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EFL chief executive Shaun Harvey is to step down from his position at the end of the current league season, as reported by the BBC. The 48-year-old has been in the role since 2013, and has been in football for a quarter of a century. 

In November 2018, he oversaw the agreement of a new five-year TV deal with Sky for a figure of £595 million. The agreement was heavily criticised by a number of EFL clubs and his reputation has suffered ever since.

Harvey was also the man who made the controversial call for a selection of top flight under-21 teams to enter the Checkatrade Trophy.

Prior to taking over as chief executive of the EFL, he served for nine years as CEO of Leeds United. 

The Whites’ current relationship with the EFL is fractured, following the fallout from Marcelo Bielsa’s admission to spying on other teams’ training sessions. 

Harvey is not a popular figure at Elland Road these days. Following the announcement of his impending exit, loads of Leeds fans took to Twitter to give their verdicts…

Newcastle fans worldwide will be praying that Rafa Benitez stays beyond this summer, in order to continue pushing the Magpies up the table.

The Spaniard has made a telling contribution to Newcastle Football Club, which all started when he took them up into the Premier League and has now cemented their position in the top flight.

With Benitez’s contract up in the summer, fans will hope that Mike Ashley delivers on his side and makes funds available to the manager, who could make a real difference with better players.

This season, whilst operating on a small budget, Newcastle completed the loan signing of Salomon Rondon, a player they should be looking to tie up permanently past this summer.

Rondon, (who is valued at £13.5 million on Transfermarkt) has been a persistent threat for Newcastle all season and his seven league goals go some way to proving just that.

After a shaky start, the 29-year-old now finds himself in the swing of things at St James’ Park, being the number nine Newcastle have been so desperate to see.

With the power to hold the ball up, shrug defenders off and bring in his team-mates, it’s fair to say that Newcastle look a far better side when they have the Venezuelan up-top.

Not only does he provide goals but Salomon Rondon also works very hard for the team. Newcastle have tried and tried to find a consistent goal-getter and although he is far from the league’s top goalscorer, his efforts surely gone unnoticed by the fans.

Having seen Dwight Gayle perform at West Brom, a permanent stay for both of the strikers should be in order.

Newcastle fans, do you agree?

[ad_pod ]Southampton’s heartbreaking 3-2 defeat to Manchester United highlighted the need for a player who would take on his man and create something out of very little; aside from the two wonder goals the Saints scored and a couple of dubious penalty claims, Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side didn’t do much to rattle the Red Devils in terms of chances.The loss to United might have been a difficult one to take considering how hard their team had worked, but the St Mary’s Stadium faithful watching Ajax’s 4-1 demolition of Champions League holders Real Madrid on Tuesday night would surely have been more frustrated by what they saw in that game.Dusan Tadic tore Los Blancos to shreds and was involved in every goal his side scored, although the moment in which he burst forward and spun Casemiro before teeing up David Neres was particularly spellbinding.In this era of ‘big 6’ dominance, has finishing 7th become as good as winning a trophy? The Pl>ymaker FC squad have their say in the video below…The Serb left Southampton in the summer for a measly £10m and fans on Twitter couldn’t believe, having seen what he’d just done at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, that the club had let him go for so little…

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Arsenal have confirmed, via their official website, that they will head to Dubai for a mid-season training camp amid their top-four battle.

The Gunners will travel to the country during the international break and will play a game at the opening of a new stadium.

What’s the word?

Unai Emery’s men, who beat Manchester United at the weekend to move into fourth place in the Premier League, are jetting off to Dubai to face Al-Nasr in a friendly.

The game will mark the opening of the Al Maktoum Stadium, while Arsenal will also take part in a number of public events.

Manager Emery told the club’s official website: “It will be great to get some warm weather training and break up the usual routine as we enter the final stage of the season.

“The facilities in Dubai are fantastic and it will be an honour to be part of the formal opening ceremony for the new stadium.”

The tour comes as the battle for qualification to the Champions League hots up.

Arsenal hold a two-point lead over United and are just one point behind third-placed Tottenham with eight games of the season remaining.

They had better hope, then, that they do not suffer any untimely injuries in Dubai.

A needless distraction

Arsenal are not the only club to head on a sunshine break, with Spurs also taking advantage of the pause in Premier League proceedings to head to Barcelona.

However, it feels as though this could backfire.

Emery clearly believes that this could be a catalyst for another solid run of form but the path is fraught with danger.

If a first-team player picks up an injury, their top-four charge could be derailed. The same, of course, goes for Spurs.

Arsenal would perhaps have been best off staying in north London and enjoying the rest.

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Nottingham Forest manager Martin O’Neill has confirmed, via The Nottingham Post, that he has spoken to owner Evangelos Marinakis about the club’s future plans on the pitch, and the first thing he should have asked the Greek tycoon about is tying Ryan Yates down to a new contract.

What’s the word, then?

Well, Marinakis has been in England for the last week or so because of the redevelopment plans for The City Ground, and he remained in the country to watch the 3-0 victory against Hull City on Saturday.

O’Neill has since confirmed, via The Nottingham Post, that the duo spoke to each other about a number of different subjects including potential summer transfers, but the priority should have been discussing the ever-improving Yates.

The 21-year-old has only become a regular fixture in the starting XI since the 66-year-old replaced Aitor Karanka at the helm, and he has more than taken his opportunity with six consecutive league starts.

Long-term contract needed

The impressive midfielder only signed a new three-year deal with the Reds last summer following successful loan spells with Notts County and Scunthorpe United, but now he is establishing himself as a key player for the Championship club.

Yates has many impressive aspects to his game and if he continues at the rate he is, he could be a huge asset for Forest in the future – both in terms of his quality and his price tag.

If the east Midlands outfit want to progress and get better then they need to be tying down players like the 21-year-old down to new long-term contracts, and that should be one of Marinakis’ main priorities over the next few months.

Reunion’s in football can sometimes lead to spectacular results.

Jose Mourinho’s return to Chelsea after six years away saw the Blues secure a league and cup double whilst Zinedine Zidane’s arrival at the Estadio Bernabeu as a manager following a successful playing career for Real Madrid recently brought about three consecutive Champions League titles for Los Blancos.

Whilst admittedly not on the same scale as these two examples, it can still be argued that a move by Dean Smith to sign Neal Maupay for the second time in his career could be vital for Aston Villa’s future.

Having previously bought the French forward whilst in charge of Brentford from Ligue 1 side Saint-Etienne, the 47-year-old could see him as a permanent solution to the Lions’ attacking issues. A move for Tammy Abraham in the summer may not prove to be very cost-efficient when you consider that Chelsea will undoubtedly be looking at selling to a number of different clubs if they are to let the forward leave, stoking up a possible bidding war.

Although interest in Maupay may also be high due to the fact that he has scored 23 goals and provided eight assists for the Bees this season, it could be more of a realistic option for Villa. The Lions, who are currently sixth in the Championship table, may be able to provide the platform that the former Nice forward needs to fulfill his potential in the future.

At the age of 22, Maupay has all the talent needed to succeed at the highest level yet it is questionable that he can do this by staying at Griffin Park when you consider that Brentford are heading for yet another season where they are stuck in the second tier.

Any move therefore could ultimately come down to whether Smith’s side achieve promotion at the end of the current campaign. With Villa occupying the final play-off position in the Championship, they will be desperate to avenge last year’s loss in the final of the competition in May.

What do you think Villa fans? Should Smith do all that he can to sign Maupay in the summer? Or is there another forward that you like him to buy? Let us know below.

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Manchester United fans on Twitter are livid after it was revealed that Paris Saint-Germain are set to take advantage of Ander Herrera’s contract situation by signing the midfielder on a free transfer, and have reportedly offered him a £150,000-a-week deal.

The Spanish international has been at Old Trafford for five years now since his £29m move from Athletic Bilbao back in 2014, and has become a fan favourite in Manchester as a result of his passionate displays and evident commitment to the club.

Which “global superstar” has just been named Man Utd’s worst ever January signing? Find out in the video above…

However, the Red Devils are yet to offer him a new contract with his current deal set to expire in the summer, a situation that the French champions appear to have taken advantage of.

Understandably, fans of the 20-time Premier League champions are fuming that their club has been so slow to offer the 29-year-old fresh terms, especially as he is arguably one of their most impressive and consistent performers…

The Premier League made its return from the March International Break over the weekend and with it delivered another exhilarating round of fixtures.

Spurs appear to have bottled it again, Liverpool and Manchester City marched on in their neck-and-neck title race, Huddersfield were relegated and Chelsea grabbed all three points with yet another late winner.

With the weekend of fixtures also came a series of historic marks reached, records matched and broken, and a set of remarkable numbers, from the Terriers’ historic relegation to achievements set by Frank Lampard and David Beckham.

Here are the stats from the weekend…

Tottenham Woes

Tottenham’s Toby Alderweireld is the first player to score a match-winning own goal in the 90th minute or later of a Premier League game since Troy Deeney for Watford against Manchester United in November 2015.

Faulty Fulham

The Cottagers have conceded at least twice in their past 12 league games, the longest such sequence in the top flight since a run of 14 by Newcastle between May and October 1977.

Patient Blues

Chelsea have now scored 18 goals in the final 15 minutes of Premier League matches this season, no club in the competition has managed more.

Huddersfield Match Historic Mark

Huddersfield Town have been relegated with six games to play – the joint-earliest in terms of games in the Premier League era (Derby County – 2007-08 and Ipswich Town – 1994-95).

United Attackers Join Impressive Company

This is the first time since the 1995-96 season (Scholes, Cole, Giggs, Cantona) that Manchester United have had four players score 10+ goals in a single Premier League campaign (Martial, Rashford, Lukaku, Pogba).

Brighton Bundled

Brighton had 15 shots without scoring on Saturday; only twice before in the Premier League have the Seagulls attempted moreshots without scoring (21 v Watford in February 2019 and 16 v Watford in August 2017).

Anfield Automatic

Liverpool extended their unbeaten home league run to 37 games (W27 D10) – the joint-second longest such streak in Premier League history (level with Manchester City), behind only Chelsea’s 86-match run between 2004-2008.

Foxes Rolling

Leicester have won three consecutive Premier League games for the first time since a run of four ending in December 2017.

Luka Climbs The Leaderboard

Luka Milivojevic (22) is now the outright third highest goalscorer for Crystal Palace in Premier League history, behind only Wilfried Zaha (30) and Chris Armstrong (23).

Clumsy Cardiff

Cardiff City are only the third team in Premier League history to lose four consecutive matches against a particular opponent (Chelsea) despite opening the scoring each time.Six of the eight Premier League points Chelsea have won from losing positions this season have come home and away versus Cardiff.

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Jos Luhukay may be a distant memory to Sheffield Wednesday but despite his failings at the club earlier in the campaign, one key decision he made last summer could determine whether the Owls gain promotion.

The club are sitting outside the play-offs at the moment so four monumental games to come against Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest, Leeds and Norwich are make or break.

With that in mind, one man will be vital; Michael Hector.

Luhukay’s decision to bring him to the club on loan from Chelsea was one of the best he made during his tenure at the club and he is now proving vital under his successor, Steve Bruce.

The club have witnessed a remarkable turn in fortunes under new management with the Yorkshire side embarking on a run of 11 games without defeat, meaning Bruce is unbeaten since he took charge.

Hector has been vital in that and with the club about to play a succession of crucial games he can’t afford to take his foot off the gas.

At Wednesday, it finally looks as though the versatile 26-year-old has found a home. It’s his 15th loan spell away from his two permanent clubs in Reading and Chelsea, but with the appraisal he’s earned in Yorkshire he may finally find a settled place to play his football.

Hector has a no-nonsense nature, summed up by the number of clearances he makes and considering the period Wednesday face, they’ll need someone like him to be at his best.

On Saturday afternoon he’ll come up against another Chelsea loanee in Tammy Abraham. Their battle will be the difference between who comes away the happier of the two teams. The Villa striker has won 2.9% aerial duels per game this season. Hector in comparison has won more but it’s an area that will be intriguing to watch when they come up against each other.

The Jamaican international is also a good reader of the game and against a formidable midfield containing the creative outlets of Jack Grealish, John McGinn and Conor Hourihane, he will be key.

Wednesday are currently four points off the play-offs and under Luhukay, finishing in that part of the table wouldn’t have felt possible. However, one decision he’s made will prove vital to whether their turnaround under Bruce can be completed.

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Through his website FiveThirtyEight, leading sports data analyst Nate Silver has backed Dean Smith’s Aston Villa to clinch a place in the Sky Bet Championship play-off places.

What’s he predicted, then?

On a page predicting the outcome of the whole Championship table, Silver’s website has placed Villa in fifth with 71 points, 10 adrift of West Bromwich Albion above but safely in the play-offs.

They are above Bristol City in sixth and Middlesbrough in seventh on goal difference, while Sheffield United miss out on automatic promotion by finishing third below Leeds United, with Norwich City holding on for the title.

After a few teething problems, Smith has hauled the Midlanders back into the promotion running since taking over from Steve Bruce and the club are currently in that fifth place after 11 victories in 27 to begin the reign of the boyhood Villan.

All that data now makes sense

With the form Villa are currently in, it’s hard to argue with Silver on the prediction he’s made – all the data available has been used to create it, after all.

Villa have won five of their last six in the league, pulling themselves up into the play-off places and not just sixth either – into fifth, so it’s in their hands.

Unlike Bruce, Smith is showing all the signs that he’s got what it takes to deliver a second play-off finish in a row and who would back against him at this stage?

Pl>ymaker FC Exclusive: Jermaine Jenas reveals he often received racist abuse after North London Derbies – Check out the video below…

Fans will only be hoping that their team can advance further than last year and finally return to the Premier League.