Everton fans are absolutely crucifying Ronald Koeman, after the former Toffees boss tweeted his displeasure with some poor customer service.
Quite a lot went wrong towards the end of Koeman’s Everton career, but most of all his signings were a complete disaster.
While the departure of Steve Walsh this summer probably shows it wasn’t all Koeman’s doing, the Dutchman’s summer spending spree was quite simply awful.
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Of all the players the Toffees brought in, only really Jordan Pickford represents both immediate success and significant value if they decide to sell the keeper on.
Davy Klaassen was perhaps the pick of the bunch as far as bad signings go, making just seven league appearances at Goodison after his £23.6m move.
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Everton fans will of course be expecting bigger and better things this summer thanks to the arrival of Marcel Brands and Marco Silva, and they are hilariously bashing Koeman after he rather bizarrely tweeted at a flip-flop company over their “lack of service”.
You can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…
Manchester United fans are anxious about Paul Pogba’s involvement, or lack of, against Sevilla in the club’s upcoming UEFA Champions League clash this week.
Pogba missed the weekend’s FA Cup action due to illness, with some pundits theorising that it pointed to deeper issues between the player and manager Jose Mourinho.
The 24-year-old did train on Sunday, perhaps a signal that he is ready to feature against the Spanish side on Wednesday night.
However, supporters are worried that if he doesn’t play then it means that a rift between the Frenchman and his manager is a reality, potentially causing a major problem in the closing stages of the season.
Pogba has been in good form for the majority of the season, scoring three goals and creating 10 assists from midfield, but in recent matches he has been decidedly off the boil and fans are hoping he can play to his full potential going forward.
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They took to Twitter to share their thoughts on his situation…
Having shone for Chelsea this season, much was expected of Eden Hazard at the World Cup. The 23 year old racked up fourteen goals and seven assists in the Premier League, form which had even prompted the attacking midfielder to compare himself to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
However, after Belgium’s disappointing quarter final exit, Hazard has been labelled by many as the biggest flop at this year’s World Cup. The 23 year old struggled to influence matches and was even substituted by Marc Wilmots as his side chased the game against Argentina.
Although he departs Brazil with two assists to his name, it was hardly the showing that many had anticipated from Hazard. When it comes to Twitter, the Chelsea star seems to be the prime contender for the title of biggest flop of this year’s tournament.
With all the talk and controversy that’s surrounded Andy Carroll in the past couple of years, it is sometimes easy to forget just how young and inexperienced he actually is.
At 23 years of age, Carroll is the most expensive British player of all time. He has worn the famous number 9 shirt for his hometown club, been the subject of a £35million transfer to Liverpool, played for his country at a major tournament, and been a part of one of the most controversial and seemingly senseless transfer fiasco’s of all time, which saw him eventually join West Ham on loan.
It seems an awful lot for a player who’s in fact only made 68 Premier League appearances, with a large chunk of those coming as a substitute, particularly for Liverpool. In that time Carroll has managed just 17 Premier League goals, with 11 coming during his spell at Newcastle between August and December 2010, which prompted Liverpool to make their outrageous bid in January 2011.
Carroll has managed just six Premier League goals since then, and is currently on a run of just one in his last 22 appearances, and is yet to get off the mark for his new club West Ham. The statistics do not make good reading, but as always only tell part of the story.
There have been a few murmurs of discontent surrounding Carroll and his failure to get off the mark from press and pundits, as will always be the case. The problem lies in the fact he will always be known as the ‘£35million striker’, which for a fee like that demands 20-plus goals a season.
Those expecting that from Carroll will be waiting for a long time, as he is simply not the sort of goal scoring centre forward everyone expects him to be. He’s still a young player, with time on his side to evolve and improve, but a return of 10-15 a goals a season is the maximum you can expect from him. The pressure of the ridiculous price tag Liverpool paid for him alongside injuries has hindered his progress, but his overall form has steadily improved.
The criticism aimed at Carroll when he first signed for Liverpool, was his lack of mobility. He looked sluggish, his touch was heavy, and his usual strength and power was often missing. It later became apparent that Carroll was still feeling the effects of the injury that he sustained while at Newcastle, and it wasn’t until Carroll was given playing time due to the eight game suspension handed to Luis Suarez that Liverpool fans started to understand why he was rated so highly.
From January onwards Carroll looked an entirely different player. Having been given a run of games to restore his fitness, he set about causing havoc among defenders, chasing lost causes, and creating chances for his teammates, which sadly for Liverpool were often spurned. His back to back performances against Chelsea in the FA Cup final, and the 4-1 Premier League victory were outstanding, and he looked every inch a top class centre forward.
The thing missing for Carroll was goals, and has sadly been the case since. He has managed six domestic goals since January, coming against the likes of Oldham and Brighton from the lower divisions, and Premier League strikes against relegated Wolves and Blackburn. His performance in the FA Cup final and for England during the Euros showed he has the ability to produce on the big stage, which is why Liverpool fans were so disappointed about the decision to send him on loan, just at the time he was starting to regain some confidence.
Since his arrival at West Ham, Carroll has looked hungry and eager to impress. His debut performance against Fulham was outstanding until he picked up a hamstring injury, which has only served to delay his progress further.
Since his return to action he has shown the desire to put himself about and impress, and the West Ham fans seem to have immediately taken to him. However you feel he needs a goal as quickly as possible to keep the critics off his back. Carroll looks very much a confidence player, and his desire to impress and win people over often leads to him rushing and over complicating things for himself.
It seems Sam Allardyce has set about getting back to basics and playing to his strengths. The pressure has eased considerably since his time at Liverpool, but he will undoubtably be desperate to end his goal drought. With his overall play being so much improved, you feel once the first goes in the floodgates could open. There are not many with the attributes Carroll possesses, the incredible strength, heading ability and hammer of a left foot. At 23-years-old he is still learning, and needs to be given time to bring all those attributes together. The signs have been there.
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The crucial thing for Carroll now is that he continues doing the right things, and ignores those seemingly out to get him and who will constantly ridicule his price tag and goal scoring record. The sooner people understand what he is about and stop demanding him to be something than the player he actually is, everyone will see the best for him. And for West Ham and England, this is a very exciting thought.
What have you made of Andy Carroll’s form this season? Follow me on Twitter @LukeGreenwood89 and let me know your thoughts.
As reported by The Scottish Sun, Harry Redknapp has spoken about Steven Gerrard taking over as Rangers boss, setting out what the Liverpool legend needs to do at Ibrox in his first weeks in charge.
What’s the story?
Despite almost everyone else in football being engrossed in the World Cup, Gerrard and his squad head to Spain today to start their pre-season training camp, with qualifiers set to come quickly next month in the UEFA Europa League.
It’s vital that Rangers are adequately prepared and improve on their showing of last summer when they embarrassingly went out early to Progres Niederkorn.
One manager who knows a fair bit about arriving at a new club to manager is Harry Redknapp. Since 1983 he’s taken charge of a side nine different times. Perhaps then his assessment of what Gerrard needs to do in the opening weeks in charge of Rangers is worth listening to.
As quoted by The Scottish Sun, Redknapp said earlier this week:
The first time you walk in the dressing room the players look at you and obviously you’ve got to make the right impression. Otherwise, it’s always difficult from then on. You need to make sure you get your message over — and you’re off and running from there.
Players will pretty quickly make their mind up about you. Once you get on the training ground you start playing, you talk to them, you have meetings, then they’ll soon suss out whether they feel you know what you’re about.
You’ve always got one or two in the dressing room who have sensed they are not going to be part of the plans. Sometimes they’re not a problem, but you also can have one or two who are a problem — and they can cause havoc. You have to be so careful, and Steven’s going to have to make sure quickly he knows who’s with him and who’s not.
Discipline could be an issue at Rangers, with a number of players last season revolting against the coaching direction the club was taking. Can Gerrard forge a new path forward for the Light Blues?
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Can Gerrard hit the ground running?
The start of the new season is going to be so important for Rangers in determining the outcome of their entire campaign. Not only can European qualifiers be the path towards vital revenue streams, but they can also be the perfect preparation for the Scottish Premiership’s opening fixtures.
Those opening games couldn’t be more difficult with trips to Pittodrie and Celtic Park in the first four games.
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It’ll be interesting to see if Gerrard immediately commands respect and authority with his players. For too long Rangers fans have had suffered mediocre players having the power at Ibrox. They’re hoping they have a manager that finally lives up to the name.
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Everton fans seemed to have been won over by Sam Allardyce following his appointment as manager in November.
However, the tide has since turned and the knives are out following a disappointing run of results.
The Merseyside outfit have picked up just one win in their last eight Premier League matches.
Their most recent result was a humiliating 5-1 defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates, which has caused even more supporters to turn on Allardyce.
One situation that has been an issue is at left-back, with Cuco Martina failing to impress, mainly because he is right-footed.
Leighton Baines is usually the first choice in that position, but he has been on the sidelines with an injury.
The 33-year-old is working his way back from the calf problem that has kept him out since November, and in an interview with the club’s official website, Baines claimed that he is looking forward to working with Allardyce.
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Some Everton fans, though, are not quite convinced.
In a shock announcement that has stunned the football world, FIFA President Sepp Blatter has suggested that it was a “mistake” to award Qatar with the 2022 World Cup. Speaking to Swiss Channel RTS, the seventy eight year old admitted that the executive committee had ignored the warnings of the “technical report”, which indicated that the country would be “too hot in summer.”
Blatter, who has recently staked his claim for a fifth consecutive term as FIFA’s President, accepted blame but astonishingly defended his actions by stating “one makes a lot of mistakes in life.” It just turns out that some are slightly bigger than others.
Sporting figures and journalists all reacted in “surprise” to Blatter’s admission.
Despite Blatter’s water-tight defence of his actions, football fans on Twitter were critical of FIFA’s President.
As it stands though, there are currently no plans to suggest that the 2022 World Cup will be moved to a more suitable location. But then again, who knew Qatar gets hot in the summer?
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Tottenham midfielder Scott Parker has been ruled out until at least the festive period extending his spell on the sidelines even further, but with a new manager at the helm and the club having brought in a number of fresh faces in midfield and with the promise of more to come over the past few months, will the England international be able to force his way back into the side when he returns to full fitness?
Having turned 32 this month, it’s not as if Parker has time on his side either and there’s a doubt whether he fits into Andre Villas-Boas’ high tempo style of play which focuses on pressing the opposition high up the pitch much in the same way that the first-choice central midfield partnership of both Sandro and Moussa Dembele have done to good effect so far this campaign.
The Portuguese manager told the press before this weekend’s game against Chelsea on the subject of Parker’s injury: “It’s difficult for him as he still feels pain and is still disturbed in his recovery. It prevents him from being on the pitch but he has been in the gym and with the medical department. We are looking at Christmas. It is still within the limits of what we expected. He is making good progress and there has been less pain.”
I’m not for a moment doubting that Parker has his merits as a player and he’s evolved from the all-action midfielder at West Ham to a deeper-lying, more reserved player since his move to White Hart Lane, which in itself displays a level of adaptability which could stand him in good stead. He’s extremely tactically aware of his role within the side, is tidy in possession and has an exceptional work-rate, best displayed by when he almost an himself into the ground while carrying an injury at Euro 2012 ‘for the England cause’ so to speak.
However, you do have to question whether he may just be a tad too limited for what Villas-Boas is trying to achieve at the club now and there’s a worry that he doesn’t recycle possession quickly enough, an attribute which is a major strength of Dembele’s and was deeply missed against Chelsea at the weekend.
The nature of the 4-3-3 formation that Tottenham are carrying on with at the moment means that a goalscoring midfielder must occupy a central role at the tip of the three, while there’s an all-running player capable of beating a man and a more defensive option sat just behind him, so when the side has the ball, it effectively turns into a 4-2-3-1 system.
Gylfi Sigurdsson and Clint Dempsey will battle it out for the first spot while Dembele seems to have made the second role his own with a series of bustling and energetic performances, which leaves Jake Livermore, Sandro, Huddlestone and Parker to contest the final place in the side and the Brazilian has shown a growing maturity to his play so far this season which surely sees him sit top of the pecking order.
Moreover, I wrote earlier in the summer that Huddlestone may have a pivotal part to play this season under Villas-Boas, given that his ability to drop in-between the centre-backs when on the back-foot and his passing range made him a decent candidate for the role just in front of the back four should Sandro fail to perform and he appears to have benefited from the change in manager this summer.
There’s also the fact that the club vigorously pursued the signature of FC Porto playmaker Joao Moutinho right up until transfer deadline day and were said to be just minutes away from clinching the deal after being granted an hour extension by the FA, so there’s a cleat intention on their part to bring in at least one more body in the future.
It’s clear for all to see that as good as Dembele is, the side still lacks an element of control in midfield which has been evident against the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea (which he missed) and that they struggle to hold onto the ball at times. Luka Modric is still yet to be properly replaced and you suspect that even if they don’t go back for Moutinho in January or even next summer, that a similar style of player will be right at the top of the agenda sooner rather than later.
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I’m a big fan of Parker’s and it’s unfortunate that he’s found himself confined to the treatment table precisely at a time when he needs to be fit and pressing home his claims for a regular starting berth, but there’s certainly a danger of the side moving on without him and while he has his merits, it looks as if his face might not quite fit into the new manager’s plans.
According to reports in the Sunday Mirror, new Everton manager Marco Silva has identified Manchester United centre-back Victor Lindelof as a priority summer signing as he looks to strengthen his backline.
The Sweden international endured a difficult debut campaign at Old Trafford following his £31.5m move from Benfica last summer, with Jose Mourinho not trusting him to start on a regular basis.
The Sunday Mirror says that the Toffees, who should move quickly to sign a 6ft 4in England international if Chelsea seal £45m transfer deal, are ready to pay £35m to bring the 23-year-old to Goodison Park however, although they may need to convince Mourinho to sell given he will likely want to give Lindelof a second season to impress.
So, how would signing the defender truly impact the Merseyside club? Football FanCast take a look at the potential consequences of a summer deal for the Red Devil…
Michael Keane answers his critics
Big things were expected of Michael Keane when he moved to Goodison Park in a big-money move last summer, but it’s probably fair to say that the England international didn’t live up to expectations following a poor start to the season for the Merseyside outfit that left them in a relegation battle.
The 25-year-old was often criticised by his own fans for his displays at that time, and while his displays did improve as 2018 went on, he will still feel he has a point to prove to the supporters next term.
Having a player alongside with the quality that Lindelof has would certainly allow him to do that, and it would allow him to flourish and show that he can be player for Everton.
Ashley Willians and Ramiro Funes Mori go
If Everton do sign Lindelof or another centre-back before the transfer window slams shut on August 9, it will surely seal the fate of Williams and Funes Mori at Goodison Park following respective difficult seasons.
The former was a regular starter – even though he wasn’t fancied by the Goodison Park faithful – under previous boss Sam Allardyce, until he was sent off in the defeat against Burnley in March.
He failed to play a single minute of Premier League football or even make the squad again after that, while Funes Mori struggled to get any starts following his return from a serious knee injury, and when he did against Everton on the final day he was taken off at half-time.
Mason Holgate wants out
With both Williams’ and Funes Mori’s futures surely in doubt – as well as the fact that Phil Jagielka is getting no younger – the 21-year-old may well be expecting to be something of a regular in the starting XI under Silva having made 21 appearances in all competitions for Everton last term.
He could have added even more had it not been for injury and the strong partnership between Keane and Jagielka from January onwards, which would have left him frustrated.
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If he continues to be on the substitutes’ bench next term, he will likely want out – even if it is on loan – in order to get some minutes on the pitch.
So, Everton fans, should your club sign Lindelof for £35m? Let us know by voting below…
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West Ham United have been dumped out of the FA Cup after losing to League One side Wigan Athletic on Saturday.
The 2-0 defeat is a major blow to David Moyes’ early reign at the club, especially given the fact he named a strong starting eleven to take care of the lower league outfit.
In a match that not only saw the Hammers soundly beaten but also an embarrassing red card incident involving Arthur Masuaku, supporters were left absolutely livid by the display.
Aside from the dismissed midfielder, particular criticism was aimed at striker Javier Hernandez, whose ineffective attacking display did little to hurt a resolute Wigan defence.
The Mexican, who signed for a reported £16m last summer, has failed to win over supporters after a series of inconsistent performances this season.
He’s only scored five goals in 23 appearances thus far and fans are now calling on him to be given an early exit, believing he isn’t a great fit for the Irons going forward.
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