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Stability is a word often overused in football, so much so that it has become something of cliche in the modern game. But it’s often the cliches that end up being the truest statements.

It is commonly said that what struggling clubs really need is stability, something to build on moving forward and in the case of Queens Park Rangers that couldn’t be truer.

It’s been a turbulent period at Loftus Road since Premier League relegation in the 2014/2015 season. They may have not tumbled down the divisions like a Sunderland or Wigan Athletic, but they’ve hardly been comfortable and suffered brushes with relegation to Sky Bet League One ever since.

Last term typified how things have been for QPR since the spring of 2015; a manager came and went, things were looking up for a bit before they tumbled dramatically and in the end, it was all OK, just about.

Another summer of change has been afoot in west London, caretaker manager John Eustace who took over from Steve McClaren in early April being replaced by a fresh face in Mark Warburton.

Whilst he’s no stranger to bringing success to clubs in west London, the job is going to be a very tough task for the 56-year-old. The Loftus Road outfit really need some signs of stability in their first campaign under the former Rangers boss, a platform to build a possible return to the big time upon.

Was Gareth Southgate wrong to overlook potential England stars from Palace, Leicester and Saints? Fan discuss “big club bias” in the video below…

This needs to come in the form of a mid-table finish, something in the region of 10th to 12th place and possibly a charge to nick the last play-off place. But under no circumstances, a relegation battle.

Warburton seems to be going the right way about it with rumours of some very smart signings in this early stage of the summer transfer window, players who have worked under him before in Lee Wallace and Liam Kelly.

That should ease the transition process as Warburton looks to imprint new ideas on a squad he’s inherited, although he does have a series of expiring contracts to contend with. Couple that with interest in star player Luke Freeman as well as promising youngster Ebere Eze and it will be a tough summer to navigate.

But if Warburton can avoid too much transfer upheaval, how likely are we to get that stable first term based on his debut seasons at previous clubs?

Well, Warburton was able to make an instant impact at the club where he made his name, guiding Brentford to promotion shortly after he took the job. The story was very much the same up at Rangers when he returned them to the top flight in his first season, but unfortunately there was no such result in the opening stages of his short reign with Nottingham Forest.

That job though came towards the end of the season, appointed to the City Ground in March. The advantage this time around is that Warburton’s already in place; he can influence the club’s summer plans and oversee pre-season. Hopefully by the time the season starts, the squad will be fairly settled.

Perception though, is everything and that will be key for Warburton. Even if there are problems behind the scenes or in the dressing room, the club desperately needs to portray a fresher image of stability. If Warburton can bring that to Loftus Road, he’ll have done a good job.

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Following the UEFA Nations semi-final between the Netherlands and England in Portugal, Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville subtly took aim at West Ham United’s Declan Rice and the rest of England’s midfielders.

What’s he said, then?

Rice started in a midfield three under Gareth Southgate in just his third competitive international appearance, playing between Manchester City’s Fabian Delph and Chelsea’s Ross Barkley.

The Three Lions took the lead with a Marcus Rashford penalty early on at the home of Vitoria Guimaraes, however, late sloppiness led to extra-time, three conceded goals and a place in Sunday’s third-place play-off rather than final.

Here’s what Neville had to say on Rice and the England midfield to Sky Sports:

“The superficial mistake is that Stones has made the bad decision. The deep, embedded problem for English football and England teams is that they had no options to play through midfield, and that is a bigger problem than the individual error.

“Until we have players who can receive the ball on the half-turn, it’s so critical. Individual errors are the issue, but gluing together the back to the front in midfield is the biggest thing. Not just this England team, but England teams for 25, 30 years.”

Way wide of the mark, Gary

This statement is clearly a sly dig at the ability of Rice, given that he is the player tasked with shielding the defence when his team doesn’t have the ball and converting defence into attack when they do have it.

And if the popular pundit was actually watching the 20-year-old midfielder last season, he would have seen that Rice is actually one of the best in the Premier League at receiving the ball on the half-turn.

The blame for Southgate’s team tumbling out of a second semi-final in a row can’t even slightly be laid at Rice’s door, or the rest of the midfield for that matter, especially when experienced players like John Stones are making utterly calamitous errors.

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It is an exciting time at Newcastle United. After years of frustration at the hands of Mike Ashley, the Bin Zayed group are interested in buying the Toon, which will give the club plenty of money to spend this summer, although it remains to be seen whether Rafael Benitez will still be manager come the start of the next season. Today’s Newcastle transfer roundup includes Atletico Madrid’s interest in their top scorer, a last-minute bid for an up-and-coming star and interest in a Portuguese left-back.

Atleti interest in Perez

According to Libertad, Atletico Madrid are interested in Ayoze Perez, who was Newcastle’s top scorer last season. However, it appears to be just a simple interest at the moment, with no talk of a bid or negotiations regarding a summer move.

Late offer for Agoume

Lucien Agoume already agreeing terms with Inter Milan did not stop Newcastle launching a last-minute bid for the player according to Gazzetta Dello Sport journalist Nicolo Schira. The Toon reportedly offered €8m (£7.1m) for the player, but the 17-year-old has decided to stick to his word and should complete his move from Sochaux to the San Siro shortly.

Almeida catches Newcastle’s eye

Newcastle are interested in Benfica left-back Andre Almeida according to Portuguese outlet Record. However, they are not the only Premier League club to be looking at the player, with Leicester City and Brighton and Hove Albion also keen on the 28-year-old.

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Lots of Manchester United fans on Twitter have been demanding a return to the club for former midfield icon Roy Keane.

The Irishman has just left his post as assistant manager at Nottingham Forest, where he worked alongside Martin O’Neill once again – the pair also worked together for five years whilst with the Republic of Ireland national team.

Could United be in the hunt for an £85m blockbuster signing this summer? Check out the video below…

The duo worked with each other at Aston Villa as well, so his departure from the City Ground comes as somewhat of a surprise.

Keane played for United from 1993 to 2005, winning almost everything there is to win – the no-nonsense midfielder lifted seven Premier League titles, as well as the FA Cup and Champions League.

Given the current state of things at Old Trafford right now, where players like Paul Pogba are talking openly about leaving and Jesse Lingard is causing a stir with his social media activity, some supporters want the straight-talking Keane to come back and sort them out.

He would certainly set the standards around the place, and the players would most likely fear him given his fiery reputation from his playing days.

It would also be an interesting move given the Irishman launched a verbal attack on Pogba after Everton’s 4-0 win over United while working as a pundit for Sky Sports (via The Express).

Let’s take a look at some of the tweets from United fans on Twitter who want Keane to return…

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As we enter a new week, Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham continue in their attempts to ready their squad for their first game of the new season against Aston Villa on August 10th. Today’s Spurs transfer roundup includes fresh comments from a top target, an update in regards to a star midfielder and the potential exit of an England international.

Ndombele comments good news for Spurs

Lyon’s Tanguy Ndombele has stoked the fire of a move to North London by telling Teléfoot that he would be interested in a move to Spurs. “Yes, it’s true that Tottenham is a great team, it’s a big club,” he said. “They finished fourth in their league, they’re a finalist in the Champions League, it’s still a big club like any other. Which player would not be interested in a big club?”. Spurs have already lodged a bid for the player.

Eriksen says no to United

Whilst Christian Eriksen may be looking for a move this summer, Manchester United is of no interest to him according to journalist Tom McDermott. The Dane was reportedly approached by the Red Devils, but the former Ajax player told the Old Trafford outfit that he would not be moving to Manchester.

Rose surplus to requirements

The Sun is reporting that Spurs are willing to let left-back Danny Rose leave the club, but his £80,000-a-week wages are making him difficult to offload. Pochettino would be interested in bringing in Fulham’s Ryan Sessegnon as a replacement for the 29-year-old.

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It’s fair to say that since Guochuan Lai arrived at West Brom in 2016, things haven’t gone according to plan.

After being relegated from the Premier League, they failed to achieve promotion back to the top-flight at the first time of asking.

Lai has failed to pump much investment into the club and the latest update suggests that isn’t set to change. Express & Star report that he has a £4.1m debt that he inherited from Jeremy Peace but cannot repay it due to restrictions into foreign investment from the Chinese government.

Having seen the news on Twitter, West Brom supporters were quite rightly deeply concerned at where the club was heading. One fan said that dark days were ahead and another said it didn’t bode well for Albion’s activity in the transfer market.

Further supporters showed their concern by urging Lai to sell as one fan suggested a North American or European consortium would be better because of the restrictions. One individual said they wanted someone to come in and run the Baggies properly.

West Brom’s current owner bought the club from Peace for an estimated deal worth between £150m-£200m.

Here’s the best of the reaction.

Giovani Lo Celso, then Spurs fans? The Argentine certainly appears to have plenty of ability and he spent the entire 2018/19 season showcasing it, as he produced 22 goals and assists. 

After two transfer windows of no signings, Daniel Levy and Mauricio Pochettino need to get a move on this summer for obvious reasons. The competition may bring in more players if they haven’t already, so to maintain pace and make it into the Champions League, signings have to be made.

A huge talking point has been Christian Eriksen’s future, but whether the Dane stays or goes is completely irrelevant as to what happens with Lo Celso, as the Argentine should be brought in regardless, with recent links from Estadio Deportivo claiming the Lilywhites are still interested.

The situation with Eriksen, though, has mostly stayed the same in terms of a Tottenham point of view. The Dane recently did an interview with Ekstrabladet where he reaffirmed his claims that he wants to try something new.

If Eriksen is to leave then it’s obvious how Lo Celso fits as he’d come in and replace the former Ajax man, but if the Dane stays it becomes tougher to see what would happen. Not too tough, though, as both of the pair can still thrive when being dropped deeper, and adding the extra goals and assists to the Lilywhites midfield in the form of Lo Celso could only be positive. After all, one of his main strengths is listed as long shots (as per WhoScored), so Spurs may not have to rely on Harry Kane too much to produce the main load as the Argentine can chip away.

Well-know Spanish football pundit Guillem Balague praised the midfielder this past season, labelling him as extraordinary, so we aren’t the only ones who can see his ability.

With the ongoing Copa America, we can’t expect anything to be sorted out for the Betis man just yet, and it so often happens that when a player is away playing internationally it takes transfers longer to go through, but as soon as La Albiceleste are out of the Copa you can bet that Pochettino will be getting in Levy’s ear to bring in his countryman, and for good reason.

Tottenham fans, do you agree Lo Celso would be a brilliant coup? Comment below!

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According to Sky Sports reporter Rob Dorsett, Aston Villa have seen a bid for winger Said Benrahma rejected by Brentford.

Benrahma, 23, had an excellent 2018-19 campaign for Brentford – scoring 11 times and contributing 17 assists in 45 appearances in all competitions.

According to Dorsett, Villa have had a bid knocked back for the attacker, whilst the Bees have made it clear that only ‘a huge offer’ would tempt them into a sale.

Villa are currently preparing for life back in the Premier League and it is shaping up to be a very interesting transfer window for Dean Smith’s side.

However, it appears that it will be difficult for the club to secure a deal for Benrahma, who would provide real quality in the final third of the field.

The Villa fans have been on social media reacting to the latest developments.

And a selection of their views on the update can be seen below:

سيعود الأهلي المصري إلى منافسات كأس العالم للأندية بعد غياب دام سبع سنوات، حيث يمني الأحمر النفس للذهاب بعيداً بعد النتائج السلبية التي حققها الفريق في البطولات السابقة.

وتعرف بطل إفريقيا على منافسه من خلال القرعة التي أجريت في مقر “فيفا” بزيورخ يوم 19 يناير، حيث سيواجه الأهلي في المباراة الأولى أصحاب الضيافة الدحيل القطري، والفائز في المباراة سيضرب موعداً مع بطل أوروبا العملاق بايرن ميونيخ في المربع الذهبي.

تحدث مدرب الأهلي بيتسو موسيماني لموقع FIFA.com عن المباراة الأولى، وقال عنها: “الدحيل فريق جيد وفاز بدوري نجوم قطر، فهي بطولة تنافسية بها أندية جيدة على غرار السد الذي يدربه تشافي ويملك المهاجم الجزائري القوي (يقصد بغداد بونجاح)، وبما أن الدحيل فاز بالدوري فيعني أنهم أظهروا إمكانياتهم أمام هذا الفريق، وحتى الدحيل يملك لاعبين ممتازين. كانوا يملكون اللاعب ماندزوكيتش الذي غادر الفريق مؤخراً. سنعاينهم الآن بعد التعرف على منافسنا”.

ويرى موسيماني أن كل المنافسين أقوياء، موضحًا: “لا يمكن في قرعة كأس العالم للأندية أن نختار منافسينا أو لا نكون راضين عن أي منافس، علينا مواجهة المنافس الذي وقعنا أمامه”.

طالع أيضا.. محمد مرجان يروي كواليس رحيل فايلر من الأهلي ويصرح: مجلس الإدارة شعر بـ”الخضة” بسبب موسيماني! مهمة صعبة

ركز بيتسو خلال تصريحاته على صعوبة المنافسة، ويرى أن المستوى سيكون عاليًا، مضيفًا: “كل فريق وكل مدرب يؤمن بقدرته على الفوز باللقب، لكن الواقع يقول إن المهمة أمام منافسين مثل بايرن ميونيخ والفائز بكوبا ليبرتادوريس صعبة، فهؤلاء المنافسين يجعلوننا واعين أن المهمة لن تكون سهلة”.

وأكمل: “نملك لاعبين ممتازين والكل يتحدث عن أفشة، أعرف السبب لأنه اللاعب الذي ساهم في تواجدنا في كأس العالم للأندية بفضل أهدافه، وكل زملائه ساعدوه على ما قام به لحد الآن، فهو يعيش حالة ازدهار وكان حاضراً في المباريات الكبيرة التي أبلى فيها البلاء الحسن، لا ننسى أنه لاعب دولي مصري. نحن نحب هذا اللاعب فهو جيد ويساعدنا في تسجيل الأهداف وكصانع لعب يتحرك يمينا ويساراً”. تجربة موسيماني في كأس العالم للأندية

سبق للمدرب بيتسو موسيماني أن شارك كمدرب في منافسة كأس العالم للأندية اليايان 2016 FIFA مع فريق صن داونز الجنوب أفريقي، ويتحدث عن هذه التجربة قائلاً: “كانت البطولة صعبة، أول شيء واجهناه هو فارق التوقيت اذي وصل إلى 6 ساعات بين البلدين، فضلاً عن برودة الطقس في مدينة أوساكا بما أننا كنا في فصل الشتاء”.

وأردف: “بصراحة المنافسين كانوا أفضل منا، حيث واجهنا جونبورك من كوريا الجنوبية وخسرنا بأربعة مقابل واحد، ثم كاشميا آنتليرز الياباني، وفازوا علينا بثلاثية نظيفة، كان علينا تقبل الوضع وربما تقديم أفضل مما قدمناه لأننا لم نسجل الأهداف خاصة في مباراة كاشيما آنتليرز”.

واستطرد: “كانت أول تجربة لنا في كأس العالم وعانينا من رهبة مسرح المباراة، فلم نبلِ البلاء الحسن، وهذا يُظهر مستوى كأس العالم للأندية. أظن أن مازيمبي هو الفريق الوحيد الذي وصل إلى المباراة النهائية، فالمهمة ليست سهلة بتاتاً”. حلم مواجهة يايرن ميونيخ

وكأي فريق سيشارك في كأس العالم للأندية FIFA قطر ٢٠٢٠، يحلم بمواجهة العملاق البايرن. مدرب الأهلي تحدث عن هذا الحلم، وقال “في حال تأهلنا أمام الفريق المضيف الدحيل، سنواجه بايرن ميونيخ. المهمة لن تكون سهلة لكن لا نلمك ما نخسره بعد الوصول إلى هناك، فعلينا تقديم أفضل مستوياتنا والتأكد من تمثيل القارة والبلد وكل عشاق الفريق بشكل جيد ليشعروا بالفخر اتجاهنا. إذا قدمنا كل ما علينا ولن يكون ذلك كافياً فالكل سيكون راضياً علينا، لأن المستوى عالٍ جداً.”

وأردف قائلاً “لدينا فريق جيد ونؤمن بقدرتنا على تحقيق أمور إيجابية، سنلعب المباراة الأولى أمام القطريين وبعدها سنرى. نتمنى أن نحصل على فرصة مواجهة بايرن ميونيخ، لأن مواجهة هذا الفريق سيجعلنا سعداء وسيكون شرف بالنسبة لنا، لأننا سنلعب من دون ضغط، فهو الفريق الذي فاز على برشلونة.” الاستلهام من مازيمبي

سبق للأهلي المصري أن شارك 5 مرات في كأس العالم للأندية، لكنه لم يتأهل أبداً إلى المباراة النهائية، ويقول الجنوب إفريقي عن هذا الأمر: “كان جيل آخر، وقتها كان جيل محمد أبو تريكة والآن تغير الفريق، صحيح لم يتمكنوا من الفوز بها ولم يصلوا للمباراة النهائية، ولكن الوقت تغير الآن ومرت 7 سنوات”.

وأضاف: “كل فريق لديه حظوظه في البطولة، يمكننا دائما خلق المفاجآت في كرة القدم، عندما نلعب بكل قوانا يوم المباراة، فكرة القدم لعبة رائعة ويمكنها أن تمنحك أمورًا لا تنتظرها، علينا الاستلهام من تجربة تي بي مازيمبي”.

كما تحدث بيتسو عن مستوى الفرق الأخرى في البطولة، وقال: “الفرق البرازيلية دائمًا قوية، كما شاهدت مباريات الفريق الكوري الجنوبي، فهو فريق جيد والمستوى سيكون كبيرًا”.

كما يعتبر مدرب الأهلي أن بطولة كأس العالم للأندية منافسة رائعة، وقال عنها: “كنت مع طاقمي الفني مع فريق صن داونز، وأتذكر صعوبة هذه البطولة، فهي بطولة من بطولات FIFA فمن الناحية التنظيمية لا يمكن مقارنتها مع أي بطولة، كل شيء رائع بداية بالفنادق والسفر وقطر بلد كبير، لما شاركنا في 2016 حتى فريق أمريكا الجنوبية لم يصل للمباراة النهائية”.

ولم يفوت موسيماني الفرصة للحديث عن الصعوبة التي عاشها العالم في سنة 2019: “للأسف عشنا تجربة كوفيد-19 السنة الماضية وكانت تجربة محزنة جداً، علينا تقبل هذه الوضعية وأريد التأكيد أن الصحة العالمية تسبق كل شيء وهي الأهم، نعد مشجعينا أننا سنعود للمنافسة العام المقبل وأن تكون الأمور مختلفة مع فيروس كورونا”.

وقبل الختام وجه مدرب الأهلي رسالة إلى جماهير فريقه، قائلًا: “مشجعونا يؤمنون بقدراتنا ويقفون بجانبنا ويساندوننا دائماً، ويمنحوننا الإلهام وسنقدم كل شيء من أجلهم”.

[ad_pod ]This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…ÂOn Wednesday evening Leeds United stepped back onto a football pitch for the first time since their heartbreaking playoff semi-final loss against Derby County.The Whites wasted no time in getting back to their very best as they rushed into a 4-0 lead before half-time against York City.Interestingly, we saw Marcelo Bielsa do something he rarely did last term, as he opted to start Kemar Roofe and Patrick Bamford up top together.

Last season

Last term Bielsa almost exclusively used a 4-1-4-1 formation which left room for only one striker in the starting line-up.

This meant that Roofe and Bamford rarely played together – in fact, they appeared on the same pitch just five times last season, and Leeds won only one of those games.

The duo also both failed to score when they did feature together, so you can see why Bielsa was hesitant to utilise both of his forwards in the same XI.

Against York

Pre-season is always a good chance to experiment with different styles, and on Wednesday the Argentine opted to take a different approach up top.

Instead of opting for a 4-1-4-1 with an attacking midfielder, Bielsa instead lined up with more of a 4-1-3-2 with Roofe acting more fluidly as a forward.

Fans were impressed by the understanding Roofe and Bamford had together as the 26-year-old continuously dropped deep to play balls through to his partner.

Some fans even thought that last season’s top scorer was playing as a number 10, but he would still be in and around the box whenever the ball was out wide. He was essentially acting as more of a deep-lying striker, whereas Bamford was always looking to get in behind.

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Unfortunately, Bamford couldn’t find the net against York, but with the number of chances the pair created for one another on the night, this partnership could be fruitful for Bielsa’s side next term.