Reported Leeds United target Joe Bryan scored as Bristol City recorded a famous 2-1 win against Manchester United at Ashton Gate on Wednesday night as they reached the semi-finals of the EFL Cup, and Whites fans were quick to have their say on the left-sided player’s performance.
HITC reported during the summer that the Yorkshire outfit were keen to sign the 24-year-old to replace outgoing left-back Charlie Taylor, but a move never materialised and they eventually brought in Cameron Borthwick-Jackson on loan from Manchester United instead.
However, the 20-year-old has struggled for game time and Gaetano Berardi has largely been playing out of position there in recent weeks.
Bryan scored a sensational goal against the Red Devils and impressed at both ends of the pitch, and Leeds supporters took to social media to give their thoughts on his display.
It was clear to see that some many were tinged with regret with one describing the decision not to follow up on the versatile left-sided player as a “bad move”, while another said the club “missed a trick by not getting Bryan from Bristol City in the summer”.
Three own-goals helped Liverpool secure a comfortable 4-1 victory over West Ham at Anfield to help them rise to second in the Premier League.
The Hammers soaked up a lot of Liverpool pressure in the first-half and went close on a couple of occasions with Modibo Maiga spurning two golden opportunities to put the visitors in front.
But a Guy Demel own goal three minutes before the break, which he could nothing about after Jussi Jaaskelainen could only parry a Raheem Sterling effort in to his shins, gave Brendan Rodgers’ side a deserved lead to give them the upper hand.
And just two minutes into the second-half James Collins deflected a a Mamadou Sakho effort into his own net to double Liverpool’s lead and all but put the game to bed.
A Martin Skrtel own goal gave West Ham some hope of an unlikely comeback just after the hour, but Luis Suarez headed in his first ever goal against the Hammers to regain Liverpool’s two goal advantage with ten minutes remaining.
After Kevin Nolan was shown a straight red card for a studs up challenge on Jordan Henderson, Suarez saw his late effort take a generous deflection off defender Joey O’Brien and past Hammers stopper Jussi Jaaskelainen to complete the rout.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
This victory, their second in a week after the 5-1 thrashing of Norwich City on Wednesday night, means Brendan Rodgers’ side are now second in the Premier League and four points behind leaders Arsenal.
Sam Allardyce’s West Ham, on the other hand, now only sit outside the bottom three on goal difference after Crystal Palace nabbed a 2-0 home win over Cardiff City to go level with them on 13 points.
Look back at our minute-by-minute commentary of the match here.
Southampton’s young starlets, Jack Stephens and Calum Chambers, have been called up to the England Under-19 squad for the upcoming European Championship qualifiers, The official Southampton FC website reports.
Stephens and Chambers both play for the Saints in the Under-21 Premier League- revamped from the previous reserve team structure.
Chambers has already scored for the Under-21s this season, while Jack Stephens has made four appearances for the side- the joint-highest so far this season.
They will both fly out to Estonia next week along with the rest of Noel Blake’s squad, to play in the First Qualifying Round of the UEFA European Under-19 Championship.
This comes after the duo were on the standby list for the Under-19 friendly against Germany.
England start by facing Estonia next Wednesday, before taking on the Faroe Islands the following Friday, and finally finish their trip with a match against Ukraine on 1st October.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
As a result of their call-ups, Stephens and Chambers will miss Saints’ Under-21 fixtures against Tottenham and Stoke, as well as the Capital One Cup tie against Sheffield Wednesday next Tuesday.
As reported by The Sun, Manchester United may have to pay an eye-watering £100m if they want to secure the signature of Fulham prospect Ryan Sessegnon.
What’s the story?
Sessegnon is undoubtedly one of, if not the, most exciting homegrown players in the country and this summer is set to be full of speculation about whether he will leave Fulham for a bigger club.
The Sun report though that the Craven Cottage side value him so much that they’re willing to dig their heels in on a potential transfer and demand any suitors pay £100m for his signature.
That would make him the most expensive English player in history.
The paper reckon that while that prices Tottenham Hotspur out of a move, Manchester United could be ready to push on with the transfer, despite the fee, with Jose Mourinho looking for a long-term option at left-back.
A good buy?
With 15 goals and six assists this season from the left flank in the Championship, there is not another English teenager as exciting as Sessegnon, but is he worth paying nine figures for?
Sessegnon is still just 17, but will be 18 by the time the transfer window opens. His young age and lack of senior experience means that despite his obvious potential and despite the stellar season he has had this term, paying £100m for his services is wholly unrealistic.
That kind of money would put massive pressure on his move to Old Trafford and could hamper his development.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Of course Fulham don’t have to think of his sale in those terms, they have every right to protect what is a massive asset, but from United’s perspective, if the London side are so intent on not selling him then maybe they have to play a long-term waiting game to secure his transfer.
When Arsene Wenger dropped summer signing Sead Kolasinac following an impressive start to his Arsenal career in favour of academy product Ainsley Maitland-Niles, the decision certainly raised some eyebrows.
We’ve seen this kind of thing before from the Gunners gaffer – unexpectedly axing a senior player enjoying good form to make room for a younger alternative – with incredibly mixed results.
Manchester United legend Gary Neville was one of the first to raise concerns after Maitland-Niles, a midfielder first and foremost, struggled at left-back in a 3-3 draw with Liverpool a fortnight ago. As quoted by The Express, he said during the clash at the Emirates Stadium…
“Maitland-Niles, I always say that when the ball’s on your side it’s fine, but when you have to start searching for people you get drawn into a position you should never be. You can talk about not being targeted, but he has been targeted at that back post.
“It’s been a real problem for him and there’s been big, big chances for Liverpool. Again, look at the back post, ball-watching, not knowing the position. It’s tough on the kid, I’m not sure why you would put him in this game. When I look at that first half, he has struggled for me.”
But there are few greater endorsements for a young and promising 20-year-old in the Premier League than making such a reputed pundit completely change his tune after just two more starts and 13 days, which is exactly what Maitland-Niles did last night as Arsenal duked out a thrilling 2-2 draw with Chelsea.
While the Gunners struggled defensively and although Maitland-Niles wasn’t directly involved in either of his side’s goals, it was an incredibly composed and promising performance from the England U21.
Indeed, the youngster actually finished up with the most successful dribbles – most notably a darting run inside the box that almost drew a penalty – and the most tackles to his name of any Arsenal player -including a clean challenge to nick the ball from Eden Hazard, something even the best defenders in the world struggle with.
On top of that, Maitland-Niles whipped three crosses into the box, created one chance, completed 88% of his passes and had the most touches of any Arsenal player not playing in midfield.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Accordingly, Neville’s assessment of the versatile 5 foot 10 hotshot was markedly different last night, even describing him as ‘absolutely fantastic’.
“He looks absolutely fantastic. It’s so early in his Arsenal career and to play in huge matches out of position… to show that quality and confidence – it’s great to see.”
Clearly Neville thinks Maitland-Niles has a great future and early performances back up that evaluation. But lacking vital experience and playing out of position, should he be Arsenal’s first-choice left-back at this moment in time?
Wigan have received no offers for midfielder James McCarthy, reports The Metro.
The Irish star has been heavily linked with a return to the Premier League, after the Latics were relegated to the Sky Bet Championship last season.
Newcastle, Everton and Tottenham have all been linked with McCarthy, but Wigan boss Owen Coyle has revealed the club are yet to receive a bid for the 22-year-old.
“I’ve not had any enquiries, let alone offers, for any of my players. But ultimately good players attract attention and there’s no getting away from it, James McCarthy is such a hugely talented player,” Coyle said.
“If there is any interest, he’ll be the first to know. Then as a club we decide what happens from there”
The youngster impressed for Wigan last season, and the midfielder played a huge part in the Latics’ route to lift the FA Cup. Roberto Martinez has been heavily linked with a move to bring McCarthy to Goodison Park to reunite the pair, while Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas has also reportedly shown interested.
McCarthy played the full 90 minutes in Wigan’s 4-0 victory away at Barnsley on the opening day of the new season, and is expected to start in the Community Shield against Manchester United on Sunday at Wembley.
Who should McCarthy join this summer? Is he ready for a fight to get Champions League football?
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
With the season now firmly under way, only to be interrupted by a brilliantly times international break – thanks for that FIFA – some sides have been straight out the traps, Chelsea and Barcelona have collected the maximum points available to them and have made nothing short of a brilliant start, whilst other teams such as PSG and Real Madrid have performed shall we say less than acceptably and are propping up the middle of the table. It might only be three games in, but fans and the media are debating said results with gusto, and their effect on the rest of the season, raising the question just how vital is a good start to the league?
If someone tries to tell you a good start to the season is detrimental to a team’s campaign I will show you a liar or indeed someone with an I.Q that rivals Joe Cole’s, who after 9 months in France was learning to say Je Voudrais – as much as you may dislike a rival, if they have collected 9 points from 3 games it is impressive and any fan would much rather their side be sat at the top of the table than in a spot that would not even get you into the Europa League next season. A good start sends a message and is never a bad thing.
Of course it cannot be described as the be all and end all – otherwise the season would be over by October. Some teams perform much better in the second half of the season – United are prime examples of this, and always come to the fore after Christmas, meaning that a few points gap is not the end of the world for them. In fact fans have come to expect it. Who a team has played can also be significant – Southampton have faced nothing short of a nightmare first couple of fixtures and it does not get much better for them in the near future but their fans will know they are playing well and beating United or City will not keep them up – beating the teams around them will, and if they lose to them it is time to worry. As for now, their start is not as bad as it may seem on paper.
There is also the small matter of the period over Christmas and Easter – far away they may seem, but they are the most significant periods of the season and if a side can collect maximum points from these jam packed periods they can go a long way to atoning for dropped points earlier in the season or making the gap at the top even wider.
The ACON – yes it is back again to the lamenting of City fans – is also a major factor which is yet to weigh in on matters, but teams with a big or significant African presence will struggle during these months and again even if they have collected maximum points at the start of the season, all that hard work can be derailed during the most inconveniently timed competition.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Only a fool would tell you they wanted a bad start to the season for their team – as I cast an envious glance up the table to where Barcelona sit I can assure you no matter how hard I try and tell myself 4 points from 3 games is A ok, and Real are doing fine this is about as truthful as when Ronaldo protests he doesn’t care Messi is lorded above him – but there are many more factors to come in to play yet, and whilst the teams who have excelled thus far will be hoping to carry on in the same vein, the ones below them will certainly be relying on the fact it nothing is decided in the middle of September – thank God.
Everton fans have been discussing which Swansea players they would like to poach this summer, and they all agree on one man.
Swansea City were relegated on Wednesday night after Huddersfield picked up a heroic point at Stamford Bridge.
The Swans probably shouldn’t be going down given the quality of their squad, and there are more than a few players that will be looking for a new home in the Premier League this summer.
One such player is Alfie Mawson, who has been one of the surprise packages of the season at the back for Swansea.
[ad_pod ]
The 24 year-old centre back averages a remarkable six clearances per game in the Premier League, and has put his aerial prowess to good use on the attacking end too by grabbing two goals and an assist.
Everton have had their own defensive problems this season, with Michael Keane failing to live up to expectations and Phil Jagielka and Ashley Williams both showing their age.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Fans weren’t too happy about the links to Stoke’s Xherdan Shaqiri this week, but it doesn’t seem they’re completely against signing relegated players, as they’re all saying the same thing about Swansea’s relegation.
Some of the best Twitter reactions can be found below…
Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini believes that Raheem Sterling is worth the £49million the club used to prize him away from Liverpool, according to reports from ESPN.
The 20-year-old was being chased by the Citizens throughout the majority of the summer transfer window, with several bids being rejected before the Reds finally agreed to a £49million sale.
The transfer and manner in which he left Anfield did not please the Kop faithful, with many believing that the Sky Blues overpaid for the Engand international.
WANT MORE? >> Manchester City Transfer News | Latest Transfer News
However, Pellegrini claims that his new signing is worthy of the incredible price tag after Sterling scored three goals in two games during pre-season.
“He is a very good player, that’s why we brought him to our team,” he said. “He has a lot of things we didn’t have in our squad. If you watch the way he played tonight he has a lot of pace and I am sure in the future he will demonstrate why we paid so much money for him.
“I was very surprised because it is not easy to score eight goals, but Vietnam is a team that must prepare for qualification for the next World Cup, and they have time. They start playing in September or October so have to work hard, but they have very good players.”
The Citizens have also signed Fabian Delph from Aston Villa via a £10million deal, but are still targeting more players before the transfer window closes at the end of August.
Wolfsburg star Kevin de Bruyne has been heavily linked with a switch to the Etihad of late, with a £40million bid being mooted by several sources.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Mike Phelan and Eric Steele are believed to have left Manchester United as David Moyes assembles a new backroom staff.
Assistant manager Phelan and goalkeeper coach Steele were integral parts of former manager Sir Alex Ferguson’s coaching set-up.
Phelan, who played under Ferguson at Old Trafford from 1989-94, was brought back to the club in 1999 and promoted to first-team coach in 2001 after Steve McClaren left to go to Middlesbrough.
He eventually succeeded Carlos Queiroz as assistant to Ferguson in 2008 when the Portuguese left to take his country’s national team job.
During his five seasons next to Ferguson in the dugout, United won three Premier League titles, a Club World Cup, two League Cups and made two runs to the final of the UEFA Champions League.
Steele, a former Manchester City and Blackburn Rovers goalkeeper coach, replaced Tony Coton in the position at United in 2008 and worked alongside Edwin van der Sar and David de Gea with great success for five seasons.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
The club have not confirmed either departure yet, but Moyes is ready to make changes to the team he inherited from Ferguson to make room for some of his own men.