All posts by h716a5.icu

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Aaron Ramsey turned in a dynamic midfield display as Arsenal beat Rennes 3-0 in the second leg of their Europa League last-16 tie on Thursday.

The Gunners had lost the first leg 3-1 in France but turned the tie around in north London to progress to the quarter-finals.

On the chalkboard

Ramsey is leaving the Gunners in the summer to join Juventus.

A BBC report claims that the Wales international has signed a deal worth £400,000-per-week with the Italian giants and will subsequently join up with the likes of Paulo Dybala and Cristiano Ronaldo in Turin.

His performance against Rennes, though, proved that he will be sorely missed in north London.

Per WhoScored,  Ramsey had one shot against the French side, two dribbles, won one aerial battle and also won two tackles. There can be no more complete performance from a central player.

Indeed, Ramsey also laid on three key passes and made one interception, showing that he can do pretty much anything in the centre of the pitch.

No other player at Arsenal boasts the dynamism of the Wales international.

Mesut Ozil is a flaky playmaker who regularly drifts in and out of games – he drifted out against Rennes – while Granit Xhaka is more of a destroyer in the centre of the pitch.

When Ramsey goes, there is no obvious replacement in the Gunners’ ranks; he will leave a sizeable hole.

A mistake of epic proportions

A Guardian report in October revealed that Ramsey thought he was set to sign a new deal with the Gunners.

However, that offer was rescinded, with Arsenal not willing to, according to the report, push the boat out for a midfield player, given their alternative options in the centre.

But the fact remains that there are so few players in the Premier League who offer the sharply defined attributes held by Ramsey, valued at £36 million by Transfermarkt.

He can defend well, he can attack at will and he keeps the ball well. What else must a midfielder do to be considered a success?

Ramsey may not be the best midfielder Arsenal have ever had but he is certainly the best they currently have at their disposal.

That he will be saying goodbye in the summer is a mistake of epic proportions for the north London club, who were given a stark reminder of his quality on Thursday.

It seems crazy to think that there was once a point in time were football fans genuinely thought David Bentley was going to be the next England superstar.

The former Blackburn star was dubbed ‘the next David Beckham’ by then England manager Steve McClaren, and on his Premier League debut, the winger scored a hat-trick against Manchester United in a season that saw Mark Hughes’ qualify for Europe in a season where the then 22-year-old scored seven goals and recorded 13 assists.

Another impressive season for the Lancashire side saw Bentley being touted as a future England star, and with his good looks, impressive set-pieces and a decent haircut, you could buy into the fact that the nation had it’s new Becks. But things were only about to go downhill.

In the summer of 2008, Bentley made a £15 million move to Tottenham Hotspur. Despite the fact he had come through at Arsenal and even scored for the first-team in a FA Cup game, there was still excitement around this 23-year-old who could be the next big thing for club and country.

A slow start in north London was instantly redeemed in the derby against Arsenal where Bentley scored a 40-yard screamer in a famous 4-4 draw with Spurs’ rivals, however, that would be the winger’s only league goal that season as his form and reputation dropped quickly.

Bentley was largely used as a sub in his second season with Spurs, and an incident involving covering manager Harry Redknapp with water on live TV sent the winger further down the pecking order at the club.

The once touted future of England would only go on take make two more Premier League appearances for Spurs, and from mid-January 2011 onward Bentley was on-loan away from north London, playing for the likes of Birmingham, West Ham, and FC Rostov.

At 28, Bentley returned to Blackburn, on loan of course, and a year after he was released from Tottenham in 2013 Bentley announced his retirement from football altogether at just 29, stating he had fallen out of love with the game and that modern football had become too ‘robotic’.

So what has happened to Bentley now? If you guessed he moved to Marbella to open up a restaurant, you would be absolutely right. As well as co-owning Costa del Sol in Spain, the former Blackburn star co-owns a restaurant in London with Manchester City and Liverpool players Raheem Sterling and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Bentley’s tale is a sad one. One that shows how the modern hype machine of young players can potentially ruin future aspirations of becoming one of the best players in the country, and also a reminder that if Steve McClaren dubs you ‘the next …’ he’s probably wrong.

Spurs fans, would Bentley have been an England star if he never moved to north London?

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Sheffield Wednesday fans have been reacting on Twitter after it was reported that star striker Steven Fletcher will miss Saturday’s Sky Bet Championship trip to Stoke City through injury.

The Sheffield Star claimed that the 32-year-old has been ruled out for the big clash after suffering a groin injury prior to the international break.

At the time of his knock, Fletcher had already pulled out of the Scotland squad for European qualifiers over concerns for his reoccurring knee injury and will now ironically miss at least one domestic game with a different problem.

Understandably Owls supporters were absolutely devastated by the news of their nine-goal forward not making the visit to the bet365 Stadium, as Steve Bruce’s men hunt for another three points in their play-off push.

One fan even offered out his ticket for the match in light of Fletcher’s absence, while others expressed their pure heartbreak and reacted angrily by calling Chris Sutton out on his controversial recent comments about the veteran.

Former Wigan & Fulham man, Jimmy Bullard recently showed that he’s still got it! Check out the video below…

Check out some of the best reactive Tweets from upset Wednesday supporters, below…

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West Ham United fans have expressed their jealousy at Wolves’ season.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s side beat Manchester United 2-1 on Tuesday evening to maintain their push for a seventh-placed finish.

Having been promoted from the Championship just last season, Wolves’ exceptional campaign – they have lost just 11 games in the Premier League this term – could see them qualify for the Europa League, while they also have an FA Cup semi-final yet to play.

Wolves face Watford at Wembley this weekend and are favourites to reach the showpiece final, where they could face either a quadruple-hunting Manchester City or Brighton & Hove Albion.

West Ham meanwhile are currently 11th, five points behind Wolves, and lost to Everton at the London Stadium at the weekend in a truly woeful performance.

And Hammers fans are envious of the success being enjoyed by the Molineux side, due mainly to their club’s tendency to push for seventh only to flop whenever the chance arises to actually jump into that coveted spot.

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

Barnsley’s unbeaten run of 20 games in League One was a remarkable achievement, wasn’t it Tykes fans?

Under the guidance of manager Daniel Stendel, the Yorkshire-based outfit moved from fifth in the standings to second during this period, a position that they still hold despite losing 3-1 to Burton Albion on Saturday.

However, due to the competitiveness in the third tier this season, the Tykes face a real challenge to remain in the automatic promotion places as both Portsmouth and Sunderland have closed in on them in recent weeks. The Black Cats can move six points above them if they win their two games in hand whilst Pompey could also leapfrog Stendel’s side in the coming weeks.

It has been quite a turnaround for Barnsley when you consider that if they had beaten Coventry City on March 30th, they would have opened up a gap of seven points between them and their nearest rivals.

Fast-forward a week and it is looking increasingly likely that the Tykes will have to settle for the lottery of the play-offs in May. If this does turn out to be the case, Stendel must ensure that his squad enter the knock-out competition in the best form possible and so they simply cannot afford to dwell on their defeat at Burton.

The club’s next fixture could end up defining the outcome of their season. A convincing victory over Joey Barton’s Fleetwood Town for Barnsley would send out the message that their defeat to the Brewers was just an anomaly.

However, anything other than three points would be extremely concerning for a club who set out at the beginning of the 2018/19 campaign with the goal of securing an immediate return to the Championship following last year’s relegation.

What do you think Tykes fans? How important is it to bounce back immediately from last week’s defeat? Are you still confident that Stendel can lead to promotion in May? Get in touch below…

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Arsenal will look to maintain their place in the Champions League qualification spots on Sunday when they face Everton at Goodison Park on Sunday.

Going into the weekend the fourth-place Gunners are only above London rivals Chelsea on goal difference, with Manchester United two points further back.

The north London outfit’s manager Unai Emery spoke to the press (13:44) prior to the trip to Merseyside, and these are two most important things the Spaniard said.

Granit Xhaka injury update

After scoring against Manchester United and then for his country during the international break, the Switzerland international missed the clash against Newcastle United on Monday through injury.

Judging by Emery’s latest update, it seems unlikely that he will be in the starting XI on Sunday.

The 47-year-old said: “We are waiting on tomorrow’s training, some players – Xhaka, Koscielny – didn’t train with us today. They are working with the physios.”

The fact the man that is becoming more and more of a vital player for Arsenal missed training two days before the match is hardy promising, and others may well need to step up to the plate again at Goodison Park.

Poor away form

The former Sevilla boss was also asked why his team’s results on the road have been nowhere near as good as they have been at home in the Premier League, a fair point considering they have taken 44 points on their own patch compared to 19 on their travels.

Pl>ymaker FC’s Bhav runs down his Arsenal transfer wish list in the video below…

Emery said: “We don’t set up differently. In all my career I did the same but not for me, I also watched other teams. Usually every team gets more points at home than away. Every team.

“After is how we can take our best performance and results away. It’s our challenge. The last matches in the Premier League: Huddersfield, Tottenham. We had good performances. Good results.

“The first is we need to feel our moment now, getting better. Above all, being competitive at home. We want to be the same away.”

No explanation perhaps, but it is telling that Emery hints that he almost doesn’t believe in his team to be as good away from home as they are at the Emirates.

That attitude needs to change if Arsenal want to challenge the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool for the Premier League title in the coming years.

What a big summer Manchester United have ahead! They need to drastically improve their squad to play catch up with eternal rivals Manchester City and Liverpool, and Steven Bergwijn is the ideal Alexis Sanchez replacement, not Hirving Lozano.

With Ole Gunnar Solskjaer now the permanent manager, he can turn his head to how he’s going to build a title challenge next season. Alexis Sanchez hasn’t been good enough in a United shirt and it’s probably time they cut their losses and let him go.

Steven Bergwijn is a PSV wonderkid who’s played 28 times this season, scoring and assisting a whopping 12 each. His performances have raised eyebrows and Corriere Dello Sport (via Sport Witness) believe he’s caught United’s eye too

Hirving Lozano also plays for PSV and speculation connecting him to United has risen after TEAMtalk claimed he’s asked fellow countryman Javier Hernandez about the club.

However, United should ignore him and go for Bergwijn.

Despite Lozano scoring 17 and assisting nine in 27 appearances, he’d be a much dearer option and it’s more important for United to spend their money in defence and on one more major creative signing. Bergwijn would bring the quality and the bargain price tag.

Many players have crumbled under the weight of a big price tag at United, so it’d be better to sign the fearless youngster for cheaper than to buy Lozano for much more. The signing is much more long-term with the younger lad too, and it’ll earn him more patience with the Old Trafford faithful.

United don’t need to spend so much on Lozano when they have Bergwijn at the same club, who is just a cheaper, younger version of the Mexican and has more potential. Neither are statement signings so there’s no need to spend so much on either of them.

United fans, who do you want to see as Alexis Sanchez’s replacement, or would you keep him? Join the discussion by commenting below…

[ad_pod ]Aston Villa fans have attributed their incredible run of form in recent weeks to Jack Grealish’s return from injury.The Villans have now won 10 games in a row and confirmed their place in the play-offs at the end of the season. Before Grealish came back into the side Villa were eight points off of the top six, but since his return the Midlands club have been flying.The English midfielder was given the captain’s armband upon his return against Derby County, and since then Dean Smith’s side have picked up 30 points from 30 available.Watch the best fails from the world of indoor football in the video below…The 23-year-old has played a key part in Villa’s recent run of good form, scoring four times and setting up a further two.Grealish also scored two winning goals against Rotherham and fierce rivals Birmingham City. Villa fans believe it is no coincidence that their best run of the season coincided with the return of their best player.

Here’s what Villa fans have been saying on Twitter…

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It is rare for a player to speak so candidly on a failed move but so strongly does the disappointment still burn within Wilfried Zaha on his difficult time at Manchester United that he has returned to it often, revealing much.

At the start of this season the Crystal Palace wide-man offered a frank account to Shortlist of his miserable two years in the north-west, describing it as ‘a hell’ endured without any support. He has also spoken elsewhere of the depression this drawn-out mismatch caused and been generally critical of the thirteen time Premier League champions for not giving him a fair chance to succeed.

When weighing up the evidence it’s hard not to accept that the 26-year-old flyer has a series of points.

What fascinates about Zaha’s time at Old Trafford is that so little of his torment derived from footballing matters. Granted he was afforded just two league appearances which barely allowed him time to assimilate his team-mate’s names never mind their movement. Furthermore, for a teenager burdened with huge pressures to perform and justify his fee, those 180 minutes amounts to a criminally scant opportunity.

Yet even so, much of Zaha’s woes derived from misgivings off the pitch rather than anything that occurred on it, with rumours soon doing the rounds that the extravagantly gifted winger had an attitude problem which partly explained his lack of first team action.

These whispers it transpired were entirely erroneous and considering that Zaha was a 19-year-old fish out of water surely it was beholden on the club to publicly dispel them? They didn’t. Soon after came another salacious piece of tittle-tattle with many believing that the reason David Moyes was so reluctant to trial his expensive talent was because Zaha had reportedly slept with the manager’s daughter. Again, this was nothing more than a mischief-making untruth, with the Ivorian later insisting he had never even met the girl in question.

The broader circumstances also hardly helped. In January 2013, with retirement looming for Sir Alex Ferguson, he paid £10m for a player who was routinely tearing apart Championship defences as he sought to freshen up an ageing squad for his successor. It then made perfect sense for Zaha to be immediately loaned back to Palace as they chased promotion.

What this ultimately meant however is that the winger arrived in Manchester to a club thrown into disarray and that situation only worsened as United lurched from one crisis to another. First Moyes hopelessly flailed and then Louis Van Gaal struggled to steady the ship and in their plights they perhaps understandably looked more and more to the familiar coupled with their own signings.

This then was hardly the best environment for a youngster with the weight of the world on his shoulders to find his feet.

If that in some way excuses all concerned and suggests that Zaha’s doomed stint at Old Trafford equates to bad timing it shouldn’t. The bottom line is that Manchester United had in their possession an explosive and direct attacker who has since gone on to win Crystal Palace’s Player of the Year award three years running. They played him twice before prematurely giving up on him and signing Angel Di Maria and Anthony Martial to replace him at a combined cost of over £100m.

United may well marvel now at Zaha’s exploits and think what could have been but they have nobody other than themselves to blame.

Leeds United’s defensive injury problems continue to pile up, don’t they?

After Barry Douglas was ruled out for the season at the start of April, makeshift full-back Ezgjan Alioski suffered the same fate after tearing his meniscus during the Whites’ 2-0 defeat to Brentford on Easter Monday (via Sky Sports).

With a problem surrounding just who should play on the left-hand side of the back four, Marcelo Bielsa decided to give Stuart Dallas the opportunity to impress against Aston Villa. Despite starting the game positively, the Northern Ireland international suffered a cruel twist of fate as he hobbled off at Elland Road and thus compounded his Argentine boss’ issues heading into the play-offs.

Although Dallas is expected to return for Leeds when the knock-out competition begins in May, (via the Yorkshire Evening Post), his absence could give Gaetano Berardi the chance to prove himself to his worth in Sunday’s clash against Ipswich Town.

Having spent the majority of the year on the fringes of the team, the Switzerland international impressed at left-back when he replaced Dallas against Villa and knows that a solid outing at Portman Road could see him become a serious contender for the position ahead of the play-offs.

However, if he fails to capitalise on the club’s injury crisis, it could be disastrous for Leeds’ hopes of securing promotion as their opponents will be lining up to take advantage of a clear weakness in defence.

On a personal level, Berardi knows that his future with the Whites could hinge on what occurs over the next few weeks. If Leeds manage to overcome this adversity without the help of the 30-year-old and guarantee Premier League football for next season, it may result in Bielsa bringing in his five-year stint in West Yorkshire to an end in the summer.

What do you think Leeds fans? How important is it that Berardi steps up to the mark for your side against Ipswich? Should Bielsa keep the defender at the club? Let us know below.