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In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Rob Lee, who is a Newcastle United Hall of Famer, believes Steve Bruce is doing all he can as Newcastle manager and doesn’t believe Pep Guardiola would be able to do any better if he was at the helm.

Bruce claimed he wanted to match Rafa Benitez’s top-half finish which he achieved in 2017/18, however the Magpies find themselves 17th in the Premier League and just two points ahead of the bottom three.

Despite this not being achievable anymore, Lee believes Bruce keeping Newcastle up would be a successful season and claims if Guardiola was Newcastle’s manager his remit would be just to avoid relegation, too.

Speaking on what fans expect from Bruce and what kind of job the 50-year-old Spaniard could do on Tyneside, Lee told FFC exclusively:

“You could get Pep Guardiola as manager and say to him, ‘there you go Pep, you can sell any player you want and I’ll give you £20 million’. For one, he wouldn’t take the job and two, he’d fail.

“I think Pep Guardiola said it himself, at Man City he’s got the best team because he’s got the most money and that’s just football these days.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/rob-lee-exclusive-newcastle-united-premier-league-steve-bruce” title=”Exclusive! Rob Lee’s thoughts on Newcastle”]

“If you give any club £500 million to spend on players and wages, I guarantee you they’ll be up at the top and that’s regardless of what club it is because it’s all about money. Unfortunately, at Newcastle, we’ve got an owner who’s not going to put any into the club.”

Until Mike Ashley sells Newcastle United their fans may well expect more relegation battles much like this season, should they stay up.

They’ve fallen off a cliff from the Kevin Keegan and Sir Bobby Robson entertainers and Champions League era, with many Newcastle fans now only knowing the Ashley era.

A number of Glasgow Rangers fans have been reacting to an announcement from the club confirming they have met with fans and key influencers ahead of the Old Firm clash this weekend.

The Gers face their local rivals this coming weekend in the Old Firm derby. The match itself does not have much riding on it – the Ibrox outfit have already been confirmed as champions while Celtic are set to finish in a very distant second place. However, after thousands of Gers fans took to the streets to celebrate the title triumph, breaking lockdown regulations in the process and attracting the ire of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, there are worries that such scenes could be repeated.

The Gers appear to be doing all they can to avoid such a situation. On Tuesday, they confirmed that they had met with key supporters groups and influencers to urge them to stay at home around the clash at Parkhead.

The statement was shared on the club’s official Twitter account, and these fans took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the Rangers fans had to say about the statement below

“Getting sick of hearing this, we weren’t going down regardless”

Credit: @KyleMc_

“I don’t genuinely think there was a real desire for our support to attend on Sunday but we are right to do everything we can to show we are united on this front.”

Credit: @TheLoudenTavern

“Fortunately it looks like most fans are in agreement: no-one was planning on heading there anyway. That said, I’ll be so very annoyed and frustrated if we see any #RangersFC fans at Parkhead this Sunday.”

Credit: @AliHunter1

“Pretty sad that the club need to tweet such things to prove to the SNP they are doing their bit publicly.”

Credit: @rangersbadge

“Sturgeon is milking this eh, almost as if it’s a nice distraction from her party’s lies and deception that happen on a daily basis…”

Credit: @King1Scott

“I would like to say to our fans and supporters worldwide that We Are The people and it I key that we celebrate the team and it’s accomplishments from the safety of our own homes. The players, management and staff all know the fans are with them in spirit, and rightly so.”

Credit: @MacGerrard_

In other news, many Rangers fans slam this Union Bears statement.

Celtic look ahead to their fixture against Aberdeen this afternoon in their bid to finish their season on a positive. They have slumped their way through this campaign due to their on and off form and Rangers’ unstoppable Premiership streak. They will ultimately lose out to their desired tenth consecutive league title, as their Glasgow neighbours lead them by a mammoth 18 points.

Celtic’s last fixture in the league was against Ross County, which ended in a disappointing 1-0 loss. The defeat stopped their run of five wins, in which they managed to score an impressive 13 goals and conceded just two. However, the squad’s frailties have snuck up on them again and it’s now back to trying to redeem their form once again.

Football FanCast has predicted how interim manager John Kennedy will line up in his first match in charge of the Hoops…

Although Neil Lennon is no longer at the club, it’s unlikely Kennedy will stray far from the Irishman’s usual set up. With just three fixtures left, the Celtic camp will want to hurriedly draw a line in the sand on this season and look ahead to the next.

With Greg Taylor injured, it paves the way for a return to the squad for Diego Laxalt. The AC Milan loanee hasn’t started a match since January, in Celtic’s 0-0 draw against Livingston. But with the new favourite Taylor out of action, this is a good chance for Laxalt to prove himself and push to make his £22,000 per week contract permanent at Parkhead.

In the midfield, the likes of David Turnbull should remain untouched. He has contributed seven goals and five assists in the Premiership, showing off his ability to pull the strings in the engine room. He’ll likely be joined by captain-to-be Callum McGregor and Ryan Christie, with Ismaila Soro replacing Scott Brown in a deeper role.

Odsonne Edouard will be hoping to find the back of the net against Aberdeen after being kept quiet vs Ross County. Kennedy could opt to give Mohamed Elyounoussi another chance to shine after he slipped down the pecking order under Lennon. The two have operated in a striker partnership together before now and it ended with the Southampton man bagging himself a goal against Livingston. This could be a route that is revisited in order to end this turbulent season on somewhat of a high.

In other news, Rafa Benitez has dropped a potential hint amid new Celtic manager link…

Yerry Mina was a disappointment for Carlo Ancelotti despite Everton’s amazing 5-4 FA Cup victory at home to Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday night.

The Colombian was recalled to the starting line-up for the Goodison Park affair having been rested at Manchester United last Saturday, but was unable to demonstrate why he was right to be brought back into the side.

Everton were far from a resolute unit in defence against Spurs and needed goalkeeper Robin Olsen to produce two sublime saves to deny the visitors a 3-0 lead in the first-half, having seen those in front of the AS Roma loanee frequently leave him wanting more.

Mina was particularly suspect in the second period when he gifted Erik Lamela a chance to test Olsen once again, with the Argentine maestro able to play a quick one-two with Heung-Min Son to get in behind and lift the ball into the back of the Blues’ net.

The former FC Barcelona defender positioned himself to go with Lamela’s run only to be caught flat-footed when Son played an instant pass through, leaving the towering 6 ft 5 titan desperately trying to stick a foot out to no avail.

Gylfi Sigurdsson had found himself at fault for two of Tottenham’s goals on Wednesday night when he failed to contain Davinson Sanchez at corners, yet atoned for his errors by producing a vastly influential display to have a hand in four of the five goals Everton struck.

Alex Iwobi also left supporters underwhelmed by his performance, as a quick search of his name on Twitter shows, with the Nigerian unable to create many chances and eventually taken off for Bernard moments after Richarlison put the Toffees 4-3 up.

Yet Mina was worse than Iwobi, having failed to make amends for his role in Lamela’s strike and often prove to be a target for Tottenham to exploit.

Mina and Iwobi shared SofaScore’s lowest match rating among those who started for Everton at 6.2 out of 10. Yet the £18m-rated Colombian saw his night end with even less merit with WhoScored, who marked him at a game-low 5.4 thanks partly to his role in Lamela’s goal.

That’s because he also failed to offer any successful tackles having not attempted to win possession in a challenge once, and made no interceptions while Lucas Digne broke up Spurs’ play on three occasions, Michael Keane once, Ben Godfrey twice, Abdoulaye Doucoure once and Tom Davies twice.

Ancelotti can usually rely on Mina to at least attempt one tackle a game with the £120,000-per-week centre-half winning 1.1 of 1.3 per outing in the Premier League this season, along with offering 1.1 interceptions.

Mina additionally lost four of his five total duels in the midweek affair, with the 26-year-old unable to live up to his usual standards of 4.9 won a game with a 63% success rate in the top-flight over 18 outings thus far this term.

The defender now faces an anxious few days before Everton host Fulham on Sunday, when his place in the side could once again come under threat.

AND in other news, Everton face heightened competition for a 17-y/o talent seen as the heir to a £101k-p/w colossus…

Lucas Moura has found himself on the fringes of Tottenham Hotspur’s first-team squad at times this season, perhaps due to the competition for places on the wing in Jose Mourinho’s side.

The former PSG man has also struggled for form; having averaged a disappointing 6.34 rating across his 17 appearances in the top-flight, although 12 of those appearances have come from the bench, with Mourinho often preferring Steven Bergwijn on the right-hand side.

However, the Brazilian showed in his performance against West Brom that he can still be an influential player with the North London club, as he earned a solid 6.9 rating from SofaScore for his display against the Baggies, contributing his first assist of the Premier League season by playing in Heung-Min Son for Spurs’ second goal of the afternoon.

The 28-year-old was deployed as an attacking-midfielder by Mourinho and he looked far more dangerous in his new position, as it allowed him to pick up the ball in central areas and run at the Baggies defence, which led to Son’s goal in the second half.

Moura would also play two key passes during the game against Sam Allardyce’s side, which is a serious improvement on his season average of just 0.2 key passes per game in the Premier League.

The Brazilian took the fight to the Baggies constantly, trying to inject that extra little bit of speed from central areas, with West Brom having to foul him four times – more than any other Spurs player.

And despite the rough treatment, Lucas just got up and dusted himself off, winning seven of his 13 duels, which again was the most of any player in a white shirt.

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While Moura has done well in the Europa League so far this season (he scored three and made one in the group stages), his performances in the Premier League have been far too inconsistent, and according to WhoScored, his 7.17 rating against the Baggies was his second-best in the top-flight this season, with only his goal-scoring performance against Newcastle earlier on in the season rated higher.

Spurs have been far too reliant on Harry Kane and Son to create chances in their side at times this season, so deploying Moura as an attacking midfielder, where he can get more involved, could prove to be a game-changer for Mourinho, with the Portuguese manager under pressure after a poor run of recent form.

Other than Kane and Son, no Spurs player has averaged more than one key pass per game in the Premier League this season, which emphasises that Moura was influential against West Brom last weekend, and this new position could be the key to unlocking the 28-year-old, who has never really consistently contributed goals and assists in this Tottenham side.

It will be interesting to see if Moura, who earns £80k per week at Tottenham, continues to feature in this new position in Spurs’ upcoming fixtures. If Mourinho sticks with this little tactical tweak for the Brazilian, it could prove to be a real game-changer as the north London side find another dangerous outlet outside of the familiar double act of Son and Kane.

And, in other news… “It’s pointless” – Exclusive: Pundit drops verdict on Dele Alli’s Spurs future

Speaking in a press conference before this afternoon’s FA Cup trip to Marine, Tottenham Hotspur boss Jose Mourinho confirmed the latest on Giovani Lo Celso and his absence – going on to say that he is ‘not going to play’ for the next few weeks due to his hamstring injury.

Lo Celso was shining in the number 10 role for Tottenham just before his lay-off, becoming a threat just behind star attackers Son Heung-min and Harry Kane.

Mourinho confirms Lo Celso latest

Alongside Tanguy Ndombele, the Argentine had been rotating as an attacking midfielder and put in some dazzling displays for the Lilywhites.

However, after picking up an injury to his hamstring, Lo Celso still faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines as Mourinho confirms the latest on his absence – with the Portuguese revealing he will remain unavailable for the next few weeks.

“Gio is injured. I don’t know for how long but he is not playing in the next few weeks, it is not a simple situation, he is not going to play in the next few weeks,” he said.

“Lamela maybe [will be involved]. I am waiting for tomorrow. So tomorrow, last day. Lamela possible.”

Transfer Tavern take

Described as ‘exciting’ by midfielder Harry Winks, Lo Celso had grown into a key attacking figure for the Lilywhites – but this news indicates that Spurs fans will not see him back in action for a while and will certainly miss this afternoon’s trip up north.

Gabriel Agbonlahor, speaking to Football Insider, reacted to this development and insists it is a ‘big blow’ for Tottenham.

When he will return for Spurs remains to be seen, but fans will be hoping it is soon rather than later.

In other news: Daniel Levy has entered talks to sign this ‘leader’ for Spurs, find out more here.

After finally ending a wretched run of form in the Premier League on Saturday, Arsenal head into their clash against Brighton tonight hoping to pick up some further momentum.

Mikel Arteta’s side put in an impressive display to beat London rivals Chelsea 3-1, and the Spaniard will no doubt be reluctant to make too many changes to his starting line-up.

But with the games coming thick and fast, the Arsenal boss may feel like he has no choice, and with that in mind, below is a look at how the Gunners might line up against Graham Potter’s side on Tuesday evening.

In goal, Bernd Leno will be looking to add to his penalty heroics at the weekend by keeping a clean sheet, whilst the back four is also likely to remain the same.

Central midfield could be the first area in which Arteta decides to shake things up, with Dani Ceballos ready to come in for Mohamed Elneny and provide a little bit more creativity in the engine room.

Further forward, it was the youngsters who really impressed for the Gunners on Saturday, with Gabriel Martinelli and Emile Smith Rowe adding a bit of spark and energy, whilst Bukayo Saka added to his growing reputation with a goal.

The trio will be hoping to be given another start, but Arteta may play with a bit more caution, especially when it comes to Martinelli. The 19-year-old has only just returned to first-team action following a long spell out injured, and given the fact he played against Manchester City and Chelsea back to back, the Gunners boss may feel he needs a little breather.

That could see Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang make his return on the left-hand side, with Alexandre Lacazette set to lead the line once again after scoring from the penalty spot at the weekend.

Predicted XI: Leno; Bellerin, Holding, Mari, Tierney; Ceballos, Xhaka; Saka, Smith Rowe, Aubameyang; Lacazette.

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… 

David Moyes can avoid a stale West Ham United against Aston Villa on Monday night by axing the underperforming Pablo Fornals and handing a first Premier League start to Said Benrahma.

Fornals has opened all nine of the Irons’ top-flight fixtures thus far this season as Moyes’ preferred left-sided midfielder, but has failed to build on his goal at Liverpool and is now five appearances without a league assist after an influential display at Leicester last month.

Benrahma, meanwhile, continues to wait in the wings for his maiden start in claret and blue, with the Algerian only introduced from the bench twice since joining the Hammers on loan for a total of 19 minutes.

Moyes opted against naming Benrahma in the starting line-up for last weekend’s 1-0 win at Sheffield United as he felt Fornals had been performing at an undroppable level, yet could not see the Spaniard he lauds as a “really valuable” option reach those heights at Bramall Lane.

Fornals struck just a single shot on Aaron Ramsdale’s net, despite the Irons enjoying 15 efforts to the Blades’ nine, while only offering one key ball, one accurate cross, two duels won and zero successful dribbles, per SofaScore.

Jarrod Bowen enjoyed much more influence on the opposing side of the field, with the former Hull City ace penning three key balls, attempting four shots and completing two of his dribbles.

Only Angelo Ogbonna (48) and Lukasz Fabianski (33) registered fewer touches than Fornals (42) of those who started for West Ham, too, and yet Benrahma – who contributed to 27 goals for Brentford last term – was not the one Moyes turned to in the 76th-minute to replace the Spaniard.

Benrahma should be the one Moyes names in the starting line at home to Aston Villa come Monday night, though, as persisting with Fornals amid his drop in form will see the Scot risk fielding a tame offence.

Were Fornals to start again and Aston Villa neutralise the threat Bowen offers, West Ham could find themselves starved of creativity with only Aaron Cresswell (45 minutes), Sebastien Haller (60.8), Vladimir Coufal (67.5) and Arthur Masuaku (102.6) better than the Spanish (105.7) and English (126.3) wide men for time between key passes in the Premier League, per WhoScored, of those who started against Sheffield United.

But Moyes can solve those fears by starting Benrahma as the 25-year-old, dubbed a “real magician” by his former OGC Nice teammate Lorenzo Vinci, averaged a key pass every 39.3 minutes and a shot every 21.8 in the Championship for Brentford last season.

AND in other news, West Ham must bite the bullet and get rid of a £40k-p/w “good character” facing an uncertain future.

David Moyes can afford to lose rumoured Sporting Kansas City target Winston Reid without impacting West Ham United one iota.

What’s the word?

According to MLSsoccer.com, SKC are open to a permanent move for Reid should the New Zealand international and Major League Soccer outfit agree to there being a mutual benefit in remaining together following his year on loan at the Children’s Mercy Park.

Sporting Kansas took a punt on Reid approaching the end of the 2020 winter market after the defender’s relentless onslaught of injuries left the 32-year-old out of action for two calendar years.

Reid is expected to be greeted with a multitude of potential suitors back in England come the New Year once his temporary spell in America is over, having helped SKC to reach the MLS Play-Offs as a frequent member of Peter Vermes’ plans with eight starts in 10 regular-season appearances.

The 25-cap international has re-established himself in the game, too, after shrugging off the early cobwebs to offer Vermes encouraging signs that he can make an impact when needed.

Reid will have two-years remaining on his £70,000-per-week West Ham contract once his Sporting Kansas loan expires, but is unlikely to be afforded a role at the London Stadium having quit the Premier League as David Moyes’ arrival altered the promising picture he anticipated under Manuel Pellegrini.

“I was on the schedule to play games under the previous manager, but then he got fired [and] everything changed,” Reid told The Athletic. “But that’s part of football – sorry, soccer – and I’ve been in football long enough, so I understand the mechanisms.

“And it’s totally fine. West Ham has to do what’s best for the club and I have to do what’s best for me, and I feel really good about this opportunity.”

Sporting Kansas hold an option to turn Reid’s loan spell into a permanent deal for an undisclosed fee.

Set him free

Should Reid and SKC agree that there would be mutual benefit to remaining with one another following his loan spell, West Ham must not stand in the 32-year-old’s way and allow the centre-half to secure a transfer as his future is far from the London Stadium.

Injuries have seen Reid’s importance to the Hammers dissipate with his last outing in claret and blue coming during the 2017/18 campaign, when he was stretchered off during a relegation tussle with Swansea City after his right knee buckled under his own weight early in the first-half.

Issa Diop and Fabian Balbuena then arrived in east London that summer, while Moyes has seen the best from Angelo Ogbonna and Aaron Cresswell in a five-man defence this term.

Reid is a defender of admirable talent and one who former England international Danny Mills insists can pull people together thanks to his commanding presence, but is certainly now one Moyes and West Ham can more than live without.

“Just a voice when things aren’t going quite perfect, a voice of authority, a commanding figure to say: ‘Right, we’re going to do this is what we’re doing, this is what I want you to do.’ It can make such a difference,” Mills told Football Insider.

“It’s not always about how good the player is, it’s the authority that he commands, the respect he has from everyone else and that organisational skill.”

AND in other news, GSB would be heading for disaster replacing a key David Moyes player with a “fantastic” prospect.