All posts by z3u9t.icu

Many Glasgow Rangers slammed the performance of Alfredo Morelos despite scoring in their 3-0 win at home to Dundee on Saturday afternoon.

In fairness, the Colombia international took his goal well, bulldozing his way through the visitors’ defence before slotting the ball into the net with his left foot.

However, some home fans were still frustrated by his overall performance, as he lost out on six of his duels and only scored once from his eight shots on goal in total (SofaScore).

He was also guilty of giving the ball away 13 times in the match, the joint-fifth most out of any of his teammates on the pitch (SofaScore), and hopefully the goal will give him confidence to perform better in their next fixture.

Rangers fans slam Morelos

These Gers fans slammed Morelos’ performance on Twitter, with one Light Blues supporter going as far as to claim that he was ‘awful’ today despite scoring:

“Morelos has had an absolute stinker here today!!! Awful”

Credit: @alston2_kev

“Morelos only tries in Europe, time for Alegria to step up to the 1st team”

Credit: @Giovani2021Ward

“No celebration when Rangers score from Morelos, body language is terrible. Still like a huffy child sometimes. His best has come and gone”

Credit: @AlanWyseDJ

“Morelos’ finishing is depressing.”

Credit: @Greg_1872

“Morelos’ body language is very lazy right now. Would hook him for Roofe at HT”

Credit: @rosscofaz

“Morelos is dreadful man”

Credit: @wullieboy78

In other news, find out whose display against Hibernian was slammed by some Gers fans

West Ham United have received a major boost, with David Moyes expected to sign a contract extension before the end of the week…

What’s the word?

According to The Telegraph, the Scotsman was on the brink of signing a new three-year extension at the London Stadium, which would end any prospects of him returning to former club Everton.

He is likely to put pen to paper on Friday just under three weeks after sealing a place in the Europa League for the Irons with their best top-flight finish since the 1998/99 campaign.

The 58-year-old had been linked with a sensational return to Goodison Park following the departure of Carlo Ancelotti to Real Madrid but instead he has agreed to extend his contract, which was due to expire in 12 months’ time.

Huge boost

After those worrying links to his old club emerged during the past week, this fresh development will surely come as exciting news to everyone in east London as the Hammers can now look ahead to what will be a historic season.

Moyes has completely transformed West Ham in his second spell at the club. Last year, he guided them to Premier League safety with just one game to spare and he has now steered them to a top-six finish.

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His recruitment in the transfer market has arguably been second to none, trusting relatively unknown signings from abroad like Tomas Soucek and Vladimir Coufal, who have both become instant favourites, whilst no one could have predicted the form of Jesse Lingard, who ended the season on nine goals and four assists having only joined on loan in January.

In response to the report about Moyes’ future, plenty of the Irons faithful have made their feelings known on social media, with the overriding consensus being sheer elation. – albeit from a small sample size, there won’t be many against this move.

“Great stuff”, claimed one supporter, whilst another previously lauded it as “class news”. A further member of the London Stadium fanbase also described it as a “huge relief to 99% of West Ham fans”.

All that’s left is the official announcement from Rush Green but, until then, it seems that everyone associated with the club can now start to get excited ahead of next season.

AND in other news, Moyes must axe “really special” Pellegrini flop, he’s cost West Ham £3.95m per goal…

Speaking to Football Insider, pundit Kevin Phillips has been wowed by an alleged West Ham transfer development that the Hammers are ‘laying the groundwork’ to sign Celtic striker Odsonne Edouard this summer.

Indeed, as per the same outlet, West Ham are in pole position to sign the forward and they claim he could also be available for a fee in the region of £8-10 million. 

Edouard has been a prolific goal scorer north of the border over the last few seasons, scoring 57 goals in 100 SPFL appearances for the Hoops (Transfermarkt).

Phillips wowed by alleged Edouard development

This has allegedly prompted GSB and West Ham to lay the groundwork for his possible capture, and Phillips believes securing him for around £10m would be a ‘huge bargain’ and a ‘no brainer’.

“For £10m it would be a huge bargain,” explained Phillips to Football Insider.

“If he is available for a fee in that region it will not just be West Ham sniffing around, there will be a lot of other clubs interested and that could drive up the price

“West Ham play good football and they have some fantastic players at the moment so they are an attractive proposition. They are a club heading in the right direction.

“If they can grab hold of Edouard for that sort of money, it is a no-brainer for me. If it works, you have a bargain and if it doesn’t you have not lost too much money. £10million is nothing for a player in this day and age.”

Transfer Tavern take

Given his impressive record and the fact he is still only 23-years-old, a fee in that region would indeed be huge value for money.

He is only likely to get better and has proven to be clinical in front of goal, meaning a West Ham swoop for that price is surely a certainty for the club.

David Moyes missed out on signing a striker in January, but if the Irons can pull off a cut price move for Edouard, you could say it was a masterclass to avoid rushing into an panic deal for an inferior player.

In other news: West Ham fans flocked to this ExWHUemployee claim, find out more here.

West Ham United will make the short trip to west London to take on Chelsea this afternoon as the Hammers look to boost their chances of a top-six finish in the Premier League.

The Blues already look set to finish third in the league whilst the Irons’ fate is still uncertain with Wolves and Manchester United also in the hunt for sixth place.

David Moyes’ men will take confidence from the fact that they beat Thomas Tuchel’s side 3-2 in the reverse fixture with every remaining game now vital for the east London club.

With a crunch first leg of their Europa League semi-final against Frankfurt on Thursday, will the Scotsman prioritise Europe and look to make changes against Chelsea? Here is how Football FanCast expects the Hammers to line up.

West Ham XI: Fabianski, Johnson, Dawson, Alese, Cresswell, Soucek, Rice, Bowen, Lanzini, Benrahma, Antonio

As expected there’s no change in goal as Lukasz Fabianski continues his role as league goalkeeper whilst there’s a major change in the defence with Issa Diop now ruled out with an ankle injury.

With Craig Dawson the only fit senior centre-back, we expect Moyes to finally give an opportunity to exciting youngster Aji Alese.

The 6 foot 3 Nigerian has been excellent for the Hammers’ U23s this season and was described as “gold dust” by Tom Edwards on the We Are West Ham Podcast.

Moreover, the 21-year-old is a left-footed centre-back so should slot in next to Dawson perfectly as he gears up to make a potential Premier League debut.

Tomas Soucek and Declan Rice are set to continue their partnership in front of the back four whilst there is another change in the attacking midfield trio with Moyes playing his usual 4-2-3-1 set-up.

Nikola Vlasic was handed a rare league start against Burnley last weekend and failed to deliver once again, therefore we expect the Croatian to be replaced by Said Benrahma to add much-needed creativity to the side and support for striker Michail Antonio.

The £69k-per-week 24-year-old has endured a tough first season in claret and blue, scoring just one goal in all competitions.

Despite playing a London rival in Chelsea, this afternoon’s match is crucial if West Ham are serious about securing a top-six finish, with other sides in the hunt breathing down their neck.

AND in other news, Moyes can axe “superb” £50m ace with WHU swoop for “one of the most exciting talents”…

What do Leeds United’s hybrid pitch and Rodrigo both have in common? Well, they both look tired, they are both difficult to watch and so far, they are a both proving to be a waste of money.

The Whites spent £300,000 on acquiring a new pitch from Tottenham at the start of the year but as Thomas Tuchel will tell you, it wasn’t the ideal surface to play on.

The ball was bobbling up and consequently, there was a lack of passing rhythm on Saturday afternoon.

Unfortunately, Rodrigo was also lacking in rhythm. The Spaniard arrived for £30m last summer; a club-record fee.

However, for the money he cost, he has not delivered. The former Valencia forward has netted just three times this season which, for a man of his quality, isn’t good enough.

Many players struggle to adapt to life in England initially and fewer managers make it tougher than Marcelo Bielsa. Whether it be Jean-Kevin Augustin, Jay-Roy Grot or Ouasim Bouy, there’s a list of players who have not made the grade under the great Argentine.

Rodrigo, of course, cannot be counted in the same category. He is playing regular minutes and he has at least scored in a Leeds shirt. That being said, he has disappointed on English shores and nothing sums that up more than his cameo against Chelsea.

Rodrigo scored twice against Wolves U23s last week in what was an emphatic return to action. Though, he was off the pace and struggled to get into the game at Elland Road this weekend.

The 30-year-old replaced the injured Patrick Bamford shortly after the half-hour mark but then he found himself substituted with 11 minutes to go. Rodrigo trudged off at the far side with a perplexed look in his eye.

Very rarely does a £30m player get brought off after being introduced as a substitute earlier in the fray. Though, it was typical of Bielsa, someone who revealed he was merely subbed because of a lack of fitness.

Indeed, you may well argue that, but the statistics make for grim reading. The Spain international now hasn’t scored in senior football since the 5-0 rout over West Bromwich Albion in December and his form is becoming a problem, especially for the price Leeds paid.

Rodrigo only had 20 touches of the football on Saturday, 30 fewer than goalkeeper Illan Meslier. On top of that, the attacker produced just ten passes for his troubles, 77% of which were successful.

He did have one shot on target, but he never really looked like troubling Edouard Mendy in the Chelsea goal.

This isn’t the first time Bielsa has been left dissatisfied with the experienced striker, though. He was dragged off after just 65 minutes against Tottenham back in January while he was substituted on and then off again in the win over Sheffield United in September.

Leeds’ manager has never been one for routine and tradition but he has treated Rodrigo in a peculiar fashion.

With Bamford now nursing an injury, he will need his Spanish dynamo firing on all cylinders sooner rather than later.

AND in other news, Leeds’ £9m-rated gem just sent Bielsa a huge message, Phil Hay dubbed him “impressive”…

Barry Fry insists that Everton appointing Rafael Benitez would be a disastrous PR move, amid reports that Nuno Santo is the favourite to take the reins at Goodison Park.

The Toffees are still on the lookout for a replacement to Carlo Ancelotti, who left the club to move to Real Madrid.

Various managers have been linked with the club but reports last week suggested that there was interest in appointing Benitez.

The Spaniard is available after leaving Dalian Professional in China and has not managed in England since 2019, when he departed Newcastle United.

Of course, Benitez is best known in England for his spell at Liverpool, spending six years at Anfield, winning both the FA Cup and the Champions League.

And Fry, the Peterborough United Director of Football, claims that a deal to appoint the ex-Reds boss would not go down well with supporters.

Speaking exclusively to The Transfer Tavern, he said: “All the Evertonian fans hate Liverpool, any connection at all they hate.

“To fetch him back, wow, that wouldn’t be a good move PR-wise but then again, he’s supposed to be a good manager.”

Everton ultimately finished 10th in the Premier League under Ancelotti and need to find a new boss to line up with their ambitions of European football.

Liam Kennedy has dropped an enticing revelation on the Newcastle United takeover consortium involving Rafa Benitez, after big news emerged about the Spaniard’s future.

The Lowdown: Benitez Everton bound

As per football broadcaster Jim White, Benitez is reportedly on the brink of becoming the new manager at Everton after talks.

A controversial move for sure given his past connections with Liverpool, the Spaniard will look to bring the success he wanted in the North East to Goodison Park instead.

The Latest: Consortium wanted Benitez

According to Kennedy, who has been following the whole takeover saga closely, Benitez was wanted by the potential owners-in waiting at St. James’ Park, as he helped bring them to the table.

Kennedy thinks that it is a ‘shame’ that the 61-year-old could be heading to the Toffees instead, given his connections with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) group.

The Verdict: Shame indeed

It is certainly a shame that Benitez looks to be heading to the Blues, as he could have been the perfect fit to take over from Steve Bruce should he have been cast aside by the potential new owners.

A lot of members of the Toon Army have previously called for him to come back, and so he would certainly be a popular appointment and an easy way for the potential new owners to get fans on side.

Benitez has a vast amount of experience in managing in the Premier League, with sides with big transfer budgets like Liverpool and Chelsea, and so he would have had few problems in handling the likely abundance of riches that would come with the takeover.

In other news, find out why the top flight have been slammed for their handling of the potential takeover here!

Former Newcastle United star Keith Gillespie has savaged Mike Ashley for his lack of ambition in an exclusive interview with Football FanCast.

Steve Bruce’s side are battling against relegation from the Premier League and are in very real danger of slipping into the Championship.

With nine games of the season remaining, Newcastle are 17th, just two points clear of 18th-placed Fulham, who they play on the final day of the season.

Gillespie played for Newcastle between 1995 and 1998, playing for the club in the Champions League, providing two assists in the 3-2 win over Barcelona that still stands as one of the best results the club has ever achieved in the modern era.

And he believes that a lot of the current problems at the club stem from Ashley and his lack of desire to push the club up the league table.

Asked about the predicament Newcastle find themselves in, he drew a parallel with West Ham United, a club of similar size who are currently pushing to finish in the top four.

He said: “You can put that down to the owner having no ambition.

“The ambition for a club like Newcastle, that everyone can see, is to stay in the Premier League. That’s not what Newcastle fans want to hear, Newcastle fans want to be doing what somebody like West Ham is doing at the minute.

“And they’re capable, because they’ve done it before.”

Newcastle play Tottenham Hotspur next, and also face clashes with West Ham, Liverpool, Arsenal, Leicester City and Manchester City before the season is out.

And Gillespie is quite naturally worried that the club could fall through the trapdoor, claiming that their destiny may lie in the clash on the final day of the season against Fulham.

He added: “It’s really worrying times for them, they’ve got some difficult fixtures coming up, so it’s going to be a tough nine games for them and ultimately it could come down to the last game of the season when they play away at Fulham.

“So hopefully they’ll have got a few points on the board by then because they’re a club I’ve got a lot of affection for because of my time spent there. I love the place, I love the fans, but I just think they’re being short-changed at the minute by the ownership.”

Everton head into their final three matches needing maximum points to guarantee themselves a place in Europe next term.

Ancelotti’s men have come close to Champions League football but they will ultimately fall short on that front.

Though, their end to the season is set to be brightened by the return of James Rodriguez to the matchday squad on Sunday evening.

The Colombian has missed the last three games after picking up an unfortunate calf injury in the warm-up ahead of Everton’s clash at Villa Park.

James has struggled for fitness ever since but Ancelotti will welcome him back into the side when they face Sheffield United – that’s according to the Liverpool Echo.

The former Real Madrid star faces a late fitness test but should be fit enough to make the bench at the very least.

The Everton boss commented in midweek: “If the training is good on Friday and Saturday, he will play vs Sheffield United. He is pain-free now, he has no problem.”

With James already missing 11 league matches through injury this term, it will delight Ancelotti to have him back in contention to play.

No player has more assists (9) than the Colombia international for Everton this term while he’s also a player who can provide moments of magic from nowhere.

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Any team would miss a player of his calibre so it will be a massive boost to have him back for the run-in.

FFC has already spoken about the need to start him from the off on Sunday but the Toffees must be careful with his fitness. After all, James has a busy summer ahead of him with the Copa America taking place.

Fortunately, the Everton manager has already factored this in as they plan his usage over the course of the year.

Speaking earlier in the week, Ancelotti said: “We have to do a specific programme we are doing right now, in the last period, to avoid this kind of problem.

“His history said that he had a lot of problems with his calf in the past, when he was in Bayern, we had to work hard to do more prevention on this.”

Having had a hand in 15 goals this term, his numbers are impressive for someone playing out their first campaign in English football.

Without him, they have been devoid of creativity. Gylfi Sigurdsson has managed just three key passes in the last four matches and hasn’t registered an assist since the beginning of March.

Therefore, to have a player who simply oozes creative class back in the side will please Ancelotti no end.

AND in other news, Everton could find their very own TAA by signing £3.5k-p/w gem with “enormous ability”…

Wolves are looking to make more signings before the transfer window closes next week, journalist Luke Hatfield has told Football FanCast.

It has been a pretty quiet window for Wolves so far, with the arrival of goalkeeper Jose Sa to replace Rui Patricio and permanent signing of Rayan Ait-Nouri probably their main pieces of business.

Most of the transfer talk at Wolves this summer has been dominated by current players Ruben Neves and Adama Traore, who both continue to be linked with moves away from Molineux.

According to Fabrizio Romano (via The Here We Go Podcast), Neves is one name on a list of midfielders Manchester United are looking at. Meanwhile, The Telegraph are reporting that Tottenham are hoping to sign Traore on a loan deal with a view to a permanent transfer.

And Hatfield has spoken to FFC about that potential loan deal and Wolves’ overall plans for the rest of the month.

“The deal with a loan with a view, I don’t think it would work for Wolves,” the Express & Star reporter said. “They’d be losing a very good player, or one of their best players, for essentially a very small fee right now.

“It would give them very little money to play with in terms of this window when they are looking to make signings before this window closes.”

It is shaping up to be an exciting deadline day at Wolves, with it certainly looking like they could get some last-minute deals done.