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Sheffield Wednesday lost 3-1 against Preston North End in the Championship last night and the result now means the club have lost their last three games.

Journalist Dom Howson was tweeting out the comments made by manager Garry Monk following the match, and a lot of the Wednesday fan base are not pleased with the boss.

The Owls were winning the game after Jacob Murphy scored in the 58th minute, and they even looked to be coming away with a point after the game was 1-1 until the last five minutes. However, goals from Jayden Stockley in the 87th minute and Brad Potts in the 96th minute meant that Preston came away with all three points, per Sky Sports.

Howson tweeted out that Monk said: “We felt robbed in terms of the goal disallowed but we can’t control that. What we can control is our focus and that is what has cost us in that little bit. Basic errors in terms of fundamentals are proving very costly.”

Clearly these comments have frustrated some fans as the fact that Monk says he feels robbed due to the first goal being fairly disallowed seems like he is looking for excuses, and is him trying to paper over the cracks for a poor performance.

Wednesday now sit 16th in the division, seven points from the drop, so it looks like it’s another season of a mid-low table finish, and so far Monk has managed 13 wins, 10 draws and 17 losses in his 40 matches in charge, per Transfermarkt. It seems like he hasn’t done as good a job as fans would have expected based on their comments.

Here is what they said following the tweet:

Owls fans, what were your thoughts on the game? Let us know down below!

Tottenham Hotspur are certainly in need of some defensive reinforcements this summer and one of their reported transfer targets would be a serious piece of business…

What’s the word?

According to FCInterNews, Spurs are set to make an offer to Milan Skriniar with Jose Mourinho very keen on signing him to replace the recently departed Jan Vertonghen.

It’s also claimed that the idea of a swap deal involving the Inter star and last summer’s club-record signing Tanguy Ndombele is bubbling above the surface.

Though, the 25-year-old is valued at €50m (£45m) by the Serie A outfit.

Statement of intent

If Daniel Levy manages to pull this off, then he should quite rightly be lauded from the hilltops as it would one massive statement of intent that the north Londoners mean business next season.

Standing at 6 foot 2 inches, the Slovakian is an absolute colossus and that’s backed up by his numbers for the 2019/20 season where he’s proven to be an elite ball-playing centre-back.

Per WhoScored, Skriniar has averaged 2.5 clearances, 1.4 tackles and 1 interception per game across both domestically and in the Champions League whilst also managing an 88.8% passing accuracy rate from just under 60 passes per match. Impressive.

His imposing nature is only emphasised when you see the comparisons to former Liverpool brute Martin Skrtel and even Italian legend Alessandro Nesta.

Goal.com lauded him as “one of the signings of the summer transfer window” when he originally joined Inter and described him as “a strong tackler who is quick to make clearances.”

Mourinho’s men shipped 47 goals in the top-flight this season, the second-worst of any top seven team, and with the loss of Vertonghen, a central defender should be the top priority.

Forget Eric Dier moving into defence, Levy should look no further than Skriniar – he’s a beast who could spearhead their push to return to the Champions League in 2021.

AND in other news, Spurs must avoid signing the new Mario Balotelli this summer…

It was a difficult evening for Liverpool’s youngsters on Tuesday against Aston Villa in the League Cup.

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The Reds were hammered 5-0 by the Villans at Villa Park, and that means they are now out of the domestic competition. This comes, of course, due to Liverpool’s Club World Cup commitments – the senior squad is currently out in Qatar and, following their victory against Monterrey on Wednesday, they will now face Flamengo in the final.

Watch Leicester vs Liverpool Free Live and Free with Amazon Prime on Boxing Day

Jurgen Klopp has prioritised that tournament – it is one the Anfield outfit has never won before – but that is a decision that has not gone down well with talkSPORT presenter Andy Goldstein. He believes that the 52-year-old has shown “disrespect” to the competition with the team that was fielded.

As you can expect, Liverpool fans were far from happy with the 46-year-old’s comments.

To be fair, they do have a point. Klopp won the Champions League last year, and has led Liverpool to a 10-point lead at the top of the Premier League table this time around. He probably has a good idea of what he is doing.

Can you name the result these iconic Liverpool images belong to? Give it a go now…

Some fans were quick to point out that the Club World Cup is far more lucrative as well.

Indeed, there is more cash at stake in the Club World Cup than in the League Cup. Not just that, but it is more prestigious as well, considering it does involve teams from all over the world who have won their respective continent’s club competition to make it to Qatar.

Other fans have brought Manchester United pulling out of the FA Cup in 1999/00 for a similar reason up.

It is no surprise to see Goldstein be lenient with the Red Devils – he is a United fan after all. As one fan said, at least Liverpool did field a team instead of pulling out altogether.

On Saturday, we will find out if the former Borussia Dortmund manager was right to put the Club World Cup first.

In other news, one Liverpool man shows his experience against Aston Villa in the League Cup.

So four games into the Premier League’s restart, and Newcastle are well and truly heading in the right direction.

The Magpies bounced back in style from their disappointing FA Cup exit to Manchester City, putting Bournemouth to the sword on Wednesday night.

Allan Saint-Maximin may have stolen the show with a scintillating performance that saw him get a hat-trick of assists, but in the middle of the park, Nabil Bentaleb helped run the show for Newcastle.

Think you’re a big Magpies fan? Can you name these former players by looking at their careers? Go on, give it a go…

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The Algerian arrived on loan from Bundesliga side Schalke back in the January transfer window, and after playing the full 90 minutes in three consecutive Premier League games, found himself on the bench for the Magpies’ last two Premier League games before football was postponed.

Wednesday evening saw Bentaleb make his first start for the Tyneside club since the restart, and he delivered the kind of performance that would have left Steve Bruce nodding his head in approval.

Lining up alongside Jonjo Shelvey in the engine room, the 25-year-old acted as the destroyer, breaking up attacks and then feeding balls into his more advanced teammates.

And it was an approach that brought rich rewards. As per Sofascore, he made a team-high five tackles (two more than Emil Krafth in second), whilst his two interceptions was joint-second amongst the rest of the Newcastle players.

Bentaleb was aggressive and in the faces of the Bournemouth midfield, hunting them down and putting himself into the 50/50 challenges – in total, he contested 17 total duels over the course of the 90 minutes, winning nine of them.

With Matty Longstaff’s future uncertain amid speculation linking him with a move away from the club, players like Bentaleb need to step up and do more. Reports back in January suggested that Newcastle have the option to make the deal permanent, but based on his performances for the club before Wednesday, it seemed unlikely they would have taken that up.

But the display against the Cherries offered some promise about how he could still make the grade at St James’ Park, and Bruce will be hoping it can help him kick-start his career.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Tottenham Hotspur take on Manchester United at Old Trafford later this week and one key battle could decide the fixture.

On the chalkboard

When Jose Mourinho takes his new club back to his old stomping ground, he is likely to pick Tanguy Ndombele in midfield, particularly after such a strong showing against Bournemouth at the weekend.

And he is likely to be matched up against Fred, the United midfielder who has played 90 minutes in each of the club’s last seven Premier League games.

Winning the midfield battle will be key for both sides as they look to wrestle control of the game away from the opposition.

And Ndombele’s battle with Fred could be pivotal.

Dynamism vs defence

Ndombele is a dynamic presence in the Spurs midfield.

Per WhoScored, he has already scored twice and registered one assist in the Premier League, while averaging 1.6 dribbles per game, 0.7 key passes, a passing accuracy of 84% and 1.9 tackles and 0.8 interceptions.

This is a player who can surge forward but also remain assiduous in defence.

Fred, meanwhile, does not have a goal or an assist to his name yet in the league, while he averages 0.9 dribbles per game, one key pass, an accuracy of 86.7%, 2.2 tackles and 1.3 interceptions.

This is a more withdrawn player than Ndombele, one who sits deeper and looks to win the ball back before recycling it, instead of driving forward with it.

Watch Man United v Tottenham Live and Free with Amazon Prime

But their match-up will be instructive to the result on Wednesday evening.

If Ndombele wins, one has to assume that space will open up in midfield and Spurs will have the opportunity to carve United open; if Fred wins, they will stay a solid unit and United will have the chance to hit Spurs on the break, utilising the pace further forward of Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial.

Keep your eyes on this personal duel; it could be the difference between three points or zero.

Meanwhile, Spurs have a youngster who could be their next Eric Dier.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

Sheffield Wednesday moved back up into the playoff picture this weekend after recording back-to-back victories for the first time under manager Garry Monk this season.

The Owls had to come from behind to defeat Brentford at Hillsborough on Saturday afternoon.

Bryan Mbeumo headed home the opening goal of the match for the visitors just before the half-hour mark before Steven Fletcher’s quickfire brace secured all three points.

The 32-year-old striker saw his tally increase to ten for the season after he slotted home a penalty to then curled one around the Bees goalkeeper just four minutes later.

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Monk continued to operate a 4-4-2 system with Atdhe Nuhiu partnering Fletcher once again, but the Kosovan colossus struggled to have any sort of influence in the match – 23 touches and one shot off target, per SofaScore.

It led to the Owls boss making a tactical change at half-time which saw Jordan Rhodes come on in his place. A perhaps surprising move given the lack of game time the club-record signing has had this season.

The 29-year-old had been restricted to two substitute appearances under Monk prior to this decision, and with his contract up at the end of the season, it seemed likely that his time in south Yorkshire would be coming to an end sooner rather than later.

However, this cameo performance may have just hinted towards there still being life for Rhodes in the blue and white stripes.

Even though the former Blackburn striker didn’t score, he proved to be an intriguing partner for their top scorer.

So much so that fans noted his movement as a particular attribute that made their attack seem more in sync – at 6 foot 5, Nuhiu is far from mobile.

With an incoming game against Derby County coming as soon as Wednesday, it could give Rhodes another opportunity to impress, maybe even from the start this time.

If he keeps this up, there could well be a comeback for his career at the Owls.

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In other news, could Garry Monk have Atdhe Nuhiu’s long-term replacement already at the club?

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Newcastle’s Allan Saint-Maximin has enjoyed an impressive start to his Magpies career, and his form has led to high praise from Paul Robinson.

What did he say?

The winger arrived at the club over the summer for a price of £16.5m, a fee which could have quite easily put pressure on him to perform, but so far he has showed no signs of that.

His confident style is clear to see in the way he plays, frequently taking on opposition players through a combination of pace and trickery, which has resulted in 3.6 successful dribbles per game.

Saint-Maximin also shows determination in the forward areas by getting onto the end of chances, and despite his frequent misses Robinson thinks that his overall contribution is valuable to his side.

Speaking to Football.Insider, the former England player said: “I thought he was outstanding against West Ham and he was very good this week, the problem Newcastle have had is that Joelinton has been detached from the players behind him, such as Almiron and Saint-Maximin.

“Saint-Maximin has been Newcastle’s best player all season for me and he was again at the weekend as I thought he was key to what they did.”

The Frenchman’s importance to Steve Bruce is becoming more apparent with each passing game, but there are still significant flaws in his game which are currently holding him back.

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Lack of productivity

The 22-year-old has failed to produce a goal or an assist since arriving in the north-east, though his defelcted cross did result in DeAndre Yedlin’s equaliser last Saturday.

There has been ample opportunity to get on the scoresheet, though, and striking the bar against Bournemouth when there was the perfect scoring opportunity underlines the improvement that needs to be made.

However, it is still early days. He is young and adjusting to not just a new league, but a new country and different style of play.

To have impressed Robinson so much already says a lot about the performances he has displayed, and if he continues as he has started it will surely only be a matter of time before he breaks his goal duck.

Steve Bruce could be key to that. He is already getting a lot out of the player and as long as he maintains his confidence Saint-Maximin should continue to perform, and continue to get into those goalscoring positions.