at Parkhead last month.

However, is this really a signing that is going to take the Bhoys to the next level? Scott Bain would presumably stay as first choice, and Craig Gordon is a more than capable deputy.

Basically, this move would be upgrading the number two position rather than the number one position, and it’s simply not necessary.

If the club wants to turn domestic dominance into European success, buying squad players like this is not going to cut it.

Instead, they should be buying players that go straight into the first XI, thus turning the current starters into the squad players themselves and upgrading the quality of the entire group in the process.

Kelly is a good young player, but he is not better than Bain and would be an unnecessary addition to the club’s wage bill in a position where they already have sufficient depth and quality.

If this is the type of cut-price move the club is looking for, they may as well forget about trying to bring European success back to Glasgow.

[ad_pod ]Aaron Wan-Bissaka has been Crystal Palace’s standout player this term and was recently recognised by both his teammates and the fanbase for his efforts at the end of season awards night.The 21-year-old is widely regarded as one of the top, young English talents around at the moment but, for some, he’s not even the best in his position. Liverpool apologists and many others will argue that the Eagles number 29 doesn’t even come close to Trent Alexander-Arnold, who was crucial in the Reds’Âastonishing Champions League comeback on Tuesday.The 20-year-old teed up Gini Wijnaldum for the hosts’ second before whipping in one of the most genius corners you’ll ever see to secure a memorableÂmid-week victory on Merseyside. The two assists were his 14th and 15th of the season in all competitions – an extraordinary tally.What Alexander-Arnold offers on the front foot though, Wan-Bissaka makes up for on the back – the local lad has completed an impressive 3.8 tackles and 2.5 interceptions per game in the league this campaign and is surely attracting attention from the big boys.Which player with “no potential” has just been named Crystal Palace’s worst ever January signing? Find out in the video below…It’s extremely difficult to separate the two stars, as they both bring so much to their respective teams, and it’s a question which surely divides football fans all over. Even Palace’s Patrick van Aanholt has commented on the debate and, although the Dutch international doesn’t exactly say who he thinks is better, he does drop a pretty big hint:

Naturally, the Eagles number 3 is going to side with his teammate to some extent and will be wary of the torrent of furious Liverpool or Palace fans should he state his opinion outright, although he is correct that, even in light of Alexander-Arnold’s UCL exploits, Wan-Bissaka shouldn’t be overlooked.

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Rumours were circulating on social media on Wednesday, via The Scottish Sun, that Celtic had sacked striker Leigh Griffiths, but he almost instantly put the rumours to bed with a two-word Twitter post, much to the relief of Bhoys fans.

The Scotland international has been away from the squad for the past few months as he battles off-the-field issues, but he appears to be closing in on a return to action as the season nears its close.

The Celtic Text Twitter page posted a record of the 28-year-old’s goals and assists tally for the Scottish Premiership champions on Wednesday, and the attacker responded with two words: “And counting”.

That certainly put to bed any stories that the Glasgow giants had decided to axe Griffiths, who has become something of a huge Parkhead favourite in the past few years.

Many Bhoys supporters were clearly relieved after the update from their striker which suggests he is here to stay, with one saying “thank goodness”, and another echoing that sentiment by adding “I can breathe again”.

Controversial. Uncompromising. Leader. C’mon the Hoops’ Keith talks the future of Celtic’s evergreen captain Scott Brown in the video below…

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

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Athletic Bilbao are set to give up on signing Fernando Llorente this summer after Tottenham Hotspur’s run to the Champions League final, per Fichajes.

What’s the word?

Llorente has played a key role in helping Spurs to the showpiece, scoring the decisive goal in the aggregate quarter-final victory over Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium and changing the game when introduced as a substitute against Ajax in the last four.

His contract expires this summer and it remains to be seen if the club will look to extend his deal.

But Fichajes claim that Bilbao, with whom Llorente spent eight years between 2005 and 2013, are set to shelve their plans for a reunion with the 34-year-old this summer.

In January earlier this year, Bilbao’s chairman told Spanish radio station Cadena Ser (via Daily Mail) that he wanted to sign Llorente, but the latest report from Fichajes suggests that the La Liga side have now made a u-turn.

That may be down to their belief that the forward will be offered a new contract in north London, though The Sun claim that he will be released on a free transfer upon the expiration of his current deal.

Reward his heroics

This is the perfect time for Spurs to reward Llorente’s heroics.

No, he is not the most complete striker, nor is he anywhere near as good as Harry Kane but very few strikers on the planet are.

And his performances in the Champions League this season should surely be enough to earn him a new deal.

The lure of a return to the Basque Country will surely have appealed to Llorente but, with Bilbao seemingly pulling out of the race, there is no competition for Spurs to fight off.

Handing him a new contract, even if it is just a pay-as-you-play deal is the right thing to do; if they didn’t have Llorente, Spurs would not be playing in the Champions League final, after all, as they’d have been eliminated at the Etihad Stadium.

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Manchester City fans have taken to Twitter to reveal that they don’t want Harry Maguire to arrive at the Etihad Stadium this summer.

The Daily Mail have reported that the Citizens are set to ‘press ahead’ in their attempts to sign the England international following the confirmation of Vincent Kompany’s departure.

Who would win out of Man Utd’s treble winners and Man City today? Fans discuss in the video below…

However, if they were to sign him, City would need to shell out more than the world-record £75m fee that Liverpool spent on Virgil van Dijk in January 2018.

The 26-year-old is an excellent player who is a real physical powerhouse, and a defender who also excels at bringing the ball out of defence to start attacks out of nothing; you can see why Pep Guardiola likes him.

Having said that, if he were to cost more than £75m Guardiola should definitely turn his attentions elsewhere – that would be an absurd sum to pay for the former Hull man.

It appears that a number of City supporters on Twitter have echoed that sentiment and don’t want Maguire to be signed…

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A Yorkshire Evening Post article written by Phil Hay has confirmed that Leeds United are willing to listen to offers for Tom Pearce.

Pearce spent the second half of last season out on loan at Scunthorpe who were eventually relegated from League One.

Supporters took to Twitter to share their surprise about Pearce’s imminent departure as many fans rated his ability at left-back.

Surprised

On social media a lot of fans were shocked that Pearce would be leaving the club this summer.

The Englishman did look like he was going to be the understudy at full-back following the 2017/18 season, but Marcelo Bielsa’s arrival has seen him have limited first-team chances.

The fact that he is just 21 years of age had many fans believing that he would get his chance in the future, but it looks like his Elland Road career is over.

Shouldn’t be a shock

It’s baffling that so many Whites fans didn’t see this one coming. Pearce didn’t even impress whilst on loan at a struggling Scunthorpe.

He made just nine appearances for the Iron before they were relegated to League Two.

With the abundance of left-backs Leeds have at their disposal it really should have been clear that Pearce would be on his way this summer.

There is an argument to be made that he would be the fifth choice in that position if he returned to the Yorkshire club – behind Ezgjan Alioski, Barry Douglas, Stuart Dallas and Leif Davis.

Of course, he may turn out to be a good player one day, but surely this was one of the most obvious departures from Elland Road this summer.