Leeds United’s left-back woes just continue to spiral, don’t they Whites fans?
Marcelo Bielsa’s side lost Ezgjan Alioski to injury during the club’s 2-0 defeat at Griffin Park to Brentford with his replacement Stuart Dallas having to play in a position that he is extremely unfamiliar with.
The Macedonian international had been covering in the absence of Barry Douglas who was ruled out for the rest of the campaign earlier this month after suffering knee ligament damage during the Whites’ 3-2 over Millwall (via the Yorkshire Evening Post).
Although Alioski is primarily a winger, he has delivered several impressive performances for Leeds at full-back and so the news that he will no longer be able to play a role for the club this season (via BBC Sport) will have been greeted with immense disappointment at Elland Road.
Losing any player at this stage of the year is far from ideal but in this particular situation, the consequences could be disastrous. With the Whites already facing an uphill task to overcome Sheffield United in the race for the top-two in the Championship, Alioski’s setback could all-but kill off any hopes that they had of a miraculous turn-around in May.
With the play-offs now looking like the most likely destination for the Yorkshire-based side to secure promotion this season, they will need to find a replacement for their stricken defender as soon as possible. Whereas Dallas has featured there on occasion, Bielsa may turn to Gaetano Berardi or Jamie Shackleton who have both appeared in numerous positions for the Whites this year.
In what has been a dramatic switch of fortunes for Leeds over the past week, the problems for their Argentine manager continue to pile up and if he cannot find the right solutions, all of their hard-work this season could be thrown away in an instant.
What do you think Leeds fans? How big of a blow is it to lose Alioski at this stage of the season? Who do you think should be brought in to replace the Macedonian? Let us know below.
Arsenal star Ainsley Maitland-Niles has posted a picture on Instagram showing the shocking racist abuse he has been forced to deal with.
The 21-year-old has made his first-team breakthrough this season, playing 28 times in all competitions.
However, he was sent off at the weekend as the Gunners lost 3-0 to Leicester City.
Deployed at full-back, Maitland-Niles collected two yellow cards and was dismissed before Unai Emery’s men collapsed at the King Power Stadium.
His sending off was rather harsh but that has not stopped one vile troll from targeting the 21-year-old with a racist message posted on Instagram.
Underneath an old photo, a user posted a comment riddled with grammatical errors calling Maitland-Niles a “monkey”.
He has responded in the best way possible, however, writing: “When will the racism end? I wish you the best in life mate”, followed by a love heart emoji.
Racism has been a major problem in football that has never gone away, but with many Premier League stars recently choosing to boycott Twitter for a day in a bid to raise awareness of the disgusting abuse they regularly face, hopefully the game is finally starting to move away from these sorts of incidents.
And Maitland-Niles’ response here will surely make a few people think twice about the next time they plan to do something quite so abhorrent.
He is merely a young man doing what he loves for a living and he does not deserve to be the victim of such hatred.
Wolves seem pretty well set for the future at the moment. They’ve got a number of young players in the first team who are still some way off their peaks whilst the club are more than ready to establish themselves in the Premier League after a fantastic first term back in the top flight.
However, they also have a number of top players in their youth teams. Niall Ennis has been grabbing most of the headlines for the U23s but another player who’s had a breakthrough 2018/19 campaign is the versatile Ryan Giles.
Wolves U23s currently sit top of Premier League 2, division 2 and Giles has had a huge say in ensuring they’re still in the hunt for promotion to the top division.
With a game to go, Wolves are level on points with Reading but have a considerably bigger goal difference. Southampton, meanwhile, are just a point off the Midlands club and have a game in hand.
It’s certainly all to play for and Giles will be one of the players crucial to where they finish, having already featured in 16 matches. This could be his final year of playing academy football too with Nuno Santo clearly taking a liking to the player.
The 19-year-old was included in the first team’s pre-season training camp last summer whilst he also signed a new deal back in November.
As if that wasn’t enough, he made his senior bow in the FA Cup against Shrewsbury in 2019 and is currently Wolves’ Academy Player of the Year too.
With left wing back Ruben Vinagre attracting the interest of Liverpool, Giles could be his perfect replacement next term and would be an excellent understudy to Jonny.
He is a left-winger by trade but made his first-team debut at left-wing back. He also played there during the academy side’s win over Stoke.
His versatility will be incredibly beneficial and, as we’ve seen with many young players, managers tend to use them in different roles to bed them into the first team picture.
A Wolves fan shares his most gutting moment of the last 10 years supporting the club in the video below…
Giles possesses fantastic attacking qualities and once moved further forward last Monday night against Stoke he showed that. He was a menace on the flanks and was unfortunate not to score himself as they won 2-1.
The Telford born player has a wonderful ability to beat his man and it surely won’t be too long before we see him doing it at senior level on a regular basis.
Since joining Wolves, Nuno Santo has had wave after wave of praise. But does he actually still have a lot to prove?
There’s no denying his achievements in the English game so far. He took Wolves up in some style last term and they’ve had a tremendous first campaign back in the Premier League.
At the moment they sit seventh and were just moments away from reaching an FA Cup final too.
However, there are some clear issues Nuno has to iron out if Wolves are to ensure they don’t have a bitter reality check and suffer from second season syndrome in 2019/20.
What’s the issue?
In short, Nuno is too stubborn and if Maurizio Sarri has been receiving criticism for something similar then the Portuguese boss deserves the same.
Yes, Wolves have achieved some outstanding results this season but it overshadows some major problems. The Midlands club only have one plan and there is a serious lack of any tactical alternative.
That has never been so evident than in their defeat to Watford last Sunday. Plan A was going swimmingly well, but once the game turned they had nothing to combat their opponents.
They went defensive, so defensive in fact that it cost them the game. They invited pressure and then after conceding Gerard Deulofeu’s second goal had no answer.
Nuno struggles to adapt when the going gets tough and although they’ve claimed 13 points against top six sides, there have been some questionable performances on the road. Molineux may be a fortress but it’s a place they can afford to play an attractive brand of football at.
A major problem in having no plan B is that they have to set up the same on the road and their display against Burnley at Turf Moor two weekends ago was indicative of this.
A Wolves fan shares his most gutting moment of the last 10 years supporting the club in the video below…
Nuno’s substitutes are also largely ineffective and provide further evidence of a lack of an alternative plan. At Wembley, the changes he made had no difference, whilst regular rotation options Adama Traore and Ivan Cavaleiro have only contributed six goals between them.
Wolves’ coveted 45-year-old has been uttered as one of the managers of the season, but perhaps pundits ought to look at the man who outfought him last weekend, Javi Gracia, instead.
Manchester City fans have taken to Twitter to heap praise on Phil Foden, after the attacking midfielder made his first Premier League start in the 2-0 win over Cardiff on Wednesday evening.
The teenage prospect had only previously featured for the Cityzens in the cup competitions from the first whistle, but he was handed his first league start by Pep Guardiola against the Bluebirds and he performed excellently.
442oons have charted the entire career of Man City’s main man Sergio Aguero through song in the hilarious video below…
Despite being just 18 years of age, Foden slotted in seamlessly in an attack littered with world-class talent, and was unlucky not to get on the scoresheet after a number of chances went begging – he hit the post with a well-taken second half effort.
The City academy graduate had five shots on Neil Etheridge’s goal, and also made three key passes on a night where he took a big step in his development.
Let’s see what the City fans on Twitter have been saying about the teenager’s performance…
علق محمد فضل عضو اللجنة الخماسية التي تُدير اتحاد الكرة، على الأزمة التي نشبت بينه وبين محمود كهربا، صانع ألعاب الأهلي، أثناء الاحتفال بتتويج فريقه بلقب الدوري المصري.
وكان احتفال الأهلي بالتتويج قد شهد نشوب مشادة تطورت لاشتباك بالأيدي بين كهربا وفضل، وذلك في حضور محمود الخطيب رئيس النادي الأهلي.
اقرأ أيضًا.. خاص – الخطيب يعد محمد فضل بتوقيع عقوبة على كهربا.. وشكوى منتظرة للانضباط
وقال محمد فضل عبر برنامج “ملعب أون تايم” على قناة “أون تايم سبورت”: “هناك لجنة انضباط تمارس عملها ضد تجاوز أي فرد سواء لاعب أو مسؤول، والموضوع عند اللجنة وهي صاحبة القرار”.
تابع: “كنت أنتظر رد من الأهلي ورأيت تصريح سيد عبد الحفيظ اليوم وشكرًا له، وتم تحويل الأمر للجنة ولديها اجتماع غدًا وهي التي ستقرر”.
وعن غضب البعض من جماهير الأهلي منه، قال: “كتبت في الشكوى التي قدمتها أن أي شخص يعاقب حتى لو مسؤول أو لاعب، الأمر متروك للجنة الانضباط، الأمر الثاني الناس مثلما قلت ستأخذ وقتًا حتى تتأكد أن من يجلس على الكرسي في المجلس لا ينتمي لأي شيء”.
وواصل: “جماهير الأهلي (على راسي)، ولكن أي شخص سيخرج عن النطاق لابد أن يُحاسب، وكتبت في الشكوى أن الحادثة كانت أمام محمود الخطيب رئيس النادي ومحمد مرجان المدير التنفيذي”.
استكمل: “أي شخص سيتجاوز سيتم توقيع عقوبة عليه، سواء لاعب أو مسؤول، لأن هناك حياد وشفافية”.
اختتم: “أبارك للأهلي على الموسم الاستثنائي ووصوله لنهائي دوري الأبطال، وأتمنى فوز الزمالك وأن يكون النهائي مصري خالص”.
Loads of Manchester United fans have been running the rule over their victory against West Ham, and they’re not too happy with Jesse Lingard.
Just like their win against Watford, the Red Devils put in an underwhelming performance at Old Trafford on Saturday.
The Hammers, who were coming off the back of some woeful performances of their own, looked the better team in the opening stages, and were unlucky to see a Felipe Anderson goal incorrectly ruled out for offside.
Watch the video below to find out what Jesse Lingard is like off the pitch in the latest Match Of The Bae with Emma Conybeare…
Paul Pogba then scored from the spot after a dubious decision from the referee, but Anderson did get his goal in the second half, sneaking in at the back post to equalise.
And although Pogba’s second penalty of the day gave Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side all three points, fans aren’t happy with their performance, particularly from Lingard.
When playing mid-table sides at home, attacking players like the English international need to be involved and making things happen. He completed zero dribbles, zero key passes and registered zero shots, per Whoscored.
You can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below, look away now Jesse…
Loads of Crystal Palace fans have been judging their latest striker target, as reports claim they are chasing Che Adams.
According to The Telegraph, three Premier League teams will go head to head this summer to sign Adams, who has bagged 22 goals in 39 Championship starts this season.
The report claims Palace, Southampton and Burnley all want to sign the Blues ace, and that he is expected to leave St. Andrew’s this summer.
The report also states that the Eagles will not be able to afford to land Michy Batshuayi on a permanent deal despite the Belgian impressing during his loan spell, hence the interest in Adams.
Plenty of fans have been giving their verdict on the links, and the reaction is overwhelmingly positive.
Adams is 22, English, works absolutely tirelessly week in week out for 90 minutes, and most importantly he knows how to stick the ball in the net.
You can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below, where the £6.3m-rated ace is sending fans berserk…
Since Romelu Lukaku exited Goodison Park in the summer of 2017, taking with him an impressive strike-rate, Everton have brought in five forwards plus Wayne Rooney. Those forwards collectively have bagged 34 Premier League goals across the last two seasons; just eight more than the Belgian managed single-handedly in his final year on Merseyside.
That is not to suggest that too much criticism is due to the five new recruits and indeed a case can be made for most, particularly in the instance of Richarlison who has largely been terrific for the Blues this term under Marco Silva. The former Watford star is not an out-and-out goal-scorer nor is he someone expected to lead the line rather an explosion of creativity across the final third.
Football Soccer – Everton v Chelsea – FA Cup Quarter Final – Goodison Park – 12/3/16 Everton’s Romelu Lukaku with manager Roberto Martinez after being substituted Action Images via Reuters / Carl Recine Livepic EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or “live” services. Online in-match use limited to 45 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. Please contact your account represen
Even so, the fact remains that the Toffees have greatly missed Lukaku, or rather his goals. That’s what it boils down to. They are yet to come anywhere close to replacing him, a problem that has plagued Ronald Koeman, David Unsworth, Sam Allardyce and now Silva.
Enter Dominic Calvert-Lewin though of course the 22-year-old has already been on the scene for some time, having been snapped up as an emerging young talent from Sheffield United in 2016. A period of development followed during which Calvert-Lewin saw his reputation soar by helping England’s U20s win the World Cup and he has since won the Three Lions’ U21 Player of the Year award in 2018. At Everton meanwhile he has quietly, progressively established himself as a first team regular making 36 starts and 30 cameos from the bench in the last two campaigns.
His rise to prominence has accelerated of late with a series of impactful displays none more so than at West Ham at the tail-end of March when Calvert-Lewin was widely praised for putting in a complete centre-forward’s performance. There he harried the Hammers back-line remorselessly and was influential in both of his side’s goals.
Soccer Football – Premier League – Cardiff City v Everton – Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Britain – February 26, 2019 Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin celebrates scoring their third goal Action Images via Reuters/Peter Cziborra EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or “live” services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. Please c
Later Glenn Hoddle stated in his punditry role for BT Sport that Everton might have finally found their missing link up front: “They don’t need to go out and buy a foreign player. He’s getting better and better. If he can add to his goal tally, he can hold the ball up for them, don’t go out and buy a foreign player”.
Ex-Everton manager Allardyce also believes his former charge could prove key in helping his team take the next step and challenge for a top six spot saying recently via talkSPORT:
“Calvert-Lewin has improved immensely this season and next season he might even improve yet again. I think he’s a quality player, but he’s still a little short on his goal tally to command that centre forward position on a regular basis”.
As for the player himself confidence is clearly sky high, as demonstrated in his recent assertion that he could soon be competing on the same plateau as Sergio Aguero and Harry Kane.
You may notice however that both Hoddle and Allardyce’s words contain a similar caveat and that is the young hit-man’s lack of hits. Calvert-Lewin may well be excellent at holding up play and putting in the yards but 17 goals in 92 appearances is hardly prolific. This season he has scored once every 281 minutes – that will be a concern for Silva, who has been charged with making Everton truly competitive against the Premier League’s sextet elite.
A significant increase in sharpness – and selfishness – in front of goal is needed if the Yorkshireman wishes to become the long-term successor to Graeme Sharp, Rooney and Lukaku in Everton’s striking half of fame. If not then the search will continue for the 20-goal-a-season man Everton so desperately crave and Silva so desperately needs.
شهدت تدريبات نادي ليفربول الإنجليزي، مساء اليوم الاثنين، غياب لاعبين عن المشاركة، قبل مباراة أتالانتا الإيطالي في دوري أبطال أوروبا.
ليفربول يحل ضيفًا على أتالانتا مساء غدًا الثلاثاء، على ملعب “أتليتي أزوري إيطاليا”، ضمن لقاءات الجولة الثالثة من دور المجموعات لمباريات المجموعة الرابعة بدوري الأبطال.
وكان قد تواجد في تدريبات الريدز اليوم ثلاثي الفريق كونستانتينوس تسيميكاس ونابي كيتا، إلى جانب جويل ماتيب (طالع المزيد من التفاصيل).
وذكرت صحيفة “ليفربول إيكو” البريطانية، أنّ تياجو ألكانتارا متوسط ميدان الريدز، لم يتواجد في التدريبات الجماعية.
وأوضحت الصحيفة أنّ النجم الإسباني تدرب بشكل منفرد من أجل التعافي من المشاكل التي يُعاني منها في الركبة.
وقالت الصحيفة إن جيمس ملينر لم يتواجد كذلك في التدريبات اليوم الاثنين، ولكن من المتوقع أنّ يُسافر بشكل طبيعي مع الفريق.