All posts by z3u9t.icu

Only a club like Arsenal could be favourites for two of the most exciting sporting directors in world football and end up with nothing.

In a double-punch blow for Unai Emery, neither Monchi and Marc Overmars will be making the move to north London this summer, with the former Roma sporting director heading back to his former club in Sevilla and the Dutch legend committing his future to Ajax by signing a new long-term contract with the Amsterdam giants.

Arsenal now must look elsewhere for the man that will be tasked with bringing in the players to propel the Gunners back into the Premier League elite. Although there are still a plethora of candidates that could fill out the role including former scout Francis Cagigao and current heady of youth recruitment Steve Morrow, it might be ideal for the north London hierarchy to look away from internal figures and search away from England.

Enter Ben Manga.

Currently the chief scout of Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt, Manga’s work has been credited as a reason for the German side’s recent meteoric rise from surviving the relegation play-offs in 2016 to now being underdogs for the Europa League.

Manga, who joined the club shortly after Frankfurt’s Bundesliga survival, has been responsible for bringing the likes of Ante Rebic, Sebastian Haller and Luka Jovic to the club, three players who have been revelations in Germany’s top flight.

As well as being able to identify exciting young talent, the 45-year-old former midfielder has been smart when it comes to adding experienced heads in the dressing room.

Kevin-Prince Boateng and Jonathan de Guzman were both brought in on free transfers and were essential clogs in Frankfurt’s DFB-Pokal win in 2017/18, their first major honour for nearly 30 years.

It’s understandable why Arsenal were keen to bring in Monchi or Overmars to fill out the role of technical director, but in Manga, the Gunners have a chance to appoint one of the most promising figures in the game, and someone who can take the north London club back to the level they want to return to.

Arsenal fans, would you take Manga as the technical director?

[ad_pod ]

Reiss Nelson is one of the most exciting academy products to have emerged at Arsenal in recent years. The 19-year-old is widely considered as a future first-team talent, but his time in Germany has not been as fruitful as fans expected at the start of the season.

Initially, Julian Nagelsmann slowly introduced Nelson into the first-team and his faith in the youngster paid dividends.

The loanee notched six goals and provided one assist in his first seven Bundesliga appearances, impressing fans of both his temporary and parent club in the process.

But the hype which surrounded the early phase of his loan spell diminished after he struggled to maintain his early season form.

First-team opportunities have been at a premium and he has now gone 11 games without providing a single goal contribution.

However, a change of scenery seemed to do the trick for the struggling youngster on Thursday evening, as Nelson provided an assist for Dominic Calvert-Lewin to give England’s Under-21s the lead against Poland.

It was a moment of relief for the goal and assist-shy attacker, and plenty of the Gunners faithful on Twitter took the opportunity to laud his contribution.

And fans of the England national side and the north London giants will surely be hoping he can use his international impact to transform his form at Hoffenheim during the final weeks of his season-long loan deal.

Here’s what the Arsenal fans had to say about Nelson’s Under-21 display:

Sheffield United lost ground this weekend in the race for promotion as they saw Leeds win while losing at home Bristol City themselves.

The Blades, who have been in fine form for much of the season in the Championship, will be hoping to land a top two spot, but will still know a play-off place is a massive bonus for a club who are only in their second year back in the Championship.

With the summer bound to be another big one regardless of their league, the Blades are today being linked with a move for Aberdeen captain Graeme Shinnie.

The 27-year-old has developed into a fine central midfielder in the Scottish league, and with his contract running out, the Blades are looking to swoop and add the impressive all action midfielder to their ranks over the summer.

And we here in the Tavern feel it would be a shrewd move by the Blades to land Shinnie, who would fit in well with the club ethos at Bramall Lane.

In Shinnie, United would be getting a player who is all action and plenty of heart, something that manager Chris Wilder loves to see in his players.

Add to this their lack of options in the middle of the park outside of John Fleck and Oliver Norwood, and Shinnie’s arrival would appear to make massive sense for the club.

The Blades don’t and never will have the biggest budget in the Championship, so signing someone on a free with the ability, drive, and will to win like Shinnie has could well prove to be a brilliant move by the club.

While others are interested, it has to be said that Shinnie and the Blades look like a match made in heaven.

[ad_pod ]

Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa praised midfielder Mateusz Klich during his pre-match Millwall press conference and also revealed that he came close to leaving the club last summer, and Whites fans have been quick to react on Twitter.

The Poland international is set to make his 50th appearance for the Yorkshire outfit when the Lions come to town on Saturday, and the Argentine manager was happy to wax lyrical about the 28-year-old who is tasked with something of a box-to-box role at Elland Road.

Plenty of United supporters reacted to their boss’ fascinating and insightful comments with one saying “just when you think you can’t love Bielsa more”.

That wasn’t the only thing to come from the discussion about Klich though, as the experienced coach revealed the player was keen to go last summer having found himself as the fourth-choice option in his position, all before Ronaldo Vieira departed for Sampdoria and loanee Lewis Baker struggled to make an impact.

Plenty of fans are clearly glad that didn’t turn out to be the case, which is no surprise considering how good he has been in the No.8 role for the automatic promotion hopefuls this term.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

[ad_pod ]

Georginio Wijnaldum has been in good form for Liverpool this season, making 37 appearances in all competitions for Jurgen Klopp’s side.

The midfielder has not received too many plaudits, but certainly performs an important role for a Liverpool team chasing success in the Premier League and Champions League.

Wijnaldum has made 129 appearances for the Reds since a 2016 move from Newcastle United, but his current deal will expire at the end of the 2020-21 campaign.

There has not yet been any news on the 28-year-old’s contract situation.

The Liverpool fans, however, have been on social media calling for an announcement on the 5 ft 9 ace.

It seems likely that the Reds will look to sign a new attacking midfielder this summer, but Wijnaldum has again shown his class at Anfield this season and will surely want to stay with the Premier League title challengers.

A selection of the Twitter reaction from the Liverpool supporters can be seen below:

Rangers legend Ronald De Boer believes he knows the best way for Steven Gerrard to overhaul their rivals at the summit of the Premiership table in years to come, but admits that his plan will not be an immediate fix.

De Boer is coaching the Ajax Under-19 team, and the club has seen a number of its academy graduates emerge as first team regulars — something that Rangers can benefit from, in his eyes.

Mixing youth with player investment is what helped Ajax reach the last eight of this year’s Champion’s League, and the former Rangers star is a big fan of “giving the kids time”.

It may not be ideal for the Ibrox club, as establishing success this way would take patience and time, but De Boer believes that fans would prefer to see local young players winning trophies for the club.

He told the Daily Star: “I am in favour of giving the kids time.

“At the end of the day, when you bring through your own players your club will be so healthy.

“It is also great for the fans to have local boys in their team. That is something special.

“If you put a lot of money into the youth system like we do at Ajax then in the end you will get the results.

“When that is working properly, when you have good youth coaches, then you will always be a very healthy club.”

Of course, when you are in charge of a club where your city rivals are winning titles and trophies year upon year, the need for fans to see instant success is very demanding.

Gerrard has said he wants to have funds available to buy players this summer, that can see Rangers challenging Celtic in the league next year.

To do that, he would need a sizeable budget, and is already trying to cool expectations with comments claiming an inability to pay substantial fees for players like Ryan Kent.

If that is the case, then it would seem a long way from the type of money he will need to mount a realistic title-winning campaign, so De Boer’s long-term strategy may be more prudent.

De Boer added: “Sometimes you have a good generation and you have four or five players who come through to the first team.

“But you are also doing well if you have one or if you are lucky two coming through into the first team. That is a very healthy situation.

“I think Rangers should look to do it more and not just focus on signing players for the first team.

“It always starts with the foundation and the pillars of success are the youth.”

With the talented youngsters starting to knock on the door of the first team, some of who are coming through the reserve side, while others are currently out on loan, it is something that may pay off for Rangers.

Players like Glenn Middleton and Greg Docherty are excelling this year, and could be ready to make the transition after the summer.

If Gerrard can get a good blend of youth and sensible recruitment, maybe Rangers will become the dominant force they once were in Scottish football.

What do you think of De Boer’s comments Rangers fans? Is he right to suggest your club play the long game in your pursuit of league titles? Let us know below…

The crushing loss to Barcelona pointed out various places of improvement at Manchester United.

Indeed, the most immediate one calls for removing the mediocrity from the squad. Unfortunately, the Reds Devils’ own captain Ashley Young is almost the symbol of everything wrong for them right now.

The former Aston Villa man has been Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s go-to man after arriving. However, he’s barely convincing in his commander’s role. Think about all the famous captains United have had over the years, the likes of Roy Keane, Bryan Robson and Nemanja Vidic, and compare Young to them.

Grim, isn’t it?

Frankly, Young, who earns £120k-a-week, according to Spotrac, is way too error-prone for his teammates to even take him seriously as their leader.

He’s continuously made mistakes which have haunted the Red Devils. Against Barcelona, he crumbled under pressure to give away the ball on numerous occasions, most noticeably resulting in Lionel Messi’s stunning goal. Young wasn’t vocal enough nor could he motivate the players during either leg, only demoralizing them with his shocking performances.

The 33-year-old’s no leader. He can’t create anything from the wings, further reiterated by the fact he attempted 11 crosses, but all were inaccurate. His crossing accuracy in 24 Premier Leauge appearances is only 23% (stats via Premier League), while he’s been booked eight times in those games. Defensively outsmarted by almost every winger, he’s not the reliable cog the Norwegian’s looking for.

Let’s not have another Antonio Valencia. The Ecuadorian was a winger pushed back into the full-back role for years while the Red Devils focused their money on other areas, simply ignoring the main issues. That just can’t happen again.

The mighty have fallen too far, and Young’s a big reason for their recent slump, with his disastrous performances being enough reason for Solskjaer to strip him off captaincy next season. He’s signed a new deal recently but it most certainly doesn’t mean he has to play…

United fans, do you think Young should remain as captain next season? Join the discussion by commenting below…

[ad_pod ]

A number of Manchester United fans on Twitter have questioned Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, after the Norwegian took his players on a trip back in time to the club’s former training ground, The Cliff.

The Red Devils used to train at the complex before moving into their current Carrington-based facilities in 2000, which Solskjaer was keen to take them out of for a brief period of time in order to give them a ‘reality check’.

Who would win out of Man Utd’s treble winners and Man City today? Fans discuss in the video below…

The Cliff was home to a number of Old Trafford greats such as David Beckham, Gary Neville and Solskjaer himself, and helped shape some of United’s greatest ever sides.

However, whilst it is a respectable idea from the former Cardiff boss, a number of United supporters have questioned Solskjaer for the decision, with some keen to see him move away from copying Sir Alex Ferguson and define his own legacy at the club.

Let’s see what the club’s fans on Twitter have been saying on the matter…

Five years after signing with Newcastle United, Ayoze Perez is finally fulfilling his potential in being a quality striker.

The Spaniard hit double digits in a season for the first time, after a stunning hat-trick against Southampton, looking like the club’s best goalscoring outlet since the days of Papiss Cisse, Demba Ba and potentially even Loic Remy if we’re feeling generous.

While it’s far too early to compare him with the Newcastle legends yet – despite the goalscoring company he finds himself in – even Alan Shearer would be impressed with his work up front. Despite basically operating from a right-wing role, in a 5-4-1 formation, the Spaniard proved his clinical ability down the middle to his manager. Indeed, he scored three different quality strikes, showcasing trickery, pace and finishing skills all in one packed performance.

Perez – somehow only valued at £9m by Transfermarkt – proved to be the complete package to light up St. James’ Park once again. However, the stunning performance proved he shouldn’t be retained to a wide role anymore. He just isn’t effective working through the wings, proved by his meagre two assists all season long.

The Spaniard is a cunning goal-scorer who has finally come off age at Tyneside. He should be working down the middle from now on, not being restricted to creating chances, putting in crosses or working to Salmon Rondon’s benefit.

Even if the Venezuelan leaves, Perez’s clinical work down the middle means he won’t be missed much. It can actually work in the Magpies’ favour, as the Spaniard can prove his goal-scoring prowess by getting more exposure leading their line and becoming the goal-machine Newcastle fans have craved for long.

Newcastle fans, are you impressed by Perez’s coming off age this season? Join the discussion by commenting below…

[ad_pod ]

Sunderland were on course to take the fight for automatic promotion to the final day as they led Fleetwood Town for 44 minutes during their League One clash at Highbury on Tuesday night, but a late collapse ensured they were officially consigned to the play-offs.

Defeat for Portsmouth on the same night meant that the Black Cats had the perfect chance to jump above the south coast club in the table and still have something to play for this weekend, even if they needed a win and a goal difference swing.

However goals from Paddy Madden and Ashley Eastham in the final 17 minutes ensured that wasn’t going to happen.

Sunderland fans have suffered a lot of heartache over the years but one fan manages to pick his ultimate low in the video below…

The latter found the net in the 94th minute to rub salt into the visitors’ wounds, with Jack Ross’ men struggling for form and only taking only two points from the previous nine available ahead of their trip to Southend United on Saturday.

Midfielder Lee Cattermole is known for his committed performances – and yellow cards – on the pitch, and you may have expected that he in particular would have been furious after the late goal that ensured the Mackems would return to Wearside with no points.

However, the 31-year-old instead cut a forlorn figure as you can see from the photograph above, which indicates the lack of confidence he and his teammates have right now.

Sunderland need to pull themselves together in the coming days and weeks if they are to secure an instant return to the Championship, especially given they could face either Pompey or an in-form Charlton Athletic in the play-off semi-finals.