All posts by h79snht.top

No Premier League title in 12 years is really starting to get under the skin amongst the Arsenal family of players, board members and most importantly, the fans.

Manager Arsene Wenger is now coming under increasing pressure, and after 20 years in charge, a growing number are beginning to feel like the marriage should be ended. His reluctance to splash the cash on a centre midfielder that can emulate the magnificent Patrick Vieira and his arrogance to say their is no top class striker on the market for him to sign is beginning to take its toll.

Despite the North Londoners lack of success in England’s top flight as well as unsuccessful attempts to get beyond the last 16 of the Champions League, Arsenal’s FA Cup form is really quite sensational. For the past two years, the Gunners players have walked those Wembley steps – looking down at their own supporters and lift the FA Cup. Now, even a win today would surely be scant consolation given how their season has fallen apart over the last few weeks.

The Gunners are the undisputed kings of the FA Cup, but the importance of the old trophy is decreasing at a frightening rate. Arsenal fans will surely feel an FA Cup scalp will not prove they have had a successful season. They’ll look to Manchester City and Liverpool, even Leicester and Tottenham who have taken to fielding weakened sides in the competition in order to look further afield for even greater glory.

The banner which said ‘thanks for the memories Arsene, but it’s time to go’, in Arsenal’s fifth round reply away at Hull City is a statement that the fans want more than just FA Cup glory, they want to be competitive in the Premier League and the Champions League, something that recent results has made very difficult if not nigh on impossible. Glory in the cup was always going to be a bad compromise anyway.

https://twitter.com/EuropcarSport/status/703937471239720960

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It was supposed to be Andy Carroll’s second chance in a week to stake his claim for a place on the plane to the EUROs. But instead, it all went a little flat for the former Liverpool man during Wednesday night’s 2-1 defeat to Manchester United.

Despite grabbing an assist for James Tomkins’ goal, Carroll largely struggled to leave an impression on the match. Man United had clearly studied the events of the West Ham vs. Arsenal tie, and they set up to deal with Carroll, using Marouane Fellaini as a human shield. In the battle of the big men, the Belgian came out on top and that will be a worry for both Hammers and England fans as the season comes to a close.

West Ham looked a little flat-footed at times and a little tired in the middle of the park. Man United controlled proceedings through Michael Carrick, who was playing quietly in the background but pulling strings at the same time.

Slaven Bilic’s side waited until they were 2-0 down to start playing against United – similar to what happened against Arsenal, except this time, they didn’t leave enough time to get back in the game.

Against Arsenal, West Ham were allowed the space to provide cross after cross, which is what Carroll wants. But against Man United on Wednesday night they were closed down far quicker in the middle of the park, meaning the ball wasn’t getting to the West Ham wide-men as quickly as Carroll would have liked. It was a cracking game plan, but also led many to question whether Carroll is one-dimensional in his play.

There are plenty of big men who are talented footballers as well as good marksmen. When Carroll was at Newcastle we saw skill beyond his years alongside his scale, but since his disappointing transfer to Liverpool and his demise at West Ham, we haven’t really seen the Carroll of old. He divides opinion completely. Speak to Hammers fans and they will say that their relationship with their record signing is love/hate.

When West Ham have him on the pitch they almost try and force the ball through him and into the goal. It’s predictable and teams can see that as soon as you have that target man on the pitch. However if Enner Valencia or Diafra Sakho are leading the line for West Ham, they don’t have to play that way, and if a headed goal is scored, it isn’t as surprising because it’s come as a result of open play.

So with Carroll shining so much in one game and failing quite spectacularly in another, should he be on the plane? If he does feature for England, Roy Hodgson will have to set up in a specific way – getting crosses in and providing width through the full-backs. But against Europe’s best, is this the tactic Hodgson should be implementing to get wins?

Another argument if Carroll does go is who should leave the team in exchange? Carroll doesn’t seem to be as valuable as in the past and it would be unfair to leave Jamie Vardy or Harry Kane at home to take him to France.

He impressed against a poor Arsenal side, but when up against a more competent opponent, Carroll was flat and predictable – not what England need.

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Liverpool hero John Barnes believes that Jose Mourinho will help to build bridges between Manchester United’s fans and the team if he’s named as Louis van Gaal’s successor.

‘The Special One’ is widely expected to replace the Dutchman, who was sacked yesterday in the wake of the club’s FA Cup win.

WANT MORE? >> Man United transfer news | Latest transfer news

Mourinho has been out of work since being dismissed by Chelsea back in December on the back of a disastrous start to their Premier League title defence.

The Portuguese boss, although thought of as one of the finest coaches on the planet, is known as a divisive figure, with his fierce will to win having often alienated players and given him a reputation for being a ‘quick fix’ manager.

However, TitanBet brand ambassador, and former England international, John Barnes, believes that he will have a unifying effect on the Man United crowd and team, much in the same fashion as Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool, after a turbulent spell under Van Gaal:

“He’s [Mourinho] a great manager, so Manchester United will improve, not necessarily through the players, but, like Klopp at Liverpool, through the harmony he’ll bring. You need the fans to be behind you 100%, so I think the harmony will be better, which will help Manchester United.” He told FootballFanCast.

“Van Gaal is a good manager, like [Brendan] Rodgers was a good manager at Liverpool, but if the harmony is not right, you can see the effect that has on the team.

“The young players like your Marcus Rashfords and Memphis Depays will have another year’s experience, so they will improve. If Van Gaal had have stayed I would have expected to see an improvement at Man United anyway.

“But Mourinho will obviously take Manchester United back to challenging.”

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The European ChampionshipÂis just a matter of days away and we at Football FanCast are having a countdown in the form of our Euro 2016 Advent Calendar!Indeed, the tournament in France is shaping up to be one of the best yet, featuring 24 teams as oppose to 16 and a number of Euro debutants such as Wales and Iceland.Similarly, it’s almost impossible to pick a winner at the moment, with Spain, Germany, Belgium and hosts France all boasting incredibly strong sides!You’re probably as football-mad as us here in FFC towers and likely itching at the skin like a crack addict on Jeremy KyleÂin anticipation for Euro 2016’s first kick off (France vs Romania) on Friday night.So if you’re in need of something to cure the itch for the next few days, then you’re in the right place.ÂTwitter bantz, statistics, infographics and vines of great goals – FFC’s Euro Advent Calendar has it all!

PANEKA

When Antonin Paneka pulled this off in 1976, he changed the beautiful game forever. This lobbed spot-kick is to penalties what the Cruyff turn is to dribbling. But it’s not everybody’s favourite…

PIRLO’S PANEKA

No Pirlo, no party – as the Italian proved against England at Euro 2012!

TREZEGOL

A golden goal in the final made World Champions France the European Champions, too!

COMPLETELY UNFORGETTABLE

The Republic of Ireland’s very first European Championships appearance saw them beat England 1-0 in Stuttgart – a nation went crazy!

Indiscriminate act of kindness

Fernando Torres squares it for Juan Mata instead of scoring himself – as selfless as it gets!

And so, yet another England inquest begins.

The same old media circus, the same old grand gestures and, no doubt, the same old empty promises.

We’ll be told that the Premier League is to blame for shrinking the talent pool, that we need a winter break and we need to invest at grassroots level.

It’s all excuses.

The grassroots excuse is just to buy time, so that the incompetent buffoons at the FA are well out of it by the time the excrement hits the fan – again.

The problems are much more immediate than that.

There’s nothing wrong with the talent available and this England team should be capable of reaching the latter stages of major tournaments. End of.

Confidence, attitude and complete mismanagement are the issues and all the way through Roy Hodgson created more problems than he solved.

Why take a host of injured, unfit or out-of-form players to France in the first place? Why move Rooney into midfield when he has never played there to a decent level? Why rest six players for the Slovakia game? That hardly paid off against Iceland, did it!

Hodgson took it upon himself to do the FA’s dirty work by quitting after England’s toothless 2-1 defeat to Iceland. And it’s true to type, because he’s been hammering nails into his own coffin since day one.

Remember 2012 when he told a train carriage of fans that Rio Ferdinand’s international career was over, without first discussing it with the defender?

Remember 2013 when he made an ill-advised team talk about a “space monkey” in reference to Andros Townsend?

Remember two weeks ago when his late defensive substitution cost us a win over Russia?

It’s a shame, because he seems to be an honest and nice guy, but he was just never cut out for the England job.

His turgid, possession-based, stats-obsessed football showed no potency, no cutting edge and often failed to break teams down.

His decision-making left us all scratching our heads as he persisted with injured, out-of-form players and never knew his best team.

In the build up to EURO 2016, Hodgson’s England camp were terrified of spies watching their training sessions. They felt that when they had played their World Cup opener in Brazil 2014, Italy already knew all their set-piece routines.

Was it not possible that there was just no creativity in England’s tactics? And that any training-ground moves were so dull, so obvious, that Italy just dealt with them?

Let’s face it, our only set-piece plan this tournament was for Harry Kane to smash them into the crowd.

But Roy is not solely to blame for the depths the England national team has plumbed.

The sooner the FA realise that they are responsible for a succession of poor decisions over managers, the better.

Steve McClaren, Fabio Capello and Roy Hodgson all arrived for different reasons – ‘we need an Englishman/we need the best around/we need international experience’, but none of them had an ounce of charisma between them.

Even Sven-Goran Eriksson failed to get our ‘Golden Generation’ past the last eight – but at least his three quarter-finals were against big teams (Brazil and Portugal) and we gave them a good game.

Now we can’t even give Iceland a challenge.

Credit where it’s due, the Nordic side were terrific. Tight, organised, efficient and fully deserving of their quarter-final spot.

But this England team are much better than what we saw on Monday night. This Three Lions squad is, player for player, one of the most talented in decades.

And it should not take extra investment or more patience until Russia 2018 or Euro 2020 to see it come together because, under the right manager, it will click pretty quickly.

Under the right manager, these players can compete… and maybe even win something.

Yet the chances of the FA picking the right man for the job are almost non-existent.

And if that’s the case, then we’ll have to stomach this nonsensical merry-go-round for generations to come.

This article was submitted via our Write For Us feature. Think you can do better? Submit your own article via the link below, and give yourself the chance of winning monthly cash prizes…

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We’re only halfway through Manchester City’s Premier League clash with West Ham and it already looks set to become the most convincing win we’ve seen this season.

Indeed, it took just seven minutes for the Citizens to open the scoring as Noltio cut along the left byline before passing the ball to Raheem Sterling for a relatively easy finish.

And a matter of moments later, City doubled their lead courtesy of Fernandinho – who latched onto a lethal free kick delivery from Kevin De Bruyne.

It’s been a phenomenal start for a club who appear fully focused on claiming this season’s Premier League title to kick off the Pep Guardiola era at the Etihad.

And if the opening stages are anything to go by, we could see a five or six-goal win by the end of play today.

Accordingly, City fans on Twitter are pretty chuffed:

West Ham fans, on the other hand, aren’t quite so amused:

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Borussia Dortmund have shown how to bounce back from a slumber on numerous occasions, and they have done it yet again. From the darkest days around 10 years ago to their terrible start to the 2014/15 season, recovery is an inevitability for the club.

Losing their best players, having to deal with the loss of a club legend and sitting, deprived of the limelight, in the shadow of Bayern Munich, Dortmund’s resilience is admirable. Now, Die Schwarzgelben are one of Europe’s best sides again. Playing irresistible football and possessing some of the world’s best young talents, Dortmund have never panicked, nor have they recklessly invested the revenue generated.

Painfully watching Mats Hummels, Mario Gotze – who has now returned to Westfalenstadion – and Robert Lewandowski leave for Bayern could, in each case, have provoked foolish spending, but Dortmund resisted. Rather, investment has been markedly more sensible summer on summer. This year, too, has seen the loss of Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Ilkay Gundogan.

Instead of buying names, Dortmund have signed players based on their suitability and potential. The return of Gotze was a no-brainer, signing Andre Schurrle was shrewd, but it has been other acquisitions that really turn heads.

Along with exceptional talents that were already at the club, especially Julian Weigl and Matthias Ginter, they have added some of Europe’s most sought after young players. Emre Mor, Ousmane Dembele, Raphael Guerreiro and Christian Pulisic – a youth product – are on track to become some of the game’s best players. Signing players who will be definite starters this season is a natural temptation, but too often club’s fail to plan ahead any number of years. In a financial sense, adding players of this calibre and talent will inevitability produce a profit.

Too often losing, through injury or departure, a key player is seen as an excuse for a dip, or a ‘transition’. Dortmund do not approach it in such manner and are a better, more successful club for it. Selling a player generates enormous revenue that should be reinvested to, at the very least, give the squad greater depth, if not talent. Even missing a player with an injury should not be the knockout blow to a season, squads should have cover in both personnel and tactics.

Premier League clubs up and down the league readily spend their world leading revenues poorly by signing players either not suited, not balancing the squad or investing in players who have already peaked.

Lessons should be learnt from Dortmund. The eight-time Bundesliga winners are building a dynasty, while the Premier League enables some of the world’s most reckless club management.

Manchester United get their Europa League campaign underway tonight as they travel to Rotterdam to face Dutch side Feyenoord.

Coming off of the back of a sobering defeat to Manchester City is not the kind of preparation Jose Mourinho would have wanted so he’ll be looking for his team to bounce back quickly in his first European game in charge of the Red Devils.

After that game, a number of players came in for criticism for poor performances. Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Jesse Lingard came off at half-time after seemingly freezing during the first half whilst Paul Pogba and Wayne Rooney didn’t escape the scrutiny of some.

This in mind, Mourinho is expected to ring the changes for their opening Europa League game and may be hoping that some that play tonight perform at a level to get themselves into contention to start in the Premier League this Sunday.

This game could prove a real marking point in Mourinho’s squad management and we think these three need to step up tonight and stake their claim…

Marcus Rashford

Rashford is once again catching everyone’s attention. He scored the winner against Hull and bagged a hat-trick on his England U21 debut causing the clamour for him to be more and more involved in the United to increase significantly. A good performance here may just secure him a start on Sunday too and with the way he plays, you really can’t rule him out from putting in such a shift. He’s absolutely fearless and United need that.

Chris Smalling

Smalling has the chance to oust Daley Blind from the side. He was United’s best defender last season but has so far found playing time hard to come by in this campaign. The Dutchman Blind had a bit of a shocker against City last time out, being at fault for City’s first goal especially, so now could be Smalling’s moment to reclaim his place and forge a partnership with Eric Bailly at the back that many are excited to see develop.

Ander Herrera

Mourinho brought Herrera on for the second half of the derby as he tried to get United back into the game and it worked fairly well, albeit with the Red Devils not being able to find the net. The Spaniard allowed Paul Pogba and Marouane Fellaini to operate further up the pitch and this gave the team a more advanced base to play from. He should start tonight against the Dutch side and with an assured showing expect him to be in contention for the weekend.

Few games will have as much excitement as Liverpool’s clash with Crystal Palace. Not many games will have as many goals, as aggressive a crowd and fast-paced action. It was a truly breath-taking match, with the ball flying from end to end throughout and managers stressing as each defence looked ready to commit an atrocity at any moment.

This was the sort of match that will be shown on adverts and highlights packages will be found on social media for years to come. Mistakes often make sport markedly more exciting and the respective defensive chaos that both teams had to deal with made this into the sort of match that won’t be forgotten in a hurry.

Jurgen Klopp and Alan Pardew will probably have a few sleepless nights after the defending that was on show, but you can be sure that the fans that paid all the money for a seat at Selhurst Park feel like they got good value on a chilly, autumnal Saturday evening in London.

Games like this produce some stunning snaps, so we thought we’d create a neat gallery to tell the tale of the match…

Up and down for Lovren

Dejan Lovren made a howler (no, this is not 2014/15) to give Crystal Palace their first goal, but he then set about earning the quickest redemption in history.

Scoring a bullet header from a corner before the Palace fans had even calmed down from the goal, Lovren’s chaotic first 25 minutes triggered an all-action first half.

Evening excitement

Evening games at Selhurst Park are a special experience, evidently. The goal fest first half only fired the crowd up further, as the bellowing support of the Eagles provided the perfect backing track to an enthralling game.

Sadly one bunch of fans will claim the headlines after a flare ended up on the field.

McArthur dreaming

Considering James McArthur scored only two goals in the entirety of last season, you would probably have got relatively tasty odds on him to notch a brace in this game.

Seizing on a Lovren mistake for the first goal and scoring a brilliant, leaping header for the second, McArthur’s bursting runs from deep were challenging for Liverpool all night.

Feeling Warm

Roberto Firmino must’ve been quite warm on an autumn London night, as he took his shirt off after a wonderful dinked finish put the final nail in Crystal Palace’s defensively shoddy coffin.

Again running intelligently, pressing tirelessly and linking play, Firmino further secured his place as Liverpool’s starting forward.

One question for him, though, must be why he was foolish enough to take his shirt off for a booking that could become more than an irritant later in the season.

Happy Days

Jurgen Klopp’s ‘heavy metal football’ is not just exciting for the neutral, its generating a fair share of positive results as well.

Now with six wins in their last seven Premier League games, Liverpool are scoring freely and look a completely unstoppable force right now.

Top of the league, the highest scorers and playing the best football of any side in England, everything is looking rosy for Liverpool right now.

The Reds have settled after an up-and-down first two-thirds of a season under Jurgen Klopp, which brought Europa League and League Cup finals but ended rather disappointingly with no silverware and an eighth place finish in the Premier League – below West Ham and Southampton.

The German’s plans seem to be really progressing now, though, with the summer addition of Sadio Mane, among other tweaks, having taken the team to a whole new level.

The Senegalese star, however, will be removed from Klopp’s plans in the New Year due to the Africa Cup of Nations. With the first game of the tournament scheduled for January 14 and the final set for February 5, there is a chance his absence will be lengthy.

Here are THREE stats that prove the Merseysiders really will miss their forward, and should perhaps consider signing a stand-in when the transfer window opens…

The CFM trio…

Much in the same way Liverpool’s ‘SAS’ partnership between Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez shone during 2013/14, Klopp’s attacking trio of Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino and Mane – ‘CFM’, if you will – are sparkling this term.

Indeed, the two Brazilians and the Senegalese star have been mightily effective in a fluid attack this term, and have actually performed comparably to Barcelona’s Lionel Messi, Suarez and Neymar – widely seen as the finest forward triumvirate on the planet – in league action. ‘CFM’ have scored and assisted a combined 25 times, just one shy of ‘MSN’s’ return, in eleven games, showing just how dangerous and key they are to Klopp’s set-up.

Although the removal of one man should not derail the team entirely, it’s worth noting that when Mane was absent against Burnley on the second weekend of the season, the Reds slipped to their only defeat and put in their worst performance of the campaign.

Consistent goal-getter…

As well as being Liverpool’s top scorer in league action thus far in 2016/17 with a return of six, Mane has been consistent in his overall goal-return for some time. As the numbers show, the 24-year-old has scored the third-most goals of any midfielder across Europe’s top five leagues (Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A and Ligue 1) since the start of last season (17), leaving him adrift of only Mohamed Salah and Riyad Mahrez, who, no disrespect to Southampton, were teams of a higher calibre in 2015/16.

Dribble threat…

Much of potency of the ‘CFN’ forward line comes from their unique blend of skills. While creativity and finishing prowess come via Coutinho and Firmino, Mane offers the pace and direct running neither of his partners can truly deliver. In fact, there are no players in the Liverpool squad that present the same level of threat with the ball at their feet as the Senegal international, who averages 5.1 dribbles-per-game (one more than his closest rival) and completes 2.9-per-game, the most of any Liverpool player.

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