All posts by h79snht.top

Aston Villa fans have been discussing their team options for Saturday’s big clash, and plenty of them would love to see a change up front.

The Championship season is long and painful, but at the end of it you get two teams battling it out in the richest match in football.

This year’s playoff final sees Steve Bruce’s strong, experienced Aston Villa side face Slaviša Jokanović’s youthful, highflying Fulham.

Bruce is expected to stick with his sturdy 4-1-4-1 formation, but fans have been discussing some changes to the attack, hoping to surprise Fulham by going for the throat.

Villa of course have spent much of the season without their best goalscorer, as Jonathan Kodjia has been working his way towards full fitness in the last couple of months.

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Fans were split on giving the Ivorian the start, but they are now considering dropping Albert Adomah to make room for the towering striker.

Adomah has had a great season on the left, grabbing 14 Championship goals, but the duo of Kodjia and Lewis Grabban would certainly give the Cottagers something to worry about.

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Some fans would rather bring the Ivorian on as a super-sub, while others are even suggesting the hard working Scott Hogan get a chance.

Either way, some of the best Twitter reactions can be found below…

This summer could be a crucial one for Nottingham Forest boss Aitor Karanka as he attempts to shape a promotion-winning side.The former Middlesbrough boss took charge at the City Ground in January, and even though he had a transfer window to work with, this will be the first time that he can hunt make big changes to his team.[brid autoplay=”true” video=”252976″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch 21 things that will definitely happen at the World Cup”]Forest fell short last season as they ended up finishing 22 points adrift of the top six and 12 above the relegated trio of Barnsley, Burton Albion and Sunderland.Karanka will have plenty of work to do in order to take Forest to the next level, and it seems that they may have to find a replacement for Ben Osborn.According toÂThe Chronicle,ÂNewcastle manager Rafael Benitez is keen on the 23-year-old midfielder, who is incredibly versatile on the pitch.Osborn can play anywhere across the middle of the park, and can also feature as a left-back when required.The Derby-born player has not always had the best relationship with Forest fans, and some have posted criticism of him on social media following reports that he could be heading towards the exit door.Others, though, have shown Osborn support.

Arsenal announced on Friday that midfielder Granit Xhaka has signed a new contract at the club, solidifying his status in new boss Unai Emery’s first team squad.

The new long-term deal comes after a difficult season for the 25-year-old, who was often criticised by supporters despite being trusted heavily by departed boss Arsene Wenger, starting 37 of their 38 English Premier League matches and coming on as a substitute in the other.

There’s no doubting that the Swiss international does have quality though and supporters are hoping that the arrival of Unai Emery has a hugely positive effect on his Arsenal career.

They believe that a chance in midfield system could see him reach peak form and transform his contribution to the Gunners.

Can he return from the World Cup as a new man and prove that he has what it takes to shine at the Emirates stadium?

Supporters took to Twitter to share their thoughts on it all after he signed his new deal…

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Tottenham Hotspur will likely be linked with many players at the World Cup in Russia this summer, but one or two players are catching supporters’ eyes in particular.

The club have been linked with Ante Rebic of Croatia in recent days, who played a crucial role in their stunning 3-0 win over Argentina on Thursday night, netting the first goal of the game.

The 24-year-old plays his club football at German side Eintracht Frankfurt, where he scored nine goals in 28 appearances last term playing in attack on the left hand side or through the middle.

He’s certainly a player who would give Spurs depth and versatility next season in support of their attacking mainstays under Mauricio Pochettino.

Scouting at the World Cup can be folly, but no doubt fans will be keeping a closer eye on Rebic in the games to come, with many already taking to Twitter in recent days to share their enthusiasm for signing him.

You can see some of the comments below…

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Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Eric Dier started for England on Thursday night but many fans of the Three Lions were not impressed with his performance.

Having come on a late substitute against Tunisia in his country’s opening match, Dier was trusted by Gareth Southgate from the start against Belgium, with the national team boss opting to rest a number of his key performers.

Dier was a firm fixture for Spurs at club level last season, making 34 appearances in the English Premier League either in midfield or defence.

However, some football fans are now questioning his future at international level, deeply unimpressed with his display against the Belgians.

Belgium emerged from the match as 1-0 winners and deserved their victory, despite also making a number of changes, with Dier struggling to hold his own in the middle of the park.

Does he have what it takes to remain a contender for starting places in the England set-up?

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These fans took to Twitter to share their thoughts…

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The following article is a special report; all information presented, unless otherwise stated, has been gleaned from Football FanCast sources. 

Tottenham Hotspur were not willing to fork out over £30m plus wages to sign AC Milan striker Krzysztof Piatek in the January transfer window, sources have confirmed to Football FanCast, and he is now close to moving to Hertha Berlin instead.

There was confidence at the club earlier this week that Milan would “cave” as Tottenham attempted to bring in a striker in this transfer window.

The stance of the Italian club has always been that they would rather sell Piatek than loan him out, which is what Spurs were proposing.

There was a feeling, though, that with the clock ticking down in the window, Milan would be convinced to soften that stance and acquiesce to Spurs’ offer.

Hertha, though, have made a bid worth £22.8m, per Sky Sports News, plus bonuses, that Spurs sources believe will take the total cost of the deal to over £30m – Milan’s initial asking price.

Money talks: How much did Levy pay for each of these Spurs stars?

They are nearing an agreement and there is no intention from Spurs to try to scupper the deal.

There was always a belief at the Premier League club that they would need to see Piatek play for them before committing to a transfer fee and that is why negotiations took so long to reach any kind of conclusion; chairman Daniel Levy did not want there to be an obligation to buy in any deal, just an option.

Piatek, of course, has struggled for form this season, scoring just five goals in all competitions.

With the window reaching its conclusion, there is now an acceptance at Spurs that they may not be able to sign a striker before the deadline.

There is interest in Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud but any deal has been described by one source as “fraught with danger”.

Spurs have explored the feasibility of a deal but there is a fear that talks could drag and, in focusing on the Frenchman, they could be left empty-handed.

Meanwhile, one man is key to the club’s clash with Manchester City!

The new season at Manchester City has started with a huge bang, just two games into the new campaign the Citizens have already laid down a huge marker ahead of the rest of the season.

Sunday’s demolition of Chelsea has put City favourites with the bookies to regain the Premier League title, after what can only be described as the perfect start to the season.

Three consecutive wins, eight goals and three clean sheets, the confidence will be high at City as they look to build on an albeit early five point lead over what is thought to be the main rivals Chelsea for the title.

However, last Sunday against Chelsea, although the game was tight for large periods, the gulf in the sides did indeed become apparent at the ease City were creating chances that Sergio Aguero squandered in the first half and, on a better day, he could of had four by half time.

Despite this, City new boy Raheem Sterling believes that this season that the title race is going to be very tight. He said: “Everyone has strengthened their squads and the Premier League is always hard to second guess.”

And his general feeling was that is was going to be tight, and even go down to the wire. Of course at the moment it’S only early days, and it is hard to make a definitive call one way or another as there is so much that could go right or wrong, depending on whose side you are on.

But as a player he would of course say something like that. It is diplomatic and the safe thing to say. He isn’t going to come out and say that his side are going to walk the Premier League this season, and although it may be a diplomatic thing for Sterling to say, there is at least an element of truth in what he has said.

There is a strong case to say that it will be tighter this season than it was last time out, where Chelsea comfortably won the title and weren’t really challenged after Christmas as City fell away soon after the new year.

You wouldn’t say Chelsea have strengthened their first team a great deal, whereas City and United have while Arsenal also have to a lesser extent, and this will only help close that gap and make it a whole lot tighter this season.

I wouldn’t want to write Chelsea off after a couple of bad performances, but I wouldn’t say that they are the heavy pre-season favourites in my book, it is going to be tight between Chelsea, United and City, and whoever gets the title out of those three is really anyone’s guess at this stage.

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Wayne Rooney seemingly slipped back into top form with an impressive hat trick against Club Brugge last week, but will football fans ever know quite what to make about the England captain?

He ranks among the top England players of all time and will shortly become the Three Lions’ all-time record goalscorer, as a couple of efforts against San Marino are more than likely. He also ranks among the top three goal scorers in Premier League history.

Only two men and 17 goals stand in the way of him becoming Man Utd’s all time record goalscorer, too. His record well and truly speaks for itself, he’s an outstanding player and goalscorer, yet he is much-maligned and isn’t really appreciated by fans.

Something which highlighted perhaps how poorly Rooney was playing for United recently was Louis van Gaal’s openness to playing Maraoune Fellaini as a striker against Club Brugge. Many wanted the Dutchman to try it out, too.

But that was how bad things had got, he was in woefully poor form and it was horrible to watch Rooney at times. Everything he had long been so good at deserted him and he looked a very average player.

Rooney does indeed create the debate as to whether he is the ‘worst good player’ around or whether we are watching the ‘best bad one’. Perhaps given his overall career record he should be considered as a world class player, but not a legendary one.

Rooney has, throughout his career, produced goals on occasion like those netted against Club Brugge, which is, perhaps, the most frustrating thing.

The first was a delightful dinked finish – certainly not the sort associated with a man desperate for a goal after going over six hours of football without one. But then again hasn’t that always been the way with Rooney? Form comes and goes but as they say class is permanent and Rooney has that. Van Gaal has even said the England man has the mentality to keep on coming back.

The second goal was eased home after a perfectly placed ball from Ander Herrera, the sort of service that he had been crying out for. And his three-goal haul was shortly rounded off with another effort – an intelligent run allowed Juan Mata to slip Rooney in before he tucked the ball home. Suddenly in a flash Rooney was back again.

All of the chances were of course presented to Rooney, yet he still had to tuck them away and Javier Hernandez’s late cameo showed that it isn’t as easy as it always looks – the Mexican missed a sitter and a penalty.

However no matter what Rooney does it does seem inevitable that when he calls it a day not everyone will be convinced about his talents.

A better striker will come along one day, however it hasn’t happened yet despite the challenges from the likes of Radamel Falcao and even Robin van Persie.

That is just why Rooney is so good. He will always keep on doing what he does best, and that is giving is all and scoring goals.

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Manchester United returned to the top of the Premier League this afternoon as they beat newly promoted Watford 2-1 at Vicarage Road.The Red Devils took the lead after just 11 minutes through Memphis Depay, who was handed his first start since October, as the Netherlands international volleyed in a Ander Herrara cross past Gomes.Louis van Gaal was forced to tweak his formation to 3-5-2 mid-way through the first half as Herrera limped off and was replaced by Marcos Rojo. After that United struggled to create much as Watford grew in to the game and threatened on a number of occasions in the second half, but David De Gea produced a string of world class saves to keep United in front.But in an eventful final five minutes, Watford drew level through a Troy Deeney penalty after Rojo tripped Ighalo in the box before Bastian Schweinsteiger won it for the visitors in the 90th minute with a close range finish that may go down as a Deeney own goal.Here are three things we learned from that throughly exciting contest this afternoon…

Depay is the real deal…

Injuries to Wayne Rooney and Anthony Martial saw Memphis Depay handed his first start for Manchester United since October, with everyone labelling this afternoon’s game as his big chance to prove he can be play an important role for the club.

And it took him 11 minutes to open the scoring as he latched on to an Ander Herrera cross to volley in from close range. The Netherlands international had a solid game and certainly proved he’s got what it takes to be a major part of Louis van Gaal’s side this term.

Man United’s solid defence…

Before Troy Deeney smashed in the equaliser from the penalty spot, Man United had gone over ten hours without conceding a goal.

They mostly have David De Gea to thank for that, having pulled off a string of world class saves through the game and particularly in the second half when Watford were going all out for an equaliser.

The return of 3-5-2…

…and the fans are fuming about it. Ander Herrera limped off in the first half and instead of sticking with the formation that was proving to hot for Watford to handle, Louis van Gaal chose to stick Marcos Rojo on and revert to 3-5-2.

After that United rarely looked like scoring again and allowed Watford more of the possession. If it wasn’t for David De Gea between the sticks, Watford would’ve gone on to win the game as a result.

Luckily for United, Bastian Schweinsteiger popped up at the death to win it for Louis van Gaal’s side.

Arsenal returned to the top of the Premier League with a straight forward 2-0 victory over rock bottom Aston Villa this afternoon.

The Gunners took control early on as Olivier Giroud slotted home his 50th Premier League goal for the club after Alan Hutton bundled over Theo Walcott in the box after just eight minutes.

And then an impressive through ball by Theo Walcott split open the Villa defence in the 38th minute, which led to Mesut Ozil squaring the ball to Aaron Ramsey to pass in to an empty net.

Villa had a bit of a revival in the second half and couldn’t found themselves a way back in the game on a number of occasions, but their lack of a clinical finisher in front of goal ultimately summed up why they’re bottom of the league with just six points from 16 games.

Arsenal, though, will truly believe their capable of winning the title this season. With Chelsea completely out of the race already and both Manchester clubs prone to dropping points – Man United did so against Bournemouth yesterday – the Gunners could now be seen as the favourites.

So here are three things we learned from Arsenal’s impressive victory over Villa today…

Arsenal can win the league…

Not a key learning from today, but a trip to a struggling Aston Villa did provide something of a banana skin for Arsenal today.

Having played in the Champions League in mid-week and with one eye on their game with Manchester City next week, you could’ve forgiven the Gunners for perhaps being a bit off the boil today. But instead they got the job done professionally and returned to the top of the league, albeit for what could be a short 24 hour period.

And if they can follow this up with victory over City next week, then perhaps it’ll be time to crown Arsene Wenger’s men as title favourites…

Olivier Giroud is underrated…

Giroud’s eighth minute penalty was his 50th Premier League goal for the Gunners, and it continued a superb run of form for the France international.

With Alexis Sanchez out injured, all eyes have been on Giroud as Arsenal’s most important source of goals and with so much criticism thrown his way over the years, he has instead silenced his critics this season.

He may be the most unappreciated striker in the league, but he’s also the most underrated.

Mesut Ozil was worth every penny…

But if you already knew that, didn’t you?

Before the game David Moyes claimed “the jury is still out” on the German playmaker. Half an hour later Ozil registered yet another assist to take his season tally to 12 in the Premier League, as he squared an easy ball to Aaron Ramsey to slot in to an empty net.

Over the years many people have claimed the £42m Wenger paid for Ozil was a bit excessive. But this season Ozil has proven those critics wrong and is becoming more and more crucial to Arsenal’s title dreams as each week passes by.