All posts by h716a5.icu

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has had his pre-season and he’s still not getting the results.The Norwegian placed a huge amount of emphasis on fitness when he returned to Old Trafford in December, claiming that he was shocked at just how unfit his players were when he initially took over from Jose Mourinho.Since then, Solskjaer has had eight months to get his players up to the standard expected of them, including a pre-season, which promised to be gruelling given just how fitness-crazed he was.Fast forward to October and United have just lost to Newcastle and have also made their worst start to a season in 30 years. Solskjaer’s win ratio is 47.5% – which is the lowest of any United boss since Dave Sexton.Watch Manchester United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

As it stands, Jesse Lingard is out injured after limping off clutching his hamstring against AZ Alkmaar, Paul Pogba is suffering from a reoccurring ankle injury, Anthony Martial is also battling with a hamstring injury, as is Luke Shaw, and Phil Jones is out of action in the long-term. Solskjaer’s cardio crusade is going very poorly indeed.

Speaking to fan channel Full Time Devils, Daily Record journalist Duncan Castles recently revealed that a lot of the players aren’t convinced by their manager’s training regime…

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…

When you’re challenging on multiple fronts, it’s understandable for a manager to simply want to play his best eleven week-in and week-out. After all, they stand the best chance of winning a game. But management is about getting the whole squad to fire on all cylinders, and Pep Guardiola has had his struggles in doing that.

Last season, Riyad Mahrez was left to wallow on the side-lines, with the Manchester City boss publicly admitting he felt guilty about not playing him. Now, it’s Phil Foden who appears to be the hot topic of conversation.

The England U21 international scored against Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League in mid-week, and the goal prompted Guardiola to come out and apologise for the youngster’s lack of first-team involvement.

The indoor football skills in the video below have to be seen to be believed…

On Sunday, the Spaniard has the perfect opportunity to back up his words and play Foden. A home clash against 13th placed Wolves provides the City manager with no excuse but to allow his prized starlet the chance to shine.

Despite playing the full 90 minutes against Dinamo, Benjamin Mendy will surely continue to be eased into first-team action after his long-term injury.

As such, Oleksandr Zinchenko should return at left-back against Nuno Espirito Santo’s men at the weekend. On the opposite flank, Joao Cancelo and Kyle Walker are in direct competition over the right-back role, although the latter has featured in all seven Premier League games so far this season, and will most likely get the nod once again.

Watch Manchester City Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

In midfield, Rodri has been another ever-present in the City line-up, whilst Kevin De Bruyne’s injury means there is perhaps no better time than now for Guardiola to finally place his faith in Foden. The stage is set for him to take over the creative duties from the Belgian, and if he can produce a fine display at the Etihad, the 19-year-old could be set for a more permanent stay in the first-team.

Mahrez and Raheem Sterling will be hoping to continue their fine form this campaign – the duo have scored twelve goals and provided a further nine assists between them. Up front, Gabriel Jesus scored against Everton in the league last time out, but with Liverpool continuing their flawless run, surely Guardiola must go with the tried-and-trusted option of Sergio Aguero.

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…

Speaking on episode 69 of the Inside Elland Road Podcast, Ben Parker has delivered his verdict on the future of Ben White, suggesting he could stay at Elland Road for over ten years.

What’s he said?

White walked through the doors of Thorp Arch under considerable pressure last summer as he was tasked with replacing Pontus Jansson.

The Swede was incredibly influential in his time with Leeds and was named in the PFA Team of the Year alongside club captain Liam Cooper last term.

His absence has been felt hard in terms of defending set-pieces with three of the seven goals they’ve conceded in the Championship coming from dead-ball scenarios.

But White has been exceptional since arriving, being awarded the PFA Fans’ Player of the Month for August.

Despite only being on loan, ex-defender Parker reckons he has what it takes to be at Leeds for a considerable period of time. He told the Inside Elland Road Podcast:

“I think he’s first-class.

“You could see him being at this club for ten plus years with the way he’s going.”

Watch Leeds United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

White on the rise

The 21-year-old’s rise has been rather meteoric in recent years and he’s taken to each division he’s played in like a duck to water.

A loan spell at Newport County saw him play 42 times in League Two, managing to play a significant role when he was still so young.

Last term saw a temporary period in League One with Peterborough from January onwards, a spell where he missed just five league fixtures from a possible 22.

White has since made the leap to Championship football with relative ease too, failing to be absent from a single league outing to date. Via WhoScored, he’s won 2.4 tackles per game and also an exceptional 3.3 interceptions.

That shows how comfortable he’s been at this level but considering his rise over all three divisions, it wouldn’t be a great surprise if he was able to perform at Premier League level too.

Whether that’s at Brighton or Leeds remains to be seen. After all, his performances in west Yorkshire must surely be impressing his parent club so that will be the biggest sticking point in keeping him.

If Leeds go up it might be more possible for them to hold onto the defender. That would obviously be a major boost in keeping him for the ten years Parker states, but that seems unlikely for the time being.

West Ham suffered back-to-back defeats after Everton’s 2-0 victory on Saturday, and many fans are concerned with the underwhelming performances from the creative midfielders in the side.

Manuel Lanzini and Felipe Anderson are bearing the brunt of fan criticism, with the latter in particular being singled out for his decline.

The Brazilian enjoyed a successful debut season with the Hammers but he has failed to live up to the 10 goals and five assists he made in 2018/19, with no goals and three assists so far in this league campaign.

Watch West Ham United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

As a result, Manuel Pellegrini’s side are struggling to create chances for Sebastien Haller, and with only four shots on target at Goodison Park their threat was too easily eliminated.

Some supporters are disappointed with the effort shown by Anderson, with many claiming he is failing to live up to expectation, and that is contributing to West Ham’s ineffective attack, with 11 goals scored in nine league games.

Andre Gomes and Tom Davies had too much influence in midfield for the Toffees, with 45 and 40 passes respectively, and that caused concern for some fans, as shown in the reactions below.

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…

Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino said three key words after being asked about his side’s improved pressing following their 5-0 win against Red Star Belgrade on Tuesday night – “I want more”.

What did he say then?

Well, Spurs’ energy and work-rate all across the pitch was evident in their Champions League fixture against the Serbian club, and it begged the question why similar hadn’t been seen in recent weeks in disappointing performances against the likes of Brighton and Hove Albion and Watford.

Asked about the change in intensity by Football London’s Alasdair Gold post-match, the Argentine responded:

These are certainly some words that should provide a lot of encouragement for Spurs supporters.

Change of fortunes?

While it’s clear to see that Red Star weren’t the highest level of opposition Tottenham could have been facing given their lack of confidence going into the encounter, they still absolutely blew them away in the capital on Tuesday.

The likes of Son Heung-min and Erik Lamela pressed from the front, and helped influence a whole team display that the visitors simply couldn’t cope with.

The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium faithful would have been impressed with what they saw from their side, as there was certainly shades of the same tactics used back in the days when they finished second in the Premier League in 2017, for example.

The fact that Pochettino wants even more from this group of players is exciting too, as it suggests the former Southampton boss feels his squad has a lot more to give in that respect.

If they can beat Red Star 5-0, imagine how dominant they could be when they are at an even higher level when it comes to their fitness and pressing?

Liverpool welcome a turbulent Arsenal side to Anfield on Wednesday and, judging by the comments from Pep Lijnders, it could be another experimental side that start the match.

Jurgen Klopp put a big focus on his youngsters in the Reds’ third-round clash against MK Dons, with five academy players featuring, and one in Ki-Jana Hoever getting on the scoresheet.

Arsenal seem to be in a bad way on and off the field, with many fans dissatisfied with Unai Emery, and that could prompt Klopp to take a more relaxed approach when deciding his team.

That could be good news for some fo the fringe players, too, particularly midfielders Naby Keita, Adam Lallana and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who could get another chance to impress after valuable contributions in recent matches against Genk and Manchester United.

Others who should see this as a great occasion to express their ability are Dejan Lovren and Joe Gomez, who should partner each other with Virgil van Dijk likely to be missing, and with Matip also missing one of them could become a regular starter over the next few weeks.

With that under consideration, here is how we think the Reds will line-up against Emery’s side as Klopp makes ten changes to the side that beat Spurs last time out.

Klopp’s assistant has already confirmed that Caoimhin Kelleher will be trusted between the posts ahead of Adrian, a decision which has caused shock amongst some fans, but they are likely to be pleased if fellow youngsters Harvey Elliott and Rhian Brewster get another run-out.

The former particularly impressed in the previous round, picking up a rating of 9/10 from the Liverpool Echo, and if Klopp can also get Brewster to show the form he has for the U23s – with four goals in seven Premier League 2 games – then Arsenal could struggle.

To claim the win, though, the Reds will likely need their experience to shine through, particularly as the Gunners’ second-string side have already played together on multiple occasions in the Europa League this term.

Watch Liverpool Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

That means the contribution of Oxlade-Chamberlain could once again prove vital.

He should be determined to build on his two goals against Genk as another fine performance will apply pressure on Klopp to consider handing him a more regular starting berth ahead of Georginio Wijnaldum or another midfielder.

Two others who lack game time this campaign are Lovren and Gomez. They started together against MK Dons and performed well, and if they do so against better opposition then they should show Klopp that they can be reliable options when Matip and van Dijk are unavailable.

Leeds United fans on Twitter have been discussing Eunan O’Kane after his interview with Yorkshire Evening Post.

It’s easy to forget that the midfielder is still on the books at Elland Road, and fans seemingly aren’t too pleased after being reminded of his existence.

Watch Leeds United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

O’Kane hasn’t had the best of luck in his career as of late as he’s had a terrible struggle with fitness after breaking his leg during a loan spell with Luton last season.

However, there wasn’t much sympathy from the supporters as one labelled him one of the club’s worst-ever signings, simultaneously moaning that the Yorkshire based side are still paying him a wage.

Another supporter pondered how much the 5 foot 8 midfielder’s salary is.

The consensus on Twitter was that O’Kane’s career at Elland Road had a clear downward trajectory.

Here’s what the Elland Road faithful have been saying…

This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets…

Manuel Pellegrini opted to start Pablo Zabaleta for West Ham United’s match with Newcastle United, meaning the 34-year-old was directly up against Allan Saint-Maximin.

The decision seemed a little bit strange at the time due to the skillsets of the two players, especially when it is considered that Ryan Fredericks was on the bench, and the events of Zabaleta’s 72 minutes on the pitch didn’t bring much clarity to the decision.

Saint-Maximin’s biggest strength is his dribbling, as per WhoScored, for which he utilises his speed, power and technical ability to drive at defenders, something Pablo Zabaleta struggled to deal with.

Watch West Ham United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

This can be seen by the fact that the Argentinian didn’t even attempt a tackle, while Saint-Maximin went on to make 5 dribbles throughout the game.

Anybody who watched the game would have seen the Frenchman twice sprinting away from the right-back, with Felipe Anderson being forced to come in and make defensive interventions, which the speed he possesses allowed him to do.

There was also an incident later in the game in which the 22-year-old cut inside and got a shot off unopposed, with Zabaleta stepping off, perhaps wary of getting taken on down the outside.

Zabaleta’s game eventually came to an end when he was substituted off for Fredericks in the 72nd minute with his side 3-0 down.

This was the second game in a row Fredericks started on the bench but, due to the speed and dynamism of Saint-Maximin, the decision was much more perplexing against the Magpies than it was against the Blades.

In order to prevent a similar future mismatch, Pellegrini should consider the speed of his right-back’s opposite number before sending Zabaleta to the slaughter.

It seems that Barcelona are already on a hunt for new reinforcements in the not too distant future.

The winter transfer market is slowly but surely getting closer and it’s not unusual that we see plenty of rumours, especially surrounding the biggest European clubs.

Watch Spanish Football Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

A new report coming from El Chiringuito TV claims that the Blaugrana have taken an interest in Arsenal star Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who has scored 50 goals in 78 games for the Gunners.

The same source states that the Catalans will wait on the striker’s decision until the end of the season and that they see him as a potential Luis Suarez replacement.

But many Barcelona fans are not really loving this idea.

Some of them feel that Aubameyang is too old, seeing as he’s already 30, and others simply don’t see the need for such a signing with Antoine Griezmann already at the club.

They were quick to voice their opinions on social media and Twitter.

You can see some of their replies down in the collection of tweets below:

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…

As quoted by Sky Sports, Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has raved over his side’s “exhilarating, attacking football” in their win over Brighton on Sunday.

What did he say?

The Red Devils produced a commanding display at Old Trafford to dispatch Graham Potter’s men 3-1, with the side registering an impressive 21 total shots on goal, with 11 of them on target.

And, speaking after the match, Solskjaer couldn’t contain his delight at his team’s performance going forward, and insisted they should have won by a much larger margin.

He said: “It was a great performance and we should have won by a bigger distance. We attacked superbly – it was exhilarating, attacking football. The boys were so quick and we created chances. We scored three but it should have been six or seven, especially in the second half.

“It’s a young team and you can see they enjoyed themselves. When you have a young team you need to get into the game quickly. We know we’re not in a position we want to be. And we’re far away from where we want to be. We have to keep on improving and challenge for the top four.”

Ruthlessness

As Solskjaer suggests, the Red Devils really could have, and perhaps should have, put the game well beyond Brighton’s side. The fact the Seagulls got it back to 2-1 at one point in the second-half will be a major concern to Solskjaer. United created enough chances to win the game quite comfortably, and will no doubt be disappointed that they didn’t really boost their goal difference on Sunday.

Ultimately, it comes down to a bit of ruthlessness in front of goal. Making the most of clear-cut opportunities, and making the opposition for their mistakes. The Red Devils currently have five wins in their last six, and if they can keep their momentum going, the confidence that their forwards currently have will soar dramatically. And that may just be the added ingredient to turn these more slender margins of victory into something much higher.