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Some Liverpool fans are fuming at the performance of captain Jordan Henderson, who was hooked after 61 minutes in the clash against Red Bull Salzburg.

The Austrian Bundesliga outfit tried to replicate the miracle of Istanbul at Anfield on Wednesday evening, coming back from three goals down in remarkable fashion.

Although Mohamed Salah eventually crushed the visitors’ hopes and dreams with a cool finish to make the final score 4-3, Reds fans are not best pleased with some of their players.

Henderson and Georginio Wijnaldum in particular struggled, amassing WhoScored ratings of just 6.14 and 6.62 respectively.

Both players were withdrawn around the hour mark, and this is now the second time in as many games Jurgen Klopp has dragged his skipper off with the Reds not looking their best.

The 29 year-old managed no shots, key passes, dribbles, tackles, interceptions or clearances in the match, per WhoScored, and some fans are crucifying his display.

Check out some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

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

Speaking on Radio Marte’s ‘Si gonfia la rete’, Son Heung-min’s agent has opened the door for the forward to leave Tottenham and potentially join Serie A giants Napoli.

What’s the word?

The South Korea international has proven to be a major success for Mauricio Pochettino’s side since joining from Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2015 for £22m.

The 27-year-old enjoyed an impressive campaign for the north London side last season, scoring 20 goals and providing a further ten assists in 48 games across all competitions.

Watch how to cross the road like a boss with freestyler Ben Nuttall in the video below…

Now, his agent, Thies Bliemeister, has suggested he would be very interested in taking his client to Italy to play for Napoli.

He said: “I’ve never brought a player to Napoli, but I’d like to because (Diego) Maradona, my favourite player, played for them. I’ve talked to Napoli in the past, with executives who are no longer at the club. I’ll take advantage of this double-header with Salzburg to talk to them.

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“As for Son at Napoli, why not? You can never say never in football. Son likes Italy, the food and Italian people. It’s not easy to take him from Tottenham because he costs a lot but, one day, who knows?”

Hammer blow

Make no mistake about it, losing Son would be a huge blow to Spurs. The forward’s influence on the side cannot be under-stated, and his ability to play anywhere across the front-line gives Pochettino such a vital option.

The South Korean has been one of the rare bright spots of what has been a difficult start to the campaign this season, scoring three times and providing three assists.

His menacing directness (he has averaged 2.8 shots and 2.1 dribbles per game this season) gives Spurs a player who is capable of taking the game to the opposition. Losing someone of that ability would rob the north Londoners of a game-changing influence.

Son is the kind of natural talent that was spotted even at 18 by former Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, who described him as “something special”. If the 27-year-old’s agent succeeds in getting him out of Spurs however, then it would truly be ‘something awful’.

Everton are having a torrid time as of late.

Indeed, the Toffees have had a shocking start to the season as they sit in the relegation zone after eight league games.

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There haven’t been many bright sparks for the Merseyside outfit this term, but despite the team’s poor results one player has continued to impress.

Indeed, Lucas Digne’s performances haven’t wavered during Everton’s dip, and the French left-back retweeted a stat that shows just how good he has been this term.

The Frenchman shared a stat to his followers that shows he has created the second-highest number of chances of defenders in the top-flight – two of those have led to assists and he also has a goal in the League Cup.

Only Trent Alexander-Arnold has created more opportunities than the Everton man from the back this term.

Check out the real life version of FIFA 20’s Volta Football in the video below…

If the Toffees were more clinical in front of goal then Digne would have many more assists to his name, though we’re not sure the Goodison faithful will be overly chuffed with him retweeting posts that also show just how lethal the Scouser across the park is.

Tottenham fans’ hope of seeing two new signings in action anytime soon have been dashed as Mauricio Pochettino has suggested they are a “long way off” the levels required.

The Spurs boss is referring to Ryan Sessegnon and Giovani Lo Celso, both of whom are still getting used to the standards set by the club in terms of fitness and perhaps playing style.

Unlike Sessegnon, Lo Celso does at least have some minutes under his belt having featured in three league games – if only for a combined total of 44 minutes – before injury has ruled him out in the last few weeks.

Many supporters are unhappy with the news and have aimed criticism at both the club’s transfer strategy and Pochettino’s demands, with some pointing out that other clubs don’t have the same problem, using Rodri’s immediate integration at Manchester City as an example.

To make matters worse, it’s not as if results on the pitch are making up for their absence, leading to frustrated reactions such as the ones below.

Newcastle United fans had a very cynical perspective to the news that goalkeeper Martin Dubravka penned a new long term deal at St James’ Park.

The 30-year-old joined up with Magpies in 2018 and was initially on loan from Czech side Sparta Prague, and has started every game for the North East side since.

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Dubravka has only kept three clean sheets in the Premier League this season but has stopped the ball hitting the back of his net in 18 out of 59 games for the Magpies, in total.

His new contract at the club will see him pass his 36th birthday, and handing such a long deal to a 30-year-old would usually be an unusual stance for the club to take, although they did give Alan Pardew eight years!

Despite Newcastle being able to keep hold of an essential asset to their side, supporters do not see him staying for anywhere near that length of time.

One fan said that the deal was put together to insert a relegation clause into his contract, while another believes he will be sold in January for a more substantial transfer fee.

Here you will find some of the best comments from Newcastle fans:

Leeds United have some of the most passionate fans in the country.

The Elland Road faithful are usually quick to jump on the back of any manager that criticises their club in any way at all.

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We’ve seen fans give Frank Lampard loads of stick over the past few months over comments they’ve made in the press, but this time a number of supporters have actually agreed with an opposition manager’s criticisms.

Alex Neil has said that Leeds are one of the best teams he has seen in the division and that they excel in every department except when it comes to converting chances.

It’s almost impossible to disagree with Neil’s statement as the xG league table shows that Leeds are seriously underperforming in front of goal.

As a result of Neil’s remarks, they used it as an opportunity to slate Patrick Bamford, while others simply agreed with Neil’s statement.

Here’s what the United fanbase have been saying on Twitter…

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…

It’s about getting the balance right.

And Nottingham Forest’s game against Luton Town will be a good way to test one of the oldest questions in sport. Which is better? Rest or rust?

Well one former Forest player is firmly on one side of the debate, at least he is given the current run of form that Sabri Lamouchi’s men find themselves in at the moment. Kenny Burns is very much part of the ‘rust’ part of the discussion.

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What’s he said?

Speaking to Nottinghamshire Live, Burns said that the postponement of the Reading game came at the worst possible time for Sabri Lamouchi and his men:

“If we’d been winning, maybe they’d have deserved a day off. But at the minute there’s things we need to work on. We’ve not really turned up since the international break. It came at a bad time for us – killed our momentum.

“I can’t say I’m looking forward to the Luton game this weekend. I would have been a few weeks ago, but our form just makes me a bit worried.”

Should form come into the debate?

Would it really have made a difference if Forest had come into the game off the back of a couple of victories?

As we discussed previously on FFC, the biggest beneficiaries of the Reading game being called off are the players that are currently going through injuries, as it gives them a week of recovery without having to miss any of the actual games.

Check out Matchday with Max’s latest Nottingham Forest vlog in the video below…

But on the subject of momentum, the way that Forest were performing beforehand shouldn’t come into the equation.

Whilst Burns may not like the fact that the players didn’t get a chance to sort out their recent form, surely the postponement just gives them the chance to essentially play Luton Town at a much higher tempo off the back of the additional rest and overwhelm them.

Surely that would be the plan whether they were in a good spell of form or not?

Just as a side note, last week Luton boss Graeme Jones had complaints about Birmingham City getting an extra day’s rest ahead of their game at St Andrew’s, I wonder if he’s going to have similar complaints this weekend if Lamouchi’s men do come out on top?

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…

Charlie Nicholas thinks Liverpool should brush aside Aston Villa but he did point to one area of weakness where Liverpool could be exploited.

What did he say?

The pundit praised the Reds’ front-three as well as the effectiveness of their full-backs, and suggested that when they’re on top form they make life really difficult for the opposition.

However, he also stated that Liverpool’s area of weakness lies on the flanks, pointing to the space the full-backs leave in behind when venturing forward which Villa could take advantage of.

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Writing in his Sky Sports’ Premier League predictions, Nicholas said: “They [Aston Villa] want John McGinn and Jack Grealish on the ball, with the energy and drive to find the gaps that Liverpool will leave open.

“It could be Trezeguet who could hurt Liverpool, especially in these wide areas. Everybody has seen with Trent Alexander-Arnold that he is unbelievable going forward but can leave gaps at the back, so how do you expose it? It is the wide areas where Liverpool can win and lose games.”

Another positive for Liverpool is that Jack Grealish is battling fitness to start the match, so could be off form, and if Jurgen Klopp’s side dominate the midfield like they so often do – with 58% average possession this term – then the full-backs will be able to take up dangerous positions.

Weakness at the back

From his comments, it seems that Nicholas believes the match-up between Trezeguet and Alexader-Arnold could be key to deciding the outcome of the match.

The 25-year-old has managed an average of 1.3 successful dribbles per league game but the main worry for Liverpool is that he could exploit Alexander-Arnold by running in behind him.

His positioning has been questioned this season. He was at fault for Kosovo’s second goal against England back in September and he was also pinpointed as a defensive weakness by Chris Wilder, who told his Sheffield United side to concentrate their attacks down Liverpool’s right flank.

If Trezeguet is on form, Villa could have success by deploying a similar method of attack.

Alexander-Arnold, therefore, must keep an eye on the potential for runners in behind, and keep a balanced position throughout which ensures his side don’t get caught on the break, otherwise they could lose ground at the summit of the table.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Real Madrid have been rising in form recently and Zinedine Zidane seems to finally have found his mojo once again in the Spanish capital. But one huge part of that newfound success is the emergence of the 21-year-old midfielder, Federico Valverde.

On the chalkboard

At the very beginning of the season, things were all but good for Real Madrid.

They were struggling defensively, leaking far too many goals in the process, Zidane seemed a bit lost in his tactics and ideas, and Los Blancos lacked any sort of control in their games.

In short, things were really not looking great.

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But fast forward a couple of months in the future and suddenly, the sky is much clearer above the Galacticos’ camp.

Of course, some of their veterans and key players remained consistent, making that success possible in the first place but some new faces, like the young Valverde, could be starting a changing of the guard.

Out with the old

By now, it is no secret – Real Madrid have struggled with injuries throughout the 2019/20 campaign and one of the players who were more out of the squad than in it was Luka Modric.

The now 34-year-old Ballon d’Or winner needs no special introduction but his influence, even though still present, is slowly but surely veining.

This season, the Croatian midfielder has played a total of eight games across all competitions but when he was away, he was not as missed by the team as he used to be back in the day.

Watch Lionel Messi and Gareth Bale answer the internet’s weirdest questions in the video below…

Real Madrid have won four games with him in the line-up, substitutions included, but have also drawn four as well, tallying a 50% win rate in the process.

Valverde, on the other hand, even though just 21, seems to already have a much bigger influence on the squad.

So far, Los Blancos have a 67% win rate with the Uruguayan in the team and 33% without him, as opposed to 57% win rate without Modric.

But that’s not nearly all – in the six games Valverde was in the starting XI across all competitions this campaign, Zidane’s troops have won five of them, drawing the other while also scoring 18 goals and conceding only two.

This adds up to five clean sheets as well.

Quite clearly, Valverde brings something big to this team and even though Modric is a huge figure at the club, the boss might want to consider granting the youngster a permanent start ahead of the experienced Croat.

Stats and numbers don’t lie – Real Madrid are better with Valverde and if they want to continue this successful trend going forward, they would be wise to keep the Uruguayan in the gala XI.

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…

Well that certainly was a turn up for the books.

It was almost as if he read what we wrote about him last week and decided to put in an ‘I’ll show you’ performance.

We said last week that if you just looked at the raw numbers of the situation, it was rather baffling to see Yuri Ribeiro constantly in the starting line-up for Nottingham Forest. It was even more baffling when you compared it to his main contender for that spot in Jack Robinson.

However, he knuckled down and put in quite a performance, enough so that he managed to be named in the WhoScored.com Team of the Week for his displays.

If you take a look at his numbers (from WhoScored), it’s obvious to see why. He made 5 tackles, completed 40 passes, 3 of them leading to chances while also amassing an 82% pass completion rate, and having a 100% dribble success rate too.

There are a number of questions that come off a performance like that. Can he be trusted to keep up this level of performance going forward, or was this merely a one-off performance?

Did he ‘step up to the occasion’ as it were, given the magnitude of a match with Derby County? Is he going to return to the norm once we get back from the international break? It all remains to be seen.

Maybe this was something that was always going to happen once he’d had a chance to get settled into the first team. He only arrived in the summer from Benfica, but even if simply settling down was the case, it’s taken an awfully long time for those adjustments to kick into place.

Hopefully, this performance wasn’t the exception and can instead become the rule.

Nottingham Forest haven’t got much room for error when it comes to promotion this season, with FiveThirtyEight giving them just a 15% chance of getting promoted this season. That means that he can’t afford to go back to the levels of production that made us question his position in the first place.