Leeds fans have been reacting to a report claiming Paul Heckingbottom could leave the club this week, and they’re particularly excited by the possible arrival of Claudio Ranieri.
You know it’s been a bad few months when fans are celebrating the potential departure of a manager like they’ve just scored a goal, and that’s exactly what’s happening on Twitter right now.
According to a report from the Mirror, Leeds owner Andrea Radrizzani is considering Paul Heckingbottom’s future at the club, and could make a decision as soon as this week.
“Leeds owner Andrea Radrizzani is considering wielding the axe because he is unsure if Heckingbottom is the right coach to lead them next season,” said the Mirror report.
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The report continues to say the club have “already put out feelers” to a number of potential successors around Europe, and the bookmakers are only increasing the speculation, as Paddy Power suspended betting on former Leicester boss Claudio Ranieri moving to Elland Road.
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Leeds fans mostly agree that the Heckingbottom simply doesn’t have the nous or experience to take the club to where they want to be, and they’re particularly excited about the possible arrival of title winner Ranieri.
Fans have been discussing the reports on Twitter, and you can find some of the best reactions down below…
Queens Park Rangers almost sent their fans into meltdown earlier this week when they posted a picture of Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann on their official Twitter page.
Griezmann is being strongly linked with a move away from Atletico this summer, with Barcelona the favourites to sign the Frenchman.
And the attacker, who is valued at £90m by transfermarkt.co.uk, again revealed to disclose his future plans at a France press conference on Tuesday afternoon.
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Griezmann actually liked a tweet from QPR where the Championship club’s players discussed who could take home the World Cup Golden Boot this summer.
QPR pointed out what had occurred on their official Twitter page, and that led to a host of the club’s supporters commenting on the future of Griezmann.
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There is more chance of Panama winning the World Cup than Griezmann making the move to QPR this summer, but the R’s supporters can still dream of the impossible.
A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:
The 2018 FIFA World Cup features plenty of strong teams with a chance to take home the golden trophy from Russia, but if the first week of games have revealed anything, it’s that there’s no clear favourite.
Germany lost their opener 1-0 to Mexico, and Brazil drew with Switzerland 1-1 after a frustrating performance from Neymar. Only so much can be drawn from the first batch of games, but countries like Russia and Belgium have put themselves in prime position to advance with high goal differentials.
With that, Football FanCast was lucky enough to be joined by former England and Liverpool left winger John Barnes to discuss his thoughts on the summer of football on behalf of Just Eat. Barnes shared on his expectations on whom he expects to have a fruitful few weeks in Russia…
FootballFanCast.com: What country do you have confidence in to make its way to the final?
John Barnes: “I think Brazil will. But they didn’t play particularly well against Switzerland as they had issues with Neymar. I think Neymar was trying too hard and trying to do too much. He wants to be the star.
“Spain will be strong once again even though they lost their manager. But they’ve got lots of experienced players who are able to cope with that. And France – I think France are a very strong team with plenty of attacking players.
“An outside guess for me is Belgium because, player-for-player, they probably have the strongest team in the World Cup. They haven’t played as a team, but if you look at the individual players they have, if they can get some kind of team spirit and team passion rather than just being individuals, they could be a surprise.”
FFC: Do you think a few of the results of these early games might have potential consequences on who makes it to the knockout stage? Is there an actual chance that Germany or Brazil don’t make it?
JB: “I believe so, yes. Brazil drew the first game, but Germany losing their first game could have consequence. But they’re experienced. They can come through in the next two matches.
“What you will find is that you may have one or two upsets, but generally speaking because of the way the seeding is done, the top two seeds will normally go through to the last 16 and to the quarter-finals. And I think when the quarter-finals come, you’ll see seven of the top teams there.”
FFC: If you had to pick a lower tier nation to surprise everybody and go far into the knockout stage, who would you pick?
JB: : “Croatia. I think Croatia are very good. They’re very experienced. They’ve got good players. They’ve got a good understanding and a good coach. So, yeah, that would be my dark horse.”
FFC: You’ve said before you believe Diego Maradona to be the best footballer ever. He was on that Argentina team that beat England on their way to winning the World Cup in 1986. Do you see Messi having a chance of pulling off a similar feat for this Argentina, even though they had a lacklustre performance in game one?
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JB: Absolutely. Argentina are a decent side. He’s a fantastic player and still the best player in the world for me. Of course, Argentina are a team who, when it comes to the World Cup finals in the past, haven’t won.
“But it wouldn’t be beyond the realms of possibility for Argentina to win the World Cup. They’ve also got Sergio Aguero. They’ve got decent players, as much as they didn’t play particularly well in the first game. So, yeah, absolutely.
“But, Maradona for me is still is the best.”
Just Eat is offering hungry football fans who order on the Just Eat app between the 14th June and 15th July the chance to get their hands on limited edition 2018 Football Plates. There are four plates to collect and hundreds will be given away to celebrate the summer of football.
West Bromwich Albion should consider making a move for Newcastle United forward Aleksandar Mitrovic.
What’s the word?
Darren Moore could do with a fresh face in attack as he tries to steer the Baggies to Premier League promotion.
Salomon Rondon and Jay Rodriguez have been linked with moves away from The Hawthorns.
Mitrovic could be available this summer given that Newcastle allowed him to leave on loan to Fulham for the second half of last season.
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On Monday, TEAMtalk reported that the Magpies want £30m for the forward, who has informed the club that he wants to leave.
The publication claims that the hitman wants to join Fulham on a permanent basis, but the Cottagers are unwilling to exceed £20m.
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Why should West Brom get involved?
If Mitrovic is insistent on joining Fulham, then it may be difficult to prise him away from his desired choice.
However, it is worth the Baggies trying their luck considering how well the striker performed in the Championship last season.
The Serbian international, who is valued at £13.5m by Transfermarkt, scored 14 goals in 27 appearances in all competitions.
A major sticking point could be the price, though, if the Magpies are determined to pocket around £30m.
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To sweeten the deal, the Baggies could offer a player, such as Rondon, in a swap arrangement.
Tottenham fans are trying not to get carried away about the latest transfer story, as Gareth Bale’s agent emphasised the Welshman’s desire to play regular football.
Shortly after setting the world alight with a truly remarkable Champions League final goal, Bale got the transfer rumour mill going at full speed with his post match comments.
Tottenham and Manchester United have both been linked with moves for the electric Welshman, but most fans believed Spurs wouldn’t offer the transfer fee or wages required to get a deal done.
Jonathan Barnett, Bale’s agent, has renewed fans’ hopes of a shock return to North London though, as he told Sky Sports the 28 year-old has still not decided on his future.
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“I think we have to have a chat with Real Madrid and see where we’re going,” he said.
“He wants a better year than he had last year. He wants to play more, and that’s paramount to him. I think he’s one of the top three or four players on earth. For somebody like him, he has to play. It’s not about money.”
Barnett went on to say Bale wants to win the Ballon d’Or, but it’s his comments on wanting playing time over money that has really got Spurs fans talking.
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Bale may be suffering with plenty of injury problems, but he still managed 16 la Liga goals last season, and is the type of superstar signing that would really make the new stadium something special.
You can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…
Liverpool have been linked to a string of midfielders over the last couple of months, and another one has entered the fray.
According to French publication Le Progres, the Reds are keeping tabs on Lyon’s Tanguy NDombele, who joined the French outfit from Amiens on loan last season but is expected to sign a permanent deal.
If other clubs come in for the midfielder, Lyon could end up making a quick sale, and according to these latest reports, Liverpool have joined Tottenham Hotspur in a race for the 21-year-old.
NDombele impressed in his 47 appearances in all competitions for Lyon, and he contributed with seven assists and one goal.
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The France Under-21 international is also believed to have attracted the attention of Arsenal, Juventus, Manchester City and Roma.
There could be a major scramble for the midfielder’s signature, but some Liverpool fans would rather their club were not part of it and instead try to revive a deal for Nabil Fekir.
Saturday turned out to be a special day for Declan Rice, which left him with more than one reason to celebrate.
Not only did West Ham United secure a 3-1 win against Southampton to get themselves out of the relegation zone, but it was also his 100th appearance for the club, which he posted about on Instagram after the final whistle.
It is some achievement for the 21-year-old to have played so many times already, after making his debut with a cameo against Burnley on the last day of the 2016/17 season.
His progress is perhaps best embodied by the fact that he has also become an England international during that time.
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Looking at his performance against Southampton, he showed the maturity that has been characteristic of his game since breaking into the team.
He made three tackles, five clearances, three interceptions and two dribbles, while also winning five aerial duels.
His teammates have shown appreciation for the midfielder, with Robert Snodgrass, Angelo Ogbonna and Jeremy Ngakia commenting on his picture.
Rice’s original Instagram post, and the comments from his teammates, can be seen below:
Meanwhile, West Ham fans hailed one man’s performance against Southampton.
It was the common narrative to congratulate the resilience of West Brom and Everton this summer, but there was unquestionably not enough of a reality check from the collective media when they analysed their summer decision making.
Roberto Martinez and Bill Kenwright presided over the transfer saga of the summer as their defied the odds to keep John Stones at Everton, whilst the board at West Brom were equally stubborn in their efforts to retain Saido Berahino from the daring advances of a desperate Tottenham. This, if you’ve looked anywhere on the internet, is congratulated as a brilliant victory for the mid-table and a welcome two fingers up at the money throwing big boys; unfortunately, its not even halfway to being that simple.
The Baggies are not going to be pulling up any trees this year, whatever Pulis may think, and the potential revenue they could have gained from the sale of Berahino may have made a significant difference to their squad. At best, West Brom will comfortably avoid relegation and be set for the riches of the Premier League for another year to come. With the money that was on the table, surely West Brom could’ve added depth and quality across the squad and moved on a player who had upset the fans at the Hawthorns.
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Once a player has asked to leave the club, it almost always seems slightly foolhardy to force them to stay, however much you may want to. Saido Berahino is currently a talented individual, but lets not get carried away about his talent or what excellent things he could do for West Brom. The West Brom man is on the cusp of the England squad (by no means a regular) and is currently a very big fish in a small pond, the money that was on offer would have been massive for West Brom.
Everton were in a similar situation with Stones. The Toffees should’ve been licking their collective lips at a record deal for the centre-back, who I believe has the potential to be one of the very best, but the offers that Chelsea made could’ve seen Martinez add four or five quality players to his line-up. Yes, it would have left Everton extremely short at the back, but if they had accepted an offer with over a week to go in the window, there would have been plenty of time to reinforce a squad enough to challenge for Europe.
It is likely, in both cases, that they will never receive offers quite as lucrative as they reportedly did this summer and it could well come back to haunt them. Once both are tried to force a way out, the best thing either board could have done would be to maximise the fee they receive up front and move the deal on as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, this was not the option either club took and they are now left in a situation that they may well face repeatedly.
The retention of either player will not change the course of the season, particularly a centre back, whereas a reinvestment across the squad could’ve changed the fortunes of either manager. It would have been easy to speak separately of these transfer ‘sagas’, but the parallels are clear to see.
The fans, if social media is anything to go by, are ecstatic that their club has held off such significant offers, but there must be some who are worried that they turned down offers that were too good to be true.
The stubbornness shown by both Everton and West Brom was not the pragmatic route that they may have though it was, they will have to hope they have not lost out longer-term because of such an error.
Manchester United star David de Gea has been urged to stay at the club by former manager Quique Sanchez Flores, who is now in charge of Watford, according to reports from the Mirror.
De Gea was heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid during the summer, but the transfer broke down after a late submission of paperwork to the Spanish Football Association.
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And despite the Spain international penning a new Man United deal, De Gea is still expected to depart due to a £30million release clause inserted into his contract.
However, Watford boss Sanchez Flores, who gave De Gea his debut for Atletico Madrid, has urged the 25-year-old to continue his career with the Red Devils ahead of the two sides’ clash this weekend.
“When I arrived at Atletico Madrid he was third-choice keeper and after one month he was first, because he was amazing.
“I am really pleased with the evolution of David. He is in the top three best goalkeepers in the world. He has everything.
“I got a present after two years when we separated – it was a watch, antique, golden on a chain, that I have kept – so he is a very lovely guy.
“It would be perfect for David and for the Premier League to keep him in English football for long.
“He has learned a lot playing here in England.”
The Spanish gaffer also joked that he is praising the United goalkeeper too much, because he needs his team to score past him at Vicarage road on Saturday.
Flores added: “I’ve talked too much about De Gea because our objective is to score goals past him!
“When he sees my comments his confidence will grow and it will be very difficult to score goals past David De Gea.”
Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has claimed that his side can win the title this season, according to reports from the London Evening Standard.
Spurs are currently fourth on the table nine points off league leaders Leicester City, but Pochettino is adamant that his team has the capability to win the English top flight for the first time since 1961, refusing to rule out a challenge in the second half of the season.
“In football everything is possible,” he stated.
“The most important thing is the belief you can win every game. We are very young, we have a strong squad, we believe in ourselves and we keep working hard try to win every game.
“The last 10 games are very important, and how you get to that stage decides whether you can attack different objectives or achieve important things.
“People don’t realise the effort we made, and how hard our players work, because we are the youngest squad in the league.
“Sometimes the players deserve more praise for the position they are in. In football, everything can happen if you believe.
“We have a very strong squad with a strong mentality. Always you need time to develop your game and improve, but we are in a good place.
“We need only time to prove we have the quality to challenge for big things.”
Earlier in the campaign, Tottenham went on an unbeaten 14-game run but their streak came to a shock end against Newcastle United, who were then struggling near the relegation zone at the time.
But the Lilywhites are now back on track following a convincing 2-0 win against Pochettino’s former club Southampton last week, and will hope to grab all three points when they host Norwich City at White Hart Lane this weekend.
Sadly, they won’t have summer signing Clinton N’Jie available for the rest of the season, with the forward undergoing surgery to his knee.