All posts by n8rngtd.top

With each passing day, Manchester United seem one step further away from bringing Jadon Sancho to the Premier League. The young talent is still their primary target for the ongoing summer transfer window but Borussia Dortmund are not budging nor do they intend to.

Of course, there have been various alternatives suggested in the media in the past weeks as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer looks to somehow find a solution to this multi-million issue on his hands.

According to the latest update from the Sport Witness, Man United are actually very serious about trying to snatch AFC Bournemouth’s young star, David Brooks. Not only that but the same source claims this deal could indeed develop quickly, which would be quite out of the blue, to say the least.

They go on to mention that Brooks, as opposed to Sancho, wouldn’t exactly just waltz into the gala XI but the 23-year-old is a player of high quality and lots of potential, just like his Bundesliga counterpart.

However, the main advantage here is pure availability. Brooks’s Bournemouth were relegated and that makes him an easier target to acquire. The youngster was the Cherries’ post-break hero, bagging a goal against Manchester City and making an incredible effort to try and keep their heads above the water but alas, it wasn’t enough.

Who knows, maybe if they had him for the entire season, things could’ve been different and relegation avoided. Now, however, he is bound to leave for much greener pastures.

Verdict

Even though Brooks is obviously not on Sancho’s level, going for him makes much more sense for Man United. The talent is certainly there and if the Red Devils don’t snatch him up, someone else surely will.

If Sport Witness are to be believed, the deal could already be quite close and if it really does happen, Ole will conclude a brilliant piece of business.

Marcelo Bielsa and his men will be immortalised as the group that finally took the Whites back to the Premier League after West Brom’s loss to Huddersfield confirmed their top-flight status, but in true Leeds United fashion, they didn’t do it the easy way.

After years of jeers about ‘falling apart again’, it’s finally over, Leeds have crossed the finish line that has been in sight so many times before, and it took a mighty effort from everyone involved at the club to make this dream a reality.

Whether it’s Victor Orta making Dragon’s Den style presentations, Marcelo Bielsa creating eight-page dossier’s on opposition’s third-choice goalkeeper or players enduring the Argentine’s famed ‘murderball’ sessions, everyone has put so much in to get to this point.

2019/20 will be remembered as a rollercoaster campaign for the Whites that ended in the best way possible, and here are 15 moments that defined United’s promotion campaign…

White in Jansson out

Summer transfer windows always have a huge say on how a team is going to get on throughout the season, and it’s fair to say that July 1st was one of the most important days of United’s promotion campaign as a little-known centre-back named Ben White also came in on loan.

White is now reportedly valued by his parent club at £40m, despite never playing above League One level before joining Leeds.

With White joining, there was one less spot in the defence, and this meant the end of Pontus Jansson’s time at Elland Road.

This was truly a sign of Marcelo Bielsa stamping his authority after reportedly falling out with the fan favourite, and in the end, it could be argued that this move worked out for both parties.

Opening day domination

Leeds were handed a tough opening day clash away at Bristol City.

There were certainly a few questions to be answered ahead of the game after United’s playoff capitulation last term, but they made sure to answer them very quickly, playing Bristol off the park, going 3-0 up in 72 minutes, before the Robins added a consolation.

Nketiah’s late heroics

Unfortunately, Leeds’ brilliant performances wouldn’t last long, and United would need bailing out a few times in the following weeks.

Arsenal loanee Eddie Nketiah made something of a name for himself by scoring key goals late in games, saving United’s skin against Brentford, Barnsley and Preston.

Unfortunately, it didn’t work out for Nketiah in Yorkshire, but the points he won for Leeds certainly helped them on their way to the Premier League.

West Brom beaten

In 2018/19 Leeds came so close to getting promoted, but in the end, results at home against their rivals cost them as they succumbed to both Norwich and Sheffield United at Elland Road.

Fortunately, that didn’t happen this time as United made a statement of intent by beating the Baggies 1-0 at home.

Centenary celebrations

2019 marked 100 years since the formation of the club, and against Birmingham City, the Whites celebrated this landmark.

Wearing a specially designed changed strip to mark the occasion, Leeds prevailed, beating the Blues 1-0 with a goal from local-lad and lifelong fan Kalvin Phillips sealing the three points.

Seven in a row

United really made a spot in the top two their own throughout the back end of 2019, winning seven games in a row from November 2nd to December 10th, in a run that really defined the Whites’ success throughout this campaign.

The highlight of this run was undoubtedly a 4-0 demolition job against Middlesbrough as former man Jonathan Woodgate had a torrid return to Elland Road.

Cardiff jitters

All good things have to come to an end, and United’s winning run ended in the worst possible fashion.

Leeds raced into a 3-0 lead against Cardiff back in December, but a second-half resurgence saw the Bluebirds level the game late on, causing Leeds to drop points for the first time in over a month.

United could so easily have capitulated after such a result, but they managed to recover just a couple of weeks later.

 Game of the season

After the Cardiff game, Leeds would fail to win their next two against Fulham and Preston, and all of a sudden their clash with Birmingham City looked like a must-win.

Fortunately, they managed to overcome Pep Clotet’s side, beating them 5-4 courtesy of a last-minute Wes Harding own goal.

It took a lot of bottle for Leeds to come away with a win here, and that sort of drive was so key to their promotion push.

Premier League audition

Although Leeds’ game against Arsenal in the FA Cup didn’t actually contribute to their promotion, it was a key match in showing that Marcelo Bielsa’s side were ready for the Premier League.

The Whites lost 1-0 to the Gunners, but they put on an impressive display, creating a multitude of chances, earning plaudits from pundits across the land.

Casilla’s mistakes

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Leeds season if they didn’t threaten to monumentally mess it up, and a run of costly errors from Kiko Casilla in February threatened to derail their season.

The Spaniard conceded directly from a corner against Wigan in United’s 1-0 loss at Elland Road, before being beaten far too easily at his near post in a loss to Nottingham Forest and basically assisting Brentford’s only goal in a draw at Griffin Park.

Casilla was to blame for United’s playoff loss last term, and it seemed as though he could cost them again, but luckily his errors wouldn’t prove all that costly.

Five clean sheets in a row

Good defence defined United’s season more than anything, keeping the best defensive record in the division, and after Casilla stopped with the howlers, he kept three clean sheets in a row.

Unfortunately, the Spaniard was then banned for an incident that occurred against Charlton earlier in the season, but he wasn’t missed too much as Illan Meslier came in and continued the Whites’ run of shutouts.

Wake up call

United’s good form was put on hold due to the suspension of football for three months, and upon their return they didn’t hit the ground running.

Leeds lost 2-0 in their first game back against Cardiff, but rather than letting their heads drop, this acted as a wake-up call.

Fulham brushed aside

United’s next game was a key clash against Fulham, and to call it a must-win would have been an understatement.

If Leeds would have lost, the London club would have been just four points adrift with all the momentum in the world, but a comfortable 3-0 win saw Bielsa’s side move 10 points clear of Fulham, putting them firmly in the driving seat to go on and get promoted.

Biggest win of the season

The final few weeks of the season are usually the prime time for Leeds to self-destruct, but this time United did the exact opposite and put on arguably their best showing of the campaign to settle everyone’s nerves.

Leeds beat Stoke 5-0, and with four games to go that performance showed that any team that fancied gatecrashing the Whites’ party would have to be at their very best to do it.

Hernandez’s magic

Things were still a bit nervy heading into the final few weeks, Brentford’s incredible run meant Leeds weren’t home and dry yet, and nerves were high heading into the final minutes against Swansea with the deadlock yet to be broken.

As he has done time and time again, Pablo Hernandez saved Leeds’ skin with an 89th-minute winner, a goal that put Leeds within touching distance of a spot in the Premier League.

Newcastle United fans have been itching for the report from the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to be released regarding the body’s ruling on on whether the government of Saudi Arabia have been involved in the illegal streaming of sports events, such as games from the English Premier League.

However, members of the Toon faithful shall wait no further as the report was officially released and is readily available to be viewed by all Newcastle supporters here.

As per ChronicleLive, Saudi Arabia was accused of failing to ‘provide adequate protection of intellectual property rights held by or applied for entities based in Qatar’.

This in turn refers to the blocking of the television channel beIN SPORTS, for whom former Sky Sports presenter Richard Keys now works. The Middle Eastern country was also accused of blocking links to beoutQ, a pirate pay TV broadcaster that was illegally showing matches from England’s top flight.

The WTO confirmed to ChronicleLive on Monday that the report would only be released when it had been circulated and translated to all of its members, of which there are 164 in total. Nevertheless, this report is now available and free to view, as some key conclusions were drawn by the organisation on the accusations made.

In a summary of the conclusions, Saudi Arabia has not taken the measures deemed necessary to tackle beoutQ, specifically pointing at the country’s ‘non-application of criminal procedures and penalties to beoutQ.’

Essentially, the report has said that the Kingdom breached rules on the protection of intellectual property because they failed to take actions against a pirate broadcaster operating openly in their country.

However, the key thing to note is that the proposed takeover of the Magpies was not mentioned at all in the report, and it is not yet clear what the future holds for the Tyneside club.

Geordies, what do you make of the report from the WTO? Comment below with your views!

Ever since Luis Campos opened up on his admiration and respect for Jose Mourinho last year, speculation has been rampant that Lille’s current sporting director could make the leap to the Premier League to join forces with his great friend at Tottenham, with Canal+ even reporting that he could do so this summer.

As quoted by Sky Sports, Campos said back in October: “Mourinho is like a brother to me. I know him very well and for a long time. He’s a wonderful person and the best coach in the world. So, of course, if he called me I would speak.”

Spot the fact from the fib: Are these Premier League records true or false?

World Class score: 95% | Expert score: 80% | Veteran score: 65% | Intermediate score: 45% | Amateur score: 30% | Try Again: 5%

For those who aren’t aware of the kind of genius that the Portuguese man possesses, then look no further than his work at AS Monaco and Lille. The likes of Fabinho, Bernardo Silva, Anthony Martial, Nicolas Pepe and Victor Osimhen all arrived under his watch, with everyone barring the latter leaving for the Premier League for big sums of money.

Campos has the kind of Midas touch in the transfer market that should greatly appeal to someone like Daniel Levy. The Spurs chairman is notoriously frugal with his spending, and maximising profit at all turns. Bringing in someone like the 55-year-old could ensure the north London side unearth some of world football’s hidden gems at a fraction of the price they will eventually be worth.

Not only would make it even more sense in the current climate given that clubs are unlikely to splash big money anytime soon, but he would be working alongside with Mourinho, a man that he has publicly admitted to having a great relationship with.

Having a tandem like that working in harmony could bring rich rewards to Spurs both on and off the pitch.

So whilst the future of Harry Kane may dominate the headlines this summer about whether he will end up staying, it’s perhaps just as equally important for Spurs in the long-run that they bring in Campos. The Portuguese man could help transform the Lilywhites into competing at the top of the table even without being the biggest spenders like some of their rivals.

Prior to the suspension of football in the United Kingdom back in March, things were actually going rather well for Leeds United.

After the agony of missing out on promotion last time out, the Yorkshire side had once again put themselves in the position to challenge for an automatic promotion place with just nine matches to play.

However, Marcelo Bielsa’s side have been asked to wait a little longer before they can look to secure their return to the Premier League after a 16-year absence.

With a seven-point gap to third-placed Fulham and a favourable run-in including fixtures against Luton Town, Charlton Athletic and Barnsley, Leeds remain one of the favourites for promotion, but the effects of football behind closed doors and the time away from the pitch is not yet fully understood.

Here, we look into six statistics from Leeds’ season so far in an attempt to refresh our memories ahead of the return of Championship football…

Possession based Bielsa

Marcelo Bielsa is renowned for favouring a high-intensity possession-based style of play and that has certainly been the case so far this season at Leeds.

The Elland Road side have averaged 60.1% from their 37 games so far this season, which is better than any other side in the division.

Third-place Fulham are second on this list, with 58.8%.

Football on the floor

With an average of just 16.9 per match, no Championship side has won fewer aerial duels than Leeds this season.

As is perhaps illustrated by their impressive possession numbers, Leeds prefer to play the ball on the floor, while replacing Pontus Jansson with the smaller but technical Ben White could also have played a part.

Jansson wins on average 3.4 aerial duels per match, compared with White’s 2.8.

Deadly on the counter

With plenty of speed in the shape of Helder Costa, Jack Harrison and Pablo Hernandez, Leeds have been very effective on the counter this season.

Alongside Hull City, their total of six counter-attack goals is the best in the league and has shown that they do not solely rely on a possession-based style to break down their opposition.

They are much less threatening from set-pieces though, with the second-fewest set-piece goals in the league.

Own goals

Leeds have benefited from a staggering six own goals this season, two more than any other side.

While Patrick Bamford has been criticised for his lack of incisiveness in front of goal, it is clear that they have been putting the ball in dangerous areas, as shown by the fact that they have scored the fourth-most goals in the league this season.

Old flame burns strong

At 35 years old, Pablo Hernandez is likely coming towards the end of a long and storied career.

However, it appears Bielsa has got the best out of him with the Spaniard managing six goals and six assists from his 25 starts so far this year.

While the likes of Jack Harrison and Helder Costa have offered him competition, his 2.3 key passes-per-match and 56.6 passes-per-match see him leading all Leeds other attackers.

Bamford’s importance

A player that divides opinion among Leeds fans, Bamford remains Leeds’ primary goal threat.

With 13 league goals so far, his seven strikes clear of Hernandez and own goals who are tied for second place.

The loans of Eddie Nketiah and Jean-Kevin Augustin have not worked out, and it is likely that Bamford will have to continue in his lone centre-forward role.

Throughout the Premier League era and especially after the takeover by the Abu Dhabi United Group in 2008, Manchester City have made some wonderful signings.

Just think about the likes of Vincent Kompany, David Silva and Sergio Aguero; but what of the lesser remember names that represent some of City’s not-so-successful business in the last 27 years?

Pep Guardiola rarely gets it wrong, to be fair, but there have been many occasions over the years where Man City have spent money, often massive amounts, on bang average footballers.

So we’ve recalled the Citizens’ 20 worst signings of the Premier League era so far -agree?

Maicon

First up is Brazil legend Maicon who would have perhaps have gone down as a completely different signing had the Sky Blues captured him four or five years earlier.

When the right-back arrived at the Etihad Stadium in the summer of 2012 for £3m, still a fair sum of money back then, he was the wrong side of 30 and beginning to battle with repeated injuries.

He would only appear 13 times before being shifted onto Roma a year later.

Bernardo Corradi

Would it be fair to say that Man City’s current Bernando (Silva) was inspired by his club’s Bernando from a decade before (Corradi)? No, probably not.

The hot-headed former Italy international striker was signed by Stuart Pearce prior to the 2006/2007 campaign and lasted just one term in Manchester before his loaning out to Parma and subsequent departure the following summer, scoring just three goals and collecting two red cards.

Nolito

Pep Guardiola’s Citizens forked out the best part of £15m for a Spanish centre-forward in his pomp in the summer of 2016, Nolito – a year later the Spanish international was to return to his homeland with Sevilla.

In reality, the former Barcelona man, who impressed at EURO 2016, never adapted to the English game or way of life, infamously commenting not long before his City exit that he and his family had changed colour due to the lack of sunshine in England’s climate.

Roque Santa Cruz

Early in the reign of what is now known as the City Football Group, the east Manchester outfit were like a teenager after just receiving their first pay packet, splashing their cash on any old thing just because it’s their money and they can.

The £17.5m acquisition Roque Santa Cruz is certainly an example of that having been purchased based on a half-decent scoring record at Blackburn Rovers and a grand total of four goals for the Etihad side goes down as one of their worst PL era signings.

Christian Negouai

How could we not include in this list the only player in Premier League history to have been sent off in his only match in the league?

The great irony here is that Christian Negouai only made 11 appearances in total for the club but he somehow managed to get himself sent off on three occasions, with the other two coming in the League Cup and the FA Cup.

Jack Rodwell

Last seen refusing to give up his extortionate contract on the Sunderland documentary on Netflix, Jack Rodwell was one of the rising stars of English football when he swapped Merseyside for east Manchester in 2012 in a deal worth £12m.

But injuries limited the ex-England central midfielder to just 15 outings in his first season with the Citizens and even fewer the following term meant he was offloaded to the Stadium of Light after just two years, leaving the Etihad in a downward spiral in such contrast to the way he had arrived.

Laurent Charvet 

The story of Laurent Charvet is rather similar to that of Rodwell; captured for big money after a couple of impressive seasons in England and moved on after two campaigns having barely made 25 appearances.

The right-back was simply never up to the task, utterly woeful, and the fact that he was deemed not even good enough to play for Sochaux in the year after his City exit says it all really.

Gerry Creaney

City fans might well want to look away for this one.

Imagine swapping one of your best players and fan favourites in Paul Walsh for someone as ineffective as Gerry Creaney, and also paying £500k for the pleasure, well that’s exactly what City did in 1995 and three years and four outbound loans down the line Creaney was released!

Jo

Talking of shocking moves, this one is up there with one of the worst transfers of all time in world football, let alone just for City and in the Premier League era.

Jo, who’s somehow played 20 times for Brazil and scored a few goals as well, signed for a fee believed to be a club-record £19m from CSKA Moscow in the 2008 summer transfer window and the Sky Blues certainly got value for money, if you count that as a miserly six goals in 42 games.

Jerome Boateng

On paper, Jerome Boateng was a huge waste of money for Man City but in reality, the move could have paid off if they were a little more patient with him.

Roberto Mancini saw his potential whilst he was playing for Hamburg, though the centre-back only remained under his reign for one injury-affected season and played out of position at right-back for most of it.

Nowadays we, of course, know Bayern Munich’s Boateng as the FIFA World Cup, UEFA Champions League and seven-time Bundesliga-winning global star.

Tottenham Hotspur fans have been reacting in their droves this week after reports emerged linking them with a move for Norwich City right-back Max Aarons in the summer.

According to Soccer Link, Spurs boss Jose Mourinho has personally contacted the 20-year-old to try and convince him to join the club, although it is also claimed that they will have to compete with arch-rivals Arsenal to secure his signature.

Best of the Decade: Top scorers & creators – Can you name them?

World Class score: 95% | Expert score: 80% | Veteran score: 65% | Intermediate score: 45% | Amateur score: 30% | Try Again: 5%

And the news has supporters desperate to see it come to fruition.

Aarons has been a key part of the Canaries’ first-team squad for the past two seasons whilst this campaign he has racked up 27 appearances in the top-flight, recording two assists, one of which came against Spurs.

This has seen his value rise to £18m as per Transfermarkt but it remains to be seen what sort of fee the Norfolk-based outfit would command for his services at the end of the season, but relegation to the Championship would aid Spurs’ chances substantially.

Here’s how fans have been reacting to the latest on Twitter…

AND in other news, Spurs would make major coup with a move for La Liga star… 

Leeds United fans have been left astonished by the latest transfer news surrounding loan star Ben White as one top-flight team is starting to dampen their interest in him.

According to Football Insider, Liverpool are blown away by the 22-year-old but have one major doubt over his aerial ability with him standing at just 6 foot tall.

The Greatest Bargains in Premier League history – How much did they cost?

World Class score: 95% | Expert score: 80% | Veteran score: 65% | Intermediate score: 45% | Amateur score: 30% | Try Again: 5%

Although this hasn’t been a problem for Marcelo Bielsa this campaign, seeing as he’s started the Brighton ace in every single game, it could be an issue for Jurgen Klopp as he doesn’t possess a central defender under 6 foot 2.

White has become a fan-favourite at Elland Road but is due back on the south coast at the end of the season where he’ll be under the Seagulls’ control – whether that means he remains at Brighton or leaves on a transfer still remains to be seen.

The Englishman has won 2.8 aerial duels a game on average and is also recording three clearances, 2.3 interceptions and 1.7 tackles per match, via WhoScored.

Which is why some supporters in west Yorkshire are sarcastically agreeing with Liverpool’s claim in the hope that Bielsa and co can swoop in and land him permanently in the summer.

Here’s what has been said…

AND in other news, Phil Hay reveals how close Leeds were to 18-goal sensation…

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 Ham United manager Manuel Pellegrini still has a dilemma of who to start out of Aaron Cresswell and Arthur Masuaku.

On the chalkboard

Neither player was able to push ahead of the other to become West Ham’s undisputed first-choice left-back last season, as Cresswell made 18 Premier League starts, while Masuaku managed 19.

It seemed as though it was going to be the Democratic Republic of Congo international who would go on to fulfil the role this term when he started 4 games in a row before getting sent off, but Cresswell has gone on to play 6 of the following 7.

While Pellegrini was right in deciding this, he has a dilemma regarding who to pick for West Ham’s derby clash with Tottenham Hotspur.

Watch West Ham United Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

The numbers

Cresswell came into the side earlier this season and impressed with influential goals against Manchester United and AFC Bournemouth, while Arthur Masuaku had his own impressive spell at the beginning of the campaign, including his assist against Norwich City.

There have been moments when Masuaku has hardly covered himself in glory defensively, with an example being his attempt to tackle Bernard in the box when the Brazilian scored Everton’s first of a 2-0 win.

However, the above statistics indicate that he has actually been more effective defensively, especially as Cresswell is dribbled past 0.1 more times per game on average, while making less than half the number of tackles. Masuaku also makes 0.9 more clearances than his colleague.

In addition to that, it can be argued that he makes more of an impact going forward in general play – the Englishman may have scored twice but Masuaku averages 0.9 key passes and 1.7 dribbles more than him.

With those statistics in mind, it is hard to see Cresswell keeping the position as his own for the whole season, so it could be back to rotation at left-back for Pellegrini.

Manchester City fans have stood by Bernardo Silva after the winger refused to speak in his post-match interview with Sky Sports.

Silva was involved heavily throughout the defeat at Anfield, which now leaves the champions trailing Liverpool by nine points.

As the game got off to it’s expected frantic start, a deflection off of Silva was seen to hit the hand of Trent Alexander-Arnold inside the penalty area.

This resulted in immediate protests from himself and Sergio Aguero, but both were ignored by referee Michael Oliver and the officials. To make matters worse, Fabinho would go onto score at the other end for the home side moments later, resulting in frenzied reactions from Pep Guardiola and his men.

After the game, Silva, who signed for the club for £43m in 2017, was asked by Sky Sports about the handball, to which he replied: “If I speak, I will be in trouble. I don’t want to speak.”

Just last month the Portugal international was charged with misconduct by the FA, after a tweet he sent to Benjamin Mendy, which the FA deemed a breach of FA Rule E3.

Now, it seems Silva is reluctant to talk about the potential handball situation, to which the City fans have got behind him.

One fan said it was a “clear and obvious” penalty, whilst many other supporters have alluded to the belief that the players are scared to talk now.

Here’s what the fans have had to say after Silva’s interview…