This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…
When Arsenal trudged off the pitch following their 2-0 loss against Leicester City, there may have been people in search of someone to blame for the defeat.
Some looked towards Emery for his tactics and substitutions, while others will have found someone on the pitch to hold accountable – there may even be those who blamed Granit Xhaka.
One man who won’t have had many fingers pointed towards him is Bernd Leno, as the goalkeeper made 5 saves, catching 4 of them, and wasn’t given any chance by the clinical finishes of Jamie Vardy and James Maddison.
In fact, the German was seen as Arsenal’s best performer during the game by WhoScored, with an overall rating of 6.9.
This lack of fortune, despite a big effort, is not a one-off for Leno, as he has actually made more saves than any other goalkeeper in the Premier League so far this season, with a total of 49.
A team with aspirations of finishing in the top four should not be have a stopper who is placed under that level of pressure, and it says a lot that he is joined in the top five save-makers by Matt Ryan, Aaron Ramsdale, Ben Foster and Tim Krul.
To compound this misery, Burnley are the only side in the current top 10 to have conceded more goals than the Gunners this campaign.
A weak defence is a problem Leno has had to deal with since arriving at the Emirates, as last season, Tony Cascarino told The Times, via football.london: “I’m still unsure about Bernd Leno, the goalkeeper, too, but I feel sorry for him when you consider the lack of quality in front of him.”
This came during a campaign in which the Arsenal goalkeeper looked devoid of confidence, making 5 errors that led to goals in all.
The stats indicate that the 27-year-old’s performances have improved since that quote, and now it’s time for those in front of him to offer starker protection to his goal.
It’s damning for Unai Emery that Leno has made the most saves in the league and yet they’re still conceded the second highest number of goals in the top ten.
He’s got big problems to resolve at the club, and the defensive stats hint where his priority should lie.
This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…
Argentina play Brazil on Friday and the game should have some special interest from north London.
Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Giovani Lo Celso has been called up to La Albiceleste’s squad as they prepare to take on their bitter Samba rivals.
Of course, it remains to be seen whether or not Lo Celso will actually play; he has not got a lot of football under his belt for Spurs this season and only completed his first 90 minutes at the weekend, as they drew 1-1 with Sheffield United.
But if he does, Mauricio Pochettino, his compatriot, really ought to take notes.
In his first start for the club, he played on the right of midfield against Red Star Belgrade as Spurs won 4-0 in the Champions League.
He scored his first goal for the club in that fixture and subsequently retained his place against the Blades.
But he was again played out of position, on the right flank, and endured a troublesome afternoon, as Football FanCast has explored previously.
For Argentina, throughout his international career, he has played primarily in central midfield.
He was playing in that role in the 0-0 draw with Chile, in which he sustained a hip injury, and has done so in 13 of his 19 caps for his country. He has played as an attacking midfielder twice, a right midfielder on four occasions and on the left wing once.
Funnily enough, Argentina have won just once when he has been deployed on the right side of midfield, a 5-1 thrashing of Nicaragua. In the other games, they were beaten 6-1 by Spain, 2-0 by Colombia and 2-0 by Brazil.
It is clear that his country do not see him as a winger and he is likely to return to midfield on Friday.
When he last played in midfield, he was partnered by Leandro Paredes, the PSG midfielder, and Udinese’s Rodrigo de Paul as they drew 0-0 with Chile.
The same goes for the Copa America third-place play-off, also against Chile, and it could be instructive for Pochettino as he bids to cure Spurs’ ailments.
They have not won in the Premier League since September but one feels that placing Lo Celso in a midfield three could bring some success.
It would surely lead to the exclusion of Christian Eriksen, the attacking midfielder, but Lo Celso could play alongside a combination of Dele Alli, Tanguy Ndombele, Moussa Sissoko and Eric Dier.
It would add energy and dynamism to the middle and also spark a fluidity not seen from Spurs in months.
Pochettino ought to keep an eye on Argentina’s game just to see how Lo Celso performs, and whether those skills could be transferable.
This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…
Stan Collymore has criticised Tottenham Hotspur’s appointment of Jose Mourinho as their new manager on Twitter.
What’s he said?
Spurs sacked Mauricio Pochettino on Tuesday night and subsequently appointed the former Chelsea and Real Madrid boss on Wednesday morning.
Collymore, though, took to Twitter following the announcement to denounce Spurs’ appointment, insisting that he would leave them in worse shape than when he arrived.
The club are currently 14th in the Premier League, 11 points behind the top four.
He said: “Amazing how some have bought into ‘Mourinho the winner’ without any regard for how he leaves clubs.
“Unbalanced, fractured, overspending, soulless. Everything Spurs tried to avoid.
“Good luck, I like Spurs a lot, but it’s not how this man comes in, it’s how he’ll leave you.”
Probably right
Nobody has a crystal ball. Who could have foreseen that Pochettino would be sacked and Mourinho appointed at the beginning of this season?
But Collymore absolutely has a point.
Mourinho has left his previous clubs under a cloud, having notably fallen out with Paul Pogba at Manchester United and accused his players of betrayal at Chelsea.
Both clubs sacked him and immediately underwent major revamps – Chelsea became a three-at-the-back team while United offloaded Mourinho signings Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez in the summer.
His appointment could well guarantee Spurs a trophy – he has won one at every club he has managed since Porto – but it remains to be seen what aftershocks he will eventually leave behind.
History suggests that he will stay at the club for at most three years – he has never lasted longer – and that he could well alienate a few stars along the way.
Having become a force under Pochettino, who forged a team on unity and desire, it remains to be seen whether Mourinho will build on his work or merely tear it all down.
Leeds United fans have been discussing the potential of signing a player from one of their Championship rivals.
According to The Northern Echo, the Whites are known to have an interest in Middlesbrough centre-back Daniel Ayala, who is out of contract this summer.
The Spaniard denied thoughts of an exit during the January transfer window but has since gone on to play only 34 minutes having limped off against Preston North End.
Ayala is currently valued at £3.6m by Transfermarkt and supporters at Elland Road have been discussing whether or not they’d like to see him make the switch.
Here’s what has been said…
There were many completely against the idea of landing Ayala with him being described as a “cheat” as well as a “liability.”
Others believe that he wouldn’t be good enough to even get in Marcelo Bielsa’s squad.
This season, the long-serving defender has played 25 matches, per Transfermarkt, but hasn’t been seen since their New Year’s Day victory whilst he was part of the side that Leeds thrashed 4-0 back in November.
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However, some in west Yorkshire would like to see them clinch the Boro skipper as there are some qualities they could do with – although, the division Leeds will be playing in next season is still unknown.
If they do indeed gain promotion, then there will be question marks on the veteran as he’s only ever played 26 times in the top-flight.
Some of the reasoning behind wanting him to join United included his aerial presence with him standing at 6 foot 3 inches tall, and that if Bielsa agrees, then who is going to really question the cult hero.
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One supporter even broadcasted his hate for the centre-back but did admit he would fit in well at Elland Road.
AND in other news, Pablo Hernandez set to fall short of making Leeds history…
Arsenal fans have been discussing the possibility of signing Ajax midfielder Donny van de Beek this summer, and to say they would love to see him at the Emirates Stadium would be a massive understatement.
According to Marca, via Sport Witness, the Gunners had interest in the Dutchman before the season kicked off alongside La Liga giants Real Madrid and arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
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His future in Amsterdam is very much in the air as it was reported in January by De Telegraaf, via Marca, that he is due to join Los Galacticos for €55m (£48m) at the end of the current campaign – but the 22-year-old has refuted such claims in an interview with Helden magazine as per Football.London.
Thus, this opens the door for any interested parties to come forward to try and clinch van de Beek this summer, and clearly, the Gunners’ faithful are desperate for it to be them.
The box-to-box midfielder was part of Ajax’s historic Champions League run last season and has continued his rich vein of form into this campaign, scoring ten goals as well as laying on 11 assists.
Here’s what Arsenal supporters have been saying about him…
AND in other news, Arsenal’s £20m target fires transfer hint to Raul and Edu…
Loads of Celtic fans have been reacting to some news on the future of Odsonne Edouard, as one of his suitors have reportedly eased their interest in the striker.
According to reports in Germany, via The Daily Record, Borussia Dortmund have decided against making a move for the Hoops’ French star.
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The report claims the Bundesliga outfit were in fact eyeing the 22 year-old, as they sent scouts to watch him in action for France’s U21s in their 5-3 win over Slovakia back in October – he scored a hat-trick.
However, they were not “sufficiently convinced” after watching the starlet and have also been put off by his £30m price tag.
This is of course great news for Neil Lennon and Celtic, who would surely love to keep a player of Edouard’s calibre for as a long as possible.
The youngster has racked up a remarkable 46 goal involvements in 45 matches in all competitions this season, and the Twitter reactions down below are over the moon with the latest update, as one fan called it “fantastic news”…
Celtic fans were loving some old comments from Artur Boruc…
Manchester City might now be one of the richest clubs in the world now, but they are still a great example that having loads of money doesn’t necessarily make you perfect when recruiting players.
Even before the takeover, they were guilty of bringing in some big flops and that hasn’t necessarily changed over the last decade or so, although it has admittedly become a little rarer under the guidance of Pep Guardiola.
The successes 0f Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva, Sergio Aguero and Pablo Zabaleta make the failed transfers a little easier to accept, but sometimes you just can’t ignore how made some of the less successful signings have been at the Etihad Stadium.
So we’ve taken a look at Man City’s 20 biggest flops of the Premier League era, and it could’ve been more…
Maicon
First up is Brazil legend Maicon who would have perhaps have gone down as a completely different signing had the Sky Blues captured him four or five years earlier.
When the right-back arrived at the Etihad Stadium in the summer of 2012 for £3m, still a fair sum of money back then, he was the wrong side of 30 and beginning to battle with repeated injuries.
He would only appear 13 times before being shifted onto Roma a year later.
Bernardo Corradi
Would it be fair to say that Man City’s current Bernando (Silva) was inspired by his club’s Bernando from a decade before (Corradi)? No, probably not.
The hot-headed former Italy international striker was signed by Stuart Pearce prior to the 2006/2007 campaign and lasted just one term in Manchester before his loaning out to Parma and subsequent departure the following summer, scoring just three goals and collecting two red cards.
Nolito
Britain Soccer Football- Huddersfield Town v Manchester City – FA Cup Fifth Round – The John Smith’s Stadium – 18/2/17 Manchester City’s Nolito in action with Huddersfield Town’s Joel Coleman Reuters / Andrew Yates Livepic EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or “live” services. Online in-match use limited to 45 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. Please contact your account
Pep Guardiola’s Citizens forked out the best part of £15m for a Spanish centre-forward in his pomp in the summer of 2016, Nolito – a year later the Spanish international was to return to his homeland with Sevilla.
In reality, the former Barcelona man, who impressed at EURO 2016, never adapted to the English game or way of life, infamously commenting not long before his City exit that he and his family had changed colour due to the lack of sunshine in England’s climate.
Roque Santa Cruz
Early in the reign of what is now known as the City Football Group, the east Manchester outfit were like a teenager after just receiving their first pay packet, splashing their cash on any old thing just because it’s their money and they can.
The £17.5m acquisition Roque Santa Cruz is certainly an example of that having been purchased based on a half-decent scoring record at Blackburn Rovers and a grand total of four goals for the Etihad side goes down as one of their worst PL era signings.
Christian Negouai
How could we not include in this list the only player in Premier League history to have been sent off in his only match in the league?
The great irony here is that Christian Negouai only made 11 appearances in total for the club but he somehow managed to get himself sent off on three occasions, with the other two coming in the League Cup and the FA Cup.
Jack Rodwell
Last seen refusing to give up his extortionate contract on the Sunderland documentary on Netflix, Jack Rodwell was one of the rising stars of English football when he swapped Merseyside for east Manchester in 2012 in a deal worth £12m.
But injuries limited the ex-England central midfielder to just 15 outings in his first season with the Citizens and even fewer the following term meant he was offloaded to the Stadium of Light after just two years, leaving the Etihad in a downward spiral in such contrast to the way he had arrived.
Laurent Charvet
The story of Laurent Charvet is rather similar to that of Rodwell; captured for big money after a couple of impressive seasons in England and moved on after two campaigns having barely made 25 appearances.
The right-back was simply never up to the task, utterly woeful, and the fact that he was deemed not even good enough to play for Sochaux in the year after his City exit says it all really.
Gerry Creaney
Manchester City v Charlton Athletic Nationwide 1st Div. 3/9/96 Pic: Tony O’Brien /Action Images Manchester City’s Gerry Creaney celebrates his 87th minute winner
City fans might well want to look away for this one.
Imagine swapping one of your best players and fan favourites in Paul Walsh for someone as ineffective as Gerry Creaney, and also paying £500k for the pleasure, well that’s exactly what City did in 1995 and three years and four outbound loans down the line Creaney was released!
Jo
Talking of shocking moves, this one is up there with one of the worst transfers of all time in world football, let alone just for City and in the Premier League era.
Jo, who’s somehow played 20 times for Brazil and scored a few goals as well, signed for a fee believed to be a club-record £19m from CSKA Moscow in the 2008 summer transfer window and the Sky Blues certainly got value for money, if you count that as a miserly six goals in 42 games.
Jerome Boateng
On paper, Jerome Boateng was a huge waste of money for Man City but in reality, the move could have paid off if they were a little more patient with him.
Roberto Mancini saw his potential whilst he was playing for Hamburg, though the centre-back only remained under his reign for one injury-affected season and played out of position at right-back for most of it.
Nowadays we, of course, know Bayern Munich’s Boateng as the FIFA World Cup, UEFA Champions League and seven-time Bundesliga-winning global star.
Leeds United fans have been left torn by their former striker Kemar Roofe on social media this week after one account asked if they would have him back if the opportunity over arose.
The 27-year-old was sold to Belgian top-flight outfit Anderlecht in the summer for £7m after three seasons in west Yorkshire.
Roofe has bagged seven goals in just 16 appearances for Vincent Kompany’s side this term before injury struck. He was well on track to surpass the 15 goals from 34 matches achieved in his final season at Elland Road.
However, despite being a goalscoring presence in attack for Marcelo Bielsa’s Whites side, the Englishman has divided opinion over whether or not he would be welcome back at the club.
The single toughest football logo quiz of all time…
Tottenham star Danny Rose has signed a loan extension to stay at Newcastle United until the end of the season, via The Athletic.
According to Dominic Fifield (as relayed by David Ornstein), Rose will remain at St James’ Park for the rest of the 2019/20 campaign.
The defender’s initial deal was due to run out at the end of June, but his short-term stay has now been extended, and he will return to Tottenham to sort out his future when the season is completed.
As it stands, this latest development could benefit Ryan Sessegnon in the long run.
Rose only made five appearances for Jose Mourinho before being shipped out to Newcastle on a short-term loan in January. He is due to enter the final 12 months of his current contract with his parent club and Steve Bruce is keen to keep him in Tyneside for the foreseeable future.
The 29-year-old was already training with Bruce’s squad before the news broke ahead of the Premier League’s return later this month. He has impressed the Magpies up until now, making 1.4 tackles per game, completing 1.2 clearances on average, with a pass accuracy rate of 77.7% (WhoScored).
In comparison, Sessegnon has been tipped to achieve greatness over the years, and he has played in a variety of positions all over the pitch so far, as Mourinho has tried to find the perfect fit for the Spurs starlet.
While it is fair to say his debut season has been somewhat subdued, the youngster scored in the 3-1 defeat to Bayern Munich in the group stages of the Champions League. Furthermore, he has made three appearances in the competition overall, registering one assist, taking one shot per game, averaging one key pass and completing one interception on average (WhoScored).
His performances in Europe have earned him plenty of high praise from staff working behind the scenes at Tottenham.
Earlier this year, The Northern Echo revealed Mourinho has made it clear Rose is not a part of his long-term plans, and his future remains uncertain heading into the summer.
Indeed, he is surely well aware he will be below the likes of Ben Davies, Sessegnon and Japhet Tanganga in the pecking order, should he choose to return to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
During the coronavirus crisis, Bruce has kept in touch with head of recruitment Steve Nickson and director Lee Charnley, and the Newcastle trio have agreed a permanent deal for Rose makes perfect sense.
If the left-back, who is reportedly best friends with former Arsenal star Danny Welbeck, stays at St James’ Park next season, it is Sessegnon who stands to gain the most as it means one less player to compete with for minutes.
Tottenham fans, should Daniel Levy sell Danny Rose in the summer? Let us know down below!
Leeds United had Stuart Dallas to thank for the 1-1 draw with Luton Town on Tuesday evening as they remained top of the Championship table. We’ve taken a closer look at the Northern Irishman’s display in our latest edition of Unsung Heroes.
With Marcelo Bielsa’s side sitting top of the table heading in Tuesday evening’s game, the tie against Luton provided the Yorkshire club with a perfect chance to further enhance their title and automatic promotion credentials.
However, they came up against a side in Luton who are doing all they can to avoid a drop to League One, stretching their run of six games without defeat with the draw.
With the game fairly even, the visitors took the lead through Harry Cornick just after half-time with a goal that would have stunned the Elland Road faithful had the game not been played behind closed doors.
Responding by bringing on Spaniard Pablo Hernandez, Leeds looked better going forward and it was a goal from the £2.16m-valued Dallas just after the hour mark that ensured a share of the points.
The left-sided defender, who is in his fifth season with Leeds, having joined them from Brentford back in 2015, played a superb game throughout the 94 minutes he played.
In what was his 40th Championship game this term, the Northern Ireland international not only got himself on the score sheet and earned a point for his side, but he also produced some defensive statistics that will delight Bielsa moving forward.
Attempting a total of 6 duels with opponents during the game, Dallas won 5 of those, handing Luton’s right sided players in Ryan Tunnicliffe, Danny Hylton and James Bree a tough time.
Dallas also won his one and only header of the night, whilst also making four important clearances for his side. He was also excellent going forward and as well as scoring had a total of four shots including two on target, which ultimately helped him gain a match rating of 7.9 out of ten.
The 29-year-old was simply outstanding and will seemingly have a long-term future in Bielsa’s starting eleven, having played for the most part this season and he will undoubtedly be relishing the chance to test his ability in England’s top flight next term, if they get there.
His performance against Luton may go under the radar when the season comes to an end, but it could be a point like this that ensure Leeds are champions and go up via the automatic promotion route.
How did you rate Dallas’ performance, Leeds fans? Let us know below…