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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…

Following the 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, former Everton man Andy Gray claimed he worries about Marco Silva.

What did he say?

Everton now sit 17th in the Premier League after Newcastle United picked up three points against West Ham United. The draw with Spurs leaves Silva on just 11 points from 11 games and it now means the Toffees have just one win in the league since September 1.

Gray told beIN SPORTS: “When I look at Everton’s fixtures, I have to say I worry about Marco Silva.

“I think these next two games, Southampton away who are below them, Norwich at home, the first game after the break, who are below them.

“They’ve got a collection of games at the beginning of December against the top six clubs in the country, so he’s got a massive three of four weeks coming up just prior to Christmas.

“And on that form, results are going to be hard to come by.”

Crunch time

After the loss to Burnley on October 5th, Silva was reportedly told he has the next three games to save his job and the Portuguese would then go on to record two wins and a loss.

However, although those results could have saved him for now, the upcoming fixtures are now simply must-wins.

A defeat against Southampton would put both sides level on 11 points and would almost certainly put Silva’s job security in serious jeopardy.

However, should they drop points to Norwich City as well, the Toffees could find themselves in the relegation spots before we even reach December.

As Gray alludes to, Everton then face a tough run of fixtures against Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Manchester City.

In current form it is tough to see Silva picking up many points in those games.

Although results so far in the current campaign might suggest otherwise, Arsenal’s squad has been valued as the 12th highest globally by Transfermarkt, and these Gunners’ fans have been quick to vent their feelings given the current predicament at the club.

The north London side’s inconsistent start to the 2019/20 season has been compounded by Unai Emery’s dilemma in dealing with Granit Xhaka’s response to being substituted and booed against Crystal Palace.

Meanwhile, pressure is seemingly mounting on the Spaniard with the Daily Mirror reporting he has just one month left to save his job.

Transfermarkt cite Nicolas Pepe (£67.5m), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (£63m) and Alexandre Lacazette (£63m) as the club’s three most valuable assets in their squad’s value, but the trio will have to start delivering a series of impressive performances to ease the impending pressure on Emery if the former PSG boss is to keep his job at The Emirates.

Following a tweet from Arsenal Fan TV, these are some of the best reactions to Arsenal’s reported squad value.

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…

The Athletic’s Patrick Boyland has praised Tom Davies for his leadership credentials after an inspiring performance against Southampton and hinted he is becoming a vital presence in the dressing room .

What did he say?

Over the last few weeks, the Toffees have managed to get themselves six points clear of the relegation zone. This comes after they managed to register two Premier League victories and one draw, whilst also advancing to the next round of the Carabao Cup.

Boyland has stated that a source close to The Athletic has explained how Davies has turned into a massive voice behind-the-scenes in these troubling times.

He wrote for The Athletic: “One source told The Athletic that, sensing confidence was dwindling, Davies has taken it upon himself to deliver rallying cries in the dressing room over the past month, showcasing a penchant for leadership fostered during his experience captaining all of England’s age-group sides.”

Future captain

Everton have been in turmoil for most of this campaign, and as Andre Gomes picked up a horror injury, the midfield looked depleted of quality options. The form of both Fabian Delph and Morgan Schneiderlin has been below par, registering a 6.58 and a 6.16 rating respectively throughout.

As a result of these performances and the injury to a key man, Marco Silva needed someone to step up, and he seems to have found that reliable figurehead in Davies.

Davies has then gone onto play 96 times for Everton since graduating from the academy and has even worn the armband for his country at U21s level.

Clearly, the midfielder has the mental attributes to thrive in this Toffees squad.

His attitude on the pitch and his rallying cries within the dressing room are all indicators that suggest he could be a future Everton captain.

Now he has got his first goal of the season, the man in the middle could be set for an impressive spell in the side.

Real Madrid are really having a true rollercoaster ride of a season, to say the very least.

Before the ongoing 2019/20 campaign even kicked off, Los Blancos had been destined to fail. After all, they’ve experienced their worst pre-season in a total of 39 years and Zinedine Zidane’s scalp – if he had any hair to begin with – was bound to end up next to the ones of the Galacticos’ two previous managers.

But as the season went on, Real Madrid flew higher than most would expect, even staying unbeaten up until matchday nine in La Liga and enjoying the view from the very peak of the mountain until Barcelona ultimately leapfrogged them when they slipped in an away game at Mallorca.

Granted, they somewhat recovered from that upset with a narrow 1-0 triumph over Galatasaray, tallying their first Champions League victory in the ongoing competition after three games played.

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But if that unconvincing win was the indication that Zidane’s gala lineup, or rather his “plan A”, has certain issues to resolve, then the agonising defeat to Mallorca a couple of days prior to that certainly indicates that plan B doesn’t even exist.

If we take a look at the Galacticos the Frenchman chose to field against the newly-promoted side, we can easily see that rotation was the name of the game.

After all, the likes of Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, Eden Hazard, Gareth Bale, Lucas Vazquez and Daniel Carvajal were all absent due to various reasons – some were injured and some simply rested – and Real Madrid suddenly felt out of sorts, out of chances and out of their usual mojo.

Needless to say, for all the money they’ve spent during the summer, and all the banking for the future and squad depth those purchases were supposed to give them, their bench actually looks non-existent.

And sure, this might be a harsh verdict on the players that were rarely given a chance to begin with so it would be a stretch to expect top-notch performance from them whenever they are picked.

But if you spend €300m (£259.1m) on various signings, regardless of what role they’re supposed to play, you probably expect them to give you at least something in return.

And maybe it was just a fluke – after all, back when Real Madrid faced Osasuna on matchday six of La Liga, Zidane also opted to deploy a highly weakened and rotated squad and yet, they mustered a comfortable 2-0 victory and tallied three points against a tricky opponent.

That night, they were – once again – without the likes of Hazard, Bale, Modric and even Marcelo but it wasn’t really that felt in their display.

Watch Lionel Messi and Gareth Bale answer the internet’s weirdest questions in the video below…

If anything, that made us believe that Zidane could once again be utilising his tactic way back from 2016/17 when Real Madrid last won the league title.

Back then, rotations were a big part of their campaign and back then, Zidane’s plan B was almost as effective as his plan A.

The likes of Eibar, Sporting Gijon and Granada, among others,  were all beaten with rotated squads, some even swept away, and it played a major role in their season.

The direct result of that? A coveted league title under their belts.

But many players were sold, some were never replaced and others were but their “copies” proved to be not as good as the “originals”, as it often is with everything in life.

The season has just started, however, and maybe the newcomers will start clicking and once they adapt, Real Madrid’s fortune may shift once again.

After all, we’ve seen them do that multiple times before, even as recently as this term.

Just when you feel that they are down, they claw their way back to the top. But this lack of any real squad depth or rather, quality squad depth, could cost them in the long run.

What happens when the players from the gala squad burn out? The likes of Benzema and Casemiro have barely had a day off since the very start of the season.

The duo are the two most-used players of the ongoing campaign and neither have replacements of adequate quality or any replacements at all – The Brazilian is the only natural defensive midfielder in the squad while the Frenchman’s substitute is a man with just 292 minutes to his name.

It’s quite ironic, isn’t it? A team that has an estimated value of over one billion pounds doesn’t have enough quality players to cover all positions properly.

By all standards, this is a major flaw in their squad and one Zidane will want to somehow address as quickly as possible.

After all, often it is the bench that wins you the title, and at the moment, it very much feels like Real Madrid don’t have a bench at all.

In Thursday night’s Euro 2020 qualifier between France and Moldova, a common occurrence happened once again.

Olivier Giroud, a man who is very much in the twilight of his career at 33 years of age, bagged yet another goal for his country.

This particular strike handed Didier Deschamps’ side a 2-1 win, as Giroud netted confidently from the penalty spot in the 79th minute.

Impressively, Giroud’s latest goal was his 39th in 96 appearances for France – he is third in the all-time top scorers list behind Thierry Henry and Michel Platini.

What’s the relevance of this for Crystal Palace?

Well, the Eagles have been strongly linked with a January swoop for the former Montpellier and Arsenal man, who is said to be unhappy at Stamford Bridge due to his lack of playing time under Frank Lampard.

The Telegraph reports that the Blues are open to selling the veteran striker, who is keen to leave in order to secure his spot in Deschamps’ XI for the European Championship next summer.

While it remains to be seen if Giroud leaves, the 6 foot 4 striker’s latest goal and his overall record for France bodes well for any potential doubts Palace might have over signing him.

One might argue that Giroud is too old, and may also question if he can still perform at the highest level.

Well, to ease concerns such as those, it is encouraging to see that Deschamps still trusts him to start almost every game for France, even when the nation has talents such as Alexandre Lacazette, Anthony Martial, Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann and Wissam Ben Yedder, who could very easily take his spot.

In addition to the fact that he is chosen to start for one of the most gifted nations in terms of attacking talent, France are also World Cup winners – it speaks volumes that he is still entrusted to do the business at the highest level despite his age and the sheer quality of the competition surrounding him.

Almost everything that the 33-year-old does on the pitch tends to ooze class, and if there were any doubts about bringing Giroud to Selhurst Park, it should now have been eradicated.

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…

Sheffield Wednesday legend Mark Bright believes their local rivals could play a huge role in pushing the side to promotion this season, although their chances will ultimately come down to whether or not they receive a points deduction.

What’s he said?

The Owls currently sit in eighth place, three points behind a playoff berth, but are likely to head into the New Year with so much uncertainty hanging over their head.

An EFL charge could bring a potential punishment with a 12-point deduction being touted as the absolute minimum by one football finance expert.

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Provided Garry Monk’s side steer clear of that for the time being, then they could well be in the promotion hunt for the foreseeable future.

Meanwhile, arch-rivals Sheffield United occupy a top-five place in the Premier League – times have certainly changed since Wednesday’s leading goalscorer in the top-flight downed the Blades in the FA Cup semi-final many moons ago.

Speaking to The Star, Bright believes that the attention surrounding their Sheffield neighbours will provide added motivation, he said:

“Do you know what? I think they could be close.

“The thing is, to watch the other side of the city doing what they’re doing, getting up before Wednesday, that hurts but all credit to them, they’ve been great and they play some good stuff. It will hurt that bit more.

“This could be Wednesday’s year.

“I left in 1996 and I’m still Sheffield Wednesday’s leading scorer in the Premier League. That just should not be the case. We’re 20 years on, that club has spent too long out of the top flight.”

Motivation

There is no hiding that the Steel City derby is one of the fiercest outside the mainstream few. It has often led to crowd trouble in multiple previous meetings.

After the Owls were relegated from the Premier League back in 2000, the fixture had been a regular occurrence, but the Blades’ promotion last season means that the two won’t play each other in this campaign.

A bore draw was the outcome the last time they faced each other back in March.

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However, their quest to return to the promised land for the first time in over two decades won’t just be centred around what their rivals are doing – it has been the ambition regardless of the division the two play in.

The current paths of both teams are only going to be used as bragging rights for supporters in Sheffield.

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

Lewie Coyle is looking to complete a permanent move away from Leeds United in January, according to Football Insider.

What’s the story?

The right-back spent a two-year period on loan at Fleetwood Town prior to this season.

He is now on another temporary spell with the Fishermen, with that set to end at the end of December.

His contract with Leeds comes to an end at this season’s culmination so the 24-year-old is keen to complete a permanent move to Fleetwood.

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This season, he has been an integral part of their team, starting 16 games in the league and getting four assists during that time from the full-back position.

Football Insider have previously reported that Leeds are willing to sell the loanee in January so they don’t lose him for free.

Time to move on

This would be a good move for all parties: Leeds are able to demand a fee for someone they are highly unlikely to use, Fleetwood hang onto an important player and Coyle can settle his future.

From Coyle’s point of view, it is about time that he moved on, as at 24 years old he will be looking to have his future secured with a club, rather than continuously heading out on various loans.

The right-back has already shown that he can make an impact for Fleetwood, so this seems like a move that will make sense for him.

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Speaking to Football Insider, Danny Mills has sent Leeds a warning after Andrea Radrizzani’s update on QSI’s potential investment in the club.

What did he say?

The Whites owner outlined his “desire” for them to work together, although reiterated that “there’s nothing concrete at this time”.

Now, Mills has issued a cautionary tale for the Elland Road side, suggesting that whilst the financial windfall may be great in the short-term, there has to be a “proper plan” in place for it to truly work out.

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He said: “New investment is always welcome so long as the longevity of the football club is put first and foremost. But it cannot be bringing in money for the sake of it. It needs to be in the right direction, with the right ambition and the right personnel in charge.

“Everyone would love the Qatari money but there has to be a proper plan. You cannot just throw money at everything all the time. It does not work like that. A lot of people criticise Manchester City but they have done it in a good way I think.”

Long haul

As both Manchester City and Chelsea have shown this century, having an investor or investment group start splashing the cash on marquee signings and big-name players can catapult a team to the very top of English football.

But whilst those two sides have benefited enormously, there have been plenty of stories around the world where the early promise of huge financial backing has gone out the window – you only have to look at PSG’s French rivals AS Monaco to see that, with the Ligue 1 side having to undergo a major clear-out of their most talented players in recent seasons.

It’s exactly why Mills is absolutely spot-on in trying to temper expectations of QSI’s potential investment. It sounds promising now, but Leeds desperately need to ensure they are in it for the long haul.

Meanwhile, Leeds fans have hailed this footage of Jean-Kevin Augustin.

There are things as beautiful than a pinpoint cross into the box, preferably with a bit of whip or curl included and resulting in a goal.

We’ve been fortunate another to witness some of the biggest masters of the crossing game in the Premier League over the decades, all with their own unique style and ability.

Some preferred to float them in, others preferred to put pace and accuracy into their technique. Whatever the style, football fans will always appreciate the fine art of a football being crossed. It can be mesmerizing at times.

So we’ve ranked the top 15 crossers of the ball in the Premier League era.

Have a flick through to see who we’ve included – did we miss anyone?

15. Stewart Downing

His end-product in terms of scoring goals was disappointing, but Downing has a wand of a left foot.

The 35-year-old has delivered over 2,718 crosses in the Premier League since 2006 – more than any other player.

14. Chris Brunt

Another left-footed magician. Brunt has often been subject to controversial moments in his career but his crossing ability is outstanding.

The 34-year-old has been at West Bromwich Albion since 2007; fans at the Hawthorns have witnessed his wizardry on countless occasions, whether that be from set-pieces or open play.

13. Trent Alexander-Arnold

Liverpool’s exciting right-back hasn’t spent too long in the Premier League so far, but what an outstanding crosser he already is at such a young age.

The 20-year-old registered 12 assists in 29 Premier League appearances last season. For a full-back, they are outstanding figures and this is just the start.

12. Gylfi Sigurdsson

The Icelandic playmaker oozes class and what he can produce, especially from free-kicks, is extremely rare.

Sigurdsson opts for the ‘whip’ technique when crossing, regularly causing mayhem in the opposition box. I certainly wouldn’t want to defend his crosses, that’s for sure.

11. Cesc Fabregas

Eden Hazard revealed Fabregas’ nickname is ‘The Master’ and it’s not difficult to see why.

The Spain midfielder inherits unique intelligence and creativity; although his crossing does not belong in the mesmerising category, he finds passes and crosses that 99% of players never see.

10. Sebastian Larsson

Another player who produced magic from nothing. The Sweden midfielder has delivered 1,495 Premier League crosses since 2006 and if you were a striker waiting for the perfect ball into the box, Larsson was the player to provide that.

Whether it’s a free-kick, corner or open play, the 34-year-old was a constant threat and achieves a deserved 10th-place ranking.

9. Aleksandar Kolarov

When Kolarov’s name is mentioned, every person immediately thinks of his outrageous left foot.

The versatile Serbian full-back – who also operates on the left flank due to his crossing ability – was an extremely valuable asset to Manchester City. Players like him arrive once in a blue moon (ironic) and his crossing quality should not be overlooked.

8. Morten Gamst Pedersen

The Norwegian obtained similar characteristics to the aforementioned Kolarov. Pace, power and accuracy – three components to make a tasty delivery.

Pedersen is remembered for his magical left foot during his spell at Blackburn Rovers, completing 1,355 crosses in the Premier League since 2006.

It is fair to say that Liverpool have been rather successful in Europe over the last couple of seasons.

The Reds have made the final of the Champions League in the last two campaigns, first losing 3-1 against Real Madrid before beating Tottenham 2-0 less than 12 months ago. That means they now have six victories in the competition since it was originally created, under the name of the European Cup, in 1955.

Part of the fun of winning the tournament is that you must qualify each term – unless you win it, no participation is guaranteed the following campaign. However, if UEFA have their way, that will not be the case from 2024. They are said to be readying a proposal which would see teams qualify for the competition based on their performances over the last four years rather than each season.

This was shared by The Anfield Edition, and it is fair to say the Liverpool fans are disgusted by this potential change – one supporter even called it a “terrible idea”. They have taken to Twitter to share their thoughts, and you can see some of the best comments from the social media platform below.

Let us know what you think!