All posts by n8rngtd.top

Celtic are set to go head-to-head with another European club to sign Philadelphia Union defender Mark McKenzie, according to reports.

Battle for McKenzie begins

According to Belgian newspaper Het Beland van Limburg (28/12 print edition, Sports page 8), Genk will look to acquire the services of the United States international in January.

They added that Blauw-Wit manager John van den Brom has confirmed that their defensive area is where they need to strengthen, with Celtic named as one of the clubs battling the Belgians for McKenzie.

Valued at £3.6m (TransferMarkt), the 21-year-old has scored twice from 59 appearances for Union and came through the ranks at the MLS side, and his form helped him to secure his debut for the national team earlier in the year.

With Shane Duffy being heavily scrutinised since his loan move from Premier League side Brighton, there could be an opportunity for the Bhoys to strengthen their defensive unit with young talent.

Transfer Tavern Verdict

McKenzie can play in any position in central defence and can also be utilised as a left-back if required. This is the sort of versatility that Neil Lennon needs in his team.

Celtic have shipped 14 goals this season, in comparison to Rangers’ five, and are 16 points off the pace to their nearest rivals (Fotmob).

With this in mind, Lennon needs to invest in his backline if wants any chance of winning 10-in-a-row and must convince chairman Peter Lawwell to do so.

In other news, Journalist criticises Celtic youngster in bizarre tirade following recent development.

Following Man City’s 1-1 draw at home to West Bromwich Albion on Tuesday night, a result which means more dropped points in the Premier League, many Sky Blues ripped into one man after they couldn’t squeeze a last-gasp winner past Slaven Bilic’s side – with Benjamin Mendy at the centre of criticism from these supporters. 

Mendy, who started last night in place of usual makeshift left-back Joao Cancelo as the Portuguese was placed on the right, had been putting in some noteworthy performances recently – with the Frenchman scoring his first Premier League goal during a 5-0 romp at home to Burnley at the end of November.

The defender also played against Fulham as manager Pep Guardiola seems to call upon him regularly – appearing above fellow full-back option Oleksandr Zinchenko in the pecking order.

However, with the absence of his usual overlaps and powerful left-footed balls into the box on Tuesday evening, Mendy cut a largely ineffective figure – with Guardiola swapping him for Kyle Walker late on.

Criticising his performance, here’s what Sky Blues had to say on social media – find all of their verdicts down below.

Man City fans hammer Mendy

In other news: Man City fans buzzed over this ‘great news’, find out more here.

Sunderland striker Aiden O’Brien offered an invisible display as he led Phil Parkinson’s attack in a 2-1 defeat to Fleetwood Town in the Papa John’s Trophy on Tuesday night.

Parkinson rang the changes once more after bowing out of the FA Cup to Mansfield Town at the weekend, as the Black Cats boss turned to youth after already securing the Stadium of Light natives’ progression through to the EFL Trophy Round of 32.

O’Brien, 27, was the eldest member of the starting Sunderland line-up at Highbury, where the forward was joined by 26-year-olds Callum McFadzean and Jordan Willis, plus 22-year-old George Dobson, as the only visiting players aged over 21.

Former Millwall striker O’Brien could not utilise his years of experience to Parkinson’s benefit, however, as the Black Cats boss witnessed his summer arrival fail to build on his sole Sunderland effort to date – coming in an 8-1 demolition of Aston Villa’s U23s in the EFL Trophy.

Parkinson was delighted to have brought O’Brien to the Stadium of Light this summer, capturing the former Republic of Ireland international on a free transfer following his release by Championship side Millwall.

O’Brien was the first of the Sunderland boss’ arrivals during the off-season, and left Parkinson believing he had acquired a player keen to join the Black Cats for the right reasons.

“We’re really pleased with the signing of Aiden,” said Parkinson, via quotes by the Chronicle. “He’s a good age, he’s been promoted from League One before and he has experience playing Championship football.

“His hunger and desire to come and join us was key for me. I want players to come here for the right reasons and get ready to fight tooth and nail to help us have a great season. He has a real eagerness to be part of this club and he can’t wait to get started.”

But O’Brien’s hunger and desire was not on show at Highbury, as the forward’s pressure could not force the Fleetwood backline into creating opportunities for the five-time international to score.

O’Brien participated for the full 90 minutes at Fleetwood on Tuesday night yet could only register a single shot on Alex Cairns’ goal, though did not see his strike force the Fisherman’s goalkeeper into action with the effort marked as off-target by SofaScore.

Their data also shows the 27-year-old, who scored 44 goals and recorded 16 assists in 226 career appearances for Millwall, failed to play any key balls from a mere 10 accurate passes, while failing to complete his only attempted dribble, was caught offside twice and lost possession six times.

O’Brien further lost six of his eight attempted aerial contests and two of his six ground duels, committed one foul and penned fewer touches (27) than all Fleetwood players who started.

The forward’s efforts will have left a far from pleasing impression on Parkinson, who has only felt fit to start the London-born forward in four League One fixtures thus far.

AND in other news, Phil Parkinson has confirmed a major blow for a Sunderland gem he begged to “let his football do the talking”.

David Moyes’ rumoured pursuit of Reading full-back Omar Richards will struggle to improve West Ham United for years.

What’s the word?

According to The Reading Chronicle, London rivals Crystal Palace and West Ham are interested in a potential deal to lure Richards away from Reading and into the Premier League.

The Eagles have held a long-term interest in the 22-year-old, though now face competition from the London Stadium after Irons chiefs approached the Royals to discuss their defender’s availability ahead of the January window.

But Reading are not prepared to discuss Richards’ situation at present, as the Madejski Stadium natives are awaiting clarification over the left-back’s preference to stick or twist amid ongoing discussions over a new contract.

Talks are said to be in the very early stages yet are expected to be based around a four-year deal, as the Championship outfit strive to lock their prized asset down beyond his current terms that expire at the end of the season.

Richards, who graduated from Reading’s academy to make his senior debut in 2017, is also said to have been watched by half-a-dozen Premier League sides over the last couple of weeks, per TEAMtalk, ahead of prospective winter bids.

Needed in Moyes’ plans?

Richards has been an integral aspect of Reading manager Veljko Paunovic’s plans this season, with the England U21 international starting all eight of his side’s Championship fixtures and is yet to miss a second of second-tier action.

Would the 22-year-old be needed in Moyes’ plans is a different matter, though, as Richards is yet to register a single assist and offered no creativity last term with zero goals or assists to his name over 28 league outings of which 15 came at left-midfield.

The London-born defender’s records are not blank through his teammate’s failures, either, as Richards has averaged just 0.3 key balls, 0.4 accurate crosses and zero shots a game in the Championship this term, per SofaScore, while making 2.3 successful dribbles and playing 16.1 of his 32.8 accurate passes in the opponent’s half.

Defensively, Richards stands far stronger with 2.9 tackles, 2.1 clearances, 1.5 interceptions and wins 8.9 duels a game (7.9 ground, 1.0 aerial), but it could take years before the 22-year-old makes an impact at the London Stadium should he be signed in January or next summer.

Plus, it was Richards’ offensive threat that saw him progress into being a first-team regular at the Madejski Stadium, with former Reading boss Mark Bowen stating in November 2019 via quotes by Wokingham.Today: “Special mention for Omar, a young lad coming into the side, I thought he was outstanding today.

“Everyone knows he’s good going forward, but defensively he went in and won tackles he wasn’t favourite to win. Numerous times he got into positions to win the ball back which fills me with pride.”

Where Richards would fit into Moyes’ plans, clearly, remains to be seen if West Ham are to return with another approach once Reading have greater clarity over the full-back’s intentions.

AND in other news, West Ham face a huge decision over the future of a crucial club figure who’s proven critics wrong.

Given that James Tavernier has now played a total of 256 games for Rangers across all competitions, it’s quite easy to forget that the Englishman was once on the books at Newcastle, coming through the academy system at St James’ Park.

The 28-year-old made just ten first-team appearances on Tyneside, predominantly playing for the youth teams. And whilst he may not have showed anything in his limited game-time with the senior side, he certainly showed a lot of talent for the U23s, managing five assists in 33 games.

After failing to make the grade at Newcastle, the Magpies sold Tavernier for just £90k to Wigan Athletic in the summer of 2014, and it’s a decision that the club surely still regrets even now.

The full-back has gone on to carve out a very successful career since his departure, and despite playing in defence, has turned into one of the most dangerous attacking players in Britain.

As well as his three goals and one assist at Bristol City, Tavernier has racked up the stats whilst at Rangers, and his kind of numbers are unheard of for a defender – even Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold would surely be proud of it.

The 28-year-old has scored a whopping 54 times for the Gers, and even more impressively, picked up an incredible 78 assists too – it all means that since leaving Newcastle, he’s been involved in 136 total goal contributions. Not too shabby for a right-back.

And with Steve Bruce’s side having had some issues in that position over the years with the likes of Javier Manquillo, Emil Krafth and DeAndre Yedlin all trying to stake their claims to be first-choice, Tavernier’s exit continues to haunt them.

The English ace is in the prime years of his career, and has enjoyed a blistering start to the current campaign too, netting eight times in 13 games. As far as goal-scoring defenders go, Tavernier is right up there with the very best of them.

And in other news, Newcastle desperately need to offload this fringe player before the deadline.

Greg Docherty is reportedly on the verge of joining Hull City from Glasgow Rangers.

Steven Gerrard has already confirmed that the player is in talks with the Tigers and it is now up to the 23-year-old himself to decide whether he wants to make the move to the English League One outfit. Signed from Hamilton in 2018 for the fee of £671,000, he managed just 19 appearances at Ibrox, with him now set to be sold for just £400,000.

Docherty managed six assists during his 19 games for the 54-time Scottish champions – far from a poor return – and he did well with both Shrewsbury and Hibernian on loan, managing 13 strikes and 16 assists in 58 matches during those two spells. Therefore, the apparent £400,000 fee seems quite low.

Many ‘Gers supporters are far from happy with the reported fee – one even called it “ridiculously bad” – and they have taken to Twitter to share their thoughts. You can see some of the best comments from the social media platform below:

‘Gers fans, are you annoyed by the transfer fee for Docherty? Let us know what you think by commenting below!

With the league title all sewn up, one would imagine that Liverpool might take their foot off the gas for the remaining few games of the season.

While the Reds weren’t at their brilliant best during the 1-1 draw with Burnley on Saturday, the desire to win was still as strong as ever.

Unfortunately, that manifested itself in quite a negative way after the final whistle at Anfield as Andy Robertson was caught on camera giving the referee a dressing down, using some rather colourful language while lambasting the official.

Watch Liverpool Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

With no crowd in the stadium, it was very easy to hear exactly what the Scot thought of David Coote’s performance on Saturday, and it’s fair to say that he wasn’t full of praise for him.

Robertson was clearly aggrieved that his side didn’t get a penalty in the second half, and he let his emotions get the better of him.

Understandably, the wider footballing world has taken issue with Robertson’s behaviour, with many calling for him to be banned, while others branded him as disrespectful.

The critics certainly have a point.

Football is an emotive sport, especially at the top level, but Liverpool have already won the league, and while this sort of reaction may have been slightly more justified had Coote’s failure to award the Reds a penalty have cost them the title, Roberston’s tirade just came across as immature and over the top on this occasion.

The left-back wasn’t the only man to confront the officials after the game.

The clip also shows Jurgen Klopp having a word with the referee, and while he kept his cool more than Robertson did, some viewers still weren’t happy to see the German talking to the officials, with many pointing towards other managers who’ve received sanctions for similar behaviour.

With the current economic climate likely to result in a significant change in how the transfer window functions, there is a chance a number of surprise deals could take place.

One side in particular that have been linked with a range of shock deals is Newcastle United, who are on the brink of being taken over by a Saudi-led consortium who look set to invest heavily in the North East club.

Some of the names mentioned include Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly, Lyon midfielder Houssem Aouar and Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha, but perhaps the most surprising target is Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale.

Something of an outcast at Madrid under Zinedine Zidane, this is not the first time that Bale has been linked with a return to England, but were he to arrive at St James’ Park it would surely be one of the most shocking deals ever seen.

With that in mind, here are 25 of the most surprising deals from around the world of football…

Robbie Keane to Inter Milan

After bursting onto the scene at Wolverhampton Wanderers and then Coventry City, Keane made a shock more to the San Siro. However, things did not work out and he only lasted six months before returning on loan to Leeds United.

Jerome Boateng to Manchester City

The German international arrived in Manchester early on in his career after a few seasons at Hamburg, but was never able to secure a spot in the first team. He left for Bayern Munich after one season where he finally found his best role.

Kim Kallstrom to Arsenal

With Arsenal’s 2013-14 title bid faltering, Arsenal plumped for the Swede towards the end of the January window even though he was injured. His time in North London amounted to little, although he did score a penalty in a FA semi-final shootout win against Wigan Athletic.

Emmanuel Adebayor to Real Madrid

After falling out of favour at Manchester City, the Togo international secured a shock loan move to Real Madrid in January 2011. After managing eight goals in 22 matches, he returned to England to join Tottenham Hotspur.

Edgar Davids to Barnet

After a brief spell at Crystal Palace and then two years of retirement, Davids returned to join Barnet in League 2 as a player-manager. He remained at the club until 2014, when he resigned.

Alexandre Pato to Chelsea

After two years on loan at Sao Paulo, the Corinthians forward arrived in West London on a six month deal. The move did not really work out and managed just one goal in two appearances.

Javier Hernandez to Real Madrid

After a great start to life at Old Trafford, Chicharito fell out of favour in 2014 and was shipped out on loan to Real Madrid in January 2015 as a result. His spell at the Bernabeu was not too bad though, where he managed nine goals in all competitions.

Nicklas Bendtner to Juventus

After failing to make the grade at the Emirates, Bendtner made the surprise move on loan to Juve where he did not manage to score in 11 appearances.

Kyle Lafferty to Palermo

After making his name at Rangers, Lafferty spent a spell in Switzerland with Sion before joining Italian club Palermo. Despite scoring 12 goals from 36 appearances, his time in Serie B is best remembered for the club’s owner describing him as a “out-of-control womaniser”.

Sol Campbell to Notts County

After a successful spell at Portsmouth, the former England international moved to League 2 side Notts County in a shock deal. However, he left after just one match and returned to former club Arsenal.

Thomas Gravesen to Real Madrid

After an outstanding start to the 2004-05 season with Everton, the Dane made a surprise move to Real Madrid in the January of 2005. He would only last 18 months in the Spanish capital though before leaving for Celtic.

Steven Caulker to Liverpool

After an injury crisis hit the Liverpool squad, Jurgen Klopp moved for the Queens Park Rangers defender who had been on loan at Southampton, only to use him as a striker on his debut.

Esteban Cambiasso to Leicester City

After finally departing Inter Milan, the Argentine joined Nigel Pearson’s Leicester City as they bid to secure their Premier League status. Cambiasso played a starring role that season but sadly left the summer before their famous title winning year.

Martin Braithwaite to Barcelona

With injuries hitting the Barcelona squad, the club were granted special dispensation to secure a move for Leganes forward and former Middlesbrough player Martin Braithwaite.

Andy Carroll to Liverpool

With Fernando Torres leaving Liverpool for Chelsea and Carroll impressing for Newcastle United, the Reds spent £35m on the England international in a move that never quite worked out. Carroll is now back at Newcastle although injuries have massively impacted his career.

Alex Song to Barcelona

In an era where Barcelona seemed to be signing every Arsenal player, they perhaps took it too far when the signed Alex Song. After a two-year spell on the sidelines, he returned to England on loan with West Ham United.

Michael Essien to Real Madrid

Despite injury resulting in his best form at Chelsea being behind him, Essien still joined Real Madrid in the summer of 2012. Luckily for him, he managed to stay fit and made 35 appearances in his one season at the club.

Henrik Larsson to Manchester United

After an incredibly successful career with Celtic and Barcelona, Larsson returned to Sweden in 2006 to rejoin Helsingborgs. However, six months later he joined Manchester United on a short term loan spell as the club chased  their first title since 2003.

Julien Faubert to Real Madrid

After a season and a half at West Ham United with limited success, Faubert earned a surprise loan move to the Bernabeu, but managed just two appearances before returning to East London.

Hidetoshi Nakata to Bolton Wanderers

After a very successful career in Italy, the Japanese international made a shock move to Bolton Wanderers in 2005. His move was not without success, with the side finishing eighth in the table and Nakata making 32 appearances overall.

Jonathan Woodgate to Real Madrid

After making his name at Leeds United before earning a move to Newcastle United, Real Madrid caused plenty of shock when they paid £13.4m for the defender. Injuries proved a huge obstacle and Woodgate made just 14 appearances.

Giuseppe Rossi to Newcastle United

Another player whose career was blighted by injuries, Rossi spent a short spell on loan in the North East prior to his move to Villarreal where he first made his name.

Tyrone Mears to Marseille

A player lacking top-flight experience when he made the move, Mears sealed a shock loan move to Marseille in the summer of 2008 after Derby County were relegated. However, he made just seven appearances before returning to Derby.

Steven Fletcher to Marseille

Another Brit who made his way to the south of France for no apparent reason, Fletcher joined Marseille from Sunderland in February 2016. He scored three times for the club before joining current side Sheffield Wednesday that summer.

Borja Valero to West Bromwich Albion

A player who has since made his name at Villarreal, Fiorentina and Inter Milan, Valero joined West Bromwich Albion in 2008 in something of a shock deal. He left on loan after one season before finally departing on a permanent basis in 2010.

In our Transfers that shook the club feature, Football Transfer Tavern takes a look at deals that had many may not have seen coming and the impact that they had during their time by using statistical data and pundit remarks.

Wolverhampton Wanderers’ appointment of Nuno Espirito Santo back in May 2017 was a bold move given that he had pedigree with European names like Valencia CF and FC Porto, and then decided to take on the job of managing the Midlands club in the EFL Championship.

In the 2016/17 season prior to his switch, the 46-year old guided Porto to second in the Primeira Liga, just six points off of Benfica. Nuno also took Porto through the UEFA Champions League group stages before eventually losing out 3-0 on aggregate to Italian giants Juventus, according to Transfermarkt.

To make the drop from Champions League to Championship football could have easily affected him, but the Portuguese manager did not seem fazed as he made sure that Wolves gained promotion in his debut campaign, finishing as champions on a rather impressive 99 points, nine clear of their nearest challengers, as per Sports Mole.

Upon his arrival, director Jeff Shi lauded him, claiming that he ‘was impressed by his football tactics’ (via BBC). Indeed, Nuno did not disappoint him in his first term, and went on to achieve arguably bigger things in the Premier League. WWFC finished in a highly commendable 7th place on 57 points having just come up, and qualified for the UEFA Europa League the following season due to their league position.

Still in European competition and going one better by staying in 6th position so far in the top flight table this campaign, the Molineux outfit could perhaps qualify for the Champions League, which would put the icing on Nuno’s cake.

It was a bold move to appoint him, but he has definitely shook Wolves for the better.

Wanderers, can you can qualify for the Champions League under Nuno? Comment below!

Oh, Spurs, you’ve given us some wonderful moments over the years and Tottenham fans won’t know whether to laugh or cry at some of memories that we’re going to be reliving today.

With everything going on in North London at the moment, we wondered how many other times Spurs had been Spursy in the Premier League era and, unsurprisingly, we managed to find quite a few.

We stopped at 15, though, because any more and Spurs fans will have been crying into their Tottenham Hotspur Stadium cheeseboards.

And no one wants to see that, do they? Do they?

Wolves defeat – 2018

First up is a fairly recent memory of Spursyness at it’s finest and I want to make this clear before we go any further, Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, we’re laughing at you and not with you.

In December 2018, as they do, Spurs won five in a row in the league to close the gap on top of the table, even rising above Manchester City and into second place.

Victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers at Wembley late in the month would have seen them move just one win away from Liverpool. They led with 20 minutes to go but collapsed in typical style, conceding three late goals and not even managing to finish in the top three in the end.

Sacking Mauricio Pochettino – 2019

In the years before Mauricio Pochettino arrived at White Hart Lane, Spurs had already begun establishing themselves as a top-six club and regular Champions League contenders.

Pochettino came in and ensured they’d also become proper challengers domestically and in Europe, and he embarked on a heroic project of turning Spurs in to Premier League title contenders and Champions League finalists.

Often operating with a small transfer budget in comparison to other European heavyweights, Pochettino literally performed miracles at Spurs.

But after five years in charge, a handful of title challenges and just five months on from famously leading Spurs to the Champions League final, he was sacked by Daniel Levy with Spurs in 14th place in the Premier League.

A lot of us are still getting our heads around the fickle nature of that decision, as his successor Jose Mourinho now struggles lead Spurs to Europa League qualification.

Lasagne-gate – 2006

Only Spurs could have their challenge to qualify for the UEFA Champions League thwarted by a serving of lasagne.

Martin Jol’s side went into the final match of 2005/2006, at Upton Park against London rivals West Ham United, needing only three points to secure fourth place and thus make it to Europe’s premier club competition for the first time in the modern era.

But before the match, a dodgy meal of lasagne at the team’s hotel the night before caused an outbreak of sickness and diarrhoea in the Lilywites camp, which struck down several key players and led to a costly 2-1 defeat. The ultimate irony was that Tottenham’s bitter local rivals Arsenal clinched fourth instead.

Being knocked out in the FA Cup semis by a relegated team – 2010

The 2009/2010 season was a special one for Tottenham under the leadership of Harry Redknapp as they qualified for the Champions League for the first time since 1962 – meanwhile, Portsmouth were entering administration and were relegated with a mere 19 points.

So what do we think happened when the pair clashed at Wembley in the FA Cup semi-final? Something utterly Spursy is the answer.

Yes, the Lilywhites blew their chance to reach the final of football’s oldest competition for the first time in nearly 20 years, falling to a 2-0 defeat after extra-time because of Freddie Piquionne and Kevin-Prince Boateng strikes.

First Division relegation – 1977

Keith Burkinshaw will always be remembered as one of the greatest Tottenham managers of all time, though it’s often forgotten that he led the North Londoners to their first relegation in over 30 years in 1977.

What makes this particularly Spursy is the fact that they had been in a European final just three years earlier and in the two seasons before that had lifted four trophies; the League Cup twice, the UEFA Cup and the Anglo-Italian League Cup Winners’ Cup.

What other teams in world football could be capable of such a dramatic and rapid fall from grace?

Tim Sherwood/Roberto Soldado incident – 2014

From one of the best Spurs bosses to one of the worst in Tim Sherwood. All kinds of Spursy things happened during his reign in the second half of 2013/2014 and we’ve chosen this one as the Spursiest.

Following a hammering at Anfield in March 2014, it was alleged that Sherwood got so angry at misfiring striker Roberto Soldado that he punched him and a dressing-room scuffle between the pair ensued.

The incident was denied by various figures who were in the dressing room that day, however, as we are finding out, anything’s possible at Tottenham.

Bayern Munich 7-2 – 2019

This is one that should be at the forefront of your memory considering that it happened earlier this season.

Tottenham have never been ones for not letting something get out of hand and that was displayed wonderfully at the horrifically-named Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in early October when Bayern Munich smashed them 7-2, thanks in no small part to four second-half goals from ex-Gunner Serge Gnabry.

February/March woe – 2019

We come back to the 2018/2019 campaign now and despite the loss to Wolves, by the middle of February Tottenham had recovered with four Premier League victories on the spin to once again put pressure on the Reds and the Citizens at the top of the table.

You know Spurs, though, once they get a sniff of first place in the English top-flight they go into full-on self-destruct mode so it’s little surprise that, triggered by the defeat at struggling Burnley, Pochettino’s Spurs suffered a woeful February and March.

They slipped to four losses in five and nearly ended up missing out on the top four altogether, failing to win nine of their final 12 games.

Wasting the Gareth Bale money – 2013

Selling Gareth Bale at the end of the 2012/2013 term was always more of an inevitability for Spurs, as they were far from the European force they are nowadays..

It was always going to be about how they spent the £85.3m they received from Real Madrid for the Welshman and put it this way, they splashed out an obscene £56m of it on the duo of Erik Lamela and Roberto Soldado.

Doesn’t that tell you all you really need to know?

Third in a two-horse race – 2016

It should be impossible to finish third in a two-horse race but Tottenham made it happen during what was, to be fair, an overall bizarre 2015/2016 Premier League campaign.

For the majority of it, they had battled Leicester City at the top as it became clear relatively early on that one of them would end up lifting the Premier League trophy for the first time. When Spurs drew with Chelsea in the third from last match the Foxes were confirmed as champions, and the Lilywhites would then lose their last two outings, including an unfathomable 5-1 thrashing at relegated Newcastle, to allow Arsenal to sneak into second place.