Newcastle fans are absolutely loving the club’s little dig at Gareth Southgate, after the England manager excluded Jonjo Shelvey and Jamaal Lascelles from his England squad.
Lascelles and Shelvey have both been in fine form recently, with plenty of people backing them for an international call-up. However, neither were selected in Gareth Southgate’s England squad for the upcoming friendlies, which was announced on Thursday.
Lascelles has been the Magpies’ stalwart in defence this season, and has shown both his ability and his leadership as he looks to steer the side away from the relegation scrap.
Shelvey has been enjoying some of the best form of his career, and grabbed two assists in the 3-0 win over Southampton last weekend. He also garnered national support when he dominated Manchester United’s expensive midfield in the Magpies’ 1-0 win last month.
Newcastle fans had already expressed their disgust at Southgate’s England selection, but they are loving the club’s sly dig at the England boss this morning.
James Tarkowski and Alfie Mawson were picked over Lascelles and Jake Livermore seems to be the popular choice to drop for Shelvey. Fans have been reacting on Twitter, and some of the best reactions can be found below…
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Patrice Evra’s passion for football is infectious, and the Frenchman’s catchphrase of ‘I love this game!’ has become famous around the world.
The Frenchman absolutely loves making videos, but the timing of his latest one has not gone down too well with the West Ham United fans.
The 36-year-old joined the Hammers on a short-term deal at the start of February, and made his debut for the London club against Liverpool on February 24.
David Moyes’ side have lost all three of their Premier League matches since then, and Evra has struggled to make his mark.
West Ham’s decision to draw attention to Evra’s latest video would have been with the view to raising spirits ahead of Saturday’s key Premier League clash against Southampton.
However, it has not gone down well with the supporters, who feel that the former France international should currently be focusing on getting his form right on the field.
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A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:
Speculation surrounding Toby Alderweireld’s future at Tottenham Hotspur continues to rumble on.
Each day the defender does not sign a new deal at the North London club, the more likely it seems that he is heading towards the exit door.
There has not been any official word as yet, but a recent report in the Daily Mail claims that Paris Saint-Germain are willing to meet the 29-year-old’s wage demands and pay him around £10m a season.
The publication adds that Tottenham are unwilling to give Alderweireld his desired salary of around £200,000 per week, nor are they prepared to give him a five-year deal due to his age.
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Within the report, it states that manager Mauricio Pochettino has informed the club that the centre-back can leave this summer.
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Chairman Daniel Levy is likely to make the final decision about the future of the player, who attracted plenty of attention for a recent post on Twitter.
Fans have now taken to social media to discuss the latest reports involving Alderweireld and PSG.
Comment from discussion PSG willing to match Alderweirelds wage demands.Comment from discussion PSG willing to match Alderweirelds wage demands.Comment from discussion PSG willing to match Alderweirelds wage demands.Comment from discussion PSG willing to match Alderweirelds wage demands.Comment from discussion PSG willing to match Alderweirelds wage demands.Comment from discussion PSG willing to match Alderweirelds wage demands.Comment from discussion PSG willing to match Alderweirelds wage demands.Comment from discussion PSG willing to match Alderweirelds wage demands.Comment from discussion PSG willing to match Alderweirelds wage demands.
Arsenal won for the fourth successive time in all competitions on Sunday with a 3-0 win over Stoke City at the Emirates Stadium, but fans are still looking for a more from their team.
With little left to play for in the English Premier League this season, it’s all about the UEFA Europa League over the next weeks and months, but fans still expect good performances in league action and were left disappointed this weekend despite knocking a few goals past the Potters.
Much of the criticism was aimed at Danny Welbeck, who failed to have much of an impact on the game before being hauled off on the hour mark, after which Arsenal produced a more cohesive attacking display.
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His performance was perceived by supporters to be so bad that many are now calling for him to be axed as soon as possible, believing he is below the standard required of an Arsenal player in 2018.
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They took to Twitter to share their thoughts on his display…
Nottingham Forest’s dreadful form in the English Championship continued on Tuesday night, this time losing at home to top ten side Brentford at the City Ground.
The 1-0 defeat was Forest’s third loss in a row and the sixth match in a row they’ve have failed to score a single goal.
It’s of course concerning to supporters, who are beginning to anxiously look over their shoulders at the relegation candidates below them, despite in theory being relatively safe from the drop.
Despite the current situation, fans are for the most part remaining cool-headed when it comes to the status of manager Aitor Karanka, still having belief he can turn things around in the summer when he has a proper chance to sign his own players.
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Undoubtedly the biggest problem is in attack and supporters can’t wait to see a quality striker or two arrive at the club, believing Karanka has overseen enough improvement in the defence to be optimistic.
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Fans took to Twitter to share their thoughts on it all…
It’s incredible to think Mohamed Salah could beat the strongest one-term scoring total of Liverpool legend Ian Rush during his first season at the club. And it’s incredible to think when the Reds acquired Salah from Roma last summer, he was considered an educated gamble of a signing at best. It’s even more incredible to think that Chelsea once deemed the 57-cap Egyptian international surplus to requirements. And it’s even more incredible to think Salah’s very own former club, Giallorossi, thought the best way to defend against him at Anfield was to deploy a high line, marshalling him between a 32-year-old Aleksandar Kolarov and centre-back Juan Jesus.
Indeed, the last few years of Salah’s career have been defined by his ability to defy expectations and continue rising to the occasions in front of him. Unloved at Chelsea, a sensational six months at Fiorentina obliged Roma to help him block a permanent deal. In turn, two seasons at the Stadio Olimpico convinced Liverpool to bring the 25-year-old back to the Premier League. Every move since that ill-fated Chelsea switch has resembled a jump up a rung in the ladder, and every time Salah has embraced the added pressure and responsibility.
Within the context of this season too, Salah has grown and grown. He’s transformed from an exciting addition to Liverpool’s front-line, to their top scorer, to their most talismanic influence. And Tuesday night’s stunning 5-2 victory over his former club provided the latest climax; just as Salah’s risen to fill the void as Liverpool’s most frightening entity, the challenge of proving it in a Champions League semi-final only appeared to bring the best out of the diminutive, nomadic attacker.
Once again, there’s no question Roma made it easy for Liverpool and particularly Salah, as the trick that inspired their incredible comeback against Barcelona proved impossible to pull off twice against similarly potent opposition. The deployment of a high line but the failure to curtail Roberto Firmino’s influence created a consistent supply line that proved unstoppable, the Brazilian twice assisting his attacking accomplice as Salah – who Transfermarkt value at £72million – netted twice in the ten minutes just before half-time.
It wasn’t just Salah’s effectiveness in affecting the scoreline though, but the manner in which he did it. The forward’s season has been littered with gorgeous goals, but an unstoppable curler into the top right corner and a delicate chip over one of the best goalkeepers in Europe right now, with just enough top spin to roll over the line, were up there with any strike Salah’s netted this term, all the more incredibly on such a momentous occasion for a club that boasts elite heritage in Europe but has only been involved in the Champions League twice since 2009/10.
History and expectation was on Salah’s shoulders last night, from Liverpool fans, Roma fans and neutrals, yet he defied it once again to further elevate his stock. Coupled with two assists in the second-half, it was an individual performance that won’t be forgotten quickly by the Champions League, and even less quickly on Merseyside. And yet, there remains a lingering doubt over how long Salah can sustain not only this level of form but also this level of exponential growth for.
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If Salah continues at his current rates, he’ll soon be in the same category as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Simply because of how incredible those generation-defining talents are, it seems almost implausible – a slump next season is far easier to imagine. But if Salah has proved anything since failing to make his mark at Chelsea, it’s that nothing can stop his ability to grow.
Manchester United picked up a victory over rivals Arsenal in the English Premier League on Sunday, winning 2-1 at Old Trafford.
After seeing their opening goal by Paul Pogba cancelled out by former player Henrikh Mkhitaryan early in the second half, the Red Devils looked destined to share the spoils with the Gunners before Marouane Fellaini headed home in stoppage time to secure the three points.
United are now five points clear of third-placed Liverpool with a game in hand and look destined to secure the runners-up spot this season.
Fans were pleased with the result and while generally content with the performance believe that improvement can still be made in the remaining games.
Many reckon that Anthony Martial could give the team a boost in the final three matches after he livened up the United attack coming off the bench on Sunday.
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The Frenchman has started just one English Premier League match since February and supporters are now calling on him to get a game ahead of Jesse Lingard or Alexis Sanchez.
Southampton goalkeeper Alex McCarthy continued his fine run of form in his side’s crucial 1-0 victory against Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium on Tuesday night, and Liverpool should look to sign the 28-year-old stopper instead of Stoke City’s Jack Butland.
What’s the word, then?
Well, the Merseyside outfit have been linked with a move for the England international in recent weeks as Jurgen Klopp looks to bring in more competition for Loris Karius between the sticks, and The Telegraph says that the Potters will demand £40m for the 25-year-old despite the club’s relegation to the Championship on Saturday.
Butland may well be in demand from a number of Premier League clubs this summer, but the Reds perhaps should turn their attentions to McCarthy instead, who has been a hero in Saints’ battle against the drop and has earned rave reviews from the supporters for his displays – he kept a clean sheet and made a couple of brilliant saves in the win against Swansea which left them on the verge of preserving their top flight status.
How has McCarthy done this season?
The 28-year-old hadn’t even made a single appearance for the club this term until December 30, when he replaced Fraser Forster in the XI for the trip to Manchester United following a 5-2 loss against Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley on Boxing Day.
The stopper kept a clean sheet at Old Trafford and has been an ever-present since, pulling off brilliant saves and commanding his area as the team has taken seven points from the last nine available in the Premier League.
Why should Liverpool sign him?
There are a number of reasons.
Firstly, McCarthy is showing just how good a goalkeeper he is right now, with his saves from Ryan Fraser, Leighton Baines and Jordan Ayew in the last three games respectively absolutely top class.
The 28-year-old will be pushing for an England spot in the future if this form continues, and it would be difficult to argue that there is much between him and Butland right now.
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Meanwhile, if there is any truth to the story that Stoke want £40m for their goalkeeper, Liverpool would be much better opting for McCarthy instead if they want to save some money, with the Saints man currently having just a year left on his contract.
Tottenham’s 1-0 win over Newcastle on Wednesday night will hardly be remembered as a contest of relentless entertainment, but it provided Victor Wanyama the platform to remind suitors the power and control he can bring to the engine room ahead of a potential summer exit from the north London club.
That’s what The Daily Mail speculated at the end of last month and it’s tough to ignore the evidence. While the Kenyan international spent the first half of the season sidelined through injury, there’s hardly been a concerted effort from Mauricio Pochettino to integrate him back towards the almost integral status he held in Tottenham’s starting XI last term.
Indeed, Wednesday’s clash with Newcastle marked just a seventh Premier League start of the season for Wanyama, and it was largely forced by Eric Dier’s absence due to illness. Nonetheless, the ring rust barely showed and the powerful midfielder finished the match with the most interceptions and dribbles to his name of any Spurs player, while completing 89% of his passes and weighing in defensively with two tackles and five clearances.
With Wanyama’s future up in the air, we asked Arsenal fans last week whether they’d back a controversial summer swoop for the Tottenham anchorman and after a night in which the two north London clubs picked up two incredibly different results, it’s not hard to understand why 68% of Gunners fans would be in favour of a deal.
Whereas Wanyama played a huge part in Tottenham’s clean sheet against Newcastle, despite Pochettino’s side suffering an obvious slump in form of late, an Arsenal midfield containing Alex Iwobi, Aaron Ramsey and Granit Xhaka failed to provide adequate protection for the back four in a 3-1 loss to Leicester City.
And for all the talk of drastic changes needed at Arsenal, an incredibly simple one could make all the difference. Having lacked power, discipline and defensive nous in midfield for so long under Arsene Wenger, a swoop for Wanyama could quickly solve a lot of the first team’s most immediate problems.
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Patrick Vieira is widely regarded as a club legend at Arsenal as he helped the club win three Premier League titles and three FA Cup trophies.
Since retiring from the sport, the Frenchman has been honing his coaching skills.
The 41-year-old spent two years working with Manchester City’s reserve team before taking charge of MLS side New York City FC in 2016.
Shortly after Arsene Wenger announced plans to walk away from Arsenal following 22 years as the club’s manager, Vieira swiftly emerged as one of the bookies’ favourites to take over.
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It seems, though, that the former midfielder, who won seven league titles in his playing career, will not be making a sensational return to his former club.
In fact, Vieira could end up going back to his homeland as manager of Nice.
According to France Football, the ex-Arsenal star is in advanced talks to become Lucien Favre’s successor at Nice.
These latest reports give a huge indication that Vieira is out of the running to become the next Arsenal boss.
Fans have been posting their thoughts on the situation.
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