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This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

With two games of the Premier League season already gone, Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl has been adopting a 3-5-2 formation, but with little success.

The fixtures against Burnley and Liverpool have both resulted in losses – 3-0 to the Clarets and 2-1 to the Reds – with just one goal scored and five conceded. Humorously, the one goal scored was courtesy of Adrian kicking the ball against Danny Ings.

What’s gone wrong?

In just two fixtures, some sections of the Saints supporters haven’t been happy with two centre-backs in Jack Stephens and Jannik Vestergaard, who were poor against Burnley and Liverpool respectively.

That suggests that the centre-back department contains some of the club’s weakest performers, which Hasenhuttl seems to be trying to address by playing as many of them as possible to overcompensate – it isn’t having the desired effect.

To ensure he can have three centre-backs in his side, the Austrian has been using Yan Valery and Ryan Bertrand as wing-backs, although their ineffectiveness coupled with the centre-backs’ failings suggest this is something that must stop.

How are Bertrand and Valery doing?

You would expect your two wing-backs to cause problems going forward, but the pair haven’t done that in their two games so far.

Against Sean Dyche’s side, Bertrand made no key passes, had two unsuccessful touches and delivered just one accurate cross, whilst Valery also delivered just one accurate cross but was dispossessed four times and had three unsuccessful touches – the fact that Burnley left-back Erik Pieters also grabbed two assists suggests Valery wasn’t too good defensively, either.

Against Liverpool, the former Chelsea left-back again made no key passes, embarked on zero dribbles and didn’t deliver a single accurate cross. Again, Valery also wasn’t influential having made one accurate cross as well as being caught in possession three times.

Hasenhuttl might as well just restore the pair as normal full-backs in a four-man backline and put another body upfront or in midfield, as they aren’t proving to be effective as wing-backs whilst the extra centre-back isn’t helping the Saints become more solid either.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

West Brom boss Slaven Bilic has been criticised by BBC Sport journalist Ged Scott as their lack of results at the Hawthorns continued on Wednesday night.

What’s he said?

The Baggies are unbeaten after four Championship games this season but their only win has come away from home – at Luton last weekend.

It echoes the start former boss Darren Moore had to the year when West Brom went six games without victory at home before he was ultimately sacked.

Under caretaker Jimmy Shan, the club went on to win five successive Championship matches on the bounce as they went on to make the playoffs with a fourth-place finish.

On the matter, Scott said:

“It really is hard to fathom West Bromwich Albion’s home form in 2019.

“One of the prime factors in Darren Moore’s departure in March was the Baggies’ untimely run of six games without a home win.

“Now this season under Slaven Bilic, it’s as you were again.

“Two away wins so far. And 0 out of 2 at home. And tonight’s contest is already shaping up to be the same.”

Watch West Bromwich Albion Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Hawthorns form must be eradicated

Although it’s not a pressing concern, seeing as there have only been two home league games – both resulting in a 1-1 draw, it is something that the Croatian will have to eradicate otherwise he may face the same fate as his predecessor.

The Baggies are unbeaten so things can’t be too disastrous but patience may be required before Bilic is able to finally settle on his first-choice starting XI.

A quartet of players arrived on deadline day, all of which are likely to play huge parts this season.

Charlie Austin joins Kenneth Zohore in their attacking ranks and will surely be influential to their season having scored 66 goals in 130 Championship appearance in his career.

Though, he has hardly had a pre-season after being frozen out by his former boss Ralph Hasenhuttl.

Whilst three wingers accompanied the 30-year-old on deadline day with two of them featuring already this season.

Thogden ranks all 24 Championship home kits in the video below…

Grady Diangana practically won West Brom the game against Luton, coming on as a substitute to turn the game around with his brace.

And Matheus Pereira has impressed despite featuring as a substitute on three occasions.

Meanwhile, Chris Willock has been getting minutes for the U23 squad in preparation for this season.

Once these players are fully embedded amongst the first team, the likelihood of the squad clicking will increase as Bilic will be able to call upon a more settled starting XI and as they still remain unbeaten, there shouldn’t be many concerns for the time being.

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

Celtic have completed the signing of Moritz Bauer on a season-long loan, but a deeper look at his abilities raises some serious red flags.

What’s the story?

Finally, they did it! The Hoops have signed a defender. The club confirmed the loan arrival of Stoke City’s Bauer on Wednesday, including an option to buy next summer.

The 27 year-old will spend the 2019/20 season in Glasgow, addressing a position that was desperately in need of repair after the departures of Mikael Lustig, Cristian Gamboa and Jeremy Toljan.

Bauer is a full Austria international and has racked up 230 appearances across his previous four clubs, but if you’re a fan worried about the side’s defensive deficiencies, you might want to cover your eyes now.

Can’t pass, can’t defend, but other than that…

The versatile full-back certainly has decent experience. He has played right-back, left-back, left-midfield and right-midfield thus far in his career, and will boost Neil Lennon’s depth in various positions.

However, there is absolutely nothing about his performance at any of his former clubs to suggest he is the man to fill Lustig’s shoes.

Whoscored list his strengths as crossing and concentration, but his weaknesses as passing, discipline and defensive contribution.

For a side who just got knocked out of the Champions League by conceding four goals at home, the last thing they need is a suspect defender who roams forward and leaves huge gaps in behind.

His ability on the ball doesn’t exactly fill you with confidence either – he has never completed more than 80% of his passes in a season, and in his only top-flight campaign with Stoke City, which also happens to be his most recent season with more than six starts, he mustered up a measly 65.6% pass completion rate.

His last two campaigns with double-digit appearances have also produced four yellow cards every 15 starts, nearly an average of one in three, implying he does not read the game well enough to arrive to challenges on time.

Those numbers are truly horrific, and for a team like Celtic, who will expect to dominate possession in nearly every game they play, the only thing worse than a defender who fails to defend is a defender who gives the ball away and then fails to defend.

With the mood around the club right now the lowest it has been in quite some time, an early error or two from the Austrian will see the fans on his back, and it’s very hard to envisage him turning things around with just a year to prove his worth.

Oh, and let’s not forget he hasn’t made a single league appearance for the Potters this season despite them currently sitting bottom of their division with just one point from five games.

We hate to be the bearers of bad news, but this one has got flop written all over it.

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[ad_pod ]Some Southampton fans have taken to Twitter to react after it was confirmed by the club that Jake Hesketh has joined Lincoln on a season-long loan.The 23-year-old has joined the Imps following an impressive loan spell at Burton last term, in which he hit three goals in 23 appearances.

Hesketh put his name up in lights with an eye-catching performance against Crystal Palace in the League Cup a few seasons ago, getting himself on the scoresheet as the Saints won 2-0.

However, he has slowly faded out of the first-team picture over the years and now finds himself out on loan in League One – you could be forgiven for wondering if he has any chance of ever breaking into the first-team seeing as he is far from being a young player anymore.

One Southampton supporter below said that the move ‘should be permanent’ for Hesketh’s sake, whilst another has asked what the point of the deal is.

Let’s take a look at some more of the Twitter reaction…

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[ad_pod ]Leaving a football club must be quite a difficult experience for some players.You make solid bonds with your teammates that can last a lifetime and all of a sudden you’re now living miles away from some of your closest friends.Luckily for Harry Maguire, he still gets to see some of his former Leicester City teammates while he’s on England duty.Watch Leicester City Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Indeed, Ben Chilwell and James Maddison were both in the England camp this time around, so Maguire had a chance to catch up with them.

Unfortunately, the time comes where Maguire has to once again leave his friends, and Chilwell posted an image that shows just how upset the centre-back was at this time.

It’s a sad sight. Maguire’s face is filled with despair, but the left-back comforted him by saying he will see him soon.

The pair will of course be reunited on Saturday as Leicester head to Old Trafford to face Manchester United.

It seems as if Maguire is looking forward to playing against his old friends as he replied to Chilwell’s original tweet with some laughing emojis.

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Barcelona have now officially released their new third kit for the upcoming 2019/20 La Liga season.

And this one is quite special, as well.

According to the Catalans, the new third kit pays tribute to the city of Barcelona itself and it does so through a remarkable design which, is a throwback to one of the shirts that Barcelona wore in the 1996/97 campaign.

Watch Spanish Football Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

That season, the Blaugrana actually recorded massive results with victories in the Copa del Rey and the European Cup Winners’ Cup, hoisting two big trophies at the end of the season.

But even with such great history behind it, it seems that many of the fans don’t really care about that as the kit is simply not beautiful to them.

As a matter of fact, it’s quite the contrary – they seem to think it’s horrible and some would even go as far as to say that they will never buy it.

You can see some of their replies in the comments down below:

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West Brom picked up an impressive point against Fulham on the road on Saturday as Albion managed to come from behind.

Anthony Knockaert gave the hosts the lead but the Baggies fought back and scored from a corner via Semi Ajayi as it finished 1-1.

Slaven Bilic’s side left it late to get going after the Croatian made three subs during the match but it was an outing that didn’t come without its troubles.

Jake Livermore gave the ball away for Fulham’s strike and as a result, he was slated by certain supporters on Twitter.

One said the 5 foot 11 midfielder was utter garbage whilst another went as far as saying they were better playing with ten men.

A further individual claimed he’d been so bad during the match.

Livermore started the game as captain but was eventually withdrawn as Filip Krovinovic replaced him in the middle of the park.

The 29-year-old’s pass success rate throughout the game was pretty woeful, finishing on 60%. He struggled with the rhythm and also made two fouls, according to WhoScored.

Here’s the best of the reaction from various fans.

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A number of Everton fans took to social media on Saturday to slam the performance of Gylfi Sigurdsson in the shock 2-0 home defeat to Sheffield United.

The 30-year-old scored 13 Premier League goals for the Toffees during the 2018/19 campaign, but the Iceland international is yet to get off the mark this term.

And his performance in the loss to Sheffield United went down terribly with the Everton fans, who are seemingly losing their patience.

According to WhoScored, Sigurdsson actually had a pass success rate of 97% at Goodison Park on Saturday afternoon.

The attacker only managed one shot off target during a disappointing performance though, and it was another poor result for the Merseyside giants.

Watch Everton Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Next up for Everton is a trip to Sheffield Wednesday in the EFL Cup on Tuesday night, before hosting the champions Manchester City in the league next weekend.

A selection of the Twitter reaction from the Everton fans can be seen below:

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more… 

Nottingham Forest edged into the Championship playoffs last weekend with a victory over Barnsley at the City Ground.

The 1-0 win was courtesy of a rare Ben Watson strike as the 34-year-old met Matty Cash’s cut-back pass to net his first for the club and first in three years.

It was Forest’s only shot on target all afternoon as goalkeeper Brice Samba kept the league strugglers at bay, keeping them inside the relegation zone.

Watch Nottingham Forest Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Reds boss Sabri Lamouchi yet again made a couple of changes to his side, who have now gone seven unbeaten, as Joe Lolley and Tiago Silva returned to the starting XI despite Forest beating league leaders Swansea a week earlier.

That meant that Yuri Ribeiro kept his place at left-back over Jack Robinson.

On the Chalkboard

Lamouchi may have stumbled across their best defence after his men picked up a second successive clean sheet and fifth in all competitions.

Joe Worrall and Michael Dawson have become a solid foundation at the back, playing in all eight Championship ties while Matty Cash has seen his role at right-back increased due to the injury to summer signing Carl Jenkinson.

On the other side of the defence, another off-season addition has particularly caught the eye – Ribeiro in the last two matches has kept Reds regular Robinson out of the side.

The 26-year-old made 40 appearances last season, but the Portuguese ace has come in and looked every bit like a perfect option at left-back.

He is averaging a rating higher than anyone else in the squad at 7.33 and has won more aerial duels than Robinson with an average of 3 per game.

While the 22-year-old has also recorded more interceptions (1.5) and clearances (3.5) per outing too.

His most significant contribution, however, has been in the attacking phase of the game where he is averaging 2.5 key passes per game.

This is some way above anyone else in the squad – thus suggesting his impact along the left is quite substantial.

Robinson may face a battle to get back into the side based on Ribeiro’s two league appearances.

The contract news has yet again rolled out of Elland Road. In previous weeks Kalvin Phillips, Stuart Dallas and Liam Cooper signed new terms but now it’s Luke Ayling putting pen to paper.

Leeds confirmed the news on their Twitter account on Tuesday afternoon in the build-up to last night’s clash against West Brom.

Ayling played his first minutes under Marcelo Bielsa this term on Monday night but not playing before then doesn’t look as though it’s become an issue in negotiations.

The right-back played 40 times for Leeds last term and was an influential figure but concerns have still been expressed over his new contract.

Many supporters took to Twitter to discuss the announcement from the club as one declared they weren’t thrilled by all the long-term plans.

A further individual said the Whites were setting themselves up for problems in a few years while another said it was a tad crazy.

The 28-year-old has recently just stepped up his recovery from an injury by playing for the U23 side but he faces a job to get back into Bielsa’s plans.

Dallas has had an excellent term himself, one that’s seen him bag against Stoke and achieve an average match rating of 7.04 prior to the visit of the Baggies.

Here’s some of the debate.