All posts by z3u9t.icu

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Rob Lee, who made 298 appearances for Charlton, was surprised to see Nigel Adkins appointed as manager at The Valley with the news coming largely out of the blue on Thursday.

Adkins has been out of the game since 2019 when he decided to not renew his contract at the end of the season with Hull City, with Lee admitting his shock that Thomas Sandgaard didn’t target a foreign manager to replace Lee Bowyer.

Lee admitted that Adkins had slipped his mind as a potential manager, such as the length of time he’s been out of the game or been seriously linked with a job.

Speaking on the appointment of Adkins at The Valley, Lee told FFC exclusively:

“It’s surprised me a little bit. I thought the owner might have gone for a foreign manager since he’s Scandinavian.

“Out of all the names that were mentioned, that I heard, it just seems this is one that’s come out of the blue really.

“Of all the managers that were mentioned, I don’t remember Nigel Adkins being one of them. If I’m being honest, I had forgotten about Nigel Adkins.

“It wasn’t one of the names where you immediately thought yeah, okay that makes sense, and he’s got no association with the club.

“Maybe he had a great reference or he did a great interview, I don’t know. The thing is it’s always that somebody knows somebody at a club but, I hope he does well.”

Lee Bowyer left the club earlier this week to take up the managerial job at Birmingham City after Aitor Karanka left his role at St Andrew’s.

Charlton currently occupy the final play-off spot but have played two extra games than the teams around them. So, Adkins has a task on his hands to get them back into the Championship.

Fans of Liverpool have been reacting to a post on Twitter, which relayed Duncan Castles’ claim that Kylian Mbappe would be interested in a move to Jurgen Klopp’s side.

According to Castles, who was speaking on a recent episode of The Transfer Window Podcast, the Paris Saint-Germain forward “likes Liverpool”, with the journalist going on to claim that the 22-year-old has made it “very clear” that the Reds are a team the forward is “interested in playing for” at some point in his career.

So far this season, the £403,000-per-week Frenchman has been in remarkable form for PSG, scoring 20 goals and providing six assists over his 25 Ligue 1 appearances, in addition to bagging a further six goals and three assists over seven Champions League fixtures.

However, after Anfield Watch relayed Castles’ claim on Twitter, fans of Liverpool flocked to have their say on the matter, with many appearing to be furious at their club’s owners, as they believe, despite Mbappe’s apparent desire to join their club, FSG will not pay what is required to land the forward.

So, what exactly did these Liverpool fans have to say in reaction to Duncan Castles’ Kylian Mbappe transfer claim?

“This is so painful because if we were a serious club with serious owners then he’d be straight in the door this summer… Pain.”

@LFCJosh23

“How are we paying his wage?”

@LewEdward1

“When you look at the players who would like to play for Klopp’s Liverpool it’s a real pity we are owned by FSG.”

@Corballyred

“Love him as a player but can’t see too many clubs affording his wages, especially Liverpool. Would set a high bar for wage structure moving forward.”

@keithcochrane

“I don’t think we will pay his wage requests, he will want £300,000+ a week. It just won’t happen at Liverpool.”

@bainzy12

“Means absolutely noting because we will never pay his wages or the fee for him.”

@DS_LFC_

“Absolutely no chance.”

@RedJohn45

“Shame we’re owned by FSG.”

@CxI____

In other news: these Liverpool fans were left appalled by this “depressing” transfer news – find out more here!

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Wolves legend Steve Bull has revealed that he wishes Sir Bobby Robson gave him a chance in the semi-final against West Germany at Italia 90, claiming they wouldn’t know what had hit them.

Bull featured 13 times for England with his first call up coming when Wolves were still in what is now known as League One, something that has never happened since and likely never will again.

England ended up finishing fourth in 1990 after losing to the Germans on penalties in the semi-final, before losing to Italy in the third-place play-off 2-1 thanks to a Salvatore Schillaci penalty in the 87th minute.

Speaking on why he was so desperate to be given a chance against West Germany and what the one thing was that stopped him making an appearance, Bull told FFC:

“It was an absolutely unbelievable experience and I’ve got my fourth place medal on the wall and whenever I walk past it on my stairs I think, ‘we could have won that’.

“The one thing I wish Bobby Robson would have done for me was put me on. He told me to get warmed up and I was about to go stand on the halfway line ready to go come on but by the time I got there that man who eats Walkers crisps, is it Lineker or something? He had scored and then Bobby turned to me and said just sit down.

“I was thinking, just give me 20 minutes because I would’ve been like the Tasmanian devil and they wouldn’t have known what had hit them. I would have just run around like an idiot, I would have been hustling and bustling and I think I would have got one chance.”

It required 83rd and 105th-minute penalties against Cameroon to secure England’s place in the semi-finals of the World Cup, but they were once again undone on a penalty shoot-out by Germany.

West Germany ended up winning the World Cup as they beat Argentinea1-0 in the final after an 85th minute winning penalty from Andreas Brehme, who scored in the shoot-out against England.

Kevin Phillips has been discussing Illan Meslier after his agent spoke quite openly on Leeds United podcast LUFCFANZONE recently.

Phillips fumes at Meslier

The goalkeeper’s agent insisted there are some “big clubs” taking an interest in the 21-year-old Whites ace. Speaking to Football Insider, Phillips retorted: “It is funny how his agent is saying things and not the player himself. I wouldn’t take a blind bit of notice. His agent is trying to stir things up.”

“If I am Bielsa I would be fuming. I would be telling Meslier to tell his agent to shut his mouth. The kid looks very happy at Leeds and it looks like Leeds are moving in the right direction. They are getting linked with top players. It is exciting times, so why would you want to leave?”

Meslier needs to talk to his agent

Meslier has been inconsistent this season, making two errors leading to goals in his first campaign in the top flight, but showing superb form at other times.

In the 26 appearances he has made in the Premier League, he has helped the club pick up 11 wins as he has made 102 saves and kept eight clean sheets (Premier League), hardly a poor start at top-flight level for such a young player.

He is only 21 years old, which is quite young for a goalkeeper, but Marcelo Bielsa clearly has complete faith in him by selecting him every week.

Phillips is quite right to be disappointed in the agent as well – the £10.8m-rated Frenchman is in a great position playing consistently in the Premier League, and so his agent should be a bit more careful with what he says next time.

In other news, Leeds have been linked with this Championship player!

As the clock ticks closer to transfer deadline day, concerns from a recruitment point of view will surely start to grow for West Ham United.

The Irons haven’t been very active at all this month with the most eye-catching piece of business being the one to sell striker Sebastien Haller to Ajax.

The club’s record buy is no longer a Hammers player and as a result, they need to severely invest in their attacking line. Michail Antonio has been a good remedy in recent weeks with two goals in two games but they need someone else to bolster their ranks.

A plethora of forwards have been linked with the club and in recent days, Edin Dzeko and Andre Silva top their agenda. However, there is a far more striking individual catching their eye.

That happens to be Celtic forward Odsonne Edouard. According to The Daily Star, David Moyes’ side are interested in recruiting the Frenchman.

Edouard is currently valued at £35m so it would take a hefty amount of money for him to move from Glasgow to east London. Though, if they can pull off a deal it would be incredible business.

In short, this move could take West Ham to a new level. The forward is a genuine goal scorer and has been running riot over the last few years.

The 23-year-old netted 28 strikes last season, also contributing 19 assists for his teammates. This term, meanwhile, he has beaten the goalkeeper on 11 occasions.

With a record like that, it’s bound to get you excited, especially when his potential new team have struggled for goals.

In years gone by, finding the net has been an arduous task for many players in the West Ham squad. Not since Teddy Sheringham in 2004/05 have they had a striker capable of scoring over 20 goals in one season, and depressingly, not since Carlton Cole in 2011/12 has their top scorer netted 15 or more.

That speaks volumes about the Hammers, a team who have generally underperformed. Therefore, by signing a player like Edouard, it could finally help take them to the next level.

Described as a player with “magic in his feet” by Frank McGarvey, he is a fearsome individual and judging by his goal record, West Ham could finally find someone capable of scoring over 15 or 20 in one campaign.

Moyes’ men are currently seventh in the league and just two points off the Champions League places. Therefore, with the addition of Edouard, they could potentially make a late dart towards the top four. Failing that, a Europa League spot could well be on the cards.

This would undoubtedly be a different level for West Ham. They have struggled for a consistent period of time now. It’s time for them to sign a proven scorer and really establish themselves in the top half of the Premier League.

AND in other news, WHU sealed dream deal over “top quality” £27m-rated gem “playing out of his skin”…

Tottenham Hotspur boss Jose Mourinho has already confirmed that he will be starting veteran centre-back Toby Alderweireld in the second leg of his side’s Europa League Round of 32 clash with Wolfsberger AC this evening.

But who will partner the 31-year-old Belgian?

Joe Rodon isn’t registered for the competition, so it’s between Eric Dier and Davinson Sanchez, who both started their last two league defeats against West Ham (2-1) and Man City (3-0).

The latter could be in the most danger of losing his place, and quite rightly too…

On the Chalkboard

It’s been quite surprising to see the former club-record signing back involved amongst the starting XI in the Premier League.

He’s only started ten of their 24 outings, three of which coming in their last three matches, while across a nine-game period between the end of October and Christmas, he was snubbed entirely in the top-flight, via Transfermarkt.

At one stage, it seems as if Spurs weren’t against him leaving during the January transfer window – according to The Athletic correspondent Charlie Eccleshare, they would have considered offloading him if they could have found a viable replacement.

His long absence from the squad was a mere consequence of a calamitous afternoon against the Hammers, in which he conceded an own goal and endured a torrid time, and that has now come full circle.

The 24-year-old received his second-lowest rating (5.82) of the season that day – the worst coming only two games ago in that City defeat (5.57), where he made another error leading to a goal, via WhoScored.

And after the return fixture against their London rivals, former Spurs midfielder Jamie O’Hara urged the club to get rid of Sanchez, he told talkSPORT:

“I look at the team and the back-four is just an absolute shambles. I don’t know why Jose keeps playing [Davinson] Sanchez and [Eric] Dier because it’s probably one of the worst partnerships in the Premier League!” before adding: “Get rid of them!”

No Spurs defender lost possession more times than the 6 foot 2 colossus, while he was dribbled past more times (three) than any other visiting player too, as per SofaScore.

Supporters have often dubbed him a liability, as seen in post-match reaction against Brentford in the Carabao Cup semi-final, and in response to a transfer report ahead of the January window.

Sanchez, who is valued at £36m by Transfermarkt and earns a reported £75k-per-week in north London, was identified as a “weak link” by Mourinho during a Europa League final between Man Utd and Ajax, according to Tony Cascarino, so the Spurs boss knows all too well about his faults.

“Absolutely dreadful” (Sky Sports, via HITC) and “disgraceful” are just two other phrases used to describe Sanchez and his defending since the turn of the year alone, only proving that he’s continuously let the club down for weeks, if not months, on end.

On the above evidence, the Mauricio Pochettino flop has no business being involved in the starting XI tonight – or in the near future either. Mourinho must be ruthless and axe him over Dier this evening.

AND in other news, Better than Dier: Levy could land Spurs a massive upgrade in £22.5m-rated “machine”

Plenty of Aston Villa fans hit out at winger Anwar El Ghazi on social media following the club’s 1-1 draw with Newcastle United on Friday evening.

Dean Smith made one change to the side that drew with Wolves last time out, with youngster Jacob Ramsey replacing January signing Morgan Sanson in midfield.

The visitors were forced into an early change, though, after Bertrand Traore was forced off injured, bringing El Ghazi into the action.

Villa looked to have snatched all three points late on following Ciaran Clark’s own goal, however, with just seconds remaining in injury time, the Dutch winger gave the ball away, which led to Jamaal Lascelles heading home.

The result leaves Smith’s side in ninth place, with Lascelles’ dramatic equaliser preventing Villa going above Premier League champions Liverpool.

El Ghazi recorded a WhoScored match rating of 6.22/10 – the third worst score out of all 14 Villa players to feature. He had more shots than anyone on the field at St James’ Park (6), but only two managed to hit the target.

Villa fans slam El Ghazi

“El Ghazi should be embarrassed with his display tonight. We deserved absolutely nothing from that game”

Credit: @seeley_george3

“El Ghazi has absolutely 0 footballing ability, all he can do is shoot.”

Credit: @DomQ18

“Trez lacks quality and El Ghazi is so greedy.”

Credit: @AVFCFaithful_

“El Ghazi is a complete waste of time. Lost the ball THREE times in injury time, allowing the ball to be put back in the box.”

Credit: @FroggattSimon

“Stop playing El Ghazi”

Credit: @MattBedfordd

“El Ghazi forever scared of the ball”

Credit: @10grealishh

In other news: Many AVFC fans have been buzzing after a report on Wes Edens resurfaced, find out more here.

Everton striker Moise Kean risks making a blunderous decision over his career by deciding to re-join Juventus at the end of his loan spell with Paris Saint-Germain.

What’s the word?

According to Calciomercato, Juve will resume their efforts to take Kean back to Turin in the summer after accepting defeat last year when the Italian’s wages proved an issue.

The Serie A heavyweight pulled out all the stops but matching the forward’s demands in hope of making Kean the fourth striker in Andrea Pirlo’s squad, and continue to believe the role is missing at the Allianz Stadium today.

PSG ultimately signed Kean on loan but do not hold an option or obligation to purchase the £53,000-per-week gem, and will have to hold negotiations with Everton should Mauricio Pochettino wish to retain his services after a strong season on loan.

Ancelotti has stated that he will not stand in Kean’s way should he wish to leave Everton in the summer, having made clear the Toffees will make the striker available for offers in excess of £30m as they look to make a profit on the £27.5m paid to Juve in 2019.

Kean has been in terrific form in France so far, netting nine goals in 13 Ligue 1 appearances to earn the praise of Thomas Tuchel, who claimed the 20-year-old is “hard to play against” prior to his sacking at Les Parc des Princes.

Think carefully

Kean must think carefully before deciding where to play his football in the latter half of 2021, as a return to Juventus could prove horrific for his future if the only role he will occupy will be as Pirlo’s fourth-choice striker.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Alvaro Morata have often held down the attacking duties at the Allianz Stadium this term with the pair starting 12 and 10 of Juve’s Serie A fixtures to date, in which they have returned 15 and four goals respectively as Pirlo’s top-two scorers.

Paulo Dybala would likely be ahead of Kean in the pecking order in Turin, too, having opened eight of his 11 outings thus far in the central forward role to offer the second-most shots-per-game (2.6) behind only Ronaldo (4.8) to show his attacking threat.

Kean, meanwhile, is proving he can be a first-choice option at a title-chasing, Champions League side alongside Neymar and Kylian Mbappe at PSG, where he has only failed to start one Ligue 1 fixture since departing Merseyside on a temporary deal.

The 8-cap Italy international has also scored four goals in his last five top-flight outings to help the French side enjoy their longest unbeaten run all season, so it would be hard for Pirlo to argue the benefits of the 20-year-old now sitting back on the bench.

A potential return to Everton cannot be ruled out yet, either, as Kean’s return to form after a challenging 2019/20, having scored just twice in 33 games, will have offered Ancelotti reason to believe the forward can rival Dominic Calvert-Lewin at Goodison Park next term.

Ancelotti has no challenger to Calvert-Lewin following his decision to sanction Kean’s temporary spell, with Cenk Tosun clearly not favoured having played just 43 minutes of Premier League football this season after being overlooked against Wolves on Tuesday.

Going toe-to-toe with Calvert-Lewin for minutes in England will be far more beneficial for Kean’s long-term future than a seat on the bench at Juventus, so his decision must surely fall down to a return to Everton or permanent switch to PSG than a return to Turin in 2021.

AND in other news, Everton must refrain from making a knee-jerk decision to sign a £9m-rated target.

Bruno Fernandes spared Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s blushes as Manchester United struggled to break down West Bromwich Albion at Old Trafford in their first Premier League fixture after the international break on Saturday night.

VAR has been heavily scrutinised ever since its introduction in the World Cup 2018 and last night was no exception as referee David Coote overturned his decision to award West Brom with a penalty, much to the chagrin of Baggies boss Slaven Bilic, only for the video assistant referee to then order Fernandes to retake his penalty after Sam Johnstone was clearly off his line to save his first attempt.

The former United goalkeeper was outstanding upon his return to his old club, making a string of fine saves to deny Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford, but even he was powerless to prevent the Portugal international from firing home on the second occasion, whilst the result ensured that the Red Devils won at Old Trafford in the Premier League for the first time this season.

By all accounts Solskjaer’s side were mostly lacklustre, a fact which didn’t go unnoticed by the club legend, who defended the manner of their performance in his post-match interview.

“After the international break, we said it in the dressing room after, it’s difficult,” he told BT Sport (via Sky Sports). “We’ve not worked together, we’ve waited until this morning to get the prep for this game done, and that’s never easy when everyone’s been away for 10 days.”

For the most part Fernandes was impressive, Fred comfortable with the ball, but David de Gea was the real standout. It’s not very often we say that, as any regular reader of this column will know, but there’s no denying his near-faultless performance between the sticks.

SofaScore gave De Gea a high grade of 7.3 out of ten for his efforts – he made two saves from inside the box, one clearance and completed one successful run out, whilst he took 22 touches of the ball, made 16 out of 19 passes (84%), and kept his second clean sheet of the campaign, having played the full 90 minutes.

The 30-year-old received a similar score from Sky Sports for his performance, whilst 90min went one better, claiming he ‘made a smart save to tip a low strike round the post in the first half’ before he pulled off a ‘fantastic second-half stop with his feet from Townsend to keep the scores level.’

Once lauded as a “fantastic” talent by former United midfielder Darren Fletcher after he made a number of crucial saves to deny Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, it’s fair to say that De Gea has suffered from an inconsistent run of form in recent years, as he has often been criticised for disappointing results.

But the Spain international, who’s market value is estimated at up to €50m (£44m) via CIES, seems to have started to turn things around at Old Trafford. 

Solskjaer will need his first-choice shot-stopper to be at his very best when the Red Devils travel to St Mary’s to take on Ralph Hasenhuttl’s high-flying Southampton next week, that’s for sure.

AND in other news, Exclusive: Marlon Harewood baffled by Paul Pogba’s Manchester United situation…

To put things kindly, Sunderland’s transfer business in the last few years has been nothing short of disastrous.

Although there have been some good acquisitions in the form of Luke O’Nien and Bailey Wright – two of the first names on the team sheet – there has been some appalling transfers.

Chief suspect in this is Stewart Donald, someone who has never really got things right in terms of recruitment.

He has worked through tough circumstances – having to keep budgets in check for a big club in League One – but he hasn’t helped his cause either.

When the Black Cats were led astray by Josh Maja’s agent when he left the Stadium of Light, desperate measures were taken.

Sunderland needed a new striker and they forked out £4m to sign Will Grigg. On paper, it was a good signing given his record for Wigan in the same division, but he has scored just eight goals in nearly two years.

Therefore, it will be interesting to see what kind of approach is taken under prospective new owners Kyril-Louis Dreyfus and Juan Sartori.

It’s already been suggested that Dreyfus could look to operate in the French market but have we received another inkling of how they could operate?

Well, according to France Football (via Sport Witness), the 22-year-old is looking to build a portfolio of clubs in France and Uruguay after taking over at Sunderland.

Now, this sounds a lot like the kind of process that’s in play at both Manchester City and Watford. Their respect owners – Sheikh Mansour and Gino Pozzo – have both ploughed investment into a host of clubs throughout world football.

The City group has a stake in Melbourne City, New York City and Girona in Spain among others. As for the Pozzo’s, they famously used their ties with Udinese to their advantage at Watford.

But why is this relevant to Sunderland? That’s because if Dreyfus takes influence from the Pozzo’s, then he could save millions in the transfer window.

By building a network of clubs, he can easily negotiate either sales or loan deals to benefit the Black Cats going forward.

When Watford were in the Championship, they signed no fewer than nine players from Udinese in the 2013/14 season. All of those deals were on free transfers. Had that link not been there, their squad will have looked vastly different and it is unlikely promotion would have been achieved.

If Dreyfus can invest in other clubs around the globe, it should only benefit Sunderland in the transfer market.

This is a cunning plan from the young businessman.

In other news, Forget Wyke: “League One cheat code” with 97 touches was Johnson’s real hero last weekend…