All posts by z3u9t.icu

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…

How long is this story is going to run?

You imagine it’s going to get a lot of coverage when the teams meet again in January, but for now it’s still quite a talking point.

After the defeat to Millwall, Leeds United owner Andrea Radrizzani sent out a tweet in which he heavily criticised the EFL and their lack of VAR, insinuating that it was directly responsible in helping the Lions to victory when the home side were awarded a penalty and had defender Gaetano Berardi sent off, although the red card was later rescinded.

What’s been said?

Former Leeds United defender Danny Mills spoke to Football Insider about the matter, and he thinks that the owner was out of order for the way he handled the situation:

“It’s not a great idea, is it? In this day and age it’s hard when people want to hear from the chairman but some of the best chairman and best owners are the ones who just stay silent. Let the manager, let the coach, let the team do the talking.

“Maybe it’s just a little bit of frustration from Radrizzani, of course he wants to do well, he wants his team to do well. Saying things on Twitter about officials and teams and players is never a good idea.”

What should be done?

And Danny Mills is exactly right here. There has to be a certain level of expectation and behavioural standard depending on how high up the hierarchy you go, and you can see a clear example in other sports.

Whilst it may be an unwritten rule, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has stated that “Owners, management personnel and coaches must be held to a higher standard than players” when it comes to incidents of ‘misconduct’, but the logic still applies here.

Opinions like this should be made by the players, coaches and to a lesser extent the fans. And if an owner or another high ranking member of the board does want to voice their views, then it should be in a more dignified manner than an angry rant on Twitter.

It’s not that we should be restricting people from having their views, in fact so long as they’re legal and non-offensive, the more the better because it encourages debate.

But there’s a time and a place for them to happen, and an angry tweet in the aftermath of a defeat is not the way to go about it for someone who should know better.

[ad_pod ]Michail Antonio was forced to watch his team take on Aston Villa from the sidelines on Monday night, as his recovery from injury continues.In the end, the London club laboured to a 0-0 draw with the Villans after being reduced to ten men – Arthur Masuaku was sent off in the second half.While the game may not have been the most entertaining of fixtures, the injured star was seemingly happy with what he saw from his side.

Despite the fact that Aston Villa are 17th in the Premier League, Antonio called it a great point and sent well wishes to his teammates for their performance.

Watch West Ham United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

This result leaves the Hammers eighth in the table, and barring their opening day defeat at the hands of Manchester City they’ve had quite a good start to this new campaign.

It’s great to see Antonio still wanting the best for his team while he’s out injured, as it shows the commitment and desire he has to get West Ham as high up the table as possible this term.

Loads of Liverpool fans have been reacting to some injury news that could well affect their title chances, as Kevin De Bruyne has picked up a groin issue.

The attacking midfielder suffered a groin injury during Manchester City’s 3-1 win over Everton on Saturday and will miss their clash against Dinamo Zagreb on Tuesday night, the Citizens confirmed on their official website.

The duration of his absence depends on “how well he responds to the rehabilitation programme overseen by the Club’s medical staff”, says their statement, although there are no clear indicators of exactly what the problem is.

Given that they are already without Leroy Sane, John Stones and Aymeric Laporte, this could well be a hammer blow for the champions’ title charge – the Belgian has a remarkable eight assists in just seven league appearances this term.

Understandably, while no one wants to see such quality players sitting on the treatment table, Reds fans can’t help but feel this has given them another advantage in their quest to finally be crowned kings of the Premier League.

Some are celebrating, some are hoping to “make it count” and one is just gutted to see a brilliant player sidelined. Either way, you can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

[ad_pod ]

“When the seagulls follow the trawler, it is because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea.”

If people thought Eric Cantona’s famous way with words had waned over time, then he firmly shattered that myth with his unbelievable speech at the Champions League draw on Thursday.

The iconic Frenchman went full-on Cantona-mode when taking to the stage to collect his UEFA President’s Award, and left the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi looking as though they’d just seen a ghost.

The Manchester United legend began by quoting from William Shakespeare’s King Lear, then moved onto how science would make mankind immortal (at least that’s what it sounded like), before ending off in typical nonchalant fashion by declaring he simply loved football.

It was quite the speech from the man whose beard would give Russell Crowe’s a run for its money, and it understandably led to many United fans flooding to Twitter to share their thoughts about their former star.

Most Red Devils supporters simply hoped Cantona would “never change” and appeared to revel in the 53-year-old’s maverick ways.

Some United fans who clearly weren’t on the same wavelength as the Frenchman just revealed their disbelief with a series of amusing gifs and deadpan comments.

Check out some of the stunned reaction of United fans below:

[ad_pod ]

[ad_pod ]Some Manchester City fans have taken to Twitter to criticise Nicolas Otamendi for his performance in the 3-2 defeat to Norwich.The back-to-back champions were shocked by the Canaries at Carrow Road as goals from Kenny McLean, Todd Cantwell and the in-form Teemu Pukki helped Daniel Farke’s men beat Pep Guardiola’s side.

Goals from Sergio Aguero and Rodri made things interesting late on, but Otamendi’s terrible error for Norwich’s third goal ultimately proved costly as the Citizens suffered their first defeat of the season.

The Argentina international was caught napping on the ball by Emi Buendia, who squared for Pukki to poke home, while the former Valencia centre-back looked a liability all game.

The 31-year-old received a 5.74 match rating on WhoScored – the lowest out of any player who started – whereas he didn’t make a single tackle or interception as Pukki tormented him throughout.

Let’s see what the City fans on Twitter have been saying about the 6 foot man’s showing…

[ad_pod ]

[ad_pod ]According to West Ham insider ExWHUemployee on Twitter, the Hammers have a couple of loan deals in the pipeline, but these are only likely to go through if they can shift either Lucas Perez or Javier Hernandez – Manuel Pellegrini will surely regret making one other signing in particular last summer that is taking up a crucial squad place if he cannot get rid of either.

What’s the word?

Well, ExWHUemployee understands that there are at least two loan deals agreed in principle; these could, however, fall through if the Irons cannot free up a squad place by offloading one of fringe strike duo Hernandez and Perez.

The London Stadium outfit have had a busy window with star hitman Marko Arnautovic nearly finding a move away and free agent Samir Nasri joining on the first day, however the real business seems to be going on in the final 24 hours.

Neither Perez or Hernandez have been particularly impressive this season but have not exactly been woeful either; perhaps West Ham would not be so desperate to be rid of either if they hadn’t have signed Carlos Sanchez in the summer. The Colombian has been a costly mistake and is taking up a valuable space on the wage bill.

Sick note Sanchez

The 32-year-old has made just five league appearances and could easily be out for the remainder of the season having sustained a nasty knee injury which required surgery back in September.

A typical midfield enforcer, the former Fiorentina man was expected to bring steel to the ranks but was average at best until he was sidelined.

With a lengthy list of wounded, West Ham are in dire need of some reinforcements but Pellegrini may be forced to cancel these crucial deals due to the size of his squad – signing Sanchez will surely be his biggest regret at the helm so far, particularly if missing out on these mystery players sees the East London outfit fail to secure the strong finish to the campaign they will want.

Who is West Ham’s worst ever signing? Check out the video above for a pretty strong candidate for the dubious honour…

[ad_pod ]

Football players will do anything to win.

Indeed, nobody likes to be on the losing team. Whether it’s a kickabout with your friends in the local park, Sunday league football, a game of Monopoly on Christmas day, beating your nan in a 100m sprint, or a full-blown Premier League outing, defeat is simply not an option. It’s the very reason you’ve got people like Michael Owen throttling shots at teenage hopefuls like it’s the World Cup (“well done, he’s only 13”).

Watch Arsenal Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Given the innate sense of raw competitiveness that scoots through the veins of any professional, it’s hardly surprising that, on occasion, they’ll try their best to appear more successful than they are.

Take Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s latest Instagram story, for example. Lurking in the background of the Arsenal forward’s victorious training ground side is a certain imposter by the name of Mesut Ozil, who Aubameyang has conveniently circled and outed for what he is: a cheat. Tut, tut, Mesut…

We weren’t born yesterday.

[ad_pod ]

Journalist Phil Hay has confirmed that Leeds United midfielder Adam Forshaw has only picked up a minor injury, hailing the update as ‘good news’.

The Lowdown: Forshaw limps off at West Ham

The Whites secured a brilliant 3-2 win away to West Ham on Sunday afternoon, in what was arguably one of their best results of the season.

Forshaw limped off in the first half at the London Stadium with a hamstring injury, however, and it was feared that he would be missing for a chunk of action given his previous woes.

With Kalvin Phillips already sidelined, as well as numerous others, it was a blow that Marcelo Bielsa could do without.

[freshpress-quiz id=“383507″]

The Latest: Hay confirms positive news

Thankfully, Forshaw took to Instagram on Monday to confirm that the issue is only a minor one, with Hay reacting to it on Twitter:

“Good news from Forshaw on the hamstring front. Looks to have avoided a bad one.”

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-news-31/” title=”Latest Leeds United news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Big boost for Leeds

This is a rare positive in the injury department for Leeds this season, with Forshaw claiming in his post he could potentially even be back for Saturday’s visit of Newcastle United in the Premier League.

The 30-year-old has been a revelation since returning from an extremely lengthy injury absence, starting ten league games and averaging 2.3 tackles per game, a tenaciousness in midfield they would be desperately lacking without him and Phillips.

Forshaw will remain a crucial figure in the middle of the park until the England star returns, as his hugely pleasing comeback from a career-threatening situation continues.

In other news, Hay has also given another positive Leeds injury update. Read more here.

David Ornstein has now dropped some big Everton managerial news involving both Frank Lampard and Vitor Pereira.

The Lowdown: Two candidates left?

The Goodison Park club’s hunt for a new permanent manager after the departure of Rafael Benitez now seems to be down to just two candidates – Lampard and Pereira.

It was reported by Sky Sports earlier this week that an announcement would be made within the next couple of days and that Pereira was the favourite for the job, but Lampard was still a possibility.

The Latest: Ornstein update

As per The Athletic journalist Ornstein, the final decision on who to appoint has not yet been made by Everton owner Farhad Moshiri, although it looks as if Lampard is very much back in the frame after some backlash concerning Pereira’s potential appointment.

Ornstein tweeted: “Amid a mixed reaction reaction to reports of Vitor Pereira’s potential appointment as Everton boss, understand a final decision has yet to be made by #EFC owner Farhad Moshiri and Frank Lampard is still very much in contention for the job.”

The Verdict: Lampard in

Some Everton fans already made their feelings known to the board that they want Lampard over Pereira, so given the previous controversies over hiring Benitez due to his Liverpool connections, they should now get who they want.

Crucially, Lampard has experience of managing in English football before with both Derby County and Chelsea, while Pereira has not worked in this country, and inside knowledge of the Premier League should always be valued.

At Chelsea, the 43-year-old started off pretty well too, guiding the Blues to automatic Champions League qualification in his first season despite a transfer ban; and with the Toffees also having some Financial Fair Play (FFP) problems of their own, he would appear to be the ideal choice.

In other news, find out what transfer update has left these Evertonians buzzing

West Ham United are interested in a deal to bring Lloyd Kelly to the London Stadium in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by The Telegraph, who claim that as a result of the long-term injuries picked up by both Angelo Ogbonna and Kurt Zouma, David Moyes is hoping to bring a new centre-back to East London next month.

The report goes on to state that one of the 58-year-old’s targets is AFC Bournemouth defender Kelly, who the Hammers boss is thought to be a fan of due to his positional versatility and his leadership qualities.

However, a further report by The Sun also claimed that Scott Parker’s side will not want to lose one of their most influential players halfway through the Championship season, meaning a deal for the 23-year-old will not likely be an easy one for West Ham to get over the line this winter.

The next Ferdinand

Considering just how much potential Kelly quite clearly possesses, should West Ham manage to get a deal over the line for the defender next month, it would undoubtedly be something of a coup for the club – particularly when taking into account the Hammers’ current problems in the heart of defence.

Indeed, over his 19 Championship appearances this season the £9m-rated ball-playing centre-back has been in phenomenal form, helping his side keep ten clean sheets and scoring one goal, as well as making an average of one interception, 0.5 tackles, 59.3 passes, 4.9 clearances and winning 63% of his duels per game.

These returns have seen the £21k-per-week defender average a highly impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.09, ranking him as the Cherries’ third-best performer in the second tier of English football.

Furthermore, the 23-year-old’s former manager, Jonathan Woodgate, clearly believes that Kelly is capable of making the step up to the Premier League, stating of the centre-back: “He’s got talent. He’s got a lot of attributes that Premier League teams look at.

“He’s played well against [Watford’s Ismaila] Sarr and played well again against Bristol City. I don’t see him being at Bournemouth long if he keeps on playing like that. He was brilliant. He’s got some strings to his bow now.

“At the minute he just looks like a bit of a Rolls-Royce, doesn’t he? He looked very, very good [against Bristol City]. I was impressed to be honest with you, especially when [Antoine] Semenyo tried to run him down the line and Semenyo gave him two yards and Lloydy overtook him.

“It’s eye-catching when things like that happen, especially as a fellow defender. When you see things like that, it’s like ‘you’ve got a bit’.”

Thus, it is clear for all to see that the England U21 international has an extremely bright future in the game, with his passing ability appearing to mirror that of a young Rio Ferdinand – who Harry Redknapp often deployed in midfield due to his ability with the ball at his feet.

As such, it would appear a very wise move for Moyes and his West Ham transfer team to do all they can to sign the Bournemouth defender this winter, as they could well unearth a future England international in the 23-year-old Kelly.

In other news: Forget Ogbonna: GSB must seal Moyes’ dream WHU deal with £12.6m gem who “will explode”