All posts by z3u9t.icu

Aston Villa could hire their perfect Dean Smith successor in Rangers manager Steven Gerrard.

What’s the story?

The Villa boss has played a huge role in restoring the Midlands club back to the Premier League, earning promotion from the Championship a couple of seasons ago before ensuring survival on the final day of last year’s campaign.

This season has seen Villa take that next step, with a summer spending spree seeing them well in the hunt for a European place for the following season.

Despite that, Football Insider claimed that Smith’s long-term future at the club is far from certain, and that chief executive Christian Purslow has “strong interest” in luring Gerrard to Villa Park.

The 40-year-old has just steered the Gers to a league title in Scotland, and it remains to be seen whether he would be interested in a move south of the border.

Dean Smith’s perfect successor

Despite it still being so early in his managerial career, Gerrard has already earned himself a place in Rangers folklore, ending Celtic’s quest for a tenth successive league title this season and bringing back a taste of the glory days at Ibrox.

He said: “It has been a challenge and a process. You speak to a lot of people in a lot of areas as a manager to try and improve and get as much experience as you can. But I am who I am. I was an emotional player, I wore my heart on my sleeve, I tried to give everything I could. I feel results and I want to try and be as authentic and real as I can and I wouldn’t want to change away from that because that wouldn’t be me…”

His management style has earned him rave reviews from those who have had the chance to work under him, including former Tottenham and England striker Jermain Defoe.

He said of Gerrard: “I don’t think it surprised me (his success) because he’s a winner. He always talks about Rangers standards, even if you are winning 6-0 or 7-0, the standards can’t drop. It’s not really surprised me he’s done well, to be honest.”

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Pinpointed by Juventus icon and manager Andrea Pirlo as one of Europe’s most exciting coaches, Gerrard could lead a new era at Villa Park were Smith to leave anytime soon.

Given his age, the 40-year-old Liverpool legend could build a real long-term project at Villa which sets up the club not just for the here-and-now, but for the long-term future too.

Meanwhile, Villa should swoop for this “unstoppable” Premier League star…

Eric Dier once again failed Tottenham Hotspur and their supporters with a shocking display as the north London outfit crashed out of the Europa League on Thursday night.Jose Mourinho’s side were embarrassingly beaten by Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb after Mislav Orsic bagged himself a spectacular hat-trick, leading the managerless outfit to a 3-0 win after extra time.In the absence of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg – aÂ’captain without the armband‘ – someone needed to step up and fill his leadership void and, in this case, the Portuguese boss turned to Dier – one of their longest-serving current players, in defence over someone like Toby Alderweireld, who appeared to be rested.This was a decision which ultimately cost them dearly as the 27-year-old dropped a pathetic performance in the heart of Spurs’ backline.Dier’s mistakes against Chelsea, Manchester City and then West Ham in the Premier League had been enough to finally see Mourinho axe the Englishman from his starting XI, so perhaps his inclusion in such a big game should’ve come as a surprise.However, according to the ‘Special One,’ his defenders were well prepared for the threat of Orsic.

The £22.5m-rated centre-back was the epitome of the side’s overall struggles and he continued the recurring theme of individual defensive errors costing the club greatly.

Evening Standard reporter Dan Kilpatrick summed up Dier’s outing pretty perfectly in his post-match ratings column, where he graded the 6 foot 2 colossus as Spurs’ worst player. He wrote: ‘Defensively all over the shop and passing was poor. Gave away silly fouls.’

This echoed the thoughts of Alasdair Gold at football.london, who claimed Dier was ‘all over the place’ when the ball was played into the box, and that merely reinforces the fact that he was particularly error-prone throughout the 120 minutes.

The £85k-per-week star was still among Spurs’ most influential players in the match, as he recorded the second-most number of touches (98). Having someone who has let the club down time and time again on the ball so much is a recipe for disaster.

And indeed it was.

Dier made only three of his nine long balls (33%), lost possession 11 times and committed a game-high four fouls. In fact, that was double the number of any other visiting player on the night, as per SofaScore.

The Spurs defender was hugely wasteful in giving the ball back to Zagreb, both through his misplaced passes and his inability to successfully prevent the opposition from getting through – he also won only eight of his 18 duels (44%).

This was a genuine chance for Spurs to go one step closer towards ending that barren run without silverware. They held a two-goal advantage going into this tie and should have seen this off with ease.

Dier should know all too well how much it means to the Hotspur faithful – after all, he’s been here since 2014 and in that time, the closest he’s ever come to winning a trophy was that Champions League final in 2019 – that competition now seems a distant dream.

Once again, Mourinho was badly let down by several of his key players and Dier has been one of the chief suspects.

AND in other news, Levy could land Mourinho his own Van Dijk in Spurs swoop for £13.5m-rated “role model”…

Last week, it looked as though Roy Keane was in the driving seat to become the new manager of Celtic. The Bhoys hierarchy had interviewed him and plenty of discussions had reportedly taken place.

However, the hunt to find Celtic a new manager has taken more twists and turns than the Monaco Grand Prix.

What’s the word?

Reports over the weekend claimed that Keane was now unlikely to become the Hoops’ new boss.

The reasons behind that are unclear but a new name has now come to the centre of our attention.

In one of the biggest twists yet, The Daily Mail reported this week that former Borussia Dortmund boss Lucien Favre is interested in being given the role at Parkhead.

He was sacked from his position as manager of Dortmund in December and has since been linked with Lyon. However, he isn’t the favourite for that vacancy and is now reportedly looking at Celtic as his next source of employment.

The 63-year-old is thought to face competition from the likes of Thierry Henry, Enzo Maresca and Chris Wilder.

Desmond buzzing

Some of the candidates that have emerged in the race for the Celtic job haven’t been particularly eye-catching.

Take Keane, for example. The Irishman hasn’t managed for the best part of ten years and his win rate is hardly impressive, engineering victories from just 38.7% of games he’s taken charge of.

Favre, though, would be a marvellous appointment by the Hoops board. He has experience at the top level and more often than not, he was able to win when taking charge of Dortmund.

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In Germany, the Swiss coach won 61.82% of the matches he led. That means Favre only lost 24 times during his 110 game spell as their manager.

With that in mind, it should be music to the ears of Celtic’s majority shareholder that such an impressive manager wants to move to Glasgow.

He is tactically astute and well organised, two qualities that the hierarchy should be looking for. After all, Celtic’s defensive shape this term has been nothing short of a shambles; they shipped 19 goals in the Europa League and have conceded 14 more than Rangers in the league.

On top of that, Favre also likes his teams to play a dynamic and attacking brand of football.

Last season, only Bayern Munich (100) scored more goals in the German top-flight than Dortmund (84). He also led a revolution of young players, developing the likes of Jadon Sancho and a certain Erling Haaland.

With the experience he possesses, Favre would be a brilliant addition for the Hoops.

AND in other news, Bye-bye Christie: Celtic must swoop for 42-goal gem who can “sprint like Mbappe”…

Many fans of West Ham United have been reacting to a post on Twitter which relayed an image of the Hammers’ Czech Republic duo Tomas Soucek and Vladimir Coufal.

So far this season, both Soucek and Coufal have hugely impressed throughout West Ham’s assault on the top four of the Premier League table. Soucek has scored eight goals and averaged a WhoScored match rating of 7.36, while Coufal has provided his teammates with three assists and averaged a match rating of 6.97 – ranking the pair as the club’s second and fifth-best performers in the top flight respectively.

After West Ham relayed an image on Twitter of the ‘Czech-mates’ on the training ground, many fans of the club flocked to have their say on the “amazing” duo, with plenty heaping a considerable amount of praise on their performances for the club so far this season.

So, what exactly did these West Ham United fans have to say in reaction to the club’s post on Twitter?

“These two are like the proper old-time men of football – hard as nails and love playing the game. Salah take note.”

@Ricky87867277

“They’re amazing.”

@whugrace

“Oh I love them.”

@SamGadd_16

“Please never leave.”

@Ludders59

“I C O N S.”

@watsondara07

“Give them statues.”

@Tylerrjones16

“The goats themselves.”

@westhamwhu49

In other West Ham United news, many fans wanted this Premier League ace after a contract claim – find out more here!

Liverpool have been handed a big injury blow ahead of their UEFA Champions League tie with RB Leipzig, with Roberto Firmino reportedly doubtful.

According to Sky Sports, the Brazilian has suffered a knock on his knee, causing him to miss training ahead of the second-leg in Budapest.

His potential absence is surely set to be a sore one for the Reds and Jurgen Klopp.

Put simply, Firmino is Liverpool first-choice forward. In five years at Anfield, he has made 281 appearances, scoring 84 goals and providing 67 assists.

The former Hoffenheim striker is one of the players that Klopp has relied on more so than any other on Merseyside. Since the German’s arrival, Firmino has appeared in just under 90% of the available matches, with Klopp even labelling him as a “difference-maker”.

It’s hard to argue with that assessment considering not only his record but also his pivotal moments in the UEFA Champions League for the club.

The £64.8m-rated forward has played 40 matches in the competition for the Reds, scoring 15 goals and providing 13 assists –  a goal contribution rate of 0.7 per game.

Whilst he hasn’t had quite the desired impact on this season’s edition of the competition, only making two starts in the group stages, he will have been hoping to find that golden touch in Europe once again.

After all, there is not really a viable option for his replacement as a natural striker.

Divock Origi could be called upon but he gets nowhere near the Brazilian’s contribution on the pitch, with Firmino superior to him in shots, key passes, dribbles and pass accuracy per match according to WhoScored.

Diogo Jota could also deputise but neither he, Mohamed Salah or Sadio Mane are natural centre-forwards and considering Klopp’s reliance and favouring of Firmino, the German will likely be gutted to not have the Brazilian to call upon later this evening.

AND in more news, Rob Lee has called for the Reds to be patient with summer signing Thiago as the club’s crisis continues…

Manchester United scraped through to the FA Cup fifth round by the skin of their teeth, beating Liverpool 3-2 at Old Trafford.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side headed into the game on the back of a decent run of form in the Premier League, but undid most of their hard work almost immediately after Mo Salah opened the scoring after he escaped his marker in Victor Lindelof and fired home past the helpless Dean Henderson.

Lindelof was shaky and at fault for the Egyptian’s goal, while Salah and co. took advantage of another momentary lapse in concentration to equalise from close range shortly after halftime.

Solskjaer handed the 26-year-old a surprise start in a show of faith given his injury struggles as of late, after it was revealed that he is still nursing a back injury he sustained during the Europa League game against AZ Alkmaar over a year ago.

However, Lindelof failed to repay the favour, as his performance left a lot to be desired.

As per SofaScore, he lost both of his duels on the day (100%), as he spent most of his time trying and failing to fend off wave after wave of attacks from the visitors in the heart of the defence.

He struggled to contain the threat of Liverpool’s front three, as he was often trapped in almost total isolation, which forced Henderson to deny Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold as they pushed for the winner.

During the 90 minutes, it’s perhaps telling that Lindelof failed to record a solitary tackle or register a single interception in the time that he was on the pitch, as he struggled to earn a foothold in the game and his usual fine positional sense and awareness utterly deserted him as he was caught out of position for the early opener.

Whilst questions may be asked of Donny van de Beek after such an abject display, it was Lindelof who will have disappointed the manager the most. SofaScore graded the Swede as the joint-worst United player on the pitch with a miserable 6.4 rating, slightly bettered by Van de Beek’s 6.6.

Solskjaer gave him a chance to stake his claim for a place in the starting line-up with Eric Bailly left on the bench, but the Swedish defender failed to make the most of such an opportunity. There’s no denying the fact his latest display will have done very little to convince the club legend that he deserves another chance and we’d expect Bailly to come back in for Wednesday’s clash with Sheffield United.

AND in other news, Man Utd target Erling Braut Haaland put on a show against Borussia Monchengladbach…

According to an update by transfer insider Dean Jones, via West Ham Transfers, the club could try and sign Jesse Lingard permanently at the end of the season following his brilliant start as an Irons player on loan from Man United – prompting excitement from supporters. 

Lingard, who was the Hammers’ only January acquisition following persistent links to a striker, has enjoyed a fine start to life at the London Stadium – already scoring two goals in just three league appearances under David Moyes (WhoScored).

Moyes and the loanee Red Devil know each other well from their time at Old Trafford, with insider and Eurosport journalist Jones explaining that the club could attempt a potential permanent deal for the Englishman at the end of this season.

As a result of this news, plenty of Irons have flocked to discuss the development – find all of their social media verdicts down below.

West Ham fans buzz as insider shares news

“need lingard on a permanent please moyes”

Credit: @Barney_WHUFC

“Hopefully getting the best midfielder in the prem”

Credit: @intesosse69

“yay”

Credit: @bryanwiat

“Too right”

Credit: @Tom_Rowe20

“Quality signing”

Credit: @mattjames_orr

“buzzing if this happens”

Credit: @stephenlott

“We hope”

Credit: @19cockneyman81

In other news: West Ham takeover claim dropped by Sky Sports pundit, find out more here.

According to Football Insider, Fenerbahce are close to signing Glasgow Rangers’ long-term target Bright Osayi-Samuel from Queens Park Rangers.

What’s the word?

The 23-year-old winger is high on Steven Gerrard’s shopping list and has attracted interest from a number of clubs, including Premiership rivals Celtic, and has also been linked to Premier League clubs Leicester City, Fulham and Brighton.

Osayi-Samuel has been in such fine form for Mark Warburton’s side, scoring three times in the Championship this season, but after his refusal to sign a new contract the Loftus Road boss axed him from his squad in October, which has paved the way for a possible move to Ibrox.

But, according to Football Insider, it’s Turkish side Fenerbahce who have stolen a march on the 54-time Scottish champions, and are set to snap up Osayi-Samuel for free in the summer.

Wilson must act now

The news will come as a huge blow for Gerrard, as it’s fair to say that the Nigerian could have been a real bargain for the Ibrox boss.

At the tender young age of 23, he already has a considerable amount of experience under his belt, and has made 20 appearances in the Championship this season, bagging three goals and three assists, via Transfermarkt.

Osayi-Samuel has impressed during his three-and-a-half years with the R’s and is now ready to take the next step in his career.

QPR manager Mark Warburton recently heaped praise on his young charge after his performance in the 3-2 win against Rotherham, saying: “He looked very good tonight. He looked dangerous and was a constant threat.

“The people above my pay grade are still talking. If someone wants to buy him I’m sure they can – every player in the world has got a price.

“All he’s doing right now is concentrating on playing football and that’s what he needs to do – just enjoy his football, enjoy being a good player and enjoy playing for QPR.”

He’s not wrong, either, as the young Nigerian has started to show signs of his untapped potential, having scored 13 goals and supplied 13 assists in over a hundred appearances across all competitions for the Championship club, via Transfermarkt.

Rangers are in danger of missing out on a player who has a bright future ahead of him and Ross Wilson must act swiftly to try and bring him to Ibrox.

Wilson will know he can land him for nothing at the end of the season and this is simply an opportunity far too good to miss.

AND in other news, Gerrard must unleash Cedric Itten on the right wing against Aberdeen…

The power-shift in north London is becoming increasingly obvious with Tottenham Hotspur sat top of the Premier League standings going into this Sunday’s derby match.

In fact, the signs were starting to creep in several years ago. It is now five seasons since Arsenal finished about Spurs in the English top-flight (2015/16), and this January, chairman Daniel Levy could strike another massive blow to Mikel Arteta in the transfer window.

According to 90min, Spurs are one of several teams eyeing a move for RB Salzburg sensation Dominik Szoboszlai after the Gunners failed in their attempts to sign him in the summer.

Their arch-rivals remain interested but now so are the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool, Wolves and Everton as well as your typical European giants in the shape of Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain.

The 20-year-old has a bargain release clause of just £20m, so there will be a heated battle to secure his signature in 2021, that’s for sure.

Therefore, Spurs must strike sooner rather than later if they are to stand a chance of securing the Hungarian attacking midfielder and in doing so, they would hurt Arsenal once again.

Back in 2010, Harry Redknapp managed to clinch the signing of Rafael van der Vaart for just £8m from La Liga outfit, Real Madrid. It later came out that the Gunners missed out.

Speaking to FourFourTwo (via the Daily Cannon), he said:

“Yeah, it did get mentioned. I had several conversations with Robin van Persie, my team-mate with the Dutch side, and he’d spoken to Arsenal about me a few times.”

The Dutch playmaker would go onto provide five goals and two assists in just five games against their north London rivals.

Levy simply must repeat this masterstroke with Szoboszlai in the upcoming window.

In 17 appearances in all competitions this season, the enigmatic dynamo has delivered eight goals and nine assists, including a hat-trick in his last league outing from left-wing, as per Transfermarkt.

The generational talent has been likened to both Toni Kroos and Kai Havertz, the latter by Lothar Matthaus, who claimed Szoboszlai was a “gem”.

Whilst Hungarian national team boss Marco Rossi believes the 20-year-old is a “top ten talent in Europe.”

Levy must do everything to ensure that Szoboszlai is lining up in the Lilywhite strip of north London rather than red in the near future.

AND in other news, Spurs can wave goodbye to Sanchez by signing £18m-beast with “huge potential”…

If an extraterrestrial landed on Earth on Wednesday evening and had no idea what football was or how Leeds United played, they needed to look no further than their win over Newcastle.

This was vintage football, but it was also classic Leeds.

Marcelo Bielsa is known for running his players into the ground and their 5-2 win at Elland Road summed up everything they have become under the Argentine. It was swashbuckling and relentless as they scored three goals in the final 13 minutes of play.

If there were fears that Leeds couldn’t keep things going late into a game you can think again.

Pablo Hernandez came on and rolled back the years by assisting two goals, including one for Gjanni Alioski, someone who hasn’t always been a regular starter at left-back.

He has started eight times in the Premier League this season and has played all over the pitch including in midfield and on the left-wing.

However, this time he was trusted at left-back as Stuart Dallas moved over to the right-hand side.

Although he was dribbled past on four occasions, his performance that aside was monstrous, particularly in the final third.

The North Macedonia international scored a crucial goal but also found room to make two key passes. Furthermore, Alioski completed 100% of his dribbles and 82% of his passes.

His performance at Elland Road was near perfection, galloping up and down the left channel without running out of energy.

That aspect of Alioski’s game has always been unquestionable. He is the very definition of a livewire but sometimes his defending leaves a lot to be desired.

For the most part, those doubts were quashed on Wednesday evening. He won 81.8% of the duels he contested, proving victorious in all three aerial battles.

This felt like a complete performance, one that should silence a few doubters over a player who has been a divisive character in Yorkshire.

Perhaps this could prove a catalyst for Alioski, one that turns his fortunes around completely at Leeds.

In other news, Forget Harrison: “Bargain” Leeds beast who made 100% longballs delivered a huge statement…