All posts by n8rngtd.top

[ad_pod ]Cenk Tosun’s performance for Turkey on Tuesday evening has caught the eye of many Everton fans, who want him to be given another chance in the team.The striker scored twice in his country’s 4-0 win over Moldova, including a well-taken goal which saw him dink the ball over the goalkeeper before volleying into the back of the net.So far this season he has been limited to a place on the bench, featuring only once, in a cup match against Lincoln.However, some fans believe Marco Silva is making a mistake by leaving him out, and despite his record of nine goals in 44 appearances for the Toffees, they want him to be given another regular run to prove himself.One fan noted that he would be a good partner for Moise Kean to have, while others suggest he would be able to score the chances that Dominic Calvert-Lewin has missed so far this campaign.Watch Everton Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Take a look at the best of the reaction below!

[ad_pod ]

[ad_pod ]

Given he scored his first goal of the season – and his first in nearly a year – for West Ham United during their win against Norwich City prior to the the international break, it was no surprise to see Andriy Yarmolenko keep his spot in the starting XI for the visit to Aston Villa on Monday.

We at Football FanCast had suggested prior to the game that manager Manuel Pellegrini leave the Ukraine international on the substitutes’ bench as he continues to get back to fitness following such a long time on the sidelines, but instead the Chilean decided to choose an unchanged team from the one that tasted three points against the Canaries.

In hindsight and judging by the £17.5m man’s performance in the Midlands, it appears as though we may have been right.

The 29-year-old simply never got into the game against Dean Smith’s men, and had a remarkable 51 fewer touches, according to SofaScore, than fellow winger Felipe Anderson despite being on the field just seven minutes less than his Brazilian teammate.

Yarmolenko also failed to win any of the five duels he faced during his time on the pitch before he was replaced by Pablo Fornals, completing no dribbles and making just the one key pass.

This latest outing for the attacker was obviously a step too far as he looks to get back to his best, and it appeared as though the three successive Premier League starts caught up with him.

Of course, as well as the top flight fixtures, the 29-year-old also started both of his country’s matches during the international break, meaning it has been a busy period for the winger.

The absence of Michail Antonio through injury and the fact Yarmolenko scored in his previous showing in a claret and blue shirt meant Pellegrini stuck with him, but he failed to take into consideration the exertions that have been placed upon his player after such a long spell on the sidelines in which he missed 32 matches, according to Transfermarkt.

Watch West Ham United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

For that reason, he needs to take the blame for his player’s non-existent display on Monday – especially when Pablo Fornals or Robert Snodgrass could have started ahead of the Ukrainian, too.

[ad_pod ]

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Off the Bench series, which places in-game managerial decisions and squad selections under FFC’s microscope.

Despite coming up against a wounded Norwich side, Manchester City suffered a shock 3-2 defeat at Carrow Road on Saturday.

Snapshot

Having won the league last season, City had made an impressive start to the current campaign. Pep Guardiola’s side headed into Saturday afternoon’s clash with the Canaries having amassed a total of 10 points from a possible 12.

Watch Manchester City Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

The beginning of the Champions League group stages this week may have given the City boss something extra to think about, and it undoubtedly played a part in the decision to drop star man Kevin De Bruyne to the bench.

In the end, it back-fired spectacularly on the reigning champions, with the Belgian’s impressive second half cameo unable to prevent the Citizens from falling to a defeat.

Off the bench

Speaking after the game, Guardiola admitted he left De Bruyne on the bench with a view to the fixtures coming up. That in itself speaks of a reasoning steeped in complacency. Surely the biggest game is always the next one? Could the Belgium international not have started the match against Norwich, given City a two or three-goal lead, and then be subbed off?

Instead, Guardiola brought De Bruyne on in the 56th minute when the Etihad side were already 3-1 down. The 28-year-old’s contribution after he came on underlines how much of a gaffe it was to leave him out.

The Belgian made three key passes, a total only bettered by Raheem Sterling, and put a game-high 13 crosses into the box. Sadly for City, the midfield maestro was simply given too much to do and not enough time to do it in.

Watch how to cross the road like a boss with freestyler Ben Nuttall in the video below…

After a campaign in which things were so neck-and-neck between the top two last season, it truly is baffling to see Guardiola take such a huge risk in the Premier League. Already, City find themselves five points behind table-toppers Liverpool.

The club’s Champions League group looks relatively straight-forward with no heavy hitters, and the Carabao Cup is surely at the bottom of the pile when it comes to setting priorities.

So for the City boss to make such a huge gamble is all the more perplexing, and it shows that despite his total mastery of the league over the last two seasons, he still hasn’t learned Premier League lesson 101 – anybody can beat anybody.

[ad_pod ]With all due respect to the Toffees, it was quite the career move when Idrissa Gana Gueye moved on to PSG this summer.The Senegalese midfielder swapped Goodison Park for the Parc des Princes, and on Wednesday evening he made his Champions League bow for the Parisiens.It couldn’t have been against tougher opposition either – Gueye had to face 13-time champions Real Madrid in his first Champions League match.In the end, it was a rather simple task as PSG comfortably beat Los Blancos 3-0, and Rio Ferdinand was full of praise for the former Everton man, as the stats show he dropped a midfield master-class.

Gueye was grateful for the praise, but Everton fans wanted to point out that they spotted his talents before anyone else.

The former Aston Villa man said that he would always respect the Goodison Park faithful for believing in him.

Watch Everton Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

It’s great to see a player who’s moved on to a bigger club acknowledging his former supporters and showing his old team great respect, and Toffees fans will no doubt appreciate the love from their former star.

[ad_pod ]

It really has not been a good start to the season for Everton so far.

The Toffees were busy in the summer transfer window, spending over £100m on new recruits, with Moise Kean and Fabian Delph amongst those to join. As such, there will have been hopes that the Merseyside outfit could improve on their eighth-placed finish in the Premier League last term.

So far, though, that is beginning to look increasingly unlikely. The Goodison Park side sit 15th and have won just two of their first seven matches. The pressure is already on Marco Silva to turn things around.

Against Manchester City, they were expected to lose, and they eventually did 3-1. Alex Iwobi, one of those new arrivals, came on after six minutes following Theo Walcott’s head injury, but was then subbed off again with 17 minutes left on the clock. That sums up his performance.

The Everton faithful were not happy with the Nigeria international’s performance, and they took to Twitter to share their thoughts. You can see some of the best comments from the social media platform below.

Birmingham City boss Pep Clotet needed a late winner from young substitute Odin Bailey to put an end to their run of three straight defeats.

The teenager popped up in the 89th minute with a close-range header just minutes after Middlesbrough had bundled in what looked to be a point-salvaging equaliser through Daniel Ayala.

But the 19-year-old’s first goal for the club handed the Blues a much-deserved victory, considering they recorded 26 attempts at goal in comparison to Boro’s five, per WhoScored.

Watch Birmingham City Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Fran Villalba also bagged his maiden strike for Birmingham just after the half-hour mark as he slotted home an excellent first-time finish past Darren Randolph, with the assist coming from right-back Maxime Colin.

The 27-year-old has received a lot of praise on social media following his performance in the game as a whole, not just because he assisted their opener.

One supporter claimed Colin was the best right-back in the league while another went one step further to call him the best in the world.

Other members of the St Andrew’s crowd used the words ‘unreal,’ ‘unbelievable’ and ‘sublime’ to describe his showing.

Here’s the best of the reaction:

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Loan Watch series, which takes a closer look at those players who are aiming to galvanise their careers away from the spotlight of their parent club.

By all means, Sevilla didn’t enjoy their trip to face Barcelona on Sunday.

The Andalusian team paid the Catalans a visit on matchday eight in La Liga and were beaten 4-0, with Luis Suarez, Arturo Vidal, Ousmane Dembele and Lionel Messi all on the scoresheet.

It was a game to forget for Julen Lopetegui’s troops.

One player, however, can happily say he did all he could to turn the tide in their favour and seeing how he’s a Real Madrid loanee, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that he had some extra motivation to take down the Catalans.

Watch Spanish Football Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Sergio Reguilon was sent on loan to Sevilla in the 2019 summer transfer window and he might already be making Zinedine Zidane question that decision.

The 22-year-old left-back was brilliant against Barcelona in the heart of Catalonia, recording three key passes on the night and 84.8% passing accuracy overall.

But that was not nearly all he did to cause trouble for his opposition. Reguilon also tallied the second-highest touches in the team with 76 and one shot on target throughout the night.

Not to mention that he was plucking holes defensively as well, racking up two tackles, four interceptions and one clearance in the process.

Watch Lionel Messi and Gareth Bale answer the internet’s weirdest questions in the video below…

By all standards, the young Spaniard was one of Sevilla’s best performers on the pitch.

The 4-0 result is, therefore, rather cruel for him personally, seeing how he pulled his weight against the Catalans.

With a 6.84 rating on the night, Real Madrid’s loanee was Sevilla’s second-best performer according to Whoscored’s ranking system, only behind Ever Banega’s 6.87.

And the best thing is, this was not his first brilliant display in the ongoing 2019/20 campaign, having also enjoyed an excellent performance versus Deportivo Alaves.

If he continues performing that way, Zidane will have to take notice sooner rather than later.

Arsenal youngster Bukayo Saka impressed many Gunners’ supporters during their 1-0 win against Bournemouth on Sunday.

David Luiz’s goal after just nine minutes sealed the deal for the north London-based outfit as they moved up to third in the Premier League table. However, the Emirates faithful saved their praises for one player.

Saka has received a lot of praise in recent weeks, particularly after outshining £72m signing Nicolas Pepe against Manchester United at Old Trafford. Former Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas described Saka as a player that shows “great maturity”, via Metro.

After another mature performance on Arsenal’s left-hand side, Saka received a lot of plaudits from supportive Gooners after the game.

Saka, 18, expressed his jubilance on Twitter after collecting another three points.

One fan recommended that manager Unai Emery should give the youngster a “lifetime contract”, while another described him as “King Saka” after a positive start to his Arsenal career.

Here you will find some of the best reactions from Arsenal fans:

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 have got off to a reasonably good start in the Premier League but they could be better off had Manuel Pellegrini trusted one player more often.

On the chalkboard

Whilst the Hammers have earned good wins against Watford, Norwich and Manchester United, they can consider themselves to be slightly fortunate to be as high as eighth.

The reason for that is teams haven’t taken their chances in most of the eight league games they’ve had. The trip to Aston Villa stands out as an example of that, with Dean Smith’s side unable to find a goal their pressure arguably deserved.

According to Experimental 361’s Premier League expected goals table, Pellegrini’s side would be as low as 12th if the opposition they have faced had scored the chances they were expected to.

Watch West Ham United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

That casts doubt over the promising start West Ham have made in terms of wins and points earned, as they would have one less victory – and would have conceded twice more – if those goals had come.

As a result, the Hammers need to improve defensively, and since Mark Noble and Declan Rice are the best defensively-minded midfielders at the club, Pellegrini could call upon Fabian Balbuena, who has barely featured after the opening day defeat against Manchester City.

Shoring things up

West Ham may have gone on a six-game unbeaten streak in the league, but it slightly worrying that they have still conceded 11 goals in eight Premier League games.

Issa Diop and Angelo Ogbonna have started the majority of those matches, and although the latter has gained praise recently, he should be the player dropped in favour of Balbuena.

The Paraguayan has a better record than his teammate since signing for the club, helping his side keep five clean sheets compared to Ogbonna’s three last season.

From his 23 starts in 2018/19 the Hammers only conceded 31 goals, compared to 36 conceded from the 20 league games Ogbonna started, so it is clear they are more resolute with Balbuena at the back.

The defender also outclassed Ogbonna in winning tackles last year, with an average of 1.7 per game compared to the Italian’s 1.3, and trumped him in interceptions made – which is key to solving the problem of conceding chances – with an average of 2.3 compared to 1.5 per game.

West Ham visit Everton next up, a fixture last term in which Balbuena stamped his authority in the team and showed exactly why he was brought in, and these recent findings may lead the Chilean to consider a recall for the 28-year-old.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

Real Madrid and Paul Pogba’s relationship is, by this point, old news.

Throughout the vast majority of the summer transfer window, Zinedine Zidane was insisting on signing Pogba and Pogba only.

And sure, there were other names on the table, like Tottenham Hotspur’s Christian Eriksen and Ajax’s Donny van de Beek, but even though they were attainable, they never seemed to be pursued that strongly.

The reason for that? The man in the dugout.

Watch Spanish Football Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Back then, it was Zidane who essentially discarded all other options and practically forced the club to chase after Pogba even though United were not playing ball – reportedly demanding a staggering €200m (£172.5m).

And now, according to an article published by Marca, it seems that it has been decided – Pogba will remain a priority signing for as long as Zidane is in charge.

The midfielder’s contract is slowly and surely running out – it expires in 2021 – and the Galacticos are betting on that card to bring in the goods sooner rather than later.

But Zidane’s stubbornness might cost Real Madrid in the long run, especially considering that Marca emphasise that Pogba is the coach’s explicit wish and the club actually have other targets in mind.

Eriksen is a much cheaper option and basically an offer too good to turn down as he will be a free agent in the summer, while Van de Beek can reportedly be acquired immediately and Martin Odegaard, their young breakthrough talent, is turning into an incredible player in his own right while on loan at Real Sociedad.

And while Pogba is a World Cup winner and a pretty well-known name to the footballing world, it very much feels like the upper management are not entirely sold on the prospect of incorporating him into the team.

That could mean that Zidane will have a task of convincing them first before anything else can be done, given that the board continue to look at alternative options, which in turn could lead to some friction. Politics between boardroom and dugout is hardly unheard of at Real.

Watch Lionel Messi and Gareth Bale answer the internet’s weirdest questions in the video below…

Not only that but despite his contract running out, it’s reasonable to expect that the Red Devils would demand a hefty sum of money for him nonetheless, seeing how they previously wanted a reported figure of £175.2m.

Investing heavily into a star player is practically a must in the modern market but considering that Los Blancos have multiple equally satisfying options on the table as well, this particular investment doesn’t seem worth the trouble anymore.

The final reason as to why this is turning into a fool’s errand is the negative effect it could possibly have on Real Madrid’s young players.

Federico Valverde has already been dubbed as the cheaper and better alternative to Pogba, but his fellow young Castilla graduates would hardly get their chance with the Frenchman in the squad.

Taking all of that into consideration, it seems that Zidane’s stubbornness to land his top priority target could do more harm than good in the long run – it’s causing an internal debate, it could block the development of their youth players and is most likely going to cost a small fortune.

Is Pogba really worth all of that hassle?