All posts by h716a5.icu

Nottingham Forest haven’t got off to the best of starts this season, and it’s no coincidence that their poor run of results have coincided with a poor run of form from Lewis Grabban.

The striker is yet to find the back of the net this season, and after Lyle Taylor netted against Derby County on Friday night, Chris Hughton has a big decision to make in terms of who starts up front for the Reds.

Of course, we could continue to see them both play up top, but the Reds’ plethora of attacking midfield talent such as Joe Lolley, Luke Freeman, Sammy Ameobi and Anthony Knockaert suggests that they may be better off utilising a one-striker system.

Logic suggests that it’s time to drop the 32-year-old, he’s not scored in six games and Taylor seems to be growing in confidence, but Hughton needs to consider how dropping Grabban will affect the dressing room.

We saw glimpses of Grabban’s poor attitude when things aren’t going his way in the first series of Netflix’s Sunderland ‘Til I Die documentary, with two of his former teammates going on the record to discuss how he brought down the atmosphere at the club, with Glenn Loovens going as far as to label him a ‘jerk’.

Grabban left Sunderland due to the fact that he was getting subbed off in games, and if he’s dropped at Forest he could kick up a similar type of fuss, and if last season’s star man starts kicking off, that can have a negative effect on the whole team.

“If you haven’t really spoken to the new manager when he comes in, if you get taken off, I was starting to get whipped off at 65, 70 minutes.” Grabban said at the time.

“I was thinking, ‘I’m not sure that’s for me’.

“Maybe it’s a bit selfish but I just thought, nah.”

If Hughton is to drop Grabban he needs to make sure he communicates his reasoning to the striker in a mature way so that he doesn’t upset the applecart at the City Ground just a few weeks after his appointment.

Southampton continued their run of excellent form after a thrilling seven-goal fiesta played out at Villa Park on Sunday. The Saints put four past Aston Villa who came out fighting with all guns blazing. Luckily for the visitors, they were able to come away with all three points despite the best efforts of the hosts.

Not everything was a positive takeaway from the match though. Ralph Hasenhuttl could be staring down the barrel of a very dangerous gun and it’s lurking in the form of a triple injury blow.

Southampton injury news

In a scene that fans will have been watching through their fingers, star striker Danny Ings was taken off the pitch with just five minutes to go. The problem, as many dreaded, is a knee injury.

According to the latest update, his initial scan results “are favourable” but the striker is awaiting further tests to determine the severity of the injury. Hasenhuttl originally admitted that it did not “look good”, which will have struck fear to the Austrian’s core.

Ings has a morbid history with knee injuries which has crippled his playing career. At Liverpool, he was forced to the sidelines through ligament damage and missed a total of 85 matches for the Reds. This totals up to a painful 498 days out of action with ongoing knee problems (via Transfermarkt).

Ryan Bertrand also hobbled off the pitch after suffering a hamstring injury deep into the second half. The ever-present left-back has suffered two hamstring injuries on different occasions during his time with the Saints, which kept him out of action for a combined nine matches. Whilst this isn’t season-ending news, it could set Southampton back in their run for a strong finish this term.

The third of Hasenhuttl’s concerns comes after Jan Bednarek was also forced off after picking up a head injury during an aerial duel. The manager has described the collision as “brutal” in his recent comments, which could perhaps indicate there’s a slight case of concussion there.

Over the next few days, Hasenhuttl will need to draw up plans to prepare for a match without all three in question. Good news could come and surprise the fans, but things look bleak as they prepare to face Newcastle on Friday.

In other news, Jannik Vestergaard shines in Saints victory over Aston Villa…

Since leaving Liverpool on a permanent deal to join Rangers in 2019, Ryan Kent has been flourishing under Steven Gerrard for the Scottish Premiership side, to the extent where the Reds may end up regretting selling him.

The winger originally joined the ‘Gers on loan for the 2018/19 season and after impressing there, they made the decision to make his loan stay a permanent one, shelling out £6.48 million for the Englishman (per Transfermarkt).

In 95 appearances for Gerrard’s side, the 24-year-old has contributed an impressive 19 goals and 19 assists in all competitions (per Transfermarkt).

Last season saw the young winger grab eight goals and four assists in all competitions, which was enough to attract the interest of Leeds United in the summer, following their promotion back to the top-flight.

The Yorkshire club were told that they would have to pay £20 million for Kent, as that is the reported release clause in his contract and after their interest seemed to die down, he would end up staying with the Ibrox Stadium outfit.

However, he has impressed again at the start of this season, having contributed four goals and two assists in 14 Scottish Premiership games, which has seen him average a superb 7.57 rating (per WhoScored).

Therefore, it would not be a surprise to see Leeds, or another Premier League side, register an interest in the Englishman in the upcoming January transfer window and if he does end up leaving for £20 million, then Liverpool may regret their decision to let him go for so cheap back in 2019.

During his time with the Reds, he would make just one senior appearance, despite impressing for the U’23s and earning valuable experience in loans with the likes of Coventry City and Barnsley (per Transfermarkt).

You can argue that the youngster was never given much of an opportunity to shine at Liverpool, although when you consider the quality Klopp has on his wings in Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah, this was perhaps always likely to be the case.

Gerrard was extremely complimentary of the winger after a win against Willem II last season, saying:

“From an attacking point of view, I think Ryan was the game changer for us tonight.

“He does incredibly well running in behind and he has added that into his game this season. He gets us the penalty for the breakthrough and he is just a constant threat. He is so sharp and he has added a different dimension to his game.” (per The Scotsman)

It will be interesting to see if Kent’s impressive form does earn him a move to the Premier League and if he is able to perform well in the top-flight, then the Reds may well end up feeling that it was a poor decision to let him go.

In recent years, Everton have been made to pay for an under-par midfield engine room and whilst that has been somewhat fixed this summer, many of the club’s failed signings still linger in Carlo Ancelotti’s ranks.

It’s made worse by the fact that they had the perfect player already at the club until he rejected an insulting offer back in 2015.

Now at Premier League rivals Sheffield United, John Lundstram has become a man in demand and certainly could’ve been a neat man to have around over the likes of Gylfi Sigurdsson, Tom Davies and Andre Gomes.

At the end of the 2014/15 season, then-Toffees boss Roberto Martinez only offered the academy graduate a six-month contract, to which he rejected and said: “It definitely makes a difference being permanent. You just feel much more part of things.”

How is Lundstram getting on?

The 26-year-old is soon entering a similar predicament at the Blades. He is yet to sign an extension and according to Sky Sports, SPFL giants Rangers and top-flight rivals, Crystal Palace and Burnley, are keen to sign him.

Since Bramall Lane witnessed promotion from the Championship, Lundstram has become a key cog under Chris Wilder – last season, he averaged 1.4 tackles, 1.3 clearances and 1.3 shots per game, via WhoScored.

That is on top of scoring five goals and providing three assists. Clearly, he’s an industrious presence at either end of the pitch. And the same can’t be said for any of the aforementioned Toffees trio.

The £7.2m-rated powerhouse has been lauded as a “real menace” by teammate Billy Sharp, who also added: “He’s got all the attributes. He runs so much in a game, he provides assists and goals.”

Lundstram, in his current form, would’ve been a perfect compliment to the likes of Allan and Abdoulaye Doucoure in the middle. Even if that’s said in hindsight.

To this day, the Englishman is proving Martinez wrong and surely it leaves Everton rueing from his release.

AND in other news, £54m-rated Everton star delivered a shocking display in Leeds defeat…

Wolves are stuck in a rut. After losing Raul Jimenez to a horrific fractured skull, they have failed to win.

Thus, the transfer window could be approaching at just the right time for Nuno Santo.

What’s the word?

Wolves have been poor of late and since beating Arsenal, have only gone downhill.

They were comfortably swept aside 4-0 by Liverpool and suffered a disappointing Midlands derby defeat to Aston Villa last weekend.

As such, a number of transfer targets are now being linked with a move to Molineux. Salomon Rondon in an attacking sense is one but a more defensive player has now emerged on their radar.

According to The Daily Star, Wolves are pondering a move for Manchester City’s Oleksandr Zinchenko.

They had a £19m approach for the Ukrainian knocked back last summer but Wolves want to test City’s resolve once again.

Zinchenko has fallen further down the pecking order at the Etihad so it’s not too unreasonable to suggest he could leave.

Transfermarkt values him at £18m – just a fraction short of the bid that City received a matter of months ago.

The perfect player for Nuno

Now, don’t get us wrong, Zinchenko still has a lot of maturing to do.

At the age of 23, he needs regular football and he also needs to work out what his favoured position is. However, it’s his in-game intelligence that should set alarm bells ringing. When he was sent off against Spurs back in February, Steve Nicol deemed him a “complete and utter idiot” for the challenge.

That being said, he is perfect for Nuno in a number of ways. He is a young player with room to grow and can play in a whole host of positions.

Zinchenko is most naturally an attacking midfielder but it’s in defence where he’s played more regularly under Pep Guardiola.

He’s become the very definition of an attacking full-back, putting his left-foot to good use as a left-back in City’s defensive line.

It’s that type of versatility that Nuno loves. You only need to look at Jonny and former Wolves defender Ruben Vinagre to understand that he prefers a player with attacking attributes in that third of the pitch too.

In terms of his flexibility and creative qualities, he is ideal for Wolves and their manager.

In other news, Wolves’ £60k-p/w dynamo was their ONLY positive against Aston Villa…

Things are going from bad to worse for Celtic right now.

The Hoops have now won just two times in their last 12 outings with the last of their poor results coming on Sunday.

Neil Lennon’s side were devoid of creativity as they drew 1-1 with St Johnstone, relying on a late goal from Mo Elyounoussi to rescue a point.

However, earning a point here is unlikely to do anything for their season. After Rangers won 4-0 earlier in the day, it meant that the Hoops are now 13 points off top spot.

If there were any lingering hopes that ten SPFL titles in a row could be achieved, they can surely now be said farewell to.

Indeed, they should also be saying goodnight to Lennon, a manager who is failing to get much from his players right now. Worryingly, Celtic and Lennon also can’t get much from star man Odsonne Edouard.

On Sunday, the Frenchman had an afternoon to forget, proving wasteful in front of goal. It was rare from someone who is usually ice-cool when presented with an opportunity.

Edouard missed one big opportunity and fluffed a further two, spurning chances that he’d usually score with his eyes closed. He appeared scared and won just 25% of his duels on a day where he misfired all over the pitch.

The 28-year-old lost possession 12 times – a tally worse than Scott Brown – and completed only one of the three dribbles he attempted. It’s a huge concern that Edouard is blowing so hot and cold at the moment.

In his last five games, he’s found the back of the net three times, but he has failed to score against Ross County and now St Johnstone.

The decision not to sign Ivan Toney in the summer is looking poorer as the weeks go by. Celtic wanted him but he eventually left Peterborough for Brentford and has scored 14 goals in 16 outings.

That says it all – as good as Edouard can be, Celtic missed a diamond. It’s clearly costing them.

In other news, Celtic are on the verge of making a big mistake with Dembele…

Glasgow Rangers left-back Borna Barisic stole the show against St. Johnstone on Wednesday night to ensure Steven Gerrard’s side stayed on top of the Scottish Premiership at Christmas.

The Croatia international started the action alongside Connor Goldson, Filip Helander and James Tavernier to form the back four in front of Allan McGregor, with Gerrard feeling the need to ring several changes to the team that came from behind to beat Motherwell, with Joe Aribo replacing Scott Arfield in the midfield.

Barisic has established himself as a first-team regular starter under Gerrard since he first arrived at Ibrox but has found his place in the starting XI under threat after the arrival of Calvin Bassey in the summer.

Gerrard recently admitted as much, as the Ibrox boss realises competition for places has arguably never been higher, with Bassey and Nathan Patterson ready to step into the full-back roles if required.

“The pair of them have started the season really strongly, and it’s interesting to watch Barisic and Tavernier because they have now got competition for places,” he said, as quoted by The Sun. “The way he’s looking in training, I wouldn’t think twice about putting Patterson in to start a game. And Bassey has already proved that he’s capable of stepping in as well.

“Both James and Borna know they have a challenge for their positions, which is good.”

“When Barisic is in the right place from a mental point of view, he’s capable of the kind of high-level performance he gave against Poznan.

“That’s the reason he’s picked as the best left-back in Croatia.

“When he gets into the final third, he’s got incredible quality. His delivery is exceptional.”

But Barisic, who reportedly earns £18,000-a-week, seems to have heeded his warning with his latest display against Callum Davidson’s side, with the defender winning eight out of his nine duels overall (88%) – which is more than any other player from the two teams, as per SofaScore.

Nobody manged more dribbles, either, with the Croatian completing two out of his three dribble attempts successfully, via SofaScore.

Only Tavernier took more touches of the ball, too, with the club captain managing 108 to Barisic’s 95 touches in the full 90′ minutes.

The 28-year-old provided 38 out of 59 passes (64%), while he also made four tackles, two interceptions and three clearances, which shows that he put in a defensive shift to ensure the Gers kept their first clean sheet since the 2-0 win over Lech Poznan in the Europa League.

Once hailed as an “unbelievable” defender by former Rangers full-back Alan Hutton, the timing couldn’t be better for Barisic with Bassey chomping at the bit amid links abroad, as the cards are very much in his hands.

AND in other news, Glasgow Rangers may have found their next Steven Davis in Ciaran Dickson…

Netherlands manager Frank de Boer has revealed when he expects Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk to return to action.

Van Dijk to return?

The 29-year-old was ruled out of action for a significant amount of time after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament during his side’s 2-2 draw against Everton in October, following a high challenge from goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.

Van Dijk was named as the best defender in the world by AC Milan legend Franco Baresi, adding the Dutchman has provided “quality, character and strength” to the Anfield ranks since his £75m move from Southampton in 2018. (cited by Goal).

As a result, Liverpool have sorely missed his leadership at the back, having dropped a significant amount of points during the 2020/21 campaign, with six draws to their name from their first 16 games.

Speaking to De Telegraaf (via Sport Witness), De Boer believes that Van Dijk will be back in time for Holland’s Euro 2020 opener, which is June 13.

“He is busy with so much energy,” he said. “If you see what he’s doing…in my time you were only allowed to kick in the swimming pool [at this point in his recovery].

“If Virgil doesn’t get a kickback and things go a little faster than expected, he should be able to make it to the European Championship opening match on June 13 against Ukraine.

“He is very important for our team, on and off the field.”

Transfer Tavern Verdict

If this is the expected return date, then Liverpool will likely not have Van Dijk back in their team until the start of the 2021/22 campaign, which will be a huge blow to them.

That being said, the supporters and club have been fully aware of the extent of his injury, which could prompt manager Jurgen Klopp and sporting director Michael Edwards to bring in a fresh defensive face this month, with Lille centre-back Sven Botman heavily linked with an Anfield move.

Time will tell how the Reds will continue to cope without Van Dijk’s presence, but the mere fact that a date has been set will at least give supporters something to look forward to.

In other news, James Pearce may have shown his hand regarding Liverpool transfer news on Instagram.

Italian football journalist Fabrizio Romano has claimed recently that Liverpool have been offered the chance to sign Arsenal defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos and the Reds would be making a huge mistake if they were to sign the Greek centre-back.

What’s the word?

Romano revealed on his Here We Go podcast that the Merseyside club have been offered the 32-year-old defender this month, as the Gunners look to get the former Borussia Dortmund man off their books.

The Reds are, of course, currently low on defensive options following injuries to Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez earlier in the season but they would still perhaps be best served by avoiding Sokratis, considering he hasn’t played a single minute of senior football this season.

Worse than Lovren?

Liverpool will surely be rueing their decision to sell Croatian centre-back Dejan Lovren in the summer transfer window and not signing a replacement, as Jurgen Klopp has been forced to play Fabinho, usually alongside youngsters Rhys Williams and Nathaniel Phillips in his defence for much of this season.

The 31-year-old averaged a very solid 7.09 rating for his performances in the Premier League last season when called upon by Klopp, whereas Sokratis earned a much less impressive 6.82 rating for the Gunners, suggesting that he would’ve been a much better option to have than the Arsenal man.

Whilst the experienced defender is well-known to Klopp, having featured 73 times under the German manager during his time at Dortmund, he is clearly well past his best, evidenced by Mikel Arteta leaving him out of his Premier League squad for this season.

Therefore, whilst the Greek international would provide a short-term solution in terms of being an available centre-back in Liverpool’s squad, in the time we would see him build his fitness, Matip would probably return from the injury that has kept him out recently, so he would only be useful if the Cameroonian suffered another injury.

Even then Klopp may prefer to keep faith in Phillips and Williams, so signing Sokratis who earns £92k per week at Arsenal would be a rare error from Michael Edwards and the Liverpool board, given the success they have seen from signings such as Alisson, Virgil van Dijk, Thiago and Sadio Mane, to name a few, in recent years.

And, in other news… Bye-bye Matip: Edwards must swoop for £50m titan tipped for “an amazing future”

Glasgow Rangers fans are far from happy with coverage from the BBC’s Sportscene programme following their victory in the Premiership on Wednesday.

The Gers defeated Hibernian 1-0 thanks to a goal from Alfredo Morelos. All in all, it was a convincing performance from the Ibrox outfit, who dominated possession and had more opportunities than their opponents (SofaScore). The win sees them remain 23 points clear at the top of the table with just 12 games left to play (BBC).

However, the coverage from Sportscene was far from fair towards the 54-time Scottish champions according to their supporters. They believe the pundits were more complimentary to Hibs despite the Gers being the better side.

This view was initially shared by Rangers TV commentator Tom Miller (@TomCommentator) on Twitter, and the fans let their feelings be known as they responded in droves, which you can see below.

What did Gers fans say about the coverage?

“Of course they did, bitter biased disgrace of a channel.”

Credit: @Zander82

“Just the usual from that disgusting organisation Tom no matter who we play… marvellous knowing the pain they’re in…”

Credit: @ian_barrie

“Bewildering. It really needs sorted out. As does Crockers pursuit of Alfredo.”

Credit: @VaticanRSC

“Best not to bother watching it. BBC Scotland is guilty of anti Rangers bias and everyone knows it.”

Credit: @BrianAuld3

“Hardly surprised Tom. It’s the official haters of Rangers channel after all.”

Credit: @johnmasonrtid

“The agendas, excuses and hate is building now it’s virtually in the bag. But that means we are back on top so let them carry on”

Credit: @petera1872

In other news, Rangers fans slam this SFA decision.