All posts by h79snht.top

Crystal Palace continued their fine run of form since new boss Alan Pardew took over the helm at the start of 2015. Their latest victory; 2-1 away at Stoke, lifted them to eleventh in the table and has all but guaranteed their Premier League survival for another season.

In the bottom three when he took over, Pardew has played a big part in the clubs revival, but one of their star players has also been instrumental in helping Palace climb the table.

Wilfried Zaha scored the winner at the Britannia a week ago, his second goal in as many weeks, and alongside teammate Yannick Bolasie has formed an impressive attacking force on either side of Palace’s midfield.

The 22-year-old took the Championship by storm as Palace sealed promotion to the Premier League back in 2013. Having already secured a dream move to Manchester United, Zaha helped Palace through the play-offs with two goals against fierce rivals Brighton in the semi-final, before winning the decisive penalty in the final to help see off Watford in what was his farewell appearance.

However, the winger endured a difficult and frustrating campaign at Old Trafford the following season, failing to hold down a regular position in the team with question marks surrounding his attitude.

The fact he made just four appearances for the Red Devils told its own story that something was clearly not right between the player and manager at the time, David Moyes. He was later loaned out to Cardiff for the remainder of the season, before putting an end to his United nightmare by returning to Palace the following summer on an initial loan deal.

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Back at the club where it all began, Zaha found his confidence once more, clearly happy at returning to a team he loved where the fans and staff appreciated him.

And after impressing during his loan spell, Pardew made it one of his first duties to bring him back on a permanent basis as the Palace star set about getting his career back on track.

Zaha is back playing with a smile on his face and the freedom to express his undoubted quality. He has the ability to beat defenders with ease, something that he is clearly far more comfortable doing at Palace than he was with the pressure of 70,000 fans watching him at Old Trafford. His pace and trickery make him a handful for any full-back, and if Pardew can continue to keep him on the right path there’s no reason why he can’t become one of the league’s leading wingers.

It could be argued that the United deal came too soon in his career, but whatever the case it’s clear he wasn’t given a fair crack at proving himself at the highest level. But despite the apparent hurt this will have caused him, he needs to put the bad experience behind him and use it as an inspiration to recapture the form that saw him end up their in the first place.

Playing week in week out at the top level under Pardew certainly provides him with an adequate platform to do just that, and as long as he keeps his head down and concentrates on his football, there’s no limit to what he can achieve second time around.

It’s clear he has all the attributes to succeed in the Premier League, and his performances this season have proved it. Many people seem to forget just how young he is, and so there’s still plenty of time for him to develop into the world class player he can become.

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Just like Palace, Zaha is thriving once again and is certainly one to keep a close eye on over the next couple of seasons. And who knows maybe one day we could see back in a red shirt at Old Trafford.

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Hull City are a team in trouble. Last season was fantastic for the Tigers, but this time around it’s disappointment after disappointment.

They were solid all season, never in relegation trouble and almost safe by January. This gave them the opportunity to launch an assault on the FA Cup without fear that their league form would suffer. What did it matter, they were safe already?

Well it seems to have mattered a great deal. Not for last season, but for this one.

Last time out they strengthened well, taking the likes of Tom Huddlestone and Jake Livermore from Tottenham and Nikica Jelavic from Everton. It was enough to keep them in the league and enough to bring them to an FA Cup Final and secure qualification for Europe in their first year of this particular stint in the Premier League.

And then in the summer they seemed to have strengthened well again. They shored up the loans they took on and they added even more to the side. Abel Hernandez, Gaston Ramirez and Hatem Ben Arfa looked like good additions, adding flair to a functional side.

But it turns out they were gambles, risky deals that have possibly cost them dearly this time around.

Hull look to be suffering from ‘second season syndrome’, and they’ve got a lot to do if they’re going to recover from it and stay in the division.

In their last six games they play Arsenal, Tottenham, Man United and Liverpool. None of those are games Hull would have looked to at the start of the season as a good chance of three points, so that only leaves two games left in which points look achievable.

It means that the game against Crystal Palace this weekend becomes huge for Hull, and that’s a match against one of the ‘on the up’ teams in the league at the moment. The other game they have left is against fellow strugglers Burnley, and that won’t be an easy game either. So Hull really do have it all to do, and they’ve shown no signs this season of being capable of it.

The problem is that it’s tough to get out of a poor run of form. Bruce seems to have taken a gamble in the transfer market in order to refresh his squad after poor form at the end of last season and it hasn’t paid off.

They went out of the Europa League in the qualifying rounds and it just hasn’t picked up from that. Their form has been so bad that they are now staring relegation directly in the face. They’re not even in the drop zone, and yet they still need an escape of Harry Houdini proportions.

All in all, Hull are pretty much doomed. When it gets to the point where you can’t see where the next win is going to come from you know it’s bad.

Norwich were in the same place last year. Their poor form pulled a side that everyone thought were safe in the first half of the season into a relegation battle. And their fixtures in the last few games of the campaign were just too tough for the Canaries and they ended up going down.

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Hull’s gamble in the summer hasn’t paid off, and instead they’ll pay the ultimate price unless they manage the impossible over the next six games. You feel, however, not even two wins will be enough.

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How has it come to this? An eight-year servant of Liverpool Football Club, covered from head to toe in tattoos honouring the club, Anfield and the 96 who died in the Hillsborough disaster, feeling the need to publicly blast his latest contract offer as ‘unacceptable’?

Martin Skrtel may not be remembered as one of the Premier League’s or Liverpool’s greatest ever defenders, but there’s no doubt he’s been one of a rare few consistent and positive influences at the back throughout Brendan Rodgers’ defensively chaotic reign.

Now 30 years of age – the peak year for the vast majority of centre-backs – the Slovakian international should be rewarded for the experience he’s accumulated, the leadership he provides and the performances made over the last three seasons – particularly his seven goals last year and the solidity he’s demonstrated this term. What shape Liverpool’s back four would be in without him holding it all together just doesn’t bear thinking about.

But instead, the Liverpool hierarchy are too busy attempting to find value-for-money wherever possible, and have resultantly attempted to put Skrtel on series of performance-based criteria. Summarised, in the three-year deal proposed to the thuggish centre-half, his salary will be largely dependent on appearances; the less time on the pitch, the less of his weekly wage is received.

It may well be a smart deal for Liverpool Football Club; I’m sure every chairman in world football would want players’ wages completely proportional to appearances and performances. But it’s a terrible deal for Martin Skrtel, who could break his leg on the first day of pre-season training, who could suddenly find himself no longer one of Rodgers’ logic-defying favourites two weeks into next season.

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Why would he agree a deal that none of his centre-back counterparts at Arsenal, Chelsea or Manchester United are on? Or more importantly, why aren’t Liverpool offering their best centre-back the best deal possible?

Unfortunately, it reverts back to the ever-debated FSG model, which has had a profound effect on Liverpool’s contract negotiations over the course of the season. Skrtel’s recent debacle is just the latest episode.

Episode One was of course, Steven Gerrard. Considering his sharp decline over the course of the season and the wages he previously received, perhaps it was in Liverpool’s best interests that the former England international opted to bow out this summer before becoming a shadow of his former self.

But you never saw Manchester United turning away Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville or Paul Scholes – in fact, Sir Alex Ferguson even convinced the latter out of retirement – and the Reds skipper revealed in January that he would’ve signed a new contract if it had been offered in pre-season instead of November. On-pitch performances regardless, the influence of a leader, a role model and a talent like Gerrard can’t be quantified in fiscal terms.

So why the delay? Money – the same reason Liverpool didn’t offer Raheem Sterling an improved contract until earlier this year. He too has claimed he would’ve put pen to paper in pre-season following Liverpool’s inspiring runner-up campaign last term. In fact, you could argue it to be common practice – a club offering their brightest prospect a better salary following a season in which he emerged as an integral component of the starting XI.

But the Reds hierarchy were well aware that Sterling would expect a sizable increase and therefore strung out the winger’s £35k per-week deal as long as possible. The lack of progress at Anfield during the intermittent period has now convinced the England international he’d be better off at another club. Call that a rather disloyal or callas approach for such a young player, but the whole saga could have been easily avoided if FSG’s penny-saving hadn’t entered into the equation.

Of course, I’m not suggesting Liverpool concede to the wage demands of their players left, right and centre, have them bloated on outrageous contracts that inflate with every passing transfer window and tie them all down to five-year deals. The torrid tenures of Joe Cole and Alberto Aquillani, who were both on huge salaries but made a combined 44 Premier League appearances for Liverpool despite spending (again, a combined) six years at the club are stark warnings from the past.

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But if Liverpool were a little less concerned with streamlining their wage budget where ever possible, Brendan Rodgers wouldn’t be facing a summer window in which he’ll be replacing an iconic skipper in Gerrard and potentially two of his key first team players in Skrtel and Sterling. Unfortunately, successful finance, not success on the football pitch, remains the primary motivation under the FSG model.

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With the additions of Memphis Depay and Georgino Wijnaldum this summer, it is easy for people to look to the signings like Mateja Kezman and Jozy Altidore instead of the brilliance that comes out of Holland when judging the newbies.

For every Kezman or Salomon Kalou, half of Europe is populated with superstars who originated in the Netherlands. Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder and Rafael van der Vaart all came to prominence for their performances in the Eredivisie, and some of the best bargains can be found from the home of total football.

Every club who signs from Holland will hope they have the next Johan Cryuff and this season will be exciting for fans of either Manchester United or Newcastle as their Dutch sensations begin their time in England.

Here are the FIVE best additions from Holland..

Marc Overmars

Overmars is still considered one of the quickest players to play in the Premier League and he graced the league during his time with Arsenal.

His subsequent move to Barcelona was brilliant for the Dutchman as he continued to excel at the top level of the European game. Overmars was yet another player to link between Ajax and Barcelona and, having been signed by Van Gaal, has similarities to the addition of Memphis Depay.

Ruud van Nistelrooy

Van Nistelrooy is one of the most lethal finishers to have played in England and his period at Manchester United was greatly successful; like the majority of Alex Ferguson’s reign at Old Trafford.

The Dutchman built a reputation for scoring only from inside the box and his poaching instincts carried United to the title. Van Nistelrooy’s 35 international goals showed he could do it at the very highest level and he moved on to win trophies with Real Madrid once he left the North West of England.

Van Nistelrooy had been quoted as wanting to combine being the best No 9 and 10 in the world and he continued to show his brilliance throughout his career. Despite his move initially being delayed because of injury, he still managed to more than justify his price tag.

Luis Suarez

One of the most recent success stories from the Eredivisie, Suarez rightly earned his move to Barcelona after nearly carrying Liverpool to the Premier League title single-handedly.

His goalscoring record was not as impressive in his first year or so, but the evident wonderful talent that the controversial Uruguayan possessed was always there.

Suarez’s partnership with Danny Sturridge was one of the most potent strike forces seen in Europe.

Jaap Stam

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Another United signing, Jaap Stam is one of the hardest and highest quality defenders to have played in the Premier League. Ferguson’s Manchester United teams rarely were built on a solid defence, but Stam’s presence always made the side feel more secure.

Ferguson has stated since that the loss of Stam was a big mistake and his role in much of United’s success was huge.

The bald-headed Dutchman would be one of the best centre backs in the world in the modern day and he may regret leaving United so early.

Robin van Persie

This ex-Arsenal man may have managed to upset his former fans, but his brilliance towards the end of his spell in North London makes him one of the great technical talents to have arrived from the Eredivisie.

‘RvP’ carried Manchester United to the title in 2013 and his ability to strike the ball so cleanly has rarely been seen in England. Although he is now out of England, Van Persie’s career will always feel like a ‘what could have been’ because of the injury troubles he suffered.

As reported by the BBC, Celtic are on the brink of signing St Mirren winger Lewis Morgan for a fee of around £300,000.

The Scotland U21 international has been in magnificent form this season, helping the Buddies’ promotion push with six goals and five assists in the Scottish Championship. The BBC say he will likely be loaned back to his current club for the remainder of the 2017/18 season.

Seen as one of the brightest young Scottish talents around right now, he’ll now have the chance to improve his skills even further under the guidance of Brendan Rodgers.

While Celtic supporters are pretty happy with the signing, Rangers fans are annoyed their club didn’t attempt to make a move to bring the winger to Ibrox.

Lewis Morgan was once on the books at the Light Blues and was released as a teenager, having been a supporter of the Ibrox club as a youngster. Fans feel such a talent should not have slipped through Rangers’ fingers.

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They took to Twitter to share their thoughts…

There was a time, not too long ago, that Nicolas Otamendi was considered a bit of a liability at Manchester City.

A centre-back that opposition teams targeted, the Argentine initially struggled to make his mark in the Premier League.

Otamendi, who is valued at £27m by transfermarkt.co.uk, has been simply brilliant for Man City this season, however, with the 29-year-old putting in a string of excellent performances for the Citizens.

As well as proving difficult to play against, Otamendi has scored four Premier League goals in 19 appearances – including what proved to be the winner against Manchester United at Old Trafford earlier this month.

Man City boss Pep Guardiola recently paid tribute to Otamendi for his impressive performances, and the club’s fans were also on hand to hail the centre-back.

John Stones and Vincent Kompany have both struggled with injuries in recent weeks, but Otamendi has been a constant for the Premier League leaders.

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A selection of the best Twitter reaction can be seen below:

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Sky Bet have shortened Everton’s odds of signing Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy to 8/1.

What’s the latest?

Ever since Vardy played a major role in helping Leicester lift the Premier League title in the 2015-16 season, the striker’s stock has risen.

During the campaign, which stunned the football world, the former non-league player netted 24 goals and became the league’s first player to score in 11 consecutive matches.

Despite committing to the Foxes following the club’s shock title win, numerous clubs continue to be linked to the forward.

Who wants him now?

All of the league’s big boys – Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea – have been linked with Vardy at one time or another.

Now, the bookies believe that if the striker does decide to move from the King Power Stadium, Everton might be his next destination.

Sky Bet have made the Toffees outside favourites to nab Vardy’s signature at 8/1, with United next in line at 16/1 with Ladbrokes.

The Merseyside outfit have struggled in front of goal this season, scoring just 25 in 23 league games.

Is Vardy a decent option?

On his own, the England international would be a positive signing for the misfiring Toffees.

The club, though, have already recruited Turkish forward Cenk Tosun and Arsenal star Theo Walcott, which would make the arrival of Vardy that much more exciting.

Former Everton boss Ronald Koeman failed to replace Romelu Lukaku last summer when the Belgian left for Manchester United.

Sam Allardyce, who replaced the Dutchman in November, has moved quickly to try to solve the issue by bringing in two attacking stars.

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Tosun is unproven in the Premier League, but Walcott has scored more than 100 goals in England and his ability to play anywhere across the front three gives Allardyce options.

If the club throw in Vardy as well, then Everton’s problems up front are sure to be over.

According to reports in The Sun on Sunday, Manchester United are lining up a £50m summer move for Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford if David De Gea leaves to join Real Madrid at the end of the season, and Red Devils fans have been quick to have their say on the rumour.

The Sun on Sunday says that United are expecting the La Liga giants to once again try and bring the 27-year-old back to Spain having targeted him on numerous occasions in recent years, and if the stopper does go then Jose Mourinho’s men already have their contingency plan in place.

They want to snap up Pickford, who has impressed following his move from Sunderland last June despite the fact that the Merseyside outfit have conceded 45 goals in 26 Premier League matches so far this term, including five in the 5-1 defeat against Arsenal at the Emirates on Saturday.

Man United supporters took to social media to give their thoughts on the story, and while one labelled him as “overrated”, another simply said “no thanks”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

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Liverpool have eased their pursuit of Roma goalkeeper Alisson due to price tag and Loris Karius’s upturn in form, according to the Liverpool Echo.

What’s the latest?

The Merseyside outfit’s goalkeeping issue has been frequently discussed among fans and pundits alike.

It is often said that a club cannot win league titles without a world-class shot-stopper in between the sticks.

Simon Mignolet was the club’s number one until the turn of the year, but he has been prone to mistakes throughout his Liverpool career.

Karius is now Jurgen Klopp’s first choice, but he too has faced criticism for some of his performances.

Roma’s Alisson has been regularly linked with a move to Anfield due to his impressive outings in Serie A this season.

With the summer transfer window being the next opportunity for business, potential targets are being mentioned in the media.

However, according to the Liverpool Echo, the Merseyside outfit will not follow up their interest in Alisson.

The publication claims that the Reds are satisfied with Karius’s recent form and are unwilling to entertain Roma’s £70m price tag.

It is believed that Roma regret selling Mohamed Salah to Liverpool for a fee of £36.9m, and wish they had asked for more, which indicates that negotiations for Alisson would be tricky.

Are Liverpool making the right decision?

In terms of the money aspect, it does seem as though it would be tough to bring the Italian outfit down on their asking figure.

Paying £70m for a goalkeeper is astonishing, but in this market, other playing positions are catching up with attackers in terms of cost.

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For so long, Liverpool have required a ready-made world-class goalkeeper that has proven time and again to be an asset to the team.

Mignolet has not proved it, and even though Karius has made some blunders, the jury is still out.

It is the first time that the German is getting a serious run-out in the team, and in the last few games he has looked more confident.

It might be best for Liverpool to reassess at the end of the season.

Occasionally, football clubs will conduct an interview with one of their players that will allow the fans to participate.

A common approach is the Twitter Q&A, which gives supporters an opportunity to pose their own questions.

This week, West Ham United decided to call on the fans to put questions forward for Declan Rice.

The 19-year-old defence-minded player has been at the club since 2014 when he signed from Chelsea’s youth academy.

Rice made his debut at the end of last season, and in this campaign he has had more game time, making 21 appearances in all competitions, six of which have been Premier League starts.

In total, Rice, who can play at centre-back or as a defensive midfielder, has played a full 90 minutes for the senior team on eight occasions and three of those have been in the league.

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When the club’s social media team asked fans to post their questions for Rice, not all of the responses.

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It did not help that the hashtag #AskDec inadvertently encouraged supporters to bring up TV presenting duo Ant and Dec.

Below are some of the more humorous questions posed.