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Glasgow Rangers were involved in a Europa League classic on Thursday against Royal Antwerp, but the fans were far from happy with the performance of Scott Arfield.

It was a clash that had absolutely everything. The Gers came from a goal down twice to prevail 4-3, picking up two penalties along the way as Antwerp player Abdoulaye Seck received a red card late in the second-half. The Ibrox outfit also had to deal with two big injuries – one to captain James Tavernier and another to Kemar Roofe.

Arfield made his first start for the 54-time Scottish champions since December 26th (Transfermarkt), and his lack of match-fitness showed. He was often unable to keep up with the pace of the game, and it was no surprise to see him taken off with quarter of an hour left.

The Gers fans were disappointed with his showing, and they took to social media platform Twitter to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about Arfield below

“Scott Arfield has had an absolute nightmare of a game.”

Credit: @cozy1872

“Arfield has been horrid tonight”

Credit: @Adam_A17

“Arfield looks like he hasn’t played for 7 months not 7 weeks”

Credit: @sports_scott

“Arfield is miles off the pace and has been all game… if Jack is on the park that 3rd goal doesn’t happen”

Credit: @Will6118

“Arfield looked off it tonight, think if Gerrard had his time game would have played Kamara, Jack and Davis.”

Credit: @douglas1_craig

“Get Arfield off and Hagi on. Arfield playing walking football.”

Credit: @lewmcca

In other news, Rangers fans slam this SFA appointment.

With deadline day looming, Liverpool were offered a light at the end of the tunnel in their pursuit of a centre-back.

What’s the word?

Liverpool’s main goal at the beginning of the year has been to sign a centre-back but with now under 24 hours left in the window, they are scraping the bottom of the barrel.

Fortunately, according to various sources including James Pearce, the club have now finally found their man.

It’s been reported that Liverpool have agreed a fee of around £2m to sign Preston defender Ben Davies. It’s a deal that will see Sepp Van den Berg go the opposite way on loan.

Davies is out of contract at the end of the season which has allowed the Reds to sign the centre-back at a cut-price fee.

It had been thought that he was going to sign a pre-contract agreement with Celtic but that has now seemingly fallen through.

Klopp buzzing

As Jurgen Klopp left the London Stadium with all three points on Sunday following a resounding victory over West Ham, there were few ways his day could have got better.

However, the news that Liverpool are finally set to add to their defensive ranks will be music to the ears of not only the manager but the club’s supporters.

The Merseysiders have been missing Virgil van Dijk since October and numerous injuries at the back have occurred since.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/liverpool-deadline-day-latest-news-transfer-rumours-and-more” title=”Deadline day is here: Read the latest Liverpool news, transfer rumours and more!”]

When they travelled to West Ham, the Reds had to field a centre-back pairing of Jordan Henderson and Nat Phillips. The former has had to play in that position on four occasions this term but Liverpool fans won’t need to worry about that any longer with Davies now arriving through the door.

Davies has played 19 times in the Championship this term and a quick look at the stats tells you he’s good in the air. The 25-year-old has won 3.1 aerial duels per game this season.

With their options at the back growing slimmer by the week, this was a deal the club simply had to complete.

AND in other news, Edwards must avoid 6 ft 3 CB offered to Liverpool; he’s more injury-prone than Matip…

The 24-year-old has arrived in north London from Manchester United with a bit of a point to prove after an underwhelming 2022-23 campaign

When you are England’s No.9, there is pressure. Your job is to score goals and if you are not doing that, then questions will be asked. That's exactly what happened with Alessia Russo last season, the striker netting only 10 goals despite Manchester United achieving a second-placed finish in the Women's Super League, the highest in the club's history, and pushing Chelsea all the way in a title race that went to the final day.

It was a World Cup year and yet the Lionesses' starting centre-forward wasn't the top-scoring Englishwoman in the WSL. That was Rachel Daly. She wasn't second in that list, either. That was Bethany England. Russo was third, sharing that position with team-mate Leah Galton, a winger who had not only matched her 10 goals but also bettered her one assist with four.

It's no wonder many called for Daly to lead the line for the Lionesses in Australia. After all, the Aston Villa star netted 22 times in as many games for a team that finished fifth in the table, picking up the league's Golden Boot and the Player of the Year awards as a result. But England boss Sarina Wiegman kept faith in Russo, and it was repaid when she scored in the quarter-finals and semi-finals to help her country reach a first ever Women's World Cup final.

Wiegman isn't the only coach with big belief in the 24-year-old, either. In January, Arsenal made a bid that, if accepted, would've made the United striker the most expensive female footballer of all time – despite her only having six months left on her contract. This was a player that Gunners boss Jonas Eidevall wanted a lot.

It took a few months longer than he would've hoped, but with Russo joining the London club on a free this summer, the Arsenal coach has her in his squad now ahead of the 2023-24 WSL season, which kicks-off on Sunday. That Russo goes into this campaign with three goals to her name already this term is a sign that she's going to have a more prolific season, too…

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  Earning Arsenal's admiration

  Arsenal have wanted to bring Russo to the club for a long time. Under former head coach, Joe Montemurro, the Gunners were close to snapping up the England forward but, long story short, the interference of the Covid-19 pandemic eventually led to her moving to Manchester in 2020 instead.

  That said, this is not a club signing. Arsenal would not put a world-record bid on the table if this was not a player that Eidevall didn't want and didn't envisage fitting his system like a glove. Indeed, this a player that the Gunners boss clearly believes is the perfect centre-forward for how he wants to play.

  Russo holds the ball up well, she is technically superb and her ability to press from the front suits Arsenal's style to a tee. She's capable of much more than the 10 goals she had to her name last season, that is for sure.

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  Adjusting to Eidevall's ideas

  That said, there are ways that Russo will need to adjust in order to be a success at Arsenal. She is capable of making runs off the shoulder and being a penalty box presence, especially with her excellent aerial ability and wonderful first-time finishes. The former United star has a real tendency to drop into deeper positions and get involved in the build-up play, though, rather than being the focal point that Eidevall will want her to be.

  After all, there's a reason why Vivianne Miedema, the all-time top scorer in the WSL, has found a home in the No.10 role in Eidevall's system. She thrived as a striker under Montemurro, but has so often described herself as “a nine-and-a-half” because of the way she, too, drops deep and gets involved, albeit in a much different way to Russo.

  Instead, Eidevall has used different players as a No.9 during his tenure in north London. Sweden striker Stina Blackstenius assumed the majority of the responsibility in that role last season, but others have also played there, such as versatile forward Caitlin Foord and midfielder Frida Maanum, with there previously no natural option to take Blackstenius out of the firing line when she needed a rest.

  Russo will offer that now, but will need to adapt and learn to lead the line in the way that Eidevall wants, too.

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  Playing with Miedema

  Part of why that adaptation will be important is because when Miedema returns from her ACL injury and is playing in the same team at Russo, Eidevall will want them working in tandem rather than stepping on each other's toes.

  The pair have the making of a wonderful duo, with Miedema's creativity in that No.10 role and knowledge of what a centre-forward wants in a pass sure to give Russo a ton of chances in front of goal if she can stay in the higher positions and make the right runs.

  Add in the quality of set-piece takers in this Arsenal team and the number of wide players who can whip in excellent crosses – think Katie McCabe, Steph Catley and the soon-to-return Beth Mead – and Russo, who scored a late winner with her head for United at the Emirates last November, can score plenty of goals for the Gunners.

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  Early signs are good

  It's clear already that Russo can adjust, too. On her Arsenal debut in September, a 3-0 win over Linkoping in Women's Champions League qualifying, she wasn't on the scoresheet, but she was on the end of a number of chances and linked up well with plenty of her new team-mates.

  The 24-year-old did drop deep a fair bit, but that created space for others to run into, with midfielder Kim Little benefitting from this a lot. Perhaps Miedema can even profit from Russo's tendency to come into the midfield without the need to completely eradicate that trait from the England star's game. That's one for Eidevall to think about.

  In her second outing in Arsenal colours, Russo then showed that clinical touch that was missing from her debut. Coming off the bench against Paris FC, she started the Gunners' comeback from 2-0 down with her first goal for the club before Jen Beattie's stoppage-time equaliser took the game to extra-time. There, Russo came to the rescue, levelling things in the 116th minute after the French club had taken the lead once more.

  Russo, along with Maanum, did miss her penalty in the decisive shootout, but Arsenal's premature Women's Champions League exit was by no means on her. Instead, her two games in the unsuccessful qualifying phase showed a lot of positives, especially so soon after she had featured prominently in England's World Cup campaign.

Guardiola was previously renowned for using attacking full-backs, but City are likely to again line up with four natural centre-backs next season

Back when he was coming through the ranks at boyhood club Dinamo Zagreb, Josko Gvardiol's team-mates would call him 'Little Pep' due to how similar his name sounds to Pep Guardiola's. His new manager even complimented him on his "beautiful" surname ahead of the transfer.

And now, the Croatian has linked up with the Catalan at Manchester City after completing a €90 million (£77.5m/$98m) move from RB Leipzig, making him the most expensive defender of all time (at least in terms of amount of Euros paid).

Gvardiol has all the attributes Guardiola values in a defender after the coach radically shifted how he wanted to set his team up halfway through last season, moving away from having wide, attacking full-backs and instead lining-up with four centre-backs.

Signing Gvardiol rather than a full-back to replace the likely departing Joao Cancelo shows that the shift is permanent, completing one of the coach's more intriguing tactical developments. And the arrival of the Croatia international, who was one of the best defenders in the 2022 World Cup and has had an outstanding two seasons in the Bundesliga, is set to make City's treble-winning defence even more formidable.

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  Blessed with brutish strength

  Gvardiol has one quality Guardiola has always demanded of his defenders: technical ability leading to confidence on the ball. And he has something which has only become a requisite for the coach more recently: remarkable physical prowess.

  The defender, standing at 6'1, is blessed with brutish strength, while he looked even more intimidating during the World Cup, when he wore a black mask to protect a broken nose.

  The son of an amateur footballer, Gvardiol's power makes him so hard for opponents to get past and allows him to bulldoze downfield and launch attacks, as he frequently did during the Croatia's run to the semi-finals in Qatar.

  He also demonstrated his strength in the first leg of RB Leipzig's Champions League last-16 tie with City, grabbing his side's equaliser with a thunderous header. That night he also got the better of Erling Haaland in a compelling physical battle, limiting the Norwegian to one shot. But it's fair to say that Haaland got his revenge in the second leg, scoring five goals in a 7-0 rout.

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  God-given talent

  But his calmness on the ball and sensible decision making is what makes Gvardiol stand out from other defenders, especially given he has only played two seasons in a top-five European league. As Croatia team-mate Borna Barisic said during the World Cup: "He plays like he has 100 caps for the national team. But that is what happens when God gives you everything."

  After the 0-0 group-stage draw with Belgium, when Gvardiol made one of the best defensive interventions of the tournament by sliding in to rob the ball from Romelu Lukaku late on, his coach Zlatko Dalic could not resist talking up his centre-back. "Josko Gvardiol is the best centre-back in the world," he said. "To play this maturely, it’s amazing. The way he plays, with the elegance he carries the ball."

  Gvardiol is a highly coveted resource in football: a left-footed centre-back. His ability with his left foot allows him to seamlessly start attacks after winning the ball back and means he can also slot into left-back positions during games ,or even into the left-hand side of midfield. And that is what makes him so appealing to Guardiola given the coach's new vision for his team.

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  From full-back enthusiast to sceptic

  The Catalan coach always seemed to be an enthusiast for wide, attacking full-backs. His all-conquering Barcelona side owed so much to the thrusting runs and crosses of Dani Alves, while Philipp Lahm was one of his most important players while at Bayern Munich.

  And in his second summer transfer window at City, Guardiola turned plenty of heads by splashing out £130m on three full-backs – Kyle Walker, Benjamin Mendy and Danilo. Oleksandr Zinchenko, a bargain at under £2m in 2016, also developed into an important squad player at left-back.

  Guardiola would later add Cancelo for a further £60m in 2019, and the Portuguese was one of Guardiola's most reliable and decisive players in the title wins of 2021 and 2022. However, Guardiola shocked everyone by sending Cancelo on loan to Bayern in January after the defender struggled to accept losing his place in the team.

  The arrival of Haaland changed the way City played, and the presence of a centre-forward meant they had less control of possession than when they played with a false nine, leaving them more vulnerable to counter-attacks.

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  Ake & Akanji thrive as full-backs

  This change led to Guardiola prioritising tough, old school defenders such as Nathan Ake, who he turned from a centre-back into a left-back after the World Cup, eventually selecting him over Cancelo. When Ake suffered two injuries in the final three months of the season, meanwhile, Guardiola did the same thing with Manuel Akanji. Despite never playing as a full-back before, the Swiss defender also thrived in the role, putting in particularly impressive performances against Arsenal and in both Champions League semi-final matches against Real Madrid, even if he struggled a bit in the final against Inter.

  John Stones was also a crucial part of the re-shaping of Guardiola's defence, turning into a visionary holding midfielder after taking the baton of hybrid right-back/midfielder from Rico Lewis. Stones is now enjoying a new lease of life as one of City's most crucial players having been one of their standout performers in the Champions League final.

A trophy only has the meaning that the world gives it, and the Leagues Cup took on a whole new meaning once the Argentine legend arrived in Miami

'What the hell is the Leagues Cup?!' No one would have blamed you for asking the question. To be fair, just a month ago, even the most diehard of North American soccer fans wouldn't have had an answer to it. In the run up to this summer's tournament, there were many fans all over the world left wondering the same thing.

Well, everyone knows now, and they all know thanks to one man: Lionel Messi. This was his tournament, his coming-out party on North American shores. Seven games and 10 goals later, Messi has added yet another trophy to his unmatchable collection. Neither Pele nor Maradona ever won a Leagues Cup, and that's because, until this summer, it didn't exist!

Because of that fact, there was a sense of wonderment, of intrigue, as this tournament kicked-off in July. What would it mean? What would it look like? Would anyone care?

Thanks to a certain Argentine superstar, we have an answer to those questions. Messi has put this tournament on the map, giving it life it never would have had without him.

Before a ball was kicked, no one really knew how this new competition would be defined. Now, we all know that we'll remember it as the moment Messi arrived to lend his star-power to a tournament that will always be associated with him.

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  A tournament years in the making

  To be fair, this summer's tournament wasn't the first Leagues Cup. That inaugural competition was held back in 2019, with a sequel held two years later after the Covid-19 pandemic subsided. However, those tournament were mere predecessors to the behemoth unleashed this summer.

  After hosting those two relatively-muted competitions between select teams from MLS and Liga MX, the two leagues invited everyone to the party this summer. Both leagues would pause their domestic schedules for this new-look tournament: 47 teams, three countries, two leagues and one winner at the end of it all.

  It's a big idea, really, but one that aligns with the developing relationship between MLS and Liga MX. The two leagues have collaborated for a few years now, with both sides facing off in a number of competitions. All-Star Games, in-season tournaments, strategic partnerships… it's all been on the table for the two leagues.

  This, though, was the big one and, just before the tournament began, it suddenly became the most anticipated event in world football. In this Leagues Cup, this brand-new tournament, Messi would make his debut.

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• Messi arrives…

  It's hard to imagine the amount of champagne popped at MLS and Liga MX's respective headquarters. Their new tournament, the first of its kind, would be graced by Messi, arguably the best to ever do it. His first-ever game for Inter Miami would come against Cruz Azul. The two sides couldn't have planned it any better: A true battle of MLS vs Liga MX with an Argentinian GOAT taking center-stage.

  As it turned out, 'taking center-stage' was putting it lightly. It took a while for Messi to make his mark, with Inter Miami boss Tata Martino opting to bring his new superstar off the bench for his debut. As a result, a crowd featuring celebrity onlookers such as LeBron James, Kim Kardashian and Serena Williams was forced to wait for their glimpse of the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner.

  It turned out to be very, very worth it. With the game seemingly bound for penalties, it was Messi who stole the show. You've all seen the last-minute free-kick by now. On his debut, Messi somehow created yet another storybook moment, announcing his arrival in a way that only he can.

  It was a 'Welcome to Inter Miami' moment, but also a sign of things to come…

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  …and Messi dominates

  It began with that miraculous free-kick against Cruz Azul and it ended the way it always seemed destined to the moment that strike hit the back of the net: Messi, high in the air, preparing to lift another trophy.

  Throughout Inter Miami's seven-game run, Messi was dominant, not that he wasn't expected to be, as anyone who has followed his career knows what he is capable. However, few could have predicted that Messi would be able to perform as he did this with this team, this soon.

  By the end, he had 10 goals in seven games, a runaway Golden Boot winner. And it wasn't just the goals, but the life he injected into his team and this tournament. With Messi on the field, every Inter Miami game felt like the main event, and his team-mates, all from different backgrounds, rose to the occasion and level set by their new superstar leader. Fans all over the world, many of whom had zero interest in MLS or Liga MX before his arrival, watched on as Messi carried Inter Miami on his back during an unbelievable run.

  That will be the lasting image of this tournament, one that will be remembered not just as the first, not just as the best, but no doubt the most important Leagues Cup for years to come. Messi put this tournament on the map all on his own. In future years, the Leagues Cup will be known and remembered as the tournament that Messi built.

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  An MLS triumph

  It wasn't just Messi, though. There were, in fact, 46 other teams in the field besides the one that had the former Barcelona star. The Argentine was the headline-stealer, no doubt, but there were other moments of magic throughout this Leagues Cup run.

  From ridiculous goals to goalkeeper chaos to absolutely unfathomable penalty shootouts, the Leagues Cup had all of the chaos of MLS and Liga MX rolled into one. Both leagues are known for the absolute hilarity they sometimes produce, and teams from both sides of this rivalry provided plenty of it throughout the month-long tournament.

  However, of the two sides, it was MLS that came out with the last laugh. Long seen as the little brother of this region, the tide has begun to turn over the last few years. The Seattle Sounders CONCACAF Champions League triumph in 2022 was a start, but this tournament showed that MLS sides are very much catching up. They still have a ways to go to reach the level of Mexico's biggest clubs like Tigres, Club America and Monterrey on a regular basis, but that gap is closing, and it's not just because Messi is turning the tide.

  MLS will look back on this tournament fondly. Of the eight quarter-final teams, six were from MLS. Of the four semi-finalists, just one was from Mexico. In the end, teams from the U.S. earned all three podium slots, with Inter Miami, Nashville SC and the Philadelphia Union booking their places in the next CONCACAF Champions Cup.

  Winning that competition consistently is still very much the challenge for MLS teams. However, this tournament did show that what does and doesn't matter could rapidly evolve in this part of the world.

Manchester United’s move for Aston Villa goalkeeper Tom Heaton is ‘pretty much done’, according to talkSPORT, cited by Birmingham Live.

And, as to be expected, plenty of Villa fans have been sharing their thoughts on the move and how the club should deal with their goalkeeping department going forward.

Heaton, 35, looks set to return to Old Trafford when his Villa contract expires, providing competition to Dean Henderson and David de Gea.

United ‘keepers Lee Grant and Sergio Romero look set to move on from Old Trafford to make way for Heaton, who hasn’t featured for Villa since suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury at Burnley on New Year’s Day last year.

He returned to the matchday squad towards the end of 2020 but hasn’t managed to make an appearance, with summer signing Emiliano Martinez making the first-choice spot his own.

Villa fans react

@AVFC_News shared the update on Twitter throughout Thursday evening. This is what these Villa supporters had to say about the situation.

“I for one am not going to miss him sorry I didn’t feel he was what he was made up to be before signing him and if truth be known I think Deano also had doubts that he was hence the fantastic signing off Emi”

Credit: @simonlambert33

“No way, never saw that one coming”

Credit: @UpTheDeano

“That was clear soon as he was dropped tbf. Dean didn’t look overly happy when discussing it tbf”

Credit: @MattyD54244799

“And he’s off”

Credit: @supavillaaa

“The worst part of this is we paid £8 mil for a two year contract. We landed on our feet with @emimartinezz1, but hopefully this will be one of few transfer errors going forward.”

Credit: @Graham452

“Perhaps the forgotten hero…..fantastic keeper…..if we hadn’t landed the perfect keeper in Martinez we would have been happy with Heaton between the posts! Steer is good enough back up so wish Heaton all the best”

Credit: @CliffRoberts1

In other news: Many AVFC fans react as Villa ready bid for Celtic ace, find out more here. 

Tottenham suffered a major dent to their hopes of finishing in the top four in the Premier League this season after falling to a 3-1 defeat to Leeds United at Elland Road on Saturday afternoon.

Ryan Mason’s side came into the game off the back of a morale-boosting 4-0 thrashing of Sheffield United last time out, with Gareth Bale netting a hat-trick in the process.

However, the Lilywhites looked completely toothless up in Yorkshire yesterday, managing just three shots on target in the entire 90 minutes and having Hugo Lloris to thank for saving their blushes with a number of top-class saves.

While Sergio Reguilon faced a lot of criticism for his performance, it was arguably Eric Dier who was Spurs’ worst-performing player on the day. The England international looked all at sea with the pace and movement of Leeds’ attack and was caught out by a near-post cross for Patrick Bamford’s goal.

That prompted Spurs journalist Alasdair Gold to remark on Twitter that Dier had fallen “asleep”, and his lack of understanding for when to track runners must have been deeply frustrating for Mason to watch from the technical area.

As per Sofascore, the 27-year-old won just two tackles in the entire game, with even Giovani Lo Celso winning more, and he triumphed in only four of his nine total duels.

It wasn’t just defensively that he struggled however, with the centre-back unable to keep calm when in possession, conceding the ball on 12 separate occasions and being hurried into going long by Leeds’ constant pressing.

Writing in his post-match player ratings for Football.London, Gold gave him a lowly three, saying: “A tough afternoon for the player up against Bamford and was at fault for his goal as he was caught watching the ball as the Leeds ace nipped ahead of him to net. Not a good game at all from the England international in front of Gareth Southgate.”

While Reguilon may shoulder a lot of the blame for his role in a couple of Leeds’ goals, Dier’s overall performance was arguably even worse. Here was an experienced head completely letting his rookie manager down.

Dier was a complete liability with his positioning at the back, and it must raise even more questions as to why Joe Rodon doesn’t start regularly for Spurs.

In other news, this manager could restore shades of Pochettino if Spurs choose him as Mourinho’s successor.

Some Manchester City fans are far from happy with Pep Guardiola after he suggested that Raheem Sterling has been exceptional for the club in the past couple of matches.

The Citizens host Paris Saint-Germain in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final in a comfortable position. They prevailed 2-1 in the first match at the Parc des Princes, meaning that a solid display at the Etihad Stadium should get them through to the final with minimum fuss.

Sterling has come in for criticism from some fans recently after a disappointing campaign by his standards, although he still has more than 10 goals and 10 assists in all competitions (Transfermarkt). Guardiola has suggested that the 26-year-old has been fantastic recently and deserved to start the game last week – this is something with which some fans clearly don’t agree.

The manager claimed: “He deserved to play in Paris but it’s unfair if I leave Phil or Riyad out now. It’s difficult. I’m justifying my decisions and I don’t want to. Raheem played exceptional in the last two games and he has to be ready because we have a final.

“Maybe he’s going to play many minutes from the beginning. Maybe if we get to the final of the Champions League… everyone can play. That’s the reason why over many years the commitment is there to be in a position to win all these titles.”

The comments, sourced from @SkySportsPL, were shared on Twitter by @City_Xtra, and they attracted plenty of attention from the club’s supporters. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what these fans had to say about Guardiola’s comments on Sterling

“I might have to restart the Guardiola slander in case we bottle it tomorrow”

Credit: @asiancityfan

“Loool stop the waffle no he doesn’t”

Credit: @h4mzi

“no no no please no”

Credit: @mcfchamdan

“We would have lost the game if he played. He is currently on fraud watch.”

Credit: @mcfcbalz

“Pep No overthinking please. Stick to Riyad and Foden”

Credit: @izzy900is

“Why is he lying? The first season we play the knockouts without sterling we make the semis. Shock. If he plays a single minute from now on we’re done.”

Credit: @mbaalthani8

In other news, some Man City fans are delighted with comments from this player’s agent.

Peterborough United Director of Football Barry Fry has savaged Liverpool’s owners in an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, insisting that they are “unforgivable” after their attempt to join a European Super League.

The football world was in shock last week as six English clubs, along with various sides from the continent, attempted to form a breakaway league.

Liverpool were one of the clubs at the front of the queue, and were joined by Manchester United, Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur from the Premier League.

All six clubs were forced into a humiliating climbdown as they all withdrew just 48 hours after attempting to set the league up, but not before Jurgen Klopp was forced into an excruciating interview with Sky Sports.

Speaking prior to his side’s 1-1 draw with Leeds United, Klopp seemed blindsided by the plans and was unhappy with the club’s desire to enter what was essentially a closed shop.

And Fry thinks that FSG’s conduct was beyond the pale, especially as Klopp was not informed of the plans.

Speaking exclusively to FFC, Fry let rip, as he said: “Well you could clearly see when he was being questioned that he was uncomfortable for the mere fact that he didn’t know anything about it.

“For what that man has done for Liverpool Football club and for the city of Liverpool, is absolutely incredible and it’s unforgivable to not keep your manager in the loop of what you intend to do.”

Steve Bruce has a huge problem on his hands after Newcastle United striker Dwight Gayle blew a chance to prove his doubters wrong against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

Gayle was finally given the license to play through the middle at home to Jose Mourinho’s north Londoners, after Callum Wilson failed a late fitness test on his hamstring injury.

Previous weeks had seen Gayle take up an attacking role but be forced to play wide, and was left an unused substitute as the Toon were beaten comfortably by Brighton & Hove Albion last month.

Bruce had hoped to see Wilson make his return coming out of the international break after almost two months in the treatment room, though is refusing to rush the £20m summer signing back onto the pitch.

The Magpies boss will surely have preferred to have had Wilson on the field last Sunday as his side salvaged a 2-2 draw with Tottenham, after seeing Gayle fluff his lines in front of Hugo Lloris’ net.

It was only Gayle’s third start of the season so far across all competitions and almost got off in a perfect manner when Jonjo Shelvey found the £4.5m-rated forward in the middle of Spurs’ defenders.

Gayle made a good run off the shoulder of Davinson Sanchez and forced a strong, leaping save from Lloris with his header and was alert to the rebound, only to hit his second attempt tamely into the French shot-stopper.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/the-latest-newcastle-news%2c-gossip-and-views-2″ title=”The latest Newcastle news, gossip and views!”]

His two spurned chances to break the deadlock saw Gayle register half of Newcastle’s total of four big chances missed inside the opening 20 minutes, and would only go on to fashion one further shot all game, per SofaScore.

Gayle’s last of four attempts, which came on the hour mark, was also deemed as off-target, and he would only remain on the field for a further 10 minutes before being replaced by Allan Saint-Maximin.

The 31-year-old – who Rob Lee claims is a “brilliant” striker – is now without a goal in any of his last 13 appearances across all competitions, having struck his only successful strike to date with a match-winning header at home to West Bromwich Albion on December 12.

Gayle’s start at home to Tottenham on Sunday and the two big chances to break the deadlock marked a glaring missed opportunity to prove his doubters wrong, having been effectively dubbed by many supporters as a Championship-level striker recently.

Fans have been critical of Gayle and his talents after reports emerged that he is due to be given a new three-year contract to avoid leaving Tyneside as a free agent this summer, which Bruce has confirmed is close to being finalised.

Bruce now has a huge problem on his hands with Newcastle set to tie Gayle down long-term, and question marks again arising over his potential to fire the Magpies to Premier League safety.

AND in other news, a nine-cap dud who was expected to be a “massive asset” faces an uncertain future at Newcastle…