Celtic fans aren’t holding back in criticism of Scott Brown

Loads of Celtic fans have been reacting to a rather bizarre incident after the defeat to CFR Cluj, as Scott Brown “liked” a tweet slamming manager Neil Lennon.

It’s fair to say the Parkhead faithful were a little confused when the team was announced on Tuesday.

The Hoops welcomed Cluj to Glasgow knowing any victory or goalless draw would send them through, but were beaten 4-3 after a truly remarkable second half.

The defence was all over the place as Callum McGregor was tasked with defending the left flank and big summer signing Christopher Jullien was left on the bench, prompting heavy criticism of Lennon from some fans.

Brown then liked a tweet from one such fan, but has since apologised, claiming he liked the tweet by accident while scrolling through Twitter.

The skipper has looked lethargic at times this season and gave away a penalty on Tuesday with a rather foolish attempt at a sneaky handball, and fans have not taken kindly to his antics on social media after the match, with several telling the skipper to either leave or take off the armband.

Take a look at some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

[ad_pod ]

Spurs Predicted XI: Pochettino should bring Son in for Newcastle clash

Tottenham Hotspur will look to continue their unbeaten run in the Premier League, after their luck with VAR against Manchester City repeated itself last week, ensuring Mauricio Pochettino and his men left the home of the Premier League champions with a point.

Indeed, Spurs will welcome Newcastle United to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium later on today in their next Premier League fixture. The Magpies conceded three goals against Norwich City last time out and are yet to secure their first point of the campaign, so they’ll be hungry to get themselves up and running.

Nevertheless, with Spurs’ unbeaten record at stake, how will Mauricio Pochettino set his team up?

Kyle Walker-Peters has had to step up this season because of the sale of Kieran Trippier to Atletico Madrid, and it’s fair to say that he’s doing a rather solid job as the academy graduate was named as Spurs’ best defender last time out (as per Express) against Manchester City, despite partly being at fault for City’s first goal.

Alongside him in defence, Davinson Sanchez and Toby Alderweireld should keep their places having built a partnership in the opening two games, despite shipping three goals already. Although, Jan Vertonghen could soon enter the fray if things don’t go to plan at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium later on today.

With Tanguy Ndombele out, perhaps Eric Dier could come into shore up the engine room. Indeed, while the Magpies have struggled this season, the likes of Allan Saint-Maximin and Miguel Almiron have averaged over 1 dribble per game, so turning to a man who averaged 1.3 tackles over the same period could be a good idea.

Indeed, with Son Heung-Min readily available after his suspension, Lucas Moura could shift out to the left and therefore force Christian Eriksen into the centre, which could result in Erik Lamela being dropped to the bench, despite receiving the highest rating (8/10) of any player for his performance against Manchester City (as per Express). The Lilywhites are set to face up against Arsenal in the north London derby next weekend, so it would make sense for Pochettino to give Son a healthy amount of minutes today in order to get him up to speed.

Harry Kane bagged a brace on the opening day of the season against Aston Villa, so he’ll be looking to build on his tally in what will be the club’s second home game of the campaign.

Furthermore, Dele Alli looks set for one more week on the sidelines, whilst summer signing Ryan Sessegnon and defender Juan Foyth remain unavailable for at least another three weeks, as Ben Davies rejoined the team this week.

West Ham not intending to rush into free agent market

[ad_pod ]

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

West Ham have no plans to sign a free agent following Javier Hernandez’s departure from the club, per ClaretandHugh.

What’s the word?

The Hammers sold Chicharito to Sevilla on Monday, the final day of the Spanish transfer window.

It means that manager Manuel Pellegrini is left with summer signings Sebastian Haller and Albian Ajeti as his out-and-out forward options.

Indeed, the Irons also allowed Marko Arnautovic, Andy Carroll, Jordan Hugill and Lucas Perez to leave the club in the summer.

But ClaretandHugh reports that the Irons have little interest in bringing in another striker on a free transfer outside of the usual market.

Makes sense

There is very little value out there when it comes to players who could actually add some genuine quality to the team.

Wilfried Bony is available, the former Swansea City and Manchester City striker, but the fact that he is without a club should set alarm bells ringing.

The same goes for pretty much every free agent out there; the Hammers have done good business in bringing in Haller and Ajeti and they will have to trust that they are both good enough.

Watch West Ham United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Indeed, sources at the club have told Football FanCast that they have confidence in Andriy Yarmolenko’s ability to play through the middle, while Michail Antonio will also be able to fill in once he returns from injury.

There is no need to rush into a panic buy.

[ad_pod ]

Newcastle must be ruthless over futures of Jack Colback and Henri Saivet

[ad_pod ]

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

According to The Chronicle’s Mark Douglas, fringe players Jack Colback and Henri Saivet could be shown the Newcastle exit door.

What’s the word?

The duo have hardly featured for the Magpies over the past couple of seasons, with both finding themselves out on loan last year.

Now, in a Newcastle Q & A on The Chronicle, Douglas has shed some light on whether the pair could finally be set for a St James’ Park exit.

Watch Newcastle United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

He said: “Colback was a bit unfortunate in that he didn’t have long to find a club because for a few weeks after Steve Bruce came in, it looked as if he was back in the fold. His wages are Premier League standard and that’s the trade off for another six wasted months in a career that promised so much at one point. No League One club could afford him and he didn’t want to move abroad. He’s out of contract in the summer so NUFC will listen to low offers in January.

“Saivet is a different story. He’s another on big money with a contract until 2021 and might just be the most expensive mistake of recent times at St James’ Park. Bruce is the third manager who has taken a look and decided he’s not for him so who knows, United might try and come to an agreement.”

Ruthless

Both Colback and Saivet are the very definitions of what it means to be a fringe player at a club. At 29 and 28, they’re hardly spring chickens, and have arguably hit the peak years of their careers already. So for them to not even be considered good enough at this age gives Steve Bruce a simple decision in what he has to do.

Getting rid of the duo in January for whatever money they can get will be a job well done. The fees really don’t even matter. Whilst Mike Ashley may have loosened the purse-strings a little this year, the Magpies have to ensure they keep their finances in check. Clearing out Colback and Saivet from their books would be another step forward in the right direction.

[ad_pod ]

The image of Gareth Bale that nobody saw coming

Real Madrid visited Villarreal in their latest La Liga match last weekend. And it was another thriller for Los Blancos and Zinedine Zidane, to say the least.

The Whites were twice trailing going 1-0 and 2-1 down before they managed to salvage a point, which was their fifth overall before the start of the international break.

By their high standards, this hasn’t been the ideal opening.

Watch Spanish Football Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

But it could’ve been even worse had Gareth Bale, of all people, not arrived to aid his team when they needed him the most, bagging two goals on the night and making sure they head into the break undefeated.

And the photo below truly encapsulates what happened that night against Villarreal and just how important the Welshman was.

This is an image very few could have anticipated during a tempestuous summer.

Indeed, Bale looks like a key part of the squad once again in the embrace of his teammates.

Not many would’ve expected this to be possible just a couple of weeks ago when Zidane was seemingly rooting for Bale to be sold.

Their relationship has been bogged down in real turmoil as of late but it seems that they have called for a truce, at least for the time being, and the Frenchman has accepted him as part of the squad.

If these early signs are any indication, Bale, much to the surprise of the footballing world, might just play a significant role at Real Madrid this season whether Zidane likes it or not.

[ad_pod ]

Nottingham Forest fans hoping for Zach Clough comeback after Under-23s goal

[ad_pod ]

Nottingham Forest manager Sabri Lamouchi had a bit of a fire sale on deadline day last week.

Arvin Appiah departed for pastures new in Spain with the club landing an £8m fee in the process while Liam Bridcutt, Jason Cummings and Daryl Murphy all dropped a division into League One.

The Frenchman probably would have liked to see a few more leave the club, but it wasn’t to be.

One of those is Zach Clough, who has become quite the outcast at the City Ground.

The 24-year-old joined the club in January 2017 from Bolton Wanderers and has only made 31 appearances, scoring four times.

Within a year he was back on loan at the Trotters and spent the duration of last season at Rochdale, where he netted just one goal in 13 appearances.

This week, Clough was named in Forest’s Under-23 side to face Ipswich Town’s Under-23s, and he bagged a goal in the 3-1 victory, which has led to several supporters talking him up on social media.

One member of the Reds faithful joked that it was the start of the biggest personal comeback since Noel Edmonds started Deal or No Deal.

Another fan hopes the £3m man has got his career back on track, labelling him a “great player” on his day while a further supporter believes he has been short of confidence because of a lack of game time.

You can read more of the reaction below!

[ad_pod ]

Exclusive: Jason McAteer lauds Fabinho after defeat in Naples

[ad_pod ]

Liverpool were beaten in Naples for the second year running on Tuesday night, and Jason McAteer has given his thoughts on the clash exclusively to Football FanCast, in partnership with GentingBet.

The Reds were victim of a controversial penalty decision at the San Paolo Stadium, as Jose Callejon appeared to already be going to ground before Andy Robertson clipped him.

McAteer shared his view on the incident: “No, I didn’t (think it was a penalty). I thought the referee got it wrong.

“It was a weak one, Robertson asked the question of the referee to make a decision, but it would be nice to see the referee take a stance against people clattering into defenders and falling over and diving.”

The second goal came courtesy of a mix-up between Virgil van Dijk and the rest of the back-line, and although the Reds have have kept just one clean sheet this campaign, the former Kop ace is not concerned by the issues at the back.

“For 80 minutes we were worth a point and I think if you had offered Jurgen (Klopp) that he would have taken it.

“It’s obviously raising question marks because of the defensive form we had last season, but there are going to be times when other teams create chances, are clinical and we are going to concede goals.

“I’m not pointing that at Adrian, but to lose a ‘keeper of Alisson’s quality, when he’s got the understanding of the four in front of him, it is a big loss.”

Fabinho was undoubtedly the Reds’ star player on the night with 95% passing and six tackles, and McAteer was absolutely full of praise for the Brazil international.

“He gives the manager a license to be more expansive with the two players alongside him.

“He’s slowly becoming a cult hero at the club, more or less now he’s the first name on the team-sheet. I’m a big fan of his, I wouldn’t put him quite in N’Golo Kante’s bracket just yet, but he’s certainly not far away.”

Elsewhere in the group, Erling Haaland stole the headlines with a hat-trick for Red Bull Salzburg, and speaking on his upcoming battle with van Dijk, McAteer said: “He’s still a young lad, it will be a good test to come up against arguably the greatest defender in the world.

“Playing for Salzburg is different to playing for one of the top, top clubs. It’s whether he gets the service and whether Salzburg have enough of the ball.

“But for him as a learning curve you always want to put yourself against the best, and I’m sure he’ll learn from the experience.”

Klopp’s side will welcome the Austrian outfit to Anfield on October 2.

GentingBet are running a special new customer offer ahead of Chelsea vs Liverpool this Sunday. To find out more visit here. 18+ begambleaware.org.

West Brom’s lack of clean sheets could be by-product of goalkeeper complacency

[ad_pod ]

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

West Brom are clearly loving life under Slaven Bilic as they still hold the acclaim of being the only unbeaten side in the Championship.

Their run of four wins and four draws sees them occupy fourth position just one point off the duo leading the league in Leeds and Swansea.

That doesn’t necessarily mean everything is perfect, however.

The Baggies currently haven’t recorded a clean sheet in any of their eight matches which leaves them with the joint-sixth worst defensive record in the league – none of the three teams above them have conceded more either.

In defence, only the full-backs have chopped and changed – in the most part because of injury – with Darnell Furlong, Nathan Ferguson and Kieran Gibbs all playing their part by featuring in five or more games.

But the core of the backline has remained the same throughout all their league fixtures.

Goalkeeper Sam Johnstone and centre-backs Semi Ajayi and Kyle Bartley have played all 720 minutes on offer this season yet none have managed to keep the ball out of the net in at least one match.

Watch West Bromwich Albion Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Thus, they could be one of the causes behind West Brom’s struggles.

Albion have picked up 15 of their 16 points from a losing position, which means they’ve pretty much been behind in almost every single game too.

That’s impressive in itself, but it is something that needs to be eradicated as Football FanCast have previously mentioned here.

These goals are usually from individual errors too and that’s when you start to see who the real culprits are.

After their 3-2 win over Blackburn Rovers, Matt Wilson, formerly of Express & Star said: “Every goalkeeper makes mistakes, but Johnstone is now making them too regularly. He spilled an easy header here.”

His comments imply that the Baggies shot-stopper has been somewhat error-prone this season.

Is the Emirates home to the worst limbs in football? Decide for yourself by watching the video below…

The 26-year-old has a saves per game success rate of just 68% while only 50% of his long balls are accurate, which could be the reason behind why he loses possession 9.3 times per match.

Per SofaScore, Johnstone has also made two errors, one leading to a goal and one leading to a shot this season.

Bilic could use either Jonathan Bond or Ali Al-Habsi to give the former Manchester United man a reminder that his place amongst the side isn’t guaranteed.

Goalkeepers often find themselves too comfortable knowing they are unlikely to lose their starting spot, but Bilic can’t afford to let any complacency slip in as the season goes on.

Leeds fans react with concern to news of Adam Forshaw’s injury

Leeds have been dealt another setback with an injury blow to Adam Forshaw, who looks set to miss the visit of West Brom according to Marcelo Bielsa.

The midfielder had only just returned from injury in the match against Charlton last weekend, but the hip problem he picked up before the last international break looks to be a recurring issue, and has ruled him out once more.

In his absence Leeds won one and drew one, but with Slaven Bilic’s Baggies flying high at the top of the table it promises to be a tough game, leading some fans to suggest that Tyler Roberts should take the 27-year-old’s place.

Watch Leeds United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Roberts hasn’t featured yet this season but impressed in the last campaign with three goals and six assists in 31 appearances under Bielsa.

If fit, he could get a chance to prove himself, and it could prove a lucky break for both the player and the team, who have suffered a slight dip in form with no win in two matches.

Despite that, some fans believe Forshaw’s injury will be a big miss to the side, and it has led to a bit of pessimism, though others look to the involvement of Roberts as a reason for encouragement.

Aston Villa fans swoon over Axel Tuanzebe after Man United start

This week’s Monday Night Football offering gave us a look at an all-time classic, but one that in this era is more Poundland than Marks & Spencer.

Manchester United versus Arsenal has always been one of the battles to look out for – think Fergie and Arsene Wenger; Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira; or that Ruud van Nistelrooy penalty incident with Martin Keown.

It’s now a fixture captained by Ashley Young and Granit Xhaka… how times have changed.

Watch Aston Villa Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Up in the west Midlands, circumstances have too transformed in a much shorter space of time – Aston Villa have gained a second chance at the top-flight having been absent for the past three seasons.

Players have come and gone this summer in the same way that the fierce rivalry mentioned has over the past two decades.

One of Villa’s promotion winners played in the fixture on Monday night as Axel Tuanzebe lined up for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men at left-back due to several players being on the injury table.

His appearance and resulting performance has sparked a reaction from numerous fans in B6.

One supporter claimed that 21-year-old is a future England centre-back while a further member of the Villa Park faithful suggested that he was the best player on the pitch.

Another fan also said he missed the defender as much as Tammy Abraham with one more stating he felt like a proud father watching their former man in action.

Here’s the best of the reaction:

Game
Register
Service
Bonus