All posts by n8rngtd.top

Glasgow Rangers fans are far from happy with comments from BBC journalist Chris McLaughlin on Twitter in the build-up to their trophy celebrations on Saturday.

This weekend, the Gers will finally be able to lift the Premiership trophy – the title itself has long since been won. Unfortunately, fans will be unable to be inside Ibrox to take in the trophy ceremony after the clash against Aberdeen, but there is likely to be plenty of supporters celebrating together in Glasgow.

McLaughlin, who is banned from Ibrox after previous negative stories against the Gers (The Daily Record), previously said Rangers are unhappy with other gatherings taking place in the city over the past few days, such as the Solidarity with Palestine protest in Govan Square – Rangers have been forced to implore fans to refrain from meeting up in large groups.

When asked about his comments on Twitter, McLaughlin revealed he had chats and message exchanges with those close to to the story. This attracted plenty of attention from the fans, and they took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about McLaughlin below

“No one at Rangers gives you the time of day, we treat you with the contempt you deserve so you are lying”

Credit: @Sweeney_T_SPB

“Liar.”

Credit: @christywhyte1

“So basically an outright lie then Chris?”

Credit: @pauljpwilson

“That’s about as vague as you can get Chris…..”

Credit: @TommyStark1980

“Just spouting utter nonsense again McLaughlin…. hope you never get the opportunity to darken our door again!”

Credit: @_fadgie_

“No. Chris is just a rangers hater and and negative angle he can put on a rangers story gets him stiff.”

Credit: @mancalledczar

In other news, Rangers eye this Ligue 1 star.

Celtic are going about their proposed move for Eddie Howe ‘in the right way’, Kevin Campbell has told Football Insider.

It was reported at the beginning of April that the Hoops were on the verge of appointing Howe, but no official announcement has been forthcoming. Football Insider claimed that a “wonderful offer” is on the table for the 43-year-old.

John Kennedy has been in interim charge at Parkhead since Neil Lennon resigned at the end of February.

‘Eddie Howe may be putting together his backroom team’

Campbell reckons that the Hoops are keen to show Kennedy, who has been part of the coaching team for a decade, as much respect as possible in their handling of the appointment, and he suspects that Howe may be ‘working quietly in the background’.

The former Arsenal striker told Football Insider: “It seems a little strange that it is taking so long but perhaps they are waiting to announce it out of respect for John Kennedy. I think an announcement will be made at the end of the season.

“It does not faze me. If it is going to be Eddie Howe, he would want to pay his respects to the incumbent.

“Howe may be putting together his backroom team and working quietly in the background before it gets announced.

“I think the club are going about it in the right way even though it does seem as if it is taking an age.”

Celtic nearing finish line after season to forget

Celtic are just two games away from bringing their dismal season to an end. They host St Johnstone a week on Wednesday before travelling to Hibernian the following Saturday.

With Rangers 23 points ahead and Hibs 14 points behind the Hoops in second place, it’s all about salvaging some pride for the rest of the campaign.

Transfer Tavern verdict

It’s understandable if some Celtic fans are feeling frustrated and uneasy and may be wondering what’s causing the apparent delay in appointing Howe. Has the deal hit a snag?

Above all, though, you sense that supporters just want a glimmer of hope that the deal could still go through, particularly after two galling defeats by Rangers in as many weeks.

Hopefully Campbell’s suggestion that the particulars of Howe’s appointment are being executed in the background turns out to be accurate.

In other news, read this pundit’s bold prediction about Eddie Howe’s tenure.

According to Alasdair Gold, Tottenham are interested in appointing Erik ten Hag as their new manager.

Spurs eye Ten Hag

Following the sacking of Jose Mourinho, it had been suggested that Julian Nagelsmann was heavily on Spurs’ radar (Daily Mail). However, he has now been confirmed as the new Bayern Munich manager.

In a Q&A for football.london, Gold revealed THAT Ten Hag is one of a number of managers on the north London outfit’s shortlist.

Fantastic option

With the likes of Bayern (Sky via bulinews.com) and Barcelona (Sport) being previously linked with the Dutchman, it is perhaps a surprise that he is still at Ajax. He has done a marvellous job in Amsterdam – he is closing in on his second Eredivisie title at the Johan Cruyff Arena, has averaged 2.32 points per game during his time at the club (Transfermarkt) and also took them to the Champions League semi-finals in the 2018/19 season.

He also has a reputation of developing younger players, with the likes of Matthijs de Ligt and Frenkie de Jong flourishing under his tutelage. Quite frankly, there are few better coaches in Europe that Daniel Levy could target, and he certainly seems attainable.

In other news, this Spurs hero has thrown his hat into the ring for the vacant position.

Plenty of Crystal Palace fans have been reacting to Roy Hodgson’s comments on defenders Mamadou Sakho and James Tomkins on social media. 

Hodgson was talking to the media ahead of the Eagles’ trip to Leicester City on Monday and had some ‘good news’ to share.

As posted by the club’s official Twitter page, Hodgson said:

“We’ve got a lot of players back which is good news. Mamadou Sakho – even James Tomkins is out there training. So in fact, this is as big a group as we’ve had training for a long time.”

Sakho has missed the majority of the season through injury, with the 31-year-old, who is out of contract at Selhurst Park this summer, making just three Premier League starts.

Tomkins, meanwhile, has also been absent for large parts of the campaign. He’s made just four Premier League appearances from the off this season and hasn’t been in a matchday squad since January.

Palace fans react

As to be expected, the return of Sakho and Tomkins had plenty of Palace fans talking on social media, with fans hoping to end the season on a strong note after it looked like it was going to just peter out following the heavy defeats to Tottenham and Chelsea.

This is what some had to say in reply to the club’s Thursday afternoon post, with some hoping to see the pair alongside each other before the end of the current campaign.

“I’m not used to so much good news in one thread! Oh my”

Credit: @ljbrameld

“My CBs”

Credit: @danofthesouth_

“YEEEEEES”

Credit: @TalkCPFC

“Are you serious? These players are draining the club. Experienced and overpaid now so get rid of them and reward players that want to play for the club, no meal tickets allowed. We need huge change in the summer or will pay the ultimate consequences…. “

Credit: @mark_welling

“Need one last game of Tomkins and Sakho if they’re going this season”

Credit: @androsisnotbald

“One last dance”

Credit: @amancpfc

In other news: Many CPFC fans buzz over club’s interest in £48k-p/w ace, find out more here. 

Dean Windass has exclusively told Football FanCast that Leeds could do a lot worse than signing Harry Winks, who he thinks is a Marcelo Bielsa type player.

Winks has fallen out of favour under Jose Mourinho, and after being strongly linked away in January, is now being monitored by a La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid, making a Spurs exit likely this summer.

The midfielder has also lost his place in the England squad after starting just four times in the Premier League since September, with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Tanguy Ndombele being Mourinho’s favoured central midfield pairing at present.

Winks’ only outing in the last month came in Tottenham’s embarrassing Europa League defeat to Dinamo Zagreb, and if his opportunities don’t improve before the end of the season he might have no choice but to depart his beloved Spurs.

Despite previous interest from Valencia, staying in England would appear favourable for Winks, who received high praise from Frank Lampard back in 2017.

And Windass told Football FanCast that Leeds would be a good destination for the central midfielder, but only with Marcelo Bielsa in charge:

“I think if Bielsa does stay and brings in his own players, they will be a top four or top six side, and Harry Winks could get into any of them teams. He’s Bielsa’s sort of player.

“Is he going to play to two sitting midfield players? But Winks can get forward as well. Phillips was once a right-back and now he’s turned him into an England international sitting midfield player. The manager is obviously good on the training ground at developing players.

“I don’t think Leeds United players would say no.”

Celtic goalkeeper Vasilis Barkas could be handed a quick route out of Parkhead this summer with the Greek stopper already being linked with a move away.

According to The Scottish Sun, Greek Super League outfit PAOK are eyeing the former AEK Athens man ahead of a potential loan offer in the summer.

Incoming Bhoys CEO Dominic McKay must cut his losses and let the 26-year-old go as soon as possible.

Since arriving at Celtic for a reported £4.5m just last summer, the 13-cap international has endured a horrendous time at the club.

Barkas has made just 20 appearances in all competitions and has not played a single minute in the league for the club since a 2-2 draw with Livingston in mid-January, with Scott Bain having been preferred in recent times.

Even when he has been on the pitch, the Greek international has not inspired much confidence at all. According to SofaScore, he has made just 1.1 saves per game in the league, whilst Bain is averaging much more at 2.1.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-celtic-manager-and-transfer-news-roy-keane-nicky-butt-jesse-marsch-scott-brown” title=”Latest Celtic manager and transfer news!”]

Despite having only been with Celtic for just eight months, his transfer valuation has also already taken a hit from £4.5m to £3.6m.

With Barkas not looking likely to be afforded a chance with his current employers any time soon, that only looks set to drop even more as the summer transfer window approaches.

Currently raking in £13.5k per week at the club, which is even more than the likes of Kristoffer Ajer, Ryan Christie and Jeremie Frimpong, he surely has to be shifted sooner rather than later if he is not going to play.

With apparent interest in Barkas, Celtic really should just cut their losses on the goalkeeper and let him go in the summer.

AND in more news, take a look at which former Premier League defender Celtic have to secure for incoming manager Eddie Howe this summer…

Gary Mabbutt has exclusively told Football FanCast that he remains confident that Harry Kane will still be a Tottenham player next season.

Having come through the ranks in north London, the England captain has been one of Spurs’ best players in the modern era, and already sits second on their all-time top goalscoring list behind the great Jimmy Greaves.

However, Kane has constantly reiterated his desire to win trophies, something he’s been able to do at Tottenham, falling short in the FA Cup, League Cup and Champions League in recent years.

That could soon change when Spurs meet Manchester City in next month’s Carabao Cup final, but following their recent Europa League exit, strong reports have circulated that Kane wants to leave the north London outfit this summer.

Despite those claims, former Tottenham captain Mabbutt isn’t concerned about Kane’s future.

He told Football FanCast:

“All Spurs fans have been concerned for the last four of five years, and all Spurs fans have been reading the same things five years ago as they are today. And lo and behold, Harry Kane is still a Spurs player today.

“Harry is a great lad. He’s got a good family around him, strong support. Yes, there comes a time where by as a player you have to make decisions.

“But he’s with a group of players that I can believe win things. The manager is a proven winner. Until I read that a manager or a player has left the club, I take it for what most of it normally is – gossip mongering.

“If we come top-four and win a trophy then that may make a difference, but at the end of a player’s career, winning trophies and being a winner is what you want to be – you want to be the best.”

Winning the League Cup and piping either Chelsea or Leicester in the top-four race would surely be enough for Kane to hang around, but another trophyless season outside of the Champions League could have serious consequences for Spurs.

According to recent reports, Tottenham Hotspur will have to pay €50m (£42.8m) should they wish to sign Franck Kessie this summer.

The report by Milan Live (via Sport Witness) claimed that AC Milan are attempting to tie Kessie down to a new deal at the San Siro which would see the 24-year-old remain with the Rossoneri until the summer of 2026.

This is said to be an effort to deter a potential summer move to the likes of Tottenham, Arsenal and West Ham United, who are all reported to have “shown interest” in the central midfielder.

However, even if Jose Mourinho’s side were to put forward an offer to match Milan’s €50m (£42.8m) valuation of Kessie, the Serie A side are claimed to have no intention of allowing the Ivory Coast international to leave.

Transfer Tavern Take

So far this season, Kessie has been in excellent form over his 25 Serie A appearances for Stefano Pioli’s side, scoring nine league goals and providing two assists, as well as averaging a WhoScored match rating of 7.05 – ranking him as the fifth-best performer in a side who currently occupy second place in the Italian top flight. His goal tally in Serie A is one more than Gareth Bale and Lucas Moura (both wingers) combined in the 2020/21 Premier League.

As such, it is easy to see why Tottenham are said to have an interest in the 24-year-old. However, considering that Milan are preparing to offer the Ivorian a new deal, as well as placing a rather significant price tag on him, a deal for Kessie won’t be easy to complete for Spurs this summer.

In other news: Tottenham are also monitoring this attacker, find out more here.

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, former Premier League striker Dean Windass has tipped West Ham to sign Jesse Lingard on a permanent basis this summer.

Having fallen down the pecking order under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Manchester United, the England international made the switch to the London Stadium on loan in January to enhance his opportunities.

£75,000-a-week man Lingard hadn’t played a single minute of Premier League football for United this season, but has enjoyed an impressive revival since signing for to the Hammers.

He scored a brace on his debut at Aston Villa before netting the crucial second in the win over London rivals Tottenham last month, which has seen West Ham emerge as genuine top-four contenders.

Lingard’s contract at Old Trafford expires next summer, which could lead to him being available to West Ham at a cut-price.

And Windass believes that it’s a deal that he thinks will happen once the window reopens.

He exclusively told Football FanCast:

“He’s hit the ground running. I think Lingard will sign for West Ham. His days at Manchester United are numbered.”

Windass might be right here. Whilst Lingard is a United Academy graduate, he’s approaching a stage in his career where he must be playing regularly.

And if he isn’t part of Solsjkaer’s plans moving forward, then a permanent move to West Ham would be a positive deal for all parties.

Not to mention that West Ham are on course to finish in Europe, which could therefore improve Lingard’s chances of getting an England recall.

Real Madrid maestro Lucas Vazquez delivered Everton a statement by producing a complete performance against Atalanta BC in the Champions League on Wednesday night.

Los Blancos won 1-0 on their travels to their Serie A outfit thanks to an 86th-minute winner from full-back Ferland Mendy, ensuring Zinedine Zidane’s side took a first-leg lead back to the Santiago Bernabeu.

Real appeared set to leave Italy on the back of a frustrating visit against a well-organised Gian Piero Gasperini line-up, until Mendy curled his effort home to bag an away goal and snatch the strike that Remo Freuler had denied him in the first half.

Zidane was without a number of his top talents at the Gewiss Stadium with Sergio Ramos, Karim Benzema, Eden Hazard and Dani Carvajal all absent from the matchday squad.

Vazquez took over Carvajal’s duties at right-back and delivered a top-draw performance at both ends of the pitch, to warrant Everton’s recent speculated interest.

It is thought that the Goodison Park natives are monitoring the £113,000-per-week forward’s situation in the Spanish capital with his contract due to expire in the summer, and no further talks being scheduled between Vazquez and the Madrid hierarchy.

The 29-year-old snubbed the offer previously tabled to remain with the Galacticos, feeling that the terms did not represent a player as important to Zidane having started 15 of his 18 La Liga outings and six of Real’s seven Champions League ties thus far this term.

Vazquez now wants to see his future resolved in March, per Cuatro, as he does not want to wait until June to know where he will be playing next season, so will soon sit down and review all proposals received to assess which is the most interesting option.

Vazquez’s performance at the Gewiss Stadium will have certainly raised a few eyebrows from those monitoring developments back at Goodison Park, as the £13.5m-rated maestro dominated on the right-flank to help dictate proceedings in Real Madrid’s favour.

Atalanta’s defence often withstood the danger posed from Real’s attacks, and did well to head clear Vazquez’s teasing cross in the closing stages minutes before Mendy produced his moment of magic to curl home from close to 25-yards out.

That chance denied Vazquez his sixth assist of the season across all competitions, with just one of his three crosses able to reach a Madrid player having been given a licence to push forward from full-back, per SofaScore.

Eighty-one of his 90 ground passes found a Los Blancos player, leading to one key ball, as Vazquez helped pull the stings thanks to a mammoth 122 touches – only Toni Kroos (155) took more touches for either side.

Vazquez further won six of his eight ground duels, and battled hard to win possession back during Atalanta’s mere 31% share of the possession with three successful tackles, two interceptions and two clearances.

The nine-cap Spain international has only averaged 1.5 tackles, 0.7 interceptions and won 4.5 ground duels with a 45% success rate per game in the Champions League this season.

Vazquez efforts against Atalanta would be enough to rank third for tackles, first for interceptions, seventh for clearances and second for ground duels won at Everton, based on performances produced per game in the Premier League this season.

He would further offer the joint-third most key passes and second-most accurate crosses, with only Lucas Digne (1.63) producing a higher number of successful deliveries among those called on more than once by Carlo Ancelotti to date.

If Vazquez is still unhappy with the offer tabled by Real and open to leaving Madrid amid Everton’s interest, his Champions League masterclass will have come at the perfect time.

AND in other news, Everton face European competition to sign a £35m target this summer…