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Crystal Palace host bitter rivals Brighton at Selhurst Park on Saturday in what promises to be a fantastic contest which both sides will fancy their chances of winning. The Eagles, though, can make their lives a lot easier by giving Jeffrey Schlupp one simple instruction that he should be able to execute pretty comfortably.

On the chalkboard

For the teams who cannot afford to throw millions at the transfer market in order to get the cream of the crop through the door and play sublime football, getting the ball out to the wings and then into the box is a surefire way to cause those aforementioned big spenders problems and thereby level the playing field.

Brighton know this and are keen to do so if their attack areas are anything to go by – WhoScored states that just 22% of the Seagulls’ attacks are down the middle, making them one of the most wing-reliant teams in the league.

Luckily for Palace, they have Aaron Wan-Bissaka at right-back and it will always take something special to get the better of the number 29; the same cannot be said for Patrick van Aanholt on the opposite flank.

Schlupp for it

While van Aanholt’s attacking prowess makes him a threat going forward, he can be caught out in defence sometimes and no doubt their opposition at the weekend will look to take advantage.

Schlupp’s big role to play, then, is to offer his former competition at left-back ample protection when Brighton look to hit them down the wing. The Ghanaian has been reaping the rewards of his new position in central midfield although he may be forced to return to his wide berth once again if Palace want to focus on Brighton’s attacking qualities instead.

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

Roy Hodgson may want the 26-year-old in the side for his recently-acquired eye for goal but his defensive work will be essential on Saturday – it is equally important for Palace to not lose this game as to win it and they can avoid the former by helping each other out at the back as best as possible.

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Arsenal fell into a state of predictability under Arsene Wenger both on and off the field: an outdated philosophy was religiously applied to a squad which was seldom shaken up by the arrival of a marquee signing; the promotion of youth reigned supreme. “The problem with Arsenal is they always try and walk it into the net”. Boring, boring, Arsenal.

Inevitably and paradoxically, Wenger’s own success was conducive to his demise.

Rather than being taken out in an instant by a camouflaged sniper, the French legend’s character assassination was open for spectators to feast their eyes over during a number of years. As another Arsenal fan TV clip went viral on social media featuring actual grown men willingly signing up for yet another slice of public humiliation, a piece of Wenger’s credibility was removed.

But the three-time Premier League title winner stood firm and by his principles, until less than six months before his watch came to an end. Wenger stood before his sworn brothers a broken man, battered and tired of the familiar narrative, before confirming that Mesut Ozil had been awarded a £350,000 per week contract amid fears that he could leave the club.

This was an aberration in the Wenger era but one deemed necessary after losing Alexis Sanchez to Manchester United just a few days before. The figure was unprecedented for a club who had seemingly been unwilling to join their top-four rivals in offering mega wages to star players.

With the benefit of hindsight, though, Arsenal will be deeply regretting their decision to break the mould which they had kneaded for themselves. Ozil has fallen from grace at a rate akin to that which 99% of reality TV stars experience exactly four weeks after they disappear from our screens, and the club’s hierarchy may well be questioning whether they should have caved to pressure from supporters who vehemently called for a new deal.

Pl>ymaker FC Exclusive: Jermaine Jenas reveals he would have snubbed Tottenham for Arsenal if they’d come knocking in 2005…

Alex Iwobi is a fine example of how promoting from within can be incredibly cost effective. The Nigeria international may not unanimously scoop the plaudits for his style of play, but in terms of value for money he serves as a quintessential example of why promoting youth remains at the core of Arsenal’s DNA.

That Unai Emery has consistently trusted the 22-year-old this season – including in games against top-six rivals – underlines how highly he is regarded by the Spanish tactician. And when directly placed under the microscope alongside Ozil it’s clear to see exactly how dramatically Arsenal’s agreement with the enigmatic playmaker has backfired.

The above comparison demonstrates how the numbers simply don’t add up. Just over ten minutes of football for Iwobi is worth just one minute of Ozil’s time on the pitch; Ozil’s goals have been seven times more expensive than Iwobi’s; there is little to separate Iwobi’s yearly salary from the price of a single Ozil assist.

The master is not justifying this mind-boggling financial disparity over the apprentice.

A break in the trend was perhaps only a temporary blip: Emery’s willingness to stay true to club principles has manifested itself through the selection of academy prospects Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Eddie Nketiah, Joe Willock, Emile Smith-Rowe and Bukayo Saka.

Matteo Guendouzi, Lucas Torreira and Bernd Leno – earning £40k, £75k and £100k per week respectively – all represented progressive signings with the long-term firmly at the heart of the decision-making process.

In light of the disastrous panic-stricken decision to offer Ozil a bumper new deal – one made with a warped perception that somehow his experience compensated for the lack of leadership credentials which the club are craving – it’s fair to say that there is now concrete financial evidence to vindicate Emery’s emphasis on providing opportunities for young players.

Perhaps Wenger was ahead of the curve all along.

Well, it looks as though Chelsea could be about to make what seems their almost annual managerial change at Stamford Bridge once again this summer with Maurizio Sarri failing to win over sections of the club’s faithful and – in his view – more importantly the hierarchy, with a certain Roman Abramovich not one scared to call the shots when things are not going his way.

With the Blues having managed to reach the Europa League, they will be expected to win the tournament and secure their place in the Champions League next season via that route following the dent they received to their chances of finishing inside the Premier League’s top four.

However, whenever a Chelsea manager has fallen way below the expectations that many have at Stamford Bridge, talk will always start about what that man’s future is and who could be a potential replacement for him should the club decide to act.

The Sun are running with a story that Frank Lampard is high on their list as a possible candidate, but bringing him back to the club where he became a star is a huge gamble that Abramovich should look to avoid taking at this moment in time.

Sure, the current Derby County boss will be a contender for the role in the future. There is no doubt that he will be if he continues to improve. However, he is still less than a year into a managerial position and has shown signs that pressure can be something that he is not yet used to.

The Rams took the risk to bring the legend to Pride Park and it appeared to pay dividends in the early stages of the campaign, however, things have fallen rather flat for them after Christmas and their promotion hopes appear to have taken a nose-dive in recent weeks.

Admittedly, he has had to deal with a number of injuries as well, but Lampard should look to continue to learn his trade at a Championship club like Derby before being headhunted by Chelsea.

Obviously, it is difficult to ignore what Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has managed to achieve at Manchester United, however, he had time to learn his craft at the likes of Cardiff City (where he failed spectacularly) and Molde before getting the job at Old Trafford on a temporary basis (should we not forget).

Only a few other men will know Chelsea as well as (or better) than Lampard, but bringing him to the club in the imminent future may only be suicidal for his managerial career and potentially his reputation at the Bridge.

Abramovich must avoid making that gamble at all costs for the time being and look elsewhere if he wants to get the club back into the habit of winning silverware and playing Champions League football.

Chelsea fans, do you think Abramovich should look elsewhere before giving Lampard the opportunity to manage the club? Or do you think Lampard should get the chance in the summer? Join in with the discussion below by sharing your thoughts with us.

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Loads of Celtic fans have been reacting to some comments from David Moyes, as the ex-Everton boss appeared to release a come-and-get-me plea.

Celtic are still yet to make a decision on who their permanent manager will be next season.

The Bhoys lost Brendan Rodgers to Premier League outfit Leicester City earlier this year, and of course handed the interim job to Neil Lennon.

Lennon has done a fantastic job steadying the ship and ensuring the Hoops will lock up their eighth consecutive league title, but most fans do not think he is the man to take the permanent position.

Moyes has already been linked with the Parkhead job and has just thrown his hat in the ring: “Club football would be my choice, but Scotland’s my country and I’m really passionate,” he told the BBC.

“I would always be interested (in the Celtic job), but Lenny’s done a brilliant job. He’s been there before and the job he’s doing at the moment would warrant being the Celtic manager. He’s doing a good job.”

While the 55 year-old showed his support for Lennon, he also informed the club that he is interested in the permanent position, so “Lenny” will likely take his compatriot’s comments with a pinch of salt.

Former Wigan & Fulham man, Jimmy Bullard recently showed that he’s still got it! Check out the video below…

Moyes managed a win percentage of 42 per cent over an 11-year spell with Everton, a number that rose to 52 per cent with Manchester United and plummeted with every club since, winning just eight of 43 games at Sunderland.

Plenty of fans are giving their verdict on the comments, and you can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

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Andy Carroll may have played his last game for West Ham United, the Daily Mirror report.

The striker has sustained an ankle injury and, with his contract set to expire at the end of the season, he may well fail to play another minute for the Irons.

What’s the word?

The aforementioned report claims that the Hammers striker’s ankle injury could be a serious one, with the club currently investigating the severity of the problem.

His deal runs out at the end of the season and sources have confirmed to Football FanCast that the club holds the option to extend that if they so wish.

However, they are unlikely to trigger the option if Carroll is on the treatment table and the Mirror report seemingly confirms that he faces an uphill battle to be involved again prior to the conclusion of the campaign.

Indeed, the report claims that he currently earns £90,000-per-week, a figure that the Irons may well look to move off the wage bill.

Carroll has played 90 minutes once in the Premier League this season, against Manchester City in a 1-0 defeat, but missed the opening 14 games of the campaign after undergoing ankle surgery.

 Good riddance

Carroll has quite simply been rubbish for West Ham barring the odd wonder goal (sorry Crystal Palace fans).

Across 142 games for the club, he has scored 34 goals and has spent a ridiculous amount of time on the treatment table.

No club is likely to want to buy Carroll in the summer and the Hammers appear to have been offered the perfect opportunity to ease the striker out of the exit door.

He played 90 minutes three times last season and is a walking liability; no sooner is he back in the team than he is out of it again, nursing another injury.

Perhaps it is not his fault. But when he has played, he has hardly set the world alight and is worse than Javier Hernandez, Lucas Perez and Marko Arnautovic.

It’s time for West Ham to say good riddance and move on, and this most recent injury setback will make it all the easier to do just that.

أكد المدير الإداري لمنتخب مصر للشباب تحت 20 عاما، عادل محفوظ، أن لاعبي الفراعنة سيخضعون إلى كشف طبي شامل قبل السفر إلى تونس لخوض تصفيات أمم إفريقيا.

منتخب مصر للشباب يستعد للمشاركة مع تونس والجزائر والمغرب وليبيا في التصفيات المؤهلة لبطولة إفريقيا بموريتانيا مارس 2021 حيث يتأهل أصحاب المركزين الأول والثاني إلى بطولة الأمم الإفريقية مباشرة.

وقال محفوظ خلال تصريحات للصفحة الرسمية للاتحاد على “فيس بوك: “اللاعبون سيخضعون لكشف طبي شامل قبل السفر إلى تونس خلال ايام وبالتنسيق مع طبيب الفريق وليد منصور”.

ويعمل المدير الاداري لمنتخب مصر على تجميع كل الأوراق الخاصة بجوازات سفر اللاعبين تحسبًا لظهور أي مشاكل تعيق استخراج جوازات السفر لبعض اللاعبين خاصة المطلوبين للتجنيد أو غير المقيدين في كلية أو معهد في الوقت الحالي.

طالع | اتحاد شمال إفريقيا يتلقى موافقة مصر وتونس على إقامة بطولة الشباب بموعدها

يذكر ان الاتحاد المصري لكرة القدم، قد رفض تأجيل التصفيات الإفريقية، بعدما طالب اتحاد شمال إفريقيا المنتخبات بالرد على مقترح التأجيل أو إقامتها في موعدها.

It seems crazy to think that Gareth Bale left Tottenham nearly six years ago.

The Welsh international, who left north London for a then world-record fee of £88 million, was tipped to be the next British superstar to take over Spain. However, things haven’t gone exactly to plan.

Despite a breakout first year where the winger scored the winning goal in both the Copa del Rey and Champions League final, Bale has yet to really remain settled in the Spanish capital.

Injuries, feuds with players and managers and not embracing the Spanish culture are just a handful of reasons as to what many are calling “The Fall of Gareth Bale”. And with the reappointment of Zinedine Zidane, it is looking likely this season may well be the last in the Spanish capital for Madrid’s record signing.

If this is to be the case, a move to the Premier League will seem the most logical of moves for the 29-year-old. Manchester United have been the side strongly linked with Bale since the fallout of his presence and importance in the Real Madrid side, however, it has been revealed this week that former club Spurs are interested in bringing back their former star.

AS report that Daniel Levy was keen to bring the Welshman back to north London on loan for the 2018/19 season with the idea of Real Madrid paying the majority of Bale’s massive £10 million annual wage, but the demand was too much for Los Blancos to fulfil.

The prospect of a return to Tottenham is something Spurs fans will be excited about. Bale was the last player to win the PFA Player of the Year for the club and his final season in the Premier League is often regarded as one of the best individual seasons in the history of the league, with the Welshman scoring 21 goals and assisting a further nine in 33 league appearances.

Bale is a beloved figure at the club, but would a reunion with Spurs be ideal for both club and player?

Tottenham have changed A LOT since Bale’s departure in 2013. Under Mauricio Pochettino, Spurs have gone from consistent fifth place league finishers to a genuine top-four side and one of the most productive teams in the country. The club has also changed a stylistically.

Although the club still favours a 4-2-3-1, the formation Bale thrived in at Spurs, Pochettino’s use of the system is completely different to what the 2012/13 PFA Player of the Year played in. The Argentine’s high-pressing, build from the back approach is something that Spurs players have adapted well too, and Poch favours players that can adapt to his style.

The likes of Harry Kane, Heung-Min Son and Dele Alli have all been transformed into bonafide superstars under Poch and his tactics, and introducing someone with the star calibre like Bale could disrupt the balance the Spurs boss has spent years trying to build.

Bale might have a strong place in the hearts of many Spurs fans, but it might be in the better interests of the team if they leave his memories in the past and look to move the club forward without him in the future.

Tottenham fans, would you like Gareth Bale back at the club?

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West Ham came from behind to win an absolute blockbuster of a match against Huddersfield on Saturday, and Manuel Pellegrini will surely have learned some valuable lessons about his front men.

On the chalkboard

The Hammers were stunned by Huddersfield on Saturday, as the Terriers took a 3-1 lead despite Mark Noble scoring an early penalty.

Juninho Bacuna levelled for the visitors at the London Stadium before Karlan Grant struck twice to give them that comfortable lead, or so they thought.

Who is your club’s worst ever January signing? The Pl>ymaker FC squad have picked theirs in the video below and they didn’t disappoint…

The Irons stormed back into the match after some smart substitutions by Pellegrini, and the boss must now recognise that Marko Arnautovic simply doesn’t want to be out there anymore. The difference after the Austrian left the pitch was night and day.

Time to move on

Arnautovic came about as close to leaving the club as he possibly could have come in January, as his brother and agent pleaded with the Irons to allow him clear passage to the riches of Chinese football.

The 29 year-old has not scored since an FA Cup strike at the beginning of January, and he appeared to be booed off the pitch by some sections of the London Stadium on Saturday, and deservedly so.

His replacement, Lucas Perez, is hardly the most talented player on the pitch but he at least showed full commitment to the cause once he entered the fray.

Pellegrini is trying to build a culture of intense, fluid, attacking football, and having a player in the side who would rather sulk than take part is simply not going to cut it – “Arnie” touched the ball just 39 times before being substituted.

With a squad growing in confidence but not much left to play for this season, the boss will surely be plotting out his plans for the next campaign, and it bears no benefit to keep playing a player who is looking more and more likely to try and force an exit again this summer.

It’s time to move on and start looking towards the future.

[ad_pod ]Christian Eriksen’s future at Tottenham Hotspur is far from secure.Indeed, the Denmark international will see his current deal with Spurs expire at the end of next season and it is understood that contract talks have stalled.Eriksen has contributed seven goals and 12 assists in 38 appearances for his London club this term, but has struggled for consistency in recent weeks.Mauricio Pochettino’s side have lost three of their last four in the Premier League against Burnley, Chelsea and Southampton, meaning that they are now in a serious battle for a top-four position this season.The Spurs fans are a frustrated bunch at the moment and many have taken the opportunity to have a pop at Eriksen on social media.

Indeed, Tottenham tweeted on Monday afternoon that the 27-year-old had been named in the latest Denmark squad, which led to a reaction from the supporters.

If previous reports are to be believed, both Real Madrid and Barcelona are considering moves for the playmaker this summer.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

Sometimes you can just sense that a player could go all the way and become a top manager, and Mark Noble is one of those players.

The 31-year-old West Ham midfielder has all the hallmarks to make it as a manager once his playing days are over, and fans are not the only ones to acknowledge this.

Speaking to the Daily Star, former Hammers boss Harry Redknapp said how ‘Mr West Ham’ could one day go on to manage the West Ham side. Redknapp said: “Mark Noble’s the type of lad the club should move Heaven and Earth to keep him at the club. For me, there’s a future manager of West Ham sitting on their books right there.”

With the likes of Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Paul Scholes all moving into management after their playing careers, it’s likely we will see more Premier League players head into this area of the game after they have hung up their boots, and Noble is more than capable of being next in line for this new generation of English managers.

Noble is one of the most intelligent players at West Ham and knows the game of football better than most players in the Premier League, and having come through the Hammers as a kid and remaining with the club ever since, it’s not crazy to suggest the 31-year-old could move into coaching at the east London side post-retirement.

Gerrard spent some time with Liverpool’s U-18 side before making the jump to manage Rangers, and Lampard quickly went into obtaining his coaching badges shortly after his retirement.

Noble has the football intelligence to succeed as a coach, and if he decides to learn his trade at West Ham he will be learning in an environment where he is considered a legend of the club, which will only motivate the youngsters and youth players who come through to perform and impress someone they admired growing up.

West Ham fans, would Noble make a good manager in the future? Let us know!