All posts by h79snht.top

Norwich have struggled this season but Tottenham must not be casual in their approach as Daniel Farke’s side has the players to punish them if errors are made.

On the chalkboard

It would be typical of Spurs’ season if they slipped up against Norwich due to their own sloppiness, as inconsistency has been the theme of their campaign so far.

Getting back to winning ways against Brighton was important and they displayed good character to earn the victory without playing well, but they must back that up with another three points.

Harry Kane and Dele Alli scoring of late will boost the team but Jose Mourinho will also be determined for the improved defence to maintain its recent record, and that means stopping Teemu Pukki and Emiliano Buendia.

Both are integral to the Canaries going forward and offer a varied threat in their own way, but the latter is a particularly tricky customer to deal with, and could therefore cause problems for Harry Winks and Eric Dier, with the latter likely replacing Moussa Sissoko.

Containing the threat

Norwich have managed just three wins all season but they shouldn’t be underestimated, as their free-flowing style is capable of cutting open most teams in the division, with Pukki more than capable of finding the target in tricky circumstances.

Buendia is the man who pulls all the strings, however, and he has been vastly underrated this season.

An average of 2.9 key passes and 3.2 successful dribbles per game show how much of a handful he is, as they allow him to create a number of options in and around the final third – which makes Norwich difficult to predict.

A true test for any Spurs fan: Can you match these iconic images with the right results?

To put that into perspective, he ranks in the top five players in dribbles and key passes, an achievement not matched by any other player in the league, and that means the likes of Winks and Dier could have a problem.

Mourinho failed to deal with a similar problem in Willian just last week, and the playmaker punished his side with two goals. That was because they gave the attacking midfielder far too much freedom.

Instructing his midfield pair to keep a tight grasp on the Argentine is the way to go, as although Winks and Dier have averaged only 1.4 and one tackles per game respectively, they can still restrict the space available to Buendia, and with it his influence on the game.

If Spurs manage that then they should provide enough in attack to win the game, and victory could be crucial in the race for the top four.

Moussa Sissoko may have played over Dier but he is suspended for the match, something which has pleased some Spurs fans.

Loads of Liverpool fans have been reacting to a surprising piece of transfer news, as Loris Karius could reportedly be set for a return to the club.

According to The Mirror, Besiktas are stalling over a permanent transfer for the German shot-stopper.

Karius has been on loan with the Turkish outfit since the summer of 2018, when he signed a two-year deal with the club just months after his nightmare performance in the Champions League final.

The loan was expected to become a permanent deal this summer, but The Mirror’s report claims Besiktas are ‘struggling’ to come up with the £7.25m required for the move.

The Black Eagles reportedly want to extend the loan deal, but that does not appeal to Liverpool as they are keen to get Karius off their books, so it is now possible he will return to the club with the view to a future sale.

You can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

Will Karius return to Anfield? Join the discussion in the comments below…

Former Premier League footballer Jamie O’Hara has bemoaned Leeds United’s finishing after they endured another fruitless display in front of goal in their recent Championship defeat to Sheffield Wednesday at the weekend.

Five days after seeing a dominating first-half performance at Arsenal go unrewarded, the Whites were similarly wasteful as they laid 14 shots at the Wednesday goal to no avail.

Saturday’s 2-0 loss has cut their advantage ahead of the play-off places to just six points, and their form post-Christmas has led to Leeds getting ‘edgy’, according to O’Hara. Speaking on TalkSPORT, O’Hara says the club should press home their lead at the top and guarantee promotion by bringing in a striker this January.

He said: “The problem is they’re going to get edgy because it always seems to happen to Leeds, come after Christmas they look like they’re walking away with it and they lose a couple, then everyone gets a little bit edgy around the place. They need to stick in, they’ll have to keep grinding out results.

“They’re not clinical enough. If you look at the top scorers in the Championship, there isn’t a Leeds player in it. So that for me says there’s a problem. They need to score more goals. For me, they need to bring in a striker. They need to spend now – spend money now on a player that’s going to get you into the Premier League.”

O’Hara’s claims over Leeds lacking a goalscorer may be right – with top marksman Patrick Bamford squeezing into the league’s top 10 having entered double figures when he netted against Fulham just before Christmas.

However, prior to Leeds’ current run of one league win in six, Bamford had scored just seven goals and the Whites were top of the Championship, which suggests that having a goalscorer is not necessarily central to their bid to reach the Premier League.

That they have had an option in Eddie Nketiah taken from them perhaps requires them to fill the void this month, but the absence of a regular goalscorer had not disturbed their march to the promotion places until perhaps very recently – so reidentifying the levels of performance they delivered during the autumn months is perhaps of greater need to Marcelo Bielsa’s team than an out-and-out goalscorer.

Leeds fans, is it inevitable you will miss out on automatic promotion again? Share your thoughts below!

West Ham United found themselves chasing the game against Sheffield United, after a mix-up between David Martin and Fabian Balbuena gifted Oliver McBurnie the only goal of the game.

With seven minutes of the match remaining, David Moyes decided that he was going to make his last available substitution in an attempt to claw the result back.

Watch West Ham United Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

In the end, he opted to bring Pablo Fornals on for Manuel Lanzini with his last opportunity to impact the game.

Fans agreed that the Spaniard should have been introduced to the action, but they felt frustrated that it took so long to get him on.

One fan referred to the 23-year-old as “the most in-form player we have”, so there was understandable concern about seeing him on the bench for so long.

In the end, the time constraints got the better of Fornals, as he failed to make much of an impact. He didn’t produce any key passes, dribbles or shots, while making a total of three attempted passes.

The Spaniard should feel hard-done-by that he was brought on so late, with many Hammers fans believing that he should have been on the pitch from the very start.

This is a player who had got a goal and three assists from his last seven league games, as well as a goal and assist in the FA Cup win against Gillingham.

For Moyes to then leave him out clearly caused frustration, which was only heightened by the fact that he was introduced to the action so deep into the game, as a number of fans suggested it happened “83 minutes too late”.

Meanwhile, West Ham fans fumed over ExWHUemployee’s transfer claim.

Alan Nixon has claimed that Sheffield United won’t let Sheffield United leave Bramall Lane unless he is replaced.

What did he say?

The 27-year-old was not even included on the bench by Chris Wilder for the game against Arsenal on Saturday – his namesake Kieron Freeman did manage to take his place as a substitute, however.

Though, the suggestion from Nixon is that this does not hold any bearing on the 27-year-old’s future at Sheffield United.

That is because they will not be letting the midfielder leave the club unless somebody is brought in to play in the same position.

Severe lack of game time

Freeman was the Blades’ first signing after getting back into the Premier League, in a deal that was a club record at the time, as reported by BBC Sport.

However, the move’s prestige has not been replicated in the amount of game time that he has received in the red and white stripes.

The club’s number 8 has made just three starts and six substitute appearances in the Premier League this campaign, totalling a measly 322 minutes on the pitch.

It says a lot about the midfielder’s status at the club that he has made an equal number of starts in the cup, indicating that this is the main way for Freeman to get himself onto the pitch.

This latest omission from the squad means that he hasn’t even made it onto the bench in any of Sheffield United’s league games in 2020.

How much do you remember about football in 2019? Our quiz will test your knowledge…

It seems as though he will have to remain patient though, with a move away from Bramall Lane being out of the question until an acquisition is made.

Meanwhile, Chris Wilder has opened up about a Sheffield United cult hero.

West Ham United are in need of signings during the January transfer window, with evidence supporting that coming from the 4-1 defeat against Leicester City.

It seems as though the Hammers could be looking to a divisive figure to bring in, as it has been reported by L’Equipe that they are interested in re-signing Dimitri Payet.

However, ExWHUemployee has suggested that this could come from agent talk, rather than any genuine interest from the club.

Some fans have suggested that they would love to see the 32-year-old return to West Ham, with his free-kicks being a point of reference – after scoring memorable ones, such as the strike at Old Trafford in the FA Cup and his dipping effort against Crystal Palace.

Another exclaimed “imagine him crossing for Haller, Antonio and Fornals”, and it has been suggested they “hope we get him”.

Did he really play for us?! No West Ham fan has managed to name all of these obscure Irons signings….

The Frenchman has got eight goals and three assists from 19 matches across all competitions for Marseille this season.

However, there are other fans who want their club to stay well away from the man who has burned them once already.

The cold nature of the club’s statement encapsulated the feeling about the way in which he left, after forcing his way out.

Some fans have refused to forgive him, with one referring to the Frenchman as “a snake”, while another one simply feels that they should not be going for someone who is so old.

Meanwhile, West Ham are set to battle one of their relegation rivals to sign a forward.

Sunderland need to add more goals to their squad if they are going to be promoted this season.The Wearside outfit are in fifth place in League One despite scoring just 37 times this term, making them the second-lowest scorers in the top ten.Understandably, the Black Cats have been after a striker this month, and they may be about to land a man who will provide the goalscoring spark they so desperately need.

Kevin van Veen may have only scored nine league goals so far this term, but he’s hit top gear in recent weeks, bagging six goals in his last nine games.

[ad_pod ]

If Sunderland can get the Dutchman through the door before the 11 PM deadline then he has the potential to be a fantastic addition given his form at the moment.

Unfortunately, the Black Cats aren’t the only team to have spotted the striker’s talent as they’re facing opposition from Blackpool and Ipswich for his signature.

Despite Wolves being on an upward trajectory on the whole, recent news emerging from the club suggests that there could be bleak times ahead.

The situation

Just this week it was announced that sporting director Kevin Thelwell was leaving for pastures new as he’s swapping the pristine sights of Wolverhampton for New York City before the end of the month.

And now the club are bracing themselves for record-breaking bids for Adama Traore this summer as his performances for the old gold have caught the eye of top clubs according to the Telegraph.

The 24-year-old has been a key part of Nuno Santo’s squad this campaign, scoring five goals and providing ten assists in all competitions.

Thelwell was integral to Wolves signing the Spaniard as The Athletic claim he instigated and delivered the deal to sign him for £18m from Middlesbrough in the summer of 2018.

The consequence

Currently, the west Midlands outfit have no immediate replacement in mind with chairman Jeff Shi likely to pick up the pieces for the time being. As he holds responsibilities for a vast array of jobs at Molineux, it would be fair to suggest that the sporting director role may take a small hit as he tries to juggle everything.

Watch Wolverhampton Wanderers Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

Losing out on Traore is also going to have a huge impact on their fortunes as he’s one of the few squad members that are quite frankly irreplaceable – no player has his speed attributes or dribbling ability as seen by him breaking a Premier League record on New Year’s Day.

There was also reported interest in Raul Jimenez over the January transfer window from Manchester United and Arsenal (AS via The Sun), so as Wolves increase in stature, so will attraction in their star players – the very individuals Thelwell helped bring to the club.

Someone’s got to own them: Who do these incredibly unwanted PL records belong to?

And now with no obvious replacement for the job, combined with an increased chance that a European heavyweight snatching the integral members of the squad, Wolves’ immediate future is a worrying prospect.

And in other news, Tim Spiers provides update on Wolves striker whose career is in “limbo”…

Adam Lallana has become part of the furniture at Anfield in recent years.

The 31-year-old is one of just three players to still be with the club since Jurgen Klopp arrived, along with Jordan Henderson and Dejan Lovren, and he has therefore seen just how much the club has been transformed under the former Borussia Dortmund boss.

No clues: Can you name the season these iconic Liverpool images belong to?

However, with less than six months left on his contract, it appears that his time on Merseyside is coming to an end. Now, he has been linked with a number of Premier League clubs – as per The Telegraph – with Leicester City said to be leading the way for his signature.

It seems that the club’s supporters are torn over his future. Some are adamant that he needs to stay.

At times this term, Lallana has proven himself to be invaluable – he scored the equaliser against Manchester United to preserve the Reds’ unbeaten run in the Premier League, whilst he has also slotted in to the unfamiliar position of defensive midfield at times.

Watch Liverpool Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

Others, though, see this as an opportunity to bring in one of Leicester’s star players.

The Foxes’ attacking midfielder has been in impressive form this term. The 23-year-old has nine goals and three assists in all competitions, whilst he also earned himself his first England cap. No doubt he would be a top signing for Liverpool, but it is unlikely that Lallana’s arrival would persuade Brendan Rodgers to sell one of his star assets.

Meanwhile, this Liverpool man is of interest to one of his former clubs.

Bright Osayi-Samuel has spoken about Mark Warburton and the impact of Queens Park Rangers’ senior players in an exclusive interview with Football League World.

What did he say?

Following their 0-0 draw against Swansea City, QPR are still just nine points above the relegation zone, so it will be incredibly important that they are able to keep their heads in tough situations.

This can include fighting back from behind, getting the better of their opposition when a game is in the balance, or hanging onto a lead under intense pressure.

Osayi-Samuel has opened up about some of the men who are integral to ensuring that will happen for the team: “He [Warburton] brings togetherness because there is a diversity of young players and older lads. He brings us all together and we’ve seen in games where things aren’t going our way for the young lads, you can see the older ones pushing us, even if it’s criticism, you have to take it.

“Last game I didn’t play that well, and Angel [Rangel] had a go at me, and for myself I knew that it’s criticism. When you’re doing well, people are praising you and when you’re not, people are getting on to you. That makes me stronger, not just in football, but outside of it as well.”

Watch Queens Park Rangers Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

Major influence

It seems fairly obvious that a manager will have a major influence on their team’s fortunes, but Osayi-Samuel’s comments indicate that he is having a distinctly positive one.

However, it is nearly impossible for him to be able to instruct every player all the time, so it is important that he has players that can be trusted to do this, such as Rangel in the winger’s example given above.

Are you a Championship expert? How much did each of these big-money signings cost?

An indication of how useful this type of attitude can be came against Leeds United, when the Rs saw out the game with a 1-0 win despite having held just 34.7% of possession.

With all of the above in mind, the 22-year-old’s comments should be seen as a real positive sign for QPR.

Meanwhile, Osayi-Samuel spoke about improving a key part of his game.