All posts by n8rngtd.top

For Neil Lennon, it is now or never at Celtic. For the sake of his job security and for the sake of the club’s future, they have to start winning games sooner rather than later.

They are 23 points behind Rangers in their quest for ten in a row, an achievement that now seems completely out of the realms of possibility.

Thoughts of succeeding in such a quest have become merely a fantasy and they have to improve. Thus, could change be on the cards?

On the chalkboard

One of Celtic’s biggest underperformers in recent weeks and months has been Ryan Christie.

The winger scored 20 times and provided 16 assists last term but in 2020/21, he has been a shadow of his former self.

Christie has scored just once in his last 16 matches – a peach in the Scottish Cup final – but beyond that strike, he has been a huge disappointment. Coincidentally, it seems to have curtailed with rumours of a move away.

Both Leeds and Arsenal have been touted as potential destinations but on the basis of his current form. He doesn’t deserve such a move.

His torrid time was typified in the 2-2 draw with Livingston last time out. He lost possession of the ball all too easily for their opener and then went onto surrender it on a further 16 occasions – the fifth-worst tally of anyone on the Celtic side.

He also failed to complete a single dribble which was down from his season average of 1.6 successful take-ons per match.

The solution

Given Celtic’s current plight, throwing lesser-seen players in at the deep end may be quite harsh.

Yet, they could well have something extra to prove to the manager. After all, if they can’t get a run in the side even when the senior figures are letting Lennon down, there isn’t much hope.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-this-weeks-latest-celtic-manager-stories” title=”Read this week’s latest Celtic news!”]

Therefore, we think the Celtic boss should take the surprising decision to axe Christie tonight and start none other than Mikey Johnston.

The 21-year-old has started on just two occasions this term and even with James Forrest out, hasn’t been able to work his way into the side.

Of course, a lengthy injury spell has played havoc with his chances but after playing from the off in two games during the club’s bout of illness, deserves another run in the side.

Johnston hasn’t been a regular with Celtic yet but demonstrated positive signs last season on his way to being described as a “real talent” by Chris Sutton. He scored and assisted on the opening day of the 2019/20 campaign against St Johnston and then earned plaudits after scoring off the bench versus Ross County.

He ended last term with six goals and six assists from only 22 appearances and it’s that potential, combined with a few glimmers in recent weeks that should earn him a start on Tuesday.

The youngster provided three key passes against Hibernian a few weeks ago – the most of anyone on the Celtic team while his three dribbles were only bettered by Tom Rogic on that occasion.

With that in mind, there’s no reason why he shouldn’t start against Hamilton tonight. He’s certainly shown better glimpses than Christie in recent weeks.

AND in other news, Celtic struck genius deal with £10k-p/w titan who’s “grabbing the bull by the horns”…

Mike Ashley should sanction a Newcastle United swoop for Celtic midfielder Olivier Ntcham to join Steve Bruce’s side before Monday’s transfer deadline.

What’s the word?

According to Sky Sports, the Toon have lodged an enquiry to sound out Ntcham’s availability as Bruce eyes the completion of a loan deal before the January window slams shut on Monday night.

The Hoops would favour a deal that carries an option to purchase the 24-year-old at the end of the season, as Ntcham is now inside the final 18-months of his £14,000-per-week contract.

Ntcham is said to have made it clear to Celtic that he wishes to leave Parkhead after being denied a move to Ligue 1 outfit Stade Brest on Deadline Day in the last transfer window, after the Hoops demanded £12m to part with the alleged former Southampton target.

Newcastle seemingly face competition from West Bromwich Albion in the race to sign the Frenchman, while a number of sides in the midfielder’s native country are also thought to be keen, with Celtic now said to value him at £7m.

Ntcham has only started 29% of the Hoops’ Premiership fixtures this term, with the former U21 international opening just seven of his 14 outings and not taking to the field at all since before Christmas.

Should Newcastle sign Ntcham?

A deal to sign Ntcham on loan with a view to a potential permanent deal at the end of the season is something Newcastle owner Ashley should very much consider sanctioning, as the 24-year-old is nowhere near his prime, yet he can offer Bruce an instant impact in the engine room.

Ntcham, lauded as an “excellent player” by Celtic icon John Collins, has been questioned for his inconsistency at times but has earned an array of interest over the years for being excellent on his day.

It was only last season that the Frenchman scored eight goals and provided four assists across all competitions, with strikes to his name in the Premiership, Europa League and both domestic cups.

He needed just two minutes on the field at Motherwell to score his only goal of the current campaign, too, having come on to replace Tom Rogic in the closing stages and soon tapping Odsonne Edouard’s pass into Aaron Chapman’s net. Only to then face exile at Parkhead.

Jonjo Shelvey was Bruce’s top-scorer in the Premier League last season, with the midfielder scoring eight goals. But Newcastle have only seen 10-goal forward Callum Wilson find the net more than Jeff Hendrick and Miguel Almiron this term, who are the only ones to have also hit home more than once.

Despite featuring little in the Premiership this season, Ntcham can additionally offer Bruce a creative output, as the 24-year-old has delivered 23 crosses into the box and directs 36.4% of his shots on target, per FBref. Only Jamal Lewis (28) and Ryan Fraser (25) have registered a greater number of crosses for the Toon in the Premier League this term.

So, if Celtic are receptive to a loan-to-buy deal, Ashley should absolutely be on the phone to get a deal across the line before Monday’s deadline passes, as the upsides far outweigh the negatives at the price Newcastle would likely have to pay.

AND in other news – Exclusive: Rob Lee slams “laughable” Newcastle and Steve Bruce decision…

Jeff Shi’s mantra at Wolves has been to recruit players while they’re young in order to develop them for the future.

Very few new faces are welcomed to Molineux as the finished article. Rui Patricio, Joao Moutinho and Willian Jose spring to mind when you consider their elder signings, but the general rule of thumb has been to invest in players with a vibrant potential ahead of them.

Some of their summer signings typified that. Wolves spent £35.6m on Fabio Silva in the hope that he comes good in a few years time while the likes of Rayan Ait-Nouri and Ki-Jana Hoever were further evidence of Shi’s desire to bring in young players.

Though, one addition from 2019 is yet to get much attention. That happens to be Hugo Bueno.

The 18-year-old signed from a tiny Spanish team called Arcosa after being recommended to Wolves scouts by observers on the continent.

It was a life-changing moment for the teenager who is now remarkably on the cusp of first-team football. He appeared on the bench when the Old Gold tasted defeat to Crystal Palace at the back end of last month, and judging by Wolves’ injury list, he should be unshackled by Nuno Santo.

The Molineux outfit are currently missing Rayan-Ait Nouri and Jonny in a left-wing back position while Marcal has also been out injured.

However, Nuno can ease the burden of those injuries by preparing Bueno for first-team action. After all, he seems to fit the bill of what Wolves want. Speaking in an interview with Marca (via Sport Witness) last year, the defender stated: “It was in January 2019. They liked me (Wolves scouts) a lot in the match they saw me, and they offered me to go there for a week to play with the under-18s.”

Bueno continued: “I accepted, of course. I played with the two friends. They told me that I was a perfect fit, but that they wanted me to come back, to be seen by more coaches.”

Nearly two years on and it’s difficult to argue with the assessment of the club’s scouts. He has been a key part of Wolves’ U23 side this term, playing 13 times in Premier League 2.

He has featured at left-back and further forward on the left of midfield while two assists certainly demonstrate that Bueno is someone who loves to get forward.

Possessed with plenty of energy, the Wolves website describes the teenager a “flying wing-back” and that’s exactly the type of thing the senior side are looking for right now.

Critically, though, is that he is composed in defence. He has made 1.5 tackles per game in the EFL Trophy this season against senior opposition while uring a 2-2 draw with Liverpool U23s in January last year, he dealt capably with one of their brightest young players.

Birmingham Live reporter Alex Dicken noted at full-time: “He was tasked with marking Harvey Elliot, who has drawn enviable comparisons to some of the game’s greats this season, but acquitted himself well.”

With a plethora of defensive injuries, it’s certainly not unreasonable to suggest Bueno could earn his senior debut soon. With that in mind, he must be readied for the physical battles ahead.

AND in other news, Nuno must unleash rarely-seen Wolves flop next term, Jota called him a “good signing”…

Speaking ahead of their clash with Dundee United this afternoon, Rangers boss Steven Gerrard shed light on another blow amid concerns surrounding Kemar Roofe – with the Gers manager confirming that defender James Taverner will miss at least ‘the next few’ games.

This has prompted BBC regular and pundit Noel Whelan to give his take on the situation to Football Insider, with the former Aberdeen striker describing it as a ‘massive’ blow for the Teddy Bears.

Indeed, heralded as a ‘key cog’ in Rangers’ system, Tavernier was replaced by Leon Balogun during their 4-3 Europa League win against Royal Antwerp – limping off after just 24 minutes.

Speaking ahead of Dundee, Gerrard confirmed that he will miss at least ‘the next few’ games with Roofe also looking out of action.

Whelan reacts to Tavernier injury blow for Rangers

“He’s been a key cog in that Rangers outfit – the captain there, the assists and goals he’s scored, set pieces as well let’s not forget,” explained Whelan to Football Insider.

“He is going to be a massive miss, they are going to be hoping it is not a very bad injury and they can get him back as quickly as possible because you need leaders out there and he’s been one all season.

“He’s been at the club a long time now, he’s really come into his own this year, not just for the goals and the assists but the performances, the leadership that he gives that team out there on the field as well

“That’s going to be a huge miss, an influential player like that could be missing in this really important run in.”

In other news: Rangers fans lauded this club update, find out more here.

Aston Villa could clinch a unique signing for Dean Smith by landing Sheffield United midfielder Sander Berge.

Reports in recent days have suggested that Villa are eyeing a move for the Norway international in the summer transfer window, with the Blades likely heading back to the Championship given that they are currently rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table with just 13 games remaining.

While signing a player from the Premier League’s worst side may not sound like the most exciting of captures, the kind of qualities Berge would be able to offer to Smith makes him a very intriguing prospect.

Standing at a towering 6 foot 5, the 23-year-old is unlike any of Villa’s current midfield options, and it’s something his manager at the Blades, Chris Wilder, has been quick to highlight.

He said: “Sander has been unique. He is the one who has stood out for us. He is a complete midfielder. He can play as 8s and as 6s. He can play in different formations. The wonderful thing about Sander is his attitude.

“Complete midfielders are like that. Look at Jordan Henderson (FWA’s Footballer of the Year last term). Sander should gain enormous confidence that he can play so well in various positions in the Premier League.”

Berge’s extra height and physicality marks him out as someone who would offer Smith something completely different to what he already has at his disposal, and so it’s no surprise that when it comes to duels won in the air (1.2 per game), the Norwegian comfortably betters any of Villa’s midfielders.

While Douglas Luiz and John McGinn have been Smith’s preferred partnership in central midfield, Berge’s arrival could add a different dimension to Villa’s engine room should the manager look to consolidate in games, or even go down the old ‘Marouane Fellaini as a number nine’ route if a goal’s needed instead.

Either way, like Wilder says, Berge is a “unique” talent and one that Johan Lange should consider bringing to the club.

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Dean Windass said that Brendan Rodgers would jump at the chance to replace Jose Mourinho at Tottenham, amid a report in The Daily Mail that he could be on their shortlist if the Portuguese departed.

The Leicester manager has done an outstanding job since taking over from Claude Puel at the King Power Stadium just over two years ago – with his Foxes outfit currently lying above Spurs in the Champions League spots in the Premier League.

Leicester missed out on finishing in the top four following their defeat to Manchester United on the final day of last season, but Rodgers has worked wonders once again, with his side on course to put right that wrong this term.

Meanwhile, Mourinho, who previously worked together with the 48-year-old in his first spell with Chelsea, has come under considerable pressure at Tottenham in recent weeks after watching his side drop down the standings, less than three months after they topped the Premier League.

Leicester may be above Tottenham in the table, but Windass doesn’t think that would prove a factor. When asked whether Rodgers would leave Leicester for Spurs, he told FFC:

“Yeah. I actually thought Brendan Rodgers would get the Arsenal job before Arteta. Brendan has been at Chelsea, he started his coaching career at Chelsea, didn’t he? Yeah, all day long. I think if they sack Mourinho or he walks, he should be the first one.

“That would be the first one on Daniel Levy’s list without a shadow of a doubt, and why wouldn’t you? You’d be a fool.”

Spurs are still left in the Europa League, in the Carabao Cup final and are are still within touching distance of the top four, so their season is very much alive.

But if results don’t continue and Mourinho is sacked, Rodgers would be a great appointment for the North Londoners. He’s pretty much done well wherever he’s gone, and Daniel Levy could certainly do far worse.

Southampton fans have been reacting to comments from Ralph Hasenhuttl ahead of their Premier League clash against Brighton on Sunday.

The Saints go into the match on the back of a 5-2 defeat to Manchester City on Tuesday, and they will be looking to get back to winning ways against a side currently struggling at the wrong end of the table. Ahead of the clash, he was discussing the south coast outfit’s transfer plans for this summer.

It seems Southampton could be busy at the end of the campaign. Hasenhuttl appears to have opened the door to a return of Mohamed Elyounoussi, who is currently on loan at Celtic, while he has also reportedly told the board that he would like to double-up in every position. The full-back role is said to be a priority.

The updates, which were shared on Twitter by Tom Leach, have attracted plenty of attention from the club’s supporters. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the comments from Hasenhuttl below

“How’s Elyounoussi got on at Celtic then?”

Credit: @DanJean09

“Elyounoussi – it’s a ‘NO’ from me.”

Credit: @L1minus10

“Hopefully this comes off”

Credit: @PSmith1994

“We’ve been asking for us to double up in every position for years It seems the board is about 5 years behind what the fans see”

Credit: @w1lkins82_mark

“Looks like plans are in place for the summer could be a very interesting summer!!! Hopefully a bit of deadwood gone freeing up funds for 2 or 3 quality players to come in”

Credit: @gouldino

“How utterly depressing. We’re that skint we’ve no other option but to use players out on loan to provide much needed depth. They’re out on loan for a reason. Buzzing for the return of Elyounoussi, Hoedt, Valery, Lemina and Vokins in the summer”

Credit: @StuartWoods1986

In other news, Southampton fans react to this FA charge.

Andreas Sondergaard has spoken exclusively to Football FanCast about his decision to come to the Premier League and sign for Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Wolves’ young shot-stopper has been in and around the first team all season training and recovering with them, but also keeping up his match sharpness by playing for the under 23s.

This sort of environment and feeling involved in the whole club was a huge pull factor for Sondergaard when he made the decision to move to the Midlands at just 17-years-old.

Nuno Espirito Santo has already shown that he wants him to be amongst the first-team squad to gain valuable experience alongside two international keepers in Rui Patricio and John Ruddy.

To feel wanted was a big necessity for Sondergaard when he moved to England at a young age and not knowing anyone at the club so, to be welcomed and included in day-to-day training has helped him grow both on and off the pitch.

The 20-year-old explained to Football FanCast exclusively, what the key factors were in deciding to join Wolves.

“Definitely the environment,” Sondergaard said when asked for the reasons why he joined the club.

He went on to say: “I’d only heard good things about going to England and, that’s where you can learn the most.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/exclusive-andreas-sondergaard-wolves-premier-league” title=”Exclusive! Andreas Sondergaard talks all things Wolves”]

“Especially with the environment, because it is a tough environment. And there are so many other keepers to compete with, and there’s a lot of competition.

“So, it would only make you even better and again, I know the Premier League is the best league in the world. So it did attract me a lot to come here and grab the chance to come over here and yeah, do my best and hopefully, being able to achieve my goals.”

It was a huge decision to make as a 17-year old to move away to a foreign country to play football, especially in such a competitive position as a goalkeeper.

However, to make a young player feel like they belong at the club may go a long way in helping Sondergaard to become a future number one for the club.

Tottenham Hotspur star Harry Kane endured a nightmare evening as his side were beaten in the 132nd North London derby at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

Erik Lamela went from hero to zero, having scored an outrageous rabona to open the scoring in the first half, he then received his marching orders after a second booking for elbowing Kieran Tierney in the face.

The visitors could only muster up six attempts on goal all game, with only 50% of those being on target compared to the Gunners’ 13 shots, via SofaScore.

Kane found it difficult to have any sort of influence in the derby, a match he usually regularly turns up for – indeed, the England talisman is the all-time goalscorer in this very fixture (11 goals).

Throughout the 90 minutes, the 27-year-old contributed towards 50% of their total shots (three) and failed to find the net, aside from being caught offside for one strike, or really trouble Bernd Leno whatsoever.

Kane also had the second-fewest number of touches of any Spurs starter (27). Even the goalkeeper, Hugo Lloris, managed more touches (41) and he spent the same amount of time on the pitch as the striker.

That merely emphasises how ineffective the £108m-rated sensation was in such a crucial game.

What makes it worse is that from those 27 touches, he lost possession ten times, so it’s not as if he was suffering from a complete lack of service – he was just wasteful when given the chance.

It means Kane lost possession once every 2.7 touches, the worst of any Spurs player – even Moura, who lost possession a whopping 19 times, managed to keep hold of the ball for longer spells. He even struggled when having the ball, making only nine of 14 passes (64%).

The 48-time England international was pretty much nullified by the impressive defensive exploits of Gabriel and David Luiz as the Spurs striker won just 44% of his nine aerial duels, as per SofaScore.

Kane has contributed 16 goals towards Spurs’ total of 47 for the season (34%), so Mourinho was surely expecting to see more from just an influential player but in return, he got a shockingly lightweight and anonymous showing.

It was a performance that will undoubtedly leave him bitterly disappointed and hugely let down. He really needed Kane to step up more after Heung-min Son was withdrawn through injury and it wasn’t until the final 20 minutes that we saw some sort of spark.

It was a night to forget for Kane.

AND in other news, Exclusive: Spurs legend Mabbutt discusses Harry Kane…

Plenty of Crystal Palace fans have been reacting to an update regarding left-back Patrick van Aanholt on social media.

According to the Daily Mail, Turkish giants Galatasaray have offered the 30-year-old a three-year deal.

Van Aanholt’s current Palace deal expires at the end of the season, and it seems as if Galatasaray’s proposal could see the Dutch defender earn more than his current £55,000-a-week Eagles pay packet.

The former Sunderland man has been with Palace since a £9.45m move back in 2017 and has turned out on 130 occasions for the club during that time.

He’s only started 17 Premier League games this season, though, with youngster Tyrick Mitchell battling van Aanholt for a place in Roy Hodgson’s XI in recent months.

Palace fans react

@cpfc_xtra shared the Daily Mail’s report on Twitter on Monday afternoon. Their post received plenty of interaction, with these supporters not too worried over a Selhurst Park exit for the full-back.

“Seems ideal for everyone if he takes that tbh”

Credit: @Phillyconcarne

“I reckon he’s off then. He’ll do his thing there the style of football suits him better, he’ll play European football & get a pay rise.”

Credit: @diyar_kurnaz

“Sounds a great deal which I doubt we can match”

Credit: @StevofY

“Not bothered either way, wouldn’t break the bank to keep him.”

Credit: @SLN100

“Take it and go. You’re all over the place as a defender.”

Credit: @bellabiteme

“That’s great news for Patrick, the reality is that he is 31 and on big wages, it could well make sense for both club and player, if he goes then it should be with best wishes..”

Credit: @grovesymarmotte

In other news: Palace make enquiry for internaional midfielder on big money, find out more here.