The search for a new manager is now in progress for Queens Park Rangers following the sacking of Steve McClaren, though it probably should have started sooner.

QPR’s form since the beginning of the new year has been absolutely dreadful, leaving them floating a few places above the relegation zone.

Still, better late than never, and the west London club could now look to appoint Tim Sherwood as they hope to avoid a catastrophic end to the season.

The Breakdown

Sky Sports reports the former Aston Villa manager is on the list of candidates to succeed McClaren in the dugout, with the Loftus Road hierarchy confident their next appointment should have no trouble in steering the team to safety.

The Rs are eight points above 22nd-placed Rotherham with the current Championship campaign edging closer to its conclusion.

Bearing that in mind, albeit perhaps an underwhelming name to most QPR supporters, Sherwood would not be the worst appointment if brought in on a short-term basis.

Considering the direction Tottenham were heading in under Andre Villas-Boas before his sacking back in 2013, Sherwood managed to steady the ship at White Hart Lane when he replaced the Portuguese coach.

Meanwhile, at Aston Villa, the 50-year-old also did well to guide the Midlands club to Premier League safety in the 2014/15 season when he came in to succeed Paul Lambert.

Ultimately, if QPR cannot get their first-choice target now with Sky Sports also reporting that Portsmouth’s Kenny Jackett is high on their list, then Sherwood could be their best bet temporarily.

QPR fans, are you open to the idea of Sherwood coming in? Join the discussion by commenting below.

It’s nearly that time again Celtic fans, nearly time to lift that Premiership trophy yet again. Eight in a row, how good does that sound? Indeed, Neil Lennon is looking to have what is an unexpected reunion with the Scottish trophy, though he’ll know more than anyone that there’s still work to be done. 

Lennon started the year planning his holidays, but since Brendan Rodgers took an unexpected U-turn on the Hoops, the club legend once again finds himself back in the driving seat at Celtic Park and looking to bring yet another title to his cabinet. Comfortable at the top of the tree, it’s not as if the Bhoys are playing blistering football, and the ex-Hibs coach will be looking to make his mark ahead of the club’s managerial search this summer.

So, with an away trip Dundee up next later today, we take a look at how Lennon can improve from the 0-0 draw last week.

Drop Ewan Henderson 

After featuring in the 0-0 draw with Aberdeen, only his third appearance for the first team in the league, it may be time for someone who has a bit more about them to really push Celtic over that line.

Despite grabbing an assist in his first appearance, it has been made clear to see that a step up to the first team may have been too soon for the 18-year-old, who should be blooded in once everything is wrapped up.

While not looking ready yet, the Scottish international has certainly shown why fans should be excited and look forward to what this young talent can bring next season. Don’t burn him, Neil.

Start Odsonne Edouard 

Showing exactly why fans should be excited about him, scoring 12 goals and grabbing 5 assists in 24 Premiership games, the 21-year-old forward has certainly had a season to remember.

Indeed, the last game Edouard played against Dundee resulted in a 0-5 away win, bagging himself a goal and an assist during the game, proving that he knows how to haunt their defence. Feed the Frenchman and he will score, making it an easy end of season for the Bhoys.

After the disappointing FA Cup exit, Crystal Palace have been left with many questions to answer. The poor way in which they succumbed to Watford pleased no fans, who are surely starting to doubt Roy Hodgson’s ability to take them forward.

The former England manager must be under the hammer amongst sections of the Eagles’ support after some poor fan reactions to the loss and needs to come up with another masterclass soon. As a crunch London Derby against Tottenham Hotspur is around the corner, Hodgson needs to keep his most dangerous assets fit for the encounter.

Before the Spurs derby lies a game against a tricky Huddersfield Town side, who have regained confidence under Jan Siewert, despite their run of results. Indeed, while the game cannot be taken lightly, forcing an unfit Wilfried Zaha to play could be catastrophic, despite the fact the club need him now more than ever. The influential winger has working overtime to regain fitness, but risking him against the Terriers could re-aggravate his injury to cause even bigger headaches for Palace.

Right now, it’s more important for him to upset Tottenham in their new home ground rather than pulling off the magnificent against relegation strugglers. Indeed, imagine how differently the campaign would look if Palace were able to spoil Spurs’ party, recording a historic win and really upsetting the odds.

Indeed, a fully-fit Zaha needs to be unleashed at White Hart Lane for Hodgson to record a famous victory and regain his reputation as a big-game expert. The Ivory Coast international, who is valued at £31.5 million (by Transfermarkt), has been on absolute fire this season having produced eight goals and five assists.

Palace fans, would you risk playing an unfit Zaha against Huddersfield at the weekend? Join the discussion by commenting below….

Wolves once again got themselves a fine result this weekend with an excellent 2-1 FA Cup win over Manchester United.

Nuno Santo’s men are putting in some excellent performances on their return to the Premier League, and we here in the Tavern would love to see them win the FA Cup to cap off what has been a fine season for the Molineux club.

However, to keep improving, Wolves need to ensure they keep bringing in top talent and we think that the summer could be a big period for the club if they are to keep going and take their game to the next level.

And one man we feel would be an excllent signing for the club is current West Brom midfielder, Rekeem Harper, who has had a superb debut season for the Baggies since being given his chance by Darren Moore at the Hawthorns.

Harper has been putting in some fine performances beyond his teenage years and a move to the Premier League seems to be the next logical step for the youngster.

Wolves themselves will be wise to keep adding the best talent they can, as if injuries do strike, they do appear somewhat light in some areas of the field.

Harper would bring his talent with him, but theres is plenty to his game to develop too, and his passing, calmness in possession, and potential make him a superb potential signing for Wolves.

What a missed opportunity that was! Manchester United had the chance to reach an FA Cup semi-final where only Manchester City looked a threat, but they blew it and it proves how right United are not give Ole Gunnar Solskjaer the job just yet.

The attacking football has been exciting. It’s fast, it’s dynamic and it does what Jose Mourinho failed to do in his tenure, get the most out of their wealth of forward-facing talent. However, when they lose the ball, the whole United side looks at sea and that’s down to Solskjaer’s careless nature.

There’s a reason he didn’t succeed at Cardiff, and that’s because they weren’t organised enough to deal with playing against teams who had more of the ball and were better than them, which was probably every team in the Premier League at the time. This weakness is shown less at United because they’re on the front foot in most games, but it rears its head on occasions.

Wolves are confident on their home turf, and it showed in their ability to retain the ball and attack with intent. That will have been encouraged by their knowledge that Solskjaer’s side are there for the taking if you go at them. PSG at Old Trafford and Arsenal last week proved this.

It’s clear United need investment at the back in the summer. Jose Mourinho obviously knew it, and that seems to be the reason why he didn’t feel he could attack with the freedom the current manager is doing. If he did, then United would struggle to defend the large spaces they leave at the back, just as they did against Wolves.

Mourinho would most probably have won that game on Saturday, and it once again shows that United must be cautious not to make a romantic appointment and bide their time to see if the Norweigan wises up defensively between now and the end of the season.

Man United fans, do you think the Wolves defeat was Solskjaer’s fault or his players’? Join the discussion by commenting below…

In their first game of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s permanent managerial reign, Manchester United scraped through a win like the old days. They were outworked and outwitted, but swift counter-attacks along with surprisingly stern defending from the back four allowed them to see through the result.

David Moyes signed Juan Mata back in January of 2014 and it’s safe to say he proved to be a genius signing.

However, United couldn’t move as quickly as they wanted to, mostly due to Juan Mata’s lethargic display as their No 10. The Spaniard made his first start since the Liverpool draw and was extremely unconvincing in being the key to unlock Watford’s defence.

Indeed, he was poor in movement, often slowing down United’s attack with his predictable passing. Undoubtedly one of the most gifted playmakers we’ve seen in the Premier League in recent years, perhaps this is a season too far for a player so clearly on the wane.

While Mata did link-up well with Anthony Martial, he could never churn that killer pass to his forwards, something so natural to him a few years ago. After being taken off, his replacement Jesse Lingard’s swiftness into action allowed United to seal the deal when he laid Martial’s winner after coming on. Sadly, the England international’s incisiveness is not something Mata can replicate anymore.

In the system Solskjaer prefers, the Spaniard is turning into a liability. He can’t just sit in one place and dictate games like he used to. Under the Norwegian, he’s only assisted one goal in seven games and he isn’t agile enough nor creative enough to actually make the forward runs and dictate the tempo of United’s fast-paced system.

As his contract runs down this summer (as per the Sun), the Red Devils shouldn’t bother renewing it. Mata doesn’t suit Solskjaer’s shape at all, as he should be allowed to leave and be replaced with an emerging youth academy star.

David Moyes signed Juan Mata back in January of 2014 and it’s safe to say he’s proved to be a genius signing, despite his quality levels dropping in recent times at Old Trafford.

United fans, would you be disappointed to see Mata leave in the summer? Join the discussion by commenting below…

Unrest at Roma could spell the worst possible news for Leeds United fans as Bielsa emerges as one of the favourites to move to the Italian capital next season.

As per Italian outlets La Gazzetta dello Sport and Il Messaggero (via Football Italia), Marcelo Bielsa and Leonardo Jardim have joined Gian Piero Gasperini, Marco Giampaolo and Maurizio Sarri on the list of possible permanent replacements for boss Claudio Ranieri, who replaced Eusebio Di Francesco as caretaker boss until the end of the term.

The move seems unlikely from our perspective given Bielsa had signed a contract with rivals Lazio just two years ago.

However, with reports as recent as February indicating that there is a good chance that Bielsa will leave if the club if they fail to secure Premier League promotion (Daily Mail), Leeds United fans will surely be a little concerned to hear that their beloved manager is already being linked with major European vacancies.

To say that losing Bielsa would be a disaster for their future prospects would be an understatement.

The Argentine has worked wonders for the club since succeeding a long list of managerial failures at the beginning of the season, instilling a bit of much-needed life and spirit back into the dormant giants of West Yorkshire, and to lose his influence now, at such an integral part of their transformation, would be a critical blow.

Indeed, we dare say that there are few out there that can command such a high level of intensity and style akin to that of Marcelo Bielsa; and even fewer that have been declared the ‘best coach in the world’ by Pep Guardiola and Mauricio Pochettino (Talk Sport).

Leeds United fans, could you see Marcelo Bielsa leaving the project prematurely – and, if so, how significant of a blow would this be? Let us know in the comments below…

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Southampton host Liverpool on Friday – the third time in the last six matches that the Saints have faced top-six opposition – when they will be hoping to, once again, build on their excellent displays of late and move one step closer to safety.

As we all know, though, the Reds are having an unbelievable season and will be hoping to leave St Mary’s Stadium with all three points – so tight is the title race that they won’t accept anything less.

Jurgen Klopp’s side have come on leaps and bounds since last year, when they were a relentless attacking machine who could win 4-3 most week, to one which wins 4-0 instead – having former Southampton man Virgil van Dijk at the back helps, too.

The German can recognise managerial brilliance when he sees it and has heaped praise on his opposite number, Ralph Hasenhuttl, ahead of another season-defining week for the Reds:

“In the time Ralph [Hasenhuttl] is in at Southampton I think they are eighth in the form table – that gives you good information about the intensity of the game probably.

“[Southampton] play a clear style of football. I have to say the job he is doing there is incredible. He brought young players in, academy players, a pretty brave decision.

“It’s a really good side, and the analysis was really interesting because it doesn’t look like a team that fights to stay in the league. They do what they do and they stick to it.”

Indeed, Klopp is right to praise the Saints boss – he has completed flipped their season on its head since taking over from Mark Hughes in December and the south coast outfit look almost certain to evade the drop, despite their situation looking pretty bleak a few months ago.

The impact Ralph Hasenhüttl has had at Southampton is certainly evident in the video below…

They were unlucky not to take at least a point from their clash with Manchester United at the start of March – that was their best performance of the season then – but, since, they have carried that momentum into every game and have been able to get the results their displays have warranted.

Having got the better of Spurs last time out, will they cause another big upset this weekend?

حدد الجهاز الفني للفريق الأول لكرة القدم بالنادي الأهلي بقيادة بيتسو موسيماني الرابعة والنصف عصر اليوم السبت، موعدًا للمحاضرة الفنية الأخيرة استعدادًا لمواجهة الوداد المغربي.

يلتقي الأهلي مع الوداد المغربي في التاسعة مساء اليوم بتوقيت القاهرة، الثامنة بتوقيت المغرب، في ذهاب نصف نهائي دوري أبطال إفريقيا والمحدد له على ملعب محمد الخامس بالدار البيضاء.

تشهد المحاضرة مراجعة التعليمات الفنية الأخيرة وإعلان تشكيل المباراة الرسمي، بالإضافة إلى تذكير اللاعبين بالخطة وغيرها من الأمور الفنية.

كما حدد موسيماني السادسة وعشر دقائق موعدًا لتحرك حافلة الفريق من مقر إقامته في كازابلانكا إلى ملعب محمد الخامس بالدار البيضاء؛ استعدادًا لمواجهة الوداد المغربي.

وتصل حافلة الفريق إلى ملعب المباراة قبل انطلاقها بساعة ونصف، وفقا لما تم الاتفاق عليه في الاجتماع الفني.

وتناولت بعثة الأهلي في العاشرة صباح اليوم وجبة الإفطار، بعدما وضع الجهاز الفني برنامج اليوم الأخير بالمغرب.

ومن المقرر أن تتناول البعثة وجبة الغداء في الثانية ظهرًا على أن يحصل الفريق على وجبة خفيفة في الخامسة مساء قبل التحرك إلى ملعب المباراة.

وبعقد بيتسو موسيماني جلسة أخيرة مع جهازه المعاون؛ من أجل التحضير لمباراة الوداد المغربي، وتشهد الجلسة مراجعة كافة الأمور الفنية الخاصة بالتحضير للقاء اليوم.

وشهد معسكر الأهلي في المغرب جلسات مكثفة بين موسيماني وجهازه المعاون؛ من أجل مناقشة كل كبيرة وصغيرة متعلقة بالمباراة ودراسة المنافس.

ومن ناحيته واصل محمود كهربا لاعب الأهلي تنفيذ برنامجه التأهيلي للتعافي من الإصابة في العضلة الخلفية.

وبدأ اللاعب في أداء تدريبات خفيفة بالكرة على هامش مران الفريق الجماعي أمس، الجمعة، بالمغرب قبل مواجهة الوداد تمهيدًا لعودته خلال الفترة المقبلة للتدريبات.

ويؤدي اللاعب برنامجا علاجيا وتأهيليا شاملا شهد بدء تنفيذ بعض التدريبات الخفيفة من أجل تجهيزه بشكل تدريجي للتدريبات الجماعية.

وتغادر بعثة النادي الأهلي مطار محمد الخامس بالدار البيضاء في الساعات الأولى من صباح غد الأحد، عقب خوض مباراة الوداد وتستغرق رحلة العودة إلى القاهرة خمس ساعات ونصف تقريبا.

Eight games stand between Southampton and Premier League survival this season.

A dreadful start to the 2018/19 campaign under former boss Mark Hughes saw the Saints consistently produce dismal displays of football which more often than not resulted in defeat.

By the start of December, Southampton’s poor form had seen them fall into the relegation zone which forced the club’s hierarchy to make the decision to bring an end to the Welshman’s brief spell at the club by replacing him with former RB Leipzig boss Ralph Hassenhuttl.

Since the Austrian’s arrival, the club’s fortunes on the pitch have improved significantly as they have picked up 21 points from 16 games bringing their total for the season up to 30. The likes of James Ward-Prowse and Danny Ings have thrived under the guidance of Hassenhuttl yet his influence has not had the desired effect on others with one player in particular standing out from the rest.

Nathan Redmond was once tipped to be one of England’s brightest prospects whilst coming through the ranks at Birmingham City having burst onto the scene as a teenager in 2010. A move to Norwich City three years later saw him develop his talents further, helping the Canaries achieve promotion to Premier League via the play-offs.

Despite being unable to save his side from relegation in the following season, Redmond produced a number of impressive performances in his debut campaign in England’s top tier which attracted the interest of Southampton.

The south-coast based side agreed a deal with Norwich to sign the winger in 2016 and early signs were promising as he scored seven Premier League goals which contributed to an eighth-placed finish for the Saints.

However, in the past two seasons Redmond has failed to match these totals as his form has notably regressed. This can be illustrated by the fact that he only scored once in all competitions last season and has just three goals to his name in the Premier League during the 2018/19 campaign despite making 30 appearances for the Saints.

Although he is still an undeniably talented player, his inconsistencies in a Southampton shirt could see Hassenhuttl call time on his career at the club. Any decision surrounding Redmond’s future will ultimately come down to whether the former FC Inglostadt boss believes that he can finally add some much-needed end product to his game on a consistent basis.

Regardless on whether the Saints are playing in the Premier League or the Championship next season, the next nine games could prove definitive for Redmond’s career at the club.

What do you think Southampton fans? Do you think that you should sell Redmond in the summer? Who would you replace the England international with? Let us know below.