In the last few years, Roy Hodgson has been on the receiving end of some heavy criticism.

Many have called his tactics outdated, accusing him of being too old to keep managing at the top, especially after England’s exit at the hands of Iceland at Euro 2016. However, despite all his ups and downs, Hodgson has kept on defying odds at every level, reaching the pinnacle of a very unique Premier League record.

The 71-year-old boss became the oldest ever manager to manage in the competition and, if the terrific 4-1 win over Leicester City proved anything, his style is anything but outdated. Hodgson’s work with Palace ever since he arrived following a cursed England reign has been exemplary.

He managed to help the Eagles finish 11th last season, despite coming into the job with them having lost their first seven league games. In his second season as Palace boss, he’s yet again done a great job despite having very limited resources and weak signings in the summer.

They’re only four points behind the Bournemouth at 10th place and a top-half finish seems possible, while the Eagles have the opportunity to rise high in the FA Cup after progressing into the quarter-finals.

Hodgson’s given rise to Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Jeffrey Schlupp while turning Wilfried Zaha into a world-class forward. He’s infused an attractive, fast-paced style into the club and instilled a fearless attitude, as shown in their games against the big sides.

He may be old, but Hodgson’s excellent work in elevating Palace proves why he deserves more respect at the top.

أبدى حسام البدري المدير الفني لمنتخب مصر، اندهاشه من محاولات البعض تناول تصريحاته عن مهاجم الزمالك مصطفى محمد إلى أمور أخرى بعيدة عن الواقع والمنطق.

وقال البدري خلال تصريحاته للصحفيين، إنه سبق وتحدث أكثر من مرة عن مصطفى محمد وأكد أنه خامة طيبة ومتميزة وينتظره مستقبل كبير.

طالع.. حسام البدري: ثنائي الأهلي والزمالك مرشحان لـ منتخب مصر.. ومصطفى محمد “خامة مبشرة” ولكن!

وأوضح أن تصريحاته الأخيرة بأن اللاعب في حاجة إلى تطوير وعمل وجهد ليست معناها خروجه من حسابات وترشيحات منتخب مصر، مشيرًا إلى أنه يسعى لتشجيع اللاعب ووصوله إلى أفضل حال لاسميا وأنه ما يزال في بداية مشواره ويحتاج للنصيحة حتى يطور من نفسه.

وشدد: “إذا لم يكن اللاعب في حاجة للنصيحة والاجتهاد ليتطور مستواه فلماذا يتدرب يوميا ليصبح أفضل؟، وأي لاعب يحتاج للتطور والتدريب والاجتهاد ومن يتقبل النصيحة يصبح لاعبا مميزا مستقبلا”.

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According to The Sun via HITC, Aston Villa are considering a move for Barnsley defender Liam Lindsay in this summer’s transfer window.

Lindsay joined Barnsley from Partick Thistle in 2017 and has made 79 appearances for his English club in all competitions.

The 23-year-old will see his current deal at Oakwell expire in June 2020, though, which suggests that he might be available this summer.

According to The Sun via HITC, Villa could swoop for the defender at the end of the season, with a transfer fee of £2.5m mentioned in the report.

Lindsay has been a regular for Barnsley in League One this season, whilst he made 42 Championship appearances for the club last term.

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The Villa fans have been on social media reacting to the suggestions of interest.

And it would be fair to say that they are split when it comes to whether the 6ft 3in powerhouse would be a good signing for the club.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

A big game is to be held later today at the Vitality, with Newcastle United looking to go level on points with Bournemouth after what has been an unbelievable turn around from Rafa Benitez and his men. The run can’t end now, right?

Finally, it looks as though the Spaniard and his squad are on the same page and performing the way a Newcastle side should be. The Toon Army will be travelling down south with all the confidence in the world after their incredible come back last week against Everton. Indeed, it truly was a Premier League classic.

Still, Benitez must answer questions against an Eddie Howe side who are looking to build off their solid 0-2 away win against Huddersfield, in what is a huge game for the Magpies. Win, and that might just be survival guaranteed.

With that in mind, we take a look at a couple of changes the gaffer could make.

Drop Matt Ritchie 

Matt Ritchie has been suffering from a run of poor form of late, and after being subbed against Everton before the magic began, missing a penalty. To be honest, he has looked the shadow of his former self lately, largely because he’s been performing two roles at once.

Not having scored since the memorable 2-1 win over Manchester City, the Magpies will need to look elsewhere in the squad until the Scottish international can get back to being devastating in the final third.

Start Kenedy 

Despite struggling to get a real foothold in the squad this season, Kenedy will be looking to his past performance against Bournemouth earlier this season to inspire him. Grabbing his only assist this season against Bournemouth in the 2-1 home win, he will be hoping that a start would help provide the same sort of lift to bring all three points back to St. James’.

Newcastle fans will be remembering the form of Kenedy towards the end of last season, a form that lifted the Toon up and helped pave a way for survival. Is it too late for the 23-year-old to push on and recapture that same late-season form?

[ad_pod ]Newcastle visit West Ham on Saturday where they will be hoping they can secure a third consecutive win having dispatched Huddersfield last week and then Burnley on Tuesday. Rafa Benitez surely made at least one selection decision with the thicket of fixtures in mind, but one man’s performance will have given him some food for thought.

On the chalkboard

Rafa and his Magpies squad seem to have struck gold with their 5-4-1 approach, with January signing Miguel Almiron already looking like being the final piece in the jigsaw and a perfect balance between defensive solidity and attacking potency having been found.

The key to success with such a formation is often the wing-backs, who are tasked with providing width but also preventing the centre-backs from being exposed.

Fortunately, Rafa has a plethora of options to choose from in that role and, while prior to the Clarets clash this may not have been the case, the Spaniard has been given a tough decision to make on the right for the next game.

Mighty Manquillo

DeAndre Yedlin seems like the perfect fit for the right-wing-back role – perhaps only due to his blinding pace – but Tuesday’s game saw Javier Manquillo deputise for the USA international.

The former Liverpool man recorded some impressive numbers in the win, completing 2 tackles and 2 clearances, as well as an assist – should Rafa give the sometimes suspect Spaniard the nod for a second consecutive game despite what the fans have made of his past performances?

Yedlin offers far more on the front foot and, due to his speed, may be a better match for Hammers danger man Felipe Anderson, although the 58-cap international’s defensive positioning can sometimes leave a lot to be desired. Manquillo’s latest showing, though, may have earned Rafa’s repaid faith and he is far better physically.

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One presumes that Rafa intends to rotate his wing-backs again this weekend to keep his XI fresh but perhaps he should leave 24-year-old Manquillo in after his fine performance in midweek.

أعلن المدير الفني السابق لنادي بلاك ليوباردز، كافين جونسون، الانضمام إلى الجهاز الفني للنادي الأهلي بطل الدوري المصري بقيادة، بيتسو موسيماني.

ورحل جونسون عن تدريب فريق بلاك ليوباردز بعد انتهاء موسم 2019/2020، وسبق له أن درب أندية قوية في جنوب إفريقيا مثل بلاتينيم ستارز وسوبر سبورت يونايتد خلال مشواره التدريبي.

واستقر موسيماني على جونسون ليكون مساعدًا له بعد اعتذار رولاني موكوينا، المدرب العام السابق له في ماميلودي صن داونز الذي فضل البقاء في النادي الجنوب إفريقي وعدم الانتقال إلى الأهلي. (طالع التفاصيل)

وتواصل “بطولات” على الفور مع المدرب المساعد الجديد، كافين جونسون، للتأكيد على الاتفاق، وأجاب المدرب صاحب الـ 61 عامًا: “سأنضم للجهاز الفني للنادي الأهلي بقيادة، بيتسو موسماني، قريبًا”.

وعن موعد وصوله إلى القاهرة: “سأصل تقريبًا بحسب موعد الطائرة مساء يوم غدًا الثلاثاء”.

وأرسل جونسون رسالة مختصرة لجماهير النادي الأهلي في النهاية، وقال: “سنحاول تقديم أفضل ما لدينا للنجاح مع الفريق خلال الفترة المقبلة”.

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West Ham want to sign Jonjo Shelvey in the summer transfer window, and Newcastle United would be foolish to stand in their way.

What’s the story?

According to The Northern Echo, Shelvey is a target for Manuel Pellegrini this summer.

The report claims the Hammers made “a number of enquiries” during the January window, but their approaches were rejected.

Rafael Benitez was “extremely reluctant” to allow the midfielder to leave, claims the aforementioned report, but Pellegrini will come again for the 6-cap England international.

And Benitez won’t stop the move from happening this time, as the Spaniard has “doubts about his work rate and willingness to buy in to the team ethic” reports The Northern Echo.

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Boost for Longstaff

It’s not surprising that Benitez was desperate to hang on to Shelvey even despite the 27 year-old making just 14 appearances in all competitions this season.

At the time, Sean Longstaff had not really made the impression that he is going to be a long-term starter, which he now has, and Ki Sung-yueng was away on international duty and struggling with a hamstring injury.

Now though, the gaffer knows he has the full summer to replace Shelvey, and if the midfielder is not buying into his ideology then there is really no point keeping him around.

The Magpies should bleed West Ham dry for the ex-Liverpool midfield and put the money to good use in finding a long-term partner for Longstaff.

In fact, selling Shelvey might just be the best thing to ever happen to Longstaff, as the 21 year-old’s path to the first team was previously blocked by the ex-Liverpool ace, with both attempting to fill the same role in Benitez’s midfield.

If West Ham are so desperate to secure the long-shot master that they overpay the Magpies, providing the money is put to good use, it would pave the way for Longstaff to have an even better career than he already looks destined for.

[ad_pod ]Gary Hooper last played for Sheffield Wednesday on Boxing Day 2017. The striker was taken off injured against Nottingham Forest in the first half and hasn’t been seen on the pitch at Hillsborough in the 15 months since.However, on Friday, the 31-year-old striker played 45 minutes for the Owls’ under-23s side against their Crystal Palace counterparts.

Ready to return?

He may still be some way short of first team level match fitness, but the former Celtic hitman is certainly getting there.Â

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After so long on the sidelines, he’s bound to be rusty, but Steve Bruce should still be excited to have such a competent finisher on the verge of swelling his ranks.Â

If Hooper is able to get back to full fitness in time to play a significant amount of Championship football this season then he has the capacity to have a huge impact for the Owls.

All to play for

The experienced centre-forward will be desperate to return to the fold before the end of the season, and will be keen to impress on the pitch if he can. With his current contract due to expire this summer, the No. 14 will need to prove his worth, and that he still has what it takes at this level in order to secure a new deal.

Wednesday, too, will be hoping that the 5ft 9in forward can hit the ground running. The Owls currently have an outside chance of making the play-offs, and Hooper’s goals could fire them to a historic promotion.Â

The Carabao Cup victory might’ve been a delightful one for Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City but they are far from done.

The Citizens are still involved in three remaining competitions and fighting hard to try to achieve history in winning a treble or even more. However, injuries to Aymeric Laporte, John Stones and Fernandinho come as a blow.

Despite watching three crucial defensive aspects being sidelined, Pep Guardiola will gladly welcome Benjamin Mendy’s return. The left back’s been sidelined with a knee injury since November, but could be fit to play West Ham United tonight (via Sky Sports). Before his injury, Mendy was in blazing form for the Citizens on the left, helping them with his determined work-rate.

In the nine league appearances he’s made for City this season, the Frenchman’s helped them keep four clean-sheets and recorded five assists. Not only that, but he’s also created four big chances along with sixteen accurate long-balls (stats via Premier League).

He’s also been an asset defensively, keeping tidy on the left,  not allowing attacks to mount from his side. With Oleksandr Zinchenko still quite raw, Mendy will add that attacking bite to City through the left-side and be an ace in the hole for Guardiola.

While the World Cup winner hasn’t done a huge amount to prove he’s worth the huge amount of money the club invested in his services last summer through injury, the former Lyon man can pay it all back by having a huge say in City’s chase for a further three trophies.

He definitely has the ability to light up their game with his pace and drive through the left making him an asset in the final months. While Guardiola will immerse him into the team slowly, Mendy’s passionate work is exactly the kind of boost City’s needs with a tough schedule looming.

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Max Meyer was once regarded as one of the most precocious and exciting midfield talents on the continent, but he has failed to hit the heights of his role model and 98 cap Germany international, Michael Ballack.

What’s the word?

It’s often easy to forget that footballers, like everyone else, have a life away from their place of work.

Plenty of players avoid making their presence felt in the public eye and that naturally contributes to the aforementioned false perception, but Meyer spoke to Crystal Palace TV this week in a refreshing interview with Chris Grierson, as per Youtube.

The former Schalke prodigy, who joined Palace on a free in the summer, opened up about veganism, his move to England and the 2006 World Cup amongst other things.

While discussing the 2006 World Cup, which was hosted by Germany, Meyer revealed (01:30) that Ballack, the German captain for the competition, was his favourite player at the time.

“My favourite player was Michael Ballack. He was my role model. He was a perfect player for Germany, he was the captain and he was my favourite player.”

Too late to follow in Ballack’s footsteps?

As role models go, Ballack is a phenomenal talent to aspire to.

Considering Meyer is now 23 and struggling to cement his place in Roy Hodgson’s starting XI, it’s fair to say that he has a mountain to climb if he wishes to emulate the success of the 2010 Premier League title winner.

However, he could learn a lot from his role model’s box-to-box style of play and ability to regularly find the back of the net for club and country.

Meyer’s positional transition from a number ten to a number six has been the defining narrative in his career during the past eighteen months, but perhaps he needs to strike a balance between the qualities needed in both of those positions in order to realise his huge potential, just as Ballack did during his esteemed career.