All posts by n8rngtd.top

Aston Villa may have finally found their next goalkeeper if fresh reports are to be believed this week…

What’s the word?

According to The Athletic’s Laurie Whitwell, Dean Smith’s side have shown the most interest in Manchester United shot-stopper Sergio Romero after he slipped down the pecking order at Old Trafford.

The Argentine is surely now third choice after Dean Henderson’s six-year contract extension and it’s claimed that the Red Devils would be more open to a sale than a loan switch.

They value him at around £8m-10m but his £100k-per-week wages could prove to be a difficult factor.

Smart call

Whilst Romero has struggled to cement his place down in Manchester, every time he has played he has been more than reliable, which is summed up well by comments from his boss and teammates.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer lauded the 33-year-old as a “top professional” and a “top human being” with him also being one of the “best keepers in the world” whilst Eric Bailly once described Romero as an “immense talent”.

Villa would be getting someone who has been first-choice for their national team, however, with the veteran picking up 96 caps for Argentina – 12 of which coming at World Cups – and that is over 30 more than his number of appearances for United.

Back in 2015, he started against the Midlands outfit under Louis Van Gaal and contributed to keeping a clean sheet against a Villa Park attack of Gabby Agbonlahor, Jordan Ayew and Scott Sinclair.

If Johan Lange and co can find a way to make this deal work, then Villa can forget about Pepe Reina and land themselves quite a coup at just £10m.

AND in other news, Aston Villa eye perfect Ollie Watkins alternative in £30m “real menace”…

Key information about Gayfield Park

Gayfield Park was originally built in 1880 and is now the home of Scottish Championship’s side Arbroath FC. The ground is located beside the North Sea, close to the Arbroath Harbour, and was actually replaced by a new stadium going by the same name in 1925.

Its current maximum capacity stands at 6,488, 861 of which are seated, and it has a pitch that measures 105m by 65m. The surface is covered with grass and it has no running track surrounding it.

The record attendance of 13,510 supporters at Gayfield Park was set on 23 February 1952 when Arbroath faced Glasgow Rangers.

A history of Gayfield Park

Back when Arbroath FC were formed in 1878, they first played their football at Woodville Park and Hospitalfield before actually buying the site that was initially a former rubbish tip on the seafront of the town. And by 1880, their new home, Gayfield Park, was ready to be introduced to the world.

The very first game to be played at the new venue was a clash against Rob Roy in the Scottish Cup but even though the ground was brand new and still an improvement on their previous facilities, it was very cramped and bigger teams such as Glasgow Rangers were not happy campers whenever they had to visit Arbroath.

But that sometimes worked in their favour since it was at Gayfield Park the club recorded the biggest ever victory in an official match, beating Bon Accord in the Scottish Cup 36-0. In 1921, Arbroath finally entered the Scottish Football League, moving up in the world and playing the first League game at Gayfield Park against Johnstone.

Around that time was when the first talk of potentially constructing a brand new ground was first brought to light in a project dubbed ‘Greater Gayfield’. In 1925, those ideas were also realised and it also led to the pitch being moved 60 yards with the halfway line now becoming the goal line. This also enabled them to erect a stand along Dundee Road.

The new ground, also called Gayfield Park, was opened on 29 August against East Fife and relatively soon after that, Arbroath would also record their highest ever attendance of 13,510 fans when Rangers returned in February 1952. Of course, over the years, the capacity would shrink to its current 6,488 due to safety reasons and this also means the record is highly unlikely to be broken any time soon.

In 1955, the club installed floodlights and three years later, the main stand was destroyed by fire and it would take Arbroath until 2002 to finally replace it with a new one. That one would also get redeveloped and improved in 2010. It is simply known as the Gayfield Main Stand and is the only all-seated area of the ground.

The other sides of the stadium are all terraces of similar size and look. Whenever the away fans have to be segregated from the home supporters, they are usually allocated to the pleasureland stand End and half of the East Terrace, which can also be reduced to just the former area if necessary.

Tickets to watch Arbroath FC at Gayfield Park

All tickets to watch Arbroath FC play at Gayfield Park can be found on the club’s official website. The adult ticket will cost you £18 while children and concessions can get theirs for £10. There is also an option to buy an adult and child ticket as a bundle for £20.

The club also offers season tickets and adults can get one for a price of £220.

Related links

https://www.arbroathfc.co.uk/ – Official website of Arbroath FC

Adam Lallana played his first match for new club Brighton on Monday, but it wasn’t the dream debut he had hoped for.

The former Liverpool man was substituted off just before half-time as a result of an injury. After the Seagulls conceded a penalty, the second half brought more bad luck and Chelsea rode out winners.

This injury for Lallana, whether minor or more serious, is merely one part of a bigger picture which has pained his career. During his time with Liverpool, the England international struggled immensely with fitness and overall missed a staggering 67 matches across his six years with the club.

He had four separate lengthy spells out due to hamstring injuries and ongoing knee problems bled into his Anfield career from his time at Southampton, where he had to undergo surgery (via Transfermarkt).

Many Liverpool fans had high hopes for his new journey with Brighton, but are now deflated seeing him once again suffer an injury blow. One supporter has tweeted ‘what a surprise’, whilst another has sarcastically said ‘water is wet’.

Read more replies from the Twitter selection here:

Do you think Adam Lallana can re-establish himself at Brighton? Join the conversation in the comments below…

Glasgow Rangers have already made some serious moves in the transfer market as they try to close the gap on Celtic and it appears they are about to steal a march on their closest rivals…

What’s the word?

According to TEAMtalk, the Old Firm giants have expressed their interest in midfielder Tom Ince, although they face competition from Premier League side West Bromwich Albion.

Ince hasn’t featured for Stoke City at all so far this season and it seems the Potters boss Michael O’Neill has told him he is surplus to requirements.

As it stands both Jacob Brown and Tommy Smith are ahead of the former England U21 international in the pecking order and it appears as though he will be allowed to leave on loan.

It remains to be seen how much it will cost to prise Ince away from the bet365 Stadium on a permanent basis with the 28-year-old valued at £4m on Transfermarkt, a dramatic decrease on his valuation the previous year, which came to around about £9m.

Bye-Bye Hagi?

But who would be the better option on the right-hand side – the young prospect Ianis Hagi or the former Liverpool man?

It’s no secret that Gerrard desperately needs a midfield player who can chip in with goals – Alfredo Morelos scored 12 goals himself in the Scottish Premiership last season, while Hagi has only scored once so far.

In fact, it could be argued that Hagi has failed to hit the same heights he enjoyed during his loan spell last season.

Ince is no longer the first choice for his club which should give the Gers some encouragement. Over the course of his career, he has barely been injured at all which speaks volumes as Jordan Jones has only recently recovered from an injury problem.

While it is fair to say his time at the bet365 Stadium hasn’t been the most exciting, he has still managed to score or assist 20 goals in 81 games for Stoke.

Perhaps all he really needs is a change of scenery to rediscover the form that saw him win the 2013 Football League Young Player Of The Year award.

His old boss Ian Holloway once claimed that he is a “fantastic” player – surely a mere £4m is worth the risk?

Rangers interim chairman Douglas Park should submit a bid for Ince before it is too late, especially as Celtic are closely monitoring the situation.

AND in other news, Defoe and Hagi start, no Cedric Itten: Predicted Rangers XI vs Galatasaray…

Controversial Saints figure Mohamed Elyounoussi could yet win over the Southampton fanbase once he returns from his loan spell in the Scottish Premiership.

The left winger joined the club two years ago from Basel after Southampton paid £16million for his services (via BBC Sport). His goal return during his time with the Swiss outfit was impressive, but he is yet to replicate this form on the south coast of England. Elyounoussi scored a total of 23 goals and assisted a further 30 in 84 appearances for Basel, he also netted 42 times for Norwegian club Molde FK in 92 games (via Transfermarkt).

However, after playing just 19 matches under Mark Hughes and his successor Ralph Hasenhuttl, the 26-year-old has been shipped out on loan. With no goalscoring contributions, he has frustrated a lot of the fanbase.

Elyounoussi stats for Celtic

The Norway international has already found the back of the net four times and provided three assists this season for the Hoops. He is building on his solid display from last season which saw him tally seven goals and six assists in 20 matches across all competitions (via Transfermarkt).

In Elyounoussi’s most recent match for Celtic, he scored one goal and finished with a 100% shot accuracy rating in their 3-0 win over Hibernian. The 26-year-old also made three tackles, one clearance and was successful in 100% of his dribbles (via Sofascore).

His displays north of the border have earned rave reviews too, with Neil Lennon describing him as “powerful” after a win against RK Reykjavik earlier this term, whilst Tom English labelled him a “very, very dangerous player” after the same game (BBC Sportsound podcast via This Is Futbol).

According to The Athletic, Southampton are willing to give the forward another chance once he returns from loan next season. After his encouraging performances for Celtic, his attacking abilities are once again shining and the Saints could use support for Danny Ings up front. If he continues to impress, then you would have to suggest that Hasenhuttl has to utilise him next term.

If Elyounoussi returns to Southampton and helps to guide them to a strong finish next campaign, he will rectify his status with the fans and potentially become a crucial part of Hasenhuttl’s squad.

In other news, Southampton target Kristoffer Ajer can be Salisu’s long-term partner…

Everton squandered their best chance to offload Cenk Tosun during the summer transfer market, having offered the Besiktas target to the Super Lig giant’s biggest rivals.

What’s the word?

According to Fotospor, Besiktas were interested in re-signing Tosun during the summer market having been offered the chance to land the forward on loan by Everton, but were left annoyed at how the Toffees conducted their business.

Everton chiefs had put forward a deal that would have seen Tosun return to Vodafone Park two-and-a-half-years on from his £27million move to Merseyside, though the Black Eagles were not convinced they should cover the 29-year-old’s £60,000-per-week contract in full.

However, while the Besiktas hierarchy discussed what sort of counter-offer they could make, Everton were putting their same offer to Galatasaray and Fenerbahce in hopes they would see value in taking Tosun on loan and covering his entire salary.

The Toffees’ plans frustrated Besiktas and no deal was ultimately secured for the 42-cap Turkey international to return to the club he scored 64 goals for in 142 appearances.

Carlo Ancelotti has since included Tosun in his 25-man squad for the Premier League season, but is yet to award the attacker any minutes across all competitions following surgery on his anterior cruciate ligament.

Tosun suffered an ACL injury during training with Crystal Palace in March after making just five appearances for the Eagles during what was scheduled to be a half-season loan spell.

Naïve mistake by Everton

Everton offering Tosun’s services to Galatasaray and Fenerbahce whilst in talks with Besiktas was a naïve mistake by Director of Football Marcel Brands, who squandered the Blues’ best chance to offload the forward for a year by burning bridges with the Vodafone Park side.

Besiktas held an interest in signing Tosun if a financial agreement could be struck with Everton, who would have benefited far more from sanctioning a temporary deal even if it meant Carlo Ancelotti’s team continuing to cover a percentage of his salary.

Tosun has never made the grade on Merseyside with just 10 goals in 51 games, five of which came during his first half-season at the club under Sam Allardyce before the 29-year-old was ushered aside to promote Dominic Calvert-Lewin into an integral starting role.

Ancelotti is also yet to award Tosun any minutes on the field since taking charge at Goodison Park, having opted to only name the Turkey international among the substitutes before his ill-fated loan spell with Palace.

Had Tosun not suffered his serious injury in training and been able to improve on his early Eagles form that featured one goal in 176 minutes, then Everton may have had more suitors lining up to sign the now £8.1m-rated forward. Instead, the Toffees’ efforts blocked his most-likely route away from Merseyside and will now be hoping that January sees an offer arrive.

AND in other news, a permanent transfer could be imminent for a £1.44m-rated Everton man after his latest comments.

Tottenham Hotspur can count their lucky stars that they have someone of Harry Kane’s calibre there to net the crucial winner, though it was one of his teammates that deserves to take all of the plaudits.Jose Mourinho’s men needed an 88th-minute header from their long-serving talisman to seal all three points at West Brom, a victory which temporarily took them to the top of the Premier League table.In reality, Spurs struggled to break down a compact Baggies side who were fighting for their lives. The north Londoners failed to record an attempt on target throughout the entire first half with the home side looking the far more encouraging between the two teams.And Mourinho can thank his defence for holding firm, especially Eric Dier who was an absolute rock in the heart of the defence.Per SofaScore, the 26-year-old won seven of eight duels (87.5%), which included a 100% rate for aerial duels, cleared the ball seven times, made 47 passes and blocked one shot.Dan Kilpatrick at the Evening Standard graded the England international an 8/10 and claimed he was Spurs’ “outstanding player in the first-half” and added: “A composed and committed display in his third start in a week was one of the few real plusses for Spurs.”

Kane will quite rightly take the limelight having scored the only goal of the match, but it is Dier who kept them in it throughout the 90 minutes. On another day, or perhaps with the particularly error-prone Davinson Sanchez at the back, it could have been a different story.

The Baggies recorded a total of 12 shots at goal and had more corners with nine attempts, so the £85k-per-week star certainly needed to be at the races and as evident above, he did a fine, fine job.

The £19.8m-rated midfielder-turned-defender was Mourinho’s real match-winner at the Hawthorns.

AND in other news, Exclusive: Gary Mabbutt slams Spurs summer decision…

Leeds United are never far from a bit of drama, and despite a transfer window that seemed to mostly go swimmingly, the Whites still managed to find time for a gripping transfer saga that all went wrong.

Of course, we’re talking about the failed signing of Michael Cuisance.

The French midfielder seemed set to come to Elland Road on a permanent deal, but complications with his medical saw the deal fall apart at the 11th hour.

Unfortunately, Leeds won’t get the chance to revisit this one in January as he’s already found himself a new club, joining Marseille on loan, with the French club holding the option to buy him.

To make matters even worse, he’s been solid since joining the French outfit.

The 21-year-old may not have any goals or assists to his name as of yet, but he has been brilliant in a defensive sense, something his Leeds counterpart Mateusz Klich has struggled with.

We’ve covered Klich’s defensive problems in some depth before, but to cut a long story short, his main issue is that he’s dribbled past far too often.

Indeed, the Pole is dribbled past 2.7 times per game, making him the second-most dribbled past player in the division, but while Klich is struggling in that area, Cuisance is thriving.

It’s rare to see Cuisance taken on, with the Frenchman being dribbled past just once per game, and it’s not as if he’s one to shy away from putting a foot in either, making three tackles per game this season.

It has to sting to see Cuisance thriving where Klich is coming up short.

There was plenty of disappointment for everyone associated with the club when the initial deal fell through, perfectly highlighted by Noel Whelan’s comments at the time:

“Disappointment because I think everyone was getting quite excited, 21-years-old from Bayern Munich, big prospect so on that front, very disappointing. It is a setback, absolutely.”

Leeds fans can only be left wondering what could have been after missing out on their man.

Celtic have been urged to revisit their interest in Charlton winger Alfie Doughty. The Hoops officially registered a bid for the 20-year-old, but talks didn’t come to fruition during the summer window. Athletic manager Lee Bowyer accused Nick Hammond and co of making “silly offers”.

Unfortunately for the player, he has picked up a hamstring injury and is set to be on the sidelines for a large chunk of the season. However, Noel Whelan believes that Celtic can use this to their advantage and strike a deal with Doughty in January.

Celtic must take a chance on Doughty

Speaking to Football Insider, Whelan said: “When you’re down to a year of your contract and it looks like you’re not gonna be playing the season again, even in January, there’s always a deal on the table if you’re not going to be signing the contract with your parent club.”

Indeed, Doughty’s current contract is set to run out next summer and he may not play for the Addicks again if he doesn’t sign a new deal. Whilst Bowyer is keen to tie the winger down, if the right offer comes in, he could be tempted to move onto pastures new.

Celtic’s impressive history will be an enticing offer for the 20-year-old, who the Charlton boss has branded as an “outstanding” player.

Particularly if Neil Lennon loses Mohamed Elyounoussi, they will need to fill a huge gap in their left flank. The Norwegian is currently only in Glasgow on loan and Ralph Hasenhuttl’s recent comments could hint that he has a future at Southampton.

Should the Saints make space for Elyounoussi in their squad, guaranteed Premier League football should be enough to make him want to remain on the south coast. If this is the case, the Hoops will be in hot water as the makeshift striker has been one of their main sources for goals this season.

Whilst signing an injured player is a scary thought, Doughty is currently earning just £1,500 per week in wages. He is yet to earn a Transfermarkt value, meaning that with time ticking down, it shouldn’t take much to sway him to join Celtic. Even if Elyounoussi stays, having an up-and-coming starlet in the ranks to bolster Lennon’s squad will be a big boost, especially if the player cost nothing to sign.

In other news, Callum McGregor performance for Scotland makes big statement for Lennon…

Football Insider recently revealed that Glasgow Rangers winger Ryan Kent has changed his agent in what will be a big blow to talks over a new contract with the club, but the 54-time Scottish champions simply can’t afford to lose their midfield dynamo.

What’s the word?

Former Rangers manager Alex McLeish believes his decision to switch agents could lead to a departure in the not too distant future.

The one-time Liverpool player has been on Leeds United’s radar for several months as Marcelo Bielsa is looking to bolster his firepower.

Both Ezgjan Alioski and Jack Harrison have been in fine form in recent weeks, whilst Raphinha has emerged as a real talent after his arrival at Elland Road in the summer, but it’s believed that Bielsa is still looking to bring in other options.

When asked about the 24-year-old changing agents, McLeish told Ibrox News:  “Well, I think there will be alarm bells ringing there after that news.

“However, at the moment you don’t see any disruption in his game. He’s playing at a fantastic level and he just has to keep showing what he can do. Listen, we’ve said many times that there comes a time when you can’t stop the sale of a certain player. I couldn’t do it back in the day when Lorenzo Amoruso went to Blackburn, it was money the club needed at the time and you have to do what the money guys tell you to.”

But from Steven Gerrard’s perspective, Kent is definitely one of his first-team regular starters he must keep at all costs.

Keep him at all costs!

Despite his age, it goes without saying that the winger is an integral part of Gerrard’s side. Admittedly, the Gers have scored 64 goals in 24 games, but Kent has contributed thirteen times in total.

Whilst this may not seem like a lot, when you consider the fact that he has contributed more assists than any other outfield player besides Ianis Hagi in all competitions so far this season, his impact cannot be ignored.

Apart from Kent, Brandon Barker, Jordan Jones and Glenn Middleton are the only out-and-out wide options on the left wing, but there the similarities end.

Simply put, the Oldham-born diamond in the rough is a class above his closest rivals, whilst Jones is currently suspended after being handed a seven-match ban by the SFA for breaking coronavirus protocols.

It was only last week that Tam McManus insisted he is the best player in Scotland. He told PLZ Soccer, as quoted by Glasgow Live: “I think he’s the best player in Scotland, I think he’s, without doubt, the best player in Scotland, at the minute.”

If for whatever reason Kent does leave the club, Gerrard would find it incredibly hard to find a player to replace him in the starting line-up who operates at a similar level.

AND in other news, Steven Gerrard may regret his decision to axe Jermain Defoe from the Europa League squad…