All posts by h79snht.top

New York City have announced that Frank Lampard will leave the MLS club when his contract expires at the end of 2016.

What’s the story?

The midfielder has spent the last year representing the American club, scoring 15 goals in 31 appearances, but he will be waving goodbye to the Big Apple at the end of the year.

Lampard initially signed for New York in 2014, but rather than join up with the club straight away, he made the controversial move to Manchester City on a season-long loan, where he scored six Premier League goals.

At the age of 38, Lampard wrote his name down in New York City FC history by scoring the team’s first-ever hat-trick against Colorado Rapids on July 30.

It may not be up there amongst Lampard’s finest achievements considering the midfielder won three top-flight titles and the Champions League with Chelsea, but nonetheless, he has been a pivotal part in boosting interest in the game across the pond.

Along with the announcement, Lampard told NYCFC’s official website: “As my time at NYCFC comes to an end, I would like to thank so many people for the kindness and support that they have shown me over the last two years.

“My teammates have been a pleasure to play alongside. The amazing fans have given me incredible support and backing.

“I have very much enjoyed my time, and I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to play for such a great club and in such an incredible city.”

What next for Lampard?

The big question is does he retire or prolong his playing career elsewhere?

Being just two years shy of 40 would suggest that Lampard will hang up his boots and embark on a new career, perhaps in management or TV punditry, like so many of his peers.

The ex-Chelsea star has suggested in interviews that he is interested in moving into coaching, and with his knowledge and intelligence of the game, he is a figure that would be welcomed into the fold with open arms.

Lampard would have watched his NYCFC manager Patrick Vieira closely as the former Arsenal star is cutting his teeth in coaching having been appointed by the club in November following a role within Manchester City’s youth system.

On the flip side, a big-money move could still be an option for Lampard, with the Chinese Super League being a potential destination.

Could an England role be on the cards?

In October, The Sun reported that Lampard and his former England teammate Steven Gerrard could be fast-tracked through the coaching-badge process by the Football Association.

It was claimed that the powers that be in English football would offer the pair the chance to impart their professional wisdom on the current squad, with Eric Dier, John Stones and Dele Alli being singled out as players that the duo could work with directly.

Neither Lampard nor Gerrard managed to set England alight during the peak of their international careers, and the long-standing debate of whether the two midfielders could play alongside one another rages on.

However, should the FA offer Lampard that particular route into coaching, he could provide invaluable guidance to the younger members of the squad.

[ad_pod id=’playwire’ align=’center’]

As reported by The Sun this morning, Spurs fear that their star goalkeeper Hugo Lloris could leave White Hart Lane this summer and have targeted Jordan Pickford or Joe Hart as his replacement between the sticks.

What’s the word?

Hugo Lloris has made over 170 appearances for Spurs and is contracted to the club until 2019, but the prospect of no Champions League football means he could look for a move away from the club next year, with PSG or Real Madrid potential destinations, according to The Sun.

The paper also report that Manchester City’s on-loan goalkeeper Joe Hart could be their first choice, although wages would be a big stumbling block.

An alternative, say The Sun, is Sunderland’s 22-year-old ‘keeper Jordan Pickford, who is only fully breaking into the first-team set-up this season.

Hart or Pickford?

Joe Hart, who is at Torino, is a known quantity. Any club securing his services know they’re getting a quality goalkeeper with exceptional shot stopping abilities. He is error-prone, though, something that has crept into his game more and more with age.

Pickford represents the chance to secure a goalkeeper with his best years ahead of him. At just 22, he looks to us like one of the best goalkeeping talents in the Premier League.

Excellent performances against West Brom and Spurs themselves this season have had people talking, with many fans tipping the Sunderland man to be a future England number one.

As is the case in modern football, wages would indeed be an issue with Joe Hart on mega money at Man City given he was seen as such an important fixture of that squad before Guardiola’s arrival. On the other hand, Spurs would likely be Pickford’s highest paid contract to date.

Who to go for then? For us, Pickford is a good choice, given his potential, but it’s a move that comes with risks too. Young goalkeepers need time and confidence, and with Spurs pushing for Champions League football, can they afford to have a goalkeeper still learning his trade?

A tough conundrum for Mauricio Pochettino.

[ad_pod id=’playwire’ align=’center’]

Rounding off what has been a fantastic festive period in the Premier League are Liverpool and Manchester City – the perfect match to end 2016 and our Fixture in Focus here at FootballFanCast.

The two sides meet at Anfield in New Year’s Eve’s late kick-off and it looks set to be a thrilling contest, with both clubs separated by just one point in the Premier League table and both managers famed for their insistence upon attacking football.

Indeed, Liverpool and Manchester City are the Premier League’s first and joint-second top scorers respectively this term and although their philosophies may differ in method, they come to a similar consequence of high-energy, ball retention and explosiveness in the final third.

So with little to choose between the two sides, we posed a curious question to Manchester City fans earlier this week: which Liverpool stars would you like to see Pep Guardiola sign?

Well, the votes of our exclusive poll have been counted and FootballFanCast can now reveal the top five Reds stars Citizens fans want to join the ranks at the Etihad Stadium.

5. Nathaniel Clyne

Both of Manchester City’s defensive flanks could do with a revamp and it appears fans are particularly concerned about the right-back position, which has been shared between Pablo Zabaleta and Bacary Sagna this season.

With both No.2 veterans the wrong side of 30, the Citizens are in dire need of some fresh blood and looking around the Premier League, there are few stronger candidates than Nathaniel Clyne.

Solid at the back and decent going forward, the England international offers real balance between defence and attack. He’s grabbed two assists in 18 Premier League outings this term, also averaging 2.4 tackles-per-match.

4. Simon Mignolet

The most surprising inclusion in our top five, Simon Mignolet is maligned by the vast majority of the Anfield fanbase – only reclaiming his place in the starting XI due to Loris Karius’ equally shaky performances – but Manchester City fans seemingly have some appreciation for the Belgian shot-stopper.

In truth, the goalkeeping situation at the Etihad Stadium isn’t much better; Claudio Bravo’s haphazard approach hasn’t won over too many supporters, who are yet to get over Joe Hart’s loan departure to Serie A.

Is Mignolet the answer though? We’re not convinced.

3. Adam Lallana

After failing to uproot trees during his first couple of years on Merseyside, Adam Lallana has really come to life under Jurgen Klopp this season, notching up seven goals and six assists from his new-found central midfield role.

Nimble, creative, technically adept and energetic without the ball, the England playmaker would suit Pep Guardiola’s preferred style of play perfectly. Likewise, following the German international’s season-ending injury, he’d be the perfect stand-in for Ilkay Gundogan.

2. Sadio Mane

Many baulked at his price-tag during the summer but Sadio Mane’s gone on to prove he’s one of the most dangerous attackers in the Premier League, leading Liverpool’s scoring charts with eight goals in 17 top flight outings.

The speedy Senegalese has added a new dimension to the Reds’ attack, one of the predominant factors behind them scoring the most goals of any Premier League side this term, and he’s another who’d suit the traditional Guardiola system.

Imagine the sheer velocity of City’s attacks with Mane on one wing and Raheem Sterling on the other.

1. Philippe Coutinho

Perhaps we shouldn’t be too surprised to see Philippe Coutinho top our poll. Many rate the Brazilian playmaker as the jewel in Liverpool’s attacking crown and his early-season form was certainly deserving of such status, claiming five goals and five assists in 13 Premier League outings prior to injury.

Some have tipped the attacking midfielder to become the next Premier League star to jump ship to the El Clasico rivalry and we’re sure Guardiola would appreciate his services as well – even if he’s a little more direct than the former Barca manager’s preferred type of creator.

CLICK THROUGH TO THE NEXT PAGE TO SEE THE RESULTS IN FULL

Results

Liverpool have been linked to Borussia Monchengladbach star Mahmoud Dahoud yet again, but now they reportedly face competition to sign him.

According to Footmercato, Spanish giants Barcelona are pondering a move for the Germany Under-21 international, who broke through the Gladbach side in 2014.

The Daily Star reports that the Merseyside outfit will wait until the summer to try to strike a deal.

[ad_pod id=’now-tv’ align=’centre’]

The midfielder has made 17 appearances in all competitions this season, and has one goal and two assists to his name.

Liverpool have not done any transfer business this month yet, and it is uncertain whether manager Jurgen Klopp will dip into the market at all.

The club have dropped seven points behind Premier League leaders Chelsea, but with four months left in the season, they remain in the title hunt.

Some fans believe that the Reds should move for Dahoud now in order to prevent other suitors from swooping in.

[ad_pod id=’Shoot-Xmas-Survey’ align=’left’]

[ad_pod id=’playwire’ align=’center’]

West Bromwich Albion boss Tony Pulis has told reporters in Friday’s press conference that Saido Berahino will not be sold to Watford.

What’s the latest?

It is difficult to think back to a transfer window when Berahino was not linked with a move away from The Hawthorns.

In the past, Tottenham Hotspur were rumoured to be suitors, while Stoke City have regularly been sniffing around the England Under-21 international.

This month, a potential swap deal which would see Watford forward Odion Ighalo go to West Brom and Berahino move to Vicarage Road was mooted, according to The Mirror.

[ad_pod id=’now-tv’ align=’centre’]

However, Pulis has rubbished the rumours, telling reporters: “I don’t see that one [happening].”

The 59-year-old also suggested that a move could still go ahead for Berahino in this window by claiming “we’ll see what happens” over the next 11 days.

What is Berahino’s best option?

The striker has had a difficult few seasons with West Brom – he fell out with chairman Jeremy Peace after he was refused a move to Tottenham.

This season, Berahino has struggled for form due to injury and fitness issues, which has restricted his Premier League appearances to just four, three of which were starts.

The Baggies have done well to keep hold of the striker over the past few transfer windows, but from the player’s perspective he needs game time in order to get back on track.

Stoke are a club that could offer minutes to the 23-year-old, who will hope to rediscover the form that netted him 20 goals in all competitions during the 2014-15 campaign.

[ad_pod id=’Shoot-Xmas-Survey’ align=’left’]

[ad_pod id=’playwire’ align=’center’]

Premier League leaders Chelsea are considering a Deadline Day swoop for Celtic striker Moussa Dembele but will have to match the Scottish champions demands, Sky Sports report.

What’s the word?

Things have been relatively quiet at Stamford Bridge during the January transfer window and it seems the month would pass without the Premier League leaders making a move. However, perhaps fearing a late resurgence from those behind them in the table, Antonio Conte is ready to make a move.

Sky Sports have revealed that Chelsea are looking to sign Moussa Dembele from Celtic but will have to pay around £40m for the French youth international, who has excelled north of the border after joining from Fulham in the summer.

Since arriving in Glasgow, Dembele has an impressive ratio of 20 goals in 38 appearances and Chelsea want to sign the 20-year-old to bolster their offensive ranks, which raises questions as to what the future holds for their current strikers.

Will someone leave?

If Moussa Dembele was to arrive at Stamford Bridge, it would raise big questions on the future of two current strikers in West London. Diego Costa and Michy Batshuayi have both been linked with a move of some sort during this window and this signing would open the door.

Batshuayi would be unlikely to leave for two reasons. Firstly, he was only signed in the summer and, secondly, there isn’t much time left to complete a deal and Celtic will probably look to fend off interest in the striker for as long as they can.

Instead, the arrival of Dembele could facilitate a move taking Diego Costa to China. A huge fall-out occurred earlier this month amidst reported interest from the Far East and, although those issues seem to have been resolved, Costa’s long-term future is up for debate.

With the Chinese window not closing until the end of February, clubs in the Far East would have plenty of time to secure a deal for Costa.

[ad_pod id=’Shoot-Xmas-Survey’ align=’left’]

Mesut Ozil has had to endure plenty of criticism of late after a run of lacklustre form on the pitch for Arsenal.There were suggestions that he would be dropped from Arsene Wenger’s starting lineup for the trip to face Bayern Munich in the first leg of their last-16 clash, but he was handed a place in the first XI.The magnitude of the match gave Ozil an opportunity to showcase his quality and rediscover his early-season form.[ad_pod id=’now-tv’ align=’centre’]However, he failed to do so as the Gunners were beaten 5-1 at the Allianz Arena, and three of those goals were conceded in the space of 10 minutes.Squawka has singled out Ozil’s performance and as the tweet below shows, the German World Cup winner shockingly played as many passes as Bayern’s goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.

Bayern did dominate the ball, and Ozil was not the only player who struggled on the night, but it will only highlight how consistently under par he has been.

All this is happening amid concerns over his long-term future at the Emirates as he is yet to pen a new contract with less than 18 months left to go before his current one expires.

[ad_pod id=’Shoot-Xmas-Survey’ align=’left’]

[ad_pod id=’playwire’ align=’center’]

Alexis Sanchez is ready to quit Arsenal this summer and seal a return to Spain- where Sevilla are emerging as favourites for his signature, The Daily Star reports.

What’s the word?

Arsenal’s chances of keeping Alexis Sanchez at the Emirates Stadium beyond the summer are looking increasingly slim, with The Daily Star stating the Chilean is ready to quit the club and return to Spain- regardless or not of whether Arsene Wenger pens a new deal.

The two-time Copa America winner has enjoyed a fantastic season with Arsenal on a personal level, netting 17 goals in the Premier League alone, but his side have struggled to show any signs of progress- with the damning moment coming in the Champions League, with a 5-1 drubbing against Bayern Munich putting the Gunners on the brink of another premature exit.

With Alexis having entered the final 18 months of his contract, Arsenal were always going to find themselves in a difficult position when it comes to negotiations on a new deal but the club’s poor form seems to be the nail in the head for Alexis’ future- as he’ll move on.

Where could he go?

The Daily Star states Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain and even Chelsea hold an interest in Alexis Sanchez but the Chilean ace is keen on a return to Spain- where the former Barcelona man could link-up with his former national team manager Jorge Sampaoli at Sevilla.

The Andalusian side have made great progress in the past few years, winning three consecutive Europa League titles and advancing through to the knock-out stages of the Champions League this term- all whilst pushing Real Madrid and Barcelona for the La Liga title.

Sevilla sit just three points behind Real Madrid in the La Liga standings, although Zinedine Zidane’s side have a game in hand, and are also in the driving seat to advance to the quarter-finals of the Champions League after securing a first-leg victory over Leicester City in the Round of 16.

[ad_pod id=’playwire’ align=’center’]

The last game of the season often throws up interesting games, especially when they’re the most meaningless. Defences can’t be bothered, but strikers will always love to score goals.

For Manchester City in 2007/08, a fabulous start to the season saw Sven-Goran Eriksson lead a new-look side to seven wins in his first ten Premier League games. But after Christmas, form tailed-off dramatically, and an unlikely push for the Champions League turned into a ninth place finish. Five defeats in their final seven games saw Eriksson’s fate sealed.

The Swede was sacked after leading the team on a post-season tour to Thailand, as per owner Thaksin Shinawatra’s wishes. It may have been galling trip to make, knowing that he was heading for the sack but still being asked to take charge of a meaningless tour of the Far East, but Sven handled it expertly: on a Thai beach one day, he approached Dietmar Hamann at 10am with a bottle of Champagne in one hand and two glasses in the other. When Hamann asked what they were celebrating, Eriksson replied in a way that only he could have: “Life, Kaiser,” he told the German, “we are celebrating life”.

It wasn’t his libertinage nor his bon vivant approach to life that sealed his sacking, though. By all accounts, it was a terrible second half of the season, sealed by the final game. Away to Middlesbrough, City slumped to an 8-1 defeat devoid of pride, fight, and even dignity: the kind of defeat that tells a board everything they need to know.

And as City play Middlesbrough this weekend in an FA Cup quarter-final, it’s a good time to look back at some of the characters in that particular Mancunian tragedy.

Since that day, a lot has happened in the stories of both clubs. That game just happened to be City’s final Premier League match of the pre-Abu Dhabi era, and that very summer, Mark Hughes was appointed as manager and essentially presented with Robinho as a deadline day gift: just as a Sheik may give his wife a diamond bracelet just as a surprise, Hughes was given a silky Brazilian diva. The rest, though, is history.

Middlesbrough, however, would be relegated at the end of the next season, returning to the Premier League for only this season. Life has thrown a lot at both clubs, but clearly their trajectories have been far from similar.

At the Riverside that day, though, Middlesbrough were the clear winners. After Richard Dunne’s red card in the first half, City crumbled, and Eriksson’s lament in his post-match comments to the BBC are telling. “We were in it until it was 3-0,” he claimed. Could a manager ever utter a sadder sentence after an 8-1 thrashing that cost him his job?

Middlesbrough had a hat-trick hero that day, of course. One of the most famous of Premier League flops, Brazilian striker Afonso Alves came to England on the back of 45 goals in 39 Eredivisie games for Heerenveen. The phrase ‘banging in the goals’ doesn’t really do it justice, but those goals certainly dried up when he came to England. Three of his ten Premier League strikes for Middlesbrough came that day.

After Boro’s relegation – a season in which he managed only four goals in 31 league games – Alves spent a few seasons pottering around the Middle East before retiring in 2015. Since then, though, it seems that Sven Goran Eriksson isn’t the only man celebrating life:

/BQ87GbDlQrJ/?hl=en

Another player amongst the scorers that day was Fabio Rochemback. And as was mostly the way with Middlesbrough players of the late 00s, he is another player who Boro will feel like they never got the most from. Signed from Barcelona after a reasonably successful loan period in Portugal with Sporting, Rochemback holds a rare distinction of being a losing finalist in two successive UEFA Cup campaigns with two different teams: with Sporting in 2005, and Boro in 2006.

In the City game in 2008, Rochemback scored a fantastic free kick, netting his side’s sixth of the afternoon after 80 minutes. It was his final goal in north Yorkshire, as that summer he moved back to Portugal to play one more season with Sporting before effectively ending his professional career in China and moving back to Brazil.

From a Manchester City perspective, though, things have also changed hugely.

On the pitch that day were the likes of Andreas Isaksson, who has been playing in Holland and Turkey since leaving City. Now back in his native Sweden, he only retired from international football after Euro 2016 having earned 133 caps, the third most in his country’s history.

Their solitary scorer that day, probably the biggest cult hero of the mid to late 00s period in City’s history, was Elano Blumer. After leaving City, Elano went to Turkey, turning out for Galatasaray for a few seasons and making the 2010 Brazil World Cup squad, scoring two goals in the group stages. He then moved back to Santos in Brazil, with a few spells in the Indian Super League thrown in for good measure before retiring in December.

Recently it has been reported that Elano is expected to become the assistant coach at Santos, and also that there also may be a friendly match played between City and the Brazilian club in his honour.

On Saturday afternoon, City will travel to the Riverside once again, but this time you get the feeling that if there is to be an 8-1 thrashing, it’ll be a reversal rather than a repeat. Both teams are unrecognisable from that game nine long years ago, but it was a game which probably sparked the differing paths of both clubs. For Boro, it was the last hurrah for quite some time. For City, the darkest moment before the dawn.

Maybe it should have been City, and not Sven, celebrating life on that beach in Thailand the guts of a decade ago.

[ad_pod id=’playwire’ align=’center’]

It was late in the second half and a superb first touch from a long pass gave teenager Marcus Rashford the platform to drive at Chelsea’s defence, beat his man to the byline and whip in a misguided cross that fell straight into Thibaut Courtois’ hands. Paint-drying answer’s to punditry Martin Keown felt compelled to share his finite wisdom, a simple two-clause sentence that highlighted everything wrong with English football; “Clearly a massive talent, but he should be playing more.”

[ffc_insert title=”Time to go? Stalling Zlatan holds Man United back” name=”Opinion” image_ link=”https://www.footballfancast.com/opinion-2/time-to-say-go-a-stalling-ibrahimovic-holds-man-united-back” link_text=”Read More” ]

This is the same Martin Keown who was involved in the same England squads as the once world-class Michael Owen, whose career was over before he was 30 because of the injury problems he developed from playing senior football twice a week at the age of 16. This is the same Martin Keown who presents himself as an indisputable Arsenal man, a club whose most promising academy graduate for a generation, Jack Wilshere, is spending the season on loan at Bournemouth because he hasn’t completed a full campaign since his debut term in 2010/11.

But alas, the seemingly genetic determination to put pressure on a young English player takes over, and Keown manages to turn even what was a genuinely fantastic first touch into a negative for Rashford; hyping him up yet knocking him down in the same sentence. What does Keown expect the 19-year-old to do with that advice? Leave Manchester United? Publicly criticise Jose Mourinho? Demand he starts over arguably Europe’s best striker of the last decade, Zlatan Ibrahimovic?

None of the above seems like particularly sound career advice for a teenager who made his first-team debut just 13 months ago, as a result of injuries to senior team-mates, and whose own shortcomings were more than evident during his first start since February. Admittedly, Rashford was given one hell of a shift as the lone attacking player after Ander Herrera’s red card, but whilst he had Chelsea’s defence on their heels more than once, his end product simply didn’t live up to his direct and dangerous dribbling.

Keown may claim that’s down to a lack of confidence due to his limited playing time, but every young player is plagued by inconsistency, especially those in the winger-forward mould.

And the idea that Rashford hasn’t been given enough minutes this season is an absolute myth; he ranks 11th throughout United’s squad for minutes in the Premier League this term – trumping Wayne Rooney, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Marouane Fellaini, Anthony Martial and Michael Carrick to name a few – has only been bettered by four players in terms of Europa League appearances, including Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and has completed the full ninety minutes in two of United’s four FA Cup outings this term, whilst coming off with one minute to spare after scoring against Blackburn in the fifth round.

Plenty of football for a youngster still learning his trade, especially at one of the biggest clubs in the world. In fact, how many teenagers across Europe are getting that kind of game-time at a club of United’s size? There’s none at Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool or Manchester City – there’s none at Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Barcelona or PSG either.

Some may argue not enough game-time has come at centre-forward, the position where Rashford impressed so unexpectedly last season with a cohort of crucial goals against some of United’s biggest rivals – namely Arsenal and Manchester City.

But it’s time for a reality check; Rashford is 19 years of age and some distance away from being the finished article. Sticking him out on the wing for a season certainly won’t stifle his potential to the extent that he’s no longer capable of becoming a world-beater – in fact, it will likely improve other aspects of his game and make him a better-rounded player.

Perhaps Keown’s comment was a flippant one, designed spontaneously to avoid dead air. But nonetheless, it highlights how we expect far too much far too soon from young English players, put too much pressure on them and, in some cases, inadvertently burn out their careers. If Rashford was Spanish or Portuguese, it’s hard to imagine Keown saying the same thing. And he may be simply the dull, matter-of-fact pundit that is Martin Keown, but his opinions inevitably influence those of the millions who are watching.

Keown’s rashness on Rashford is either misinformed, irresponsible or both. As much as we need to change how we view and handle young players in English football, British punditry could do with a brush-up as well.

[ad_pod id=’playwire’ align=’center’]