All posts by h716a5.icu

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Former Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher believes that Tottenham Hotspur could be destined to win the Champions League, per BBC Sport.

What’s he said?

Spurs came from 3-0 down on aggregate to beat the Dutch giants in Amsterdam, with Lucas Moura scoring a phenomenal hat-trick.

His hat-trick goal, of course, came in the 96th minute, sending fans into something approaching delirium, and confirming that they will play Liverpool in the final in Madrid.

And Fletcher believes that Spurs’ run could be proof that destiny is playing a part in their run to the showpiece.

Indeed, they took just one point from their opening three games of the group stages but beat Inter Milan and PSV Eindhoven before securing a vital point away to Barcelona. A 4-0 aggregate thumping of Borussia Dortmund was followed by an amazing away goal triumph over Manchester City, in which Raheem Sterling saw an injury-time winner ruled out.

And then, of course, came Ajax. Fletcher, then, insists that Liverpool will be wary of this Spurs team in Spain.

He said: “Liverpool will think Spurs are more destined to win it than them. Liverpool were the better team over their two legs and in their other matches they have sailed through to the final.

“But Spurs have scraped and battled through. They went to Manchester City and got hammered but nicked three goals and it almost feels like it is their destiny more than Liverpool’s.

“I still think Liverpool will back themselves. They have beaten Spurs twice already this season, but for me there is just something about Spurs’ run that is different to Liverpool’s.

“Liverpool’s comeback was fantastic, you couldn’t believe what they did against Barcelona, but Spurs just seem to be finding a way, scraping their way to the final.”

Written in the stars

Liverpool have often spoken about destiny as they attempt to win the Premier League title.

But Fletcher might be right.

It really does feel as though there is something special about this Spurs team and their victories in the knockout stages have been nothing short of astonishing.

Few would bet against them going one step further in the final but they face perhaps their toughest opponent so far.

Liverpool offer a potent cocktail of pace, power, tactical assiduity and also have some brilliant individuals.

But Spurs’ run will have sparked some genuine belief in north London. They have the momentum, after all.

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With Southampton’s season pretty much concluded with the draw against Bournemouth at St Mary’s Stadium last month, attention will inevitably turn towards the summer window, with some futures hanging in the balance and others surely being lined up with a move to the south coast.

Perhaps switching focus to last summer, when the Saints were so close to signing one of the brightest, young English prospects around, is more interesting though.

James Maddison snubbed a move to Mark Hughes’ Southampton in favour of Leicester, with whom he has shone this season.

The midfielder has taken to the Premier League like a duck to water, connecting the dots between midfield and attack, oscillating in front of the defence in search of pockets of space and finding the net with a notable level of regularity. Soon he could be on the move again, with a number of top sides surely impressed by his exploits during his maiden campaign.

Southampton fans are often made to mourn the players that have departed the club, with the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Sadio Mane, Adam Lallana and more recently Dusan Tadic having gone on to achieve great things since seeking pastures new, although they may now be anguished by a player who never even made it to St Mary’s Stadium.

Most would love to have the 22-year-old in their ranks and some of the Saints faithful are no different, although perhaps they should be counting the failed swoop as a blessing – had Maddison signed, it’s unlikely they would ever have seen the rejuvenated James Ward-Prowse.

The 24-year-old has been a different beast since Ralph Hasenhuttl took the helm but particularly in 2019, with his goals from midfield earning him a spot in Gareth Southgate’s England squad ahead of the aforementioned Maddison, and his efforts from range putting stars in Saints fans’ eyes.

Like so many of his teammates, the number 16 has stepped up massively in the past few months and has impressed with his versatility, but it’s difficult to envisage a side featuring both Ward-Prowse and Maddison working in tandem.

Has Jack Stephens unfarily been made a scapegoat at Southampton? The Ugly Inside discusses in the video below…

Both players’ greatest strengths lie in their playmaking abilities and neither would shine to the extent they have at their respective clubs if they shared a pitch week-in week-out, while you could also argue that Maddison doesn’t have the legs or steel to succeed in Hasenhuttl’s high-octane approach.

These Saints fans have been drooling over the resurgent Ward-Prowse since January, but they might not have been arguing his case for a Three Lions call-up when Southgate initially left the free-kick wizard out if Maddison, who signed for Leicester in a rumoured £20 million deal, moved to the south coast instead last summer:

There is little doubt that Maddison would have been the perfect type of number 10 for Hasenhuttl to mould into a top player but, with the likes of Yan Valery, Jan Bednarek, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Ward-Prowse showing outstanding potential under the Austrian, there will be another Maddison at St Mary’s Stadium in no time.

Here’s hoping that they can keep whoever it is out of Liverpool’s clutches.

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Speaking on talkSPORT (May 14), former England manager Sam Allardyce has handed out a piece of free advice to Leeds United on what they should do if they are promoted to the Premier League.

Big Sam believes that the club must learn from the mistakes made by newly promoted sides in recent years by spending their windfall wisely.

What’s been said then?

The experienced manager believes that Leeds should spend their transfer budget this summer on a small number of quality players rather than splashing out on a brand new squad.

“I think you look at the spend of Fulham and Huddersfield. Huddersfield managed to stay for one season and then failed miserably. Fulham went past £100m and failed,” Allardyce said (Via HITC).

“You have the fans and then you have the owners, and then the owner and manager. If you’re looking at relegation are the owners going to stick by the manager to bring them back?

“You’ve got to try and put together a team and buying 10 players who don’t know each other won’t work. If I had £120m I would spend the money on four or five players that were quality, not 10.”

Absolutely right

If only more promoted clubs would listen to Allardyce. The 64-year-old is a master of keeping teams in the Premier League for a reason, and Leeds must heed this advice.

The Whites can’t follow in Fulham’s example by splurging their cash on a long list of inexperienced players.

Bielsa has already transformed this group of players from mid-table level talent to genuine promotion contenders, and there’s no reason he can’t push a lot of them further.

The Argentine must stick with his core players while finding great replacements in the areas that need improving if his side are promoted to the Premier League.

The likes of Kalvin Phillips, Liam Cooper and Kemar Roofe look ready-made for a shot at the big time, whilst other areas of the squad certainly need improving.

When Arsenal signed Bernd Leno last summer from Bayer Leverkusen, not many fans expected their new man between the sticks to be this good.

Although clean sheets have been few and far between for the Gunners this season, mainly in large part to a defence that have more holes than Swiss cheese, Leno has been an overwhelming success in his debut year in north London, firmly establishing himself as the club’s number one for years to come and a fan favourite at Arsenal.

The German international has done well to win plaudits in the Premier League this season since the move, but rumours are starting to circulate that Unai Emery is already on the look for a new keeper this summer, and this should worry supporters.

According to Plaza Deportiva, the Gunners are interested in Valencia keeper Neto, who is likely to be sold this summer after an impressive season with the La Liga team, conceding 34 goals in 34 league games for Marcelino’s team.

The 29-year-old, who is valued at £16.2 million on Transfermarkt, has been a success since his move to Valencia from Juventus two years ago, and although Neto would be a quality addition to Arsenal as a backup for the retiring Petr Cech, Emery will be foolish to move in for the goalkeeper.

With a reported release clause of £70 million, Neto is way too expensive for what Arsenal have to play with this summer, and with other positions of the team needing to be improved such as the aforementioned defence, splashing a ridiculous amount of funds on a player the club don’t really need will be a foolish move from the Gunners transfer committee.

There’s no doubt had Leno not been as good as he has been this season the prospect of signing Neto would be an enticing one for Arsenal fans, but with the German doing so well and Valencia demanding too much for their keeper, Emery must look elsewhere for that backup shot-stopper the club need this summer.

Arsenal fans, how much should the club sell on a backup keeper this summer? Let us know!

Neil Lennon being offered the permanent job at Celtic reeks of Peter Lawwell and the Parkhead board taking the easy option. The Hoops know that Lennon can win silverware, and he’s proven that before, but they run the risk of being caught by Rangers if funds aren’t made available in the next couple of months of the transfer window.

The next two or three years are going to be massive for Celtic. Scott Brown, Mikael Lustig, Craig Gordon, Emilio Izaguirre, Jonny Hayes and Scott Sinclair are coming to the end of their time at Parkhead and will need to be replaced over the next few years, which can only be done if adequate funds are made available for Lennon to go out and splash in the market.

Then there’s the threat that Rangers are providing. The Gers may not be in a position to challenge next season for the Scottish Premier League title, but should Lennon be left to feed off of scraps in the market then ten in a row will be monumentally harder, and it was never going to be easy to begin with. Steven Gerrard will be eyeing up title #55 to prevent ten in a row, and it cannot be allowed to happen.

Lennon won’t exactly need a war chest to match the fees spent by the European giants this summer, but making funds available to finally replace Moussa Dembele and bring in some new fresh faces will be imperative if the club wants success. Glasgow has been green and white for a long time and the way football is going to keep it that way it will cost money, which the Parkhead higher-ups will all know, so making it happen is going to be crucial.

Celtic fans, do you think Lennon will have any cash to splash this summer? Let us know, comment below!

Bellerin has spent a large part of the season injured. He has been at Arsenal so long that this post seems genuine – he truly does want the best for the Arsenal fans.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles is tagged in the post with Bellerin praising him, but in truth he was poor against Chelsea, getting caught out in position for the first goal and giving away a needless penalty.

Going forward, he looked dangerous but had no end product.

Arsenal will reflect on a disappointing season with much work needing to be done in the summer if the Gunners are to really push for the top four next year.

The only thing that could make Arsenal’s season worse is a Tottenham Champions League win on Saturday.

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Leeds fans finally received the news they have been waiting for on Thursday after it was announced that Marcelo Bielsa would be staying on as manager for the 2019/20 season.

There had been much speculation about the Argentine’s future at the club due to his tendency to walk away from jobs after a short period.

Andrea Radrizzani has done an incredible job in convincing the Argentine to stay, but the update on Bielsa’s contract may bring more good news for the Yorkshire club in the future.

Promises been made

The 63-year-old isn’t one to stay at a club if he believes he won’t be able to do his job to the best of his ability.

He has walked away from more lucrative roles than Leeds United in the past due to clashes with the board and due to failure in the transfer window.

The United chairman must’ve made some serious promises to Bielsa regarding the upcoming transfer window to make him sign on the dotted line for another 12 months.

Transfer window

The Yorkshire club certainly have only one aim for next term, and that is promotion.

To go up, they will need to strengthen in key positions with the right players. The former Marseille boss wouldn’t have chosen to stick around if he thought he was heading into next season with a weaker squad.

Whether that means vital players such as Kalvin Phillips and Kemar Roofe will be retained, or that rumoured targets such as Dwight Gayle and Callum O’Dowda will be secured remains to be seen, but you can bank on Leeds lining up with a stronger XI next season.

Bielsa could have easily walked away, but he feels there is unfinished business at the club and that can only be resolved if the Whites are promoted to the Premier League.

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West Ham United have completed the signing of goalkeeper David Martin from Millwall, the club have confirmed, leaving fans remarkably underwhelmed.

Manuel Pellegrini’s side have secured the signing of the stopper on a two-year deal, with the option to extend it for a further year. He will officially move on July 1st.

Martin is perhaps best known for his spell at MK Dons, for whom he played between 2010 and 2017.

The son of West Ham legend Alvin Martin, he has also been on the books at Liverpool and was with the Anfield club between 2006 and 2010. He never played for the club in the Premier League, however, and took in loan spells at Accrington Stanley, Leicester City, Tranmere Rovers, Leeds United and Derby County.

Supporters have subsequently been left somewhat disappointed by the deal, especially considering they completed a deal for another goalkeeper, Roberto, just a few days ago.

Take a look at the best of the reaction below!

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Speaking to Football Insider, Noel Whelan has named Jamie Shackleton as Leeds United’s most promising youngster ahead of Jack Clarke.

The 19-year-old made 21 appearances for the first team last season, and the BBC Radio pundit has clearly been impressed by what he has seen.

Shackleton’s performances last term also saw him called up to England’s U20 squad for the first time.

What’s been said then?

The 44-year-old has been getting excited about Shackleton based on his performances this season.

The youngster has been utilised as both a right-back and a central midfielder by Marcelo Bielsa this year. His versatility has drawn praise from the 44-year-old who is impressed by how well-rounded he is as a player.

Jamie Shackleton is the standout young player at Leeds, for me,” Whelan told Football Insider. “I know everyone is talking about Jack Clarke, but Shackleton is better than Clarke, who doesn’t make the same impact.

“Shackleton is an all-round player who has a bit of everything. He ticks more boxes than Clarke, who is an out-and-out winger, and is going to be a really important player for Leeds next season.

“Shackleton can play in different areas of the pitch, drive the team forward, win the ball, see a pass, beat a player, he can do most things really well. I’m getting really excited about what he can achieve.”

Popular opinion

This seems to be a popular opinion amongst Leeds United circles.

Phil Hay recently shared the same sentiment when he appeared on the Square Ball podcast (May 28, 39:00), and some supporters on Twitter have said the same thing.

Undoubtedly, Shackleton won over a number of spectators with his incredible performance against Derby in the playoff semi-final first leg, as well as his composed debut for the England U20s.

This isn’t to say that Clarke isn’t a fantastic player either, but Shackleton seems to just be edging it for the right to be called Leeds’ most promising youngster.

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