Roberto Firmino has had to play a bit-part role for Brazil at the World Cup, much to the dislike of Liverpool fans.
The 26-year-old was a key player in the Reds’ season as he formed part of a scintillating attack alongside Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane.
In total, Firmino scored 26 goals in all competitions, including 15 in the Premier League to help Liverpool finish fourth, and 10 in the Champions League to push them to the final, which they lost to Real Madrid 3-1 in Kiev.
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Despite the forward’s fantastic campaign in front of goal, Brazil coach Tite has opted to select Gabriel Jesus in all four of the nation’s matches so far.
Firmino has only played 37 minutes of competitive action in Russia across three fixtures after coming on as a substitute.
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The Liverpool star opened his scoring account on Monday after Neymar slid the ball across for his teammate to knock into an open goal, which signalled a 2-0 victory over Mexico in the last-16 stage.
Somewhat bizarrely, a handful of Brazil’s players ran to Neymar first instead of the goalscorer.
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Some Liverpool fans took note of this and criticised the Paris Saint-Germain star on Twitter.
Manchester United recovered from 2-o down to beat Crystal Palace 3-2 last night, thanks to Nemanja Matic’s stoppage time stunner.
It was an abject first half from United, who struggled to cope with Palace’s front two of Christian Benteke and Alexander Sorloth and failed to offer any cohesion in attack.
After Patrick van Aanholt’s strike caught the Red Devils cold early in the second half, there were signs of improvement from many players but one man who still struggled to influence the game was Paul Pogba.
There has been much discussion about Pogba’s best position in recent weeks, with many observers feeling that he was stifled as part of a two-man midfield alongside Matic earlier on in the season.
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Recently, Pogba has been freed up to play on the left of a midfield trio in a 4-3-3 system, where he shone at Juventus but it failed to make any impact last night as the game largely passed him by, even when United launched their fightback.
Pogba posted a message of celebration on Twitter which drew a mixed reaction from fans. Some feel he is showing signs of improvement and giving his all but others are still not impressed and are calling on the French superstar to up his game ahead of Saturday’s crunch clash at home to Liverpool.
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We’ve taken a closer look at some of the reaction from United fans…
While Manchester United, Southampton and Hull fans, among others, were enjoying watching transfer deadline day unfold, Leeds supporters’ experiences were a little less inspiring.
The go to place for fans of the Whites was the club’s own Twitter account, but those who followed with baited breath may wish they hadn’t bothered as they were met with a barrage of disappointing updates.
It all started on a promising note with the permanent capture of loanee Souleymane Doukara, which was quickly followed by calls to stay tuned for big deals and a retweet from their excited captain, Jason Pearce. A top striker coming in? An Italian wonderkid plucked by Massimo Cellino?
Erm… not quite. The following hour saw Matt Smith’s move to Fulham unfold before talented youngster Dominic Poleon slipped out of the door to join Oldham.
But was there a last minute deal to save the day? Not quite. Take a look at the tweets below and try not to laugh or cry, depending upon whom you support…
Crystal Palace manager Ian Holloway is concerned that speculation surrounding a January move may distract star attacker Wilfried Zaha.
The England international has been linked with a whole host of top Premier League clubs, following an impressive start to the Eagles’ Championship campaign.
Arsenal are thought to be in pole position to land his signature, but Manchester United and Liverpool are also rumoured to be in the race.
Holloway wants to keep the 20-year-old at Selhurst Park beyond the winter transfer window, but is wary that he may become disheartened if a big money move fails to come to fruition:
“When a young player gets a chance to move and the club say no, we need to manage that disappointment and refocus that person.” He told the London Evening Standard.
Zaha is regarded as one of the finest emerging talents in England, with his direct nature making him a threat to opposition defences.
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Despite his youthful age, and the fact he plays in the second-tier, the wide-man was called up by Three Lions manager Roy Hodgson to face Sweden last month.
It has been speculated that this was just an emergency measure from the FA to ensure that Zaha would be ineligible to represent the Ivory Coast at a later date, the nation he was born in.
Sunderland fans were in high spirits when Jack Rodwell looked to be nearing an exit, and they are hilariously bashing the midfielder now his contract has officially been terminated.
Sunderland announced yesterday that Rodwell will leave the club at the end of June.
The club said the decision was by mutual consent, though it seems fans suspect the 27 year-old would be happy to keep picking up a wage packet if it were up to him.
According to BBC, the ex Manchester City man earned £70,000 per week in the Black Cats’ season in the Championship, and would earn a further £43,000 per week in League One for the remaining year on his deal.
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Rodwell swapped Manchester for Wearside in 2014 after making just 16 league appearances for Manchester City, but didn’t exactly impress fans at the Stadium of Light either.
The 27 year-old went an incredible 1,370 days without a win, and played just twice in the Championship last season.
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Roker Report have made a superb Twitter thread of Rodwell’s finest moments, and you can find eight of the best reactions to his departure down below, along with one hilarious meme…
Everton are keeping a close eye on Atalanta midfielder Josip Ilicic ahead of the summer transfer window, according to Calciomercato.
What’s the story?
Everton have been very busy in the past two transfer windows; under former manager Ronald Koeman the club spent in excess of £100m on several new faces.
With Sam Allardyce at the helm, the buying continued in January as Theo Walcott and Cenk Tosun joined the party, while Eliaquim Mangala arrived from Manchester City on loan.
According to Calciomercato, another player has been added to Everton’s transfer wishlist, in the form of Ilicic from Atalanta.
The midfielder has made 33 appearances in all competitions for the Italian club so far this season, scoring 11 goals and creating eight assists.
Do Everton need another attacking midfielder?
That is one area where the Merseyside outfit are certainly not short!
Even though the 30-year-old’s statistics are impressive, there are more pressing matters that the Toffees should be focusing on.
During the January window, supporters demanded a left-back, but the Merseyside outfit did not deliver.
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Right-footed Cuco Martina has been taking on the role in Leighton Baines’s injury absence.
With the latter turning 34 next year, the club should priorities bringing in another man to fill his boots, rather than an attacking midfielder.
When England line up to face Norway in this evening’s international friendly at Wembley, they are expected to do so in front of a record-low attendance.
As of Monday, 30,000 tickets had been sold, and despite last-minute ticket sales, as well as some of the 17,000 Club Wembley members actually bothering to turn up to watch the game from the comfort of their premium seats, the size of the crowd is not expected to surpass the 49,000 who saw England beat Sweden in October 2011.
This particularly extreme case of apathy, it has been argued, stems from the frustration of England fans at repeated failures in international tournaments, the most recent disappointment being the Three Lions’ tame group stage exit at this summer’s World Cup in Brazil. This indifferent attitude looks set to persist into England’s European Championship qualifying campaign. An undemanding group containing Switzerland, Slovenia, Estonia, Lithuania and San Marino will hardly generate much excitement for the next 18 months. The expansion of Euro 2016 to 24 teams means that England will almost certainly qualify, and so it is generally believed amongst England fans that the next two years up to and including the tournament in France will pan out in a depressingly familiar manner – routine qualification from a tediously uncompetitive group, followed by early elimination from the tournament proper when the team comes up against half-decent sides.
England coach Roy Hodgson has attempted to shake things up following his side’s meek, winless surrender in Brazil. Prompted by the retirement of former captain Steven Gerrard – who, along with the similarly recently retired Frank Lampard represented the last of England’s so-called ‘golden generation’ – he has turned to Wayne Rooney as his next skipper to lead the Three Lions into a new era. Even that decision, however, has been met with a collective grim acceptance that the Manchester United striker received the honour almost by default, with no other senior player – bar Joe Hart of Manchester City perhaps – resembling anything like a leader of the national team. It is yet another piece of conclusive evidence, they say, that England is in crisis, and has been for a long time.
Understandable though these concerns may be, the cries of a crisis are hugely exaggerated when we consider the potential lurking among the younger players of the England set-up. In Calum Chambers, Luke Shaw, Adam Lallana, Nathaniel Clyne and James Ward-Prowse (all of whom received their footballing education at Southampton’s academy), not to mention Daniel Sturridge, Raheem Sterling and Jordan Henderson of Liverpool, England clearly has a pool of talent that has the potential to rival any other in Europe.
Potential, of course, is the crucial word in this argument. If it is not harnessed effectively then the talent is ultimately laid to waste. This was certainly the case with England’s ‘golden generation’, and many fear a repeat with the current crop. For many, the reasons for this wasted potential are threefold: a negligent attitude towards developing technically gifted youngsters, a harmful lack of patience and steadiness with regard to international football at youth level, and club football in England coming above all else. Though the Football Association have attempted to tackle at least some of these issues through the opening of St George’s Park National Football Centre, there is a worry that the multi-million pound complex is not being used properly, and that with its location in Staffordshire, is something of an expensive nuisance.
In reality, the issue with the England set-up is not as deep-rooted, multifarious nor complex as it is being made out to be. To tackle each point in the preceding paragraph, in the money-saturated world of modern football, clubs will always take precedence over national sides; that is fact. As for developing technically gifted young players, these clubs are far more responsible than the national set-up. It is on the training grounds of their employers that youngsters hone their skills for the majority of the time; development at a National Football Centre is minimal by comparison. As has been previously noted, Southampton have made a remarkable job of developing young, skilled players without outside interference. The second point is the only one which holds water; judging by the successes of the Spanish under-21 side, the English FA should pay more attention to its equivalent and resist from fast-tracking inexperienced players into its senior side.
The real problem with England lies with its coaches, not with its players. Football has evolved, with the Spanish – and latterly German – model being the vanguard for this change. By ensuring that the way in which football is coached in this country is progressive and adaptable, rather than stagnant and unchangeable, English football will be able to properly compete with its European rivals. The likes of Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool and Garry Monk at Swansea prove that young, talented British managers do exist; by educating coaches in ways suited to the modern game and incorporating them into the national set-up, there is no reason why England cannot taste success in the long term.
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In the bleak sea of pessimism and apathy surrounding England, there is still cause for cautious optimism. It is up to the FA to act on it.
Arsenal and Liverpool FC are set to battle it out in January for the signing of Wigan goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi with a £7 million bid enough to prise him away from the Latics.
Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is keen to add strength to his goalkeeping ranks and sees the Oman shot stopper as an ideal candidate to rival current number one Wojciech Szczęsny.
Wenger has been monitoring Al-Habsi for over a year now and seems likely to make a move after being unimpressed with current understudy Vito Mannone. While the Italian has had some decent performances, Wenger is keen to have two world class keepers at his disposal.
Al-Habsi has become one of the most highly rated keepers in the Premier League with some fine performances against top opposition.
The Latics are desperate to keep hold of the 30-year-old who they signed in 2011 from Bolton. Wigan manager Roberto Martinez is aware that over the years the club have had to sell their best players as they can’t compete with fellow Premier League rivals and have slapped a price-tag of £7 million for their highly rated goalkeeper.
Arsenal will face stiff competition from Liverpool who are also keen to bring in another top keeper to push Spanish number one Jose Reina, after a number of inconsistent performances.
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Sunderland fans are starting to worry they won’t even have a squad next season, after they missed out on striker target Florian Kamberi.
Switzerland U21 striker Kamberi has joined Hibernian permanently, after spending the second half of last season loan with the Scottish side.
Kamberi struggled to break through with his parent club Grasshopper, but is an extremely exciting prospect, grabbing nine goals in 14 league appearances during his loan spell in Scotland.
According to Roker Report, the Black Cats had “made a six-figure bid” for the young striker on Thursday morning, but the 6 ft 2 forward, valued at £450,000 by Transfermarkt, has opted for familiar territory.
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Jack Ross and Stuart Donald have got a lot of work on their hands at the Stadium of Light this summer, as several first team members are expected to leave the club.
The new men in charge would have loved to get fans on side with an exciting signing, but will now have to look elsewhere for the goals to fire them back into the Championship.
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Fans are starting to worry, and you can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…
Whether beneficial or detrimental to the Scottish champions’ ambitions, Celtic have developed something of a reputation for signing promising young players that eventually develop into top-class entities, the two most obvious examples being Tottenham’s imposing anchorman Victor Wanyama and Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk – now the most expensive defender in the history of the beautiful game.
Exposure to European football, especially when coupled with the more rigorous demands of the Scottish top flight, undoubtedly plays a key part in that. Not only does it put such youngsters against high-quality opponents, but it also showcases them to potential suitors. Those who step up their games on the continental stage don’t go unnoticed for very long.
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And for any scouts watching Celtic’s 1-0 win over Zenit in the Europa League on Thursday night, midfielder Olivier Ntcham will have undoubtedly caught their eye. Many tipped him as a smart signing when Brendan Rodgers snapped up the 22-year-old from Manchester City last summer and that’s already proving the case, with five goals from midfield in just 16 Scottish Premiership starts.
Ntcham didn’t get on the scoresheet on Thursday but he was a consistent goal threat, making the most attempts to find the net of any player on the pitch, created opportunities for others with one chance and three accurate crosses, and made key contributions in winning the ball back with two tackles and three interceptions.
It was an incredibly dynamic display from the Frenchman – who Transfermarkt value at just £1.62million – and the power he injected into the midfield highlighted how well-suited he would be to the Premier League game, which implores huge strength and stamina from those in the engine room.
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And considering how Moussa Dembele has performed slightly below expectations this season, scoring nine in 26, after being hotly tipped to move to the Premier League last summer, it does raise an interesting question of which player would be a bigger hit in the English top flight. Let us know by voting below…