All posts by n8rngtd.top

It’s fair to say that Dean Smith is one of the best managers Aston Villa have had in recent years.

The Villans finally returned to the Premier League under the tutelage of the former Brentford boss, and this Thursday marked one year since Smith took over at Villa Park.

Watch Aston Villa Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

It’s certainly been an eventful year for the Midlands club since the 48-year-old was appointed.

Largely it’s been full of positives as Aston Villa achieved promotion last season. However, Smith has said there is only one moment that he didn’t enjoy since he took charge.

Indeed, Smith said that he’s enjoyed every moment of being Aston Villa manager, except for their game against Wigan Athletic at the DW Stadium last term.

Just reading that last sentence has probably brought back terrible memories for a number of Villa fans, as their team were beaten 3-0 by the Lancashire outfit back in January.

You can understand why the gaffer didn’t enjoy watching his team get hammered by a side that they should have been beating, as the Latics finished 13 places below Villa last term.

Some Crystal Palace fans have taken to Twitter to discuss the daunting run of upcoming fixtures.After the Eagles take on West Ham this Saturday, they face Manchester City at Selhurst Park and Arsenal at The Emirates, before also welcoming in-form Leicester to SE25.

Palace then go away to Frank Lampard’s Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, before welcoming European champions Liverpool to south London to round off a scary-looking run of fixtures.

Oddly, you would be forgiven for thinking Roy Hodgson’s men have somewhat of a chance in the majority of these fixtures given their form against the big six lately – they have certainly caused a few shocks in recent years.

Palace beat Manchester City and Arsenal away last season, while they also beat Manchester United at Old Trafford earlier this term – the south Londoners definitely like being the underdog, it seems.

Let’s take a look at how the Palace fans on Twitter reacted to hearing their upcoming fixtures…

He’s huffing, he’s puffing, but he can’t break the door down.You just wonder how many hints he’s going to have to give before Marcelo Bielsa starts paying attention.It’s no secret that there are a lot of Leeds fans who have been crying out for Eddie Nketiah to start ahead of Patrick Bamford, but it just seems that no matter how hard he tries, there just hasn’t been that breakthrough.Which is perhaps why he’s being forced to try some new methods to show the Leeds boss exactly what he can do.

He posted a video to his Twitter feed yesterday of himself scoring during training with the England U21 side, capped off by a very impressive no-look finish for one of his efforts.

Leeds fans when they saw the video couldn’t contain themselves, and used it as yet another opportunity to demand that he be given more chances under Bielsa.

So far he’s netted four times for the Whites, two of which were late strikes in the league.

Here’s some of the reaction.

Whether it’s pressure from the fans, or it’s pressure from himself in scoring as many goals as he can to get him to notice, you just wonder how much longer we’re going to have to wait before he starts becoming a first-team regular.

[ad_pod ]

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…

It’s been a long nine months in the life of Kiko Casilla.

The Spanish goalkeeper departed Real Madrid in January for pastures new as he signed for Leeds from the historic La Liga outfit.

However, during that time, it’s been a spell littered with mistakes. Two that spring to mind the most came against Sheffield United when he was sent off and then of course in the playoffs.

Some miscommunication with Liam Cooper saw him race out of his goal and consequently miss his clearance before Jack Marriott scored.

After a performance against Ipswich in May, he was slated and then following his horror show in the playoffs, it perhaps came as no surprise to see fans want him to leave over the summer.

Judging by what he did against Derby and the way he’d acted during other matches after his arrival, it was justifiable.

But after being shown a degree of faith by Marcelo Bielsa when Bailey Peacock-Farrell left instead, he’s shown he just needed one thing to prove doubters wrong.

That factor was time.

Casilla has shown this season that he does have what it takes, making six saves and looking a pillar of solidity in what, according to some supporters, was his best game in a Leeds shirt last Sunday.

It’s been quite the turnaround for the 32-year-old but he’s now finally adapted to the Championship and the surroundings of English football.

Casilla’s numbers from less season are from impressive, running out of his goal 0.77 times per 90 minutes.

He meanwhile only claimed 0.29 high balls every 90 too.

But it was the individual errors that rung true, something demonstrated by his catastrophic lack of judgement against the Rams.

It’s not uncharacteristic for goalkeepers coming from La Liga to falter in English football, however.

David De Gea, who won the Premier League Golden Glove in 2017/18, made two individual errors leading to goals in his first term, seemingly being more intent on saving balls with his feet than with his hands.

He’s now one of the best at what he does, being named in the FIFA FIFPro World XI in 2018.

Watch Leeds United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Similarly, Claudio Bravo also made one individual error of note in his debut term with Manchester City. Coming from Barcelona, it was a surprise to see him under pressure so often.

But this was something that also had an effect on Casilla. Arriving from Spain, he struggled with the physicality but is now hitting back at the doubters after a period of adaptation.

Leeds have only conceded three times in the league this season, something their man between the sticks has had a vital say in ensuring.

[ad_pod ]

It’s always good to have a bit of camaraderie in any football team, and luckily for Aston Villa, they seem to have it in abundance.

Their captain celebrated his birthday on Tuesday, and as you would expect a number of players flocked to Instagram to wish him well.

Many simply sent their best wishes and left it at that, but Tyrone Mings decided to have a bit more fun with it.

Mings shared a rather embarrassing snap of Grealish on the floor in pain with the defender looking down at him.

Watch Aston Villa Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Seemingly the midfielder had just been fouled, so it’s not the most flattering snap of the Villa talisman.

The former Bournemouth man wished him a happy birthday and posted a couple of laughing emojis at his expense.

The 26-year-old would later make up for this embarrassing post by sending a much more sincere picture of the duo holding the Championship Playoff trophy.

[ad_pod ]

[ad_pod ]

West Ham United made it eight points from their five Premier League matches this season with a goalless draw against Aston Villa on Monday night.

The Hammers actually finished the contest with 10 men as Arthur Masuaku picked up a second yellow card in the 67th minute.

Following the sending off, West Ham boss Manuel Pellegrini decided to replace Felipe Anderson with Pablo Zabaleta in order to get an extra defender on the field.

Watch West Ham United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

It was not a surprise that Zabaleta entered the action as the visitors looked to consolidate.

However, it would be fair to say that the decision to replace Anderson did not go down very well with the West Ham fans on social media.

Find out a how a world-record-holding freestyler got on with the worst football in the world in the video below…

All things considered, a point away to Villa is far from a disastrous result, particularly with Masuaku’s red card making it a difficult conclusion.

That said, the London club’s fans hated the tactical decision from Pellegrini, as shown by the Twitter reaction below:

[ad_pod ]

Besiktas are in talks with Arsenal to take Egypt international Mohamed Elneny on loan for the 2019/20 campaign.

What’s the story?

The former FC Basel player’s future at the Emirates Stadium looks bleak. He is yet to feature during this campaign, and started just 12 games in the previous season.

Unai Emery has already made it clear that he is not a part of his plans this term, saying, “Elneny and Mustafi know their situation in the squad. I spoke with them a lot of times last year and in this pre-season. I think it’s positive for them to leave and to sign for another team where they can be protagonists, they can be happy and they can continue in their careers as very big players. They are very big players.”

As such, the Super Lig side have taken an interest in the 27-year-old, according to Turkish-Football. Talks between the two sides are underway, whilst Besiktas have also spoken to the player himself. It seems that he would not be against a move away from north London.

AFTV’s Robbie has his say on Arsenal’s owners in the video below…

Put him in the shop window

On the face of it, a loan switch is questionable. Why keep a player on the books who appears unlikely to ever feature regularly for the club again? However, when you look a little closer, it makes sense for all involved.

Firstly, it is a good move for Elneny. At 27, he is in the prime of his career, and he will want to be regularly involved in the action. Whilst Turkish football may not have the glamour of the Premier League, the passion of the fans makes it an interesting place to play, and many star footballers have enjoyed their time there. Just ask Didier Drogba and Wesley Sneijder, for example.

Arsenal will also benefit from the move. Currently, the midfielder is valued at £7.2m by Transfermarkt after spending almost a whole year watching on from the bench or the stands. Besiktas are one of the best teams in their country, and are also in the Europa League this season.

As such, Elneny can put himself in the shop window with some strong performances, meaning the Gunners would reap the benefits and could then sell him for a higher fee next year. He still has three years left on his contract, so next summer would be an opportune time to sell should Elneny perform well.

As such, this is a move that works well for all parties, and they should be hoping a deal can be completed before the transfer deadline.

[ad_pod ]

[ad_pod ]

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

According to The Daily Mirror, Manchester United star Nemanja Matic has “demanded showdown talks” with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer over his future.

What’s the word?

The Serbia international has not started a competitive fixture for the Red Devils since the side’s 1-1 draw with already-relegated Huddersfield back in May of last season.

Having been left on the bench for all three of United’s opening Premier League games, The Daily Mirror claim Matic is keen to get some clarification over his future at Old Trafford.

Watch Manchester United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

The report adds a number of sides across European football are keeping a close eye on developments amid a potential loan swoop for the midfielder this summer.

Naivety

Having arrived from Premier League rivals Chelsea back in 2017 for a reported £40m, Matic has seen his career go downhill extremely fast at United.

In his four league seasons at Stamford Bridge from the 2013/2014 campaign, the Serbia international had averages of 3.3, 3.6, 2.5 and 1.5 tackles per game. In his two campaigns with the Red Devils however, the holding midfielder has suffered a dramatic drop, with just 1.9 and 1.8 tackles being averaged per game in the Premier League.

Watch the video below to see the most insane overhead kick you will see this week…

But however much of a decline Matic has endured, his experience and know-how is so important to United’s young squad. Solskjaer’s attempts to refresh the team are admirable, but he’s leaving the side with just the bare bones and a ridiculous amount of trust in unproven youngsters.

It would be the ultimate display of naivety for the Red Devils to sanction a loan move – let alone a permanent switch – for the 31-year-old, without having the opportunity to replace him this summer.

[ad_pod ]

[ad_pod ]Nottingham Forest needed heroics from Albert Adomah to rescue a point at Charlton Athletic on Wednesday night.Lyle Taylor opened the scoring for Lee Bowyer’s side early in the first half, heading home a cross from West Brom loanee Jonathan Leko.The Addicks’ failure to clear their lines from a corner led to the Forest equaliser 12 minutes from time as Albert Adomah was quickest to the ball to fire home from close range.The Reds were second-best for large parts of the game and only managed to get three of their 14 attempts at goal on target, as per WhoScored, which left boss Sabri Lamouchi claiming his side were “lucky to go back to Nottingham with a point.â€It was the performance from Ben Watson which drew major criticism from some sections of the City Ground.One supporter claimed that the 34-year-old needed to retire because she is fed up with him whilst another believed he was the worst player on the pitch last night.Watson joined Forest in February 2018 following the cancellation of his contract at Premier League side Watford and has since made 38 appearances for the club.A further fan labelled the midfielder as a ‘passenger’ which was emphasised by one other who joked that Watson must be like Zinedine Zidane in training considering how off the pace he looks during matches.You can read the best of the reaction below:

[ad_pod ]

The latest summer transfer window saw the rise of the Saudi Pro League.

Known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL) for sponsorship reasons, the division has seen several high-profile players join Cristiano Ronaldo in the Middle East, and it is quickly becoming one of football's biggest talking points.

DAZN recently secured the rights to broadcast the league's matches for a two-year period on a multi-territory basis, which will undoubtedly continue to raise the profile of the rapidly rising division.

Football FanCast brings you the lowdown of all the latest information and news regarding the competition.

Saudi Pro League transfer news: Salah tipped to leave, big Chelsea rumour & Everton star eyed

Eyes are on the Saudi Pro League once again as the summer window gets closer. Here are the latest big transfer rumours from the Middle East…

By
Alex Caple

Apr 19, 2024

Latest Saudi Pro League results

With the league title wrapped up for some time, Al-Hilal just needed to avoid defeat once more to complete an unbeaten season. They did so with victory at Al-Wehda, thanks to a stoppage-time winner from top scorer Aleksandar Mitrovic.

The two remaining places for the revamped AFC Champions League were also secured before the final day, but Al-Taawoun made sure of their place in the AFC Champions League Two, which will be Asia's answer to the Europa League next season.

Al-Ittihad's tumultuous campaign saw them fail to secure continental football for next term, with Cristiano Ronaldo's record-breaking double consigning them to fifth place. Ronaldo set a new Saudi league record with his goal tally – details of which can be seen below.

There was also drama at the bottom, at Al-Okhdood escaped relegation with a 2-0 win at Al-Tai, who were fighting against the drop themselves. They stayed up at the expense of Abha, who were unable to beat bottom club Al-Hazem to secure the result they needed.

Final Saudi Pro League standings

Top goalscorers in the Saudi Pro League

Cristiano Ronaldo broke the record for goals scored in a Saudi Pro League campaign, with his second goal against Al-Ittihad putting him clear of previous record holder Abderrazak Hamdallah, who netted 34 goals in the 2018/19 season.

His goals weren't enough to steer Al-Nassr towards the title, but it has still been a dazzling campaign for the 39-year-old on a personal level, with the Portugal forward netting 44 goals in 44 games in all competitions.