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Football FanCast recently held a series of interviews with former England and Liverpool winger John Barnes, who was speaking on behalf of bookmaker comparison platform BonusCodeBets.co.uk.

In part one, Barnes discussed Liverpool’s current title credentials and his own experiences of being part of title-winning sides. In part two, he gave his insight into the blight of racism on football and society, and what role the media plays in this regard.

In this third and final instalment of our conversations with Barnes, focus turned to England’s run in the 2018 Russia World Cup, his own international experiences, Italia 90, and his recollections of playing under the likes of Graham Taylor…

What did you make of England’s time in Russia?

“It was fantastic. All you can ask of any team is to maximise their potential. What that means is to win the games you should win. Of course, you can beat teams who are better than you, but generally speaking, to be consistent, you’ve got to win the games you should win. That’s what England did.

“I think that had they been on the other half of the draw they wouldn’t have gotten to the semi-final. The two times we played teams who were ranked higher than us we lost. Against Belgium we lost and then we lost to Croatia.

“We should beat Sweden and we should beat Colombia, so we did well to get to the semi-finals, but Gareth Southgate has said himself about not getting carried away thinking we’re one of the best four teams in the world. We got to the top four, but we’re not one of the best four teams in the world.” 

Can this England squad build on this success?

“Yes, we can build. We got to the semi-final, so we’re doing well. We still aren’t one of the best teams in the world, but we can challenge and we did that in the World Cup. I think we can be consistent and consistently challenge for qualifying and getting into the latter stages of competitions. That’s all you can ask of any team.”

Check out Neymar’s controversial new haircut for 2019 and Xherdan Shaqiri as you’ve never seen him before in the video below…

Do you think the Italia 90 team should have achieved more?

“No, I don’t think so. The best game we played was against Germany and we lost, but we were lucky against Belgium in the last 16. So, yeah, if we were lucky we could have gone on to win, but we were never the favourites. 

“I think you have teams that underachieve. Maybe the Brazilians of 2018, could they have done more? Yes, they could. They could have won the World Cup. 

“But in terms of getting to the semi-final, that was a good achievement. Yes, with a bit of luck against Germany we could have gone on to the final. So, we could have achieved more. But to ask, ‘should’ we have achieved more? I don’t think so.”

Why does Italia 90 still hold such a special place in the history and heart of English football?

“Because, of course, that’s when the Premier League was about to start, that and Gazzamania meant that the media attention on football really started back then.

“Don’t forget, in football when Liverpool were winning the European Cup in the 70s and 80s and were the best team, there wasn’t the media attention that there was coming into the 90s because of the cultural revolution football-wise. 

“The media attention, with footballers really becoming household names, not just in football households but all over, meant that 1990 was a time when even people who weren’t interested in football were interested in football. Of course, we had the No.1 song as well with New Order. 

“I suppose it was just a time when football was coming to the mainstream.”

That tournament must have been an incredible thing to be a part of…

“I was a footballer, so no more so than in the 86 World Cup, or when I played for Watford in the 80s. I was just concerned with football. The football wasn’t any different. The perceptions of footballers were, and the media attention and the superstardom that surrounded football at that time was, yes. But for me, there was no difference between 1990 to 1986 or 1985 or any other time, because I was just a footballer.”

Why didn’t it work out for Graham Taylor during in his time in charge of the national team?

“Because England weren’t as good as they had been. They didn’t have the same players as they had in the past.”

Do you not think that that squad should have qualified for USA 94?

“Not really, because look at the players who were getting towards the end of their careers – Gary Lineker and myself. I got injured too.

“It was a new England team that he took over, which had to be given time. There was also the fact that, I believe, there was a bit of a media agenda against him. Which didn’t help things.

“The thing that Southgate has now – over a lot of England managers of the past – is the fact that the press and the clubs are behind him. Back then, you had people who were against Taylor. So regardless of how we played you had people who wanted him to lose, and fans weren’t behind him. Whereas now, the England fans are 100% behind the team. Even if they don’t play well and lose, the fans are still behind them, which is the way it should be.

“He [Taylor] was a bit unfortunate, but it was just one of those things.”

Taylor was a huge influence on your career, and one of the many great managers you played under…

“Well, I played under Taylor for my first six years. He was the best manager for me at that time, and what he did with Watford was incredible. Watford finishing second to Liverpool in the league, with players coming in from the fourth division, shows what a great manager he was.

“Then, when I went to Liverpool, it was obviously Kenny Dalglish. Bobby Robson was also fantastic, as was Terry Venables. So, I worked under a lot of great managers and different managers. 

“Some were at bigger clubs and able to win more things; Dalglish has won the double and European Cup, whereas Taylor hasn’t. But he [Taylor] wasn’t at a club that was able to do that. Taking Watford to second place is equally as good as winning the European Cup with Liverpool.

“So, yeah, I worked with some great managers.”

Looking back at your playing career, what personal highlights do you recall most fondly?

“My whole career. That’s it. My ten years at Liverpool, six years at Watford, two years at Newcastle. They’ve been good, they’ve been bad, but to show the person you are you have to show a consistency over a period of time. So I look at my whole career – and I don’t want to be too greedy and just say about the goal in Brazil and when I won the Players’ Player of the Year and Player of the Year – because you have to take it in its entirety.

“In its entirety, I’m delighted with what I’ve done.”

Before I ask this final question I’ll admit that I’m an Arsenal fan.

“Okay.”

What was the best ever finish to a top flight title race: Arsenal’s win over Liverpool in 1989 or Manchester City’s triumph in 2012?

“Arsenal’s in 89. It was the two teams who were involved in the championship. Manchester City scored against QPR – I mean, if Man City had beaten Man United to win the league, or vice versa, then that would have been [the best]. 

“Arsenal had to beat Liverpool 2-0, not even 1-0. There couldn’t have been a greater finish to the top flight championship.”

[ad_pod ]Jeremy Toljan enjoyed his Celtic Park debut as much as the fans who watched the on-loan German play his part in the 2-0 win over Hibs.It was late on January 31st when Celtic announced the loan deal for the Borussia Dortmund defender who only flew into Glasgow the morning after.An injury to Mikael Lustig away to St. Johnstone on Sunday pitched Toljan in for an earlier than scheduled debut as two late goals secured full points and restored Celtic’s six-point advantage at the top of the SPFL.

Toljan provided the pass for Ryan Christie to open the scoring in the 24th minute but it was his positioning that was most impressive.

Without any apparent effort he pushed deep on the overlap to anticipate Timothy Weah’s pass before pulling the ball back for Christie to net.

As the match went on Toljan got more into his stride, pushing forward down the right without neglecting his defensive duties.

After the victory, Toljan seemed more than happy with his performance, praising the clean sheet and stating that he feels well-suited to Celtic’s style of play. He said; “A clean sheet is always important as a defender and we got that. I think the style of play suits me well.”

Two matches against Valencia will determine exactly what level the 24-year-old is at but after being on the sidelines at Dortmund he has quickly impressed domestically.

A permanent deal for Toljan seems unlikely but with a treble treble to play for it’s the here and now that is concerning Brendan Rodgers. The on-loan right-back is plugging a gap in his defence.

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Crystal Palace fans have taken to Twitter to react after it was revealed that Connor Wickham has been struck by yet another injury problem, as revealed by Roy Hodgson in his pre-match press conference before the visit of West Ham.

The English forward only recently made his long-awaited return to first-team action, earning a start in the 2-0 win over Tottenham in the FA Cup at Selhurst Park – a game in which he scored the opener and celebrated passionately.

Sadly for the 25-year-old, however, he has suffered a setback having worked so hard to get fit, and his chances of game time this season with the south London side are now looking bleak after yet another issue, coupled with the arrival of Michy Batshuayi.

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…

Palace fans, who are still yet to see Wickham’s fellow striker Christian Benteke score for them this season, have taken to Twitter to share their thoughts on the former Sunderland man’s dire situation…

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Bayern Munich midfielder Thiago Alcantara produced an eye-catching display as his side secured what could prove to be a crucial 0-0 draw against Liverpool in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie, and his performance certainly didn’t go unnoticed by Reds fans.

The experienced 27-year-old lined up alongside Javi Martinez as Robert Kovac went with a 4-2-3-1 system at Anfield, and it certainly worked as the duo were two of the best players on the pitch on Tuesday night.

Thiago showed plenty of neat touches and composure when in possession of the ball, and while he did job effectively from a defensive point of view, he also proved his capabilities as a deep-lying playmaker as he showed his eye for an incisive forward pass, too.

Jurgen Klopp has a plethora of central midfield options right now, but there is no doubt that adding the quality of the Spaniard would significantly improve it.

Liverpool supporters took to social media to have their say on the former Barcelona man’s display, and while one said “Thiago would fit beautifully next to Fabinho”, another said “Thiago live was a joy to behold”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

Jurgen Klopp has gotten quite inventive with his excuses this season. FFC’s James Jones think he has no one but himself to blame for Liverpol’s poor form in the video below…

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Brendan Rodgers has hinted that two of his injured stars could be available for next week’s return tie against Valencia.

Injuries have hampered Celtic all season with all of their first choice defenders recently sidelined.

Kieran Tierney hasn’t played since December 13th but has now had more than a week involved in full training and a return to competitive action could be imminent – although Rodgers stopped short of directly naming the players who could be available for selection next week.

Speaking after the first leg defeat against Valencia, the BBC reported Rodgers as saying:

You have to have that belief [for the second leg]. We’ve got good players, we might have one or two back as well next week. We need to defend and concentrate well, especially in key moments of the game. If we can get the first goal, it could set us up for a really good second leg.

Olivier Ntcham hasn’t played this year but like Tierney seems to be getting close to a comeback.

Filip Benkovic, Tony Ralston and Tom Rogic won’t be back in action until March, while there is no word on when Leigh Griffiths will return after taking time out due to personal issues.

Changes are anticipated for this weekend’s clash against Kilmarnock, with Kris Ajer a likely candidate to come into the side for Jozo Simunovic. Timothy Weah is also strongly pushing for a starting place in Celtic’s ninth match since returning from their winter break in Dubai.

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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:

West Ham put up a good fight at the Etihad yesterday as they only conceded the one goal against Manchester City, which will be sure to please Manuel Pellegrini.

David Gold and David Sullivan made a number of big moves back in the summer transfer window, and it appears as if they have their sights on another possible swoop at the end of the current campaign, as according to De Telegraaf (via Hammers.News), West Ham United are interested in signing Ajax’s Andre Onana.

Onana, who is valued at £25.2 million (by Transfermarkt), has established himself as one of the most promising goalkeepers in Europe this season. And, it’s understood (as per De Telegraaf, via HITC) that Ajax want £30 million for the Cameroon international.

Indeed, Gold and Sullivan can surprise everyone by securing the services of the shot-stopper in the summer transfer window as the likes of Barcelona, Spurs and Arsenal are also interested. Of course, the Hammers can make a big statement by pipping a number of big clubs to the signing, and the 22-year-old has the potential to become one of the world’s best goalkeepers, so West Ham would secure themselves a special player.

Lukasz Fabianski has turned out to be the signing of the summer for West Ham United but he turns 34 in April and Adrian is now 32, so it’s safe to say that the Hammers need to bring in a young goalkeeper with the future in mind.

What do you think West Ham United fans?

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Arsenal fans on Twitter have been raving about the performance of young utility man Ainsley Maitland-Niles in their club’s 2-0 Premier League victory over Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Unai Emery’s Gunners went ahead early on after David De Gea failed to keep out a relatively tame long-range effort from Granit Xhaka, before Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang sealed the deal in the second half from the penalty spot after Fred’s foul on Alexandre Lacazette.

And Maitland-Niles’ display played a huge part in Arsenal’s ninth successive home league win.

The 21-year-old was starting in a right wing-back role in the match and caught the eye with his pace, determination and excellent attacking and defensive contribution. Some of Maitland-Niles’ impressive individual stats included four successful tackles and over 75% pass success.

Supporters were delighted with the 5 foot 10 youngster’s showing, with some even rating his afternoon eleven-out-of-ten in response to a tweet from Arsenal’s official Twitter account.

Check out a list of some of the best reactive Tweets, below…

Tottenham Hotspur learnt that Manchester City stand in their way of reaching a Champions League semi-final on Friday in one of the mouth-watering ties of the competition. Mauricio Pochettino’s side will know that they will need to be at their very best to be able to edge past their Premier League rivals.

And, for one man, it could potentially be the last time that he is involved in the Champions League with Spurs.

What’s the News?

According to a report by The Daily Mail, Victor Wanyama is just one of a number of players that Tottenham could look to offload in the summer.

The Kenya international, who is valued at £22.5million (Transfermarkt), has struggled to return to the form he once showed before he suffered his serious knee injury.

The Verdict:

The writing appears to have been on the wall for Wanyama and his Tottenham career (The Daily Mail), as he has seriously struggled to make an impact upon his return and injuries have played a huge role in his lack of recent opportunities.

With Harry Winks continually putting in a number of solid performances, and with Eric Dier seemingly favoured over the Kenyan when fit, his chances have really diminished and have seen him make just five starts in all competitions this season.

The 27-year-old has been an excellent servant for the north London outfit since his move from Southampton and became a clear fan favourite after he built an impressive partnership alongside Mousa Dembele.

When fully-fit, Wanyama has plenty of energy and can dominate the space in between the two penalty boxes with the intensity he has in his play, which could make him an excellent option for a team currently in the middle of the Premier League table.

However, as for Tottenham, it would appear that he could be entering the final few months of his time in north London.

Tottenham fans, what do you make of the news regarding Wanyama? Do you think Spurs should keep him beyond the summer or are they right to potentially offload him now? Join in with the discussion below by sharing your thoughts with us.

Josh McEachran. Gael Kakuta. Lucas Piazon. Charly Musonda. These are names that are written into the history of Chelsea Football Club, and all for the wrong reasons. Whilst the Blues have been celebrating silverware and breaking records over the last 15 years, many of the players at the club have been living through a very different fate. 

Indeed, for all of Chelsea’s success on the pitch at Stamford Bridge, they’ve had markedly less success on the training pitches at Cobham – at least in the traditional sense. Featuring in five consecutive FA Youth Cup finals is a testament to the strength of the Chelsea academy, but the Blues’ failure to promote any young talent into the first team during that time indicates that it’s a system with a broken cog.

Josh McEachran made first appearance for Chelsea in the Premier League during the 2010-11 season, but in the 2015-16 season, he moved to Brentford after 5 separate loan spells. Gael Kakuta played a solitary game for the Blues in the 2009-10 Premier League season, and he’s subsequently spent time at 10 separate clubs since, either on loan or permanent moves. He left Chelsea in 2015 on a free transfer. Lucas Piazon had shades of Kaka about him when he moved to Stamford Bridge in 2011, but after just 1 Premier League game for the Blues in the years since, he’s best known for his impressive two-year stint at Fulham now. Charly Musonda is more of a contemporary failure for the Blues, with his failed loan to Celtic last season indicative of Chelsea’s mismanagement of their most talented young players.

On their own, Chelsea’s inability to harness this talent is bad enough, but when combined and added to the likes Nathaniel Chalobah, Ryan Bertrand and Bertrand Traore – three players that were sold on for pennies after Chelsea signed big money replacements – the problem becomes an epidemic, and so far, Chelsea haven’t been able to find a cure.

That’s a real problem for a number of reasons. Firstly, and most notably, it reduces the overall quality on the field for Chelsea. Some of Europe’s most talented men have graced the pitch at Stamford Bridge only to be moved on prematurely, like Kevin De Bruyne and Mohammed Salah, and that’s left the Blues in a worse position long-term. It’s also bad for the fans of the club. You only have to watch Chelsea once to see how popular homegrown talent is, given the constant chances of ‘Ruben!’ whenever midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek enters the fray at Stamford Bridge. Homegrown talent has an immediate affinity with a club’s fanbase, and their lack of utilisation at Stamford Bridge has been a consistent point of contention between the fans and the club at Stamford Bridge in recent years. There’s also the club identity argument. If a player has grown up at a club, he’s inherently got a better connection with it, and that can help make them a better player as a result. Take John Terry, for example. He had incredible natural talent, but it was his love for Chelsea that took him to the next level.

There’s no doubt, then, that Chelsea are worse off for their lack of youth development, and that’s only come to the fore more prominently this week owing to a recent report surrounding Jadon Sancho. Sancho has emerged as one of Europe’s brightest young talents this season after ditching Man City for Borussia Dortmund, and now the Independent are reporting that Man Utd are considering an £80 million move for him. That’s a stunning sum of money, and it serves as further proof that Chelsea simply cannot afford to not utilise their youth talent. Not only is it costing them players on the field, but, evidently, it’s costing them big money, too.

Now, of course, Chelsea have made big money from their youth academy over the years, but nobody has come close to the £80 million fee associated with Sancho – and so it’s clear that Chelsea are missing a trick. Not only is the Englishman impressing on the field, but he’s now potentially going to make a big impact off of it, too.

This is particularly poignant at present given the situation surrounding Callum Hudson-Odoi. Linked with a move to Bayern Munich in January, he’s hardly featured since that point, with the German giants still expected to return for him in the summer. And, with only a year left on his contract at Stamford Bridge, the Englishman could well be able to force an exit for Chelsea for a cut-price fee.

This isn’t only a Chelsea problem, it’s important to recognise that. Man Utd, the team linked with Sancho this time around, have their own issues, and they’ve got a ton of under-utilised talent that should get a chance. From Tahith Chong to Mason Greenwood. the Red Devils face a similar set of issues if they don’t make use of the academy. But the difference between the two clubs is that Man Utd have a history of focusing on youth, and even during their recent struggles, players like Marcus Rashford have made the jump. And that’s, significantly, without the use of the loan system.

This has never been a more pressing issue for Chelsea. They’ve been able to manage the consequences of their rejection of youth for years with minimal impact, yet now it’s not only costing them talent; it’s also costing them money. It’s at this point that the Chelsea brass cannot, and surely will not, allow it to continue.

Hudson-Odoi, too, is only at the surface of the problem. From Mason Mount to Reece James to Dujon Sterling, there are dozens of young players at Stamford Bridge that could prove to be worth their weight in gold. And if Chelsea don’t utilise them, somebody else will, and as in the case of Sancho, they will reap the rewards instead.

Chelsea fans – what is the solution to this problem? Will Hudson-Odoi leave? Do the Blues just need a complete restructure? Let us know below…

–  Take a look at the rest of our Trending Transfer coverage on Man Utd’s interest in Jadon Sancho by clicking here –