All posts by n8rngtd.top

Speaking to Football Insider, former Rangers defender Alan Hutton has tipped Lewis Ferguson to flourish under Steven Gerrard should he make the move to Ibrox.

What did he say?

According to reports in recent days, the Aberdeen midfielder has been touted as one of Rangers’ most prominent transfer targets this summer, although the Dons are keen to keep him.

Now, Hutton has claimed that Ferguson, who was released by Rangers back in 2013, has the kind of “winners mentality” that could really be nurtured by Gerrard at Ibrox.

Best of the Decade: Top scorers & creators – Can you name them?

World Class score: 95% | Expert score: 80% | Veteran score: 65% | Intermediate score: 45% | Amateur score: 30% | Try Again: 5%

He said: “I’m sure he’s got that winning mentality into him because that was a main, key part of growing up through the Rangers ranks, you had to be a winner. It didn’t quite work out the first time but well played to him. He’s worked hard at Hamilton, he’s moved on to Aberdeen and he’s still only 20 so he’s proved a lot of people wrong. Here’s Rangers coming back in for him so I’m sure he’s got that mentality within him.

“He’s got a driving force to try and prove people wrong and he’s had an excellent season. I think it’s an area where Gerrard will look at and want to strengthen and I presume he’s a player that would want to go and learn off one of the best midfielders to play the game.”

Next step

After rebuilding his career at Aberdeen, Ferguson has certainly shown he’s got the talent to become a real success at Rangers this time around.

This season, the 20-year-old has been in inspired form for the Dons, racking up three goals and an impressive nine assists in 38 games across all competitions. His previous ties to the Gers means that he will know what its all about to play for the club, and that kind of relationship and bond is something Gerrard will surely love.

He may not have made it the first time, but Ferguson’s performances this season shows he is ready to play for the Rangers first-team now.

The proposed takeover of Newcastle United has been put into doubt by David Sugden, director of corporate affairs at the beIN Media Group, after he claimed that if Saudi Arabia secured a place in English football’s top table, it would be like “letting the fox into the hen house”.

The company’s response to the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) report on the Middle Eastern country’s protection of intellectual property rights was published by the Financial Times as the outlet explained why the piracy ruling from the body raised a new doubt over whether the prospective deal between Amanda Staveley’s Saudi-led group and current club owner Mike Ashley would still be approved by the Premier League.

Sophie Jordan, general counsel at beIN Media Group, also added her tuppence worth into the ruling by claiming that Qatar’s accusations of the Kingdom were “not allegations” and she described the WTO as “one of the most important international tribunals” as they made their decision on the accusations against the Saudis.

Indeed, the crown prince of the country and head of the Public Investment Fund (PIF) Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) is one of the main front runners in trying to get the £300m bid over the line alongside businesswoman and head of PCP Capital Partners Staveley as well as the billionaire Reuben brothers, who are based in London.

However, due to MBS’s associations with Saudi Arabia, in addition to the pirate television channel beoutQ – which broadcasts and streams English top flight games illegally – also being accused of being associated with the country, the Premier League now have a big decision to make as to whether they should approve of the takeover at St. James’ Park given the findings.

Geordies, are you worried that the takeover won’t go through? Comment below with your views!

Leeds United made it a sixth game unbeaten as they defeated Luton Town 2-1 on Saturday afternoon.

Marcelo Bielsa needed a 90th-minute own goal from Matty Pearson to ensure all three points returned to west Yorkshire.

The Whites overtook Preston North End to move into second place, two points behind league leaders West Bromwich Albion, who also won 2-1 at the weekend.

Patrick Bamford opened the scoring with his sixth goal of the season before James Collins headed home an Izzy Brown cross just a few minutes later to tie things up.

[ad_pod ]

The 26-year-old then got the final touch before the Luton defender put the ball into his own net.

Despite the victory, some members of the travelling support weren’t thrilled, with centre-back Gaetano Berardi coming in for quite a bit of flak.

His lack of pace in defence was the main issue pointed out as one fan claimed that the club would not gain promotion this season if the 31-year-old is playing regularly.

Another member of the Elland Road faithful believes that Berardi’s legs have gone while one more supporter said the defender looked like he was playing in treacle.

Here’s the best of the reaction:

This article forms part of our Total Duds feature series, which is where Football Transfer Tavern takes a look at how a player has fared since being signed or sold, using statistical figures and statements from pundits to prove how bad a deal the club got.

Back in 1999, John Barnes and Kenny Dalglish were building their defence for Scottish side Celtic, and picked up defender Rafael Scheidt for £6.48 million from Brazilian side Gremio, per Transfermarkt. This is currently the eighth most expensive signing the club has ever made, and emphasises the expectations the player had when he joined.

There have been some poor signings at the club, but Scheidt ranks up there as one of the worst, and will be a player that fans are quick to forget.

The Brazilian was signed in July, yet only managed to make his debut in March the following year due to injuries, via Football Insider. This wasn’t the start of a great career at the club, as during his spell in Scotland he only went on to make two appearances, per Transfermarkt.

Whilst he was contracted to Celtic, he was shipped back out on loan to the Brazilian league, with Corinthians taking him for two years until 2002. During this time, it was revealed by the player that Martin O’Neill had some pretty scathing things to say about him, suggesting that the Northern Irishman had said: “I like footballers who are not like you. I like footballers who play well.”

It was clear for all associated with the club that he was not wanted anywhere near the first team after his loan spell ended. In fact, he was no longer eligible for a UK work permit by this point and they wanted him off their books so bad that they paid up the remainder of the contract so he could move to Atletico Mineiro. This would have costed the club a fair chunk of money.

The defender will be remembered by many of the Hoops faithful as one of the worst signings in the club’s history, and a huge waste of over £6 million.

Do you remember the club signing Scheidt? Comment below!

Leicester City are trying to secure the services of Habib Diallo but according to TeamTalk’s exclusive report, both Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur have now joined the race and will compete with the Foxes for the signature of the coveted forward.

Diallo has already bagged eight goals in 13 appearances in Ligue 1 and would definitely be a big scoop for any of the three big Premier League teams. But just in case Leicester City were to come out short in this transfer bout with their divisional heavyweights, here are three alternatives from across Europe they should consider that would still do more than just a decent job for them.

Moise Kean – Everton

Kean is a familiar name that already has some slight experience in the Premier League.

Even though his transfer to Everton didn’t really go according to plan, the young forward is very much a capable player who could offer some much-needed goal-scoring to this Leicester City side in order to push it one step further.

Watch Leicester City Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

Of course, his recent outings with the Toffees wouldn’t really suggest as much but what way to prove his brilliant 2018/19 season with Juventus, during which he scored eight goals in 21 games, was not a fluke than to repeat it at a different club in the Premier League, one that is looking like the real deal under Brendan Rodgers once again?

It took £23.5m to get him to Everton but seeing how he’s been mostly a “flop” during his stay in England, that value could very well go down, which would be ideal for Leicester.

Alfredo Morelos – Rangers FC

Morelos has previously been linked with Leicester City as well so this is nothing particularly new but it is definitely a signing that would make sense for Rodgers’ team.

The 23-year-old forward is as lethal as they come, having bagged 22 goals in 26 games across all competitions in the 2019/20 season, and coming from the Premiership, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say he wouldn’t cost as much as some other big-name European strikers.

The Foxes’ budget should allow it and the quality of the player is not in question. He could definitely represent a worthy alternative to Diallo.

Eldor Shomurodov – Rostov FC

How’s that for a pick you’ve (probably) never heard of?

Shomurodov is a 24-year-old Uzbekistan striker who simply exploded onto the scene over in the Russian Premier League. Of course, plying his trade for Rostov FC, he is not that known to the outside world but that also comes with certain benefits.

If we presume that Leicester would not be willing to fork out extreme sums of money but would still want quality, Shomurodov is actually their guy.

With ten goals in 18 games so far in 2019/20, the 24-year-old forward is lethal enough to shake the Premier League and the Foxes could get an unconventional solution for their attacking line.

Tuesday night provided a game to forget for Sunderland in the EFL Trophy as they slumped to a 2-1 defeat to Leicester City’s U21 side.

The Black Cats have had an okay at best season so far in Sky Bet League One with them hoping to be challenging for the top two in all honesty.

They’ve not really threatened to do so right now, though, and Jack Ross has lost his job because of that, with Phil Parkinson coming in to replace him.

Parkinson has seen a run of indifferent-at-best results so far, though, and Black Cats fans are evidently concerned that a bit of a shake-up is needed with the squad to get them back in the Championship.

Indeed, last night the manager cut a very frustrated figure as he reflected on the loss, clearly furious at the way his team allowed the young Foxes side to create so many chances.

This certainly got a reaction from the Black Cats’ fan base on Twitter, then, so let’s take a look at some of the best of what has been said:

This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets…

Charlton failed to put an end to their miserable record against south London rivals Millwall on Saturday, succumbing to a 2-1 defeat at The Den – the Addicks will have to wait even longer to put an end to their 23-year winless streak against the Lions.

Gary Rowett’s side took an early lead in the sixth minute after Shaun Hutchinson headed home, before Matt Smith scored a stoppage-time winner to leave Charlton heading back to The Valley with their tails tucked between their legs.

It was a disappointing performance from most players in red – however, one man was more culpable than others.

Before the match, we outlined how Naby Sarr should be dropped by Lee Bowyer for the south London derby, not because of his woeful 45-minute display against Preston, but because of his lack of aerial ability.

We detailed how – before the Millwall clash – Sarr had only won 1.8 aerial duels per game on average in the Championship, an inferior amount to his fellow centre-backs Jason Pearce and Tom Lockyer.

It was also mentioned how Millwall striker Matt Smith – a 6 foot 5 powerhouse – wins a huge amount of aerial battles, and could therefore dominate Sarr.

As we speak now, that preconception rang true at The Den.

Despite contributing the assist for Jonathan Leko’s goal, the 26-year-old defender was at fault for both Millwall goals after, believe it or not, being beaten in the air.

He allowed Hutchinson to get ahead of him for the first strike, before allowing the previously identified Smith to swat him aside once again to score a 91st-minute winner.

The Senegalese centre-back also committed two fouls and failed to make a single block, on a day where his ineptitude in the air cost his side dearly.

There is no reason for him to be so poor in the air given his 6 foot 5 frame, and Sarr’s awful showing proved why he should have been dropped by Bowyer for the clash.

Tottenham Hotspur fans have backed Dele Alli to get back to his best self as he continues to undergo a poor run of form.

The England international has made seven appearances in all competitions thus far this season and has scored just once, in the 1-1 draw with Watford.

Of course, Spurs have been struggling at the start of the 2019/20 season, winning a mere three games in the league, while they were also thumped 7-2 by Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

Alli burst onto the scene after his move to Spurs in 2015, scoring 10 goals in the 15/16 season, 22 in 16/17 and 14 in 17/18.

Last season marked a change, however, as he netted just seven times and his struggles have continued into this term.

However, supporters believe that he has the ability to turn it around and have backed him to get back to his best as Mauricio Pochettino’s men look to get back to winning ways.

Take a look at the best of the reaction on Twitter below!

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

Liverpool are reportedly battling with Merseyside rivals Everton to sign Wigan prospect Joe Gelhardt.

What’s the story?

According to TEAMtalk, the 17 year-old forward has attracted interest from many top clubs with his showings so far this season.

He has already made four appearances for the senior side this campaign, scoring once despite being on the pitch for just 73 minutes in total.

The report claims the teenager will be left to decide between the red and blue half of Merseyside, with a vacancy opening up in Liverpool’s under-23 squad after the departure of Bobby Duncan.

Polar opposites

Could there have been a more ridiculous way to leave a club than Duncan’s exit at the start of September?

The striker’s agent had a public spat with Reds legend Jamie Carragher on Twitter, accused the club of “mentally bullying” his client and even took a swipe at sporting director Michael Edwards.

Fiorentina’s gain was hardly Liverpool’s loss, as from the outside looking in it appeared to be nothing more than a young player throwing his toys out the pram because he wasn’t getting the money or first-team opportunities he thought he was worth.

Then you have Gelhardt, who for all intents and purposes seems to be the polar opposite of Duncan.

The teenager is paying his dues in the Championship, one of the most competitive and physically demanding leagues in the world, and Wigan manager Paul Cook’s comments about him after his first senior goal really say it all.

“He’s got that unique talent to find space in a telephone box,” he said. “He’s such a natural, good footballer. To get a goal like that in front of his own fans was a special moment.

“A lot of young footballers coming into the game are not very nice people. We’re just lucky to have a boy with his humility playing for us – the game is easy for him.

“He’ll be starting soon if he carries on like that. He’s a young boy that needs minding though. It’s a very special goal from a very special player.”

While only time will tell who is the superior talent, there is absolutely no doubt Liverpool would be receiving an upgrade in character by replacing Duncan with Gelhardt.

Carragher poignantly tweeted a picture of a pint of Carlsberg and captioned the image: “If Carlsberg did weekends.”

We can’t say that we advocate Carragher’s choice of beer, but those four words were enough to capture the feeling of anyone and everyone who wakes up every Saturday wondering how many mere mortals Virgil van Dijk will embarrass that day.