All posts by n8rngtd.top

Many Sunderland fans have reacted to a latest report from the club over the outcome of season tickets from 2019/20.

With the League One campaign remaining at a standstill, having been halted in March due to the coronavirus pandemic, a decision has yet to be made on how the current season will come to a conclusion.

Sunderland, whose woes of the last few seasons have been documented via Netflix series Sunderland Til I Die, are currently on course to miss out on promotion to the Championship, just one year after losing the play-off final to Charlton Athletic at Wembley.

Whilst the season could yet be finished on the pitch,Âclaims have been made over the potential of a points-per-game system, meaning a failure to gain promotion via either route could have drastic consequences at the Stadium of Light, withÂowner Stewart Donald seemingly still keen to sell the Wearside club.

Fans of the club who are season ticket holders could also miss a number of games next season with football being played behind closed doors for the foreseeable future. The Black Cats have now responded to those supporters, answering a number of pressing questions via a Q&A session.

Reacting a tweet which shared answers to a number of important questions, these Sunderland fans responded…

What do you make of Sunderland’s decisions over season tickets and more? Let us know in the comments section below…

According to FCInterNews, Newcastle United are prepared to offer Napoli forward Dries Mertens a lucrative contract with his current deal set to expire at the Serie A giants.

What’s the word?

It’s claimed that the Magpies’ prospective new owners would pay the Italian frontman €7m-per-year (£6.14m) across two seasons, but they will have to compete with Napoli offering him an extension as well as Inter Milan’s proposal.

Stuck in isolation? Our mega footy quiz will cure any boredom…

World Class score: 95% | Expert score: 80% | Veteran score: 65% | Intermediate score: 45% | Amateur score: 30% | Try Again: 5%

Premier League rivals Chelsea are also keen on landing the 32-year-old with his contract set to finish at the end of the current campaign.

Newcastle’s offer is believed to eclipse both Italian teams whilst there is no word on what Frank Lampard’s Blues would hand Mertens.

Just the start

If Amanda Staveley’s consortium were able to clinch the veteran forward, then it would be the perfect start to the new Saudi era at St James’ Park.

Despite his age, Mertens has found the net 12 times this campaign and has also provided six assists, meaning he has contributed to 18 goals in just 29 appearances, via Transfermarkt. But this has been the pattern throughout the duration of his Gil Azzurri career – scoring 121 goals as well as racking up 73 assists from 331 matches.

Mike Ashley wasted an abhorrent £40m on the one-goal Joelinton, so swooping for Mertens would certainly ease their attacking problems substantially, going by the above record.

Mertens’ experience in Europe would also help the club transition from midtable straddlers under Steve Bruce into genuine contenders for glory, which will surely be the aim under the lucrative new ownership.

The Belgian is described as a hard-working frontman who possesses good technique and dribbling, so it won’t take long for the Magpies faithful to fall in love with him either.

Mertens should be high on their priorities this summer.

AND in other news, Phillips claims money may tempt unemployed manager to join Newcastle…

With Jan Vertonghen looking increasingly likely to leave Tottenham this summer when his contract comes to an end, it’s unsurprising to say the least that Jose Mourinho’s side appear to be on the look-out for a new first-choice centre-half.

And according to Football.London journalist Alasdair Gold, the north Londoners have earmarked a potential move for Benfica star Ruben Dias.

Gold claims that Mourinho is keen on raiding Benfica once again – the club brought in Gedson Fernandes on loan in January – and that with Dias’ agent being Jorge Mendes, Spurs “would hope to agree a lower fee for a player who is rated at around the £40m mark”.

Spot the fact from the fib: Are these Premier League records true or false?

World Class score: 95% | Expert score: 80% | Veteran score: 65% | Intermediate score: 45% | Amateur score: 30% | Try Again: 5%

After hearing about their latest potential target, Spurs fans took to Twitter to share their thoughts on their interest in the 22-year-old.

Some fans of the north London side raised the prospect of seeing Dias line up in a back-three for Spurs alongside Japhet Tanganga and Davinson Sanchez.

A couple of Spurs supporters referenced the fact Spurs are hoping to agree a lower fee for Dias, with one fan seemingly suggesting that considering they spent big money on Sanchez, that really shouldn’t be a factor.

Dias has enjoyed an impressive season in the Portuguese top-flight, with his average match rating of 7.06 only being bettered by one other centre-back (Porto’s Ivan Marcano).

At only 22, Dias could come straight into the first-team and become a permanent fixture in the starting line-up, as well as being someone who Mourinho can build around for the years to come.

Losing Vertonghen on a free may be a blow, but getting Dias in would more than soften that.

Meanwhile, Alasdair Gold has provided an update on Spurs’ interest in this Premier League starlet.

Many Leicester City fans have praised their club’s media team after the club released a Christmas advert that would make you the grinch if it didn’t play on your heartstrings.

The Foxes’ official Twitter account released a video with the caption ‘gifts that inspire’.

The advert focusses on a child actor playing a young Ben Chilwell when he receives a Leicester scarf for Christmas. The advert continues with the youngster playing football with it on a muddy field and wearing it at school before he sees his name on a teamsheet at school.

‘Chilwell’ then goes to the club’s training ground and runs out on the pitch, before it cuts to the present day of the left-back – as well as other youth players Harvey Barnes and Hamza Choudhury – at the King Power, before the 22-year-old gives one to another youngster while coming out of the tunnel.

You can see it in full below.

Unsurprisingly, fans loved to see such an emotive video based around community, their youth players and the club. In fact, some loved it so much they thanked the club and called it better than this year’s John Lewis advert.

Here are some of the replies below…

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…

Sheffield Wednesday boss Garry Monk was told earlier in his reign that he would be given funds to sign some players of his own in January, and even though that hasn’t changed, the ability to do so has just been made all that tougher.

Last week, the EFL announced that following a formal investigation, they have charged the club with financial misconduct surrounding the sale of Hillsborough to owner Dejphon Chansiri.

The ground was sold for approximately £60m in order to offset any debt for the year 2017/18, but there were doubts over how and when this actually happened.

Wednesday released a statement shortly after claiming they will contest the charges, although no clear punishment has yet been decided.

Football finance expert and university lecturer Kieran Maguire believes the south Yorkshire club will face a minimum penalty of a hefty 12 points deduction while they haven’t been prone to the odd transfer embargo in the past either.

Either way, the EFL could make an example out of the Owls, and this will only cause mayhem for the job the manager has at his hands.

Any potential signing is now going to look at this situation and have to consider it before making a move, regardless of whether they are punished this season or not.

If they are indeed penalised as Maguire predicts, the season will drastically change from being in playoff contention to a relegation scrap, just like that.

Watch Sheffield Wednesday Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

They currently sit three points outside of the playoff zone, which makes the club an exciting proposition for any new player as they’ll hopefully be helping the side earn a spot in the Premier League, but with a deduction, they’ll only be outside the relegation zone on goal difference, meaning a player may not want to risk his career by getting a blemish on his record.

Therefore, Monk’s task has got so much harder as there’s such an air of uncertainty surrounding this incident that it may prove difficult to attract players to bolster his squad this January.

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

According to The Mirror’s recent report, Bayern Munich are reigniting their interest in Manchester City’s £90m-rated man, Leroy Sane. And that deal would make more sense for them than going through with Philippe Coutinho’s transfer.

What’s the word, then?

The same sources outline that the Bavarian giants were keen on acquiring the young City winger last summer, but the unfortunate injury that he sustained in the Community Shield got in the way.

Sane is still recovering but Bayern are ready to come back for their juicy target that could even cost them around £90m, as per The Mirror’s same report.

Watch German Football Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

Instead of the 24-year-old forward, they landed Barcelona’s Coutinho on a loan deal but they could be offering Pep Guardiola’s talisman a huge £20million-a-year contract.

Even though it definitely sounds like a pricey operation, it’s a better alternative than the deal they have with the Catalans for the Brazilian.

Much better option

Bayern have an option to incorporate Coutinho permanently at the end of his loan deal for a reported sum of €120m (£102.6m).

Of course, the Bavarians have also taken on his full wages and have paid Barcelona an initial €8.5m (£7.2m) loan fee, which means that when everything is said and done, the Brazilian could very well turn into a costly transaction.

But does he really warrant such a price tag?

The start of his journey in the Bundesliga was excellent, but things soon took a turn for the worse as Bayern learned about the Brazilian’s flaws the hard way, similarly to the Blaugrana who ended up regretting their purchase from Liverpool.

Sane, on the other hand, although in a similar price range, is a much better option.

The German’s quality cannot really be questioned.

After all, he managed to bag 16 goals and 18 assists across all competitions in 2018/19 and for that reason, Guardiola is certainly missing the attacker in the ongoing campaign.

Not to mention that he would actually be more needed than Coutinho.

Bayern have Kingsley Coman on the left but as gifted and talented as the 23-year-old Frenchman is, he is also ridden by injuries, suffering a total of five in the last campaign.

So far in 2019/20, he managed to stay fit and played a total of 16 games, scoring three times and assisting further five.

But when everything is said and done, Sane is on a different level altogether and he could possibly take Bayern one step further.

Maybe it’s time they pulled the trigger.

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…

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is mulling over whether he will commit to a new contract with Arsenal, according to Goal.

Goal’s Arsenal correspondent, Charles Watts, had this to say about Aubameyang and his fellow attacker Alexandre Lacazette: “Arsenal have been trying for some time now to get Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette to sign new contracts, but so far the talks have proved unsuccessful.”

Watts suggests the talismanic Gabon international is said to want Champions League football, meaning he is wary of signing to stay at the Emirates despite his current deal running out in 2021, with the Gunners having failed to break into the top four in any of their three latest campaigns.

Lacazette is in a similar state of mind, though the Frenchman’s situation is not as much of an emergency, with his current deal coming to an end in 2022.

In Aubameyang’s case, this means Arsenal could potentially find themselves in a situation they have been in to many times: risking a player being poached when their contract is approaching or has reached its end.

In recent years, they have lost Aaron Ramsey, Jack Wilshere, Bacary Sagna and Santi Cazorla for free, with the quartet having a combined Transfermarkt value of £66.45m from the times they left.

The Gunners also had their hand forced by Alexis Sanchez, when he only had six months left on his contract, as a swap deal was eventually struck up with Manchester United for Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

If a similar scenario to any of these is played out with Aubameyang, it could be the biggest loss of the lot for the Gunners.

This season, he has scored 8 goals in 11 Premier League games, as per WhoScored, with that number equating to half of Arsenal’s overall total, offering an indication into just how important his goals are for the team.

To add some further context to just how well the striker has done since moving to north London, he is the seventh-fastest player in Arsenal history to reach a half-century of goals for the club.

As much as the results have not been great for Arsenal in recent seasons, Aubameyang has been a driving force for the club, so it seems unfathomable that they could lose him for free, especially as his valuation is £63m, just £3.45m less than the aforementioned four combined.

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…

It has now been ten games since Garry Monk was appointed as manager at Sheffield Wednesday – that’s nine league matches and a Carabao Cup exit to Premier League outfit Everton to be precise.

The trip to Blackburn Rovers saw him succumb to just his second Championship defeat of the season as the home side fought from behind with a late three-minute double, even despite substitute Jacob Murphy heading home what looked likely to be a winner seven minutes from time.

Wednesday now sit outside the playoff zone, but with the league being so tight, they remain just one point off regaining their place.

Watch Sheffield Wednesday Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Last weekend’s game highlighted a number of concerns but none more so than what lies ahead for the 40-year-old in January.

In the past, Football FanCast have stated the reliance the team has on top goalscorer Steven Fletcher, and that’s not really changed at all over recent matches.

The 32-year-old hasn’t scored for five games now, but that’s because he’s simply given too much to do as he’s often playing on his own in attack – someone like Atdhe Nuhiu should have partnered him against Blackburn.

During this barren run, Massimo Luongo has stepped up to the plate to provide two match-winning goals – both coming in 1-0 victories, over Wigan Athletic and Stoke City respectively.

And just as goals were beginning to be shared around the squad, he gets injured.

The Owls are yet to win since his absence.

Then there is Barry Bannan, who was a surprise scratch for the trip to Lancashire, his presence was sorely missed the most as he’s one of the only creative members of the squad – he averages more key passes per game (2.2) than anyone else, and has notched up three assists this campaign.

It feels like Wednesday are becoming increasingly reliant on these three aforementioned players, which isn’t a great trait to have, and it only highlights just how many signings Monk may need to make in January.

While in comparison, people have consistently stepped up to the plate in defence – Dominic Iorfa has been a revelation in captain Tom Lees’ absence, and when Julian Borner went down in the warm-up against Leeds, Sam Hutchinson deputised ever so naturally.

The Owls chief must be tossing and turning at night when he realises that it’s Joey Pelupessy trying to fill in for Bannan, while the less said about Fletcher’s back-ups, the better. Anonymous.

What a performance from Rangers at Hampden Park on Sunday.

In the semi-final of the League Cup, the Gers beat Hearts 3-0, and didn’t look under threat at any point during the match. Filip Helander set Steven Gerrard’s side on their way following a fantastic cross from Alfredo Morelos before the 23-year-old Colombian got himself on the scoresheet twice.

They will now face Celtic in the final as they look to end their domestic dominance.

Watch Rangers Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

There were several impressive performances on the day from the Ibrox outfit, but Ryan Jack looked particularly good. So far this term the 27-year-old, who is currently valued at £1.35m by Transfermarkt, has played 19 matches, during which he has scored three times and provided two assists.

It is fair to say that the club’s supporters were absolutely delighted with the two-time Scotland international’s display.

They took to Twitter to share their thoughts, and you can see some of the best comments from the social media platform below.

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

According to Sheffield Wednesday News, the south Yorkshire club have taken non-league ace Jesurun Uchegbulam on trial with the winger featuring for the U23s on Monday night.

And it is a move that Owls chief Garry Monk should make in order to bolster his thin and ageing squad.

What’s the word?

The reports suggest that the 18-year-old wide man is set to remain with the youth squad for the foreseeable future so that they can get a proper look at him before making any decision.

On Monday night, he was involved as the young Wednesday outfit were convincingly beaten 3-0 by Barnsley, but Uchegbulam must have made an impression if he’s staying on at Hillsborough.

The Mossley AFC prospect is described as an ‘exciting young forward’ by their official website, while a match report for his former club Stockport Town noted his ‘pacy’ attributes.

He has been competing in the eighth tier of English football in the Northern Premier Divison One West, so it would be a considerable step up in quality if he were to make the switch to the Owls.

Watch Sheffield Wednesday Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Thin wing, old squad

This move could well be part of a long-term vision at the club, but it is one that would be a step in the right direction regardless of whether he comes on-board with the first team or not, that’s provided he impresses enough for a contract.

Monk has inherited the oldest squad in the league – per Tranfermarket, their average age is 28.1, so securing an 18-year-old would undoubtedly do that wonders.

The 40-year-old also lacks options out wide. For two places, he only has three wingers – Adam Reach, Kadeem Harris and Jacob Murphy, who is only on loan at the club.

If one picks up an injury or a suspension, then that would leave them rather light in the wide areas.

Monk was the man to push the likes of Kalvin Phillips (Leeds United), Lewis Wing (Middlesborough), and Jude Bellingham (Birmingham City) through into the senior setup, so this move makes even more sense.