All posts by n8rngtd.top

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Aston Villa boss Dean Smith has revealed that James Chester is making steady progress in his recovery from a knee injury, but is still not ready to return.

What’s the latest?

Smith told Villa’s official website:

“James Chester has had a course of injections. He’s now doing light work on the bike and in the gym.”

Chester only missed one of Villa’s first 29 matches of the 2018-19 campaign, but has been on the sidelines since the start of February due to a knee problem.

Smith has said that the centre-back ‘has had a course of injections’ and is currently undergoing recovery work in the gym as he bids to be fit before the end of the season.

There is no indication when the 30-year-old might be fit to make his return, but Villa have been boosted by the news that on-loan Manchester United ace Axel Tuanzebe is fit again.

Chester admitted last month that it had been a frustrating period, but it seems likely that he will be able to play some part between now and the end of the campaign.

How important is Chester to Villa?

Very, very important. It would be fair to say that some of the focus has been taken away from the Welshman due to the form of Tyrone Mings.

Mings arrived on loan at Villa during the January transfer window and the 6 ft 5 ace has been in excellent form for Smith’s side in recent weeks.

Kortney Hause, meanwhile, has impressively slotted in at centre-back due to the absences of Tuanzebe, Chester and also Tommy Elphick.

Tuanzebe is now ready to return, whilst Smith said that Elphick ‘should be back soon’, which does take the pressure off Chester in terms of forcing his return.

The 5 ft 11 ace is still hugely important to Villa, though, and will be desperate to return as soon as possible as Smith’s side look to secure a playoff spot.

If he is not able to return soon, it will have an extremely damaging effect on the club’s  surge for promotion.

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Newcastle United fans on Twitter have been reacting to a hilarious award photo involving their star winger Matt Ritchie.

The 29-year-old was being recognised by the Premier League for 100 appearances and having been presented with a small accolade for his achievement, posed for the cameras at the club’s training ground.

However, as we can see, Ritchie was hardly beaming in the image with the award as there’s little doubt he could have looked a lot more happy, a century of games in the English top flight isn’t that bad after all.

Unsurprisingly, Magpies supporters were quick to jump on and troll the former AFC Bournemouth man in the wake of the picture emerging.

Comments such as “he looks over the moon” were quickly flying around the Twittersphere, as well as those of the “look at the sheer joy on his face” like and even one comparing the Scottish international’s appearance in the photo to that of famous Scottish chef and ex-footballer Gordon Ramsey.

Pl>ymaker FC Exclusive: Jermaine Jenas reveals why Tyne-Wear is a more intense derby than anything London can offer – check out the video below….

Check out those and the rest of the best comical reactions from the chirpy Toon Army, below…

It was always going to happen, but with the summer approaching, Mick Harford has finally said it.

The Hatters manager admitted (quotes sourced by Luton Today) that a number of Premier League and Championship clubs were interested in Luton’s star assets after an incredible season in League One, with the likes of James Collins, Sonny Bradley and Matty Pearson all being star players for the London side as the club sit top of the table.

Academy product Justin James has also shone for Luton this campaign, being nominated for the EFL Young Player of the Season and becoming a fan favourite at the club.

Luton look set for promotion to the Championship, but with Premier League teams swimming around some of the best players, Harford could be braced for an onslaught of offers for their prized assets, and the Hatters should be thinking about cashing in for the long-term success of the club.

After such an incredible season, Luton will not have any problem attracting players to replace anyone who is sold over the summer, and with Championship and Premier League clubs now willing to spend on talent in the lower leagues, it is a genuine possibility two or three of the Hatters’ standout performers this season could be sold to increase funds for the club.

The reality is that Luton are a club that needs all the money they can get, and if a bid of £5 million is to come in for even just one of their players, the London side will take that offer in a heartbeat.

That kind of money can go a long way for a club as ambitious as Luton Town, and even though it might hamper the team in the short-term, the long-term effects of such funds will help the club in ways fans can’t even imagine.

Luton fans, would you be okay with the club selling some stars over the summer? Let us know!

This summer brings up the two year anniversary of Serge Aurier being at Tottenham, although the chances are he may not make it until the 31st August, which was the date he was signed for £23 million in 2017, as France Football has claimed that he’ll be sold this summer. You can read the story on the TEAMtalk website, but the fans aren’t happy.

The Lilywhites are all of the agreement that Serge Aurier is the best right-back they have at the club at the moment, even if that isn’t saying much at all. The only reason that the Ivorian can claim that tag is because he’s competing with Kieran Trippier, who is still struggling to find the form he managed at the World Cup last summer, with Spurs suffering as a result of the defender’s awful performances.

Of the three right-backs that the club have on their books at the moment, only Kyle Walker-Peters is one who the fans are happy to keep over the summer, and whilst they seem gutted that Aurier could be on his way out, it’s only because that implies Trippier will stay. Mauricio Pochettino has used Aurier as his Champions League right-back with Trippier in the Premier League, and if one of them was to go the fans are all in agreement it should be Trippier.

You can read the Lilywhites’ thoughts on the Aurier news here:

The feeling isn’t that Spurs fans want to keep Aurier, they’d just rather see Trippier go if it was between the two and in an ideal world both would be on the move when the summer comes around.

Barnsley had gone a remarkable total of 118 days unbeaten in League One before they faced Burton Albion on Saturday.

During this period, Daniel Stendel’s Tykes played 20 games and amassed a total of 44 points which saw them move into second place behind runaway leaders Luton Town. With only six games to play before the end of the season, it was looking increasingly likely that the Yorkshire-based outfit were going to extend their run up to May.

However, the Brewers had different ideas at the weekend as goals from Jamie Allen, Liam Boyce and Marcus Harness secured the victory for the home side at the Pirelli Stadium and thus snapping Barnsley’s streak.

Although the defeat to Burton was compounded by victories for promotion challengers Sunderland and Portsmouth, it may have been a blessing in disguise for the Tykes. During their run, they dropped points in no fewer than eight of their games which allowed their rivals to keep within striking distance of them.

It could be argued that the value of remaining unbeaten during this period inadvertently prevented Barnsley from going all out for victories and so by losing at the weekend, they may in fact benefit over the next month.

Indeed, the fact that Sunderland have the same amount of points as the Tykes but still have two games in hand means that Stendel’s side no longer are in control of their own destiny yet they remain in a good position to secure automatic promotion if the Black Cats slip-up.

However, even if they are usurped from the top two positions in May, the Tykes will still have a second chance of achieving promotion via the play-offs, which they have a great recent relationship with. In 2006, Barnsley achieved promotion from League One by defeating Swansea City in the final whilst a decade later they repeated the feat by emerging victorious over Millwall. A third consecutive victory in the knock-out competition therefore would not be entirely out of the question, especially when you consider how well Stendel’s side have been playing this season.

What do you think Barnsley fans? Can your side bounce back from defeat at Burton? Would you be confident of them securing promotion via the play-offs this season? Get in touch below.

Celtic fans must be getting bored of winning trophies as their side continue to dominate in Scotland, with yet another treble on the cards in the current campaign. 

The Hoops have plenty to be pleased about in terms of how their season has panned out but one thing that could spoil the mood is a summer departure, as according to Daily Record, Kieran Tierney has been on the radar of Manchester United, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.

Of course, losing the youngster would be devastating as he has the potential to become a superstar if he continues to develop. But, selling the defender would result in a large fee, which would help the Glasgow club massively as they look to strengthen in the summer transfer window.

One player who could come in as a replacement for the Scotland international is Sunderland’s Bryan Oviedo.

Interestingly, Celtic were linked (as per AS, via Read Celtic) with a move for the Costa Rica international back in the January transfer window, but nothing developed.

The South American has produced six assists in League One this season with his attacking style constantly causing problems down the left-hand side. He shares a similar playing style to Tierney as he loves to bomb forward and influence the game in the final third, as well as being able to track back and put a tackle in.

Oviedo’s experience could work wonders for the Hoops in Europe as their current squad lacked experience in this year’s competition. And, he’s at the peak of his powers at this moment in time, so now would be the best time to bring him to Parkhead with Tierney possibly leaving this summer.

Celtic fans, would you like to see Oviedo replace Tierney if he leaves this summer? Join the discussion by commenting down below! 

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Carlton Cole believes that West Ham United’s academy is back doing what it does best after the emergence of Declan Rice, per the Daily Mail.

What’s the word?

Rice has emerged as a genuinely elite central midfielder in east London this season under the management of Manuel Pellegrini.

Rice has made 36 appearances in all competitions, enjoying excellent displays against the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United.

His performances have been such that he has been recognised by England boss Gareth Southgate, who handed the 20-year-old his international debut in the Euro 2020 qualifying win over the Czech Republic in March. After coming on as a substitute in that game, he played 90 minutes in the 5-1 thumping of Montenegro.

And Cole, who is currently working with the club’s Under-18 team, is excited by his development, with the former Hammers striker confident that more brilliant youngsters can come through the academy system at the London Stadium.

He said: “West Ham went a bit stale for a good few years. The last person to properly make it was Jack Collison or James Tomkins.

“Zavon Hines did okay. Freddie Sears has gone and made a good career for himself elsewhere. After that it went stale. It is hard to make it in the Premier League.

“Now, you can see the likes of Declan Rice, Grady Diangana, and recently Ben Johnson who made a first team debut up at Manchester City, which was a very proud moment.

“We have a few good younger boys – Conor Coventry we’re hoping to feed in soon. There is a lot going on at West Ham and these are exciting times with our new state of the art facilities down at Chadwell Heath.”

A shining example

Rice is perhaps the best young player currently in his position in England.

It is remarkable that he has risen as he has under Pellegrini, making the first-team his home and becoming an England international after switching allegiance from the Republic of Ireland.

It remains to be seen how high he can go.

Reports have linked Rice with a mega-money move away from West Ham; Manchester City are regularly touted as potential suitors.

One thing is for sure. There is a great deal of money to be made from academy graduates.

West Ham will be harvesting a particularly excellent crop when Rice eventually moves on, and they will be hoping Cole is right, and that he truly is the first of many.

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Despite guiding his boyhood team to promotion to the Premier League there are still signs that Chris Wilder is unsettled at Bramall Lane as he spoke to Sky Sports News (29 April, 12:15pm).

The Blades manager has been in charge at the club since 2016 and has previously called into question the ownership.

The Yorkshire outfit are currently jointly-owned by local businessman Kevin McCabe and Saudi Arabian Prince Abdullah bin Musa’ad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. Both men have been trying to buy each other out. this has led to a lack of financial backing much to the displeasure of the manager.

Unhappy history

Last year Wilder called into question his future at the club saying that he would struggle to continue if the issues behind the scenes weren’t resolved.

“It’s 100 per cent critical it gets resolved,” he said. “I can’t do my job properly unless there is a direction and decision from them.

“Any club that wants to be successful has to have harmony, direction and a plan. There isn’t a plan, there isn’t direction, and there isn’t harmony either. That, unfortunately, is fact.

“If it stays the same, I don’t think anybody would be surprised if I didn’t question where my career is going.”

Ongoing frustrations

Fast forward 12 months and Wilder is still at the helm but the issues behind the scenes are still there. McCabe and the Prince seem to be at a stalemate and Wilder’s comments on Sky Sports News show that he isn’t hopeful ahead of the upcoming transfer window despite the club’s promotion.

Speaking on Sky Sports News (April 29, 12:15pm) the manager said:

“It’s not an open chequebook culture here, we’ve got players who will play in the Premier League who played for us in League One.”

The 51-year-old surely isn’t looking to play the same players who he utilised in League One due to loyalty or by choice. Financial restraints are holding Sheffield United back and these latest comments by Wilder perhaps show his frustrations with the ownership creeping back in.

The fact of the matter is that the only player in the current Blades squad who cost over £4 million is John Egan, a transfer which was subsided by the £11.5 million sale of David Brooks.

Former Wigan & Fulham man, Jimmy Bullard recently showed that he’s still got it! Check out the video below…

Although he has been able to produce incredible results on a shoestring budget so far, winning promotion twice in three years. The Blades boss has every right to complain if he doesn’t receive the funds required to keep his team in the Premier League next season.

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Aston Villa sealed an incredible tenth win on the bounce at the weekend by beating Millwall 1-0 and with it, they also wrapped up their play-off place.

It’s been a brilliant campaign for the Villans and also for John McGinn who rather than celebrating Jonathan Kodjia’s winning goal last Monday, went straight for a drink instead of his teammate.

Reacting to the video that was shared on Twitter, Villa fans responded with plenty of comments regarding McGinn’s fitness.

The player has become known as someone who never stops running and the Villa Park faithful were quick to recognise this. One supporter said he was refuelling for his fourth marathon of the game whilst another fan said he needed the extra fuel in his tank.

A further tweeter claimed that the 24-year-old was an absolute machine.

The midfielder has been in scintillating form since joining the Midlands club last summer and has scored six times in the Championship. He’s assisted nine goals too.

However, he’s also amounted 13 yellow cards which means if he were to claim two more before the play-offs, he’d miss the rest of the campaign through suspension.

Here’s what Villa fans have been saying about him.

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Arsenal’s draw with Brighton on Sunday all but ended their hopes of a top four finish, leaving the Gunners with just one plausible route to Champions League qualification: winning the Europa League.

The Brighton draw was the final nail in the coffin for some Arsenal fans, who’ve witnessed the team deliver a horrendous string of performances when it mattered most. The North Londoners looked clear to achieve Champions League qualification through a top four finish with many claiming they had a better end-of-season run-in.

It wasn’t to be as defeats to Everton, Wolves, Crystal Palace and Leicester almost sealed their fate. Beating Brighton would have left Arsenal with a decent chance of a top four finish going into the final game of the season, but the reality is, this chance is now gone barring a major swing in goal difference.

Unai Emery undoubtedly needs time as Arsenal manager and it wasn’t all going to change over night. One year isn’t enough to implement a full footballing philosophy, as proven my Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp.

Despite that, some Arsenal fans started to turn on the Spanish boss after last week’s defeat at Leicester, and it seems the pressure is only getting worse as more fans lose patience…