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Players at Newcastle United are said to have been ‘disgusted’ at the leaking of Karl Darlow being dropped before their 1-1 home draw against Wolves.

As per the Daily Mail, the 30-year-old goalkeeper had not been informed of the decision and found out through the media, and the players believe that Steve Bruce leaked the news to the press.

Despite Darlow challenging Bruce over the report, the former Aston Villa and Sunderland boss denied leaking the story.

The Mail have also reported of a training ground bust-up between Bruce and Matt Ritchie in which the manager was said to have physically confronted his player and barged into him after the former AFC Bournemouth ace called him a ‘coward’.

Newcastle in turmoil

It seems as if everything is far from rosy in the garden at the moment at St. James’ Park.

The North East club are currently a mere three points off of the drop zone after 26 games (BBC Sport), with a real chance of getting relegated from the Premier League down to the EFL Championship.

The pressure is clearly mounting on both Bruce and his players to deliver results from now until the end of the 2020/21 term and it is perhaps not a surprise to hear of the fallouts on Tyneside.

Nonetheless, they will have to put everything behind them now and group together to fight for their place in the top flight for another season.

In other news, find out what relegation claim Ben Jacobs has dropped on the potential takeover here!

After clinching a superb 1-0 victory over Leeds United at Elland Road at the weekend, Aston Villa make the trip to Sheffield United on Wednesday night.

Dean Smith’s side took home all three points thanks to a first-half goal from Anwar El Ghazi, and with tonight’s opponents currently rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table, back-to-back wins is very much on the cards.

The Villa boss could look to freshen things up slightly both in midfield and in attack, and with that in mind, below is a look at how Smith’s side might line up when they take on the Blades.

In goal, Emiliano Martinez can close the gap on Manchester City shot-stopper Ederson in the race for the Premier League’s Golden Glove award, with the Argentine just two clean sheets behind.

The back-four should also remain unchanged, with veteran full-back Ahmed Elmohamady once again filling in for the injured Matty Cash.

Both Marvelous Nakamba and Jacob Ramsey – who was outstanding in particular against Leeds – should keep their places in midfield, but January signing Morgan Sanson is surely now pushing for his first start in the top-flight after yet another cameo at the weekend.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of the game against Sheffield United, Smith said: “If you throw people in they can find it hard very early and it can hamper them for the rest of their progression. I’ve been lucky I’ve been able to feed him in gradually but he’s certainly ready to start games now and I know we’ve got a very good player on our hands.”

And in the front-line, the 46-cap Trezeguet could get his first start in a long while and replace Bertrand Traore on the right-hand side, with the Egyptian perfectly suited to combating the Blades’ wing-back system.

It would certainly be a bold call to make two key changes to his winning side, but Smith will want his players as fresh as possible given the quick turnaround in games.

Predicted XI: Martinez; Elmohamady, Konsa, Mings, Targett; Sanson, Nakamba, Ramsey; Trezeguet, Watkins, El Ghazi.

Meanwhile, Villa should unleash this £9m-rated star tonight…

Many Sheffield Wednesday fans are reacting to a tweet from Dom Howson in which he discusses midfielder Sam Hutchinson.

The journalist tweeted: “Why I think Sam Hutchinson could solve Darren Moore’s key defensive problem”, with an accompanying link to a Yorkshire Live article explaining his stance, and this caused many to start debating the Hillsborough ace.

The Englishman left the Owls in September and moved to Cypriot side Pafos FC (The Star). However, he was soon released and this has opened the door to him coming back to Hillsborough. The 31-year-old had a successful career at Wednesday as he made 165 appearances over seven seasons for the Yorkshire outfit.

The Owls are suffering in the Championship and need a miracle to reduce the seven-point gap to 21st before the end of the season. Since re-signing for the club, Sam Hutchinson has featured 11 times and has contributed much defensively as he has averaged 1.9 tackles, 2.4 interceptions and three clearances per game (WhoScored).

Therefore, it is easy to see why Howson believes he could solve the defensive issues and hopefully he can help turn things around for the club. However, the 31-year-old seems to be a divisive figure, judging by these replies from Wednesday fans on Twitter:

Here is how Wednesday fans reacted to Howson’s tweet:

“Are you on his payroll mate”

Credit: @kanewhelan2

“I was so excited listening to the early interviews with the new Boss. He came across as being positive, dynamic and passionate. Sadly, that hasn’t yet seemed to have transferred over to the players. Sam is a player who usually embodies those things, so you could be right.”

Credit: @NelsPalmerur

“Do you ‘think’ this could do it as it already has? when he was first re-signed he was next to Lee’s and they were solid”

Credit: @chrisma50n

“Got to be better than he is in midfield, not as good as Joey, he’s either not fit, trying not to get hurt /sent off or his legs have gone. He’s been poor.”

Credit: @SteveAuntsVan

“If we’re going to play it out from the back Hutchinson and Dunkley should be our centre-backs”

Credit: @DeLudoScribo

“Agree; hutch is a centre half not a holding midfielder player anymore.”

Credit: @hirsty9

In other news, these SWFC fans discussed one player that got away!

David Sullivan should avoid lodging an improved offer to sign Sevilla striker Youssef En-Nesyri to replace Sebastien Haller at West Ham United.

What’s the word?

According to Marca, the Hammers remain interested in pursuing a deal to lure En-Nesyri to the Premier League this month after seeing their opening offer knocked back.

Sevilla are said to be relaxed over the prospect of losing their 23-year-old frontman this month as they know January is not the ideal window to sign a starting striker, and will only look to cash-in should they receive offers worth at least €40m (£35.5m).

The Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium natives also demand that the fee is excluding any add-ons, which would be included on top, having only signed En-Nesyri for €20m (£18m) a year ago and seen the forward strike 18 goals in 51 games across all competitions to date.

It remains to be seen if West Ham do increase their offer but negotiations are understood to be continuing, after reports by The Athletic claimed the Irons opened talks with a formal bid worth €25m (£22.5m) plus €5m (£4.5m) in add-ons.

The sum has been described as being ‘clearly insufficient’ by Estadio Deportivo for a player enjoying their best run of form in front of the net, having scored eight goals in 17 La Liga fixtures this term after netting a hat-trick to beat Real Sociedad 3-2 earlier this month.

En-Nesyri is considered to be West Ham’s top target to replace Haller in January, as the Ivory Coast international’s £20m move to AFC Ajax left an injury-prone Michail Antonio as David Moyes’ only recognised senior centre-forward.

Javier Hernandez 2.0

West Ham returning with an improved offer to sign En-Nesyri would see Sullivan land Moyes a striker who his current boss Julien Lopetegui lauds as a “very complete player”, but one whose consistency has recently been questioned.

En-Nesyri is building a reputation in Spain for scoring important goals for Sevilla yet then struggling to find the back of the net, and was even dropped to the bench for his side’s 1-0 defeat at Real Madrid last month even after scoring three goals in his previous four games.

West Ham can ill-afford to have an inconsistent frontman on the books if he sets the Irons back what would have been a club-record fee two years ago, with Felipe Anderson’s £36m arrival and Haller’s £45m move the only transfers to have cost the Hammers more.

The London Stadium natives have already been through more than their fair share of toothless hitmen, with £223m spent on 49 strikers since the arrival of owners David Gold and David Sullivan, including Javier Hernandez, who bled the club dry on a £140,000-per-week contract.

Hernandez hit out at West Ham’s inconsistency during the 2018/19 Premier League season, yet was a large part of the problem with just seven goals in 25 games including failing to score for two months on two separate occasions.

The Mexican is a player West Ham would be wise to avoid finding a repeat of, but may be heading down that route with a costly deal to bring En-Nesyri in despite the setback of having to offer an additional €10m (£8m) as an outright sum.

AND in other news, West Ham can secure David Moyes’ dream Mark Noble heir in a £25m January target.

Manchester United are ‘open’ to allowing Marcos Rojo to leave Old Trafford before the transfer window closes later today.

What’s the word?

United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confirmed on Friday that Rojo is set to return to his homeland of Argentina.

The 30-year-old has been told he has no future at Old Trafford as Solskjaer deems him surplus to requirements.

According to journalist Fabrizio Romano, the Argentinian centre-back is close to completing a deal to sign for Boca Juniors.

Rojo joined the Red Devils from Sporting Lisbon for £16m on an initial five-year contract in August 2014 but he has not featured at all for United this season and made just one start in the Premier League last season before leaving for Estudiantes on a short-term loan deal.

Get rid of him

To his immense credit, Solskjaer has been nothing short of ruthless in clearing out the deadwood with third-choice goalkeeper Sergio Romero set for the Old Trafford exit as the club have decided not to renew his contract.

And now, it seems Rojo may be about to follow suit, although a move still has not been formally completed.

With time starting to run out, Solskjaer needs to pick up where he left off by getting rid of Rojo as well.

It might sound harsh, but the stats don’t lie, and he simply isn’t up to the standards of being a regular starter under Solskjaer. In actual fact, it’s fair to say that he hasn’t been for quite some time.

In his last season alone at Old Trafford, he played just three games in the Premier League, with two of those appearances coming off the bench as a substitute, averaging just one tackle per game, via WhoScored, earning a low match rating of 6.13 in the process.

For context, that would rank him the joint second-lowest in the current United squad below the likes of Axel Tuanzebe (6.19) and Eric Bailly (6.43).

Considering the fact he earns around £80,000-per-week at Old Trafford, with an annual salary of £4,160,000, that means each top-flight appearance cost roughly £1,360,000. Say no more.

It’s about time Solskjaer cut his losses once and for all.

AND in other news, Manchester United should sign Sergio Ramos after transfer update…

Tottenham Hotspur boss Jose Mourinho went for broke in their crucial Europa League match with LASK Linz on Thursday evening, naming a near full-strength side.

Aside from the absences of Hugo Lloris and Harry Kane, and the presence of Eric Dier on the bench, it was a line-up that could do Spurs justice in a competitive Premier League fixture.

However, it also provided some clues over the long-term futures of some players, namely Dele Alli, who too was named as a substitute as well as Harry Winks.

The England midfielder was snubbed entirely and it’s not been the first time either as he has started just three of their top-flight league matches this term.

Winks hasn’t even been in the squad for their last three Premier League outings.

The Hotspur Way academy graduate, who is currently valued at €40m (£36m), has even admitted his concern over his position at Spurs ahead of next summer’s European Championships, he told Sky Sports:

“Definitely, my situation at Tottenham is difficult at the moment.”

With Winks earning around £75k-per-week in north London, it may be wise to move him on this January for the good of his career. It’s evident that Mourinho does not fancy him to start matches regularly like he once did.

The form of Tanguy Ndombele and the arrival of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has certainly contributed to that since the summer too.

He was a long-time favourite of Mauricio Pochettino’s with the ex-Spurs manager once dubbing the engine room maestro a “perfect midfield player” before comparing him to Spanish greats, Andres Iniesta and Xavi.

“His characteristics are perfect. When we talk about midfielders like Xavi and Iniesta, he’s like this type of player. He has this capacity but he needs to take my words in a very positive way — he needs a lot of work.”

Given his value and the fact that he’s under contract until 2024, Spurs could get a pretty penny from his departure. A bold but much-needed call next month.

AND in other news, Exclusive: Pundit issues bold Harry Kane claim amid “worries”…

Newly-appointed Sheffield Wednesday boss Tony Pulis is heading for his first masterstroke in charge of the Owls, if emerging reports are to be believed…

What’s the word?

According to the Daily Mirror, the Yorkshire giants have offered talismanic captain Barry Bannan a two-year contract extension ahead of his current deal expring in the summer.

However, it is claimed that the 31-year-old favourite will only accept if the Owls are active and show ambition during in the upcoming January transfer window.

The Wednesday skipper is currently thought to be on around £24k-per-week at Hillsborough, which puts him quite rightly among their highest earners.

First Pulis masterclass

So far, Pulis’ reign in Sheffield hasn’t gone to plan as he’s yet to win a single game since taking over from Garry Monk – three draws, three losses.

And having scored just three goals in those six matches, the void left behind by 13-goal top scorer Steven Fletcher has become ever so much more apparant.

Although tying Bannan down to a long-term extension will be the 62-year-old’s first wise decision in charge of the Owls.

Bannan has emerged as the most influential member in the squad, tying first for goals scored – even from midfield – with two from 17 starts. The Scotsman is also averaging the most key passes (1.4) too.

Without him, the Owls midfield would practically be non-existent.

Ex-manager Steve Bruce was a massive fan of his during his short spell at Hillsborough, he said: “Barry is a very good footballer and going forward, you always want your good players. He’s been here a few years and made himself a crowd favourite and to be a favourite at a big club like this you must have ability and he’s got it in abundance.”

Whilst the veteran playmaker even drew praise from Pep Guardiola last season after the City chief labelled Bannan an “incredible player” and a “fantastic footballer” after their meeting in the FA Cup.

It’s now fully on Dejphon Chansiri to deliver the goods next month, failure to do so would be rather dangerous as Owls need their captain more than anything in 2021.

AND in other news, Chansiri could solve Pulis nightmare with swoop for £7.2m-rated dangerman… 

Celtic are stuck in a rut.

Neil Lennon is facing enormous questions over his future and it wouldn’t be a great surprise if he was soon sacked.

The Hoops boss is under scrutiny following a 2-2 draw with Hibernian and a second 4-1 defeat to Sparta Prague.

To say things aren’t going well would be putting it lightly. Heading into this weekend, the Hoops were 11 points behind their rivals Rangers in the race for the SPFL title.

On top of that, they have just been dumped out of the Europa League with two games still to play.

With that in mind, surely change is needed in terms of the manager?

Either way, Lennon has a League Cup clash with Ross County to prepare for. A solid cup run could act as a good distraction for the Hoops right now, but equally, if they get beaten it won’t look good.

Who starts will be interesting to see. At the moment, Celtic’s defence is being breached on a regular basis so replacing Scott Bain in goal would be a canny idea.

The stopper was in wretched form against Sparta Prague on Thursday and was torn to shreds by a certain Chris Sutton at full-time.

“I thought the goalkeeper was hopeless. I don’t know what he was doing for the fourth. It summed up Celtic, their performance and their season so far,” he remarked on BT Sport’s post-match show (26/11).

Indeed, Bain was all over the place. He failed to stamp down his authority in the penalty area by letting the ball roll across the six-yard box for the second goal and then for the fourth, he came racing out of his goal before missing the ball.

The 29-year-old made one individual error according to SofaScore, and made just eight accurate passes. Clearly, he was not great with his hands or his feet, gifting possession to the opposition on a regular basis.

Remarkably, for a ‘keeper, he was also dribbled past on one occasion. It was an embarrassing night for Bain and thus, Lennon needs to consider Vasilis Barkas on Sunday afternoon.

The summer signing has kept eight clean sheets in just 14 outings this season so it’s obvious to argue that Celtic are a sturdier outfit with him between the posts.

Regardless of that, Bain needs some time out of the team.

Meanwhile, Celtic could spark a revival by hiring a “special” manager… 

MatériaMais Notícias

Emerson Sheik, aos 37 anos, ainda tem mais um ano de contrato com o Flamengo. O atacante, porém, deu uma de “agente” para o amigo e ex-companheiro de Léo Moura, em uma festa na casa do camisa 11, em Mangaratiba, Região da Costa Verde do Rio de Janeiro. Durante a festividade, nestes últimos dias de férias, Sheik interrompeu a apresentação da banda e pediu o retorno do “eterno capitão do Clube de Regatas do Flamengo”, que também estava presente no local.

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No microfone, Sheik que estava transmitindo o evento ao vivo pelo celular, indagou os torcedores que acompanhavam online: “Eterno capitão do Clube deRegatas do Flamengo, o maior e melhor lateral-direito que eu já vi jogar… Nação, é o seguinte: eu quero muito o Léo Moura de volta ao Mengão…”, disse o jogador, que foi aplaudido e ovacionado. Logo em seguida, os presentes puxaram o coro: “volta, Léo Moura… volta, Léo Moura…”.
Léo Moura deixou o Flamengo em março, depois de um imbróglio com a diretoria. O jogador queria uma renovação por uma temporada, mas o Rubro-Negro só quis estender o vínculo até o fim da disputa do Estadual de 2015.

Depois de deixar o Fla, o camisa 2 foi para o Fort Lauderdale Strikers, dos Estados Unidos, onde permaneceu até o fim de junho. Depois disso, tentou retornar ao Brasil, porém, como já tinha jogado pelo Fla e na equipe norte-americana, não conseguiu uma nova transferência para o Coritiba. Antes disso, passou por um polêmica por ter acordado o retorno para o Vasco após deixar o Estados Unidos.

Key information about Proact Stadium

Proact Stadium was opened in 2010 and is now the home of Chesterfield FC who play their football in the National League. The ground is located in Whittington Moor on the site of the former Dema Glassworks and interestingly, also houses Sheffield United U23s and Sheffield United Women’s team.

Its current capacity stands at 10,504 with a pitch that measures 112 by 74 yards. The surface is covered with natural grass and there is no running track surrounding it.

The record attendance of 10,089 at Proact Stadium was set during the clash between Chesterfield and Rotherham back in 2011.

A history of Proact Stadium

Chesterfield FC moved to Proact Stadium back in 2010 following around 130 years spent at their old ground, the Recreation Ground at Saltergate. Needless to say, that stadium was actually one of the oldest around and was, by that time, falling into disrepair and the club needed a change.

The first plans to move to a different stadium were actually drawn up as early as October 2004 and an agreement between the club and the local authorities was done in the following year. Still, even with all of those things out of the way quite early, complications ensued and it wouldn’t be until 2008 that they would actually get the planning permission and in 2009, the land was handed over to Chesterfield to finally start building.

The official construction began in February 2009 and it would take them about a year to finish and open it for business in 2010. 24 July was the date Chesterfield played their first game at their new home, hosting Derby County in a pre-season friendly clash. The first competitive clash, however, followed suit about three weeks later when Barnet came to town.

If reports are to be believed, the approximate cost of the erection of Proact Stadium was around £13m and it is comprised of four different stands which give it a maximum capacity of 10,500. Still, if Chesterfield need more room in case too many fans flock into the ground, the corners can also be filled in to further boost that figure to 13,000.

Interestingly enough, various sponsorship deals have resulted in Proact Stadium changing names on multiple different occasions. In 2009, when it was still in the process of being erected, the ground was actually called the b2net Stadium. But that wouldn’t last and two seasons later, following the acquisition of b2net by Swedish company Proact, the name changed once again, this time to Proact Stadium, which was officially announced on 13 August 2012.

As of August 2020, however, the name will change from Proact Stadium to Technique Stadium due to the latest sponsorship deal struck by the club.

Away from the footballing facilities and on the exterior of the East Stand is a £1.7m community facility commonly known just as the HUB. And this is where the rest of the stadium’s features are located with a cafe, ‘Chester’s Den’, a martial arts dojo, a play centre, a gym, a therapy pool, a multi-use sports hall, classrooms as well as the offices of the Trust and other tenants.

Apart from Chesterfield, Proact Stadium is also used by Sheffield United U23s and Sheffield United Women’s team.

Tickets to watch Chesterfield FC at Proact Stadium

All tickets to watch Chesterfield FC play at Proact Stadium can be found on the club’s official website. The price depends on the age group of the buyer as well as the stand chosen with the cost ranging between £18 and £22 for an adult ticket.

Of course, the club also offers a season ticket scheme which can give fans a discount over the course of the season.

Related links

https://www.chesterfield-fc.co.uk/ – Official website of Chesterfield FC