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Former Celtic player Ramon Vega described manager Neil Lennon as a ‘lost soul’ after his side’s 2-2 draw against Hibernian on Saturday.

Vega worried for Lennon

The Bhoys found themselves struggling at Easter Road and had to claw back from 2-0 down with 30 minutes left to steal a late point through Diego Laxalt’s 91st-minute equaliser.

This led to the Irish tactician scolding his players to the media after the full-time whistle after a recent run of disappointing results in the Premiership and in Europe – they are yet to pick up a win on the continent this season (via BBC Sport).

Here is what Vega had to say on Twitter about Lennon after watching his post-match interview, where the boss said that he was not in a position to defend his players.

Vega, who was a centre-back during his playing days, had a brief spell on loan at Parkhead during the 2000/01 campaign, scoring four goals in 25 appearances (Soccerbase) and played closely alongside Lennon that season under Martin O’Neill.

Transfer Tavern take

After all of the success that Lennon has had as a player and manager over the years, this will be one of the most difficult spells of his career so far.

Results are not going his way and the Bhoys fell further behind arch-rivals Rangers, who are still unbeaten in the league this season (via BBC Sport).

Their objective of securing 10-in-a-row hangs in the balance. This week is a big one for Celtic and they must get a result in Prague to boost the confidence of the squad.

In other news, Chris Sutton gives verdict on when Celtic will ‘sack’ Neil Lennon.

With the new Premier League season around the corner, fixtures have just been officially released, ready to add to your calendar.

The opening day sees champions Liverpool host newly-promoted Championship winners Leeds United.

Opening Fixtures

Match-week one begins on Saturday 12 September with six big games on offer (15:00 k/o):

Crystal Palace v Southampton Fulham v Arsenal Liverpool v Leeds Spurs v Everton West Brom v Leicester West Ham v Newcastle

Monday 14 September 2020 (20:00 k/o):

Brighton v Chelsea Sheffield United v Wolves

Burnley vs Manchester United and Manchester City vs Aston Villa have been postponed until a later date due to the Manchester clubs’ involvement in European competitions last season. They will begin their Premier League campaign in match-week two on Saturday 19 September.

Key Fixtures

Defending champions Liverpool have been handed a tough start as the Reds visit Chelsea on their second game of the season, before hosting the Gunners on their third game. The first Merseyside derby sees the Toffees host defending champions Liverpool on 17 October – the very same day Manchester City host Arsenal.

Manchester United have a tough few games towards the end of Autumn. They first take on Chelsea at Old Trafford on 24 October, and one week later they host Arsenal.

Bitter rivals Manchester City bid to triumph over Liverpool on 7 November as the champions travel to the Etihad, and two weeks later, City visit North London where they will take on Spurs.

The first North London derby of the season takes place on Saturday 5 December – the Gunners take a trip to Tottenham where they will hope to get the upper hand of their long-term rivals.

The first Manchester derby takes place just one week after the North London Derby – 12 December. This time around, the Red Devils host Pep Guardiola’s City as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will hope to one-up his main rival.

Newly Promoted Clubs

All three promoted clubs have a tough run-in of games during their first month (Sep 12 – Oct 3):

Leeds take on Liverpool, Fulham, Sheffield United and Manchester City West Brom come against Leicester, Everton, Chelsea and Southampton Fulham return against Arsenal, Leeds, Aston Villa and Wolves

How will the new boys do in their first season back in the top flight?

Last Day of the Season

The last day of the season is Sunday 23 May, and despite the fact it is a long way away, the title could be decided on this very day if it goes down to the wire (16:00 k/o):

Arsenal v Brighton Aston Villa v Chelsea Fulham v Newcastle Leeds v West Brom Leicester v Spurs Liverpool v Crystal Palace Man City v Everton Sheffield Utd v Burnley West Ham v Southampton Wolves v Man Utd

Take a look at the Premier League’s full fixture list here!

Having finished as the joint-second highest scorers in the Championship last season with 77, West Brom have found it a lot more difficult to find the back of the net in their opening couple of Premier League games, with just two to their name.

It’s no surprise then that the Baggies are reportedly after a new striker, with The Sun claiming that Slaven Bilic’s side are eyeing up a surprising move for free agent Emmanuel Adebayor in this transfer window.

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The former Arsenal and Manchester City forward is currently without a club, and the report claims that Bilic has already had conversations with those connected to the 36-year-old about a possible move.

It’s added that Adebayor himself is desperate for a return to the Premier League in order to join the centurion club, with the Togo ace stuck on 97 goals in the competition.

With him being available on a free transfer, Luke Dowling could get the Baggies a bargain with a move for the 6 foot 3 Adebayor. No fee would be involved and it would allow the club to focus their attentions and resources elsewhere as they bid to strengthen the squad before the end of the window.

It’s a deal that makes a lot of sense for a lot of reasons for West Brom.

Leeds United have finally been promoted to the Premier League, and while their finances are going to be boosted massively by finally attaining top-flight status, Andrea Radrizzani has just had to pay out a hefty amount to his players.

Unsurprisingly, a lot of United’s playing staff were in line for a bonus if Leeds got out of the Championship, but the actual amount that the club have paid out is quite staggering.

What’s the story then?

Alan Nixon was giving a round-up of his main footballing stories from the week on Sunday morning, and he mentioned that both West Brom and Leeds had paid out huge bonuses to their players after being promoted.

Watch Leeds United Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

Understandably, there was interest in just how much the players received, and the journalist was quick to give an answer.

Nixon stated that Leeds paid out over £10m to the players after promotion.

Incredible

The players have certainly earned their pay packet after such a successful season, but to pay out an eight-figure fee is simply incredible.

The Whites have only spent over £10m on a player once since their relegation in 2004 with Helder Costa’s £16m fee breaking the bank, and this is a sign of just how much promotion boost’s the club’s coffers.

There have been whole transfer windows where Leeds haven’t spent that much, and they’ve now given that amount out as a bonus.

There are two ways to look at this though, it’s either a sign of things to come in terms of big spending at the club, or it’s a reckless way to spend such a figure when the squad needs seriously bolstering ahead of next season.

It will be interesting to keep an eye on Leeds’ finances over the next year, especially when you consider the FFP trouble they had in the Championship.

If you thought Tottenham Hotspur’s move for arch-rival midfielder Ainsley Maitland-Niles was mad, then fresh reports linking them to another Premier League youngster may be the tip of the iceberg…

What’s the word?

According to Football Insider, Spurs are plotting a shock loan swoop for Liverpool striker Rhian Brewster, who is quite the coveted figure this transfer window.

It’s claimed that Jose Mourinho’s priority has shifted to finding a viable backup to Harry Kane and the 20-year-old is on their radar once again after failing to sign him two years ago prior to him signing his first pro deal at Anfield.

Brewster is with Liverpool for pre-season currently but also has the likes of Aston Villa, Crystal Palace and Newcastle United interested in signing him temporarily.

Parrott 2.0?

Not only will Spurs find it hard to land the young sensation because they could be rivals for a place in the top four, but also because they’ll struggle to provide the game time he needs to progress.

Brewster has just returned from a fruitful spell in the Championship where he scored 11 goals in just 21 starts, so the natural progression would be to hand him an opportunity in the Reds’ first-team or see if another top-flight team could guarantee him valuable match experience.

It’s no secret that Mourinho needs another striker after the north Londoners crashed out of all cup competitions during Kane’s injury absence at the start of the year, but the Portuguese boss didn’t lean on their own starlet, Troy Parrott, so why would he do any different with Brewster.

The Irishman has since gone out on loan to Millwall, which only emphasises the need for an attacking addition but it seems hard to envisage Brewster in the Spurs strip.

Brewster has been lauded as many things during his short career to date, including “special” and “just exceptional” so there’s no denying that he’d be a very good addition in north London.

But it’s just not plausible whatsoever.

AND in other news, Spurs target Ligue 1 powerhouse who is shades of Mousa Dembele

Former Sunderland player Kieron Brady has revealed a past e-mail that he has sent to the Sunderland board on several different occasions, outlining a strategy which aimed to seek solutions to ongoing problems.

The original message published by Roker Report dates back to March 2015 but the former winger explains that it had subsequently been sent to former Chief Executive Martin Bain and then on to the current set of directors, including Stewart Donald.

Fans have welcomed the initiative he has shown and appreciate that some former players do care about the club and the predicament it has fallen into, with Brady having outlined his methods to bring about change.

Watch Sunderland Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

His main idea is to contact former managers and players so they can share their thoughts on the underlying issues at the club, and some supporters have applauded his idea.

Brady’s main feeling is that the issues that have plagued Sunderland over the years don’t relate to the personnel at the club, either players or managers.

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The huge decline in performance since arriving at the club from Phil Parkinson, Will Grigg and Aiden McGeady, just to name a few, is evidence that he is view is likely correct, and that means other problems must be identified and ironed out.

After all, the Black Cats have been embroiled in relegation fights for the majority of this decade, last season being the only relative success yet they still failed to gain promotion from the third tier.

Brady’s idea of a questionnaire for former employees of the club – coaches and players – could be the right step to understanding motives behind joining, as well as their overall thoughts and impression of Sunderland. That could bring in much-needed knowledge and allow the current directors to make changes as a result, changes which could benefit the club long-term.

Meanwhile, Simon Grayson has shared his thoughts on Phil Parkinson and they may not sit well with Sunderland fans.

A lot of the West Ham United fan base are reacting to the news that left-back Antonee Robinson is a player the Irons are interested in.

According to journalist Alan Nixon, who reports for the Sun on Sunday sport section, the Premier League side are tracking Robinson, who was part of deadline day drama in January as his expected move to Italian giants AC Milan never came to fruition.

The left-back has had a very impressive season at Wigan in the Championship, as defensively he has managed on average 2.3 tackles, two interceptions and 2.8 clearances a game, via WhoScored.

With clubs like AC Milan interested in the 22 year-old in the past, Robinson is clearly a player that is held in high regard and considered a prospect for the future. With starting left-back Aaron Cresswell now 30, whilst Arthur Masuaku is not favoured by David Moyes, Robinson could be the ideal man for the club to sign in the summer and it is clear to see why fans are excited by the news, given his stats this term.

Here is what fans said following the news:

Hammers fans, would this be a good signing? Comment below!

According to the Daily Record’s Duncan Castles, Jose Mourinho is working hard on getting Lille’s Luis Campos to Tottenham Hotspur as their new technical director.

The same source claims that the man in question is currently one of the hottest prospects in his position – best known for his stints at Monaco and his current gig at Lille – and Mourinho sees him as a suitable man to fill in the vacant spot at the London club.

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Bringing in such a big name would definitely go a long way to helping the Special One bring some silverware back to the club, and for that reason, many of the Spurs fans were actually delighted to hear this update.

They even called Campos a potential long-term game-changer and would seemingly prioritise signing him over getting new players to join Tottenham.

Needless to say, they are all up for this move.

You can see some of their reactions and comments down in the tweets below:

Elsewhere, Graham Roberts suggested a bold transfer move just recently and it seemed to divide many Spurs fans in the process…

Liverpool have been heavily linked with Kylian Mbappe in recent weeks.

It has been said that the France international is unhappy at PSG, and could therefore be out of the door very soon. And it is believed that the Reds would be interested in him, with The Telegraph even saying that signing him is the Anfield hierarchy’s “ultimate ambition”.

Jurgen Klopp has already poured cold water on those rumours, though, and he may now have to do the same in regards to another player from the team from the French capital. According to Le Parisien, Liverpool are amongst a number of sides who are looking at purchasing Neymar.

As you can imagine, there has been a lot of reaction to this one on Twitter, and it seems the fans do not want the 27-year-old to sign for them.

Some damning opinions there. From a pure footballing point of view, it is hard to argue with his ability, as his 57 goals in 67 matches for PSG show, but his questionable attitude would not be the best thing for Liverpool right now, especially considering the wonderful team spirit Klopp has managed to put together.

His ego, it seems, is the main reason why the supporters do not want him.

Given the numerous stories that have surrounded the former Santos man – he was involved in a row with star striker Edinson Cavani within weeks of arriving in Paris, for example (L’Equipe via The Daily Mail) – the Reds would perhaps be best served avoiding him.

Can you name the result these iconic Liverpool images belong to? Give it a go now…

Some fans have gone even further, saying they wouldn’t even want him on a free transfer.

The response to this transfer link is overwhelming. He may just be the last player the Kop faithful would want at Anfield.

In other news, this Liverpool man shows he is a mentality monster against RB Salzburg.

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…

There’s damning with faint praise, but is there such a thing as praise with faint damning?

Because that’s the situation that the staff and players at Sheffield United might just find himself in after some rather weird remarks from former Blades boss Neil Warnock.

What’s he said?

Speaking to talkSPORT, Warnock praised Wilder for the work that he is doing at Bramall Lane right now even though the players he’s working work aren’t exactly of the highest quality:

“It’s an amazing system. I’m not being disrespectful, but he’s got bang average players playing top of the Premier League standards. That’s what you talk about man-management, these lads believe in what Chris is doing and good luck, the fans are loving it and I’m sure they’ll do well.”

Unleashing the beasts

Warnock has always been one that isn’t afraid to voice his opinion on all things football, but this might come back to bite him in the backside at the end of the season.

The praise for Wilder just seems to be never-ending, with ex-pros like Tony Cascarino saying that he should be considered for ‘bigger’ Premier League jobs further down the road, but a comment like this, is exactly what players like those in the Bramall Lane dressing room should be looking for, extra motivation.

Whilst Warnock might not exactly hold the highest esteem when it comes to the world of football, much in the same way John Terry made disparaging remarks about Robbie Savage a number of years ago, the chance to go and prove someone wrong should be a big motivator for the players as they go on this season.

Whilst some might write the Blades off, including to a certain extent us at FFC as well, they should take all these comments and use it as a way to prove everyone wrong.

They’ve already exceeded expectations by even getting into this division, and a quote like this might just be that little bit extra that they need to really kick on and make this season a memorable one.