All posts by z3u9t.icu

Plenty of Aston Villa supporters have been reacting on social media to Paul Merson’s comments regarding Jack Grealish.

The 25-year-old has missed the last six Premier League fixtures through injury, with Dean Smith’s side picking up just five points from a possible 18 without their influential captain.

Grealish, who has been involved in 18 of Villa’s 39 Premier League goals this season, has been linked with a permanent Villa Park exit.

Manchester City are thought to be leading the way for the Englishman, with the player himself reportedly excited over a potential Etihad switch.

Former Villa man Merson, talking to Sky Sports, cited by the Birmingham Mail, shared his worries for Villa next season, should Grealish leave, labelling Smith’s side ‘a relegation team’.

“Without being horrible, they’re a relegation team without Grealish in the team. Not this season, but if Jack ended up leaving, you’d expect them to be well down in the bottom half of the table.”

Villa fans react

@AVFC_News shared Merson’s comments on social media, which led to numerous fans giving their thoughts.

This is what some had to say, with many in agreement with the 53-year-old and one describing his comments as ‘big claims’.

“Hard to disagree”

Credit: @PaulRG14

“That’s what happens when you build a team around 1 player and that player gets injured”

Credit: @jjnavfc

“Not wrong though is he! One lucky win against Leeds since he got injured, we seem to be getting worse each game. GK, back 4 and OW are class but most of the rest… Luiz, McGinn, Barkley, El Ghazi, Trez, Davis and too many others, none of them get in any other top 10 team. #avfc”

Credit: @Chris_AVFC1983

“On current form it’s bob on”

Credit: @Sallis77

“judging by the way we’ve played these past games I can’t really defend that”

Credit: @avfcdemi

“Paul Merson saying what every Villa fan knows which is why I’m struggling with DS not getting any criticism he needs to develop the team”

Credit: @davecave8

“Big claims that half our squad are doing their absolute best to confirm when given the chance”

Credit: @ajsfounded71

In other news: Many Villa fans urge club to make big-money move for ‘perfect’ star, find out more here. 

Adam Forshaw probably won’t play this season or even at the beginning of the 2021/22 campaign, according to former Leeds United striker Noel Whelan.

Forshaw has suffered terrible misfortune fitness-wise, suffering a hip injury early last season and not playing a single minute since.

It means he has been missing for almost 19 months, during which time Leeds have of course secured promotion back to the Premier League.

Forshaw has been working hard on his recovery, however, and Marcelo Bielsa recently hinted that the midfielder could prove to be useful between now and the end of the season, while also heaping praise on the player for making a ‘massive’ effort to overcome his issues.

[freshpress-quiz id=“351040″]

Whelan provides bleak Forshaw prediction

Whelan is less optimistic about the Whites star’s future, however, telling Football Insider that he has serious doubts about how much he will play moving forward:

“It’s a really strange one. Two years now…I do fear for his career after two years without football.

“There’s a big question mark on him. No one has any idea where he is. There’s been nothing coming out of the Leeds camp. They are very closed off about it.

“There is never a definitive answer about his fitness. I would be very surprised if he kicked a ball again this season or even at the beginning of next season.

“I think we’ll sign another midfielder in that area so unless he has some kind of miraculous recovery, I can’t see him getting back into the Leeds side.”

Transfer Tavern take

In an ideal world, Forshaw would return the all-action player he was before, becoming a key man for Leeds and ridding himself of his injury woes.

Sadly, though, the severity of his problem and length of his absence means it is hard to see him ever being an important figure again, especially as Bielsa’s men have gone up a level in the last year or so.

Forshaw’s contract expires in 2022, so it may be that Leeds let him see it out before moving on.

In other news, one pundit has made a big claim about Leeds’ starting lineup against Fulham – read more here.

Derby County suffered a 4-0 loss away to Cardiff City on Tuesday evening as they continue their fight against relegation, with an afternoon to forget capped off by the ‘dreadful’ performance of one man as these Rams take aim at attacker Kamil Jozwiak for his display. 

Starting on the right hand side, Jozwiak appeared to have little effect going forward according to these supporters – with Wayne Rooney’s men having plenty of possession, around 73%, but failing to have more than one shot on target (BBC).

As a result of their thumping loss away to Cardiff, the Rams are now just three points above the relegation zone – floating tentatively above the likes of Huddersfield Town and Coventry City.

Jozwiak, in particular, drew wrath from these supporters as they questioned his threat going forward, amongst other aspects of his game – with one Ram calling him ‘worse than Lawrence’.

Find all of their verdicts on the 22-year-old down below, as supporters vented their frustrations after a difficult night at the office for Rooney’s men.

Derby fans hammer Jozwiak

“Jozwiak been awful.”

Credit: @DiscoDave1980

“I fail to see what anyone sees in Kamil Jozwiak.”

Credit: @Dilksymatey

“Also how many more chances is Jozwiak going to get? 100x worse than Lawrence!”

Credit: @DaleHitchcock4

“I didn’t see any 4s on the Derby team. Jozwiak dreadful again, Mengi looks out of his depth. Not seen anything from any of the loan players to say they have improved the squad. We gave Cardiff the win before we even kicked off. Need massive improvement, shambolic today sadly.”

Credit: @jkderby

“Jozwiak drives me mad”

Credit: @Joshlar_

“Jozwiak reminds me of Anya. Runs forward, does a circle and runs back.”

Credit: @seanparker_85

In other news: Derby fans flocked to a takeover claim, find out more here.

When it rains at Parkhead, it seemingly pours. This has been a very rocky season for Celtic and the war of words between Neil Lennon and supporters is unrelenting in its nature.

After the Hoops dropped yet more points against Livingston this week, Lennon revealed that he wouldn’t leave Glasgow behind unless he was sacked.

Given the way the club’s hierarchy backed him in November, it doesn’t bode well for fans who are keen on seeing the Northern Irishman leave.

Truth be told, the end of his tether must be near. The Bhoys have won just seven of their last 22 games and are trailing behind Rangers by a considerable margin of 20 points. It’s safe to say that their stronghold over Scottish football has gone as far as it can.

The likes of Eddie Howe and Roy Keane have been touted with taking over from Lennon in various circles, but another name that did the rounds in December was Hibernian manager Jack Ross.

Speaking on A Celtic State of Mind podcast last month, Hoops pundit Kevin Graham went as far as to say the Hibs boss could be at Parkhead come the end of January.

He said: “We’ve got at least four players that are wanting to leave and those players could actually leave in January. Give the new man a blank slate. And for me, by the end of January – and even maybe before we go to Ibrox, maybe even before Christmas Day – I’m going to say Jack Ross will be Celtic’s manager.”

Of course, Lennon is still in charge at the moment, but it’s reasonable to suggest that come the end of January, a new manager could be in the hot seat.

Ross had a troubled spell at Sunderland where he lost in the Checkatrade Trophy final and ultimately failed to gain them promotion. He crumbled under the enormous pressure of managing a big club, but we believe he’d be near perfect for Celtic.

Hoops fans won’t need reminding of the wonderful things Brendan Rodgers achieved in Glasgow. He took the club to numerous domestic honours and Ross is someone who has the seal of approval from the current Leicester boss.

They are like two peas in a pod, trading ideas and developing a wonderful relationship. What’s more, is that the 44-year-old coach is already familiar with Lennoxtown.

That’s according to Lewis Morgan who told Open Goal (via Glasgow Times) last August: “Brendan Rodgers loves him and used to invite him to Lennoxtown all the time. He’d taken his Alloa team to Parkhead and done well  and he’s got a similar coaching style, that’s his coaching idol. He loves him. All our team talks or analysis it would be like what Brendan was doing at Celtic.”

Morgan continued: “Or these drills are what he’d seen Brendan do at Lennoxtown. Brendan used to invite him and they’d talk tactics or whatever it was. He was very good. Obviously I wouldn’t compare him to Brendan, I’m not going to be disrespectful, he’s in the Premier League with Leicester. I’m not sure if he can be as successful as that because you need a lot of luck, but I would hold [Jack] in as high regard as I do Brendan, in terms of coaching and man management.”

Those are intriguing words and for Hoops supporters, this should bode well. Lennon clearly hasn’t been able to install the same mentality in his players but given the vast majority of the playing squad know what it was like under Rodgers, bringing in a like-minded coach could work wonders.

Dermot Desmond and Peter Lawwell have some big decisions to make at the club in the coming weeks, but the first they must undertake is sacking Lennon and bringing in Ross. His methods have the potential to be game-changing for Celtic.

AND in other news, Celtic veteran should be running scared if Hammond signs £27k-p/w speed demon in Jan…

Daniel Levy could round off a perfect Tottenham Hotspur attack this summer…

What’s the word?

According to Tuttosport, Spurs are among the teams monitoring Sampdoria attacking midfielder Mikkel Damsgaard ahead of the next transfer window.

It’s claimed that Jose Mourinho has the 20-year-old on his shortlist, though he’ll face competition from Serie A giants Juventus.

As per the report, it is thought that the Dane’s value has increased from €6.4m (£5.6m) to €20m (£18m) thanks to his impressive form in Genoa this season.

Imagine him, Son & Kane

So far this season, Spurs have heavily relied on the goalscoring exploits of Heung-min Son and Harry Kane, both have scored 13 times apiece, meaning they account for 72.2% of their goals in the Premier League.

Tanguy Ndombele is next up with only three goals whilst between right-sided options – Gareth Bale, Lucas Moura and Steven Bergwijn – just two goals have been scored. The latter two are suffering barren spells too.

The Brazilian has bagged just once in the top-flight since December 2019, whilst the Dutchman hasn’t found the net since football’s original return in June 2020.

Evidently, Mourinho could do with another option in his attack, and this is where Damsgaard fits the bill immensely.

Harry Kane is on course to become Tottenham’s all-time top goalscorer! Own a piece of historic memorabilia with a signed Harry Kane White Hart Lane street sign. Click here to view and buy!

Ranking among Sampdoria’s consistent performers with an average rating of 6.76, the Danish international has proven to be an industrious source of goals, scoring twice as well as providing four assists, per WhoScored.

For Claudio Ranieri’s men, Damsgaard tops the charts for dribbles, managing 4.7 per 90 minutes at a completion rate of 61.7% but his work-rate doesn’t stop there as he puts in the graft defensively too –  a bit like Bergwijn.

No attacking outlet attempts more than his 4.7 tackles per 90, and more often than not, he’s a hard man to defeat as he’s managing a success rate of 51% and this should be right up Mourinho’s street as he wants his players to track back and help out the team.

Not even Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (4.5 per 90) is attempting more tackles than his fellow Dane, which speaks volumes.

The former Leicester City hero has also earmarked his impressive talent for a “big future” whilst TV 2 SPORT’s football expert Martin Mikkelsen dubbed him “magical,” adding: “He is dynamic and can go both ways. He is creative but also so mature in his decisions. Was that something we dreamed of? It’s awesome.”

That merely reinforces his potential fit in Mourinho’s attack alongside Son and Kane – he’s certainly doing far better than the seasoned and illustrious Bale this season, which is costing an abomination with wages of £240k-per-week, all for 230 minutes of PL action.

Levy ought to forget Bale this summer and swoop for the Blucerchiati gem, just imagine him in that Spurs attack.

AND in other news, Spurs’ £20.25m-rated target who “shows no nerves” could be a perfect buy for Mourinho…

Several Crystal Palace fans have been having their say on James Ward-Prowse after the Southampton midfielder commented on a 2019 clash with Wilfried Zaha.

The Saints star went past 300 appearances for the club earlier this season and was shown some of his best bits in a video shared on the club’s official YouTube account.

Numerous goals and free-kicks were on show, but one heated moment included was between Ward-Prowse and Zaha in January 2019 during a 1-1 draw – a game in which both players were on the scoresheet.

Zaha was sent off after two quick yellow cards following an altercation with Ward-Prowse, who celebrated with the Saints fans after the Palace star was dismissed.

Ward-Prowse simply said ‘oops, second yellow’ when he watched the footage back, which seems to have irritated plenty of Eagles supporters.

The clip was shared on Twitter by Southampton fan @JoshW_SFC on Tuesday evening and has been viewed over 29,000 times as of Wednesday lunchtime.

This is what these Palace fans had to say, with many hitting out at the England international…

“Same club who lost 9-0 twice, irrelevant and always in Pompey’s shadow”

Credit: @joe_cpfc_01

“Never seen a club milk something so much, really weird behaviour”

Credit: @paIaceawayy

“This is incredibly embarrassing omg”

Credit: @cpfcpaddy0

“This is up there with the very most embarrassing things I’ve ever seen…”

Credit: @unknownbald

“Please tell me this is fake, he’s reacted to a moment in a meaningless 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace?”

Credit: @CiaranCPFC

“Celebrating a 1-1 home draw against a Roy Hodgson managed side tells you all you need to know. Wilfried Zaha is gargantuan and lives in their heads rent free.”

Credit: @SomePalaceGuy

“Memorable game, you drew 1-1 at home to ten man Roy Hodgson palace. We are massive”

Credit: @TalkCPFC 

With the festive period in full swing, eyes will soon turn to the January transfer window.

Spurs have found themselves in an unlikely title race and thus signing new players could give them a huge boost in their quest to finally win the Premier League.

On the chalkboard

One of the names linked with Spurs over recent days is 26-cap Serbia international Nikola Milenkovic.

That’s courtesy of Italian media who claim that Tottenham are interested in signing the Fiorentina centre-back once the market opens next month.

His current side are trying to tie him down to a new deal and if that can’t be sorted then Daniel Levy might be able to wrap up a cut-price transfer of around €25m (£22.5m). They will, however, have to battle Manchester United for someone who could be the next Nemanja Vidic.

Speaking about Milenkovic, Serbian journalist Dejan Stankovic once said: “Milenkovic is better than Vidic with the ball at his feet, and he is much calmer on the field. He is the most talented centre-back Serbia have had since Vidic, and they definitely have one thing in common, both are fearless.”

That’s very fine praise for someone who could slot seamlessly into Jose Mourinho’s set-up.

Disaster for Dier

Spurs’ defence has been far more resolute this campaign. Before they took on Wolves, the Lilywhites had conceded just 14 goals – the second-fewest in the whole division – and had kept three clean sheets in their last six.

A big part of that has been Eric Dier, a man who has rediscovered his confidence this season. The England international isn’t a centre-back by trade but has been impressive, winning 2.8 aerial duels per game and completing over 82% of his passes.

Unfortunately for him, the acquisition of a new centre-back, particularly one as good as Milenkovic could spell disaster.

After all, the 23-year-old has been impeccable in Serie A this term. The defensive titan has won a mammoth 3.6 aerial duels per match which is rather unsurprising when you consider his height of 6 foot 5.

Despite that, there is a certain grace to his play too. The Serb has completed over 86% of his passes and has produced 1.6 tackles a game. For context, that’s more than Dier.

Mourinho’s backline doesn’t necessarily need much improvement but it would only benefit from having a more natural centre-half alongside Toby Alderweirald.

This would be a smart addition from Levy.

AND in other news, Levy must swoop for £31.5m-rated beast who “always plays well”… 

Filip Helander was far from his very best in Lisbon on Thursday night after Glasgow Rangers shipped two late goals to draw with 10-man Benfica in the Europa League.

After a terrible start, where Helander failed to clear his lines for Benfica’s first goal, things took a turn for the worse when he slipped again to allow Rafa Silva to score before Darwin Nunez scored an injury-time equaliser to snatch a point for the Portuguese giants.

Speaking after the game, Steven Gerrard admitted Rangers only have “ourselves to blame” after Nunez netted in stoppage time.

“That will certainly sting for a while,” he said.

“But once the dust settles I’m sure it will be a valuable point.

“We’ve got ourselves to blame. We started the game really poor for the opening minute and deserved to be one behind. We also finished the game poorly, so we certainly have a lot to learn from the goals we conceded.”

There were a couple of culprits for the poor performance, as Joe Aribo also struggled at times, although arguably none more so than the 11-cap Sweden international, who looked like a deer caught in the headlights throughout the game.

Per SofaScore, Helander received a lowly rating of 6.2 for his disappointing display – he only won two out of seven duels overall (25%), lost possession six times, and was dribbled past three times, which shows that he was often exposed at the back.

Similarly, GlasgowLive gave the centre-back a low grade of 5/10, claiming he is “normally so dependable but shocking mistake inside the first minute got Rangers off to the worst possible start”, before he “made another error to allow Benfica back into the match for their second goal, and ball was played between himself and Goldson for the third”, whilst The Daily Record gave him an equally scathing assessment, saying that he “held his hand to the early blunder that saw his team fall behind and another led to Benfica’s second goal which gave the hosts hope of a comeback.”

BT Sport pundit and former Celtic striker Chris Sutton slammed the Swede for his “terrible” defending, saying, as quoted by The Boot Room: “He [Helander] had a terrible game. He got caught out. It’ll feel like it is two points dropped.”

Quite why Helander, who earns wages worth £9,300-per-week, played the full 90 minutes we will probably never understand, especially when you consider the fact that Leon Balogun remained an unused substitute on the bench. Admittedly, hindsight is a wonderful thing. He has been in decent form recently for club and country but will want to forget all about his latest blunders, that’s for sure.

AND in other news, No better than Arfield: Glasgow Rangers must resist urge to sign Sampdoria midfielder Jakub Jankto…

How do you solve a problem like Celtic’s?

For the first time in the last ten years, they are in real strife. The Hoops have become accustomed to dominating Scottish football but this season they are not having it all their own way.

11 points off the pace in the league and out of Europe, it has been a bitterly frustrating campaign for Neil Lennon and his team.

Equally, it has fuelled a burning worry in the minds of Celtic supporters. They marched to Parkhead after the defeat against Ross County to protest against what was currently happening in Glasgow.

Another bad result against AC Milan, therefore, could mean curtains for Lennon.

Of course, the clash has nothing riding on it given Celtic can’t qualify but if the manager does want to save his job then a victory will win back a fraction of confidence.

Though, he has to start someone he’s previously described as “fantastic” if the Bhoys are to have any chance of snatching all three points – Olivier Ntcham.

The Frenchman has been linked with an exit in recent months but has been his usual battering ram self for Celtic, so much so that he poses a frightening threat to Milan’s defence.

He hasn’t scored in the Europa League this term but his dynamism has been far more effective in that competition.

Ntcham has predominantly been playing in a number 10 position and has looked incredibly lively, performing 2.3 successful dribbles per match. Proving a handful for defenders, he’s also been fouled 1.3 times a game. It’s incredible to think that he didn’t start in Celtic’s 4-1 defeat to Sparta Prague in Glasgow a matter of weeks ago.

When the Hoops last played Milan in October – a 3-1 loss – Ntcham was the star for the Bhoys, registering two key passes and completing three dribbles. On top of that, the 24-year-old won six ground duels.

The Italian giants were evidently troubled by the Celtic midfielder so he simply has to start when they meet again this week.

Similarly, if Lennon wants to bide more time, he needs to play his energetic Frenchman.

In other news, check out how Celtic can FINALLY solve their Scott Brown problem…

Tottenham Hotspur start their FA Cup quest as the competition resumes with the third-round proper this weekend.

Jose Mourinho’s side landed themselves a favourable tie as they will travel to non-league minnows Marine on Sunday afternoon.

The Northern Premier League outfit stunned League Two Colchester United in the second round and will be on the hunt for another giant-killing tomorrow night.

Earlier in the week, Spurs advanced into the Carabao Cup final thanks to a 2-0 victory over Brentford and whilst they have one foot closer to their first piece of silverware in 12 years, they shouldn’t take their opposition for granted.

And Mourinho has plenty to consider in terms of team selection. However, it is unlikely that he tinkers too much after revealing in his pre-game press conference that only one U18 player would be travelling with the senior squad.

One name he must consider axing from his stating XI is Lucas Moura after he dropped a disasterclass in midweek.

Aside from Harry Kane, the Brazilian winger recorded the lowest rating (6.6) of any Spurs player per SofaScore.

He won just four of 11 duels, was dribbled past three times, made only 71% of his passes and could only touch the ball 28 times in 71 minutes of action.

His display even came under fire from former Spurs midfielder and talkSPORT pundit Jamie O’Hara, who tweeted: “Need to see more from Moura, drifts in and out of games and shows no cutting edge this season.”

Indeed, Moura’s poor form this term has seen him slip out-of-favour in the Premier League, starting just one game since October (ten matches).

He’s become somewhat a ‘cup winger’, but here against Marine, no mercy must be shown. He has to be dropped for underperforming once again.

The £36m-rated (€40m) dynamo has even struggled to find the net in the top-flight, managing just one goal since January 2020.

Despite the drastic drop in fortunes, it was only two months ago that teammate Eric Dier claimed Moura was “a nightmare,” he told the Premier League’s official YouTube channel:

“There’s no-one worse to train against than Lucas Moura. He’s a nightmare. He’s so fast, so sharp.”

Mourinho also confirmed that Bale was fit and training again, so it makes the decision to ruthlessly drop him all that easier this weekend.

AND in other news, Mourinho can repeat Ibrahimovic masterstroke with £120k-p/w leader…