All posts by z3u9t.icu

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Antonio Barreca has not been seen in a Newcastle United shirt since making his debut for the club in the final stages of their Premier League clash with Tottenham Hotspur on February 2.

Barreca joined the Magpies on loan from Monaco during the January transfer window.

He played four minutes of his team’s 1-0 loss to Tottenham at the start of last month, but has not even made the bench for Newcastle’s last six Premier League matches.

Earlier this month, the English club’s fans had a negative reaction to a tweet mentioning the defender and it would be fair to say that things have not improved.

It was actually the Italian’s birthday on Monday.

Watch the best fails from the world of indoor football in the video below…

As expected, Newcastle’s official Twitter account was on hand to wish Barreca a happy 24th birthday, but the response from the club’s supporters was not too positive indeed.

A selection of the reaction can be seen below:

There aren’t many players in world football who can claim that they can tower over Sheffield Wednesday’s Atdhe Nuhiu.

Standing at a height of 6ft 6, the Kosovo international is an imposing figure for any player to have to deal with, yet this season, he has failed to impress on a consistent basis for the Owls after his best ever campaign last year.

Although Wednesday would end up finishing in an underwhelming 15th place in the Championship in 2018, Nuhui was very effective individually, scoring eleven goals and providing five assists for his team-mates as he proved his worth for the Yorkshire-based outfit.

However, he has yet to show any signs of replicating the same level of performance for Steve Bruce’s side this year having only scored once in his last seven appearances for the club and three in total in all competitions.

Nevertheless, with Steve Fletcher a doubt for his side’s game against Stoke City at the weekend having missed Scotland’s Euro 2020 Qualifiers against Kazakhstan and San Marino due to injury, Nuhui may be given the chance to lead the line alongside Sam Winnall.

With the Owls well-placed for a late play-off push in the Championship, they will undoubtedly benefit from the forward stepping up to the plate in their final eight fixtures as it could make all the difference between whether they achieve a top-six finish in May.

If Nuhiu continues his sporadic form, he could find himself being surplus to requirements at Wednesday in the summer, bringing an end to his six-year stint at Hillsborough. Therefore, in order to save his Owls career, he needs to demonstrate that he can offer a viable alternative to the club’s other forwards.

Although promotion to the Premier League is still a long-shot for Wednesday this season, Bruce will already be planning for the future regardless on how the season ends and ultimately it is up to Nuhiu to prove that he should be part of the former Aston Villa boss’ plans.

What do you think Owls fans? Do you think that Nuhiu’s time at Hillsborough should be brought to an end in the summer? Or should the target man stay at Wednesday? Get in touch below.

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Liverpool host Tottenham this weekend and the Reds will be looking to regain their lead at the top while their visitors, who are now battling for a top-four spot, will hope to bounce back from their loss to Southampton and remain in third place.

Indeed, Sunday promises to be a high-intensity encounter between two of England’s Champions League high-flyers. Football FanCast take a look at where the game will be lost and won.

Key battle – Sadio Mane v Kieran Trippier

Kitted in red is one of the Premier League’s most in-form players; in white is one who has fallen from grace since a summer in which he established himself as an England hero.

Sadio Mane has chalked up 11 goals and one assist in his last 10 games – a phenomenal strike-rate – and, if he keeps this up, he could be a real dark horse in the race for the Premier League’s Player of the Year gong. The Senegalese has been different gravy in 2019 and is becoming more of a danger in front of goal than 2017/18 hero  Mohamed Salah.

Meanwhile, Kieran Trippier, having won the hearts of a nation with his sensational free-kick against Croatia in the World Cup, has had a rough ride – the former Burnley man’s defensive ability has been called into question multiple times and, against one of the best sides in Europe, it may be once again.

There is no doubting the 28-year-old’s technical ability but this isn’t a game in which Spurs can afford to be lax at the back.

Deciding factor – Home form vs Away form

No side has conceded fewer home goals than Liverpool this season, whereas no team has scored more away goals in the Premier League than Tottenham – so this game really does feel like a case of the immovable object vs the unstoppable force.

Of course, the question for the neutrals is whether that will result in a disappointing cancel-out afternoon or one in which the strengths of both sides come to the fore, chiefly Tottenham attacking with intent but Liverpool doing a great job of keeping them out.

That’s not to say either team are substandard in the other departments. Tottenham attacking well will only leave space for the likes of Mane on the counter-attack, just as Spurs are actually third for fewest goals conceded on the road.

Either way, this is an intriguing test of a Premier League fortress hosting the away day kings.

There’s good news for fans of City, Liverpool, Spurs and United in the video below…

Impact subs – Xherdan Shaqiri and Lucas Moura

Shaqiri should be available for the weekend although the Swiss surely doesn’t usurp any of the front three, so it’s likely that his impact will be from the bench. The former Stoke man has shown his ability to cause problems when entering the fray later on – he tore Manchester United apart at Anfield in December – and his directness will be crucial if the Reds are lacking some impetus in the later stages.

Meanwhile, Lucas Moura could drop to the bench after a poor performance last time out in which he failed to record an attempt on goal, but can certainly be of use to Pochettino still. His speed and dribbling ability are unparalleled in the Spurs ranks and he could stretch Liverpool’s defence in the second-half.

Hearts secured a hugely significant come from behind win against Aberdeen at Tynecastle on Saturday that has given them renewed hope in the bid to grab a Europa League spot at the end of the season.

But Hearts have no time to rest on their laurels if they want to turn European hopes into reality. That result has to be the kick-start of a run of good results for the remainder of the season.

If Saturday’s game against a Dons side who are a direct rival for a a top three finish, was viewed as a big game, the run coming up must be considered gargantuan in comparison!

With a trip to Ibrox to face a Rangers side licking their wounds following another Old Firm defeat, followed by the Edinburgh derby on Saturday, then rounded off with a Scottish Cup semi-final a week later, it is a daunting, but exciting, week for Hearts.

Of course, anything can happen — and usually does — in the derby, but with Rangers looking slightly wobbly in second, and Hearts having leapfrogged Hibs on Saturday, these are two games they will ideally looking to win.

Even if they can secure four points from the two, it could turn out to be a pivotal week for the Edinburgh side.

With Uche Ikpeazu finding his form, Craig Levein will be hoping the head injury that saw him forced off on Saturday is not serious and that he can be in the lineup on Wednesday.

Levein, rightly heaped praise on the attitude and performance his side after Saturday’s game, but he singled out Ikpeazu, who he said thoroughly deserved his goal and who he described as a “handful” that Aberdeen “couldn’t cope with”.

“Uche was a real handful. Aberdeen couldn’t cope with him and he deserved his goal,” said the former Scotland boss.

“He probably deserved to score more than one, actually. He is a big, honest lad. There are no other sides to him. He just tries his hardest in every match and I love that. Everything is out there.

“I do get really frustrated when I watch the treatment he gets from defenders. I think everybody thinks that because he’s a big lad he doesn’t need any protection. If he got some protection, he would score more goals.”

It is a massive couple of weeks for Hearts, which include a bunch of must-not-lose games.

But with Steven Gerrard’s side still getting over the Celtic defeat, and without their major goal threat, Alfredo Morelos, who was once again sent off, it may actually be a good time to go to Ibrox.

If Hearts perform like they did in the second half on Saturday, and they can frustrate the Ibrox crowd, and get Ikpeazu on the ball in and around the box, then Hearts can take advantage of a shaky Rangers and snatch a win.

What are your thoughts of your club’s chances of securing a Europa League spot? How many points will they get from the next two league games? Let us know your thoughts below…

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Middlesbrough’s disastrous Championship form continued on Tuesday night as they suffered a 1-0 defeat to Bristol City at the Riverside Stadium.

And the club’s supporters have once again called for head coach Tony Pulis to be sacked.

Boro have now lost each of their last five in the league, which is a run of form that has seen them drop into eighth position in the table.

It would be disastrous if they failed to make the play-offs having been comfortable for so long, but that is a serious possibility at this moment in time.

It is not too difficult to understand why the Boro fans are frustrated and it could yet get worse as they prepare to travel to Swansea City this weekend.

After the 1-0 defeat to Bristol City, a number of the club’s supporters took to social media to call for Pulis to be relieved of his duties as soon as possible.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

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Speaking to Sky Sports, pundit and former footballer David Prutton has given his assessment of Sheffield Wednesday’s play-off hopes and their chances of getting a result against Leeds this weekend.

What’s he said?

A 3-0 win for Sheffield Wednesday in midweek kept alive the club’s slim hopes of making the Championship play-offs at the end of the season.

After a shambolic start to the season under Jos Luhukay, the club have bounced back in some fashion under Steve Bruce.

However, going into a clash with Leeds on Saturday, it’s becoming more evident that they may have left their charge to the play-offs too late.

Giving his predictions for the key games in the EFL this weekend, Prutton told Sky Sports:

“Sheffield Wednesday have probably left a little bit too much to do to reach the play-offs, but if they keep winning games you never know. I can’t see them getting anything from Elland Road, though.”

Too little too late

Wednesday have been terrific under Bruce since he arrived but sitting six points off Bristol City who occupy the final play-off spot, it would take quite something for them to have any chance of going up.

However, the fact they have even have a slim opportunity is indicative of the sheer turnaround Bruce has been able to achieve.

It makes you wonder what the club might have been able to make of their season had they sacked Luhukay earlier.

Given their position in the table now, a period in the season where they only won one match in ten games has become even more telling.

The Owls were in relegation form before Christmas but had they been able to pick up even just a few more points here and there during that run, it might have seen them in the play-offs now.

As it happens, Bruce still has plenty of work to do but there will be hope for next season providing the 58-year-old can replicate what he’s done this term.

Two of Europe’s most renowned managers go face to face in one of the games of the season tonight. After a 1-0 defeat in the first leg of the quarter-final of the Champions League, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City men have it all to do against Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham. 

Regardless of the outcome, one thing can be certain – this is a battle between two of the finest managers the Premier League has seen in recent years. Although working at largely different ends of the footballing spectrum, there are similarities between Guardiola and Pochettino that make them interesting to compare.

The two managers share a similar philosophy and style, both have managed in Spain and both prioritise youth. Equally, they have equally experienced the highs and lows in Europe since their arrival in England.

Forget what Guardiola did prior to his arrival in Manchester, however hard that may be. The question we’re analysing here, is who has been better in Europe at their current respective clubs, Guardiola or Pochettino?

Let’s take a closer look at this battle below.

Pep Guardiola

Guardiola’s record is there for all to see. Despite enduring a rather turbulent first season in Manchester, Guardiola has truly stamped his authority on a City team now feared by most. They have a real chance to win the quadruple this season, a feat that would surely make this City team one of the greatest the Premier League has ever seen.

Where Guardiola has enjoyed league and cup success, European glory has thus far painfully avoided the decorated manager. In his first season in charge, Guardiola failed to win a single trophy – the only time this has ever happened in his career. City finished second in a relatively comfortable Champions League group, with former club Barcelona the only real threat.

However, they were knocked out on away goals by Monaco. At the time, this was deemed a devastating blow. Monaco went on to lose in the semi-final, but they won Ligue 1 after gaining a staggering 95 points. Perhaps this one wasn’t as bad a defeat as first thought.

On to the 2017-18 season. This was one in which City were all but unstoppable. In reaching 100 Premier League points, they broke the record for the highest ever points tally. However, much to Guardiola’s dismay, the Champions League continued to elude them. After a dominant group stage, the confidence was sky high.

This time, a favourable draw in Basel allowed them to progress to the quarter-finals. However, it was there that they were dismantled by English rivals, Liverpool. A 5-1 aggregate scoreline shocked the world.

Once again – Guardiola had failed.

This season, as we all know, City are once again have reached the Champions League quarter-final stage. Again it’s English opposition in Tottenham.

The first leg certainly didn’t go as planned for Guardiola, who finds his team 1-0 down. Of course, they will back themselves at The Etihad – but failure to do so would really be disastrous.

TT Grade: C+ Mauricio Pochettino

Pochettino is yet to win a trophy in his career. A damning statement. But of course, the teams he has managed simply have not had the same recourses available to him as the likes of Guardiola.

Indeed, the transformation Tottenham have undergone under the Pochettino’s reign is nothing short of remarkable. His Champions League story follows a similar pattern to that of Guardiola, however.

The 2016-17 season represented the start of Tottenham’s transition into their new stadium. Fans feared the worst as Champions League games were to be played at Wembley. Their worries were most certainly validated by a series of poor performances that led to an early exit from the competition. The opposition were arguably overlooked, with Monaco again catching another English team by surprise. Tottenham finished 2nd in the league however, with promise of more to come.

Spurs could not have been given a more difficult Champions League group in the 2017-18 season. With Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund dwarfing Tottenham in recent European prowess, another early exit seemed inevitable. Tottenham more than defied that odds, however. They remained unbeaten throughout the group, dismantling Madrid and Dortmund at Wembley.

Pochettino’s army had improved beyond all recognition. In reaching the last 16, Tottenham were given a tough lesson but experience is vital. Despite dominating both legs against Juventus, quick-fire mistakes allowed Juventus to progress. It was certainly a bitter pill to swallow for Tottenham fans.

Now, we again get to the current season, and Tottenham could not have made a worse start. 1 point after three games with Barcelona to play away – surely Tottenham were doomed. Tottenham somehow defied the odds, claiming two wins and a draw in the remaining games. They subsequently defeated Dortmund 4-0 in a truly mature performance.

The first leg against City reminded everyone once again what Tottenham are capable of. Clean sheets in 270 minutes of football against Dortmund and City is quite some achievement.

Regardless of what happens in the return leg, they can be proud of what they have achieved in this campaign.

TT Verdict: B TT Verdict:

This is certainly a close one, but Pochettino nicks it due to the expectation placed on Guardiola’s City. Should City crash out at the quarter-final stage again, it will be a real dent in their season.

Reaching the semi-final is very much expected of them. For Tottenham, on the other hand, it would be a remarkable achievement.

City and Tottenham fans – what are your thoughts? Does Guardiola need to progress to prove himself as the best? Does Pochettino deserve more recognition for Tottenham’s European success? 

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When Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was appointed Manchester United manager, many fans and pundits alike rejoiced.

Here, they claimed, was the true successor to Sir Alex Ferguson, the former striker done good, riding in to save the day after the poisonous reign of Jose Mourinho turned the club into also-rans.

A scarcely believable second-leg win over PSG in the Champions League sent them fawning. Rio Ferdinand, on BT Sport, told United to give Solskjaer the job on a permanent basis, and for him to be allowed to sign for as long as he wanted to. Henry Winter, perhaps the pre-eminent football journalist in this country, talked up the football, insisting that the “United of Solskjaer was the United of Ferguson”.

It is all coming crumbling down. Solskjaer was, per Ferdinand’s request, given the United job on a permanent basis on March 28th. Since then, United have beaten Watford and West Ham United, lost to Wolves in the Premier League – Solskjaer, while caretaker manager, saw his side beaten by Nuno Espirito Santo’s men in the FA Cup – and been outclassed by Barcelona in the Champions League. Then, on Sunday, the straw that broke the camel’s back: a 4-0 thumping at the hands of Everton.

Solskjaer came out afterwards and seemed to speak from the heart.

The BBC report that he said: “That performance is not good enough for a Manchester United team, from me to players, we let the fans down, we let the club down. That performance is difficult to describe because it is so bad.”

The fact of the matter is that Solskjaer has a very different idea of what a Manchester United performance should constitute than the rest of us. He is a Ferguson fanboy, at the end of the day, in thrall to the greatest manager the club has ever had. Of course, that is forgivable, he played under the man and won title after title with him, but it is not becoming of a good manager on his own terms. Reports have claimed that Ferguson offers advice on team selection and that Solskjaer won’t even park his car in the manager’s space at the training ground because he believes it belongs to the Scot.

Since Ferguson’s departure, though, United have lost games regularly. They have downed tools; they have been outrun, outfought and outthought. Sunday was the latest in a long line of poor results overseen first by David Moyes, then Louis van Gaal, Mourinho and now Solskjaer.

The first three, however, never invoked Ferguson quite so readily. In doing so, in being so reverent to the past, Solskjaer is inadvertently besmirching the legacy of a United legend.

Solskjaer said, upon his appointment, that Ferguson was his mentor. He told the club’s official website: “If you play at Man United, you play without fear and you play with courage.

“You go out there and express your skills. I’ve had the best [manager]. He [Sir Alex] just said ‘go out and express yourselves, take risks.’”

This is simplistic at best and naïve at worst. Compare the squad today with the side Ferguson took to the Premier League title in the 2012-13 season. The likes of Rafael Da Silva, Jonny Evans, Anders Lindegaard, Tom Cleverley, Shinji Kagawa and Alexander Buttner would all be nowhere near today’s XI. Conversely, such stars as Paul Pogba, Romelu Lukaku, Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and Luke Shaw would all walk into the 12-13 XI and play enough to wear a winners’ medal around their neck.

Ferguson’s main strength, at the end of the day, was cohesion. Regardless of the amount of transfers the club made – the signing of Robin van Persie was a masterstroke not since seen at Old Trafford – Ferguson always knew how to build the very best team for every occasion. That season, United won the league by 12 points with a worse squad than they have now. This term, they are sixth, 24 points behind Liverpool.

The league has moved on, of course it has, and it would be remarkable to see a prime Ferguson take on the likes of Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp and see if he could still come out on top.

But we will never know. It is Solskjaer at the wheel, as the United fans so regularly sing, but he seems determined to constantly remind fans that Ferguson is also present as a backseat driver.

Indeed, it still feels as though this was an emotional appointment, driven by the desire to make fans happy.

It appears all the more illogical the more one looks at it, with Solskjaer regularly attempting to invoke a non-existent ‘United way’ that has not been a factor in results since Ferguson retired.

Consistently doing so will not do Solskjaer any favours.

In fact, it will only make his ultimate downfall even harder to swallow for a group of fans who need a manager to stand on his own two feet and help United back to theirs.

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If you told Aston Villa fans earlier in the season that the club would enjoy a ten game-winning run with Mile Jedinak at centre half they’d have probably laughed.

However, that’s the reality of the situation at the club in what has been a remarkable turn around under Dean Smith.

The former Brentford boss has worked wonders with Villa since arriving in the Midlands and his tactical gamble to start playing Jedinak in defence has paid off impressively.

Given the Australian is a midfielder, it’s an unfamiliar role to him but with suspension for Tyrone Mings and then another injury for Axel Tuanzebe in recent matches, Jedinak has stepped in and performed admirably.

On the chalkboard

Villa have had their fair share of injuries this season and to lose Tuanzebe for such a long period of time was a concern.

However, with the Manchester United loanee now back in contention, Jedinak has still been able to make an impact in defence. As a result, he simply has to keep his place for the trip to Leeds this weekend.

Jedinak was in superb form against Millwall last weekend and although Marcelo Bielsa’s side will pose a completely different and better threat, he has more than shown himself capable in a deeper role.

Steve Bruce started to play the Australian international at centre half at the beginning of the season but it was a decision that ultimately didn’t pay off.

The player was slated as a result but now he’s completely transformed himself and Smith deserves huge praise for trusting in him with absences elsewhere.

In truth, the Villa manager hasn’t had much choice, but in gambling on the midfielder to play further back they’ve still been able to maintain their incredibly impressive play-off charge.

If the Villa Park faithful were unsure of his defensive capabilities, then the 7.2 aerial duels he’s won per game should do more than enough to convince.

One of Jedinak’s most impressive aspects is his reading of the game and he’s been able to transfer that into defence too.

With essentially two meaningless matches before the play-offs, it’s the ideal time for Smith to continue with his experiment.

Leeds United’s defensive injury problems continue to pile up, don’t they?

After Barry Douglas was ruled out for the season at the start of April, makeshift full-back Ezgjan Alioski suffered the same fate after tearing his meniscus during the Whites’ 2-0 defeat to Brentford on Easter Monday (via Sky Sports).

With a problem surrounding just who should play on the left-hand side of the back four, Marcelo Bielsa decided to give Stuart Dallas the opportunity to impress against Aston Villa. Despite starting the game positively, the Northern Ireland international suffered a cruel twist of fate as he hobbled off at Elland Road and thus compounded his Argentine boss’ issues heading into the play-offs.

Although Dallas is expected to return for Leeds when the knock-out competition begins in May, (via the Yorkshire Evening Post), his absence could give Gaetano Berardi the chance to prove himself to his worth in Sunday’s clash against Ipswich Town.

Having spent the majority of the year on the fringes of the team, the Switzerland international impressed at left-back when he replaced Dallas against Villa and knows that a solid outing at Portman Road could see him become a serious contender for the position ahead of the play-offs.

However, if he fails to capitalise on the club’s injury crisis, it could be disastrous for Leeds’ hopes of securing promotion as their opponents will be lining up to take advantage of a clear weakness in defence.

On a personal level, Berardi knows that his future with the Whites could hinge on what occurs over the next few weeks. If Leeds manage to overcome this adversity without the help of the 30-year-old and guarantee Premier League football for next season, it may result in Bielsa bringing in his five-year stint in West Yorkshire to an end in the summer.

What do you think Leeds fans? How important is it that Berardi steps up to the mark for your side against Ipswich? Should Bielsa keep the defender at the club? Let us know below.