All posts by n8rngtd.top

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Celtic face Rangers at Ibrox on Sunday in the final Old Firm derby clash of the 2018/19 season.

The Bhoys wrapped up the Scottish Premiership title with their win against Aberdeen last weekend, meaning that the trip across Glasgow is pressure-free.

However, the players will surely want to make amends for their hugely disappointing display in the 1-0 defeat in the corresponding fixture in December, where only some fine saves from goalkeeper Craig Gordon kept the scoreline down.

Given they are unbeaten under Neil Lennon and are in great form, it may have been expected that the Northern Irishman would select an unchanged XI this weekend.

However, he will have to make at least one alteration after it was confirmed on Friday that loanee Timothy Weah has left the club.

The back five of Scott Bain, Kristoffer Ajer, Jozo Simunovic, Kieran Tierney and Mikael Lustig – the Scottish Sun have reported that the latter duo are ok following injury issues – picks itself at the moment.

In midfield, the visitors should benefit from having Callum McGregor – who started at left-back against the Gers in December – alongside Scott Brown in the middle.

Tom Rogic, James Forrest and Odsonne Edouard are also un-droppable right now, which leaves Weah’s vacant spot on the left.

The two players in contention are surely Scott Sinclair and Oliver Burke, and Lennon should give the latter a final chance to prove he has a future at Parkhead beyond the end of the season when his loan expires.

Controversial. Uncompromising. Leader. C’mon the Hoops’ Keith talks the future of Celtic’s evergreen captain Scott Brown in the video below…

The 6 ft 2 man has found regular first-team minutes hard to come by since the 47-year-old replaced Brendan Rodgers, but he could thrive if the visitors plan to play on the counter on Sunday.

Liverpool will be looking to regroup over the summer after what must have been a devastating final few weeks of the Premier League which saw Man City seal the title ahead of them.

Despite a record points haul for a team finishing in second, Liverpool have still had a superb campaign and if they can win the Champions League in a few weeks time, then it will have turned into a massively successful campaign on the whole for the Reds.

Manager Jurgen Klopp will have some big decisions to make over the summer you would think, with potential signings bound to be something on his mind, while certain members of his squad will no doubt be looking for clarification on their future.

One of those players is long serving midfielder Adam Lallana, who has this weekend been linked with a move back to Southampton.

Lallana is reportedly keen on making a return to his former club, and here in the Tavern we feel that the Reds would be well served allowing Lallana to make the move back to the Saints and get the chance to get his career firmly back on track.

The England international is now 31, and he will be keen to get some first-team action under his belt rather than sit and watch Liverpool compete for trophies and success without him.

A move to the Saints is not all bad though for Lallana. He would be moving to a club which is seemingly on the up under manager Ralph Hassenhuttl, and he’d be welcomed back with open arms to St Mary’s you would think by a support base who ever really wanted to see him leave.

Liverpool are going to continue getting better, and while Lallana remains a quality midfield player, his time with the club could well be coming to an end with the Saints waiting in the wings to snap him up.

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Everton centre-back Michael Keane was awarded the Chairman’s ‘Blueblood’ award at the end-of-season ceremony on Tuesday night.

Indeed, Bill Kenwright was keen to pay tribute to the England international, who showed huge signs of improvement for the Toffees during the 2018-19 campaign.

There was a time – not so long ago – that a number of Everton fans were critical of the former Manchester United youngster.

However, judging by the reaction of the supporters to Keane winning the ‘Blueblood’ award, they have completely changed their views.

Keane ended the 2018-19 season with one goal and two assists in 33 Premier League appearances.

In this era of ‘big 6’ dominance, has finishing 7th become as good as winning a trophy? The Pl>ymaker FC squad have their say in the video below…

The 26-year-old has had his issues at Goodison Park, but will certainly be feeling pretty good about himself heading into this summer.

Some Everton fans claimed that Keane could be a future captain of the Merseyside giants, whilst others were just keen to praise the Englishman.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

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According to Portuguese outlet A Bola, via Swiss website Blick, Southampton are one of the clubs interested in signing Benfica striker Haris Seferovic this summer, but they would be making another transfer mistake in the process.

What’s the word, then?

Well, A Bola, via Blick, say Saints and Premier League rivals Everton are keen on the 27-year-old, who has enjoyed a brilliant season for the Liga Nos champions.

The Switzerland international netted his 22nd and 23rd league goals of the campaign in the win against Santa Clara at the weekend, taking his tally for 2018/19 to 27 in 51 appearances in all competitions.

A Bola, via Blick, say that the centre-forward’s release clause at the Stadium of Light is worth 70 million Swiss francs (£54.4m), and if he did leave for England he would making his 10th change in the last nine years.

Why should they avoid him?

Blick point out that Seferovic has proven his critics wrong this season, and while they may be right in that regard there is no proof that it isn’t simply a one-off – a look at his career tells you that.

Southampton fans may love Ralph Hasenhuttl but do the owners? Check out the video below…

Last term he only got seven goals in 29 games for Benfica, while he only netted four in 40 for Real Sociedad, one in 12 for Fiorentina and 19 in 96 for Eintracht Frankfurt previously.

That would suggest that the 2018/19 campaign is actually the anomaly for a player who has missed some big chances for his country at major tournaments in the past, too.

Southampton already have a striker in Danny Ings who failed to hit the net in 2019, and another in Shane Long who will never guarantee you goals consistently.

Seferovic is no better than the former, and Saints would be making another error in the market – following on from the big-money disasters of Guido Carrillo, Wesley Hoedt and Moi Elyounoussi, to name a few – if they signed the 27-year-old for a large fee this summer.

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Arsenal will contest Chelsea in the Europa League final on Wednesday, with the Gunners needing victory in Baku to seal a place in the Champions League next season.

The two sides have been evenly matched this season, with the Blues finishing 3rd in the Premier League on 72 points and the North Londoners on 70 points in 5th. Head-to-head battles have seen Maurizio Sarri’s side come out on top once before in a 3-2 win at Stamford Bridge in August but Unai Emery got revenge in January with a 2-0 win at the Emirates Stadium.

Anticipating a tight affair like many, topical defender Shkodran Mustafi claimed that it would be the team who makes the fewest mistakes that will taste glory in Baku.

Mustafi has been the topic of conversation for much of the season for his own personal mistakes that have cost Arsenal points throughout the season, most notably against Crystal Palace in a 3-2 home defeat in which the German defender was accused of playing a part in all three of Palace’s goals.

The defender hasn’t lived up to his reputation since his £35m move to north London, and so the comments made ahead of the tie are considered somewhat ironic by fans.

In unforgiving fashion, Arsenal fans took to Twitter to respond to Mustafi’s comments…

Desperately sad news for Spurs fans as Kieran Trippier’s move to Napoli falls through as Italians decide Spurs star is “too old”.

Yep, that’s what The Sun read recently. We’re sorry Spurs fans, we’re very, very sorry.

It’s all going wrong for the Tottenham defender, who was recently dropped from England’s squad for the Nations League finals and will now likely be waving goodbye to any potential move to Serie A.

While Spurs have one more game to play, Carlo Ancelotti’s side completed their season at the weekend but have been decidedly unclear on their targets in the summer window, though Trippier has been linked in the past. Hence the hoo-hah about their cold feet.

Apparently, they want to bring the right-back to San Paolo Stadium but also want a player with resale value further in his career, and at the rate Trippier is going – both in terms of age and ability – we very much doubt that will be the case for him.

A Napoli source said: “We will be pursuing a right back but will be going for a younger player, which is in line with the policy of the club.”

Well, that’s not exactly what Mr Trippier can offer, is it?

Of course, there is always a chance that Trippier will improve next season and put this blip behind him. Then again, there’s a chance we will find the winning lottery ticket. Spurs may still have the chance to release Trippier into the wild if they lower the ridiculous £40million asking price apparently slapped on his head by the notoriously difficult Daniel Levy.

Spurs fans, quite simply – what would you like to see done with Trippier? Let us know in the comments below…

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On Monday evening, Aston Villa released a statement on Ross McCormack, which confirmed that the attacker is to leave the club.

And a whole host of Villa fans took to social media in the aftermath of the announcement to reveal their delight.

The 32-year-old joined Villa from Fulham in August 2016 but managed just three goals in 24 appearances for the club in all competitions.

He has not actually turned out for AVFC since September 2017, representing Central Coast Mariners and Motherwell on loan during the 2018-19 campaign.

McCormack still had 12 months left to run on his contract at Villa Park. However, is now being released and will have to seek pastures new ahead of the new season.

To be honest, both the club and the player will be keen to move on as quickly as possible.

The Villa fans, as expected, are delighted with the update and a selection of their reaction on social media can be seen below:

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Queens Park Rangers fans on Twitter have been giving their views on two new potential signings in current Rangers man Lee Wallace and ex-Ibrox star Liam Kelly.

It has been reported in Scotland that the deal to bring the duo in has already been completed by former Gers boss Mark Warburton, but nothing has been confirmed as of yet.

Warburton managed both players during his time in Glasgow and now looks to have made them his first two signings since replacing Steve McClaren at Loftus Road a couple of months ago.

Capturing former Gers captain Wallace on a free and the promising goalkeeper Kelly for just £50,000 seems like a tidy bit of business from the west London club ahead of the 2019/2020 Sky Bet Championship season.

Watch the best fails from the world of indoor football in the video below…

And whilst some supporters of the second-tier strugglers agree, others have concerns over Wallace’s age and the overall quality of the duo.

Check out the best of their divided reactions, below…

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Per a report from The Sun, Aston Villa could launch a £20m bid for goalkeeper Jack Butland.

The stopper has been playing for Stoke in the Championship but has still found himself in Gareth Southgate’s England squad on a regular basis.

That’s despite the Three Lions manager previously hinting that Villa’s own Jack Grealish needed to play in the Premier League to be considered for the national side.

After being relegated with the Potters in 2017/18, he remained in England’s second tier which was somewhat surprising given his quality.

However, the Villans could now be set to offer him a route back to the top-flight according to The Sun. Butland played 45 times last term, conceding 48 goals.

Impressively the 26-year-old also managed to keep 18 clean sheets in the process, a tally that means he didn’t concede a single goal in 40% of the matches he played in.

Considering how Jed Steer performed during the back end of last season it’s perhaps questionable that the Villans are after another goalkeeper.

But what do a select group of Football FanCast writers make of a potential move? Have a read below to find out.

James Beavis:

“A decent goalkeeper can make the difference for a newly-promoted club in the Premier League, and Jack Butland certainly fits into that category. However, Jed Steer showed in 2019 that he is a more than able stopper who deserves his chance as a number one in the top flight. Aston Villa can’t afford to get carried away this summer and Dean Smith must stick with his new Villa Park hero instead of splashing out on Butland – they have other priorities when it comes to new signings.”

Luke Glanville:

“As good as Jed Steer was for Aston Villa at the back end of last season, I think they do need to sign Jack Butland this summer. Let’s not forget that Steer was playing in Sky Bet League One in the first half of last season and could do with longer to develop, instead of being thrown straight into the Premier League. Apart from veteran Mark Bunn who has a bit, Dean Smith possesses no real top-flight experience between the sticks and that has to change in the next few months if they’re going to survive.”

Harry Sherlock:

“Butland would be an excellent signing for Aston Villa. He needs to be playing in the Premier League to ensure that he can earn his way into Gareth Southgate’s England squad for Euro 2020. His career has somewhat stalled after being seen as perhaps the best young goalkeeper in the country but he’s still 26, meaning that he probably has another decade, at least, at the top level. £20m for 10 years works out pretty well. Villa should do all they can to get this one over the line.”

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After West Brom finally appointed a new manager in Slaven Bilic last week, it’ll be hugely intriguing to see who benefits most from his appointment.

A large amount of transfer business could be conducted after various contracts and loans expired whilst as many as five remaining players could also leave the club.

With that in mind, a huge rebuild may be in order for Bilic who brought in ten new faces during his first transfer window at West Ham.

He performed major surgery on the side and a similar method of approach may have to be taken at his new employers.

But of the current crop already at Albion, who can benefit most from a change of management and Albion’s summer rebuild?

Oliver Burke

Burke is a player who has been cast into the shadows at West Brom. Signed for £15m, he’s certainly not lived up to expectation, scoring just once.

His football has been poor and not even a loan spell with Celtic could rejuvenate his career. He scored four goals when Brendan Rodgers was still there but his form took a turn for the worse after he left.

With Jay Rodriguez potentially leaving and Dwight Gayle not returning, he may find himself thrust into a role up front, one he became used to playing in at Celtic.

Bilic has dealt with players who have similar qualities at West Ham so his appointment could be game-changing for Burke.

Kyle Bartley

A man who has previously captained the Baggies, Bartley is someone who wasn’t short of criticism last season.

Yet, under Bilic, it could represent a turning point in the ex-Arsenal academy graduate’s career.

His performances in 2018/19 were hugely inconsistent but as Craig Dawson is eyed up by Watford and Burnley, this could be the perfect opportunity for him to stake a claim for a regular spot in the side.

At present, he won’t have too many players to fend off but West Brom have shown an interest in Reece Oxford and Liam Lindsay.

A strong pre-season, however, and Bartley could soon find himself a key figure under the Croatian next term.

Watch fans explain why the Football League is better than the Premier League in the video below…

Conor Townsend

Like Bartley, Townsend wasn’t entirely convincing last term.

Kieran Gibbs was by far the best left-back at the club but during his spell on the sidelines, the former Scunthorpe defender did little to convince he should be starting.

A mistake against Bristol City back in April summed up his inconsistent term, but he is a player who has the potential to finally show what he’s made of next season under a passionate and forward-thinking coach like Bilic.

Gibbs is one of the club’s highest earners on £55k a week. However, considering the club are looking to reduce their wage bill, there are reasons to suggest he may leave, especially after attracting the interest of Newcastle and Fenerbahce.

As a result, Townsend could benefit from both a new manager arriving and Gibbs also possibly departing.