All posts by z3u9t.icu

Having been allowed to leave Aston Villa on loan in the January transfer window, it’s fair to say Conor Hourihane is doing his best to remind those at his parent club why he should have been kept.

The Republic of Ireland international had struggled to get much game-time at Villa Park in the first half of the season in the Premier League, playing just 228 minutes of top-flight football before his departure for Swansea.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of a game against West Ham earlier this season, Villa manager Dean Smith was quick to acknowledge that it was difficult for Hourihane. He said: “Conversations can be difficult but if you’re just speaking to the players with honesty then you usually find a way through that.

“We’d played two, won two and Conor had come off in both games. We signed Ross and I felt we needed to go a different way against Liverpool given who we were playing against. I explained that to Conor and, yes, he was disappointed because he had been involved in the first two games but we felt we’d brought in a real, high-calibre, different type of player.”

Now on loan at the Liberty Stadium, Hourihane is underlining just what a talented player he is on his day, already racking up five goals in just 12 games in the Championship.

It’s no surprise that Steve Cooper, his manager at Swansea, has raved about the Irishman, saying: “He’s been so impressive from the day he’s come through the door, which wasn’t that long ago. I thought his composure and quality on the ball is what we want it to be. If that’s the start of things to come then happy days.”

Last summer, Villa journalist Dan Bardell waxed lyrical about the midfielder’s ability following an impressive performance in a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace towards the end of the 2019/20 season.

He said: “Whether you rate Conor (Hourihane) or whether you don’t, and obviously we’re two people that rate him highly, you can’t deny that when he’s on the pitch, we’ve looked better this season. And he’s a weapon from set pieces.

“The way he looks after the ball is very underrated as well. I think a lot of people take that for granted.”

Given how well he has performed for Swansea in the short time he has been there, and the troubles which Villa themselves have faced in recent weeks (they’ve managed just three goals in their past five games), Smith must surely be ruing letting the 1.81m-tall (5 foot 11) Hourihane leave in January.

Meanwhile, Villa are making a big mistake over signing this midfielder…

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Steve Howey, who made 270 appearances during his career, admits he is concerned by what is coming out of the Newcastle United dressing, especially from senior players.

The Magpies find themselves right in the thick of a relegation battle sitting just one place and two points above Fulham in 18th, who they face on the final day of the season.

After the Brighton defeat, Ciaran Clark came out and said the team weren’t up for the game, just after Ryan Fraser described the dressing room mood as the lowest it’s been.

Newcastle’s hierarchy ignored outcry and expectations to sack Steve Bruce after their 3-0 loss against their relegation rivals just before the international break, with some players even thinking Bruce had been sacked.

Speaking on what some Newcastle players have been saying and how being too honest could be a cause for concern, Howey told FFC:

“The whole thing is a concern. Fans aren’t stupid, but at the same time you’ve got to think, is a player being too honest for his own good?

“However, for Clark to come out and say what he did it’s maybe a little bit naive, which is surprising for him because he’s an international player and would’ve done those sorts of interviews before.

“It doesn’t sound good what is coming out of the dressing room and it makes you think, is there anybody in that dressing room that’s standing up and digging people out?”

It does not make for good reading on Tyneside, however, Bruce remains confident he is the man to guide Newcastle to safety.

Leeds United have been boosted in their attempts to sign Sampdoria defender Omar Colley, as the Whites eye up summer reinforcements.

Marcelo Bielsa already has a strong nucleus of centre-backs to call upon, with Liam Cooper, Diego Llorente, Robin Koch and Pascal Struijk all good current options.

That doesn’t seem to have deterred the Leeds manager from looking at other possible defensive additions, however, if recent reports are to be believed.

The Whites are thought to be lining up a move for Colley, with ClubDoria46 linking the 28-year-old with a switch to Elland Road on Tuesday.

[freshpress-quiz id=“351040″]

Leeds receive boost in bid to sign Colley

Now, TuttoMercatoWeb claim that he will be allowed to leave Sampdoria at the end of the season, also adding a second positive piece of news that he obtained a work permit in February, acting as a further boost for Leeds.

The Whites’ interest in Colley is again confirmed, stating that they are hovering ‘in the background’, looking to potentially seal a move for him.

Transfer Tavern take

Colley’s pedigree speaks for itself, with 25 caps to his name for The Gambia and 78 appearances for a prestigious Serie A club in Sampdoria.

Leeds’ interest is, therefore, undoubtedly exciting, but the main stumbling block is whether or not they need to spend money on a new centre-back.

The aforementioned quartet of options currently available to Bielsa are all at a good age, so using the funds on other positions, such as left-back, could be a more shrewd approach.

In other news, an ex-England striker believes Leeds need to improve in two areas of the pitch this summer. Read more here.

West Ham United manager David Moyes has emerged as a contender to become Celtic’s next manager.

That’s according to an exclusive report from Give Me Sport, who claim that the Hoops are ‘keen’ on a potential move for the Scot.

Moyes hasn’t stopped Celtic interest

The 57-year-old has led the Hammers to an unlikely push for Champions League football next season, with West Ham currently sitting fifth in the Premier League.

There have been suggestions Moyes, who is out of contract at the end of June, would be keen to extend his deal at the London Stadium. However, he hasn’t stopped Celtic from sounding him out as Neil Lennon’s potential long-term successor.

Transfer Tavern take

Appointing Moyes could well be a solid piece of business by Celtic, who will be looking to claim a 10th league title in 11 years next season.

Moyes has proven he has what it takes to lead transform a club over the last 15 months, averaging 1.51 points per game with the Hammers. However, his seven managerial stints average out to a somewhat disparaging 1.34 points per game.

West Ham were just a point off the relegation zone when Moyes arrived in the capital and he’s successfully rebuilt the Hammers with the help of several shrewd acquisitions.

Jesse Lingard and Tomas Soucek have been recent transfer masterstroke examples, and a rebuild at Parkhead seems likely after their disappointing campaign.

Several players will more than likely come and go over the summer, and having an experienced manager at the helm to help the squad gel could be vital.

Many Liverpool fans were excited to discover that their team are looking at bringing West Ham United defender Issa Diop to Anfield this month.

According to The Athletic, the 24-year-old is attracting interest from Merseyside amid their catastrophic injury outbreak in defence, with all four of their main options unavailable.

Diop has found himself out of favour this season, making just three Premier League starts and accumulating only 297 minutes of game time (Whoscored).

Both Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez have been ruled out for the foreseeable future for the Reds, while Joel Matip and Fabinho both picked up injuries before or during their 3-1 win against Tottenham on Thursday.

This leaves Liverpool with no established centre-backs to choose from, with the transfer window due to close in a matter of days.

Despite Diop’s lack of action this term, some supporters reacted in delight after the report emerged on Friday evening, with many making their feelings clear via @TheAnfieldTalk on Twitter. One supporter said it would be an “unbelievable” signing.

Diop links spark excitement

“Wouldn’t mind him actually”

Credit: @lfcfamz

“Taking him all day long”

Credit: @LFCfl_

“I’ll take him 100%”

Credit: @Alexlloyd1995

“Yes yes yes. Young, experienced and cheap”

Credit: @Kaspska171

“I like him, replacement Matip and Nat and Gomez and Lovren”

Credit: @kardphrom1

“This would be an unbelievable signing”

Credit: @Thiago6A

In other news, Rob Lee backs Liverpool to make huge January move – EXCLUSIVE.

After tasting defeat to Leicester last time out, Aston Villa take on fellow Premier League surprise packages Leeds United at Elland Road on Saturday afternoon.

Dean Smith’s side have just seen their momentum stall a little in recent weeks after that impressive 1-0 win over Arsenal, with a goalless draw against Brighton followed up by that disappointing 2-1 loss at home to Leicester last weekend.

With Villa still however very much in the hunt for a European spot next season, Smith is unlikely to make too many changes for Saturday’s clash, but could look to freshen things up, especially with a game against Sheffield United soon after.

And, with that in mind, below is a look at how the side might line up for the trip to Leeds.

In goal, Emiliano Martinez will be hoping to add to his tally of 12 Premier League clean sheets this season, with only Manchester City’s Ederson above him on that list.

Matty Cash’s injury meant Ahmed Elmohamady had to come in at right-back against the Foxes, and Smith was very critical of the Egyptian’s defending for one of the goals – the rest of the back-line should remain unchanged.

In midfield, Smith may finally look to unleash Morgan Sanson, after easing him into life in English football with a couple of substitute appearances. The Frenchman could replace the £52k-a-week earning Douglas Luiz in the engine room, with that of course being the change that he made with ten minutes to go against Leicester.

Further ahead, Ross Barkley’s poor form has surely warranted him being dropped from the starting line-up on Saturday, with 19-year-old Jacob Ramsey pushing for his first start in the Premier League since mid-December against Wolves.

Predicted XI: Martinez; Elmohamady, Konsa, Mings, Targett; Sanson, McGinn; Traore, Ramsey, El Ghazi; Watkins.

Scottish Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf has suggested Glasgow Rangers’ Old Firm clash could be postponed if he does not receive ‘absolute assurance’ over security concerns ahead of the game.

Yousaf drops Old Firm bombshell

The Gers are set to face their fierce city rivals Celtic on March 21st. The Gers have already wrapped up the Premiership title, but that is unlikely to take all of the tension out of the clash.

Speaking to the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland radio programme (via The Evening Standard), Yousaf said:

“We are at the most critical juncture in our fight against the virus and we cannot, simply will not, tolerate the scenes that we saw last weekend.

“And therefore if I cannot get absolute assurance, and the government cannot get absolute assurance, that we won’t see a repeat of such scenes or even worse things – potentially scenes of disorder involving groups of fans – then of course every option will be considered, that would include deferring the game.”

More threats

This is not the first time a member of the Scottish government has threatened football. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon previously said the campaign could be ended prematurely if clubs did not do more to avoid coronavirus outbreaks (The Guardian).

As the Gers’ status as champions was confirmed last week, thousands of supporters took to the streets to celebrate. Given there is no longer any competition to worry about, it is unlikely so many fans will go outside before, during or after the match.

In other news, Rangers fans react to this journalist’s tweet.

When you assess Wolves over the last few seasons, very rarely would you be able to fault their consistency.

However, the last few months have been torrid for Nuno Santo and his players. Following Raul Jimenez’s fractured skull, the Old Gold have won just two of their last nine outings. Clearly, change is needed.

On the chalkboard

Wolves’ performance against Everton lacked attacking threat, fluidity and most importantly, a solid defensive base.

One of the biggest reasons behind that was Nelson Semedo. A big transfer from Barcelona last summer, the Portuguese has rarely lived up to expectations.

Going forward, he is a ball of energy, but as he showed earlier this week he isn’t good enough defensively.

Semedo was given the run around by a vibrant Lucas Digne on Tuesday evening. The Wolves right-back endured a horrible night and as a result, it allowed the Everton defender to attempt as many as six crosses from the left flank.

Clearly, this wasn’t a good showing from the Wolves man because he was at fault for a goal too. He was caught out of position and thus, didn’t get tight enough to Digne. That allowed the left-back to put the ball on a plate for Alex Iwobi to score.

The solution

The sensible thing to do here is to drop Semedo. The 27-year-old may offer a lot in the final third, but Nuno’s team aren’t going to discover more consistency until they sharpen up defensively.

Consequently, young right-back Ki-Jana Hoever needs to deputise in defence on Saturday afternoon when they play West Brom.

The teenager is just 18 and only has one Premier League start under his belt, but he’s already shown in a big game this term that he has what it takes.

Hoever stood out at Old Trafford when Wolves suffered a late defeat to Manchester United, putting in an assured display next to club captain Conor Coady. Speaking at full-time, Birmingham Live reporter Alex Dicken claimed that he “didn’t put a foot wrong.”

Indeed, the Portuguese dealt with Marcus Rashford tremendously. The winger did eventually score but that was from the right-hand side, rather than the left.

Rashford was unsuccessful with five of his eight dribbles and didn’t supply a single cross. That was largely thanks to Hoever and Coady. The former won three tackles and six duels – the second most in the Wolves side for both statistics.

Described as a “fresh and potent” talent by Jeff Shi after signing from Liverpool, it’s that renewed freshness he alludes to that Wolves are longing for right now.

With Semedo putting in questionable displays defensively, Hoever simply has to start against the Baggies.

AND in other news, Shi can seal Wolves’ best signing since Jimenez with £16.9m gem once dubbed “ruthless”…

The British government have hope that the failed takeover of Newcastle United by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium can be resurrected.

As per The Guardian, high-level intermediaries are believed to be engaged in ongoing efforts to negotiate a compromise following the disputes between the Premier League and the Tyneside club.

Steve Bruce’s side made an official statement just a few days ago that confirmed that they have issued arbitration proceedings against England’s highest division, and it goes on to say that it is unclear as to when those proceedings would be resolved, given the approach of the English top flight and indeed its lawyers.

The Saudis reportedly remain as determined as ever in their pursuit to try and take the Magpies off of the hands of Mike Ashley, but it may not be as easy given the disputes between NUFC and the PL.

Can the Newcastle takeover be resurrected?

Indeed, there is still hope that the proposed takeover of Newcastle can be resurrected if their dispute with the league goes all the way to a court case.

If indeed they win that case, then the KSA group may decide to re-submit their bid, and thus grow closer to being the new owners at St. James’ Park.

In other news, find out what would make the Saudis re-submit their takeover bid here!

If anything summed up Wolves’ last few weeks, it was their performance against Burnley on Monday evening.

Without Raul Jimenez, Nuno Santo’s men struggled in front of goal and ultimately, fell to a 2-1 defeat.

The concerning part of this was that they couldn’t even blame their formation. It was a four-man backline that saw them suffer back to back defeats to Liverpool and Aston Villa but on this occasion, Nuno went with his tried and tested three-man defence.

It was a strange XI with the likes of Rayan Ait-Nouri and Owen Otasowie given rare starts. They didn’t do much to vindicate their selection with Fabio Silva coming off the bench and nearly rescuing a dejected Wolves side.

Defensively, they were absolutely bullied by the high ball of Burnley who hit them on the counter-attack and scored two sweeping goals.

A large part of the poor defensive performance was down to Romain Saiss, someone who was caught out of position and in no man’s land for Ashley Barnes’ opener.

Even worse than him, though, was Max Kilman. The defender has enjoyed a breakthrough season at Molineux but unfortunately, this was one of his poorest displays to date.

Playing at right centre-back, his communication with skipper Conor Coady was clearly lacking. He didn’t step up at the correct times which allowed Burnley to get in behind on a few occasions.

Kilman struggled with the speed of the Clarets’ counter but also with the high balls, winning just one of the six duels he contested throughout the tie. That meant the youngster lost a colossal 83.6% of his tackles and headers.

For a Wolves defence that prides itself on playing from the back, his passing was also poor, amassing a success rate of only 76%. Furthermore, Kilman made two fouls which allowed Burnley to gather precious time in the closing moments of the clash.

The 23-year-old has rarely put a foot wrong since being thrust into the first-team but this was a concerning performance, one that will leave Nuno rather annoyed.

With competition for places at the back fiercely competitive in this Wolves side, he will have to show improvement.

AND in other news, Nuno made a colossal Wolves blunder over “exciting” £40.5m star…