Tag Futebol

Everton have had a tough season, results have not quite gone as planned on the pitch and an endless list of injuries have left them languishing in mid-table.

The Toffees’ draw against Swansea at the weekend means they are unbeaten in the last four but boss Roberto Martinez is still feeling the strain. After dropping out of the Europa Cup after losing to Dynamo Kiev, Everton fans have been looking for someone to blame. It has been an extremely disappointing season – they have struggled to perform and after a 5th place finish last season fans were expecting a lot better.

Martinez is currently 50/1 to be sacked but has been as low as 6/1 during the season. Everton’s chairman is famed for his loyalty but in this day and age no one is immune from losing their job. While things have started improve with their first back-to-back wins since October, many involved in the club are not happy with how their season has progressed.

Recently graffiti appeared at Goodison Park saying “Martinez out” and “Not good enough” which show some fans have grown angry at the way their team is performing. After beginning the season with genuine hopes of being able to compete for a Champions League place and really challenge in the Europa League fans are looking towards the man in charge for someone to blame. While these fans are still in a small minority it only takes one person to think it before others join in.

[ad_pod id=’ffc-video-small’ align=’left’]

One of Everton’s biggest issues has been with injury. Since Martinez arrived 18th months ago 13 players have had an incredible 22 hamstring injuries between them. It is clear that something needs to be looked into about the training plans of the squad – something is not right and it needs to be addressed as quickly as possible.

Martinez is seen among many as a stubborn manager. He has shown a reluctance to adapt and change his style when things have been going wrong. Sam Allardyce is another who refuses to change his ways and it looks like he will be heading out of the West Ham door before next season. Could the same be about to happen to Martinez?

When Martinez took over at Everton in 2013 he spoke very clearly about building a team for the long term. This season Tim Howard, Sylvain Distin and Gareth Barry appear to have shown their age while last season’s star, Ross Barkley has struggled to emulate his success. Before fans make their decision on Martinez they need to see how he builds his team in the summer. If they get to Christmas next season and things haven’t changed and problems haven’t been addressed, then the cries of “Martinez out” will be a lot louder.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

While this season has been a huge test for those involved in the club many believe that in the long term Martinez’s decisions will pay off. It is unlikely that Martinez will be sacked now. It will be all down to how he plays the summer transfer window as to whether he will still be in a job this time next year.

[ad_pod id=’ricco’ align=’center’]

Tottenham Hotspur wide man David Bentley has joined former club Blackburn Rovers on loan until the end of the season as reported by Sky Sports.

Bentley has failed to establish himself at White Hart Lane since his £15million move in 2008 from Rovers and is not in Andre Villas-Boas’ squad for the remainder of the season.

The 28-year-old will be looking to rediscover the sort of form that earned him seven England caps and that big money move back to North London while he was Ewood Park.

Failed loan spells at Birmingham City, West Ham and Russian outfit FC Rostov have not helped Bentley’s career as he was tipped to become the next David Beckham when he first came on the scene.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Rovers are more than happy to bring Bentley back to the North West and with Michael Appleton’s side now moving in the right direction up the league, a permanent deal could be offered if the England international succeeds.

Manchester United fans are worried over rumours that France international Anthony Martial wants out of Old Trafford.The 22-year-old has been on the fringes in recent games after the arrival of Chilean forward Alexis Sanchez in the January transfer window.The former Monaco man has had a relatively good season in Manchester, scoring 11 goals and linking up well with Romelu Lukaku and Paul Pogba.However, Martial has not scored since the 1-0 win at Burnley in January and has been on the bench in the last couple of games.According to French media outletÂRMC Sport, the Frenchman is unhappy with his lack of minutes under Jose Mourinho and has rejected a new five-year contract.RMC Sport also claim that his relationship with the Portuguese has soured since the turn of the year.It’s safe to say that Manchester United fans are not happy with the news…[EMBED_TWITTER]https://twitter.com/hesham786/status/983698286262571008[/EMBED_TWITTER][EMBED_TWITTER]https://twitter.com/RealTalkMUFC/status/983702219001290752[/EMBED_TWITTER]

[ad_pod ]

Southampton have been truly exceptional so far this season, and at the forefront of their success is skipper Jose Fonte. The defender has been as solid as a rock in the Saints defence, and he is a major factor of why Ronald Koeman’s side are exceeding all expectations.

Fonte celebrated a new three-year deal at St Mary’s in August by being handed the captaincy by Koeman. Championship side Cardiff City had a £3m bid rejected by the Saints in July, as the 31-year-old pledged his future to Southampton. But nobody, not even Fonte himself, could have envisioned just how well the Saints’ new-look team would be doing, or how he would become their most vital player.

Pundits Garth Crooks, Glenn Hoddle and Jamie Carragher – are just a few names who have praised the Portuguese defender recently. The ex-Crystal Palace star was faultless in Southampton’s 1-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday, and he just emphasised his importance on the side even further. Fonte stifled the likes of Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney and Angel di Maria, and in truth United’s superstars didn’t get too much of a look in. The Portugal international didn’t put a foot wrong in Southampton’s FA Cup third round replay with Ipswich Town on Wednesday either – as the Saints won 1-0 at Portman Road, with Fonte as dominant as ever.

Fonte has been at St Mary’s ever since the Saints were battling it out in League One. The skipper has been part of Southampton’s monumental rise all the way from the third tier of English football – to third in the Barclays Premier League. In his five years with the Saints, the South Coast club have gained back-to-back promotions to the top flight, and have had two very successful years in the Premier League – developing every year.

As for this season, it’s been truly remarkable for everyone involved with the club. After the well documented loss of the majority of their stars (apart from Fonte) and indeed their manager Mauricio Pochettino, the Saints were widely predicted to struggle this season. But with the arrival of the experienced boss Ronald Koeman, who’s had spells of managing the likes of Ajax, Benfica and most recently Feyenoord, they had a more than capable manger coming into St Mary’s.

The Dutchman’s shrewdness in the Summer Transfer Window, has been another major factor of the Saints’ success this term. The likes of Graziano Pelle, Dusan Tadic, Fraser Forster and Shane Long – to name a few, have all been outstanding. But keeping hold of Morgan Schneiderlin and Jose Fonte, could well have been the best bit of business Southampton did over the summer – the St Mary’s faithful will be hoping their club can keep hold of these two, as they push for a European place.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

It’s anyone’s guess how far the Saints can go this season – After two outstanding results against Arsenal and Manchester United recently, and with four wins in their last five Premier League outings, the Saints are going to be extremely hard to dislodge from the top four places.

[ad_pod id=’ricco’ align=’center’]

AC Milan are readying bids for Newcastle duo Tim Krul and Davide Santon, according to reports from The Mirror.

The Italians are keen to strengthen their squad, following the departures of a number of first-team players, and have set their sights on the Premier League pair.

Their interest in Santon has been longstanding, with the San Siro side keen to bring him back to Italy following a successful period at St James’ Park.

It is unclear as to whether the player himself is looking to move on, but he could be tempted by the prospect of Champions League football.

Santon was on the books at Milan’s local rivals Inter before switching to the Magpies, but this has not deterred them from considering a move.

They are also believed to be monitoring the situation of goalkeeper Krul, with the Dutchman viewed as a candidate to be the club’s long-term number one.

The 24-year-old is under contract until 2017, but Milan are confident that they can lure him away.

However, they are unlikely to move for the stopper until the summer.

Meanwhile, manager Alan Pardew is set to ask wantaway defender Fabricio Coloccini to remain at the club until at least this summer.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

The Argentine is keen to return to his homeland for personal reasons, and has reportedly asked the club to release him from his contract.

[cat_link cat=”newcastle-united” type=”grid”]

Always finding room for young players in his first team squad, regardless of age or experience, being loaned out by Mauricio Pochettino is effectively a snub for any Tottenham player. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the end of their careers with the north London club – provided they can use the loan spell to prove the Argentine wrong.

Earlier this week, we looked at four players Tottenham have loaned out this season – Vincent Janssen, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Josh Onomah and Georges-Kevin N’Koudou – and then asked Spurs supporters to vote for which has the best chance of making an impact for the Lilywhites at first team level in 2018/19.

And the result of our poll was largely unanimous.

Perhaps because Toby Alderweireld’s potential departure will create an obvious void for him to fill, perhaps because he’s already a full international with the USA, perhaps because he’s shown decent form for Sheffield United and Ipswich in the Championship this season, Carter-Vickers took a whopping 88% of the vote.

Do you think the 20-year-old, who Transfermarkt value at £900k, is ready to provide cover for the likes of Jan Vertonghen and Davinson Sanchez, Tottenham fans? Let us know by commenting below…

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

[ad_pod ]

Dwight Gayle’s favourite pass-time is scoring against Liverpool

The Crystal Palace striker is hardly what you’d call a prolific striker, well, he would be if the Eagles could play Liverpool 38 times a season! The 24-year-old striker added to his three goals in two Premier League appearances against Brendan Rodgers side by equalising for Palace in the first-half.

Rickie Lambert is a better option that Mario Balotelli

On his day, no matter how rare they’re, Balotelli is up there as one of the best strikers in world football, however, as of yet, it hasn’t quite worked for the former Manchester City striker on Anfield. Rickie Lambert was given a start against Palace today, with Balotelli not even in the matchday squad. And it didn’t take the former Southampton man long to find the back of the net and in turn, give Brendan some food for thought.

Brendan Rodgers is on thin ice

Four defeats on the bounce for Liverpool now and they remain in the bottom half of the Premier League; you have to question how patient Liverpool’s board are? Will Rodgers be given time to turn this around?

Arsenal will hope that they can open 2013 with the same verve and style that they finished off with in 2012. They managed to smash 7 goals past Newcastle even if the 7-3 score line didn’t necessarily reflect how close the game was for long spells.

They will be full of confidence as they managed to pick off the Magpies as they wilted late on while the star of the show on Saturday will certainly take centre stage again.

This being former Southampton star Theo Walcott who is grabbing all the headlines at the moment with Gunners fans urging Arsene Wenger to sign him up.

He will be hoping to make his first start against the Saints since leaving them in January 2006 and will be making an emotional return to St. Mary’s.

Walcott only made a substitute appearance for 15 minutes in the 6-1 demolition job at the Emirates the last time these two teams met and he will be expecting to be initiating a similar result with his goals this time round from a striking position.

The Saints currently find themselves in the relegation zone but have not struggled for goals since returning to the Premier League. It is more a problem at the other end procuring clean sheets.

At the Britannia stadium last time out this summarized their fortunes so far this season as they dazzled in attack and looked good value for all three points against 10 men Stoke but could not see out the job in the 3-3 draw.

Southampton are expected to shuffle the pack but still expect to be without club captain Adam Lallana. Adkins could decide to recall several key men, such as playmaker Gaston Ramirez.

Per Mertesacker could be available after illness for the trip to St Mary’s. Rosicky made the bench against Newcastle so won’t be far off full time contention either. Andre Santos (stomach muscle) and midfielder Abou Diaby (thigh) have started light training but won’t feature here.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Arsenal have scored six goals twice in their last six meetings with Southampton and the Saints will be desperate to avoid another morale sapping rout here.

Prediction: Southampton 1-3 Arsenal

Check the odds ahead of the game at St. Mary’s with William Hill here

You can also Get a Free £25 Bet on the game by clicking here

Friday night proved to be a special occasion for Scott Hogan as the Aston Villa forward made his Republic of Ireland debut.

The 25-year-old played 75 minutes of his team’s 1-0 defeat to Turkey, and will now be looking to make a serious impression for Martin O’Neill’s side moving forward.

Hogan joined Villa from Brentford in January 2017, and the forward managed just one goal in 13 appearances in the second half of the 2016-17 Championship campaign.

Hogan has netted eight goals in 35 appearances for Steve Bruce’s side this term, however, and was rewarded with a call-up to the latest Republic of Ireland squad.

It would be fair to say that a number of Villa fans have been split on Hogan’s overall contribution this season, but many were delighted that the attacker was able to make his international bow.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

A selection of the Twitter reaction from the Villa supporters, who have watched their team lose their last two Championship fixtures to Queens Park Rangers and Bolton Wanderers, can be seen below:

Although it is highly unlikely that Brendan Rodgers will be sacked during the course of this season due to his success in the previous campaign, Liverpool may still need to look towards the future whilst keeping their options open.

The Reds aren’t having the best start so far, with shock losses to Aston Villa, West Ham United, and most recently Newcastle United punctuating a difficult start.

If Rodgers fails to see his squad improve in the coming weeks, the board could decide to let him finish the current campaign before they consider their search for a new manager.

However, based on how they perform, here are FIVE potential candidates they should consider if the worst case scenario does take place.

[ffc-gallery]

CLICK ON JURGEN KLOPP TO SEE THE FULL LIST

[/ffc-gallery]

Harry Redknapp

Name:Harry Redknapp

Age: 67

Nationality: England

Current Club: Queens Park Rangers

Having been part of the English game for most of his career, both as a player as well as a manager, his knowledge of the Premier League could be seen as an asset should Liverpool decide to consider a new boss. He was also linked with the Anfield job in the past and could be once again if a vacancy does open up.

He isn’t enjoying the best time at Queens Park Rangers at the moment with his side currently in the relegation zone after 10 matches. Depending on how QPR do during the course of the season, Redknapp is surely under pressure to prove his worth to the club.

Rafael Benitez

Name:Rafael Benitez

Age: 54

Nationality: Spain

Current Club: Napoli

Former Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez could also be in the running to return to Anfield after managing the club from 2004-2010. He enjoyed a rather successful spell, winning the FA Cup, Community Shield, UEFA Champions League, and the UEFA Super Cup.

Benitez is already a proven manager and could be the spark the Reds need in order to dominate in Europe once more. He was also previously interim manager at Chelsea in the 2012-2013 season where his squad were crowned UEFA Europa League champions.

Jamie Carragher

Name:Jamie Carragher

Age: 36

Nationality: England

Current Club: None

The possibility of Jamie Carragher stepping up as the next Liverpool coach at the moment is rather slim, but he could become one in the future should the club consider him as a candidate. Having spent his entire senior career at Anfield, making over 500 appearances, he is someone who knows everything there  is to know about the squad.

He could start as an assistant, similar to what Ryan Giggs is doing at Manchester United before eventually stepping up to the plate when the time is right. He also previously revealed that he believes he could be a very good Liverpool manager.

Diego Simeone

Name:Diego Simeone

Age: 44

Nationality: Argentina

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Current Club: Atletico Madrid

When it comes to picking a successful manager, Diego Simeone’s name easily comes to mind. In only two short years, he turned Atletico Madrid into a championship winning side, picking up five titles from 2011-2014. One huge achievement was to be crowned La Liga champions, beating both Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona to the award.

Although he has never managed in the Premier League, his hard-man coaching style and passion for success could be exactly what Liverpool need to guide them back into the top four. The club undoubtedly has the quality, but they might need someone who is willing to push the players week-in-week-out to guarantee the results.

Jurgen Klopp

Name:Jurgen Klopp

Age: 47

Nationality: Germany

Current Club: Borussia Dortmund

Jurgen Klopp is one of the most notable managers due to his passionate coaching methods, especially when seen screaming and urging his team from the sidelines. He enjoyed huge success with Borussia Dortmund in the past few seasons, picking up two consecutive Bundesliga titles and even coming second in the UEFA Champions League only the way.

He is a manager that is constantly being linked with a move to the English Premier League with a number of clubs already considering him as their next manager. Chelsea, Manchester City, as well as Manchester United were said to be after him at the end of the previous season and is also tipped to replace Arsene Wenger at Arsenal. If Klopp ever decides to leave Germany, many believe his next destination will definitely be the English Premier League.