All posts by z3u9t.icu

Two weeks ago it looked as though Roy Keane was set to be presented to the Celtic supporters as the Bhoys’ new manager.

However, after that move fell through, Eddie Howe has been at the height of Dermot Desmond’s agenda.

What’s the word?

The pendulum is swinging once again when it comes to uncovering the new manager of Celtic.

Howe had been the favourite over the last week but news emerged on Wednesday courtesy of his representatives that he wouldn’t be moving into a new job before the summer at the very earliest.

In a big twist to the tale, it was reported on the same day that the Hoops hierarchy have a new name they’d like to think that about; Lucien Favre.

Football Insider claim that Celtic are assessing the Swiss coach in case Howe rejects their offer.

Favre was reportedly interested in discussing the role with the Glaswegian side a few weeks ago but it wasn’t clear what their stance on the former Borussia Dortmund manager was.

Fresh information reveals they are indeed considering him, however.

Howe vs Favre

Howe’s managerial career has been a fairytale story so far. The 43-year-old took the Cherries from the brink of extinction in League Two to a team now full to the brim with Premier League television revenue.

His journey with the south-coast side is like something you’d see in a film, but it’s hard to ignore Favre’s exploits too.

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Indeed, supporters should be drooling over the impact he could potentially have at Parkhead.

He may have been sacked from his role with Borussia Dortmund last December but his win rate is something to marvel at. During his stint in the Rhine, the 63-year-old won 61.82% of his matches.

That’s an eye-catching number for a manager who tasted defeat just 24 times in 110 games as manager.

Defensively well-organised, he also likes his teams to attack. Only Bayern Munich (100) scored more goals than Dortmund (84) in last season’s Bundesliga for instance.

As for Howe, the differences are night and day. He might be pragmatic on the training field but the fact of the matter is that he’s never recorded a win rate over the 50% mark.

He is, of course, still a young coach, but with Celtic going through a transition period the experience of Favre might be preferable.

Favre has also gone deep in continental competition, a further string to his bow that puts him above Howe on the pedestal.

With all that said, the twist that Favre is being assessed by the hierarchy should be music to the ears of supporters.

AND in other news, Left for £0, now worth £63m: Celtic will rue rash call on “unbelievable” £100k-p/w gem…

Jose Mourinho will need to get his tactics spot on if he’s to put a stop to Tottenham Hotspur’s abysmal week as they head to Aston Villa in the Premier League this evening.

After being defeated in the North London derby, Spurs were embarrassingly knocked out of the Europa League by Dinamo Zagreb despite going into the second leg with a two-goal advantage.

Aside from the Carabao Cup final, Mourinho’s side only have European places to contend for, so a victory tonight would not only alleviate some pressure but also keep the side below them further adrift.

Mourinho has plenty to consider, with injuries and suspensions throwing in a few unneeded curveballs, so here’s our predicted Spurs XI ahead of kickoff tonight…

We’re expecting there to be as many as six changes from the side that tasted defeat in the Croatian capital on Thursday.

Club captain Hugo Lloris launched a scathing attack on his teammates for their performance in midweek, dubbing them a “disgrace,” and he’ll need to motivate his side from between the sticks once more.

Only Serge Aurier and Davinson Sanchez should remain in the back four, with veteran Toby Aldwereireld and Sergio Reguilon likely to come in for Eric Dier and Ben Davies, who both endured shockers in the Europa League.

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Mourinho will be able to welcome back Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in midfield having missed the Zagreb trip through suspension, and that’ll be a big boost as he’s widely regarded as a ‘captain without the armband.’

He will slot back in alongside Tanguy Ndombele, meaning both out-of-sorts Englishman Harry Winks and the £90k-per-week earning Moussa Sissoko are axed from the lineup.

Whilst Giovani Lo Celso got through his cameo on Thursday unscathed and could be in line to start for the first time in 2021.

The Argentine playmaker should get the nod over Dele Alli.

There’s also a big call to make over Gareth Bale, especially with Heung-min Son still ruled out through injury.

After failing to impress in the North London derby – being withdrawn after just 57 minutes – he was dropped in midweek but in an hour’s worth of action from the bench, the Welshman couldn’t inspire Spurs to a positive result.

We think he could be snubbed from the starting XI here as a consequence, so Steven Bergwijn comes in for his first league start since the defeat to Chelsea at the start of February.

Lucas Moura could remain in the lineup but is expected to move out wide, having played in the no.10 role for several weeks now. Erik Lamela, however, is serving a one-game suspension.

Likewise, Harry Kane is going to start, too.

AND in other news, Mourinho must axe “exposed” Spurs liability tonight, Watkins could haunt him…

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, ex-Aston Villa midfielder Lee Hendrie has urged Bertrand Traore to step up, especially in the absence of Jack Grealish.

Following Villa’s recent 2-0 defeat to Tottenham, another former player of the Midlands club, Alan Hutton, criticised Dean Smith’s attack. Traore, Trezeguet, Anwar El Ghazi and Ross Barkley were all namechecked by the Scotsman for not doing enough, something that Hendrie agrees with.

Overall, Traore has arguably had a good season. Since joining from Lyon in the last summer transfer window, the 25-year-old has managed to score five goals and provide three assists in the Premier League.

He has scored one league goal less than Grealish, putting things into perspective, but the Burkina Faso international’s failure to provide much in his team-mate’s absence has become a concern for the likes of Hendrie and Hutton.

Reacting to what Hutton had to say, Hendrie told FFC:

“I think what Hutts is talking about is that with Jack not being in the frame, you need standout players, you need exciting players that are going to step up to the plate and fulfil Jack’s role, because otherwise you’re going to get branded as almost a one-man team.

“So, yes, I’m totally, totally with Hutts on that because when you’ve got someone of his [Traore] ability, that’s where he needs to come on and be that player.”

The ex-Villa player concluded by saying:

“Hutton is dead right. When he’s [Grealish] not in there, who’s going to be that man? Who’s going to be that focal point that’s going to be the next best thing? Traore should be, he should be.”

Traore will have the chance to add to his goal tally when Villa take on Fulham at home in the Premier League after the international break.

Carlo Ancelotti’s Everton have reportedly made an offer to sign Juventus midfielder Adrien Rabiot.

A report from Italian outlet Calciomercato has talked about Rabiot’s situation at Juve, also stating that Manchester United have been offered the chance to sign the Frenchman.

‘Offer has arrived’ from Everton

Calciomercato claimed that, while Rabiot did score Juve’s goal against Lazio in Serie A recently, he has been discussed by the Bianconeri when it comes to the summer transfer window. He hasn’t managed to dispel doubts about himself since joining the Serie A champions and the report added that, in recent months, an offer has arrived for the Toffees. Ancelotti has been credited as the manager who helped Rabiot launch his career at Paris Saint-Germain, having blooded him into the Parisians’ first team during the 2012/13 season.

The article also claims that Juve have proposed the former PSG man to Manchester United in a deal which could potentially bring Paul Pogba back to Turin, if United agree to sign Rabiot.

The 25-year-old has scored two Serie A goals this season, playing 21 times in the division. He has one assist each in the Champions League and Coppa Italia and is currently valued at £28.8m by Transfermarkt.

Everton have too many midfield options

As things stand, Everton have as many as five central midfield options, along with Fabian Delph. Gylfi Sigurdsson can also play in central midfield (Transfermarkt).

Considering Rabiot’s value of £28.8m, he wouldn’t come cheap, so unless some of Everton’s midfielders leave, signing Rabiot would not make a great deal of sense for Ancelotti’s men.

In other news, one Everton player could be set to leave in the summer – read more here.

According to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, “there has been no contact between Arsenal and Palace or (Patrick) Van Aanholt’s representatives as yet”.

What’s the story?

Reports in recent days have suggested that Van Aanholt is someone Mikel Arteta’s side have earmarked as a potential signing to address their issue at left-back.

Now, Ornstein has claimed that the “most likely scenario” at the moment is for the Dutchman to leave Crystal Palace at the end of the season when his contract expires in the summer.

But, The Athletic journalist did add that things “could change before the 11pm deadline”, and that he may be “worth keeping an eye on”.

Edu should act now

With Kieran Tierney’s unfortunate luck with injuries striking again – he’s missed the past three games for Arsenal in all competitions with a calf problem – the Gunners have surely seen why a new left-back has to be on the agenda on transfer deadline day.

Arteta’s decision to allow Sead Kolasinac leave the club earlier in the January transfer window to join Bundesliga giants Schalke, means that the Gunners have no natural cover for Tierney, with right-back Cedric having to fill in the past few matches.

With Maitland-Niles also seemingly heading for the exit door on loan today, Edu should act immediately to bring Van Aanholt into the club and ensure Arteta isn’t left desperately short of options.

Having brought in a creative midfielder already in the shape of Real Madrid starlet Martin Odegaard, Edu needs to address Arsenal’s other big concern by landing Van Aanholt today.

Meanwhile, Arsenal must avoid another Serge Gnabry disaster with this starlet…

Tottenham Hotspur return to Europa League action with a trip to Hungary to face Austrian outfit Wolsfberger AC at the Puskas Arena later this evening.

Jose Mourinho’s side will be looking to bounce back from their poor domestic form to put themselves in a strong position for the second leg in north London next week.

The Spurs boss has plenty to consider in terms of team selection as they’ve won just once in their last six outings in all competitions.

And the 58-year-old could bolster his chances of picking up a victory in Europe tonight by axing Erik Lamela from the starting XI after a disappointing outing last time out…

On the Chalkboard

The Argentinian winger has started three successive matches for the first time under the ‘Special One’ but was found wanting as a mere passenger in their 3-0 defeat to Man City at the weekend.

No other attacking player received a worse rating than his 6.2 per SofaScore, and by the 72nd minute, he was hooked having picked up a yellow card and not much else.

Lamela was a bit of a liability on the night, picking up a match-high four fouls, a disappointing consequence of his somewhat industrious work-rate while no visiting star was as weak as him in his battles as he lost 73% of his duels both on the ground and aerially, via SofaScore.

Earlier in the season, the former Roma sensation was dubbed “pathetic” by Graeme Souness on Sky Sports (via football.london) for his role in getting Anthony Martial sent off, while Seb Stafford-Bloor claimed he has a “provocative attitude” to the TIFO podcast – only adding to his livewire nature.

In a career tormented by injuries – he has missed 108 games since joining for £30m in 2013 – the 28-year-old has failed to prove his worth in what game time he has had, it’s often a purple patch of a game or two, which gets curtailed by niggles and inconsistencies, as seen by the fact that he hasn’t been rated above a 6.77 in any game since late October, as per WhoScored.

Given the quality of tonight’s opponents, it would be a surprise to see many regular starters feature, but as Lamela has been in the lineup frequently, he is someone who can be ‘rested’ or in this case, dropped.

Steven Bergwijn should be fresh having not started just one of Spurs’ last three games, whilst an opportunity for Gareth Bale could help alleviate some of the speculation surrounding his place at Spurs – and beyond.

Ultimately, 19 goals in the previous five seasons isn’t good enough, and that’s something Gabby Agbonlahor alluded to when speaking to Football Insider last week, he claimed that Lamela has “not really lived up to expectations.”

Considering his £14.4m value and £80k-per-week wages, the Andre Villas-Boas signing really should be doing a lot more and based on both his recent performances and his long-term returns, he should not warrant a place in Mourinho’s starting XI tonight.

Brutal. Ruthless. Mourinho must axe Lamela in Budapest.

AND in other news, Exclusive: Verdict dropped on emerging Gareth Bale issue…

Many Everton fans have been left to hail some early team news ahead of their home game versus Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday evening.

Speaking to evertontv (via the official website of the Goodison Park faithful), Carlo Ancelotti has claimed that he Republic of Ireland international “will be back” to play against Sean Dyche’s team at the weekend.

The Merseyside club greatly missed their captain in their last match, a 2-0 away loss at the hands of Chelsea, a side with whom they are currently fighting for to finish in the UEFA Champions League qualification spots come the end of the 2020/21 term.

Coleman will offer a much more attacking threat than Mason Holgate, who has been filling in for the 32-year-old at right-back and is predominantly a central defender by trade.

Nonetheless, it will be great to see him back on the football pitch for the Toffees once more.

Everton fan reaction to Coleman news

These Blues hailed the news of his return on Twitter, with one EFC supporter even going as far to claim that it was “excellent”:

“Good news, 100 mph straight out the blocks on Saturday COYB”

Credit: @MrGriff1878

“Excellent news”

Credit: @nikkiharg

“Good. Will add a more attacking threat than Holgate. Give him a rest.”

Credit: @Rochey1878

“Great news that”

Credit: @JackWilliams_24

“He really makes whoever plays RW better, Iwobi looks like a different player with Coleman”

Credit: @baldoochi

“We’ve missed that link up on the right”Credit: @SJxH22In other news, find out what recent Everton update has been lauded by fans here!

West Brom striker Charlie Austin has no future at the Baggies, according to recent claims.

The Telegraph’s John Percy claims Sam Allardyce will listen to offers for the 31-year-old striker this month to free up some wages as they also close in on the signing of Robert Snodgrass from league rivals West Ham.

Austin has been restricted to just 133 minutes of Premier League action this term and even after the injury blow to Karlan Grant, his manager opted for Callum Robinson instead.

Despite finishing their promotion season as Albion’s joint top-goalscorer, the former QPR talisman seems destined to leave the Hawthorns having cost just £4m only 18 months ago.

But an instant replacement for Austin seems unlikely given the financial situation in the Midlands – Percy states in his article that ‘moves for players who will cost in excess of £2 million are rated as seriously doubtful.’

Therefore, it might be wise for Allardyce to dip into the U23 squad for a cheap and quick solution, especially with Grant scheduled to miss the next six weeks with a broken foot.

And he could do no wrong in giving a promotion to Chiekh Diaby, who according to the Express & Star, could head out on loan this transfer window.

West Brom managed to secure the 20-year-old’s services ahead of La Liga side Valencia, which is certainly quite a coup considering they were in the Championship at the time.

Diaby came through at the prestigious Le Harve academy where the likes of Paul Pogba, Dimitri Payet and Lassana Diarra first made their names.

Academy boss Richard Stevens has been impressed with the youngster, claiming that he’s “a powerful boy, he’s going to score goals, he’s going to give defences a problem because of his physicality.”

The French forward has been in red-hot form for the youth squad too, scoring six goals in nine appearances in the Premier League 2, including five goals in as many outings, per Transfermarkt.

Albion themselves are known for breeding through the next best thing, so Big Sam must continue that trend and save the club millions in doing so, should Austin depart this month.

AND in other news, Exclusive: Sam Allardyce urged to bring £65k-p/w “handful” to West Brom

Celtic are stuck in one of their biggest ruts in the last decade.

11 points behind their arch-rivals Rangers domestically and now out of the Europa League, it has been a season to forget for Neil Lennon and co.

Unsurprisingly, his job is now under threat.

Club chiefs, including Peter Lawwell, reportedly came out and backed Lennon after their draw with Hibernian last weekend but there can be few defences for the manager after his side conceded yet another four goals to Sparta Prague.

A number of new head coaches have been mentioned in the same breath as Celtic this week, from Eddie Howe and Paulo Di Canio to former Hoops boss Martin O’Neill.

Now, if you were a Celtic supporter there would surely only be one candidate – O’Neill.

The Irishman took charge of nearly 300 Celtic games between 2000 and 2005 as he led them to three league titles and three Scottish Cups. Furthermore, O’Neill also took the Bhoys to a European final.

He helped changed the mentality and culture of the club, something that clearly needs to happen now.

Speaking earlier this year, Chris Sutton said: “Celtic are in this position now because of what Martin O’Neill did in his early years. He understood the values and people at Celtic and got everybody on side. To turn around a 21-point gap in so short a time then, to give the supporters and players belief, it was such an incredible feat. What he did was nothing short of exceptional.”

That is a glistening review from Sutton, someone whose praise is usually reserved only for the very best.

However, it’s that 21-point gap that we want to talk about. When O’Neill walked into the club for the first time, Rangers had just won the treble and were the dominant force in Scottish football.

Incredibly, after just a year at the helm, O’Neill had guided Celtic to their own treble.

Of course, the Hoops aren’t quite as many points behind in the present day, but if anyone can turn the Glaswegians around in a short period of time it’s their former manager. The remarkable gap that was bridged in 2001 is all the evidence you need.

He was a wonderful guidance councillor for his players at the time and knows what it takes to meet the standards and requirements set out by fans.

“For me, he is a very special person, not just as a manager but as a human being as well,” remarked Stiliyan Petrov in August 2020.

Boasting a 75% win success from his prior spell at Parkhead, he could once again be the man to put a stop to Rangers.

To put it simply, O’Neill is a legend at Celtic. Bringing him back is a no-brainer.

In other news, Celtic’s stalwart is letting Neil Lennon down BIG time…

Former striker Dean Windass believes Steven Gerrard’s future at Rangers could depend on what silverware the Gers win this season.

The Light Blues currently find themselves at the top of the Premiership table and are 16 points ahead of Neil Lennon’s men. They have already won an Old Firm derby this season and the next one takes place in early January.

Gerrard’s men have also made it to the first knockout stage of the UEFA Europa League, having beaten Lech Poznan and Standard Liege and holding Benfica to a draw on two occasions (as per Transfermarkt).

What did Windass have to say about Gerrard?

While speaking exclusively in an interview with The Transfer Tavern, Windass said: “Steven’s done unbelievable, and he’s got to win something this year.

“There’s talk of him leaving, talk of him going back to England, I think that’ll be his main goal, so if he does win the league for Rangers, is that his time done?

“He got to win a cup this year, he’s got to win the league, he’s got to stop Celtic getting ten in a row.”

Former Rangers chairman Dave King has also previously said that Gerrard’s Rangers exit is ‘inevitable’ at some point in the future. King had also made it clear that there will be multiple suitors for the Englishman, whenever he looks to depart Ibrox (as per Goal.com).

Winning the title should be a priority for Gerrard

Because of Rangers’ 16-point lead over the Hoops, they are undoubtedly considered the current favourites to win the title and doing that will deny Celtic the chance to win their tenth title in a row. It would be Rangers’ first league title win since 2010/11 and it could really elevate Gerrard’s status in the managerial market.

Having said that, slipping up from this position might end up harming Gerrard’s reputation especially since the Gers had slipped up in the second half of last season, allowing the Hoops clinch the title – albeit not from quite such a dominant position.

So, this season could prove to be vital for Gerrard’s managerial career and if he gets it right, it could help both his reputation and Rangers.

In other news, one journalist believes Gerrard no longer trusts one Gers star.