All posts by h79snht.top

West Ham are reportedly close to completing a deal for 21 year-old defender Issa Diop, and fans are absolutely loving the news.

According to Sky Sports, the Hammers are closing in on a £22m deal for Diop, who captains the France U23 side.

The towering defender has been pursued by Monaco, Marseille, Red Bull Leipzig and Sevilla, but the Sky report claims the race is all but over, as the Hammers have “agreed a deal in principle” with his club Toulouse.

Diop is only 21, but made 37 appearances for the French club last season, and is one of the most highly sought after young defenders in Europe.

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He scored three times last season, and boasts some impressive defensive statistics, averaging over two interceptions and nearly four clearances per game.

The 6 ft 3 youngster is good with the ball for such a colossal defender, and should help Manuel Pellegrini bring a new brand of football to the London Stadium.

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Alfie Mawson is another name that’s been linked with the Hammers, and fans are loving the prospect of also adding the Swansea man to make a young, powerful duo.

You can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

As reported by MailOnline, Stoke City have matched Middlesborough’s £5m bid for Sunderland utility player Paddy McNair.

Newly-appointed Stoke manager Gary Rowett has set about revamping the Potters side, securing the signing of Benik Afobe from Wolves as well as Peter Etebo from Portuguese side Feirense.

Stoke fans have been impressed with the speed in which Rowett is overhauling his playing squad, the latest addition set to be Northern Ireland international Paddy McNair.

McNair was a bright spark in a season which saw Sunderland relegated to League One, scoring four goals in the last five games of the season, and emerged from a campaign to forget with his reputation largely unscathed.

McNair can play in both defence and midfield, and would represent an astute signing. But many Stoke fans are not convinced by the player, yet others seem to be cautiously optimistic about the player.

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Fans took to Twitter to share their thoughts on the reports…

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United London have two strikers who have accumulated over 20+ goals between them, and on top of that a wealth of creative midfielders in Samraj, Emmanuel & Shaun. So why did they have to rely on a late free kick (Beckham vs Greece circa 2001) from Shaun Goddard to seal the three points against a side in the bottom three.

Thanks to PlayerTek’s easy to read layout, we can analyse these very issues by looking at the players heat maps & statistics!

Formation & Tactics

Once again, the fans picked a 4-4-2 formation and the coaching staff at United London set the midfield up into a diamond shape. It consisted of Scott Stacy at the deepest point of the diamond, Samraj on the left (drafted in due to Scott Truman’s last-minute withdrawal) and Shaun on the right side of centre midfield, with Emmanuel at the top of diamond.

Up front again was Harry and Billy. The back was made up of Peter at Right back, Tacko and Taylor were the centre back partnership, and John Hughes making his debut at Left Back.

The objective was to build a system which allowed the midfield players to play in between lines, & combine with defence and forwards.

Attacking Stats

On the day United London had 25 attempts at goal, but only 5 on target. Looking at the midfield only;

Scott Stacy had 5 attempts at goal, 3 from a corner, the rest outside the area.

Emmanuel had 4, all from outside the area.

Shaun had 3, all from outside the area.

Samrag only had 1, again from outside the area.

Harry and Billy had 4 & 5 respectively, all within the penalty area.

Midfield Penetration?

As stated above United London have a wealth of attacking talent throughout midfield and with the disciplined Scott Stacy offering consistent cover on the day surely, they would be no match for London cranes! However according to the Heat Maps there were only 10 runs made into the box from the midfield and only 3 of them were dynamic. So, what stopped the midfield entering the box?

The Front Two

Up front United London have two of the league’s best target men in Harry and Billy. Harry’s average position was in the middle on edge of the Crane area with Billy positioned heavily towards the left of the area.

For the midfield to penetrate they need gaps to be created from the front two, this normally comes from a diagonal run towards the channels clearing a path way for incoming midfielders.

Billy was more dynamic, but all of his runs were straight and towards the goal and Harry who was less mobile on day only made one diagonal run in the first half. Therefore, we have touched upon an issue, is there is a lack of space preventing midfield to run beyond the opposition defence.

United London have two great goal scorers up front but goal scorers want to score goals, do they want to be making runs into the channels reducing their chances of scoring? if they did, they may see the score lines increase with more midfield penetration.

The formation

The average team in the Essex alliance league will play a 4-5-1 which transitions into 4-3-3. The fans of United London have favoured the 4-4-2 which generally means the midfield are overrun, leading to the midfield being bypassed due to a direct ball from defence. This may work against the less athletic/intelligent teams of the league but against their title chasing rivals United London must develop a more controlled style of play.

In the first half on Saturday the diamond did allow United London to overload the centre of midfield and dominate the possession. However, this dominant possession only amounted to a 1-0 lead at half time due to the lack of runs in behind the opposition defence.

Though there was definitely a lot of opportunity to break defensive lines, particularly on the left hand side where Emmanuel , Samraj and John combined well. Perhaps the midfield were concerned by the risk of getting caught out in transition and being vulnerable to a counter attack.

Could United London be better suited if midfield maestro Scott Truman was added to midfield to partner Scott Stacy? It would add a lot of balance to the side. Resulting in the fantasy points of the creative three, treble.

Shaun would have licence to roam and create, and the dynamic pair of Samraj & Emmanuel could use their movement to hurt defences… But so far United London fans are proving that Mike Bassett’s England manager is still relevant as they have voted in the 4-4-2 in every game except two, which is incredible!

Conclusion

An outsider may see the table and assume United London are doing well, but with the squad they have they could be steam rolling the league.

Saturday’s statistics show that the best goal scoring opportunities fall to just two players, And so far this season United London have lost one, drawn one. Those games were the ones which Harry or Billy never scored in. So, If United London are to beat their title rivals then they must break the chains of the creative midfielders, allowing them to roam forward and add to the attack.

Goals win games. So far, this season the fans have built their side around two target men to score the goals. Will this prove to be formula of success? Saturday hinted that it may not be…

Arsenal confuse me. The whole club, really. They’re a classy club who seem to care about doing the right thing (like playing football the proper way), and yet their ticket prices are the highest in the land.

The manager also buys into this philosophy – he’s the one who instilled it – and yet is changing his idealistic approach in favour of creating a little bit more steel. And I like Arsene Wenger because he’s a great manager and seems like a decent guy, but – like most football fans – I hate it when he whinges after a game, I hate how he’ll rarely praise the opposition after a defeat, and I hate how he’ll blame anyone other than himself. It’s all very confusing.

But now they’re starting to confuse me in terms of tactics and recruitment too.

Arsenal have a great squad this season, capable of competing for the title. They have two players in every position, and they have a wonderful attacking midfield filled with world class players. But more than that, they have a variety of options – Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott are very different to Santi Cazorla and Mesut Ozil. Not all can play at any one time, but Wenger can pick and choose depending on the nature of the opposition.

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But it’s the defensive part I worry about, and it’s confusing me. Because Wenger seems to want to add a pragmatic edge to his squad this season. Last year Arsenal beat Manchester City at the Etihad because they played a very pragmatic defensive game and were devastating on the counter attack. In the Community Shield against Chelsea, the Gunners again played on the counter, infuriating Jose Mourinho. Both those games they won, and both were good for setting a marker down to the rest of the league, saying Arsenal are back.

At the start of this season Francis Coquelin is again trusted in the defensive midfield role of the Arsenal XI. He’s a capable player even though just a year ago he was on loan out in the wilderness. But Wenger insists that Coquelin would have been hailed as a wonderful signing had he cost the Gunners £40m. I don’t disagree, he’s been that good and he may well be the answer to Arsenal’s midfield woes – those woes stemming from a lack of muscle in the middle.

But given that Coquelin cost nothing, and given that Arsenal were so shaky in that department, and given that Coquelin has only managed a good half a season, why not invest some more money in there? Why not go after another defensive midfielder who can either play alongside Coquelin in the bigger games, or compete with him for that role when they play the smaller teams? What if Coquelin gets injured – or, you know, a red card – and misses games? Flamini?

That’s confusing me, because all the talk this summer is of Wenger going after a top quality centre forward instead. Gonzalo Higuain or Karim Benzema were all the rage a month ago. Now it’s Cavani or Ibrahimovic! But Arsenal aren’t light in this area.

They have Danny Welbeck and Theo Walcott who both want to play in this position. Both will need to work on their finishing, but both are capable and on their day devastating Premier League centre forwards. Especially for a team who may play more on the counter attack this season – their pace and power is frightening.

And then there’s the main man: Olivier Giroud. There are two goals that show exactly what Giroud is all about – the goal at the weekend, a masterpiece of improvisation and ‘knowing where the goal is’, and his goal in the FA Cup final, he only came on for the final 15 minutes, but managed to score a dainty little near-post flick: his speciality.

The Frenchman managed 14 Premier League goals in 21 starts last term, despite breaking his leg early on. The season before that he scored 16 league goals. He’s a goal machine, he’s strong and technical, and he’s elegant. He’s a man who describes himself as an Epicurean, so tell me he’s not an Arsene Wenger player!

All he means by this pretentious language is that he loves good food, but still, he’s exactly the kind of player this Arsenal team want. Someone who can do the gritty side of holding the ball up, but also has the elegance and flair to play alongside players like Mesut Ozil in an Arsene Wenger team.

So why go after a top striker when you problems lie behind him? It’s confusing to those of us who clearly aren’t as philosophical as Arsene Wenger. Let’s just hope he knows what he’s doing!

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Manchester United have goneÂfrom topping the league to being turned over by a rampant set of Gunners. A young Frenchman exciting the fans giving hope the next big thing has arrived at Old Trafford. Louis Van Gaal going from ridicule to vindicated and everywhere in between. There’s been a lot happening on the Red Devil rollercoaster. But there is an elephant in the room, and his name is Wayne Rooney.The most positive talk surrounding the United captain so far this season was when he broke Sir Bobby Charlton’s scoring record for England. Even this is mired in controversy. The question was asked how legitimate the record is when the teams he’s played against are placed side-by-side with those from another era. Others point to Gary Lineker’s performance in major international competitions – the last time Rooney looked at home in a major tournament for his country was back in 2004.[ffc-gal cat=”manchester-united” no=”5″]As if breaking scoring records provides a protective shield, the talk now is how he’s homing in on the Manchester United all-time figure set at 249. Before he gets there, the doubts around his form will have to be answered. For some time now there has been a quiet unease surrounding the on-field displays of their icon. What is most worrying for United fans isn’t that Rooney’s been performing poorly, it’s his look of indifference.The fire in his belly has been put out. With most players the easy answer would be to accuse them of a lack of passion or laziness. This can’t be said of Rooney. The frequency with which he has moved position to accommodate the team must be a factor. It has certainly affected his goals return as he bounces from midfield to the forward line.This alone can’t explain the total drop-off fans are witnessing each week. The main culprit could be the captain’s armband. It has restrained Wayne. Leading by example means staying on the pitch. This has curbed his passion, in doing so, it has dulled the look in his eyes. A cautious Rooney is a less effective one.It can’t be used as an excuse, though. This is the player that held the club to ransom in 2010, calling their ambition into question. In the process he made Sir Alex Ferguson look like he had gone soft in his old age. The Scotsman broke the sacred rule of not having anyone bigger than the club. They gave Rooney a bumper £300,000-a-week contract and promised they would sign big players to remain dominant.But United have been true to their word. Since then the transfer spend has escalated every season, peaking with Di Maria and continuing with £58m for Anthony Martial, the forward player hope now rests with. United were building a team around Rooney – for Rooney – and have instead got a captain that looks several years past his peak.Fans are becoming disgruntled and Van Gaal must be wondering if there’s a time when it’s acceptable to drop his captain. Rooney must take a period of reflection. Breaking goal scoring records means nothing if he becomes ineffective for his club side at a time they need their talisman most.In order earn his place among the pantheon of United greats he needs to remind us all of his ability on the field, not meaningless tallies on incomparable charts.

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Manchester United find themselves firmly in the Premier League title mix after 12 games of the new campaign, but most of the Old Trafford faithful have been relatively underwhelmed by the performances put in by Louis van Gaal’s side this season.

Although the outspoken Dutchman has firmed up his backline and bolstered his options in the centre of midfield, the Red Devils still find themselves wanting in the final third.

The individual exploits of Anthony Martial have papered over the cracks as club captain Wayne Rooney and big-money signing Memphis Depay have failed to consistently deliver.

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However, with van Gaal maintaining that he will stay true to young players despite the club’s expansive transfer policy, a new star in attacking areas may well get a chance to prove himself.

Jesse Lingard is widely acknowledged as one of the brightest young lights in the Old Trafford ranks but has had to bide his time for an opportunity in the United first team to show what all the hype was about.

However, impressive performances of late show that the gifted winger could well be the man to add invention, pace and penetration to the team’s efforts in the final third.

Lingard scored his first Premier League goal for the Red Devils in the recent 2-0 win over West Brom, taking a half-chance from the edge of the Baggies penalty box with confidence and assurance.

Up until that point the hosts had toiled and struggled to break Tony Pulis’ men down, with the United fans urging their side to attack and not merely keep the ball in non-threatening positions.

After impressive loan spells elsewhere and excelling at youth level for his country, Lingard is now ready for regular Premier League football but the question is just how much of it he will get at Old Trafford.

Despite the style of play that van Gaal has adopted not setting the division on fire, United have plenty of individual talents available and competing for the four most progressive positions in the team.

The likes of Rooney, Martial, Memphis, Ander Herrera, Juan Mata, Marouane Fellaini and others are all in the mix, but what seems most likely to dictate how much football Lingard gets is the role that the captain operates in most frequently.

If Rooney is deployed in the number ten role with Martial in the striker berth, it opens up an opportunity for van Gaal to field Lingard on the left.

However, if the Dutch trainer decides to play Rooney as the furthest man forward, as he did away to Everton recently, Martial is likely to take Lingard’s role on the flanks.

One way or the other, Lingard looks like a young player full of promise and able to make a difference for a United team that has lacked inspiration in attack at times this term.

Van Gaal’s pledge to stand by youth will be tested in the winger’s case, especially if the club splurge on more attacking recruits in the January window.

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Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has admitted even he has been surprised by the impact new signing Anthony Martial has had on the English club so far this season, as reported by MirrorFootball.

The Red Devils splurged on the French teenager on transfer deadline day, with many baulking at the price the Old Trafford outfit paid for the raw talent, who had operated as a winger for most of his professional career.

However, Martial immediately endeared himself to the club’s fans by scoring an individual wonder-goal against Liverpool and has not stopped hitting the net since.

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The former Monaco man’s latest strike came in the Champions League in midweek, with the France international netting the equaliser in a 1-1 draw with CSKA Moscow.

Van Gaal has been speaking out about the United forward and admitted that although he knew Martial was a gifted player, he did not expect the youngster to have such a telling impact straight away.

“I’m not surprised by him, no, because we have analysed him and bought him because of our analysis,” MirrorFootball quote the Dutchman as saying.

“In the consistency, he has surprised me, but in terms of his ability, no. Because we have known already for a long time he can do it.

“He has to adapt to our philosophy. That is a big point. He is adapting quickly, but he has to adapt and develop himself more. He is going great though.

“Young players are not normally consistent – they’re still looking for their identity in football. That’s why I have asked for time for him. But I have said that Anthony is rather good and consistent, even though he is still looking for his own identity at this level of football.”

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West Ham’s expensive summer of transfer dealings means that you are left with little to play with in the club’s transfer kitty when you start your save on FM16.

Slaven Bilic’s heavy investment has given West Ham a squad with more quality than they have had in years, and, along with some of Allardyce’s additions, has added enough quality and depth to challenge for European football.

With Dmitri Payet the creator in chief, your career mode additions are likely to focus on adding defensive depth and goal scoring options.

Diafra Sakho and Andy Carroll may offer you two very different focal points in attack, but you may be inclined to add a forward who you deem more consistent. Carroll’s injuries are likely to be as persistent as in real life, whilst Enner Valencia is better as a wide option.

While Carl Jenkinson may provide some comic defending, you may want to think about adding some new defensive cover as well!

Here are FIVE bargains for your save…

Sam Byram

Whilst Jenkinson can do a decent job at full-back, you are going to need someone who has a bit more class if you are to take the Hammers to the next level.

Byram can play anywhere down the right flank and, because of this, he offers a lot going forward. The Leeds youngster would be ideal to overlap down the right and help you to play a more expansive game.

Defensively, Byram can be left wanting, but, with the correct training, he should be competing for a place in the England squad within a few seasons.

Tom Carroll

Buying from a rival might be a bit of an unpopular decision, but Carroll is always available on a loan, or loan-to-buy move, from the start of your save.

With the physicality of Kouyate and Song, the option of Carroll will give you some more creativity from a deeper midfield role and the Spurs youngster still has a lot of potential.

Expect high pass completion percentages and a transfer fee that can make this central midfielder an absolute bargain.

Federico Fazio

Our second Spurs man on the list is Federico Fazio. Since Alderweireld arrived, and Dier’s significant rating improvement, Fazio has quickly become surplus to requirements.

Admittedly, the Hammers have several options in the centre of defence, but Fazio would provide experience and aerial capability that would be a handy addition when he is often available for only £3 million.

Adding another player from a rival might not be a popular move, but Fazio’s performances should make up for that.

Ryan Ledson

Ledson, the third Englishman on this list, is going to available for under £10 million, but you won’t reap the rewards of this investment for several years.

Once he reaches his peak, this young Toffee will be making his way into the England squad and is a high quality central midfield option.

Initially, the transfer fee may seem steep, but this starlet will more than prove his worth within three seasons.

Kermit Erasmus

Erasmus is a rather left-field shout to bring in at West Ham, but this player is guaranteed to perform above expectations.

The Orlando Pirates man is available for less than £1 million, and he would be the perfect foil for Diafra Sakho. At only 5’6, you’ll need to keep the ball on the ground, but Erasmus can also act as cover for your other attacking roles.

Dribbling of 15 and flair of 16 make Erasmus the kind of player to produce a magic goal when you’re struggling to break a side down.

We had a large coach group of Spanish visitors in The Transfer tavern today talking about all the latest rumours and gossip from La Liga, one group in particular caught the Tavern’s Landlord’s attention when they mentioned Atletico Madrid and their recent ban from registering new players for the next two transfer window’s.

The landlord ushered them over to a booth served up some Sangria, where they discussed the fact that Atletico have received a ban from FIFA for signing players under the age of 18 without registering them properly, they were also fined  £622,000 (900,000) Swiss francs.

Atletico have plenty of transfer targets that may now be scuppered by the recent ban from FIFA which our visiting Atletico Madrid fans are sure their club will appeal against.

Our landlord was intrigued as to which suggested deals they meant, so they explained with five eye-catching rumours that have gone out the window.

Hit the image below to see FIVE Atletico Madrid rumours scuppered by the transfer ban!

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Romelu Lukaku

Lukaku had been linked for a summer move to Vicente Calderon, as Atletico try and build for a sustained period of success under Diego Simeone.

The highly-rated Everton striker, who is likened to Chelsea legend Didier Drogba due to his pace and power, has started to assemble a scoring record like the Ivorian.

His form has not gone unnoticed by top sides in Europe but with Atletico’s ban, they can kiss goodbye to any chances of signing the Belgian.

Jose Callejon

The Spanish footballer is currently plying his trade in Italy for Napoli, where he can play as a forward or a winger. The fact he is Spanish appeals to our resident Atletico fans, as they do like local talent in their team.

It appeared that Atletico Madrid were hoping to steal this player from the Italian giants, but if the ban is ratified then the deal will not go ahead, leaving both Atletico and the fans frustrated by the world Governing bodies decision.

Granit Xhaka

Our Spanish friends were really excited about this player and could not hide their dismay from the our landlord about this deal being ruined.

The Swiss midfielder was being lined up by Atletico in a £14million swoop from Borussia Monchengladbach, which isn’t easy to say after a few sangrias. However, it seems Xhaka will not be heading to the Spanish capital.

The left footed defensive midfield is also being tracked by Arsenal, who may well be favourites to land the player now after FIFA handed out the ban to the Spanish club.

Koke

Of course the ban does not just effect incoming transfers and outgoing deals may also be scuppered.

Koke has been liked with a move out of Atletico and to Catalan giants Barcelona, as well as mentions with Chelsea in the past.

But if they are not allowed to bring players in, Atletico Madrid will be reluctant to sell any of their current stars no matter how much they get offered.

On the plus side for Atletico, it does mean they get to keep one of the most talented players within their squad.

Mario Mandzukic

Mandzukic is said to be unsettled at the Spanish club and is looking for a way out in the summer, but with the ban stopping his exit as the Spanish giant would not allow such a high quality player go with out being able to replace him.

Although Atletico do have the likes of Antoine Griezmann, Luciano Vietto and Jackson Martinez, an exit for Mandzukic may not be approved- but it is the most likely of all the transfers here to still go ahead.

£32.5 million spent and seven goals in 31 appearances in all competitions. Enough said?

Well, not quite. Liverpool have done it again and bought another £30m+ player that can’t hit a cow’s arse with a banjo. After Andy Carroll they were hoping for better, as were the ever faithful Liverpool fans, but you know what you can do with hope, don’t you?

Christian Benteke, a Belgium international, signed by Villa from Genk in 2012 for a figure around £7m, made his name almost immediately at Villa Park. On his league debut, he scored and went on scoring and impressing the Villa fans and his manager. Paul Lambert said at the time that Benteke had been “unbelievable.” Around December that year, Tottenham Hotspur manager Andre Villas-Boas was reportedly interested in signing Benteke, referring to him as the season’s “surprise package”. 42 goals in over 80 games in the claret and blue finally saw him move to Anfield.

Benteke had many admirers and not just for how many goals he scored, but for the way he scored them, too. Former England striker Michael Owen called him one of the signings of the season in 2012 and posted a tweet saying: ‘I’m seriously impressed with Benteke. What a player.”

So what has happened since joining Liverpool? Clearly, apart from injury, there is a lack of confidence, because in the FA Cup replay against West Ham at Upton Park Benteke had enough chances to bury the Hammers, but fluffed his lines on each occasion.

Yet in October against Chelsea he showed the world that he still had what it takes. Benteke was a super-sub for manager Jurgen Klopp and changed the game in just 26 minutes on the pitch. The Belgian wasn’t fit enough to start at Stamford Bridge, but made a terrific contribution when introduced by his manager in the second half. Despite playing less than half an hour, Benteke showed his worth with one goal, one assist and three aerial duels won. That kind of presence and physicality is what he brings when he is at his best and most dangerous, but it has been sadly lacking in many games this season.

Former Anfield favourite Ian Rush spoke to Sky Sports News: “What he has to do is get in the box, you have to be selfish and score goals. Strikers will be judged on goals, not how many you create, and once you start scoring, you start making them as well. If you get him inside the box more, he’ll get chances because he is a good finisher and I think he can play in the Liverpool system. He just needs a goal.”

And so we now have the debate over whether Benteke is a long term option for Klopp’s revolution at Liverpool. The manager’s patience is waning and after two recent notably poor displays at Upton Park, and a few cameos, the dismal statistics were damning and too often, Benteke, instead of attacking, was on the back foot frequently. It’s a hesitation… ‘a should I – shouldn’t I?’ and by then it’s too late. The chance gone. Klopp recently highlighted his striker’s work-rate and what he wants.

“We need his goals, but I don’t only think about him and goals,” said Klopp. “We are not a team that can play with a striker who scores a goal but is not involved in the game for the other 89 minutes. We need the striker for the other options, too – to work for the other minutes.”

Jamie Carragher believes: “He [Klopp] wants more from him, more movement, but the problem is nobody else in the squad scores goals. It’s Liverpool’s problem how they use him and get the best from him. With a powerful centre-forward you have to get the ball into his feet.”

Although the thought is that Benteke thrives on crosses, this isn’t the case either. Liverpool provide plenty of good, quality crosses to the striker, but it just is not working for him. Is he the scapegoat for a generally poor Liverpool team this season?

Brendan Rodgers defended his purchase in The Guardian: “I think Jürgen will take his time with him,” he said. “In this country, now, everything is very ‘short-termism’, isn’t it? People look at it like, you’ve got to come in, get 20 goals in your first season or you might be deemed a failure. He tried to sign him for Dortmund. He knows he’s a good player.”

So Benteke has a lot to offer any side and, on his day, he’s one of the most feared strikers in the country.

And if he’s motivated in the same way he generally is in the second half of a season, Liverpool fans will soon get to see the real Benteke.

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