All posts by z3u9t.icu

Former Premier League striker Dean Windass has exclusively told Football FanCast that he was confused by Jose Mourinho’s tactics in Sunday’s north London derby.

Following a wretched run of form, the Spurs boss has become slightly more expansive in recent weeks which has seen Tottenham win four matches on the bounce in all competitions, scoring 13 times in the process.

But Mourinho went with a familiar cautious approach at the Emirates, despite picking up attacking line-up, which included Tanguy Ndombele, Lucas Moura, Gareth Bale, Heung Min Son and Harry Kane – with Erik Lamela’s Rabona goal their only registered shot in the first-half.

And goals from Martin Odegaard and Alexandre Lacazette saw Arsenal turn the game around – with Mourinho’s team only throwing caution to the wind once Lamela was sent off in the latter stages for elbowing Kieran Tierney.

Their attacking intent was nearly rewarded with a point, with Kane striking the post before Davinson Sanchez’s effort was cleared off the line by Gabriel.

But Windass doesn’t understand why the Tottenham manager is so defensive in games against the traditional top-six.

He told Football FanCast:

“I couldn’t believe what I was watching. There were so many players strolling around, it was like an end of season game, they were strolling around, there was no intensity. Harry Kane was very isolated, very quiet, even though he had a couple of chances. It was a bad day at the office. I fancied Tottenham, it was one of those games where you don’t have them very often.

“His tactics change against the top teams, maybe that’s why he gets a lot of criticism. When he does play against the top teams, he parks the bus a little and allows them to come on, they defend very deep and get them on the counter-attack.

“That’s probably why he takes a lot of flack and that’s why he has lost all of those games against the top-six. But then he’ll go to West Brom and be more expansive, I don’t get it.”

Tottenham have now lost five straight matches away at the ‘so called’ big six, suggesting Mourinho’s approach isn’t working and a Plan B is required.

Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed that Allan has returned to training following a hamstring injury, which may leave Andre Gomes facing a fight for his position at Everton.

The Blues have been without Allan for their past seven Premier League fixtures after seeing the Brazilian forced off after 40 minutes during a 2-0 win over Leicester City in December.

Allan had opened 12 of Everton’s 13 top-flight matches following a £21m summer transfer from Serie A side SSC Napoli before the blow, having only sat out October’s 4-2 win at home to Brighton and Hove Albion due to a groin strain.

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Ancelotti said ahead of the clash against Manchester United on Saturday, that “he started training with the team today [Friday]”. And with the Brazilian having been out of action recently, the Toffees boss has had to turn to Andre Gomes to be his man in the engine room.

Ancelotti even lauded the £18m-rated gem as his Man of the Match for his performance against Leeds, noting: “In my opinion, tonight, the best player on the pitch was Andre Gomes. He played technically, physically, tactically a fantastic game. This is the real Andre Gomes. The real Andre Gomes that we need.”

But for how much longer fans will see that Gomes on the field remains to be seen with Allan seemingly nearing a return to action, as the Brazilian should walk straight back into the starting line-up once fully fit to again anchor the side.

Despite missing the best part of the past two months through injury, Allan continues to boast the highest number of successful tackles (41) and ground duels won (79) in the Premier League among Everton’s midfield options. Doucoure is second for times taking possession (34) while Alex Iwobi is second for ground duels won (58), per SofaScore.

Allan is also level in first with Doucoure for shots blocked (6) and Gomes for accurate long passes (29), while boasting twice as many successful dribbles (20) as Gylfi Sigurdsson who has only taken possession up the field nine times in the top-flight to date this term.

Ancelotti will likely have to decide between benching Gomes or Sigurdsson to free space for Allan to return, thus must see his £112,000-per-week former FC Barcelona ace prove to be more creative than the Iceland international if Gomes is to retain his place.

While Sigurdsson only trails James Rodriguez at Everton for chances created in the Premier League this season with 23 key passes to the Colombian’s 29, Gomes has only carved out seven goal scoring opportunities of which zero were clear-cut chances.

Gomes proved against Leeds that he can do everything else needed in the engine room, but only adding a creative edge will ensure he sits ahead of Sigurdsson in the pecking order once Allan is back available for selection.

He stands to face a real fight for his place at Goodison Park when the club’s Brazilian lynch-pin makes his return to the pitch.

AND in other news, a £65k-p/w Everton titan faces a fight at Everton after Carlo Ancelotti was left “really surprised” vs Leeds…

Southampton face Everton on Monday night looking to end their dreadful recent form, although it couldn’t be a much tougher fixture for Ralph Hasenhuttl, especially considering the Saints’ woeful record at Goodison Park.

The South Coast club’s last win at Goodison Park came 24 years ago in 1997, so Hasenhuttl’s side will have to be at their best if they want to end this hoodoo and take three points away from Carlo Ancelotti’s side.

If the Austrian manager wants to arrest the current run of form, then he should consider switching to a five-at-the-back formation against the Toffees.

With the match likely to come too soon for both Kyle Walker-Peters and Ibrahima Diallo, the Austrian manager may well be tempted to select Jan Bednarek at right-back again, as he has done for recent fixtures.

However, playing five-at-the-back would allow the Polish international to move back into central-defence, alongside Jannik Vestergaard and Mohammed Salisu, who has impressed in his first few appearances for the club, despite the disappointing results.

This would also offer protection to 20-year-old Kayne Ramsay at right wing-back, who, after signing a two-year contract extension recently, looks to be a candidate to feature on Monday night.

Having three central defenders in the box could also work to nullify the aerial threat of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, with the Englishman having scored more headed goals than any other player in the Premier League this season.

With the Saints’ defence having looked extremely vulnerable in recent weeks, Hasenhuttl has to do something to give Alex McCarthy more protection, and having five defenders in front of him could be one way to frustrate Everton.

Considering the disappointing recent form of forwards Nathan Redmond and Che Adams, Hasenhuttl would arguably not be losing too much attacking output if he were to sacrifice one of them for an extra defender, given that his wing-backs would be given a bit more licence to get forward.

The Toffees have lost surprisingly at home against Fulham and Newcastle United recently, and this tactical switch could be exactly what is required for Hasenhuttl’s side to cause their own upset and end their 24-year hoodoo at Goodison Park.

And, in other news… Saints suffer fresh injury blow ahead of Everton, Hasenhuttl must now rely on 28 y/o

Speaking ahead of this evening’s game, Tottenham Hotspur boss Jose Mourinho has worryingly ruled out Gareth Bale for their upcoming fixtures…

What’s the news?

When asked about the fitness of the 31-year-old earlier in the week, he told reporters, via Sky Sports:

“No, I don’t expect Gareth to be fit. I wouldn’t say it’s a serious injury, but I would say a few weeks.”

It’s not the first time that the Welsh superstar has been absent through some sort of problem this season. He arrived with a niggling issue and missed several matches at the start of this month too.

Likely impact?

Whilst Bale has only started seven of 11 matches in all competitions – just once in the Premier League – this news comes at the worst possible time as fixtures are coming thick and fast due to the nature of the schedule over the festive period.

It means rotation is paramount to any side truly wanting to contend for the title, which should account for Spurs as they did hold the lead at one stage.

And that right-wing position is certainly up for grabs as neither Steven Bergwijn nor Lucas Moura can cement their place as the starter.

The Real Madrid loanee has shown glimpses of his previous quality, bagging a total of three goals in three different competitions, so when fit, he may well become that option to have alongside Heung-min Son and Harry Kane.

Now valued at just £18m by Transfermarkt, Bale has it all to do in 2021 to convince the likes of Daniel Levy, Mourinho and even the hierarchy back in Spain that he’s still got it.

He’s a player that was once dubbed a “cannonball” by Arsene Wenger, one that ex-BBC pundit Mark Lawrenson lauded “special,” and a sensation that even drew praise from Sir Alex Ferguson, who labelled him an “exciting” winger with “tremendous speed” – all via the Guardian.

It’s a devastating blow to not have someone of that calibre unavailable as they face Fulham, Leeds United and a Carabao Cup semi-final in the space of a week.

AND in other news, Gary Mabbutt drops huge claim over Arsenal outcast…

If you cast your minds all the way back to the extended summer transfer window, you will remember Ross Wilson embarked on a big spending spree in a bid to stop Celtic’s ten in a row.

Rangers recorded a £10.35m net spend in the last window, per Transfermarkt, as Wilson brought in the likes of Cedric Itten and Kemar Roofe on four-year deals.

They also secured the signing of Bafana-Bafana midfielder Bongani Zungu on an initial loan deal with the option to buy. But it hasn’t quite worked out for him at Ibrox, as he has been limited to mostly substitute appearances from the bench.

Just because a player is a fully-fledged international, it doesn’t necessarily mean they will succeed in the Scottish Premiership; a league that has become known for its physicality.

Rangers also stumbled across former Brighton centre-back Leon Balogun, who has turned out to be a rare gem of a find.

Now, however, they have missed out on the chance to sign a player who was once considered to be the ‘New Gazza’ – 34-cap England international Jack Wilshere.

Rangers had a legitimate interest in signing the free agent after his £100,000-per-week contract was terminated by West Ham on transfer deadline day but a move didn’t materialise and he recently re-joined Bournemouth instead.

There’s no two ways of saying this – this has to be one of Wilson’s biggest regrets in recent memory. Steven Gerrard was on the hunt for a new central midfielder in the summer and he ultimately brought in Zungu as backup for Steven Davis.

However, it’s fair to say that they still arguably lack a technical operator in the midfield who can play second fiddle to Davis, as Zungu has failed to register a single goal or assist so far this season.

Able to play at the centre, on the left or on the right, Wilshere could’ve been exactly that. Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola once said: “He’s quality, he’s smart and has the quality on the ball. He has a special quality with the ball, dribbling as a holding-midfielder to attack central defenders — it’s not easy to do that.”

In his last season at Arsenal alone, he took 1.2 shots and made 1.8 key passes per game, via WhoScored, – successfully completing 3.2 dribbles on average.

For context, this would have put him top of the Rangers squad ahead of the likes of Joe Aribo (1.7) and Ryan Kent (1.9). In comparison, Zungu has shockingly only managed 0.1 dribbles per game this season, as per WhoScored.

This sort of attacking threat would’ve been most welcome in the Govan side of Glasgow, as he has shown a willingness to bring the ball out from the back to put his team on the front foot.

AND in other news, Rangers loanee Kai Kennedy showed his class against Hearts…

After falling to a heavy defeat last time out, Wolves no doubt will be itching to put things right when they take on Aston Villa in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s side were thrashed 4-0 at Anfield, and it was a far cry from the superb win they had pulled off against Arsenal at the Emirates almost a week earlier.

And whilst Villa appear to have hit a brick wall in recent weeks, tasting back-to-back defeats, Wolves shouldn’t be taking things for granted when they take them on at Molineux.

Hilariously obscure Premier League players – Can you name them all?

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Jack Grealish will surely be the main topic of conversation in Nuno’s pre-match briefings to his players, and rightly so given the England international’s exploits this season – he’s managed an impressive five goals and six assists in just nine Premier League games.

But whilst the Villa talisman will need to be kept in check by the home side’s defence, there’s one man who they can’t afford to take their eye off either: Ollie Watkins.

Since arriving from Brentford in the summer, the £27m-rated ace has been in fine form for his new side, bagging eight goals in 12 games in total.

Described as someone who had “real superpowers” as a teenager, Watkins has blossomed into a fine central striker, and has the kind of work ethic and energy that Wolves fans will no doubt appreciate given their own Raul Jimenez.

The programme director at his former club Brentford, Chris Deacon, told The Athletic: “Ollie transformed himself into a physical specimen. We’d call him a machine because it looked like he would set himself into third gear and then cruise along at the front while everyone else was blowing.”

If Wolves are to take home all three points on Saturday, then they will have to be disciplined and tight at the back, and keep Watkins in check for the entire 90 minutes.

Meanwhile, Wolves could ease their Raul Jimenez woes with a swoop for this exciting talent.

So, the rumours were true and Slaven Bilic received his marching orders at West Brom this morning with the club confirming his departure in a statement, it said:

“West Bromwich Albion have today parted company with Head Coach Slaven Bilić.

“Assistant Coaches, Dean Računica and Danilo Butorović, and First Team Coach Julian Dicks have also left the club with immediate effect.”

Perhaps the writing was on the wall for the Croatian and his coaching staff – the Baggies were only just dragged over the line to promotion last term, and have indeed won just nine league matches since the turn of the year.

Albion are currently second-from-bottom in the Premier League, though after last night’s impressive 1-1 draw with Manchester City, they are merely one win from safety – depending on Burnley’s game-in-hand.

Evidently, the decision to let him go was made before the trip to the Etihad and probably sometime after their embarrassing 5-1 defeat to Crystal Palace a couple of weeks ago.

According to multiple sources, Sam Allardyce is the front-runner to take the helm at the Hawthorns – the 66-year-old has been out of work since leaving Everton in May 2018.

The former Blackburn, Bolton, West Ham and Sunderland boss has never been relegated, though the challenge in the west Midlands could prove to be his hardest challenge yet.

He’ll be working under a chairman unwilling to spend or invest – it’s even been claimed that Bilic was on the verge of resigning in October following frustrations over the sale of Ahmed Hegazi and the club’s transfer strategy throughout the summer. He missed out on multiple targets.

This appointment feels eerily similar. Go back to 2017 when Tony Pulis was sacked by Guochuan Lai.

The Chinese businessman turned to an ‘experienced’ head in Alan Pardew but in reality, his time in the Premier League was already done and that has been proven since as he’s only been in charge Dutch strugglers ADO Den Haag since for a very brief stint.

Allardyce came out of retirement to take charge of the Toffees and hasn’t been in the game for over two seasons, so can he really be the man to steer the Baggies to safety this time.

His reputation says yes, but the likelihood isn’t the same as it once was. Pardew only lasted until April before he was given his P45. It would not be a surprise to see the same happen here.

The 66-year-old’s record in the big time is pretty poor besides what it says on the CV, he’s won just 33% of 512 matches – even Pardew’s was better at the time of his sacking at the Hawthorns.

Ultimately, this appears to be a potentially fatal call from Lai. We’ve seen it before and here we are again.

AND in other news, 89% duels lost: Shocking West Brom liability must be running scared after Bilic sacked…

The summer transfer window may be shut but Glasgow Rangers should already be thinking about taking a gamble on Bongani Zungu.

What’s the word?

According to The Daily Record, Rangers will have to spend £2.7m to sign the 29-cap South Africa international if he makes a good impression at Ibrox. It has since been revealed that this was the fee agreed between by both clubs when the loanee joined Steven Gerrard’s side from Amiens just two hours before the end of deadline day.

Zungu’s contract with his parent club was set to expire at the end of the season, which would have enabled him to sign a pre-contract agreement with the Ibrox outfit in January but the 28-year-old signed a contract extension with Amiens which means the Gers will have to splash the cash if Gerrard is determined to get his man for good.

Worth the risk?

As far as Gerrard is concerned, the Gers may as well take a punt. He recently described Zungu as a “dominant” midfielder who “fits the profile of player that adds further strength and depth to our midfield” while Amiens official John Williams added “his skill level is very high. He is a hard worker and technically good. He can do everything.”

Zungu made 21 appearances in Ligue 1 last season, whilst he registered 1.3 tackles, at least 1 clearance and created 1 big chance per game, as per SofaScore, which implies he puts in a shift all over the pitch.

A look at his heatmaps last term shows that he is comfortable on the ball which is exactly what the Gers have been lacking for so long. They need someone who can provide a bit of flair, a little bit of the X-factor, and Zungu should be able to do precisely that.

Rangers have been crying out for a suitable option in the central midfield area. Even in the event that a transfer doesn’t work out as well as planned, his sell-on value would not be expected to plummet too drastically between now and the start of the summer transfer window. So, the midfield workhorse is surely worth taking a risk on.

AND in other news, Glasgow Rangers have uncovered hidden gem in Leon Balogun…

Leeds United should have “gone and signed” Ben Foster this summer, according to former Wednesday goalkeeper Chris Kirkland, who has been speaking exclusively to Football FanCast.

The Whites gained promotion from the Championship to feature in the top-flight for the first time in 16 years and signed no fewer than five new additions during the summer, splashing a club-record £26m on Rodrigo from Valencia as well as bringing back Jack Harrison on loan from Manchester City.

Victor Orta also secured the permanent signature of Illan Meslier, who quickly established himself as Marcelo Bielsa’s no.1 between the sticks following Kiko Casilla’s eight-game ban last season.

Despite the 20-year-old joining the club from Lorient, Kirkland believes that the Watford veteran would’ve been exactly what the Yorkshire giants needed for a fair crack at the big time.

He told FFC:

“I’d have gone and signed Ben Foster, all day long. When you come up to the Premier League you need somebody that’s got an experience at a big club, and Leeds are a huge club.

“Listen, I’ve not seen the Leeds keepers too much. But again, if you’re asking me would I sign Ben Foster over them? Yeah. I don’t need to know much about them.

“Because unless they’re Alisson, which they’re not, then I would say go and sign Ben Foster 100%.”

The 37-year-old has had a wealth of experience in the Premier League, playing a total of 364 times where he has kept 90 clean sheets and conceded 521 goals for the likes of Manchester United, Birmingham City, West Brom and of course, the Hornets.

Neither Meslier until this season, nor Casilla have featured in the English top-flight, so a move for the 6 foot 4 glovesman would’ve made sense.

Foster is only on around £32.5k-per-week at Vicarage Road and has continued to be their main man in goal, keeping four clean sheets in ten Championship outings.

Whether it’s something Bielsa and Orta want to revisit in January or next summer very much remains to be seen.

AND in other news, Marcelo Bielsa needs to be ruthless over Leeds’ £23.5k-p/w “special” weapon…

West Ham United are running out of time to secure David Moyes his top targets with the east London outfit still yet to make any major moves in the transfer market…

What’s the word?

According to Tuttomercatoweb, reported Irons target Adam Ounas could join Cagliari on loan with an option-to-buy which could be a massive blow to Moyes.

Earlier this month, the Hammers were linked with an €18m (£16m) move for the 23-year-old Napoli winger with Calciomercato claiming that the Serie A outfit want a permanent exit this summer.

Shades of Payet

GSB would be wise to swoop in before it’s too late. They need to bring some sort of excitement back to the London Stadium after the unpopular decision to sell Grady Diangana to West Brom.

Although, much of the West Ham faithful haven’t seen much flair since Dimitri Payet – and he left in 2017.

Perhaps Ounas could become the new superstar.

Scouted Football believe the Algerian wizard “disrupts defences and opens up space with electric dribbling” as well as being a player “who could help create more shots.”

Ounas contributed to six goals in just 14 starts whilst on loan to Nice last season, also averaging 2.8 dribbles, 1.6 key passes and 1.9 long balls per game, via WhoScored.

Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti, who managed him at Napoli, claimed that he was one of the few players that could “do special things” and could “create something out of nothing.”

In Payet’s last season at the club, he averaged 4.1 key passes, 3.1 shots and 2.6 dribbles per game via WhoScored, and whilst Ounas isn’t at this level, he’s only 23 so under the right coaching he could thrive.

For just £16m, the Hammers need to get this deal done.

AND in other news, Exclusive: Neil Mellor admits West Ham should have signed “proven” goalscorer…