All posts by h716a5.icu

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Marco Silva’s time in charge of Everton could come to an abrupt end in the not too distant future if the Portuguese manager cannot improve the Toffees’ defensive record.

On the chalkboard

Silva was supposed to bring a bright future to Merseyside, but that dream is far from reality six months on, and the ‘attractive, attacking’ style of play the former Watford boss was supposed to bring to Goodison Park suddenly feels like a distant memory.

A tricky start to life as head coach was accepted after months of safe but bland football under Sam Allardyce, and when results eventually picked up Everton looked amazing, particularly down to how well Richarlison adapted to his new surroundings.

But in line with the Brazilian’s dip in form came the speculation over Idrissa Gana Gueye’s future and the Senegal international has been out of the squad since Sky Sports News reported he handed the club a transfer request.

Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin may be out for the season but it’s given him a chance to show off his new accessory. Check out the video below to see for yourself…

Gueye was the rock in the middle of the field for much of the season and still leads his teammates for tackles made by some margin. So without his presence, the weaknesses behind are creeping to the fore.

The opposition can stand off and lift their heads to spot a pass without Gueye shutting them down, and the backline could not deal with Wolverhampton Wanderers’ attack on Saturday, as the visitors demolished Michael Keane, Kurt Zouma and Leighton Baines.

Wolves had the freedom of Merseyside and this cannot happen again, or Silva’s time in charge could well be brought to an abrupt end.

What can he change?

Unfortunately for Silva, simply changing the players will not answer the issues creeping into his side, as his tactics need to be addressed.

The defenders he can call on should all know the basics, and yet they shut off on Saturday as Wolves could ghost into the box and challenge Jordan Pickford.

Silva needs to find a way to keep their attention focused on the man they’re supposed to be marking, instead of holding a strict position in a rigid backline.

Had Nuno Espirito Santo’s attackers beat England’s number one with their early efforts beyond the penalty, the game would have been done and dusted inside twenty minutes – although it eventually took until the second half.

A tenth defeat of the season now leaves Everton in ninth place, and with seven points from their last six games. Clearly something needs to change.

Manchester United continued their excellent form under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with a 1-0 win at Leicester City this afternoon.

The Red Devils had enough in the locker to see off the Foxes at the King Power, as a goal from Marcus Rashford gave the Manchester club a valuable three points in their hunt for Champions League football.

Indeed, it was once again Rashford who got the winner to continue his fine form under his new manager, and we here in the Tavern think the young Englishman is now the main man at Old Trafford.

However, this is bad news for another of United’s key men in Romelu Lukaku, who has found himself on the bench in the main while Rashford fires in the goals, and this could well pave the way to convince United to cash in on the Belgian this summer.

While Lukaku offers strength and power up top, Rashford’s raw pace and finishing ability has marked him out as the main man in the United squad, and Lukaku will not want to sit around on the bench for too long in all honesty.

For United though, it wouldn’t be the end of the world to sell Lukaku on. A new deal for Anthony Martial has already been agreed, and Alexis Sanchez is back in the fold following form and fitness worries.

While in an ideal world all players will remain happy and play their part, there is just a big enough argument to make a case for Lukaku to be moved on come the summer.

United fans, would you agree? Let us know in the comments!

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Tottenham Hotspur have established a solid reputation as an ideal home for the next generation of English talent to fine tune their talent, and a  report in The Mirror suggests that they are lining up a player who could be the next big thing to rise under Mauricio Pochettino.

What’s the word?

According to The Mirror, Spurs are planning on stepping up their interest in Norwich City’s Max Aarons ahead of the summer window.

The coveted full-back is also attracting interest from Chelsea and Arsenal, although Spurs are leading the chase for his signature, as per the aforementioned source.

Tottenham scouts have already filtered back positive reports about his talent, but Norwich have placed a £15 million price-tag on his head to stave off interest.

However, for a 19-year-old of his potential, that fee still represents an incredible opportunity.

 Leeds display showed Aarons’ potential

Aarons has been exceptional on the right side of Daniel Farke’s backline this season. Defensive solidity has been supplemented with potent bursts forward into the final-third, as his return of two goals and four assists illuminates.

His reputation has been snowballing in recent months but it was his excellent performance against Leeds United on Saturday which really caught the eye.

Pitted against Whites favourite and outstanding Championship ace Pablo Hernandez, Aarons stifled his creativity and deprived the promotion contenders of their main source of inspiration. That the Spaniard was withdrawn by Marcelo Bielsa at half-time tells you all you need to know about the quality of his opponent’s performance.

Neither Kyle Walker nor Kieran Trippier are exactly edging towards international retirement just yet but Aarons has already built a compelling case to argue he will eventually succeed both the ex and current Tottenham players within the England set-up.

Those two have reaped the rewards of learning from Pochettino, and Aarons could follow in their footsteps if he agrees to move to north London in the summer.

Aston Villa suffered defeat at the hands of Brentford last time out as Dean Smith failed to get the better of his old side at Griffin Park. 

The Villains still have a slim chance of securing a play-off spot in the current campaign but they’ll need to be almost perfect from here on in if that is to happen.

Indeed, their last performance against the Bees highlighted just how important bringing in a striker in the summer will be as Tammy Abraham was the only real bright spark, so it’s going to take something special to replace him.

One player who was linked (as per Birmingham Mail) with a move to Villa last month was Neal Maupay.

Maupay, who is valued at £4.5 million (by Transfermarkt), has established himself as one of the most prolific forwards in the Championship this season, as he currently has a whopping 21 goals and six assists to his name.

Dean Smith knows the forward well from his time at Griffin Park and he brought him to the Championship, so he could be influential in getting a deal done for the Frenchman. And, Aston Villa definitely have the resources to bring him in at the end of the season, so they simply have to make him their priority summer target.

He is the perfect player to fit into Smith’s style at Villa as he’s able to hold the ball up and has a quick turn of pace which allows him to get in behind the opposition, and his stats show just how deadly he is in front of goal. And, it was his goal in Villa’s last outing that secured Brentford all three points, so they’ve witnessed his quality first-hand.

Aston Villa fans – thoughts on a potential move for Neal Maupay?

Champions League nights return to Anfield tonight, when Bayern Munich arrive to take on Liverpool.

In a game pitting Jurgen Klopp against his eternal former enemies, it’s also incidentally a game of much significance for Xherdan Shaqiri.

The Swiss winger faces his former side and with all attention towards the Reds’ attacking line, he’ll be primed to make his mark against his former employers. Despite being poorly utilized in Bavaria, Shaqiri still has the utmost love and respect for the German giants and his slightly bizarre career path has taken him here.

However, once the whistle blows, all respect goes out the door.

With Liverpool facing a defensive crisis of sorts due to Virgil Van Dijk’s suspension along with injuries to Joe Gomez and Dejan Lovren, they can’t rely upon grinding through a victory. Jurgen Klopp will rally his troops forward to produce other majestic Champions League night and head to the Allianz Arena with a big lead.

Due to a makeshift defence, Shaqiri could play in midfield. While the Swiss isn’t conventionally a midfielder, he’s always pumped up by Anfield’s atmosphere and willing to work for the team, as displayed with his two-goal contribution in the win over Manchester United in December.

Indeed, Shaqiri’s performance-level goes up, including his work-rate as he works profoundly to win back the ball and start attacking.

Out of the six goals he’s scored for Liverpool, five have come at home (stats via Transfermarkt). He just loves playing in front of the Kop and knowing his ability to pop out of nowhere to score goals, create chances with his beautiful left-foot and never-say-die attitude, Shaqiri’ could be Liverpool’s hero to mount misery upon his former side.

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Following Brendan Rodgers’ appointment as the new Leicester City manager, Celtic announced that Neil Lennon has taken up the hot seat at Celtic Park on an interim basis.

Lennon takes over with the Bhoys well placed to complete a historic treble treble – winning all three domestic trophies in three consecutive seasons. Not only that, but the club are also currently chasing their eighth successive Premiership title. The club want ten league titles in a row, and Lennon will be expected to keep that dream alive.

This is Lennon’s second stint in charge of the Hoops. The 47-year-old former midfielder was previously in command between 2010 and 2014, delivering two league titles in that time. He also spent seven years with the Glasgow outfit as a player, winning five league titles in that period.

Lennon will be hoping to add to his silverware this season, though he faces a tough task in following Rodgers who took the Hoops to new heights in his time in charge.

Following Lennon’s appointment, loads of Celtic fans took to Twitter to give their reactions to the big announcement…

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In January, Aston Villa signed Kortney Hause on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers for the remainder of the campaign.

It is understood that Villa have the option to make the move permanent this summer and the former England Under-21 international will be hoping to impress.

Hause has made four Championship appearances since arriving at Villa Park, including the full 90 minutes against Stoke City last time out.

The 23-year-old is far from the finished product, but it would be fair to say that he impressed the Villa fans with his display against the Potters at the weekend.

Dean Smith’s side cannot seem to buy a win in the Championship at the moment, which has left them in a tough spot as they desperately look to make a late charge for the playoff positions.

Thogden has ranked his top 5 sets of Championship away fans for Pl>ymaker FC. Did your club make the list? Find out in the video below…

The future seems bright for Villa, though, with many of the club’s fans excited by what Hause could bring in the coming years.

Here’s what a handful of the Villa supporters on Twitter have had to say about the loanee’s eye-catching form of late:

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Ryan Mason has called on his former club, Tottenham Hotspur, to sign Gareth Bale from Real Madrid this summer, per Sky Sports.

The Wales international made his name at White Hart Lane before earning a then-world record £85.3million move to the Santiago Bernabeu in 2013.

What’s he said?

Rumours of Bale’s discontent in Spain continue to swirl.

His agent, Jonathan Barnett, told Sky Sports earlier this week that Real’s fans were “nothing short of a disgrace” for repeatedly jeering the forward.

Bale has won four Champions League trophies in Spain and played a key role in their final victory over Liverpool last season, scoring a brace, including a wonderful overhead kick.

The Sun report that Manchester United, Chelsea and Spurs are all keen on bringing Bale back to England but that they cannot afford him, due to his £650,000-per-week wages.

But Mason, speaking on Sky’s The Debate show, believes that his former club should pull out all the stops to secure the 29-year-old – who made over 200 appearances for Spurs – as they seek a marquee signing to coincide with the opening of their new stadium.

He said: “Manchester United and Tottenham stick out for me, as they are both clubs looking to get back to that top level. I think Manchester City are recruiting in a way where they recruit young, trying to develop.

“Bale could play anywhere, but I think for Tottenham it would be a huge statement signing, improve their front line and in wide positions. Why not make him that marquee signing as they move into that new stadium?

“The type of mentality he has, he’ll be thinking: ‘Where can I go and impact things and win things?’ He’ll want to go and make the rest of his career as successful as possible.”

Impossibility

Why not, ponders Mason. Well, for a start, the fact that Bale currently earns £33.8m-per-year in wages alone, if The Sun’s report is to be believed.

Add onto that the fact that he would surely cost in excess of £100m and you begin to see why the sums will not add up for chairman Daniel Levy.

Spurs have not signed a player in either of the last two transfer windows and their transfer record stands at £42m, from the purchase of defender Davinson Sanchez.

The notion of Bale returning to north London is, of course, a romantic one, and many fans still pine for the sight of the star rampaging down the wing, particularly alongside their newest superstar, Harry Kane.

But the fact of the matter is that it will never happen. Mason and other supporters should let it go.

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Everton fans have ruthlessly slammed Theo Walcott on Twitter, after the 29-year-old posted a harmless tweet stating that he is looking forward to this weekend’s game against Newcastle.

Of course, the tweet in isolation isn’t what has triggered the Toffees’ fanbase. Walcott has been an ever-present for Marco Silva this season, although that hasn’t gone down well with the Everton fans who feel that the England international isn’t deserving of a place in the starting eleven.

In this era of ‘big 6’ dominance, has finishing 7th become as good as winning a trophy? The Pl>ymaker FC squad have their say in the video below…

And understandably so. Walcott has just three goals and two assists for the Merseyside-based club this season in 28 Premier League appearances, form that is simply not good enough for an attacking player at a club as ambitious as Everton.

Additionally, with young prospect Ademola Lookman being kept out of the team as a result, the Toffees fans are sending hate to Walcott at every possible opportunity, with the reaction to his harmless post on Twitter a prime example…

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A number of Arsenal fans have criticised Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang despite his two goals in the second leg of the Europa League last-16 tie against Rennes on Thursday.

The Gabon international scored a brace as the Gunners won 3-0 at the Emirates to progress to the quarter-finals of the competition. Arsenal had lost 3-1 in the first leg in France last week.

But fans have expressed their disappointment at his conversion rate against the Ligue 1 side.

Per WhoScored, Aubameyang had five shots on goal throughout the game, with only two – his goals – being on target.

One miss came from six yards out after he was seemingly teed up to tap the ball into an empty net, leading to groans around the stadium.

And Gunners fans believe that they could have enjoyed a far more relaxing evening had the former Borussia Dortmund striker had his shooting boots on.

Take a look at the best of the reaction on Twitter below!