All posts by h716a5.icu

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Arsenal’s season looked incredibly promising on 1st April, with many fans and pundits backing the North Londoners for a top four finish. Since then, the Gunners have crumbled, leaving their hopes of finishing fourth all but over providing there are no end-of-season miracles.

Unai Emery’s men took to the field on Sunday afternoon knowing a win would put them in a very strong position for Champions League qualification via the league, as Chelsea and Tottenham face tricky games on the final day of the season.

It wasn’t to be as Granit Xhaka brought down Solly March in the penalty area, before Glenn Murray converted the spot kick to deny Arsenal the three points.

Social media erupted as the patience of Arsenal fans broke, leaving many star players in the firing line of criticism from their supporters.

One star in particular, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, received some rather misplaced criticism. The striker has contributed 20 goals and five assists in the Premier League this season, though has also been erratic in front of goal at times.

Arsenal have been crying out for a world-class striker for years, and in Alexander Lacazette and Aubameyang – who allegedly takes home £200k per week – they’re now blessed with two.

Though not all fans are happy with the Gabonese striker’s contribution…

Robert Bayly, from footballing prodigy to a life of crime in the space of ten years.

Football can be a ruthless sport at times, it really can. When we turn up on Saturdays to watch our favourite players strut their magic, we don’t give much thought to the many thousands of players who dreamt of the moment they would step out onto the turf of their respective stadiums to the sound of their name reverberating around the terraces, only for it to never happen for one reason or another. Indeed, we rarely consider the anonymous majority who never realised their dream, and the fact that every moment they spend after being dumped from the cruel grasp of the sport is as painful as last, as they recount the moment their ambitions slips through their fingers like water through cracks in the floor.

For Leeds prodigy Robert Bayly this harsh reality was all too relatable.

Leeds United were still mourning the loss of their Premier League status when they handed the budding midfield ace his first professional contract and a chance to shine. At the tender age of 18, the Republic of Ireland man carried the hopes and dreams of the battered Elland Road faithful, who more than anything wanted something to hang their hopes on for the future.

Unfortunately, their faith was misplaced, and the moment Bayly put on the famous white shirt, he was doomed. Following a forgettable substitute appearance against Southend United in the League Cup on October 24, 2006, the youngster landed himself in trouble during his league debut for attempting to headbutt a Derby player. Couldn’t even do that properly, says it all.

Bayly was released by Leeds in August 2008, and after an unsuccessful trial with Darlington, returned to his home nation a defeated man.

Burdened with broken dreams and unfilled potential, he first joined club Sporting Fingal in March 2009 before linking up with Shamrock Rovers a year later. He remained with the club long enough to collect their first ever goal in a European club competition, scoring against Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv. Who, you may ask? We have absolutely no idea. But hey, what an achievement. It sure beats what happened next, anyhow.

We say that because, following a string of ten transfers around the Irish domestic leagues, Bayly was jailed for two-and-a-half years in March 2018 for transporting almost €200,000 worth of cannabis across Ireland. Yes, that’s right – Bayly went from “child prodigy” to a wannabe Pablo Escobar in a matter of ten years.

The former Republic of Ireland youth international claimed that he had pursued a life of crime because of a gambling addiction that had been harrowing him since joining Leeds all those years ago, and while we have no reason not to believe that, we can’t help but wonder if their were greater forces at power to leave him in such a state.

Without going into too much detail, it’s about time clubs take responsibility for their former players and stop treating them like spent commodities.

Leeds United fans, what are your standout memories of Robert Bayly (if any)? Let us know in the comments below!

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Rangers may have recorded a morale-boosting victory in the Old Firm derby on Sunday afternoon but that has not managed to eliminate negativity from the club this week.

As expected, the game was fiercely contested and there were incidents for the referee to deal with, one of which has been dealt with retrospectively.

That was, of course, the incident involving Jon Flanagan and Scott Brown, with the former booked for elbowing the Celtic man in the face.

But he has since been banned after a three-man panel decided it was a red card offence. Jozo Simunovic, however, has managed to escape retrospective punishment for a similar offence.

According to Press Association journalist Andy Newport, Simunovic was referred to the same three-man panel of ex-referees as the Flanagan incident but there was not a unanimous agreement that it was also worthy of a red card.

Naturally, that revelation was met with widespread fury and disdain amongst the Gers faithful, as accusations of blatant bias and corruption ran rife on Twitter.

And it’s easy to sympathise with their frustration given what happened at Ibrox on Sunday.

Here’s what the infuriated Rangers fans had to say in response to Newport’s tweet…

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With ongoing financial struggles backing the club into a corner in the past couple of years, more and more emphasis has been placed on bringing through youngsters to shape the future at QPR, with signing big-name players to make an impact in the short-term no longer realistic.

Mark Warburton looks set to give the youth ample opportunities in the first team in 2019/20 and for Marcin Brzozowski, who signed a contract extension on Tuesday that will keep him at Loftus Road until next summer, it’s an exciting time.

The 20-year-old spent last season on loan at Harlow Town, where he gained some valuable experience, and is targeting a breakthrough to the first team having seen the likes of Ebere Eze flourish.

Pl>ymaker FC’s Theo Ogden found two rebelious Leeds fans in the home end at Loftus Road in QPR’s 2-1 FA Cup win. Find out what happened next in the video below…

A Poland youth-international, the 6 ft 3 shot-stopper will have to compete with Joe Lumley for a starting berth next term, but he’s surely up for the challenge.

Here’s what the Hoops fans had to say on Twitter…

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Now that Neil Lennon knows he will be taking permanent charge of Celtic heading into next season he can get on the with the business of rebuilding a squad at the end of its current cycle.

The club may have just won a treble for the third consecutive year but fans will be expecting that success to be sustained, with the dream of progressing in Europe also a consideration.

With experienced players like Mikael Lustig out of contract and others first-team regulars such as Dedryck Boyata leaving, the Hoops boss has quite a task ahead of him when it comes to strengthening his squad for the challenges ahead.

On the chalkboard

The defensive line is the key priority for Lennon this summer, with arguably four or five defenders in different positions needing to come into the club and replace those moving on and improve upon what’s already available.

At centre-back both Boyata and Filip Benkovic will not be around so two quality first-team ready players will be needed to compete with Kristoffer Ajer and Jozo Simunovic.

Watch the best fails from the world of indoor football in the video below…

At right-back, Anthony Ralston is currently the only player expected to be available and given he has hardly played any matches for the Hoops over the last few years then another first-team calibre star is required in the position.

Those are simply the signings needed to keep up the numbers in the squad currently and although less of a priority, fans are craving a left-back that can play effective back-up to Kieran Tierney, who has been overused and run down in recent seasons to the detriment of his fitness and health.

Setting the tone

It’s fair to say that Lennon’s appointment has been fairly divisive amongst supporters of the Hoops, with many feeling he is a step backwards for the club and not able to maintain the standards set by Brendan Rodgers.

The way to get fans on board will be to both comfortably take care of early European qualifiers and also show real intent in the transfer market.

Fans are concerned that Lennon is simply the cheap option, but by showing authority and bringing in the signings he wants early in pre-season, he can demonstrate to supporters there is no reason to worry.

Sign a few quality players and there’ll be more hope around Celtic Park, providing the momentum needed heading into the new season.

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According to a report back in March, Everton and Director of Football Marcel Brands had two strikers, full-backs, a centre-back, a midfielder and a keeper on their summer transfer wishlist – one of those has already been ticked off with the arrival of Huddersfield stopper Jonas Lossl.

Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of that report is the fact that the Toffees want two strikers. Marco Silva already has Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Cenk Tosun at his disposal, whilst Oumar Niasse is set to return from a loan spell at Cardiff.

The likes of Aleksandar Mitrovic and Danny Welbeck have already been strongly linked with a move to Goodison Park, but there’s no need to recruit two new front men after a decision Everton made earlier this month; the one to sign young Ellis Simms up to a first professional contract.

In this era of ‘big 6’ dominance, has finishing 7th become as good as winning a trophy? The Pl>ymaker FC squad have their say in the video below…

At just 18 years of age, Simms shone for Paul Tait’s Under-18 side in 2018/19 and netted a whopping 32 goals in just 21 games in the U18 Premier League, whilst also making his debut for David Unsworth’s title winning Under-23 side.

Despite his youthful age, Simms has shown remarkable ability to score goals. The wonderkid is already on the radar of Europe’s top clubs such as Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Monaco, and Silva certainly needs to start taking the teenager’s incredible talent seriously.

It has been reported that the Toffees are prepared to offer Welbeck a contract in excess of £100,000-a-week in order to lure him to Merseyside, whilst Mitrovic will assumingly cost upwards of the £22m Fulham spent on him just a year ago.

Perhaps Everton do need a bit of extra firepower to truly challenge the Premier League’s top sides, but Brands would be saving the club a wad of cash if he lined up Simms to fill one of the two striker slots on his alleged wish list.

With the dust having settled on Sheffield United’s fantastic Championship campaign, Chris Wilder will now be keen to build towards prolonging the club’s stay in the Premier League.

Yet in order to do so, it is imperative that he brings in several quality additions to Bramall Lane when the transfer window opens in July.

Although he already has a strong squad at his disposal, Wilder could benefit significantly from bringing in Kieran Dowell on a permanent deal this summer. According to the Liverpool Echo, the Blades are reportedly weighing up a move for the 21-year-old with Huddersfield Town also monitoring his situation at Everton.

Having joined the Blades on loan from the Toffees in January, the midfielder showed glimmers of his talent during the second half of the 2018/19 season, providing crucial contributions against West Bromwich Albion and Aston Villa.

A perfect player for Wilder’s 3-5-2 system, Dowell produced encouraging performances both in the central positions as well as on the wing and therefore would bring some much-needed versatility to United.

Whereas it is fair to say that he did have his troubles with consistency during his 5-month stint with the Blades, there is no reason why Dowell cannot develop into a fantastic player under the guidance of Wilder and his assistant Alan Knill.

Already an England under-21 international, the £2.7m-rated ace (via Transfermarkt) clearly has all the ingredients needed to thrive at the top level in order to fulfil his potential, he may have to leave Goodison Park.

Since graduating from Everton’s academy in 2014, Dowell has only made five starts for the club in all competitions and with the likes of Gylfi Sigurdsson, Idrissa Gueye and Morgan Schneiderlin all ahead of him in the pecking order, he could surely be attracted towards a move to United.

Although it will be far from cheap to secure the services of the midfielder, it is well worth the risk for the Blades as he could prove to be the difference between relegation and survival next season.

What do you think United fans? Would you welcome a summer swoop for Dowell? Could he thrive under the guidance of Wilder next season? Get in touch below.

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Leeds United fans on Twitter are split as to what the club should do with Jay-Roy Grot next season.

The Dutchman spent last season out on loan in his home country at VVV-Venlo where he has been quite impressive.

He scored six goals and created three assists for teammates in the Eredivisie during his loan spell, and that has prompted Leeds fans to wonder if he should return next season.

He didn’t reach those types of levels when he pulled on the famous white shirt of Leeds during his first season at the club where he scored only once in 20 appearances for the Yorkshire outfit.

Aged just 21 there is plenty of time for the youngster to develop as a player, and while some supporters want to see him given a chance next season others want him to go out on loan again.

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

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Reports in the Yorkshire Evening Post have linked Leeds United with a loan move for 21-year-old Brighton centre-back Ben White.

The young defender spent the second half of last season out on loan at Peterborough United, but his impressive performances for The Posh have seen him attract interest from the Championship.

On the chalkboard

If this move does materialise, it is unlikely that White will join Bielsa’s side as a starting option considering the strength of Liam Cooper and Pontus Jansson’s partnership.

With the preferred centre-back duo not looking like being split up anytime soon, White would most likely be arriving as an option to bolster the strength in depth.

With Bielsa preferring to operate with a very small squad, the role of a reserve centre-half can be vital.

This was shown towards the back end of last season as Jansson missed the Whites’ playoff run and Gaetano Berardi had to step in after recovering from his own injury problems.

The Swiss defender played brilliantly in the first leg against Derby but, in the second match, he completely lost his head and was sent off.

Berardi out of favour

Berardi has been linked with a move away from Elland Road this summer.

It is unknown whether this move for White will indicate a departure for the 30-year-old, but it certainly demonstrates that he has slipped down the pecking order.

The former Sampdoria man has been Bielsa’s go-to man when there has been a gap to plug in the backline – whether it be at left-back or centre-back – but after his dismissal against Derby gave the Argentine reason to doubt his reliability next season.

White’s arrival will hand Berardi a major challenger and his game-time could diminish significantly as a consequence.

Given Berardi’s actions in the playoffs, that may well be for the best.

It’s now well-documented, Christian Eriksen has shown his hand, admitting he’s ready for a new challenge (speaking to Ekstrabladet, via Sky Sports) away from Tottenham. However, the Dane has perhaps dealt his cards too early and may now actually struggle to find anything representing a significant improvement. 

Rumours circulated regarding Zinedine Zidane’s interest in the former Ajax wizard prior to his statement with AS claiming Daniel Levy had met with Florentino Perez in the build-up to the Champions League final amid interest in the player.

Still, such is the nature of the ever-churning rumour mill, it has later been claimed by Marca that Los Blancos are no longer interested in the creative midfielder, with journalist Tom McDermott (via The Sun) also reporting that Eriksen has turned down a proposed move to Manchester United.

It makes you think, where could Eriksen actually go?

The Sun stated that Eriksen turned the move down as he prefers a move to Spain. That’s all well and good and surely the idea of seeing such a good player leave for a different league rather than a domestic rival is more appealing to Spurs, but it doesn’t look as if the La Liga giants want him.

Right now, there doesn’t seem to be a natural move for the 27-year-old, unless he either changes his apparent stance on a move to Old Trafford or Madrid change their reported decision on him. Tough times.

So, with a move to a rival Premier League team seemingly unlikely, and links to the Bernabeu cooling down, that doesn’t leave all too many options to leave north London. Indeed, it must be stressed that he is still under contract with the Lilywhites, of course, but there does look to be a busy summer ahead for the club in terms of potential arrivals.

With Spurs now reportedly interested in both Giovani Lo Celso and Tanguy Ndombele, the Dane may find himself in trouble. Of course, he remains a top talent but if he isn’t fully committed to the cause, would Mauricio Pochettino seriously stick with him? There is always a chance, obviously, but perhaps Spurs’ summer business could leave him behind.

Tottenham fans, what do you think about the current Eriksen situation? Will he be at Tottenham next season? Comment below.