Man City and Liverpool are two of the world’s best teams at the moment.
City are the champions of England and Liverpool are the champions of Europe, and the two sides were only separated by one point when all was said and done in the Premier League last season.
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It’s hard to say which squad is better, but it’s seemingly even harder to say which team has the better goalkeeper as Ederson and Alisson are both top quality stoppers – ranking second and first respectively in the Premier League for clean sheets last season.
Kevin De Bruyne was asked to take part in a FIFA challenge this week and he gave his opinion on the goalkeeper debate.
The Belgian was asked to give his thoughts on the best Premier League XI on FIFA 20, and first up was the Liverpool goalie.
Of course, it was always going to be an opinion-splitting decision for Alisson to be chosen over Ederson.
De Bruyne says that his teammate is ‘definitely better’ with his feet, but in the end he concedes that Alisson is a fantastic player, stating that he’s fine with him being rated higher after such a fantastic debut campaign in England.
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…
Everton have fallen into the relegation zone after losing 1-0 to Burnley over the weekend, with the team averaging a performance rating of 6.59 at Turf Moor. Although the team did indeed perform poorly, in a surprising manner, Lucas Digne was extremely wasteful in the game and produced an uncharacteristically bad display.
Digne is Everton’s current Player of the Year and Players’ Player of the Year, after an incredible debut season on Merseyside, which saw him average very respectable 7.36 during the Premier League last campaign.
Against Burnley, however, the Frenchman lost possession 26 times throughout the 90 minutes he played and did not threaten much going forward, nor was he defensively astute throughout the game.
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Considering Everton had 60% of the ball, it is quite an alarming statistic to see such a talented, tidy player lose the ball so frequently, especially when you add in that Digne also completed just one cross out of the 11 he attempted.
On the other hand, the ex-PSG man did not make a single tackle or clearance during the whole game and considering the team made 14 clearances during the match, it is somewhat surprising to see the left-back not make a single one of them – he averaged 2.7 clearances per game last season.
The former Barcelona player was one of the best in the business going forward last campaign, providing four assists, scoring four times and averaging two key passes per match and 2.4 crosses each game. At Turf Moor, however, Digne failed to dribble past a single player nor did he even attempt to do so, and at the same time completed only 35 passes – 11.5 less than his average for the season.
Throughout his time on Merseyside, the Toffees have looked to the Frenchman to provide devastating deliveries into the box and there is little doubting his importance to the club right now. However, this poor display against Burnley is perhaps a sign of the times for Everton, and when such a crucial player struggles in this manner, questions have to be asked of the whole team and the manager.
Going forward, should Marco Silva stay or go, the Blues must hope that one of their key players gets back to his usual threatening ways, otherwise, the Merseyside outfit may find themselves in around the relegation zone for much longer.
Manchester United could be moving closer to securing an agreement to bring in Croatian midfielder, Ivan Rakitic.
The Barcelona man has been on the list of potential signings for the Red Devils for some time now, and according to Spanish publication, Sport, United have opened talks to bring in the midfielder.
The 31-year-old has found appearances hard to come by at the Camp Nou this season despite being a key figure at the club over the last few years, making only one La Liga start this term.
However, that hasn’t put United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer off being keen on bringing the Croatian midfielder into the club, despite Rakitic being over 30 and perhaps outside of the model adopted in the summer at Old Trafford, a model which saw them sign Harry Maguire, Dan James, and Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
Rakitic has had plenty of success while in Barcelona and was also part of the Croatia team which reached the World Cup final last year before losing out to France. Indeed, it could well be that winning mentality and experience which is drawing United towards signing Rakitic, given he has won the Champions League and four La Liga titles during his time with the Catalan giants.
United would be looking for Rakitic to be at his creative best if he does sign, with his 2016/17 stats of eight goals and five assists in the league suggesting he can indeed be an attacking force for the club. Last season, he made more passes a game (74.6) than anyone in the United squad according to WhoScored, so could perhaps offer a steady presence in the engine room and create a better link to the attack, with the Red Devils struggling to break down the likes of Newcastle, Rochdale and AZ Alkmaar of late.
While leaning on young players can obviously be a good thing in terms of a long-term strategy, sometimes big clubs need some proven quality and Rakitic’s spell with Barca and his form for Croatia show he can do it at the top level.
31 isn’t too old when you consider he was a regular last season and was recently in a World Cup final, he might be an ideal signing to bring in alongside younger players at Old Trafford.
Would Rakitic fit in at Old Trafford? Join the discussion by commenting below…
This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…
Speaking to The Guardian, Ralph Rangnick has outlined he would only consider an approach from a side like Manchester United were he to be given full control over developing the club.
What’s the word?
Reports in recent weeks and months have suggested the Red Devils are contemplating appointing their first-ever director of football, although comments from Ed Woodward earlier in the summer seemed to pour cold water over that potential decision.
Now, former Schalke and RB Leipzig boss Rangnick has opened the door to potentially joining United in a backroom capacity, but insisted any club he went to would have to give him considerable autonomy to implement his philosophy.
How much money could you make busking for a week as a freestyle footballer? Find out in the video below…
When asked whether he would be interested in an approach from the Red Devils, Rangnick remarked: “I am happy where I am but if any club wanted to speak to me, the question would have to be: ‘Can I be somebody who can influence areas of development across the whole club?’ Otherwise you are only getting half of what I am capable of. If, after that, you can work together in a trustworthy and respectful way, then you are more likely to be successful.”
Vital
Perhaps even more than the decision to stick or twist with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, United’s potential appointment of a director of football would arguably be more important. Several managers have come and gone since Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure, and none of them have really made it work at Old Trafford.
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But hiring someone whose sole purpose is to streamline the club’s identity and process, and ensuring they have a strict philosophy in place would go a long way to solving the mish-mash approach the club has fallen for. Rangnick comes with considerable pedigree in his time as manager and as a sporting director for Leipzig and Red Bull Salzburg. Kevin Kampl even described the 61-year-old as being “mad about the game”.
Just this season, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp hailed Rangnick for his work at Salzburg ahead of their Champions League meeting with the Austrian side, and insisted all of their success is down to him.
“The main reason is Ralf Rangnick. He’s an outstanding manager, outstanding sporting director. It’s all based on him.”
Getting an experienced, proven hand in Rangnick to fill the important role of director of football would be a major coup for United.
This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…
Leeds are back to winning ways and find themselves second in the league.
But despite all this, there’s one member of the team that has come under fierce criticism from former player Noel Whelan, and that’s Helder Costa.
What’s he said?
Speaking to Football Insider, Whelan has claimed that he is yet to justify the fee that Leeds have spent on him.
“It’s not good enough. He was our headline signing and he’s not living up to it. £15million is a hell of a lot of money when you consider his performances. There has been the occasional glimpse of brilliance, but he doesn’t create enough chances.
“The way he is playing, you wouldn’t be paying £15million for him. I’ve not seen him have one good game away from home. Leeds will be expecting a lot more from him. He’s been a big disappointment so far.”
How many more warnings?
We have discussed previously on FFC, Costa hasn’t exactly set the world alight during his time at Elland Road so far.
So after so many warnings and bad comments like this from the press, you’d think that Costa might finally have picked up this game, however, there still hasn’t been any tangible results for people to point at and say that there has been progress in recent weeks.
In short, he’s been pretty poor and hasn’t been involved in a single goal from his four league starts.
Whilst the fee isn’t due until next year, when Leeds could conceivably be flush with the many millions that being in the Premier League brings, Whelan is right to bring up the £15m they could pay, mainly because it could end up acting as an anchor around the club if things don’t go right for Leeds this season.
If they don’t go up, they will need to look for someone like Costa to help be their driving force in the 2020/21 season.
Looking back at his record in the Championship when he was with Wolves, contributing to 18 goals in one season, it’s clear that there is a decent player in there at this level, but for some reason, he is yet to appear at Elland Road.
He really needs to buck his ideas up, or he could find himself being worth a lot less than the £15m they’ll be forking out at the end of the campaign.
This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…
Leeds United were once again rescued by Eddie Nketiah on Tuesday evening as the striker scored the Whites’ only goal of the game to earn them a point against Preston at Deepdale.
His goal means that he’s now Leeds’ top scorer in all competitions, netting five goals despite playing only 388 minutes for the Yorkshire outfit.
That means that he finds the net every 77.6 minutes for the club, and understandably there have been calls for him to start.
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However, there is an argument to be made that Bielsa is actually using him perfectly.
Nketiah’s strengths lie in his finishing – he’s taken 11 shots in the league and has scored three times.
However, the Arsenal loanee doesn’t have the same abilities as Patrick Bamford when it comes to pressing the backline and linking play between the rest of the team, and if you’ve watched any of Marcelo Bielsa’s teams you know just how important that is to the Argentine.
Nketiah may actually be best utilised when he’s coming off the bench as there is usually more space for his fresher legs to operate in against fatigued defenders.
It’s very reminiscent of the way Borussia Dortmund used Paco Alcacer last season.
The Spaniard was one of the top scorers in the Bundesliga, netting 18 goals throughout the campaign, but he only played 1205 minutes for his team.
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Most of his appearances were off the bench, and that was when he was at his most effective as 13 of his 18 goals came during those cameo appearances, while in 11 starts he only netted five times.
Alcacer never worked as well as a starting striker due to the fact he couldn’t manipulate the space as effectively as he could when he was coming off the bench.
Nketiah may very well be the same, his work rate isn’t at the same level as Bamford, and Bielsa’s current system of subbing the Arsenal loanee on late is clearly working as the England U21 star is Leeds’ top scorer in all competitions.
He’s single-handedly won Leeds seven extra points already this term as he netted the winner against Brentford, broke the deadlock late on against Barnsley as well as winning the penalty for the second goal,
This week he even bagged a late equaliser against Preston.
He’s a top striker, but with the way the Argentine wants his Leeds team to operate, the best way to use the 20-year-old may be to continue bringing him off the bench.
A number of Tottenham Hotspur fans have taken to social media to criticise Harry Winks for his performance in Sunday’s Premier League clash with Liverpool.
According to WhoScored, the 23-year-old only had a pass success rate of 69% before being replaced just past the hour mark.
And when considering that Winks was largely in the team to recycle the ball, completing just 18 passes at Anfield is not exactly fantastic.
The midfielder has been a key player for Mauricio Pochettino this season – appearing in 12 of their 14 matches in all competitions.
Winks is yet to provide a goal or an assist, though, and his performance in Sunday’s 2-1 defeat at Anfield was not well received by the Spurs supporters.
Indeed, many took to social media in the aftermath of the loss to criticise the four-time England international, who was substituted for Tanguy Ndombele when the score was 1-1.
A selection of the Twitter reaction from the Tottenham fans can be seen below:
If anything summed Arsenal up over the last decade or so it would be their start to the current Premier League campaign.
The only matches they’ve lost have come against Liverpool and Sheffield United. One is a bustling team full of attacking and defensively quality and the other is a well regimented and unified outfit.
Unai Emery’s side are neither of those, however, and it’s extremely difficult to work out where the Spaniard is heading with this crop of players.
His style is dull and lacks fluidity, there is no personality and they’ve distanced themselves so far from the distinct philosophies that Arsene Wenger ingrained in the club.
In fact, Emery has gone so far back that he could replicate George Graham. That isn’t in a good way, either.
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Graham is one of Arsenal’s most successful managers and in his nine-year tenure at Highbury helped take the club to eight honours. That included a European trophy and two First Division titles, as well as the FA Cup.
It also included some incredibly dry football and tough times, something we’re seeing to a similar degree in 2019 – over 23 years since Graham first walked through the doors.
As well as the Gunners did under him, they finished sixth, tenth and also 12th during his reign in north London.
That final placing was enough to see him walk out of Arsenal, eventually being replaced by Bruce Rioch. Wenger was his successor and the rest was history.
It’s been a topsy-turvy time in the life of a fan at the Emirates Stadium. Many were willing to give time to the new management – after all, things were never going to be sorted overnight.
But there have now been many nights since he entered London Colney and even if the former Sevilla manager still requires time to see where things go, the style needs to be improved. But is that time now running out?
The huge toxicity that surrounded him and Granit Xhaka during a draw with Crystal Palace says so.
Arsenal long for some more respected figures around the club, and how they could do with a duo that initially came together in the first year after Graham.
Ian Wright and Dennis Bergkamp are the two names in question and they recently spent some time together as some poignant words were shared.
The interview with the pair was fascinating as the flying Dutchman not only labelled his concerns about the current crop at the club, but gave an insight into what life was like when he first arrived. Rather remarkably, it’s something that can be linked back to the modern-day.
Despite Rioch arriving, they still couldn’t shake one of the most damning tags Graham’s sides had earned – ‘Boring Arsenal’.
Although it may have been enough to see them win the title as they ground out results, it wasn’t particularly pleasing on the eye.
However, if we cast our minds towards the present again, Arsenal are far from entertaining but they’re also failing to grind out good performances. That was evident against a bullish Sheffield United and Crystal Palace.
Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang was isolated and Alexandre Lacazette’s introduction failed to see the Gunners register a goal at Bramall Lane. Nicolas Pepe was also guilty of trying too much.
In the video below, we look at where it all went wrong for Arsenal’s former ‘saviour’, Mesut Ozil…
Funnily enough, what they’re missing is a Bergkamp. A number 10 capable of linking the midfield to the attack.
But what his words indicate, is that the scenario that played out when he first arrived in 1995 from Inter Milan, is being replicated now.
It almost feels as though those behind the front three are leaving it up to the forwards to do it all by themselves. With that comes a burden and considerable pressure.
Aubameyang has scored eight Premier League strikes this term but there is a lack of threat behind him. Lacazette and David Luiz have two but after him is a defensive trio on one for the season – Calum Chambers, Sokratis and Lucas Torreira. Pepe, meanwhile, is on the same tally.
It’s damning but it shows how dull the Gunners have been.
In Graham’s two title-winning seasons, Arsenal scored 73 and 74 goals respectively. In 2018/19, Emery’s team managed that first number but finished outside of the top four.
Football perhaps wasn’t as free-flowing back then as it is now and with the added quality and finances that Liverpool and Manchester City possess, it shows how far Arsenal have fallen behind and how the game has progressed.
If we reflect upon some of the dullest memories at N5 over 20 years ago, it was the 90s where it was particularly drab.
Via The Telegraph, they netted just 40 goals in 1992/93, a tally that stands at 1.86 per game. Incredibly, 15 of their games were 1-0 wins.
The season after that, they scored 53 times at a rate of 1.93 strikes per match. In Rioch and Bergkamp’s first season they hit the back of the net on just 49 occasions in the league.
In 11 top-flight matches this term, the Gunners have scored as few as 16 times. That’s at a record of 1.5 goals each outing.
If they carry on in the same manner, Arsenal will somehow become even duller than Graham could ever manage. No wonder Lucas Torreira was emotionally distressed during their performance against Roy Hodgson’s men.
Tactical comparisons can easily be drawn between the two. Emery’s deep video analysis is well documented while Graham had a similar fascination. Journalist Amy Lawrence recently detailed:
“George Graham, being a student of tactics, he used to read books from America about sports psychology and specialist things. He developed this thirst for knowledge and tactics that was quite a bit ahead of his day.”
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Fortunately for the now 74-year-old, he had trophies to boast about and rather crucially he was respected by his players. After all, we are talking about one of the best to manage in N5.
Emery might be replicating the boring brand of football, but he is far from cherished.
Rather ironically, there are suggestions from one of the greats of the Graham era, Alan Smith, that his playing staff don’t understand him and that’s indicative of the current mess surrounding the club.
In some ways, the two managers are bound together, but at the same time, they couldn’t be further apart.
This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…
Jurgen Klopp has said that a solution must be found after it was confirmed Liverpool will play two games in two days in December.
What did he say?
The last month of the year will be a very busy one for the former Borussia Dortmund manager and his team. It has now been confirmed that the Reds will face Aston Villa on December 17th, before playing the Club World Cup semi-final a day later.
The 52-year-old is not happy with the decision and congestion. He said: “We have to find solutions. The problems are obvious. Every year we do the same again. Some find it funny – ‘five games in three days – let’s see how it works out’.”
The price of success
It is certainly not an ideal situation for the Anfield outfit. They will play 12 games in the space of 37 days, and there is still an F.A Cup match to be determined for January.
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However, this is the price of success. Winning the Champions League earns you a spot in the Club World Cup, and this is not news to the Merseyside club. They knew this all the way back in June as soon as they lifted the trophy in Madrid.
The more you win, the more you play. Yes, it is inconvenient, but Liverpool just have to get on with it and try and compete for the all the trophies they are competing in. And anyway, some more forward planning could have made this situation an awful lot easier.
In the summer, the Reds spent just £1.71m and brought in only three players – Sepp van den Berg, Harvey Elliot and Adrian – two of which are aged 17 or younger. The latter is nothing other than a back-up goalkeeper to number one Alisson, whilst the former two are nowhere near ready to contribute regularly.
Whilst the exact time of the fixtures would have been unknown a few months ago, there surely must have been some inclination that a fixture congestion would be possible. The Reds are one of the best teams in England: is a League Cup quarter-final really that much of a surprise?
Liverpool should have added more depth to their squad, it is as simple as that.
Yes, the first XI is pretty settled considering the success they had last campaign, but some extra back-up options would not have gone amiss.
As such, they could pay the price before the end of the calendar year is even out.
This article is part of Football FanCast’s Off the Bench series, which places in-game managerial decisions and squad selections under FFC’s microscope.
Everton returned to winning ways last weekend as they beat Southampton 2-1 in a fairly dominant performance at St. Mary’s.
Snapshot
Everton looked much better down on the south coast than they have done in their past two Premier League games. In truth, after registering 24 shots and reducing Southampton to just four, the Toffees should be irritated it was not more.
One man who was part of this convincing victory was Alex Iwobi, who came off the bench this time to impress the Everton faithful. The former Arsenal man would enter the fray towards the end of the game in place of Theo Walcott, and put in a decent performance in a short amount of time.
Finally some competition amongst players
Gylfi Sigurdsson also put in a great show in the number 10 spot with four key passes, and this will now give Marco Silva much-needed competition within the squad.
Within the 16 minutes that Iwobi entered the pitch, he had 14 touches, played a key pass and also hit the woodwork.
The Nigeria international added a bit more mobility to the attack late on and showed Silva he can offer something different.
Iwobi has started just two games from an attacking midfield position so far, but his 7.02 rating in this spot compared to 6.31 from the left suggests it is his best position. On the other hand, Sigurdsson has had a topsy-turvy season from his usual spot behind the striker.
From scoring 13 goals in the league last season to registering just the one so far, the former Swansea man’s importance appears to have diminished and it’s down to the likes of Iwobi to fill the creative void.
Now, it seems that Silva is finally going to get some much-needed competition within the squad, which will only boost performances.