Goals aren’t really coming in huge numbers for West Brom anymore, are they?

Once among the Championship’s highest scoring teams, their attacking urgency has declined in recent weeks and the mood around the Hawthorns looks to have died down. Indeed, despite picking up two big wins under Jimmy Shan, the Baggies strikeforce isn’t as lethal as it was in an earlier part of the season.

Dwight Gayle, in particular, has struggled in recent weeks. He might’ve scored 16 goals for West Brom this season, but is now goalless in his last five games. Clearly, the Newcastle-loanee hasn’t settled into Shan’s system that well either, with the interim manager preferring a more defensive approach, which doesn’t appeal to his style.

Unless West Brom’s attack is firing, the 28-year-old can’t seem to rise up on his own and inspire their attack. This, however, isn’t something which a certain Salomon Rondon lacks. The Venezuelan striker himself is enjoying a beaming loan spell at Newcastle United, having scored 9 goals in 25 Premier League appearances for them, proving perfect in that lone striker role.

While he’s in dreamland up on Tyneside, apparent (as per the Daily Star) internal disputes mean he might not be retained beyond the loan spell. This is something which can work to West Brom’s favour as they can let Gayle go back to Newcastle again and build the team around Rondon, especially if they gain Premier League promotion.

The in-form Rondon’s proved how perfect he is for the Premier League with his striker’s instincts and lethal finishing. He’s moulded himself into a cunning Premier League-fit striker and if asked to repeat his heroics next season, Rondon can make West Brom a formidable Premier League side again.

West Brom fans, would you want to stick with Gayle or bring back Rondon? Join the discussion by commenting below. 

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Loads of Liverpool fans have been reacting to some contract news, as Jurgen Klopp has reportedly changed his mind about the future of Divock Origi.

Not too long ago, Origi and Daniel Sturridge both looked destined for Anfield exits this summer.

According to a report from Sports Illustrated, both strikers were on the chopping block – Sturridge will be out of contract while Origi’s current deal ends in 2020, meaning this summer is the club’s last chance to get reasonable compensation for his departure.

However, a new report from Football Insider claims Klopp has been “blown away” by Origi’s attitude and work ethic and will now offer the youngster an extended deal.

Indeed, Origi was out in the cold earlier this season, but has come off the bench to make a positive impact on several occasions recently, and who could forget his derby day winner at the expense of Jordan Pickford?

Has Alisson been Liverpool’s most important signing of the season? Check out the video below to find out why Jurgen Klopp thinks so…

It appears Klopp has done a complete U-turn and the club can now strengthen elsewhere with a back-up striker already secure, but plenty of fans are taking issue with this.

Anfield has long been in need of a “super-sub” type who can take pressure off Roberto Firmino, and sacrificing that to re-sign Origi has caused some controversy.

You can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below, where fans are split on Klopp’s change of heart…

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Sheffield Wednesday’s Gary Hooper has had an absolutely torrid time with injuries over the past year and a half, but he could be closing in on a return to first-team action.

That’s according to Wednesday fans who have speculated that he may be on the bench for the club when they take on Stoke City this weekend.

This comes after he was left out of the U23s squad to face Ipswich on Tuesday afternoon.

It sparked excitement from some Owls supporters who are eager to see one of their key players finally return to action.

Hooper last played for the club on Boxing Day 2017 and hasn’t been seen anywhere near the first-team frame since.

The 5 ft 9 striker had been vital for the Yorkshire club up to then, having scored ten goals in 24 games during the first half of the 2017/18 season.

The 31-year-old had been nearing a return in September but was then ruled out again with a new issue. He then had to undergo groin surgery in November of last year which ruled him out for another 10 weeks.

Who would make a combined Sheffield XI? Ingood Nick makes his picks in the video below…

However, 15 months on he may now be about to reappear to aid the club’s late play-off push.

Here’s what Owls fans have been saying.

Stealing Aston Villa star Jack Grealish from under the noses of long-term admirers Tottenham Hotspur would represent a major step in the right direction for West Ham’s future ambitions.

According to the Mirror, Tottenham Hotspur are favourites to secure Grealish’s signature this summer, having already come close to completing a £25 million deal last year.

The Championship star has since signed a five-year contract with Villa, but we are not entirely convinced, and his fresh commitment could prove to be a moot obstacle in the Premier League’s pursuit for one of its missing English stars, and with West Ham and Bournemouth now entering the fray, we imagine this already buzzing transfer saga will reach boiling point soon enough.

Indeed, Aston Villa’s most prized possession has been on the books for a top-flight switch for some time now, and the Hammers could snatch his services from the hands of Mauricio Pochettino if they are willing to release Manuel Pellegrini on another spending spree.

Pellegrini’s men have been relatively poor this campaign, and standout performances from inherently average players like Robert Snodgrass, who surely cannot be relied upon again next term, has really reiterated the need to introduce some quality talents to improve on impending midtable misery.

And West Ham’s pursuit of Grealish could be boosted by the fact that he will likely need to leave his boyhood club if he wants to enter Gareth Southgate’s future plans.

“Jack worked with us in the Under-21s briefly,” Southgate said when asked about Grealish’s absence (as per the Mirror).

“The difficulty is always that, although we can see the quality, he’s at a different level and it’s hard to directly correlate what that will look like at a level above. With Callum, he’s playing Europa League, he’s playing Premier League, that makes a difference.

“I’m not going to say we won’t pick from the Championship, as that could happen, but it’s far more difficult to assess his level.

“You see certain parts of the game, but not others. Not the physicality at times, nor the tactical discipline.

“That’s at another level in the Premier League, the speed, the pace. So, Jack’s a player we know all about, he’s a player we track.

“But that last bit of evidence, which could give you confidence to pick him, we haven’t seen.”

Grealish would provide a huge boost to a forward lineup that has largely gone missing this season, and added a bit of much-needed dynamism to proceedings where it has been typically lacking under current answerless players.

West Ham fans, would you be happy to see Grealish playing for you next season? 

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Manchester United were dumped out of the Champions League by Barcelona on Tuesday, and one stunning stat shows exactly why the Red Devils can’t compete with the big boys anymore.

On the chalkboard

If they’re honest, most Manchester United fans had probably admitted defeat as soon as they saw the starting XI at the Camp Nou.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer could not select Luke Shaw due to suspension, so opted instead to deploy Ashley Young on the left side of defence, with Victor Lindelof on the other flank.

Chris Smalling and Phil Jones started out in the middle, something that is surely music to the ears of any opposing forward player.

Here’s the kicker though – three of the back four that started on Tuesday, as well as David De Gea, started a 2-1 Champions League defeat to Basel in December 2011, a match that dumped the Red Devils out at the group stage.

Former Wigan & Fulham man, Jimmy Bullard recently showed that he’s still got it! Check out the video below…

Absolutely atrocious

Let’s put this into perspective shall we? In 2011, Barack Obama was the United States president, Adam Johnson was a Manchester City player and Marcus Rashford was 14 years old.

And yet, eight seasons later, four of the back five (including De Gea) are still being used as regular first team options, despite fans and managers alike yearning for new centre back options every single summer since.

That’s not even the worst part either; three of the four that started both matches have been given new contracts in the last few months, while De Gea, the only one who actually deserves a new deal, is yet to get one. It is mind-numbingly stupid.

Solskjaer didn’t help himself by putting his best centre back in Lindelof at right back, but the fact of the matter is that no manager can build a strong defence around Young, Smalling and Jones.

The latter pair in particular have never proven themselves to be anything more than absolutely mediocre, their reward for which has been to get a shiny new contract, showing just how directionless the club currently are.

Until the owners and Ed Woodward bite the bullet and clear out the massive number of bang average players currently on the books at Old Trafford, it really won’t matter who leads the troops from the dugout, things will only get worse.

Everton continued their good run of results with a solid 2-0 win at West Ham United this weekend.

The Toffees saw off the Hammers with relative ease to cement their place just outside the main pack in the Premier League, as well easing the pressure on manager Marco Silva, who has come under pressure from numerous media outlets throughout the season.

Silva was expected to challenge higher up in the Premier League table than the current ninth position is suggesting, although a seventh place finish just outside of the top six is still well on for the club.

And while Silva has been under pressure, the last few weeks have shown that the former Watford man could well be the man to take the Goodison Park club forward and finally lead them back to challenging for the top four, as in previous years under David Moyes.

Money has been spent by the powers that be for the Merseysiders, and with that money being spent comes expectation, something that Silva appeared to not be able to handle early on in his tenure at the club.

However, his tactics and way of setting up his team in recent weeks have shown that he can actually get the Toffees playing to their maximum, something which could well yield results in the coming seasons.

With the players in the ranks at Everton at the moment, success should not be too far off at Goodison Park, and stability will be needed.

It might have taken a good amount of time to start looking right, but Silva is showing he is the man to take the club forward, and Toffees fans can have plenty to look forward too in the 19/20 season if they can continue on this current upward trajectory.

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Embroiled in relegation trouble it’s difficult to pick a shining light from Rotherham’s difficult campaign. They’ve won just seven games, sit in 22nd and are a point off Millwall who also have a game in hand.

Surviving is a slim possibility but fans have still found players to praise in a troublesome campaign for Paul Warne’s team.

Supporters of the Millers are all in agreement over one man in Joe Mattock, who they feel is deserving of their player of the season award having discussed the matter on Twitter.

One fan described the left-back as consistently excellent whilst another said he’d been immense. One individual claimed his displays had gone under the radar.

Among the debate, there were also mentions for Semi Ajayi and Michael Smith.

It may come as a surprise to see Rotherham fans vote for a defender when they’ve conceded the most goals, 67, in the Championship this season. However, he has been a player they have been able to depend on regularly.

The 28-year-old has missed just two league games in 2018/19, featuring 37 times. His only goal came in a 1-1 draw with Reading back in December.

Here’s the best of the discussion.

علق المدرب الجنوب افريقي بيتسو موسيماني المدير الفني لفريق الكرة الأول بالنادي الأهلي على مواجهة الوداد البيضاوي المغربي.

المباراة من المقرر إقامتها مساء اليوم على أرضية ميدان استاد القاهرة الدولي في إياب الدور نصف النهائي ببطولة دوري أبطال افريقيا.

رئيس الوداد: نتيجة مباراة الذهاب أمام الأهلي سببت لنا إحباطًا كبيرًا

وقال موسيماني في تصريحات للموقع الرسمي للاتحاد الافريقي لكرة القدم: “لم نفز بأي شيء بعد”.

وأضاف: “سجلنا هدفين في الدار البيضاء ويمكنهم القيام بالمثل في القاهرة. يجب أن نواصل القتال حتى النهاية”.

يذكر، أن الأهلي قد نجح في مباراة الذهاب التي أقيمت على ملعب مركب محمد الخامس بالمغرب.

The search for a permanent manager continues at West Bromwich Albion.

Fun, right?

Obviously, they’ve rewarded Jimmy Shan’s impressive start by seemingly, but unofficially, extending his temporary deal until the end of the season to give themselves some time to search for a new manager.

While there’s always a chance for Shan to pull off an Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, he’ll surely have to win Premier League promotion for that. However, there’s a good chance even after that they’ll want a more experienced figure. So, the latest man to be linked with the job is the controversial Sam Allardyce after the former England manager hinted on talkSPORT he would possibly be keen, though appointing him could be a disastrous move.

Big Sam might have a respectable CV, yet his recent work has undone his good reputation, making him look like a relative dinosaur. Ever the controversial sacking as the Three Lions’ manager, he producing polarizing results back in club football. Last time out at Everton, Big Sam might’ve saved them from relegation, but made them play the worst football possible.

Were the Toffees ever really going to go down? Probably not.

In the Premier League, the Merseyside outfit were ranked 20th in total shots on goal, 19th for shots on target and 16th for passing accuracy (stats via Sky Sports). Despite having a luxurious squad, he made the fans endure some shocking, negative football during his short stay at Goodison Park.

At West Brom, where the fans now expect incisive attacking football after the awful Tony Pulis years, that isn’t acceptable.

The owners need to be assertive in not bringing in Allardyce. He’ll take them many steps back, get them playing boring, dirty football which they’ve been fighting against.

Keeping an insider in Jimmy Shan is a much better option as he’ll retain the Baggies’ values, something Big Sam will work against into ruining West Brom’s reputation.

West Brom fans, would you want Big Sam to be your new manager? Join the discussion by commenting below.

أكد أشرف صبحي وزير الشباب والرياضة، أنه لن يكون هناك أي مساس بفريق الكرة بنادي الزمالك، في أي قرار سيتم اتخاذه مستقبلا.

واتخذت اللجنة الأولمبية المصرية قرارًا بعزل مرتضى منصور رئيس نادي الزمالك من منصبه، ومنعه من مزاولة الرياضة لمدة 4 سنوات، مع التنبيه لضرورة عقد انتخابات سريعة على مقعد رئيس النادي في الجمعة العمومية المقبلة.

اقرأ أيضًا.. تأجيل نظر دعوى مرتضى منصور ضد قرار إيقافه من اللجنة الأولمبية

وأضاف أشرف صبحي خلال لقاءه عبر برنامج “ملعب أون تايم” المُذاع عبر قناة “أون تايم سبورتس”: “نحن مع الثلاث فرق الأهلي والزمالك وبيراميدز أيًا كانت الأحداث سواء الآن أو غدًا، وأؤكد لجماهير النادي أننا معهم”.

تابع: “أؤكد أنه أيًا كانت القرارات فلا مساس بالزمالك ولا مساس بفريق الكرة، أؤكد وأؤكد مرات كثيرة لن يكون هناك مساس بفريق الكرة بالزمالك أيا كانت الأحداث”.

وعن الحضور الجماهيري في نهائي دوري أبطال إفريقيا، قال: “هناك تواصل بين الوزارة والاتحاد الإفريقي لأن الأخير هو صاحب قرار وجود جماهير، لأنهم أصحاب السلطة ونحترم قرارتهم”.

وعن تعاقد الأهلي مع موسيماني، قال: “نحن جزء مهم من إفريقيا واهتمام القيادة السياسية كبير جدًا في التداخل الإفريقي، وبالتأكيد خطوة جديدة وكبيرة أن يمثل الأشقاء في جنوب إفريقيا مدرب لهم في مصر”.

وواصل: “بالتأكيد هذه أمور احترافية خاصة بالأندية ولكنها تجربة جديدة وشهادة مصرية على جودة هذا المدرب، وبالتالي هو أثبت في مبارياته حسن الاختيار”.

اختتم: “هذه تجربة جيدة جدًا وانفتاح على الأشقاء، وأهلا وسهلا بكل لاعب ومدرب في إفريقيا”.

وتأهل الأهلي إلى نهائي دوري أبطال إفريقيا عقب تخطيه عقبة الوداد المغربي في نصف نهائي دوري أبطال إفريقيا، فيما ينتظر الفائز من الزمالك والرجاء المغربي في إياب نصف النهائي يوم 1 من نوفمبر المقبل، بعدما فاز الأبيض في مباراة الذهاب بهدف دون رد بالمغرب.