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Sunderland fans have voiced their opinion over owner Stewart Donald deactivating his Twitter account amidst his search for a new manager and the reports that he wants to sell the club.

Donald sacked manager Jack Ross last week with the club sitting ninth in League One after 11 games. Whilst his search for a new manager is still ongoing, the Black Cats owner has also been trying to sell the club to American-based MSD Partners for the last few weeks.

Ultimately, as is the case with social media, this has resulted in harsh remarks and negative opinions which has consequently forced him to close down his Twitter account. Donald was very active on social media, as he used it in a way to engage with fans like very few owners do in the modern era. Sadly, some fans clearly took this for granted and have tarnished what was a positive relationship between fan and owner.

Sunderland set to become “the richest club in England”? Get the latest on the Black Cats’ takeover situation in the video below…

Unfortunately, it is probably for the best with the social media world usually causing more harm than good for professionals within the football world. The passionate, fickle nature of this sport will always find a way to round up and glorify the negatives over the positives. With this in mind, it is best Donald keeps himself away from this and focuses on what is best for him, the fans and, most importantly, the club.

There are other ways in which he can communicate with the fans, like through the club’s officials channels. But ultimately, this is a sad situation, as an owner tried to be honest and transparent and give what he could to the supporters.

Here’s what some have had to say about the situation…

BBC Sport pundit Chris Sutton has slammed Miguel Almiron for his play-acting after the Paraguayan was shown a second yellow card for simulation while representing his country in a friendly with Serbia last week.

What’s he said?

Almiron was handed a role in midfield against Serbia by manager Eduardo Berizzo last Thursday, as Paraguay went in search of only their second win in any competition since before this summer’s Copa America.

Paraguay were held to two draws and two defeats at this summer’s competition, before being beaten by Japan and Jordan during the September international break.

Their run of results did not change against Serbia, either, and the 1-0 defeat was followed by a 1-1 draw with Slovakia on Sunday night – without Almiron in the squad.

Almiron was suspended for the friendly encounter with Slovakia after receiving two yellow cards against Serbia, the second of which came after referee Nejc Kajtazovic deemed the 25-year-old to have simulated contact 11 minutes after first showing the 22-cap ace a yellow card.

It was the second sending off of Almiron’s international career, and came in the fourth straight international game in which he has failed to score or assist a goal.

The Asuncion-born playmaker has not scored or assisted a goal in any of his 18 Newcastle outings to date, either, and former Blackburn Rovers striker Sutton has slated Almiron for his record and apparent diving.

Speaking on BBC 606 on Sunday, October 13, one-time England international Sutton said:

“Miguel Almiron has more dives than goals this season. He’s not scored. He goes top of the table [for dives]. You are better than that Almiron.

“What’s going on with players? What’s going on with [the] country? They’re not listening. You are better than that, Almiron! Let’s see goals, let’s see goals! Let’s not see dives! Let’s not see the simulation.”

Frustrations are well placed

Sutton’s frustrations with Almiron’s antics are very much well placed.

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Despite arriving at Newcastle mid-way through the 2018/19 campaign, Almiron ended the term ninth for key passes among the United squad with 13 and tenth for shots with 19, per data collected by WhoScored, but none led to a goal.

His story in Black and White has continued this season, as well, with Almiron yet to score or assist, while he ranks 11th for key passes among the squad and 18th for passing accuracy.

His diving, of course, has grabbed headlines and Sutton is right; he needs to hit the goal trail soon, or his play acting will continue to be the centre of attention.

Manchester City claimed a much-needed 2-0 victory at the weekend against Crystal Palace in their bid to keep pushing Liverpool at the top, with ‘keeper Ederson putting on a monumental display. 

Pep Guardiola’s men, thanks to first-half strikes from Gabriel Jesus and David Silva, were well on their way to victory – but shot-stopper Ederson was called upon a few times to save City from a nervy second period.

The Brazilian, when needed, was always on hand to palm away stinging efforts from the likes of Christian Benteke and Wilfried Zaha – with this spectacular stop from the former prompting huge praise.

Mid-way through the second half, Benteke rose for a Palace corner and headed a spectacular effort towards goal – forcing the former Benfica star to tip the ball on to the crossbar with a magnificent outstretched hand.

Understandably, City supporters are grateful for the moment of heroism, describing the keeper’s save in one word as per the club’s official tweet:

This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Leeds have missed Pablo Hernandez in recent weeks.

Make no mistake about it, the Spaniard is a key component in Marcelo Bielsa’s squad and the team just doesn’t tick in the same way when the 34-year-old isn’t on the pitch.

The Whites haven’t scored more than one goal in a game since the two-time Player of the Year winner was injured against Derby, and they will be glad to have him back once he has recovered.

However, his return will bring about another dilemma for Marcelo Bielsa.

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Bielsa’s dilemma

Marcelo Bielsa’s dilemma spawns from the EFL’s rules on loan players.

The laws state that a Championship team can only have five loan players in their squad, and with Leeds having six loanees at the club, Bielsa has to make a decision on who will miss out.

At the beginning of the campaign it was Jack Clarke who missed out, but after Hernandez’s injury, he was brought back into the matchday squad at the expense of Illan Meslier.

Now with the Spaniard’s return looming, the gaffer has another decision to make regarding those two.

Why being the away goalkeeper at Leeds is the toughest job in football in the video below…

Meslier or Clarke?

Really you have to weigh up who is the more effective player to have on the bench, the electric winger who was valued by Spurs this summer at £10m, or the backup goalkeeper?

This choice should be a simple one for Bielsa, Meslier is rarely going to be used off of the bench, and Kamil Miazek could easily fill that role of substitute keeper for if Kiko Casilla is ever injured or sent off.

That isn’t to say that Miazek should be second-choice either.

If Casilla does have a prolonged injury or suspension, Meslier would probably be the one to start in his absence given he’s been starting for the U23s. However, ‘keepers are so rarely subbed on that excluding Clarke from the squad so that the Frenchman is on the bench is just counter-intuitive.

The winger is an exciting player and the way he burst onto the scene with a goal against Aston Villa last season sums that up. He’s exactly the type of footballer you’d want to bring on with 15 minutes to go to run at a tired defence.

In 2018/19, out of four goal contributions, just one of them came when he was starting. That shows how big an influence he can be late in a game and why he must be kept on the bench even when Hernandez is back in the squad.

Some Sunderland fans have been discussing where the Black Cats are heading after one supporter raised the question: Who are we?

The Wearside outfit find themselves eighth in League One after the opening 14 games of the season, and are already eight points behind first-placed Ipswich Town having fallen short of promotion in the Play-Off Final last term.

Reaching the Play-Offs brought a halt to the Stadium of Light natives rapid decline from the Premier League, having fallen out of the top-flight and Championship in successive seasons.

Sunderland had been a mainstay of the Premier League for ten years before their relegation in 2017, and now face a long way back to the top of the English football pyramid.

The Black Cats current owners Stewart Donald and Charlie Methven are intent on seeing that Sunderland return to the Premier League, but will not provide the financial resources to compete with the top clubs in the country.

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Instead, Donald claimed in May that Sunderland should look to be the Borussia Dortmund of England, as the Bundesliga side challenge Bayern Munich on the field without outspending their Bavarian rivals, while living up to the values of their supporters.

Sunderland have also invested in the Academy of Light after being forced to make some cuts last term as a result of their League One status, with former head coach Jack Ross noting that rebuilding the spirit there during his time in charge was done so ‘under the most challenging circumstances’.

But which way are Sunderland heading? Here are some of the messages shared…

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Paul Robinson has slammed Richarlison for going down following minimal contact in the recent 1-1 draw against Tottenham Hotspur.

What did he say?

The former Watford man was seen to take a tumble a few times in the match. On one occasion, Richarlison went down from a Serge Aurier interception, when there was no contact at all.

Robinson told Football Insider when asked if he has the tag of a diver: “Yeah, you don’t want to be given that tag and Richarlison does go down too easily.

“There were times in the game yesterday where he went down with minimal contact and he was on the ground looking for free-kicks.

“And if you get a tag like that as a player, referees obviously see that tag as well, so it may get you a few decisions early on but referees once they know you have a reputation, you tend to get less and less decisions your way, and let’s say referees will be less lenient towards you as they probably think he dived first instead of thinking oh that’s a foul.”

A bad reputation

Earlier on in the year, Sky Sports pundit Charlie Nicholas also took a dig at Richarlison for diving. The Scot said after Everton’s 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace on the opening weekend: “van Aanholt was sliding it but he actually doesn’t touch him. He went down very, very softly. He should have booked Richarlison.”

The last thing the Brazilian is going to want to do is to get a reputation. Referees, especially with VAR, will look out for his antics and won’t hesitate in showing a yellow card if his questionable antics persist.

Marco Silva needs to have a sit down with Richarlison and kick this out of his game.

The 22-year-old is too important to the side to miss through suspension, should he get booked from diving.

Arsenal fans on Twitter have been paying tribute to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang after the striker netted his 50th goal for the club on Saturday.

The Gabonese forward’s landmark goal came against Wolves in the first half as he netted from close range.

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Unfortunately, Aubameyang’s goal wasn’t enough to earn Arsenal the win, and while supporters will be disappointed with the full-time result, the fanbase were pleased to see the attacker hit this figure.

It didn’t take him long to get to 50, did it? The striker arrived in January 2018, and just 20 months later he’s bagged a half-century.

During his time at the Gunners, he’s won a Premier League Golden Boot, and he’ll have his eye on another one this season after bagging his eighth league goal of the campaign.

Aged 30, it may be tough for the former Borussia Dortmund star to get to 100 goals for the Gunners, but fans were just enjoying the fact that he’d hit his 50th.

Here’s what supporters of the London club have been saying on Twitter…

A lot of Manchester City fans have taken to Twitter to express their desire to see Tommy Doyle start against Atalanta.

The academy graduate put in a fantastic display on his debut against Southampton in the EFL Cup not long ago.

Doyle made two key passes and completed all four dribbles successfully, amongst other impressive statistics in a glowing performance. As a result of such a great performance, the youngster has certainly established himself as one to watch in the future.

Pep Guardiola has used the Champions League games so far to field some of the upcoming talents.

Phil Foden has played in two of the European games so far, where he has scored and assisted. However, now fans seem to have another youth star on their minds.

One supporter said he is “begging for a Tommy Doyle start”, whilst other fans have touched on the importance of resting star players for the huge clash with Liverpool.

City are close to going through now having claimed the maximum nine points so far and one fan suggested it is a “great opportunity” for the youngster to start.

Doyle joins the likes of Foden and Eric Garcia who have impressed for the Guardiola the past 12 months.

It will surely get the City faithful cheering should some of their own step out again, and it seems a lot of them want Doyle to start this evening.

Here’s what they’ve had to say…

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Gerard Pique is a man torn between multiple things in life. Of course, football is a major part of it but when talking to El Pais Semanal (via Marca) just recently, Barcelona’s defender admitted he barely has time to tend to everything because he’s too busy. Apparently, the club don’t think it’s a problem but they definitely should.

What did he say?

Pique is still a huge figure in the Blaugrana squad and will probably remain one for a number of years still.

But he is also a big businessman and a guy who has big ties with the world of tennis as well.

His Kosmos company is in charge of the new Davis Cup format and Pique had recently made a surprise trip to Orlando without his coach’s permission so he could tend to a meeting that was taking place there.

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This went hand in hand with his latest words for El Pais Semanal when he admitted things are going out of hand and that he barely gets five hours of sleep because of all the things he has to do.

Here’s what he said in full:

“I barely get four or five hours of sleep. There’s not enough time for everything. The club understand and there are no problems. I dedicate my spare time to what I like.”

A problem after all

Even though the defender clearly believes he is entitled to do whatever he wants in his spare time, he’s failing to realise how it could harm the club in the long run.

Pique has been one of the players in the squad whose form has fluctuated a bit, rising and dropping throughout the season as the centre-back has been largely inconsistent in his displays.

We can see that much in WhoScored’s rating system with his average standing at 6.77 in La Liga but going as low as 6.08 or as high as 7.45 in certain games.

Of course, the club cannot really control him outside of the pitch, at least not in such a measure, but if his trips and other responsibilities are hurting his performances, then it suddenly does become Barcelona’s problem after all.

And especially if he goes against the words of his coach and behind his back, as was reported by Sport back in September.

Of course, Valverde himself stated that he has no problem with Pique but clearly, football is not at the centre of his attention anymore and this could be a huge problem for the team moving forward.

He is one of the captains of the club and a La Masia student; a veteran whose image and behaviour should be a model for the younger generations, but these words seem unprofessional and his attitude unacceptable.

Maybe it’s not a huge issue at the moment but with him torn between jobs and commitments, it could very well spiral out of control pretty soon.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Former Sunderland player Josh Maja has stated that he would have remained at the club last January had he been given a new and improved contract.

What did he say?

The 20-year-old left for France last season after scoring 16 league goals in the early part of the season, a move which had a big impact on the Black Cats’ promotion hopes.

However, it could have been a much different story according to the striker, as he revealed he wanted to stay in the north-east and continue playing for the club – if he was on an improved deal.

From his perspective, the 5 foot 11 attacker had six months remaining on his contract and as one of the most promising prospects to come out of the club in recent years it is understandable that he thought he deserved to be earning more, particularly as he had been one of Jack Ross’ better players.

Speaking to the Sunderland Echo, he said: “I wanted to stay. Given the right contract, I would have stayed.

“But at the time, I don’t think Sunderland were prepared to give me what I wanted so when the opportunity to play in one of Europe’s top five leagues came up, I couldn’t turn that down.

“It wasn’t an easy decision, but it was one which to improve my career and my game I think I had to make.”

The move to a bigger club and a chance to test himself against some of the best players in Europe is an opportunity not many would turn down, and since it has worked out rather well for him thus far – with two goals in 12 games this term – fans shouldn’t begrudge his decision.

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Mistake by Sunderland

Maja may have been given his chance by the Black Cats but he was more than repaying the faith shown in him at the time of his exit, yet there was no acceptable option on the table for him to extend his contract.

That means that he is not solely to blame for his own departure. Another former Sunderland player, Victor Anichebe, agrees that it was the fault of those at the club for allowing his departure, as he admits that tying him down for the long-term was something that should have happened a while before he left.

For the board, £1.5m was a decent fee for a player who could have departed for nothing a few months later, and they may have thought that the blow of him leaving would have been softened by the arrival of Will Grigg.

However, the signing of the Northern Ireland international simply hasn’t worked out, and now the team is suffering as a result.

Grigg has scored just seven goals for Sunderland and lacks the dynamism of Maja, who was capable of scoring great goals of his own making.

The fact that he wanted to stay almost makes last January’s transfer dealings unforgivable, as with Maja in the team they may have been able to maintain the push to the automatic spots last term, and avoid the situation they’re in currently.

Stewart Donald and the board are partly to blame for that, especially if they refused to spend the extra money in order to guarantee his stay.