The Chalkboard: Pochettino’s tactical switch pays dividends in new stadium bow

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Tottenham Hotspur beat Crystal Palace in their first game at the new stadium on Wednesday.

On a momentous evening for the football club, goals from Son Heung-Min and Christian Eriksen ultimately proved decisive against Roy Hodgson’s men, and came about after a major tactical decision from manager Mauricio Pochettino.

On the chalkboard

Pochettino began the game with Son partnering Harry Kane up front.

The South Korea international has played in that position many times before but the fact remains that it very rarely works.

Son is always starved of space and service when alongside the England captain because of Kane’s desire to drop deep and dictate the play.

A pacey, direct winger, Son is better used when deployed on the flank as he has the freedom to run at defenders and affect the game in a manner more befitting to his playing style.

Nevertheless, Danny Rose, normally a left-back, started the game on the wing, with Ben Davies in a full-back role. Throughout the first half, it limited Spurs’ threat and allowed Palace to sit deep and pick off any attempted through balls or chipped passes over the top.

In the second half, however, Pochettino made a positive change and shifted Son to the flank.

And his goal came about as a direct result of him cutting inside from the right and firing an effort at goal. It found its way in after a heavy deflection but history, all of a sudden, was his – the first competitive goalscorer at the new stadium.

The switch also influenced the second goal. Without Son occupying the space on the left, Kane charged into the box and was perhaps fouled, but the ball broke to Christian Eriksen, who lashed home.

A handful

Son is, of course, a handful wherever he plays.

A genuinely superb forward, Son’s strengths lie in his versatility.

He is equally adept at playing on the flanks as he is through the middle but Pochettino has been faced with a tricky decision with the star since Kane’s return to fitness.

Son scored in every Premier League game that his team-mate missed but has not performed anywhere near as well as a central striker since his return.

Pochettino, then, appears to have finally found the solution; let Kane do his thing through the middle, with Son floating in off the flanks, weighing in with his own significant contribution.

Levy must back up words with transfers

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Daniel Levy insists that Tottenham Hotspur want to become one of the best clubs in world football after completing the construction of their new stadium, per The Telegraph.

The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, as it is currently known, will play host to its first Premier League game on Wednesday evening when Spurs take on Crystal Palace.

What’s the word?

Spurs have not signed a single player in the past two transfer windows, with their last permanent acquisition being Lucas Moura from PSG in January of 2018.

This year’s January transfer window, as well as the summer, passed without a signing as Spurs completed work on their £1billion stadium, that has so far hosted two test events, an Under-18 game against Southampton and a legends game that saw Tottenham take on Inter Milan.

Palace visit on Wednesday for the official curtain-raiser and, ahead of the game with the Eagles, Levy has told journalists that he is hoping to transform Spurs into one of the biggest clubs on the planet.

The Telegraph report he said: “I have a very thick skin, so I ignore all the criticism, partly because sometimes when you’re on the inside, maybe you know the other side.

“I’m always there to protect the club. I would say that the last 18 years, this club has definitely gone forward and clearly like any business, any club, you have your ups and downs but I think we’ve created the infrastructure here to become one of the biggest clubs in the world.”

Levy has to back this up

These words are fine and, in fact, will prove illuminating for a number of fans that are not used to hearing from their famously private chairman.

But there has to be substance behind his words.

If Spurs are to break through the glass ceiling and start winning trophies regularly, the club have to invest in the playing squad and bring it up to a Premier League-winning standard.

The likes of Manchester City and Liverpool have spent big in recent years given their desperation to remain at the top of the food chain.

Spurs, then, have to do the same. Levy has overseen the building of a genuinely phenomenal stadium that will be the envy of Europe.

Now, he has to oversee the building of a team in the same vein. Otherwise, what was the point?

Celtic fans slam Lennon for post-Livingston comments

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Loads of Celtic fans have been reflecting on the weekend’s action, and they just can’t accept the performances under Neil Lennon nor his comments after the Livingston draw.

Celtic lost ground in the title race this weekend, and while the Bhoys are of course still heavy favourites to secure their eighth consecutive league win, fans are not happy with Lennon.

The boss replaced Brendan Rodgers in February, and while he has done excellent to steady the ship and almost secure the title, the performances have been worrying to say the least.

Former Wigan & Fulham man, Jimmy Bullard recently showed that he’s still got it! Check out the video below…

The 1-0 win against Dundee and 0-0 draw with Aberdeen were hardly inspiring, and the performance level wasn’t exactly excellent against Rangers considering they had ten men for most of the match.

After Saturday’s goalless draw, Lennon gave his verdict on his side’s form: “Total extreme from last week. Sometimes the fans need to be excited and I thought the players did what they could, especially in the first-half, but they lacked that little bit of punch today.”

He continued: “I think if we’d have got the goal at any stage we would’ve won the game comfortably. We are not firing on all cylinders at the moment.”

Fans are not too impressed by the gaffer’s comments, as they view the problems he highlighted as things he is responsible for fixing, like motivating the players.

You can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below, look away now Neil…

Rangers: Ryan Hardie should lead the line next season, not Morelos

Some Rangers fans have surely had enough of Alfredo Morelos, and rightly so! With that in mind, Ryan Hardie should have the chance to lead the Gers’ line next season.

The Rangers forward on loan at Livingston has only played the second half of the season because of an injury, but he’s come back with a bang, scoring seven since his return. His eight in 16 last year also proves he’s got the eye for goal Gerrard will be looking for in summer.

Rangers can’t rely on Morelos to keep his head down and do what he’s paid to do, so the club should search elsewhere in the summer for someone without the short fuse. Hardie’s only had one yellow card this season, so that’s quite the contrast to Morelos’ three reds.

The two are the same age, 22, and so bringing back Hardie wouldn’t be a step back in terms of long-term planning at Ibrox. Gerrard doesn’t have the funds to go out and buy a quality striker in their prime, so looking internally would be a sensible option.

Hardie’s come through the ranks at Rangers so he’d get more patience than an outsourced player would. He knows what it means to play for Rangers anyway, and that’ll put him in good stead to cope with the pressure.

The club are on the hunt for their first trophy since the club’s liquidation, so they can’t afford to rely on Morelos. It’s now time to reward Hardie for his performances on loan and give him the chance to make it at the club he’s dreamed of playing for.

Rangers fans, who do you think should be Rangers’ main man up top next season? Join the discussion by commenting below…

We cannot afford any passengers: Villa fans criticise Albert Adomah

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Aston Villa fans have criticised Albert Adomah after his below-par performance in the win against Millwall on Monday.

The former Middlesbrough man has been a fantastic servant at Villa Park over the past three seasons but fans now believe he doesn’t offer enough to warrant a place in the first team.

Aged 31, many fans have stated that Adomah no longer has the pace required to play out wide at Villa Park anymore.

The winger was taken off in the 60th minute for Andre Green and it was a change which many fans welcomed.

The Ghanaian netted 14 league goals last season but his returns this season have diminished as he has scored just three times this campaign.

Villa fans on Twitter have been calling for him to be taken out of the starting XI as Villa eye up a place in the Premier League next season.

Here’s what Villa fans have been saying on Twitter…

Always improving: Everton fans loved Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s performance vs Arsenal

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Everton fans on Twitter have been busy lauding Dominic Calvert-Lewin for his tireless performance against Arsenal, as the Toffees managed to grab an impressive 1-0 win, with some even comparing him to Goodison Park icons Graeme Sharp and Duncan Ferguson.

The academy graduate did not stop running all game, and gave Shkodran Mustafi and Sokratis a torrid time at the back throughout the entire match.

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Calvert-Lewin – who Transfermarkt value at £13.5million – got the assist for Phil Jagielka’s early goal, and didn’t give the Gunners backline a moment to settle as Everton looked to stretch their defence by using the 22-year-old’s pace and athleticism to full effect.

The England Under-21 star is gradually getting better and better with every passing week, and is proving to be an excellent option for Marco Silva up top due to all the hard work he puts in – his tally of six league goals could be improved upon, however.

It seems unlikely that the Merseysiders would’ve recorded their third straight win without Calvert-Lewin playing as well as he did, so let’s see what the Toffees fanbase on Twitter have been saying about the youngster…

World class! Palace fans react as Vicente Guaita is awarded MOTM for weekend display

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Crystal Palace reached the 36-point threshold, which is expected to be enough for survival, with a 2-0 win over Huddersfield at the weekend, although the result had very different consequences for the Terriers, who were relegated.

Jan Siewert’s side were not for the want of trying, though, with Chris Lowe testing Vicente Guaita twice in quick succession – the Spaniard was equal to the task, though, flying to stop the German’s header and then tipping a second effort around the post.

The Eagles ‘keeper bounced back from a shaky performance at Watford in their FA Cup quarter-final clash – the former Getafe man’s decision making was questionable on that day, but his shot-stopping abilities saved Palace from being one or two down at the end of the first-half.

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Fortunately for the 6 ft 3 ace, the players in front of him were far better after the restart and could have run away with it. Another sparkling performance from Wilfried Zaha stood out – the Ivorian could have had a brace at least – but Guaita’s first-45 heroics were enough to see the custodian voted man of the match by the Selhurst Park faithful.

Here’s what they had to say on Twitter…

تعرف على معلق مباراة برشلونة وألافيس اليوم في الدوري الإسباني

يلتقي فريق برشلونة مع ديبورتيفو ألافيس في بطولة الدوري الإسباني الممتاز، وذلك مساء اليوم السبت.

اقرأ أيضًا.. موعد والقنوات الناقلة لمباراة برشلونة وألافيس اليوم في الدوري الإسباني

ويستضيف ملعب مينديزوروزا مباراة الفريقين، في إطار منافسات الجولة الثامنة، في تمام الساعة العاشرة مساء بتوقيت مصر.

ويحتل برشلونة حاليًا المركز الثاني عشر برصيد 7 نقاط (مع الأخذ في الاعتبار خوضه 5 مباريات فقط)، بينما يتواجد ألافيس في المركز الخامس عشر بعدد النقاط ذاته ولكن بفارق الأهداف. معلق مباراة برشلونة وألافيس

يعلق على مباراة برشلونة وألافيس في الدوري الإسباني اليوم السبت، رؤوف خليف، عبر فضائية bein sports hd1.

ويمكنك مطالعة مواعيد ونتائج جميع المباريات لحظة بلحظة من مركز المباريات من هنا.

Two Arsenal players who will have gone down in Unai Emery’s estimations vs Everton

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Arsenal’s miserable away record continued on Sunday as they were beaten 1-0 by Everton at Goodison Park, and they will drop out of the Champions League qualification spots on Monday night if Chelsea avoid defeat against West Ham United.

The Gunners have taken 44 points from a possible 51 at the Emirates Stadium in the Premier League this season, but they have only picked up 19 points on the road – the loss against the Toffees was their sixth in 15 attempts on their travels during the current campaign.

In another disappointing performance, the following two players will surely have gone down in manager Unai Emery’s estimations following below-par showings.

Sead Kolasinac

Whether he has been featuring as a left-back or a left wing-back – the latter more in recent weeks – the Bosnia and Herzegovina international looked to finally be showing that he could be relied upon to be a regular starter for Arsenal.

Emery may well have been thinking that buying a left-sided defender during the summer wasn’t of paramount importance, but his mind may have been changed after the 25-year-old’s latest outing.

After being dispossessed on two occasions and failing to make an impact at either end of the pitch for his team, he was hooked by his manager at half-time – his pass percentage being below 54% before he went off probably tells you all you need to know.

Matteo Guendouzi

Having been a starting XI regular earlier in the season, the young Frenchman has found that he has been in and out of the side in more recent times.

With Lucas Torreira, Granit Xhaka, Aaron Ramsey and Mohamed Elneny to compete alongside, the 19-year-old should know that he needs to take his opportunities when they come his way if he wants to be a consistent pick for Emery.

He hardly did himself any favours at Goodison Park though in what was always going to be an interesting midfield battle, picking up a silly yellow card in the sixth minute following a foul on Lucas Digne.

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When a mature performance was needed, Guendouzi instead produced an immature one that left him walking a tightrope for the remaining 84 minutes on Merseyside.

Forget David de Gea: Matteo Darmian’s incompetence was the reason for Sane’s strike

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Blamed. Criticised. Some fans even want him to be sold after it. David de Gea came in for some torrential criticism after Leroy Sane’s goal settled the Manchester derby at Old Trafford on Wednesday.

The German’s strike was right at De Gea, but the Spaniard couldn’t keep it out and instead diverted it into the back of his own net.

After his error inside the Camp Nou against Barcelona, and his ineffectiveness as Everton thrashed the Red Devils by four goals to nil, the finger is being pointed at a man who has set such high standards for himself over the years, that any dip in form is met with shock and surprise.

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However, Sane’s goal was not his fault.

Instead, the blame should lie at the feet of Matteo Darmian.

Why on earth did one of the Premier League’s best wide players have the entirety of Old Trafford to himself from the moment he received the ball to when he put it in the back of the net?

Darmian had already made a mistake before Raheem Sterling released the former Schalke man in on goal. The Italian international was nowhere to be seen, instead hiding behind his centre-back – quite literally – before not even looking interested in closing the shot down.

Sergio Aguero had made a run across goal to free up some space for Sane, but it was a movement that Chris Smalling had covered – the Italian international didn’t need to track the Argentine as well whilst Smalling was doing likewise.

To make matters worse, as I briefly touched on beforehand, when Darmian had realised the error of his ways, he didn’t even make a desperate attempt to block the shot, which is the bare minimum expected from a player who has messed up.

Instead, the former Torino man simply watched Sane draw back his deadly left foot, before rifling a shot towards the target – to be frank, it was pathetic from Darmian, and was deserving of Roy Keane’s scathing assessment following the final whistle.

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