Jose Mourinho may need a tactics tweak after new signings

Things may be a little big gloomy at Tottenham at the moment after their opening day loss against Everton, but they have made three of the most exciting signings of this transfer window.

Gareth Bale’s talents are obvious to all due to his incredible trophy haul and individual honour roll, but there are two other intriguing signings Jose Mourinho’s side have made this summer.

On the Chalkboard

Spurs’ signings of Sergio Reguillon and Matt Doherty have certainly raised a few eyebrows as the London club have spent a combined £45m on two areas that could easily have been pinpointed as weaknesses in the past.

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However, no matter how talented these players are, they will only flourish if the roles they’re asked to play in suit their skillset, and it’s quite obvious to see that both players are a modern mould of wide defender in that they love to go forward.

Doherty’s 16 goal contributions in the past two seasons from right-back show how much he likes to get up the pitch, while Reguillon’s eye-catching displays in the Europa League consisted mainly of him bombing down the wing, with the Spaniard completing 1.6 dribbles per game in the league last season.

Therefore, Mourinho needs a system to get the best out of these two, and it seems rather obvious as to what that should be.

5 at the back

Mourinho has often operated with a back four with sturdy defensive full-backs, think of Ashley Cole and Paolo Ferreira at Chelsea, but with the game evolving around him, he has to change tact.

With the talent he has at his disposal moving to a five at the back would make the world of sense, it would allow him to use Doherty and Reguillon as more attacking options, while also opening up the opportunity for Ryan Sessegnon to work his way into the wing-back spot.

It will also allow Eric Dier to play in his preferred centre-back spot, while also retaining some of the ball-playing responsibilities of a holding midfielder and not having to take on as much defensive responsibility as he would if he was playing as a part of a back four.

Once Reguillon is up to speed, it will be interesting to see how the former Chelsea manager lines up his side, but it wouldn’t be too surprising to see him switch to a back five.

Glasgow Rangers: Fans unhappy with tweet from Alfredo Morelos’ agent Michael Gorman

Glasgow Rangers’ Alfredo Morelos has been a stunning signing for the club.

Since making the switch to Ibrox in 2017, the Colombia international has been lethal in front of goal, scoring 77 goals in 137 matches – 29 of those came in the previous campaign despite the Scottish season being brought to an end prematurely with nine matches for the 54-time Scottish champions still to play.

However, his form has led to interest from clubs around Europe – Atletico Madrid and Borussia Dortmund have been mentioned as clubs interested in his services, whilst Everton are also said to be planning a bid. It has even been reported that the ‘Gers expect him to leave this summer.

The latest move from his agent Michael Gorman, therefore, does not appear to be too popular amongst some ‘Gers supporters. On Twitter, he has shared a graphic showing that Morelos has scored the most goals per 90 minutes of any player in the Europa League along with Bruno Fernandes this campaign.

These ‘Gers supporters are far from happy with the tweet, as they appear to think that he is trying to sell the forward – one fan even called the move “desperate”. Some supporters have taken to the social media platform to share their thoughts and you can see some of the best comments below:

‘Gers fans, were you dismayed by Gorman’s tweet about Morelos? Let us know what you think by commenting below!

Everton have "monitored" Espanyol midfielder

According to The Athletic’s Greg O’Keeffe, Everton have “monitored” Espanyol’s Marc Roca as a potential alternative to their pursuit of Allan.

What did he say?

One of the big names to be linked to be with a move to Goodison Park this summer has been Napoli midfielder Allan, but a deal for the Brazilian has yet to materialise.

Now, O’Keeffe has suggested that if the Toffees can’t lure the 29-year-old away from Naples, they could turn their attentions to Roca, who was a mainstay for Espanyol with 44 appearances across all competitions last season.

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He said: “Ancelotti has also been interested in luring another Brazilian, his former Napoli charge Allan, to Merseyside. If not Allan, who at 29 would have no sell-on value, the remit for their new midfielder remains a dynamic, box-to-box player with leadership abilities; something Everton have visibly lacked.

“One who fits that bill, and has been monitored by Everton scouts, is Espanyol’s Marc Roca. The 23-year-old made 35 La Liga appearances for the Barcelona club last season and impressed despite their relegation after finishing bottom of La Liga. Again though, Arsenal are rumoured to be interested and, according to reports in Spain, so are Real Madrid.”

Better value than Allan

At 23, Roca is considerably younger than Allan, and would give Everton a better chance of recouping their money if they were to sell him down the line.

The Spaniard is also still a couple of years away from reaching his peak, and would be the kind of midfield talent that Carlo Ancelotti could really build around at Goodison Park.

The 6 foot ace is a midfield powerhouse, averaging 2.3 tackles per game in La Liga last season – to put that into context, only Djibril Sidibe managed more in Everton’s squad. Having a player like him to break up the play and protect the back-four will be crucial to ensuring the Toffees don’t concede cheap goals.

If Everton can’t secure Allan for Ancelotti, then Roca seems like a very decent alternative.

Newcastle fans savage Danny Rose for transfer admission

Newcastle United loanee Danny Rose has made an interesting transfer claim that has riled up some of the Magpies faithful this week.

The Spurs man was in conversation with The Lockdown Tactics podcast where he revealed that he would like to work with Brendan Rodgers before he retires.

He said: “Getting to work with him for two months was brilliant,’ said Rose. ‘As an 18 or 19-year-old, I had never experienced training sessions like that before. His ideas in training, it was brilliant and I have always said that he is somebody I would love to play for again.”

And he then joked that “someone will have to buy Ben Chilwell first” (quotes sourced from the Daily Mail).

But this hasn’t gone down well with supporters at St James’ Park with many claiming that they don’t want to see him stay after his loan spell – and that they’d probably rather land the Foxes left-back instead.

Rose still has a year to run on his current deal in north London, meaning the northeast outfit would have to fork out a transfer fee if they decide to keep him following this temporary switch.

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The 29-year-old has made six appearances at United and looked to have become Steve Bruce’s first-choice left-back until football was halted.

Some fans would even have Jetro Willems over the Englishman despite his injury problems this campaign.

Here’s what has been said…

AND in other news, Neil Custis hints possible date of Newcastle takeover announcement…

Liverpool: Fans respond to Jamie Carragher’s question on £200m rated PL striker

Liverpool fans have responded to Jamie Carragher’s question on Twitter regarding the future of Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane.

England captain Kane is currently nursing an injury on the sidelines which had been expected to see him miss the remainder of the season, but with the current standstill in football – the striker could return to action.

One of European football’s top strikers, Kane has amassed over 180 goals during his career in North London with Tottenham Hotspur. Despite his goalscoring efforts, the Englishman has failed to win any silverware, and talk of a summer move is now starting to gain pace.

Speaking to fans during a recent Q&A session, Kane remained coy on his future, saying that he would consider a move elsewhere if silverware could be won.

With such talk, it has since been reported that Spurs have put a £200m price tag on Kane, which they hope will see off interest from the likes of Manchester United.

A whole host of European sides are expected to show interest in Kane, and former Liverpool defender turned pundit Carragher has given his thoughts on the striker’s future.

Carragher’s question of Kane’s value and age prompting a response on Twitter and below are is just some of the reaction:

Is Kane too good for Spurs? Join the discussion by commenting below… 

Liverpool fans laud Roberto Firmino after late winner against Crystal Palace

They might have left it late, but Liverpool got the job done in the end. An away game against Crystal Palace in the Premier League has one particular nightmare the Reds would be keen to forget ever existed – that unbelievable 3-3 draw back in 2014 which effectively ended their title hopes.

This season, Jurgen Klopp’s side are once again desperate to end their title hoodoo, and would no doubt have been itching to ensure they didn’t suffer a repeat of what has happened before at Selhurst Park.

After Wilfried Zaha netted an equaliser with less than eight minutes to go, there may have been fears that the Merseyside club were set to lose some crucial points. But, Brazil international Roberto Firmino stepped up to the plate, to poke home what would end up being the winner.

After seeing the 5 foot 11 star’s goal-scoring display, Liverpool fans took to Twitter to hail the former Hoffenheim man for rising to the occasion.

Many supporters of the Anfield side hailed his abilities as a number nine, with one fan, in particular, insisting that he is the greatest Brazilian to have graced the Premier League.

You can certainly make a case for him being the best in the world in terms of creation from a centre forward position. He’s assisted eight goals already in 2019/20 which is ahead of players like Lionel Messi.

Check out some of the reaction of Liverpool fans below:

Manchester City: Fans bash Gabriel Jesus over squandered penalty

Manchester City scuppered a chance to qualify early for the Champions League knockout rounds following an eventful 1-1 draw at Atalanta, with supporters criticising Gabriel Jesus for an awful spot kick. 

Manchester City were 1-0 up and cruising heading into the break after Jesus beautifully set up Raheem Sterling with a back heel, after some brilliant build-up play, to give City the lead.

However, when given the chance to gain a two-goal advantage following a handball, the Brazilian striker scuppered the opportunity with what Gary Lineker described as ‘one of the worst penalties you’ll ever see.’ 

From then on, things just got worse and worse for Pep Guardiola’s side – with Ederson going off injured at the break and Claudio Bravo stepping in only to be dismissed ten minutes from full-time after taking out Josip Ilicic.

The headlines were then immediately drawn when Kyle Walker had to step in goal for the last portion of the game, managing to shut out Atalanta, with City then going on to earn a draw.

As a result, City supporters have since bemoaned the missed penalty opportunity as a crucial point in the match where they could’ve been cruising – taking particular aim at Jesus.

Here’s what they had to say on Twitter.

Everton fans fume at Marco Silva’s latest comments about VAR

Everton fans continue to express their anger at Marco Silva following his comments in light of the 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur.

The comments arrived after VAR once again played a significant role in the game. Dele Alli was seen to handle the ball in Everton’s penalty box but, after a VAR check which took three minutes, officials concluded it was accidental.

Silva told Sky Sports: “It’s really tough for me to talk, but it’s tough for the referee as well. We as a club have to keep really strong to respect the decisions and me as a manager it’s something I pass on to my players as well.

“It’s not easy for us but we have to do that. To respect the football we have to respect the decisions, referees and the VAR as well.”

Fans have hit out at Silva once again for his comments following the match, with many of them calling for the sack.

One fan said “get out of this club”, whilst another simply said he is “too soft” to run the club.

It does seem that the pressure is continuing to build on Silva, and it already seems he has lost large portions of the fan base.

Up next for the Toffees are season-defining fixtures against Southampton and Norwich, both of whom are below them in the table.

Dropped points in these games could send the fans into meltdown and, inevitably, represent the final nail in the coffin for Silva’s future.

Here’s what some of the fans had to say in response to the Portuguese manager’s latest comments…

Charlton: The starting XI Lee Bowyer should put out against Preston on Sunday

Charlton welcome Preston to The Valley on Sunday in what should be an exciting game given the form of both sides.

Preston, under former Norwich boss Alex Neil’s guidance, has his Preston side sat 2nd in the Championship table having won seven of their 14 league games so far – they are just two points off 1st-place West Brom.

In the Addicks’ case, they have also won seven games, and are just three points off their opponents for this Sunday – the south Londoners would go above Preston if they manage to win by four goals.

Lee Bowyer has a few injuries to deal with. Jonny Williams looks set for at least two months on the sidelines, while Lyle Taylor is still yet to return from a knee injury.

Let’s take a look at the XI Bowyer should put out for this top-nine Championship clash…

We think that Bowyer should start with the same formation that he went with last time out against West Brom.

In that 2-2 draw against the Championship leaders, Bowyer set his side up in a 5-3-1-1 formation, focusing on a tightly-packed defence and a goal threat in Conor Gallagher and Macauley Bonne – the pair of them have ten league goals combined.

It worked against one of the division’s high-flying sides in West Brom, and with Preston just a couple of points behind them, it would be sensible to keep the same shape for Sunday’s game.

There are, however, a few changes. Gallagher started as a central midfielder at the Hawthorns last time out, but we feel that he would be better suited to attacking midfield against Preston with Beram Kayal replacing summer signing Erhun Oztumer in the side – the Chelsea loanee is too deadly in front of goal to be kept in a deeper role.

Bowyer must focus on packing his midfield and ensuring they screen the backline effectively, as Preston have a few dangerous players who may feel confident given their form so far this term – we outlined two potential danger-men who Charlton must keep an eye on this weekend.

A point against the league leaders is admirable, so we aren’t changing too much about the lineup from that game. But Gallagher’s goalscoring threat must be moved closer to the final third with a less attack-minded option in Kayal coming in to offset that.

Everton fans are loving Bernard’s comments after the West Ham United win

Everton fans can’t seem to get enough of Bernard after hearing his comments made in light of the win over West Ham United.

The Brazilian scored his second goal of the Premier League season when he dribbled through the Hammers defence to knock the ball under keeper Roberto. His performance was vital in helping the club register their first league win since September 1 when they beat Wolverhampton Wanderers.

It seems that after the 27-year-old scored and kissed the Everton badge, he has become a new fan favourite at Goodison Park. The supporters are loving his confidence in his own ability right now, and are hoping that he shows more of this willingness to win.

Bernard’s goal does indeed take him to the top of the Premier League goalscoring charts for the club this season, along with Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

The former Shakhtar Donetsk man could have established himself as a mainstay on the left wing for Everton, as Alex Iwobi also had a fantastic game in the number 10 role.

With Theo Walcott on the right, Iwobi behind Richarlison and Bernard on the left, Marco Silva may have finally found his winning team.

Regardless, fans right now are loving Bernard’s confidence.

Here’s what some of them had to say in light of his recent comments…

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