Tottenham fans react with Griffiths "on the verge" of exit

Tottenham fans are not happy with the latest transfer update, as it looks like young starlet Reo Griffiths could be on his way out of the club.

According to reports, both Real Madrid and PSG are interested in Griffiths, who scored a whopping 42 goals for the U18 side last season.

The 18 year-old drew major attention after Spurs’ 9-0 mauling of Arsenal, when he contributed to seven of the nine goals.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”273047″ player=”12034″ title=”Power Ranking the 1819 Premier League kits”]

If the youngster decides his future is not in North London, then he will leave for a cut-price fee due to his scholarship deal.

These reports add to the claims earlier on Friday that Lyon are chasing the youngster, with French outlets even claiming the Tottenham wonderkid is “on the verge” of signing for the Ligue 1 outfit.

Fans have obviously been getting frustrated with the lack of transfer activity this summer, so losing a rising star to one of Europe’s elite certainly won’t ease tensions, and you can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

Everton fans rip apart Barkley following Chelsea’s Community Shield defeat to Manchester City

During his time at Everton, Ross Barkley was compared to the likes of Paul Gascoigne and was tipped to become a club legend.

Instead, the midfielder has become a figure of mockery among the Merseyside outfit’s faithful.

In January, the England international signed for Chelsea in a £15m deal, but he made just three appearances in all competitions.

In fact, the 2017-18 campaign was a miserable one for him as he did not play competitively until six months into the season due to a serious hamstring injury.

Some Everton fans were upset by Barkley’s decision to abandon his boyhood club, so there has been some joy among the supporters that he has flopped so far at Chelsea.

The 24-year-old will hope to have a better season this time around as he tries to impress new manager Maurizio Sarri.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”255857″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch Everton’s opening fixtures for the 201819 Premier League season”]

On Sunday, the midfielder started for the Blues in their Community Shield clash against Manchester City.

Barkley struggled to make an impact in what was a lacklustre showing from the West London outfit.

Some Everton fans took great pleasure in seeing the midfielder suffer a 2-0 defeat at Wembley.

Kevin Volland is a striker Everton must sign

Everton are aiming to build on their 8th place finish from last season by reinforcing their squad with fresh quality.

Thus far, Lucas Digne has arrived from La Liga champions Barcelona, meanwhile new boss Marco Silva has been reunited with Richarlison, who he managed whilst at Watford. 

They could both turn out to be significant signings for the Toffees given how they shelled out £70 million on the pair. Everton were poor for large parts of the season despite finishing eighth and the hope would be those two and anyone else who arrives at Goodison Park could have a positive impact on their season. 

The forward position is still one of concern as Cenk Tosun doesn’t have much support or competition to challenge him into being a better player. In that case, signing Kevin Volland from Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen would offer just that and could give Everton more of a cutting edge.

Volland has moved around the Bundesliga and continued to supply his team with goals. The 26-year-old is a proven goal-scorer and that’s what Everton have been short of ever since losing Romelu Lukaku to Manchester United. The Belgian was so influential that as soon as he left, it really was no surprise the Toffees struggled for both form and goals. 

Kevin Volland last season scored 14 goals for a free-scoring Bayer Leverkusen team in 31 Bundesliga appearances and if that form could be continued at Everton should they launch a bid for the German, the Toffees would fancy their chances of returning to Europe having made some top additions. 

Despite having a poor pre-season in the lead up to Silva’s first season as Everton manager, fans can get excited should a player of Kevin Volland’s quality rock up at Goodison Park this summer. 

Do you agree… Let us know! 

Jack Ross not interested in move for Aston Villa striker Ross McCormack

Although the transfer deadline has closed for Premier League teams, EFL clubs can still make loan moves until the end of the month and Sunderland could well be interested in making another deal.

This summer, the Black Cats lost Joel Asoro to Swansea and at one point only had fellow academy graduate Josh Maja to play up front.

Towards the end of the transfer deadline, however, Stewart Donald managed to bring in Jerome Sinclair and former Bradford City striker, Charlie Wyke.

The club are still on the look out for a striker and had been linked with a move for Aston Villa forward, Ross McCormack but according to the Chronicle Live, Sunderland are now unlikely to move for the striker.

The Breakdown

Aston Villa are apparently looking to get Ross McCormack off their wage bill following his fall out with Steve Bruce.

The forward is only halfway through his four-year contract and was loaned out to Melbourne City last season where he scored 14 goals in 17 games.

With Wyke and Sinclair still injured, Ross is after another forward to bolster his attacking options but apparently is looking for a young raw striker rather than a proven league performer.

Sunderland need another forward as they can’t rely on Josh Maja to be their sole striker for the next few weeks.

While McCormack may not be the one for the club, Jack Ross needs to utilise the loan market to help his squad and add some depth up front.

So Sunderland fans, what do you think?

2018-19 Premier League Third Kits Revealed

The Premier League is finally back, which means one thing, new kits!

Long gone are the days where teams just had two strips, one home and one away, now the majority of Premier League clubs have a third/alternative kit.

The use of a third kit is a contentious one, with many believing that it is unnecessary and is just another example of clubs fleecing fans.

A third kit was originally brought in by teams who wore stripes on their shirt, as a way of making 100% sure they wouldn’t have a kit that clashed with their opponents.

Now, 15 of the 20 Premier League teams have officially released their third kit for sale, with Spurs and Chelsea the latest teams to do so.

It is likely all 20 clubs will bring out their third kits for sale before Christmas, but for now take a look at the 15 strips released so far.

AFC Bournemouth

As far as strips go, it’s not a bad one, but it’s definitely the worst of Bournemouth’s three.

But it achieves the brief of making sure that they will 100% not clash with their opponents, would anybody want to?

Arsenal

 

Obviously if Arsenal and Bournemouth decided to wear their third kits then they would clash, with Arsenal also going for a light green shirt.

We like the shirt, the collar is a nice touch, but we have two questions, since when was Cech an outfield player and also when is the next top 10 album dropping lads?

Brighton & Hove Albion

We don’t know how to feel about this one, rather than create a new shirt, Brighton have decided to use their away kit from last season as their third strip.

Yes, it means fans don’t need to fork out for a new one, but if you’re going to go to the effort of having one, do it properly.

 

Burnley

If any of our Premier League teams need a third kit this season, it’s Burnley.

In the Europa League for the first time, Sean Dyche’s men have already played three games in the competition and will hoping for many more to come.

Slight resemblance to Tottenham’s famous all white European kits….

 

 

Everton

Everton have done really well in the transfer market this summer, but they have also done well in the kit manufacturers too.

The third strip (far right) is an absolute triumph, the retro ‘Umbro’ pattern rolls back the years for many fans.

Huddersfield Town

Huddersfield sporting their brand new team crest have also gone for a green shirt, but a little more ‘hi-vis’.

You certainly will spot them coming, but with the home and away strips donned with stripes, they have acheived the ‘brief’

Leicester City

If you look at this strip and you think, didn’t Leicester wear this a few years ago, then you’d be almost right.

A quick look back through the archives and you’ll see Leicester’s title winning season in 2015-16 saw them wear a Puma version of this white number.

Addidas makes it a lot better though to be fair.

Liverpool

Liverpool revealed their third kit when they announced the signing of Switzerland forward Xherdan Shaqiri from Stoke City.

A big smile from the £13 million man, probably because he got away without having to model his new side’s purple away kit.

Man Utd

Strangely it is United’s away kit that has yet to be revealed, but is rumoured to be pink!

If that’s the case, they should seriously consider using their ‘midnight blue’ alternative kit, it’s stunning.

Newcastle United

Newcastle achieve the brief by releasing a third kit that has no stripes and in doing so have created a stunning shirt (far right).

The turquoise kit will surely have a lot of orders from the Toon Army.

Hamza Mendyl confirms failed Arsenal transfer before Schalke move

New Schalke signing Hamza Mendyl has confirmed that Arsenal made a late move to land his services, in comments published by Kicker.

What’s the word?

Arsenal enjoyed a fruitful summer transfer window under the guidance of Unai Emery, who placed a focus upon improving his defensive ranks with the additions of Stephan Lichtsteiner, Bernd Leno, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Lucas Torreira.

The quartet, along with young talent Matteo Guendouzi, have given the Gunners squad a fresh look for the new campaign but the start to the season has proven to be a slog with two consecutive defeats to Manchester City and Chelsea.

Emery faces a lengthy period of rejuvenation in North London after two decades under Arsene Wenger and did not manage to land all of his targets in the close-season, as new Schalke signing Hamza Mendyl as confirmed to Kicker that the Gunners failed in a move to land his services from Monaco.

What was said?

“True, I’ve been in talks with Arsenal FC and Newcastle United, but being a Moroccan citizen it’s not so easy to get a work permit there, I would have thought I’d play in England.”

Have Arsenal missed out?

Only two weeks into the new season, Unai Emery already has a defensive nightmare down the left-side with Sead Kolasinac sidelined for around two months and Ainsley Maitland-Niles, who slotted into the role for the opening game against Manchester City, suffering a leg fracture in that defeat.

That has left just veteran full-back Nacho Monreal as the only identified left-back available in the squad and the Spain international himself has only recently returned from a knee issue that forced him to sit on the sidelines for the opening weekend.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”280645″ player=”12034″ title=”Rafa’s Pub Facts Dodgy De Gea & Arsenal’s MiniRevolution”]

On top of this, Monreal is now 32 and Transfermarkt shows he has entered the final 12 months of his contract, with Arsenal yet to identify a suitable long-term replacement with the indications of Kolasinac’s performances suggesting he is too attacking.

Mendyl, aged just 20, is already showing promise after being named in Morocco’s World Cup squad and could have become the ideal successor for Monreal down the left side, but Schalke have since completed a transfer for the player.

[ad_pod ]

Coulibaly in danger of missing Rangers’ clash against Celtic

Rangers manager Steven Gerrard faces his first major test on Sunday when his team go up against Old Firm rivals Celtic at Parkhead.

It has been so far so good for the Gers as they are unbeaten in 11 matches, but it looks as though they will have a disadvantage heading into the contest.

According to The Daily Record, Lassana Coulibaly is unlikely to make the squad for the contest due to injury.

The midfielder picked up a thigh injury in the Gers’ recent Scottish Premiership match against St Mirren.

The 22-year-old, who moved to Rangers from Angers on a season-long loan, has been absent from four matches and looks to be on the sidelines for the next two.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”285457″ player=”12034″ title=”Rafa’s Pub Facts Theatre Of Screams & The Serb As Good As Salah”]

Gerrard’s side will take on Ufa in the second leg of their Europa League playoff prior to their clash against Brendan Rodgers’s side.

The Gers are likely to progress past Ufa, but they could encounter some problems without Coulibaly this weekend.

[ad_pod ]

West Ham fans unhappy with club’s Twitter post

On Tuesday morning, West Ham United’s official Twitter account posted an interview with first-team fitness coach Josh Ewens.

The interview was promoted as ‘an insight into the life of a first-team fitness coach’, with Ewens discussing his role at the club.

However, it would be fair to say that the post on social media has not gone down well with the West Ham fans during this stage of the campaign.

The Hammers spent big during the summer transfer window, but have lost all four of their Premier League matches at the start of the 2018-19 campaign.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”289180″ player=”12034″ title=”A Futsal Player Walks Into A Denmark Squad…”]

Indeed, the capital outfit have been beaten by Liverpool and Arsenal on the road, and also lost to Bournemouth and Wolverhampton Wanderers at the London Stadium.

The fitness of the players was called into question during the latter stages of the 1-0 defeat to Wolves on Saturday afternoon.

And the club’s supporters have not reacted well to the interview with Ewens during a period where the condition of the first-team squad is being discussed.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

[ad_pod ]

Everton should break the bank for Rashford after England display

Jamie Carragher has suggested that Marcus Rashford should leave Manchester United to play as a central striker, and his performance against Switzerland showed why Everton should be front of the queue.

[ad_pod ]

England beat Switzerland 1-0 in a rather dull international friendly on Tuesday night, and the only two bright spots were the performances of Danny Rose and Rashford.

Rose was crowned man of the match, but Rashford showed once again how clinical he can be if given the chance to play up front.

The 20 year-old score the game’s only goal to give England the win, showing true striker’s instincts to ghost in at the back post and finish Kyle Walker’s cross, and Carragher thinks he needs to leave Old Trafford to play as a central striker.

“Romelu Lukaku is in front of Rashford and I don’t see Rashford displacing him as long as he is there,” Carragher said on Sky Sports.

“But remember when Lukaku was at Chelsea and he had to come away and go to Everton. Then he ended up as top scorer and got his move to Man United.

“Possibly Everton is the sort of club you are looking at, just below the top six, for someone like Rashford, similar to what Lukaku did.”

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”291495″ player=”12034″ title=”Rafa’s Pub Facts Giroud Emulates Zidane & Rashford Emulates… Welbeck!”]

While Manchester United fans would hate to lose Rashford, it is absolutely true that he is unlikely to see regular playing time due to the presence of Lukaku, and his England performances have shown he would be an upgrade on Cenk Tosun for Everton.

The youngster just seems to have a knack of being in the right place at the right time, an instinct that isn’t really put to good use when Jose Mourinho sticks him on the wing.

He took three shots against Switzerland, the joint-most of any player, and of course grabbed the goal. He did the same thing against Spain, taking the most shots of anyone on the pitch and finishing England’s only goal with elite composure.

He also completed one key pass and one dribble against the Swiss, and this superb ability on the ball would help Everton’s build-up play a lot more than Tosun, who tends to play more as a traditional target man.

Rashford is by no means an elite striker yet, but if he stays at Manchester United he will never become one. The 20 year-old could have a similar impact at Goodison as Lukaku did, which is why the Toffees should break the bank to get him next summer.

So, Everton fans, would you splash out on Rashford next summer? Is it a realistic possibility? Let us know your thoughts by voting in the poll below…

The Strike: Liverpool’s squad has come a long way since Alberto Moreno’s wonder goal against Spurs in 2014

[ad_pod ]

On the last day of August 2014, Liverpool travelled to play Tottenham away, much like they will do this weekend, but the Reds’ squad that turns up in North London this time will be leaps and bounds ahead of it’s past iteration and will be a signal of just how far the club has come in four years.

Back then, heading into the tie with Tottenham, Liverpool had beaten Southampton and lost to Manchester City at the start of the season that followed the fateful year when the Reds came within touching distance of their first Premier League title.

The Merseysiders, managed by Northern Irishman Brendan Rodgers, somehow won the game 3-0 though and produced a convincing away performance to dispatch Mauricio Pochettino’s side in the Argentine’s third competitive game in charge of the club.

Football – Real Madrid v Liverpool – UEFA Champions League Group Stage Matchday Four Group B – Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain – 4/11/14Liverpool manager Brendan RodgersMandatory Credit: Action Images / Carl RecineLivepicEDITORIAL USE ONLY.

Now though, with hindsight, it’s easy to see why the Reds would end the 2014/15 season in sixth place, two points behind Tottenham, thanks to the players available to Rodgers.

Perhaps foolishly, the Liverpool boss had taken a chance to sign former Manchester City bad boy and mercurial talent Mario Balotelli in the summer having sold Luis Suarez to Barcelona, and the win over Spurs was the Italian’s debut.

After Balotelli had missed a sitter, it was Raheem Sterling who opened the scoring after just nine minutes and Steven Gerrard doubled the Reds’ advantage from the penalty spot soon after half-time.

With an hour of the game gone and Liverpool 2-0 up, new signing Alberto Moreno, who had joined in the summer from Sevilla for £12m, announced himself to the Premier League by dispossessing Andros Townsend and showing the Spurs winger a clean pair of heels.

Moreno drove forward from his own half and into the Spurs box, before driving a low shot across Hugo Lloris and into the far corner of the net.

The left-back then ran over to the jubilant Liverpool fans, who presumably thought they’d found a gem and that he would be at the club for years to come.

Unfortunately for them though, only the latter of these predictions would come true. The goal against Spurs would be about as good as it got for the Spaniard during his time on Merseyside, although he has somehow managed to remain at the club and now warms the bench watching the new Scotland captain Andrew Robertson cement his place as one of the best, if not the best, left-back in the league.

The rest of the squad on that day have fared no better though, Simon Mignolet started in goal and he too now sits on the bench watching new signing Alisson. The back four consisted of current Newcastle man Javier Manquillo, Dejan Lovren (before he was one of the self-proclaimed best defenders in the world), Mamadou Sakho and Moreno, who has since proved himself incapable of defending.

Reds fans should be thankful for the bargain purchase of Joe Gomez and the considerably more expensive, but unbelievably important, signing of Virgil van Dijk.

With Gerrard on his way out, Joe Allen and now club-captain Jordan Henderson were deployed in the box to box roles by Rodgers on that day, in a midfield that is no match for the current squad which includes the likes of Naby Keita, Fabinho, Georginio Wijnaldum and James Milner.

With Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane now perhaps the most feared attacking trio in the Premier League, there is solid proof that German boss Jurgen Klopp has developed the squad and the club so well that the days of Balotelli are now long-forgotten.

Yes, Liverpool won that game in 2014 and yes, no trophy has been won in the time since but whatever the score is this weekend, fans of the Reds should be lifted by simply looking at the calibre of the players that are available now compared to four years earlier.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”291495″ player=”12034″ title=”Rafa’s Pub Facts Giroud Emulates Zidane & Rashford Emulates… Welbeck!”]

Game
Register
Service
Bonus