All posts by n8rngtd.top

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Loads of Everton fans have been running the rule over their win at Huddersfield, and they’re absolutely desperate to bring Kurt Zouma to Merseyside on a permanent basis.

Everton finally showed the fight that fans have been yearning for on Tuesday night, scrapping tooth and nail for three points in a really hotly contested clash at the John Smith’s Stadium.

Richarlison gave Marco Silva’s side the perfect start when he slotted home from close range after just three minutes, but it wasn’t all plain sailing.

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…

Lucas Digne, who has been mostly exceptional since signing for the club, was sent off around the hour mark when he denied Adama Diakhaby the chance to run through at goal.

Silva’s side then had to show real determination to come home with all three points, and both Zouma and centre back partner Michael Keane were monumental.

The Frenchman, who joined the Toffees on loan from Chelsea last summer (BBC), won five aerial duels, made five interceptions and five clearances (Whoscored).

You can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below, where fans want the Chelsea loanee locked into a permanent move ASAP…

According to a recent report from Sky Sports, Tottenham are interested in a move for Germany international Matthias Ginter. The 25-year-old currently plays his football in his homeland with top-flight side Borussia Monchengladbach and has done so since leaving Borussia Dortmund back in 2017, with his fine efforts in the Bundesliga seemingly attracting the interest of Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino.

And that’s because a recent report from Sky Sports suggests that the North Londoners, and indeed rivals Arsenal, are eyeing up a possible move for the £31.5 million-rated star (as per Transfermarkt), in a deal which could give Pochettino his perfect replacement for Toby Alderweireld were he to leave the club come the summer.

The Breakdown

Ultimately, Belgium international Alderweireld has been a stalwart in the Spurs backline ever since making the move to North London back in 2015, with the 29-year-old in that time comfortably becoming one of the best centre backs in the Premier League to underline just how big an asset he has been to the club in becoming one of the top sides in the country.

Yet his future was subject of speculation for much of 2018 given his contract situation, what with his initial deal set to expire at the end of the current season, only for the defender to indeed pen an extension, although that has now brought a £25 million release clause into play as of the summer.

And for a centre back of his quality, that is frankly a paltry figure that is sure to attract interest from several sides around Europe – as such, keeping hold of the 29-year-old looks set to be a huge challenge for Pochettino and the club’s hierarchy during the close season.

As such, an heir to the Belgian ace does appear needed at Tottenham, with Ginter potentially the man for the job after his fine efforts in Germany in recent years.

The 25-year-old, capped 23 times at senior level by his country over the years, made the move to Monchengladbach back in 2017 after appearing 102 times for Dortmund between 2014 and 2017, helping the club to successive top three finishes before swapping one Bundesliga outfit for another.

And the centre back has continued to go from strength to strength at Monchengladbach in the last few years, starting all 34 games in their league campaign last term and netting five goals to help Dieter Hecking’s side to a ninth place finish, while he has only missed five games this time round as well, all as a result of injury, to underline just how vital he is to the Bundesliga club.

And with plenty of caps for Germany, it’s pretty clear that the 25-year-old is a hugely accomplished defender and one that could make the grade at Tottenham – a partnership with Davinson Sanchez, who at the age of 21 looks to be the future of Spurs’ centre back ranks, could prove formidable as the years roll on.

Yes, filling Alderweireld’s boots is likely to be a challenge for anyone given just how impressive he has been at Tottenham over the years, but if he does indeed leave the club this summer, Pochettino will have to delve into the market for a replacement.

And in 25-year-old Ginter, he could have himself the heir to the Belgian ace.

Tottenham fans… what do you think? Let us know!

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Pablo Hernandez has been struggling to discover his magic touch in recent weeks and it’s no coincidence that his dip in form has coincided with Leeds United’s biggest blip of the season.

What’s the word?

Things haven’t quite been clicking for Hernandez with the same fluidity that they were before the turn of the year. His confidence has taken a small hit as a consequence, but his performance against Swansea City will have given him a huge mental boost as the club move towards the business end of the season.

There were plenty of positive performances from the home side, with the likes of Pontus Jansson and Kalvin Phillips coming in for esteemed praise.

However, Phil Hay was also eager to laud Hernandez for his performance, with the Yorkshire Evening Post reporter awarding him an 8/10 in his player ratings column and hinting that he was close to returning to his brilliant best.

‘Orchestrated so much again, with lovely deliveries and clever passes. Tough to play against when he’s in this mood. 8/10’.

Hernandez’s return to form arrives at a perfect time

A return to top form for the Spaniard is always good news for everybody associated with the Whites, but it could be particularly vital when you place Leeds’ run of fixtures into context.

On paper, Leeds are strong favourites to win their next two games. First, they welcome a Bolton Wanderers side to Elland Road who have only won twice on the road all season, and then they travel to QPR to go head-to-head with a side who have been leaking goals of late.

Of course, there are no easy games in the Championship, but both of the two upcoming fixtures should offer Leeds’ attacking players the chance to strut their stuff and continue to build momentum ahead of the huge clashes which follow thereafter against fellow promotion contenders West Bromich Albion and Bristol City.

If the 33-year-old can continue to build on his glowing performance against Swansea with excellent displays against Bolton and QPR, Leeds’ chief playmaker should be full of confidence and ready to offer a decisive creative threat in the defining moments of the season.

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According to Italian media outlet Calciomercato, West Ham United are interested in signing Ajax striker Kasper Dolberg, and he would be everything they hoped Javier Hernandez would be when they brought him to the London Stadium, and more.

What’s the word, then?

Well, Calciomercato report that the Irons, along with Premier League rivals Southampton, are keen on the highly-rated 21-year-old.

Dolberg has enjoyed something of an up-and-down couple of years having enjoyed an outstanding 2016/17 campaign with the Amsterdam giants which saw him score 23 goals in 48 appearances in all competitions, before missing a chunk of the previous campaign with a foot injury.

However, the Denmark international has been back to his best this term for the Eredivisie team – scoring 10 goals in 27 outings in all competitions – even if he has had to share centre-forward duties with Klaas-Jan Huntelaar.

Would he be a good addition?

He would be what Hernandez hasn’t been for West Ham.

The east London outfit would have been full of expectation and excitement when they brought the experienced Mexican poacher in during the summer of 2017, but it just hasn’t worked out for either party.

It was hoped that the 30-year-old would be the regular goalscorer the Irons had long been searching for, but instead to date he has netted just 13 times in 54 appearances in all competitions.

Dolberg has shown with his 42 goals in 104 games for Ajax that he is a clinical finisher and at just 21 years of age he has the quality and potential to get even better.

You would assume that he would have more of a will to succeed than it appears Hernandez has should he come to the Premier League, while he also has the height that the Mexican doesn’t possess to be a real threat in the air in English football.

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Crystal Palace were unable to stop the steam train that is Manchester United on Wednesday, as the Eagles fell to a 3-1 defeat at Selhurst Park. Romelu Lukaku scored a brace and Palace’s centre-back pairing, James Tomkins and Martin Kelly, could hardly contend with the big hitman.

Mamadou Sakho was absent through injury and the Eagles backline looked considerably less organised without the Frenchman, who is a guaranteed starter when fit.

Last time out, Roy Hodgson’s side made light work of Leicester, with Wilfried Zaha scoring a brace although, against United, it was Palace’ full-backs who were centre-stage. Patrick van Aanholt had a fairly poor game, while Joel Ward got on the end of Jeffrey Schlupp’s cross to head the ball in and thus put his side back in the game.

Schlupp’s assist, though, wasn’t enough to spare him from scathing remarks made by the Selhurst Park faithful after the game, who criticised the former Leicester man for his poor defensive positioning in the build up to Ashley Young’s decisive strike late on.

The 26-year-old has impressed playing in central midfield in recent weeks but was moved back to his previous position under Hodgson – left-back – once van Aanholt was replaced by Cheikhou Kouyate. Within minutes, Young had found space on the left flank and fired beyond Vicente Guaita.

It’s safe to say that some Palace fans were less than pleased, as they reacted on Twitter…

The Ghanaian more or less pocketed Paul Pogba and the cross for Ward was an excellent, as was the burst into the box prior to it; it was perhaps unfortunate that the substitution came when it did, but Schlupp had been covering van Aanholt at left-back for much of the game until then so perhaps criticising him for his defending is also a tad unfair.

The number 15 did a lot more going forward than that assist, though, as he completed three key passes – a figure only bettered by Palace captain Luka Milivojevic on the night. Key man Zaha, meanwhile, completed just one.

Taking 63 touches, too, the 26-year-old was willing to get on the ball wherever possible and make things happen for his team – he might not do things as smoothly and cleverly as Max Meyer, who came on in the second half, but the fact remains that he is still making improvements in his new role week on week.

Watch how to cross the road like a boss with freestyler Ben Nuttall in the video below…

Some of the criticism he received was surely unjustified considering the all-round performance he put in.

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Alan Hutton will see his contract with Aston Villa expire this summer.

And there are question marks over whether he will turn out for the club again when considering that he could miss the rest of the campaign through injury.

Indeed, Hutton picked up a knee issue in the early stages of Saturday’s clash with Stoke City.

According to Villa boss Dean Smith, the injury is not as bad as first feared, but he will miss ‘a number of weeks’, which could mean anything really.

Smith hopes to have the Scot back before the end of the campaign, but that is far from certain at this stage.

Thogden has ranked his top 5 sets of Championship away fans for Pl>ymaker FC. Did your club make the list? Find out in the video below…

The 34-year-old has played 33 times for Villa this season and 201 times in total since arriving at the club from Tottenham Hotspur in 2011.

The Villa fans have been on social media discussing whether the defender is deserving of a testimonial.

And it would be fair to say that many have differing views on the situation.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

After some difficult spells at the club, Scott Sinclair has been in the goals of late, helping Celtic to extend their lead at the top of the SPL table and progress in the Scottish Cup.

The 29-year-old, who turns 30 this month, however, might not be able to build on that next season as a Celtic player with his future at Celtic Park far from certain.

The Breakdown

The Scottish Sun reports Sinclair could leave the SPL champions at the end of the campaign with chief executive Peter Lawwell yet to communicate whether the option for a further year in his contract will be invoked.

As already mentioned, Sinclair has had some rough patches at Celtic since his brilliant debut campaign back in 2016/17.

However, the English winger is slowly returning to his best again and remains a player who carries a lot of threat in this Celtic attack.

Sinclair is, of course, lightning quick, while in front of goal he can be absolutely devastating on his day with his calm and composed finishing.

It is perhaps something Celtic supporters have not always seen enough of during Sinclair’s time at Celtic Park. That being said, it is still hard to describe the former Aston Villa man as being anything other than a success who is worth retaining.

Neil Lennon learnt his first stark lesson after being back as Celtic manager.

A rare 0-0 draw at Celtic Park proved that the players are yet to properly move on from Brendan Rodgers’ departure and how certain ones were only signed to particularly suit his system.

Not everyone is being able to cope with Lennon’s change of tactics that well, especially some of the attackers. While he’s not made too many changes to a relatively dominant unit, he’s made slight changes which didn’t really work in the weekend. He and Celtic fans were left frustrated in what was meant to be his big return to Parkhead, only to be spoilt with disappointing work upfront.

Oliver Burke was left an isolated figure in attack, being unable to get behind Aberdeen’s defenders and position himself in promising positions. Even Timothy Weah in his late cameo couldn’t produce any inspired moments. With both leaving next season, Celtic will be desperate to sign up some quality strikers next summer.

Rather than loaning in promising youngsters, they should instead buy experienced candidates who can actually help them take things up a notch. Celtic will remain a dominant force in the Scottish Premiership regardless of whoever they sign, but if they aspire to do well in Europe, they need someone clinical to inspire the unit.

A striker who can score 15+ goals is what they need next summer. Unless they get an experienced goal-getter who can trouble top teams, frustrating results will continue on for Celtic next season.

Celtic fans, do you think better strikers are needed for a bigger push next season? Join the discussion by commenting below…

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Antonio Barreca has not been seen in a Newcastle United shirt since making his debut for the club in the final stages of their Premier League clash with Tottenham Hotspur on February 2.

Barreca joined the Magpies on loan from Monaco during the January transfer window.

He played four minutes of his team’s 1-0 loss to Tottenham at the start of last month, but has not even made the bench for Newcastle’s last six Premier League matches.

Earlier this month, the English club’s fans had a negative reaction to a tweet mentioning the defender and it would be fair to say that things have not improved.

It was actually the Italian’s birthday on Monday.

Watch the best fails from the world of indoor football in the video below…

As expected, Newcastle’s official Twitter account was on hand to wish Barreca a happy 24th birthday, but the response from the club’s supporters was not too positive indeed.

A selection of the reaction can be seen below:

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FIFA 19 is a broken game.

Fans have been complaining for months about the botched product released by EA Sports, such have been the myriad issues plaguing the title.

FIFA 19 released in September in a state that was viewed as promising by many players but, since then, patches and updates have reduced the game to a broken mess that continues to promote the money-spinning Ultimate Team mode over anything else.

Football FanCast has put its thinking cap on and taken a look at three suggested solutions to fix FIFA before the next editions rolls out.

Focus on single-player

Not every FIFA player likes to play Ultimate Team.

That is not to deny that the mode is a money-making behemoth that earns EA Sports millions of pounds every year by virtue of players buying packs in the desperate hope of seeing Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi pop up.

The pack odds, published for the first time this year, prove that the likelihood of packing a superstar is slim to none.

As a result of that, there needs to be some love put into the alternatives, namely Career Mode.

In previous iterations of FIFA, before the as-then untapped potential of FUT was realised, Career Mode was the place to be.

You could buy and sell players and build a super-team, or take your local club all the way to the Champions League final, all while having a fantastic time on the pitch.

Now, it’s stale; there’s very little incentive to grind to the end of the season as there hasn’t been a significant facelift given to Career Mode in this console generation. Fans still love it, they still play it, and it deserves some much-needed attention.

Fix defending

This is relatively simple. If you make a tackle with your defender in FIFA 19, and you win the ball, you should have possession.

This is football 101. Yet, all too regularly, the Frostbite engine that has been used to make the game throws in some “randomisation” and the ball ricochets around before invariably ending up with the opposition team.

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…

This is annoying at best and game-breaking at worst. There are so many clips online of players cleanly winning the ball only for it to rebound to another attacker on the opposition team. All too regularly it ends in a goal.

Add into that the genuine idiocy of many goalkeepers in the game and you have a recipe for disaster.

In FIFA 20, this has to be resolved.

Leave FUT alone and focus on what’s important

EA Sports have to make a decision.

They either want FIFA to be an online gambling service where young children and teenagers fritter away their pocket money in the hope of packing Ronaldo, or they want it to be the ultimate football simulation. They can’t have both.

Ahead of FIFA 20, they should leave FUT as it is; it is a money-making machine and will be just fine if only subtle tweaks are made.

And that should allow them the time to sort out the mess that is timed finishing – every single shot that is timed perfectly goes in and all too often, so do the ones that are mistimed – and pace-abusing. If you have a quick winger and a tall striker, you’re winning most games online.

Scripting, too, appears to be real. EA Sports have never confirmed this but there are times when it seems as though the game is actively working against you.

If they allow FUT to stay as it is and remedy some of the issues raised here, FIFA 20 might just be a game worth buying.

Otherwise, their player base will continue to dwindle. FIFA 19 has been the worst version of the game to date, and it might just get worse if its developers do not start to listen to fans.