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Many West Brom fans have been slamming the performance of Robert Snodgrass in their 1-1 draw at home to Middlesbrough on Saturday afternoon.

It was a frustrating afternoon for Albion at The Hawthorns, as Grady Diangana’s strike midway through the second half was only enough to gain a point from the game after Josh Coburn had given the visitors the lead before the interbal.

It was also a match where Snodgrass struggled to make any impact, as he failed to record a single shot on target, dribble or key pass, and was also unsuccessful with all 10 crosses that he attempted (SofaScore).

He lost out on seven of his duels and also lost possession of the ball on 14 separate occasions in total (SofaScore) as the 34-year-old generally struggled in the middle of the park.

West Brom fans slam Snodgrass

These Baggies supporters on Twitter slammed Snodgrass’ performance, with a couple of West Brom fans claiming that the Scot was ‘poor’ yesterday:

“Robinson and Grant awful. Snodgrass 3 poor games in a row. Townsend CAN’T PLAY IN A BACK 3!!! We can all see it except for VI! But Kipre may have nailed a starting spot and Molumby impressed again. Biggest things, we’re not creating chances and there’s no clear style of play now.”

Credit: @369ell

“At this point it may be cheaper to find a pleasant care home for Snodgrass”

Credit: @LastBlairite

“Can Snodgrass cross? Jesus wept, his set pieces bar one good one have been dire.”

Credit: @DoodWBA

“Moving Townsend to LCB to shoehorn Reach in is ridiculous. To not play TGH after Wednesday is very poor too. Defence continues to be a liability, Snodgrass poor, Robinson is not the man to play central to hold the ball up, Looks lost in that role. This is awful.”

Credit: @A_Kemo26

“I’m sick to death of Snodgrass hitting the first man. Also, Bartley and Kipre in cahoots at who can be worse.”

Credit: @_ColinGriffiths

“Exactly, I made that point after the Hull game. If two of our supposedly most technical players like Robinson and Snodgrass can’t pick a pass, how are we supposed to play good football?”

Credit: @BruntyMozza

In other news, find out whose display against Boro was also slammed by some WBA fans

Aston Villa are set to make a formal approach to Steven Gerrard regarding the vacant managerial post at Villa Park.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to John Percy’s recent report for The Telegraph, in which the journalist revealed that Villa’s owners, Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens, view the 41-year-old manager as the perfect figurehead for their project at Villa Park.

Percy continues to suggest that the Rangers manager would be open to the possibility of a move to the Premier League side, who are hoping to appoint a new coach before the club’s next league fixture on November 20.

Fans will be buzzing

Considering the overall level of support the prospect of appointing Gerrard has generated amongst the Villa fanbase, the news that the club look set to make an official approach for the 41-year-old, in addition to the fact that the former Liverpool captain appears keen on a move to Villa Park, is sure to have left Villans buzzing.

Indeed, according to two polls recently ran on Football FanCast, Villa fans would prefer Gerrard to both Belgium national team coach Roberto Martinez and Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl – both of whom are also reported to be leading candidates for the position at Aston Villa.

Furthermore, a number of fans have also been expressing their desire for the former England international to be given a shot at Villa Park on Twitter, with one claiming that Gerrard’s passion and winner’s mentality is “what we need” at Villa, while another stated that they would “love to give Steve Gerrard a go” at their club.

It is not difficult to see why so many fans would like Gerrard to succeed Dean Smith, as, since his appointment in Glasgow, the 41-year-old has highly impressed, steering Gers to the league title last season without losing a single game – and stopping their bitter rivals Celtic securing ten consecutive Scottish Premiership crowns in doing so – as well as guiding the club to the last 16 of the Europa League in back to back campaigns.

As such, Percy’s latest update is sure to be very well received by many of the Aston Villa fanbase, as it would certainly appear as if, at present, all things point to Gerrard’s arrival in the second city in the not too distant future.

In other news: NSWE could seal dream AVFC appointment with 64 y/o tactician dubbed “one of the best”

Manchester United appear to have moved a step closer towards securing Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s successor after it was revealed Brendan Rodgers is searching for a new home in the North West.

What’s the story?

According to The Sun, Leicester City’s highly-regarded tactician is the top choice to replace Solskjaer in the Old Trafford dugout and is now making preparations ahead of his potential appointment.

The report states that: “BRENDAN RODGERS moved a step closer to the Manchester United manager’s job by going house-hunting in Cheshire.

“Leicester’s boss — United’s No 1 choice to replace Ole Gunnar Solskjaer — is looking for a new family home in football’s jet-set areas of Wilmslow and Alderley Edge.”

Man Utd fans will be excited

Solskjaer has been coming under increasing scrutiny in recent weeks after overseeing a shocking start to the campaign in the red half of Manchester.

Humiliating defeats to the likes of Young Boys, Liverpool and Manchester City have led to the spotlight being shone on the Norwegian, with several outstanding candidates being linked with replacing him.

And now it seems as though the United chiefs have chosen their preferred option, although similar reports suggest Zinedine Zidane is also firmly in the running.

Rodgers has established himself as one of the most exciting and promising young managers in the Premier League since joining the Foxes in February 2019, though.

In 129 matches in charge at the King Power Stadium, the 48-year-old has averaged 1.77 points per game, consecutive fifth-place finishes as well as winning the FA Cup and Community Shield.

His impressive work in the Midlands comes off the back of two-and-a-half years worth of outstanding success in Scottish football with Celtic, where he claimed seven major trophies and took the Hoops back to the Champions League.

Therefore, a large section of United fans are likely to be excited about Rodgers’ prospective arrival, despite his previous ties with fierce rivals Liverpool.

Solskjaer has made significant progress both on and off the pitch during his time at United, but the Norwegian has arguably reached his ceiling with the club, and Rodgers could be the ideal option to build on the foundations that he’s laid.

And, in other news…“In the last few hours..” – Journo drops big MUFC manager update, fans surely buzzing 

Axel Witsel is set to leave Borussia Dortmund in 2022 and Newcastle United could be his destination, according to SPORT1. 

The lowdown

The £8.1-m rated 32-year-old will be out of contract come the end of the season (via Transfermarkt).

The defensive midfielder has made 123 appearances for Dortmund across two spells at the Westfalenstadion, winning one DFB-Pokal and one German Super Cup.

He’s also racked up 120 caps for Belgium and featured prominently at four major tournaments – two World Cups and two European Championships.

Prior to Euro 2020, international team-mate Jan Vertonghen confessed himself ‘amazed’ by Witsel’s ‘unbelievable’ recovery from a serious injury to make it in time for the tournament, am indicator of the 32-year-old’s determination and resilience to come through for his nation.

The latest

The report from SPORT1 stated that ‘there have not been any talks’ between Witsel’s camp and Dortmund over a new deal for the Bundesliga giants, which means that he is ‘all set to say goodbye’ as things stand. That could be in January if Dortmund want to take their last opportunity to cash in on him, or at the end of the season.

Witsel is said to be ‘open to a change’, with Newcastle and Juventus named as two clubs battling it out for his signature.

The verdict

Witsel remains a key player at Dortmund, featuring in all 12 of their Bundesliga matches so far this season, so there’s no sign of him being phased out.

He is a defensive midfielder in the mould of Liverpool’s Fabinho and Paris Saint-Germain’s Danilo Pereira, and that could be precisely what Newcastle need right now. They’ve leaked 27 Premier League goals this season, the joint-worst record in the division.

They desperately need some security in front of their leaky defence, and with the Belgian winning 1.6 tackles per game over the course of his career, he could be just the man to provide it.

In other news, this goalkeeper is apparently likely to join Newcastle.

Everton could repeat their Romelu Lukaku trick over the upcoming January transfer window by reviving their interest in Manchester United forward Jesse Lingard.

What’s the story?

The 28-year-old was first linked with a move to Goodison Park back in October after rejecting the offer of a new contract due to his lack of game time under former United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

And now, according to the Daily Mail, Lingard is set to exit his boyhood on loan over the winter window before departing on a permanent basis in the summer when he becomes a free agent.

The report states that: “Jesse Lingard wants to leave Manchester United in January after abandoning contract talks with the club.

“Lingard would prefer to go out on loan again in January – having enjoyed a successful spell at West Ham in the second half of last season – and then end a 22-year association with United when his contract runs out at the end of June.”

Benitez needs him

If Everton can secure Lingard’s services on loan over the coming months and then snap him up on a permanent basis in the summer, the scenario would draw several parallels to Lukaku’s path many years ago.

The Belgium international joined the Toffees on a 12-month deal from Chelsea back in 2013, going on to bag 16 goals and lay on a further eight assists in 35 appearances, prompting the hierarchy to splash out £28m on the striker at the end of the campaign.

With Rafa Benitez’s charges currently without a win in five Premier League fixtures, the 61-year-old tactician needs to pull off a similar deal this time around.

According to the Liverpool ECHO, Everton are understood to be looking for two new additions particularly in January, with a winger and a box-to-box midfielder at the top of their wishlist.

Last season, Lingard was labelled “exceptional” by West Ham United manager David Moyes after he played a pivotal part in the Hammers sealing Europa League qualification, having delivered nine goals and five assists across 16 outings.

Therefore, Benitez would hugely benefit from Lingard’s arrival at the halfway stage of the campaign, and the opportunity to then secure his services long-term in the summer makes the English playmaker an extremely enticing option.

The attacking midfielder would have to go some distance to live up to Lukaku’s record at Goodison but he showed last season just how useful he can be in the offensive areas of play.

And, in other news…Huge blow: Everton suffer big injury setback, Benitez will be gutted 

Liverpool left it very late to secure their latest win in the Premier League thanks to a last-gasp injury-time winner from Divock Origi off the bench against Wolves at Molineux.

Despite the Belgian hero understandably taking the limelight with his late winner, one Reds player who started the game against Bruno Lage’s side and deserves praise on this occasion is Trent Alexander-Arnold.

In the 90 minutes he played against Wolves, the right-back showed just why he is such an important figure for Jurgen Klopp and his team, and why he has played in 16 games across the Premier League and Champions League this season.

With 87 touches of the ball, Alexander-Arnold managed to complete 48 passes (including four key passes), five crosses and two long balls, whilst also having two shots at goal (as per SofaScore).

The 23-year-old didn’t shirk away from his defensive duties either, with one clearance, one tackle and two interceptions under his belt today, helping his side to keep a clean sheet away from home.

This latest performance for the Reds earned Alexander-Arnold an overall match rating of 7.9/10, making him the highest-rated Liverpool player on the day according to SofaScore and Klopp’s hero in terms of his overall display.

The Liverpool Echo also picked up on the England international’s impressive display up and down the pitch at Molineux by saying he was “solid defensively and forceful going forward.”

Even though the right-back – who has been labelled in the past as “out of this world” by pundit Gary Neville – didn’t add to his impressive goals and assists tally for the season today, his overall performance showed everyone just how brilliant he is.

His overall performances in the league so far this season have earned him an overall rating of 7.74/10, making him the second-highest rated Liverpool player at this stage of the season underneath Mohamed Salah according to WhoScored.

Moving forward, if Alexander-Arnold can continue playing regularly and putting in this sort of solid performance in an attacking and defensive sense, he could just fire Liverpool to the league title by keeping them strong at the back and dangerous going forward.

In other news: Klopp given major LFC boost as transfer claim emerges, fans surely buzzing

Celtic winger Jota will miss the League Cup final against Hibernian later this month through injury, Sky Sports’ Alison Conroy reports.

The Lowdown: Permanent deal on the cards

The 22-year-old has proven to be an excellent addition under Ange Postecoglou, becoming a regular in Celtic’s front three.

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Jota has been involved in 14 goals in his 18 appearances for the club, with the manager wanting to exercise their option-to-buy clause for the winger before the end of the season.

It would cost Celtic £6.5m to secure Jota’s services on a permanent basis, but he’ll miss his first final as a Hoops player through injury.

The Latest: Hampden Park absence

Jota suffered a hamstring issue against Hearts earlier this month, which is expected to keep him out for ‘a few weeks’.

Conroy reported Postecoglou’s pre-Real Betis press conference on Twitter on Wednesday, with the manager confirming Jota won’t be available against Hibs.

The Verdict: Hammer blow

Jota has proven to be a big player for Celtic with his reliable and consistent production in the final third, racking up eight goals and six assists so far this season.

You always want your best players ready to go for big games, so his absence will be a blow for Postecoglou, who may have to rely on youngsters Mikey Johnston and Liel Abada to fill in for the time being.

Described as ‘brilliant’ by Frank McAvennie, Jota may well return to the side before the winter break, but if he doesn’t, the next time fans see him, he could be a Celtic player on a permanent basis.

In other news: Celtic closing in on possible loan-to-buy move for ‘tireless worker’; Ange isn’t hanging around. 

Manchester United extended their unbeaten start under new interim manager Ralf Rangnick to three games with a hard-fought victory over Norwich City at Carrow Road in this evening’s Premier League clash.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s 75th-minute penalty was the only goal in an evenly-contested affair, with the Red Devils lucky to come away from Norfolk with all three points.

The first half passed without much incident as Rangnick’s charges struggled to find any attacking rhythm and Alex Telles’ deflected free-kick was the closest they came to breaking the deadlock.

Meanwhile, David de Gea was forced into two fine stops from Teemu Pukki and Ozan Kabak following the interval, but the hosts ultimately lacked the quality to carve open their below-par opponents.

The game’s deciding moment came when Max Aarons hauled down Ronaldo inside the 18-yard box when defending a cross, and the five-time Ballon d’Or winner made no mistake from the spot.

However, despite the 36-year-old’s match-winning strike, it was arguably Fred who was Rangnick’s real hero during a laboured display.

As per SofaScore, the Brazil international received a match rating of 7.9 out of 10, the highest tally awarded to any outfield player on either team.

When looking at his underlying numbers, it’s easy to understand why. Throughout the 90 minutes, Fred had a whopping 81 touches, produced a passing accuracy of 91% and successfully completed both of his dribbles.

However, it was his off-the-ball work which really caught the eye against the Canaries. The 28-year-old won 11 of his 12 duels (92%), pulled off seven tackles and made one interception, highlighting his hugely effective display.

The Brazilian has had his critics in the past, with BBC pundit Martin Keown once stating that “it’s almost becoming a joke” whenever Fred was in possession of the ball. However, the narrative was rather different this evening.

Manchester Evening News reporter Samuel Luckhurst was equally as impressed with Fred, awarding him a seven out of 10 in his player ratings with the commentary that he was “the most disciplined of the front six, Fred also bailed out Lindelof with one challenge inside his own area. Quietly effective.”

It was an underwhelming evening for United, but there were a handful of positives from which Rangnick can take confidence going forwards, and Fred’s display was one of them.

In other news… Man United eye move for “unbelievable” £77k-p/w “soldier”, Rangnick needs him

Antonio Conte has reportedly now identified his main transfer target for Tottenham Hotspur – Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie.

The Lowdown: Well-known

McKennie is a player that is well-known to both Conte and Fabio Paratici, given their connections to Serie A.

Of course, Conte thrived at Inter Milan last season, guiding them to the Serie A title ahead of McKennie’s Juventus, while Paratici used to be the managing director at the Old Lady before moving on to Spurs.

McKennie is a player that Paratici was particularly fond of during his time at Juve, claiming that he is ‘very exuberant’ and ‘very intelligent’, while adding that they had ‘high expectations’ of him (Juve FC).

Former Juventus manager Andrea Pirlo even went as far as to call him a ‘rock’ in his team earlier this year, so he is a player that is certainly generating excitement.

The Latest: Main target

As per Calciomercato, Conte will now look to sign McKennie for Spurs in the January transfer window, and he is the even ‘first name on his wish list’.

However, for the North London club to have any chance of securing his signature next month, they would need to cough up at least €30-35m (£25.3-29.6m).

The Verdict: Get it done

At just 23 years of age, McKennie is already playing at a high level, having shined at FC Schalke before he moved to Juventus.

He has already featured 18 times in the UEFA Champions League for both clubs combined, and clearly has a high ceiling given the lofty praise from those who have worked with him.

Nonetheless, he is already making a name for himself at international level as well, racking up no fewer than 28 senior caps for the United States, while he was also named their Footballer of the Year in 2020.

Harry Winks, Tanguy Ndombele and Dele Alli could all be leaving the Lilywhites soon, which would certainly open up a midfield slot for McKennie to grab with both arms.

In other news, find out which ‘undefendable’ beast Conte is now keen on here!

With just one win in their 11 previous Premier League games, Everton have not had a particularly successful season under Rafa Benitez so far this season.

Now that the January transfer window is close to opening, this could give Benitez a good opportunity to make some changes to his squad that he thinks would benefit the team as a whole, whether that be bringing new players in or getting rid of current ones.

One current Everton player that should be in consideration for a January exit is midfielder Andre Gomes.

Even though he’s only made six appearances in the Premier League for the Toffees this season, Gomes has failed to show Benitez why he should be a regular figure for Everton, particularly in a defensive regard having been described as being reckless at the back in the past by Everton journalist Dave Prentice.

In those six appearances, the 28-year-old has only managed to rack up an average of 0.2 clearances and interceptions per game, an average of getting dribbled past 2.2 times per game as well as winning just 30% of his duels, which goes to show why Everton have conceded four goals in the two league games he’s started this season.

His previous appearance for Everton in their 1-1 draw against Chelsea away at Stamford Bridge saw Gomes, who is currently valued at £18m according to Transfermarkt, deliver a poor display that ultimately earned him an overall match rating of 5.8/10 from SofaScore, making him comfortably Everton’s lowest-rated player on the day.

Gomes’ overall performances this season have earned him a disappointing overall rating of 6.2/10 from WhoScored, making him the lowest-rated Everton player to have started more than one league game so far this season.

With all of this in mind and the fact that he has a significant injury record under his belt since arriving at Goodison Park from Barcelona back in 2018 on loan before signing on a permanent basis a year later in a deal worth a reported fee of £22m, it could be time to bring his time at Everton to a close.

If Benitez does axe Gomes in January, they will have to make sure they sign a new midfielder to replace him if they can.

In other news: Moshiri could replicate Gray masterclass at Everton with Jan move for 30 G/A starlet – opinion