This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
West Bromwich Albion will be looking to continue their run at the top of the Championship table this weekend when they return to action for the first time in two weeks.
Slaven Bilic’s side will welcome promotion-hunting Sheffield Wednesday to the Hawthorns on Saturday afternoon, and history suggests that they could be in for a tough time of it.
On the Chalkboard
The Baggies will have to contend with the absence of their entire midfield engine room.
Both Romaine Sawyers and skipper Jake Livermore will serve a one-match suspension after picking up five bookings each.
The duo have started every single league game under the Croatian boss this campaign.
If their imminent omission wasn’t unfortunate enough, Livermore’s previous absences only highlight just how significant a loss he really is to Albion.
Last season under Darren Moore and then caretaker Jimmy Shan, the 30-year-old was a familiar figure, playing 39 matches.
West Brom won 20 of those fixtures, averaging 1.77 points per game.
Currently this term, the side are averaging just over two points per game, and given the central midfielder has started every match, his presence has clearly had a positive impact.
However, he did miss a total of nine matches, including the two-legged playoff semi-final – either through suspension or injury – and during this run, the Baggies won just three games, averaging only 1.22 points per game.
That is a drop of over 0.5 points a match in his absence.
Therefore, the seven-time England international somewhat holds the keys to the west Midlanders enjoying success, at least over the last 18 months or so.
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There’s no way of truly knowing, but they surely could have done with his presence in the playoffs after Aston Villa defeated them on penalties.
Per WhoScored, no midfielder in the current side records more tackles per game (2.2) than he does, so the task of replacing the powerhouse is the toughest decision Bilic will face this weekend.
If this trend continues, then West Brom will be in for one long afternoon at the Hawthorns on Saturday.
This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…
When Sebastien Haller first entered the pitch for his West Ham United debut against Manchester City, he looked like a man filled with self-confidence.
Despite hardly getting the ball, his only shot was an acrobatic effort that showed a willingness to try something outside of the ordinary.
There was also the streak of arrogance a top striker needs that was displayed in the Frenchman’s celebrations when he scored his brace against Watford, as well as his other two goals in a West Ham shirt.
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However, he has now gone five games without scoring a single goal and looks like a man stripped of his confidence, as was on display against Tottenham Hotspur.
One specific moment that would show this came in the first half, when Felipe Anderson was sprinting forward with the ball and got himself into the box.
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The Brazilian attempted a pass to the striker that went behind him, but rather than making a convincing effort to get the ball under control, Haller helplessly dangled out a leg as it rolled past him.
Throughout the game, he attempted five shots, but only one of them went on target, with it saying a lot that Michail Antonio managed two shots on target and a goal, as he buzzed about the pitch upon his return.
Haller has spent plenty of time isolated in the West Ham team this season and it seems as though it is now having an impact on his confidence and performances, which is definitely a concerning sign.
In other news, Manuel Pellegrini seems to be losing faith in a big-name West Ham man.
With no action on the pitch, Liverpool fans have been reminiscing about a former superstar, having been spurred on by The Athletic’s James Pearce relaying a highlights reel.
The video is of Luis Suarez’s phenomenal 2013-14 campaign which saw him land the PFA Player of the Year award…
It was to be his final season in the Red colours of Merseyside before he joined Barcelona in a £75m deal, and clearly, many of a Liverpool persuasion still adore him.
The Uruguayan netted 31 goals in the Premier League and also chipped in with 17 assists, steering Brendan Rodgers’ side to second place, just two points behind Manchester City.
Here’s what fans have been saying about Suarez…
There were plenty of superlatives used to describe the 33-year-old that perfectly encapsulated his campaign that year, most notably “incredible” and “breathtakingly excellent.”
Those 31 goals were the Premier League record for the most scored in any season until Mohamed Salah stepped up in 2017/18 with 32 – fans at Anfield have certainly seen their fair share of attacking prowess.
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Despite this, some supporters still think that Suarez’s effort was the best they have ever witnessed by anyone in the modern-era of the top-flight.
Suarez also came with a bit of a reputation, and this was acknowledged by a few others – one described him as an “absolute psychopath” whilst “rat” and “scumbag” were also used.
But such words didn’t stop them from raving over his talents, either.
Can you name the result these iconic Liverpool images belong to? Give it a go now…
The striker has gone on to forge a successful career in La Liga, scoring 191 goals and assisting 108 more in only 270 appearances, per Transfermarkt.
AND in other news, Liverpool sporting director Edwards faces tough task this summer…
Many Leeds United fans have been debating who is the best player they have had since they dropped out of the Premier League, with many opting to select Spanish midfielder Pablo Hernandez.
Marcelo Bielsa’s side are on the verge of gaining promotion to the Premier League after an absence of 17 years away from England’s top flight (BBC Sport).
Having struggled over the years to gain promotion, Leeds came extremely close to top flight football last season after reaching the play-offs, but a defeat to Derby County saw those hopes ended.
This term, Bielsa has guided his side to the top of the Championship league table, sitting one point ahead of West Bromwich Albion and they are therefore very much on course to gain an automatic promotion place.
One of the key performers in Leeds’ side this term has been Pablo Hernandez. The Spaniard has firmly established himself over the last few seasons as one of the Yorkshire’s club’s best and most reliable players, contributing with 33 goals over his 148 appearances.
Looking back over the Whites’ time in the Championship, a number of players spring to mind when thinking of ones that have had the most impact, including the likes of Jermaine Beckford and Luciano Becchio – who both impressed at the club.
Asked by Twitter account @allday_leeds, fans have replied with various different players who they feel have performed well during their time away from the Premier League, but Hernandez appears to be the most popular choice.
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Oh, Spurs, you’ve given us some wonderful moments over the years and Tottenham fans won’t know whether to laugh or cry at some of memories that we’re going to be reliving today.
With everything going on in North London at the moment, we wondered how many other times Spurs had been Spursy in the Premier League era and, unsurprisingly, we managed to find quite a few.
We stopped at 15, though, because any more and Spurs fans will have been crying into their Tottenham Hotspur Stadium cheeseboards.
And no one wants to see that, do they? Do they?
Wolves defeat – 2018
First up is a fairly recent memory of Spursyness at it’s finest and I want to make this clear before we go any further, Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, we’re laughing at you and not with you.
In December 2018, as they do, Spurs won five in a row in the league to close the gap on top of the table, even rising above Manchester City and into second place.
Victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers at Wembley late in the month would have seen them move just one win away from Liverpool. They led with 20 minutes to go but collapsed in typical style, conceding three late goals and not even managing to finish in the top three in the end.
Sacking Mauricio Pochettino – 2019
In the years before Mauricio Pochettino arrived at White Hart Lane, Spurs had already begun establishing themselves as a top-six club and regular Champions League contenders.
Pochettino came in and ensured they’d also become proper challengers domestically and in Europe, and he embarked on a heroic project of turning Spurs in to Premier League title contenders and Champions League finalists.
Often operating with a small transfer budget in comparison to other European heavyweights, Pochettino literally performed miracles at Spurs.
But after five years in charge, a handful of title challenges and just five months on from famously leading Spurs to the Champions League final, he was sacked by Daniel Levy with Spurs in 14th place in the Premier League.
A lot of us are still getting our heads around the fickle nature of that decision, as his successor Jose Mourinho now struggles lead Spurs to Europa League qualification.
Lasagne-gate – 2006
Only Spurs could have their challenge to qualify for the UEFA Champions League thwarted by a serving of lasagne.
Martin Jol’s side went into the final match of 2005/2006, at Upton Park against London rivals West Ham United, needing only three points to secure fourth place and thus make it to Europe’s premier club competition for the first time in the modern era.
But before the match, a dodgy meal of lasagne at the team’s hotel the night before caused an outbreak of sickness and diarrhoea in the Lilywites camp, which struck down several key players and led to a costly 2-1 defeat. The ultimate irony was that Tottenham’s bitter local rivals Arsenal clinched fourth instead.
Being knocked out in the FA Cup semis by a relegated team – 2010
The 2009/2010 season was a special one for Tottenham under the leadership of Harry Redknapp as they qualified for the Champions League for the first time since 1962 – meanwhile, Portsmouth were entering administration and were relegated with a mere 19 points.
So what do we think happened when the pair clashed at Wembley in the FA Cup semi-final? Something utterly Spursy is the answer.
Yes, the Lilywhites blew their chance to reach the final of football’s oldest competition for the first time in nearly 20 years, falling to a 2-0 defeat after extra-time because of Freddie Piquionne and Kevin-Prince Boateng strikes.
First Division relegation – 1977
Keith Burkinshaw will always be remembered as one of the greatest Tottenham managers of all time, though it’s often forgotten that he led the North Londoners to their first relegation in over 30 years in 1977.
What makes this particularly Spursy is the fact that they had been in a European final just three years earlier and in the two seasons before that had lifted four trophies; the League Cup twice, the UEFA Cup and the Anglo-Italian League Cup Winners’ Cup.
What other teams in world football could be capable of such a dramatic and rapid fall from grace?
Tim Sherwood/Roberto Soldado incident – 2014
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From one of the best Spurs bosses to one of the worst in Tim Sherwood. All kinds of Spursy things happened during his reign in the second half of 2013/2014 and we’ve chosen this one as the Spursiest.
Following a hammering at Anfield in March 2014, it was alleged that Sherwood got so angry at misfiring striker Roberto Soldado that he punched him and a dressing-room scuffle between the pair ensued.
The incident was denied by various figures who were in the dressing room that day, however, as we are finding out, anything’s possible at Tottenham.
Bayern Munich 7-2 – 2019
This is one that should be at the forefront of your memory considering that it happened earlier this season.
Tottenham have never been ones for not letting something get out of hand and that was displayed wonderfully at the horrifically-named Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in early October when Bayern Munich smashed them 7-2, thanks in no small part to four second-half goals from ex-Gunner Serge Gnabry.
February/March woe – 2019
We come back to the 2018/2019 campaign now and despite the loss to Wolves, by the middle of February Tottenham had recovered with four Premier League victories on the spin to once again put pressure on the Reds and the Citizens at the top of the table.
You know Spurs, though, once they get a sniff of first place in the English top-flight they go into full-on self-destruct mode so it’s little surprise that, triggered by the defeat at struggling Burnley, Pochettino’s Spurs suffered a woeful February and March.
They slipped to four losses in five and nearly ended up missing out on the top four altogether, failing to win nine of their final 12 games.
Wasting the Gareth Bale money – 2013
Selling Gareth Bale at the end of the 2012/2013 term was always more of an inevitability for Spurs, as they were far from the European force they are nowadays..
It was always going to be about how they spent the £85.3m they received from Real Madrid for the Welshman and put it this way, they splashed out an obscene £56m of it on the duo of Erik Lamela and Roberto Soldado.
Doesn’t that tell you all you really need to know?
Third in a two-horse race – 2016
It should be impossible to finish third in a two-horse race but Tottenham made it happen during what was, to be fair, an overall bizarre 2015/2016 Premier League campaign.
For the majority of it, they had battled Leicester City at the top as it became clear relatively early on that one of them would end up lifting the Premier League trophy for the first time. When Spurs drew with Chelsea in the third from last match the Foxes were confirmed as champions, and the Lilywhites would then lose their last two outings, including an unfathomable 5-1 thrashing at relegated Newcastle, to allow Arsenal to sneak into second place.
The prospective takeover of Newcastle United by a Saudi-backed consortium has hit a new snag this week after the Times reported that “significant political obstacles” are holding up the sale – and supporters have been reacting to the news on Twitter.
One MP, Giles Watling, has called for a select committee to hold an evidence session on the Saudi-based piracy of British sport, which includes Premier League football.
If these reports are true, then it’ll be a little while longer before the deal gets ratified and officially confirmed.
It is thought that the takeover is worth around £300m and will be heavily funded by Mohammed bin Salman and the country’s Public Investment Fund alongside PCP’s Amanda Staveley and the Reuben brothers.
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Going by the reaction to the news, which was relayed by popular fan account @NUFC360, much of the Magpies faithful are growing increasingly tired of these hitches.
They ultimately just want Mike Ashley gone so they can enjoy a new sense of optimism under a fresh era in the northeast.
Here’s what has been said…
AND in other news, Newcastle fans react as Gareth Bale linked with move…
Tottenham Hotspur are likely to be involved in a heated transfer tussle this summer if fresh reports are to be believed.
According to the Mirror, Spurs are one of several Premier League teams chasing out-of-contract Liverpool star Adam Lallana.
The other clubs mentioned are Burnley, West Ham and arch-rivals Arsenal whilst it is claimed that Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester City are the front-runners to land him given it was the former Reds boss who signed him back in 2014.
Leicester, who sit third in the table, may also have Champions League football to call upon next term – something that Spurs are looking unlikely to be able to offer with them sat seven points adrift of the top four.
Although Lallana didn’t feature, he was named on the bench against the north Londoners when Jurgen Klopp’s side won the UCL for a sixth time last season.
The 32-year-old’s contract is set to expire at the end of the campaign and there have been no signs that fresh terms will be offered, therefore making him free to join another team this summer.
As per Spotrac, the English midfielder is reportedly on £110k-per-week at Anfield, so anyone wanting to clinch him may need to fork out a similar wage packet.
Lallana has been restricted to only 22 appearances in all competitions this season, playing a total of just 869 minutes – that’s under 40 minutes per match, via Transfermarkt.
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Spurs know their reality during the summer will be dealing in free transfers and swap deals, so a move for the versatile PL veteran could make sense.
However, Jose Mourinho has a wealth of options in midfield meaning that his arrival wouldn’t really do much other than giving the side some strength in depth.
It is unlikely that an ageing Lallana knocks club-record signing Tanguy Ndombele, Giovani Lo Celso, Harry Winks or Moussa Sissoko out of starting XI contention.
This is probably one Spurs should avoid.
AND in other news, Spurs fans torn by links to Philippe Coutinho…
Glasgow Rangers, just like the rest of Scottish football, will be keeping an eye on the court case involving Hearts, Partick Thistle and the SPFL this week.
Proceedings are set to start on Wednesday as the two clubs attempt to either remain in their respective divisions or receive compensation. This comes after they were relegated from the Premiership and the Championship respectively following the premature end to the season. Both were still well within a chance of staying up.
The SPFL, obviously, do not want to lose this battle. They have sent out a letter, signed by SPFL chief Neil Doncaster, which, according to both Hearts and Partick, is misleading and is also wrong. They have questioned the timing of it, as well.
The Gers have had run-ins with the governing body recently, and the supporters have taken to Twitter to share their anger – one fan even called Doncaster a “fraud”. You can see some of the best comments from the social media platform below.
Plymouth manager Ryan Lowe has been touted as one of the leading contenders for the managerial vacancy at Championship outfit Bristol City.
As per Plymouth Herald, the 41-year-old is the second favourite among several bookmakers to become Lee Johnson’s successor at Ashton Gate, with Chris Hughton currently believed to be in pole position for the role. Rangers boss Steven Gerrard and Newport County’s Michael Flynn are also high on the list of potential candidates with some bookmakers.
Lowe’s managerial stock has risen after winning promotion from League Two with Plymouth this year, taking the Pilgrims straight back into League One following their relegation in 2019. He has won more than half of his matches in charge at Home Park so far (24 out of 45), with an average of 1.8 points per game.
Indeed, the 41-year-old performed a similar feat at Bury last year, guiding them to an immediate return to League One before the club was expelled from the Football League last autumn for failing to provide sufficient evidence that they were able to meet its financial commitments.
Despite his successes at those two clubs, however, Lowe has never managed in the top two divisions in English football, while his record in League One shows just five wins from 22 matches – not the best audition for a job at a top-half Championship club.
In contrast to the Plymouth manager’s lack of second-tier experience, Hughton has twice been promoted from the Championship, taking Newcastle and Brighton into the Premier League over the past decade.
Bristol City may well opt for Hughton over Lowe, given the ex-Brighton manager’s track record of winning promotion from the Championship.
That would likely come as a great relief to the Plymouth faithful, with Lowe duly left to continue the excellent work he has done so far at Home Park. However, having also been linked with the Bolton job before they appointed Ian Evatt, don’t be surprised if his name is whispered among further managerial vacancies should Argyle make waves in League One next term.
Plymouth fans, how big a blow would it be if Lowe took a job at another club? Share your views in the comments section below!
Barcelona are keen to sign Tottenham ace Ryan Sessegnon this summer.
According to Sky Sports, Barca have asked Spurs about his availability, as they have admired him ever since his days at Fulham.
Barca scouts were in the stands to watch Sessegnon play in the 2018 Championship play-off final.
Those very scouts had kept a close eye on him throughout that season, as they turned up to watch him at Craven Cottage during arguably his best season to date.
The La Liga giants have continued to monitor his progress after he established himself as one of Europe’s hottest prospects at the early stage of his career.
Barca have been in communication via intermediaries over potential swap deals between the two sides this summer.
Sky Sports reported last month that the 26-time La Liga champions have offered Nelson Semedo and Samuel Umtiti to the Lilywhites in the hope of sorting out an exchange for Tanguy Ndombele and Ryan Sessegnon.
Sessegnon, 20, has struggled for consistency this season, although matters have been taken out of his hands.
His development has been restricted right from the start as he arrived at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with a hamstring injury that he picked up while away on international duty.
The youngster, who was once compared to former Spurs star Gareth Bale, has grown frustrated by a lack of chances, as he spent the entire time on the bench against Manchester United and West Ham, before being dropped for the games with Everton and Sheffield United.
He returned to the squad but did not feature at all against Bournemouth and Arsenal.
Jose Mourinho believes his best position is at full-back and has likened him to his old Chelsea favourite Ashley Cole, but he picked Dennis Cirkin in his place for the game with Everton.
Unsurprisingly, this didn’t go down very well with the England U21 international, who has every right to feel aggrieved.
Despite Mourinho’s best efforts, this lingering interest has shown no signs of going away anytime soon.
While Sessegnon is still a work in progress, he needs to be playing regularly to develop as a player, which is something the Portuguese cannot provide at this moment in time.
His versatility has actually compounded the problem, as Mourinho still hasn’t figured out where to play him, so Sessegnon may swap north London for the Nou Camp in order to improve his chances of being named in Gareth Southgate’s England squad for EURO 2020.
This could be bad news for the head coach as he has already fallen out with Kyle Walker-Peters. If Spurs continue to lose young prospects, Daniel Levy may grow uncomfortable with the situation, which does not bode well for the former Chelsea boss.
Tottenham fans, do you think Levy should let Sessegnon leave? Let us know down below!