All posts by n8rngtd.top

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Jack Rodwell has started each of Blackburn Rovers’ last seven Championship games. However, last time out against Middlesbrough, after a truly miserable first half display, the 27-year-old was hauled off at half time by Tony Mowbray.

Should Darragh Lenihan be back to fitness in time to face Birmingham City at St Andrew’s Stadium on Saturday, then he must come into the starting XI in Rodwell’s place.

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Rodwell looked against Boro like a player who needs some time out of the firing line. Given that Rovers have lost their last four consecutive league games, Mowbray has to change something in order to inspire his team to get back to their best.

Swapping out Rodwell would likely make Rovers a more solid unit at the back, and being dropped should also encourage the 3-cap former England international to concentrate on rediscovering his best form.

After last week’s woeful first half performance at Ewood Park, Mowbray needs something different, and taking Rodwell out of the team would be a positive alteration to make.

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Rangers’ chances of winning the Scottish Premiership title have surely increased following the news that Brendan Rodgers is set to leave Celtic to take up the vacant post at Leicester City, but it leaves Steven Gerrard with a vital job to carry out, and probably the most important of his tenure to date.

On the chalkboard

A loss against Kilmarnock after the winter break and a goalless draw at home to St Johnstone earlier this month looked to have fatally damaged the Glasgow giants’ hopes of winning the league this season, given how formidable the Bhoys appeared under their Northern Irish manager.

However, there is no doubt that his departure could easily affect the players and the club’s performances on the pitch even with Neil Lennon reportedly agreeing to succeed him, and their local neighbours will know that they potentially have a big opportunity to grasp in the coming weeks and months with the gap lying at eight points ahead of their Wednesday fixture against Dundee.

One thing that has cost them before could ultimately do so again in their renweed title bid though, and Gerrard needs to ensure that it doesn’t happen.

No more complacency

It is something that the 38-year-old has accused his team of already this term, and he certainly cannot afford to let it rear its ugly ahead again anytime soon.

Suddenly the pressure if off of his side and all on Celtic, but the Rangers players simply can’t get into a mindset where they feel that they can easily win every game they turn up to – because it doesn’t happen like that, as they have learned against Kilmarnock and St Johnstone already in 2019.

Gerrard has obviously failed to eradicate it previously, but now he has the most important job of his Rangers reign to date so it doesn’t happen again and so they can push their arch-enemies all the way.

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According to Football Insider, Aston Villa are lining up a summer move for £5m-rated Queens Park Rangers centre-back Toni Leistner – and his arrival could well bring an end to Tommy Elphick’s Villa Park career.

What’s the word, then?

Well, Football Insider report that the Midlands outfit have made strengthening their central defensive options their priority at the end of the season, as they have conceded the most goals (53 in 35 games) in the top half of the Championship.

Football Insider report that the German’s form has brought him to the attention of a number of clubs, including Villa and Cardiff City, after taking to English football like a duck to water following his move to Loftus Road from his home country last summer.

The report adds that while QPR would naturally be reluctant to lose the 28-year-old, who was Steve McClaren’s first signing and is now club captain, an offer of £5m could tempt them seeing as they brought him to west London for nothing.

Bad news for Elphick

It certainly would be.

The 31-year-old has only just worked his way back into the first-team plans at Villa Park having fallen out of favour under Steve Bruce and spending the first-half of the campaign on loan at Hull City, although the rejuvenated former Bournemouth man will now be absent for the next four to five weeks through injury.

The experienced centre-back only has a few months remaining on his contract however, and the fact that the Championship club have James Chester already and would likely bring Leistner straight into the XI suggests their mind is already made up on Elphick’s future.

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According to a report in The Liverpool Echo, Everton have no intention of selling West Bromwich Albion loanee Mason Holgate this summer, which will surely leave Baggies boss Darren Moore seriously frustrated.

What’s the word, then?

Well, the 22-year-old joined the west Midlands outfit on a temporary basis until the end of the season during the January transfer window, and he has gone on to establish himself as a key player ever since.

The versatile defender has played the full 90 minutes in West Brom’s previous nine Championship fixtures, and he has picked up three assists from the right-back position.

However, any hopes of bringing him to The Hawthorns on a permanent deal at the end of the campaign have been quashed, with The Liverpool Echo reporting that Toffees manager Marco Silva is a big fan of the England U21 international.

Moore will be frustrated

He certainly will, with The Liverpool Echo saying that the club was keen to have Holgate in their side next term and beyond.

Given his lack of football at Goodison Park previously, the Baggies boss may have felt that he had a good opportunity to get the defender – especially if they do end up winning promotion to the Premier League – but that now appears to be off of the table once and for all.

It will certainly give the 22-year-old plenty of confidence that he can still have a big role to play under Silva in the future, and that should be enough to stop him from pushing for an exit elsewhere.

Leeds are finally starting to look more solid in midfield, aren’t they? Their hard-fought win against Bristol on Saturday and the first-half demolition at Reading proved just how important Kalvin Phillips is to the club’s promotion chase.

The Whites went top of the league on Tuesday night and if they’re to finish there at the end of the season, they’re going to have to grind out victories against the top teams and then win comfortably against the strugglers of the division. They’ve shown they’re capable of doing both in just one week.

The 23-year-old has made 33 appearances this season and has grown into his role as midfield general well. It’s a tough position to take up in a Marcelo Bielsa team because they aim to dominate possession and play their football in the opposing half. This means the team are susceptible to counter attacks and have to defend large spaces.

At times, the Leeds defence has looked shaky this campaign because of that, but recently there’s been more confidence in their ability to not leak goals. That obviously helps in games against tough opposition where you sometimes face periods where defending is crucial, just as it was against Bristol.

However, it’s also important because it gives confidence to the forwards so they can push higher without feeling they’re leaving the team vulnerable. Phillips – a Thorp Arch graduate and valued at £6.3m by Transfermarkt – has played a massive part in improving confidence in the defensive third, and that showed in their battering of Reading on Tuesday.

Leeds haven’t conceded a goal in the last three games and have only let in six in their last nine games since the 3-1 home defeat to title-challengers Norwich. That’s some run, and if Phillips continues to command the midfield as he is doing, the Whites could claim one of the automatic promotion spots at a canter.

Leeds fans, where do you think your club will finish at the end of the season? Join the discussion by commenting below.

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It would be fair to say that the Liverpool fans have a high opinion of Paul Glatzel.

The 18-year-old, who recently signed his first professional contract at Anfield, seemingly has a real chance of making the first team.

Earlier this month, the Liverpool supporters were out in their numbers to hail the teenager for his assist in an Under-18 clash with Bury Under-18s.

And many more have now reacted to the fact that Glatzel has reached 28 goals for the season.

As well as being in fine form for the Under-18s, the Germany Under-18 international has also scored once in two Premier League 2 appearances.

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It might not be too long before the forward is introduced into the first team; it’s incredibly unlikely to happen this season but Glatzel has the talent to be a future first-team star.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

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Following a tweet from the EFL promoting the charity work of Aston Villa and Albert Adomah, Birmingham supporters have been left angry and incensed that there is bias against them.

In a bizarre thread on Twitter, rather than applauding the work being done by footballers in the community, fans of the Blues took the EFL to task feeling as though their own work hadn’t been recognised.

The St Andrews faithful focused their attention on the George Horsefield Foundation and some of the work the club had already been doing over the winter months, tagging a video of manager Garry Monk feeding homeless people in Birmingham.

They felt as though all their club’s work had been completely ignored, but the bemoaning of the EFL didn’t stop there.

One individual called the league officials priceless whilst another suggested that they were mean-minded in their approach.

Even if it was a tweet about their bitter rivals, it was a rather unjust attack from many supporters.

Here’s how they reacted.

Sunderland’s executive director, Charlie Methven, has admitted that the club is open to outside investment for the club, and that talks have taken place with interested parties.

An injection of cash would be music to the ears of Black Cats fans as they prepare for their Wembley trip this weekend, but they will be cautious as well as optimistic, particularly after the mess the club found themselves in following Ellis Short’s stint in charge.

Methven told the Northern Echo: “We’ve been approached by a number of people who want to put money into the club, and we’ve talked to them.

“We’ve never hidden the fact that we’re potentially open to outside investment and that’s still the position. But the investment would have to be right for us, for the investors and for the football club.

“We see it as a massive positive that we’re getting these approaches – it shows we’ve made progress in terms of turning the club around.

“When we took over from Ellis (Short), the club was basically uninvestable. A lot of people looked at it, and decided there was no way they could invest.”

Of course, much depends on which division the Wearsiders find themselves playing in next season.

With automatic promotion not nailed on, and the play-offs still largely a lottery, there is still a scenario that could easily see Sunderland remaining a League One side for another year.

But Methven insists, if the worst happens, it will not affect their plans, with differing plans in place whether promotion is secured or not.

“We’ve got a plan for being in League One next season, and another plan for being in the Championship. The sums have all been done, and we know where we’re going to stand, both on and off the pitch.

“None of us want to be in League One next season, but the truth is if that happens, it will not be a great challenge now we’ve got the club stabilised. It was a problem this season because of the issues we inherited, but they’re not there now.

“We’ve still got a few leftover commitments from the Premier League days, but they’ll pretty much be cancelled out by the parachute payments. If we stay in League One, we won’t have to stretch ourselves. We’d be able to stick with pretty much the budget we have now, and that would comfortably be the biggest salary budget in the division. We’d also have the biggest transfer budget.”

Failing to go up would be a nightmare outcome for Sunderland fans. But at least they can rest easier, knowing that finally some sensible, financially savvy heads are running the club now.

But supporters could still ask questions of how, if they have “comfortably the biggest salary budget” and “the biggest transfer budget”, why promotion is not a mere formality at this stage of the season.

What are your thoughts Sunderland fans? Are you pleased that the financial position has righted itself at your club? Would you encourage outside investment? Should the team have performed better this season? Let us know your thoughts below…

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Things are a bit sticky at Everton in terms of their centre-back situation right now.

Marco Silva has will have just Michael Keane and Yerry Mina as recognised senior centre-backs in the summer. Kurt Zouma will be returning to Chelsea, and it is unlikely that he will be allowed to leave Stamford Bridge judging by Andreas Christensen’s recent revelation.

Additionally, Phil Jagielka contract is set to expire in the summer, and it seems unlikely that the Toffees will offer the 36-year-old a new contract given the fact he has made just three appearances this season.

You could argue that Mason Holgate will be returning from his loan spell, but he appears to be favoured at right-back rather than in the centre of defence.

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In that respect, the Merseysiders should put their £6m investment made back in 2017 to good use.

Everton signed then 17-year-old Lewis Gibson from fellow Premier League side Newcastle for the aforementioned fee, beating off competition from England’s top clubs for the England Under-17 World Cup winner.

He is yet to make an appearance for the first team, but he has been in outstanding form for David Unsworth’s Under-23 side – he was even made captain despite being just 17 years of age.

Back in April of last year, Unsworth said on the teenager: “Lewis Gibson has been outstanding.

“He’s got better and better and better and he’s a natural born leader and he’s been captain for the last couple of games.”

To spend such a large sum on a player as young as Gibson was an extremely bold move, and one that is looking to be an inspired decision judging by his performances.

However, for that sum to be justified, he needs first-team football, and what better time to give it to him other than amidst this tiny crisis in the centre of defence?

He clearly looks like a star of the future. Everton’s track record of promoting young players from the academy – Wayne Rooney, Jack Rodwell, and Ross Barkley spring to mind – suggest that Gibson can become a valued member of the first team; he is a player that appears to be outgrowing the youth ranks, and is in need of that next step.

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Steve McClaren’s sacking on April Fool’s Day is about as fitting as it gets when it comes to giving managers the boot – the former England boss has embarrassed himself week after week and his post-match interviews may as well just be a pre-recorded message to be sold as new comments after each game.

The 57-year-old’s departure comes in the wake of another disappointing loss – this time to fellow strugglers Bolton – and few could argue that appropriate action wasn’t taken on Monday, even if the ongoing uncertainty at the club has now been compounded.

The R’s have won just one game in 2019 – against Leeds – and are now eight points above the drop in what will surely be a season to forget regardless of if they suffer relegation or not. One man, though, can hold his head high and confidently say that he cannot be blamed for the weekend’s defeat nor McClaren’s sacking.

Massimo Luongo has been a fixture in the Hoops starting XI this season and has made an impressive 35 league appearances – the latest of which also happened to be his most impressive. The Australian completed an astounding eight tackles against the Trotters, battling away tirelessly in the middle of the park – his efforts, though, were in vain as those around him were largely poor.

Far from satisfied with his defensive output, though, the 26-year-old teed up Nahki Wells for a late consolation while also completing a solid 2 key passes and 3 dribbles in what was an extremely well-rounded display from the former Swindon Town man.

Check out the below above to see football played as you’ve never seen it before… in a maze!

Unfortunately, though, the 5 ft 9 ace’s numbers couldn’t save the Loftus Road outfit from suffering an 11th defeat in 2019 nor McClaren’s job. What next for QPR is uncertain but, if the reports linking Tim Sherwood with the vacant manager role are accurate, it could get a whole lot worse for the R’s and their fans.