All posts by z3u9t.icu

Many fans of West Ham United have been reacting to a post on Twitter in which ExWHUemployee discussed the performance of match official Jonathan Moss over the weekend.

Following Sunday’s 3-3 draw with Arsenal, a game in which West Ham threw away a 3-0 lead against their London rivals, David Moyes (speaking in his post-match press conference) claimed that the fixture was “tough for the players” due to the level of the officiating, as well as stating that there was a “general feeling of disappointment with the officiating” amongst his squad.

Indeed, the Scot and his players were left furious with an incident towards the start of the second half of the fixture, when Moss did not allow West Ham to play the advantage as they were mounting a promising break against the Gunners.

After ExWHUemployee took to Twitter stating his belief that Moss was “very poor” in the fixture, many fans of the Hammers flocked to have their say on the matter, with plenty also left furious with Moss’ “shameful” refereeing performance.

So, what exactly did these West Ham United fans have to say in reaction to Jonathan Moss’ display in the Arsenal fixture?

“I hate to say it because I feel like it’s so often, and people think it’s an excuse but the number of times we get so many poor refereeing decisions is an absolute joke. I thought he was so Arsenal-biased today in that 2nd half. Either way 3-0 up and not winning, no excuses.”

@dinnerman46

“Jon Moss? Referee? League One standard at best. Wasn’t it he who from the tranquil VAR room was a party to Soucek’s sending off? What head injury caused him to stop the game so quickly when we were 2 on 2 for 4-1? The Premier League is the best in the world with 2nd rate refs, not even mentioned on Sky.”

@SS1Mac

“Moss was in charge of VAR when Soucek was wrongfully sent off. He shouldn’t set foot on another Premier League pitch. He’s lost the plot.”

@Tonymorley2000

“There are too many substandard officials in the PL and we seem to get most of them – Mason, Moss and Dean to name but 3!”

@ricklovell6

“It’s literally like someone phoned him at half time and said you have to go against West Ham.”

@jakechandler17

“Ref was shameful.”

@zl__al

“Ref was a disgrace. No surprise there.”

@LeeJB1970

“Sack him.”

@schmid_regan

In other news: these West Ham fans flocked to a claim from ExWHUEmployee – find out more here!

After making his return from injury on Sunday night, it’s fair to say that Matty Cash didn’t enjoy the greatest of games in Aston Villa’s 2-0 defeat to Tottenham.

The former Nottingham Forest star had been out of action for Dean Smith’s side for several games due to injury, with veteran defender Ahmed Elmohamady coming in for him.

After being named as an unnamed substitute last time out against Newcastle, Cash was given the nod to make his first appearance in a Villa shirt since his injury, but things just didn’t go to plan.

As well as being involved in the controversial decision to award Harry Kane a penalty in the second half, the right-back just seemed to lose his composure as the game wore on, perhaps more to do with his match fitness levels more than anything else.

As per Sofascore, he lost possession a whopping 29 times on the night, by far the most of any player on the pitch, and a telling sign of how he just couldn’t get his normal game going – his season average has seen him concede possession 14.4 times per match in the Premier League.

As well as his wastefulness on the ball, Cash also attempted no dribbles, provided no key passes and delivered no crosses either – offensively, the full-back was just a complete non-entity and couldn’t link up with Bertrand Traore at all.

Writing in his post-match player ratings for the Birmingham Mail, Ashley Preece admitted: “Back in for his first start since tweaking his hamstring at Brighton. Cash started brightly and was aggressive in the challenge against the likes of Lucas and Reguilon.

“However, his performance dipped off significantly in the second half and it was Cash’s clumsy challenge which put this fixture to bed as his trailing leg caught Kane in the box for the penalty. His aggressive nature and willingness for the cause were both welcome but, like most, he wasn’t on his usual game.”

With Elmohamady set to turn 34 later this year, and reports already indicating that Smith is preparing to let him go, there’s a real lack of genuine quality and competition to challenge Cash at right-back either when he’s out injured, or if he’s in bad form.

It’s exactly why the Villa boss will be worried about Cash’s display against Spurs, and will simply be hoping that it was a minor blip in what has otherwise been an impressive debut campaign at Villa Park for the former Forest full-back.

Meanwhile, this Villa man was woeful against Spurs…

SL Benfica harbour a ‘strong interest’ in Wolves defender Ruben Vinagre, according to Football Insider.

He started two of Wolves’ first three Premier League fixtures this season, lining-up in the defeats to Manchester City and West Ham, but when Rayan Ait-Nouri came in, Vinagre sealed a loan move to Olympiacos.

Vinagre’s mixed fortunes on loan

That deal included an option to buy, but it didn’t work out in Greece. He made only two league appearances before the loan was cut short at the mid-point of the season.

Another loan move was agreed in January, this time to lower mid-table Liga NOS outfit Famalicao. The 22-year-old has established himself as a consistent starter this time.

Benfica, who were knocked out by Arsenal in the Europa League Round of 32, have seemingly been impressed with his displays in Portugal, as a Wolves source has told Football Insider of ‘strong interest’ in the youngster.

Wolves paid £2million to sign Vinagre from AS Monaco in July 2018 and could more than double their money through a sale, considering he boasts a Transfermarkt value of £4.5million and still three years left on his contract.

Transfer Tavern verdict

It’s clear that Vinagre isn’t part of Nuno’s plans going forward. Jonny, when fit, Ait-Nouri and Marcal are all ahead of him in the pecking order and aforementioned, his contract situation could actually allow Wolves to earn a small profit on a move that simply hasn’t worked out.

The Portuguese Under-21 international failed to show that he has what it takes to be a consistent starter in the Premier League, but his level is surely higher than the 13th-placed side in Portugal, given Benfica’s interest.

Perhaps the Molineux outfit could insert a buy-back or sell-on clause if he does make the move, just in case he starts racking up the accolades with the 37-time Primeira Liga champions.

In other news, fans slammed the display of one of Vinagre’s compatriots on Friday.

Crystal Palace’s on-loan forward Michy Batshuayi has certainly not had the best of times since joining Chelsea from Marseille.

The Belgian has been farmed out on four separate loan deals away from Stamford Bridge, making a total of just 77 appearances for the Londoners since his arrival nearly five years ago.

Now, he has been encouraged to depart the club permanently by former Belgium hero and compatriot Erwin Vandenbergh.

However, having twice signed the 27-year-old on temporary deals twice in the past, Steve Parish and the Eagles should avoid making a permanent move.

It is fair to say that Batshuayi’s second loan spell at Selhurst Park has not gone as positively as the first. Having scored six goals in 13 appearances during the second-half of 2018/19, he has scored just once in 18 showings this time around.

This run of poor form is not entirely surprising considering that he has not managed to score double figures in a single season since the 2017/18 campaign, the second-half of which he spent with German giants Borussia Dortmund.

Batshuayi’s confidence in front of goal appears to have totally evaporated due to that barren run of form. He is now only averaging 0.7 shots per game in the Premier League this season according to WhoScored, a hugely disappointing record for a striker.

At the age of 27, Batshuayi is certainly not a young forward and he should be in his peak but this new low appears to have plunged his future in the Premier League into doubt.

Rated at £10.8m and out of contract at Stamford Bridge next summer, a move for the Belgian may not actually be too costly in the near future.

However, with a recent record as poor as his, Palace’s funds really should not be spent on securing a permanent deal for Batshuayi.

AND in more news, the Eagles should also avoid signing Sheffied United man John Lundstram…

Over the weekend, Tottenham Hotspur were linked with a move for Norwich City right-back Max Aarons.

According to the Sunday Mirror (24/01, page 71), Spurs are keeping tabs on the England U21 international ahead of a potential bid while the Canaries currently value him at £20m.

Chief scout Steve Hitchen has been attending the Championship outfit’s matches in recent weeks, mainly to monitor the progress of on-loan midfielder Oliver Skipp but with Aarons regularly starting, he’s been getting a glimpse of him too.

In the 21-year-old emerging prospect, Spurs could find their next Danny Rose.

He may not be a left-back by trade, but the full-back position is very much the same craft whatever flank you’re on and the forgotten Spurs star is the embodiment to why an investment now could pay later dividends, as it did with Rose.

Before his acrimonious fallout in north London, Rose had become the long-standing option on the left of the Spurs defence. Indeed, he’s racked up 214 appearances since joining the club from Leeds United for just £1m in 2007.

Had that move been in this day and age, given he’d have been a young English talent, then Rose may have cost nearer to the £20m the Canaries are demanding for Aarons.

Just 17 at the time, Rose had to wait until the 2013/14 campaign to finally breakthrough into the first-team, and after four loan spells away, he featured in more than 25 league games for the first time that season, per Transfermarkt.

Aarons is still raw but unlike the 30-year-old, he would come with experience of playing in the top-flight as he was Norwich’s first-choice right-back and he still is, following their relegation to the Championship.

And like Rose, he’s an attack-minded full-back, which should be right up Jose Mourinho’s street.

Per WhoScored, Aarons has averaged 1.4 key passes, 1.2 dribbles and 0.8 crosses per game in comparison to only one interception and 0.7 tackles per match – which shows he likes to bomb on to be a creative source for Daniel Farke’s side.

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One of Rose’s best-ever campaigns came in 2016/17, where he finished the season ranked third for average rating (7.42) behind Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen as he contributed towards four goals and averaged 1.4 key passes, 1.4 dribbles and 0.8 crosses per game.

That’s practically almost a carbon-copy of Aarons’ returns this season, aside from the goals.

The 5 foot 10 dynamo was dubbed a “special player” with an “unbelievable future” by Farke only last month, while his youth coach Darren Huckerby believes Aarons looks “like he’d been playing there forever” but is someone who “can get better,” as he told The Athletic.

Which is why Daniel Levy ought to make the swoop sooner rather than later. Aarons doesn’t need to be in the Spurs’ first-team set-up right away, especially as there’s already Serge Aurier and Matt Doherty, but in a season or two, it could be his position to lose.

Just like they did with Rose, perhaps purchasing Aarons now and sending him back to Norwich is one way to go about it. Former Spurs goalkeeper Paul Robinson certainly thinks so, he told Football Insider:

“Tottenham have always signed young players with great potential,” and added: “He could be signed and loaned back out as a potential one for the future. Spurs have done that type of deal in the past and they are likely to again. Daniel likes doing deals like that.”

Considering Man City splashed out £50m on Kyle Walker and that Man Utd paid a similar outlay on Aaron Wan-Bissaka, nabbing Aarons for a fraction of the price at this point could prove to be a masterstroke.

As evident above, the £18m-rated gem has the potential to become Spurs’ next Rose for many years to come.

AND in other news, Dembele 2.0: Levy mustn’t repeat his disastrous Spurs blunder with £18m-rated “leader”…

Leeds United were able to bounce back from their two previous tricky fixtures in the Premier League thanks to a convincing 3-0 win over Southampton on Tuesday. The clash at Elland Road remained all square going into the break, but it wasn’t long before the Whites flexed their muscles and showcased their attacking prowess.

Patrick Bamford opened up the scoreline just moments after the restart, with goals from Stuart Dallas and Raphinha coming later in the half to put the game to bed.

The latter didn’t just score Leeds’ third goal though, he was once again a force to be reckoned with on the wing. Since signing from Rennes on a £60,000 per week contract last summer, Raphinha has been one of the club’s key players. Especially in their returning Premier League season, he is proving to be a magnificent coup for the Whites, with Victor Orta’s decision to bring him to Elland Road looking like a genius one.

Raphinha vs Southampton

The Brazilian is making huge waves at his new club and has adapted to life in England’s top flight with ease. Thanks to his impressive run in his debut season, he currently boasts five goals and five assists, making him the team’s third highest scorer behind Bamford with 13 goals and Jack Harrison with six, according to BBC Sport.

Raphinha isn’t just a man for poaching a goal though. The 24-year-old was branded “unplayable” by Andy Hinchcliffe on Sky Sports last night (via The Boot Room), with the pundit naming him as the man of the match.

Indeed, he was a thorn in the side of Southampton. According to Sofascore, Raphinha contributed four key passes, which is more than any other player on the pitch at Elland Road. He also created one big goalscoring opportunity as well as converting his only shot on target with ease.

The money spent on Raphinha during the summer transfer window is becoming less and less relevant. He has rapidly established himself as a key component of this Leeds squad and they will be doing all they can to protect him from the lurking interest that has gathered ahead of the summer window, with Liverpool among those being mentioned as being interested.

In other news, Jack Harrison was Leeds’ weak link vs Southampton…

Kiko Casilla’s Leeds United career will come to an end in the near future, according to The Athletic’s Phil Hay.

The 34-year-old made the move to Elland Road back in January 2019, joining from Real Madrid after winning three Champions League crowns with the La Liga giants.

Casilla was a key man during last season’s glorious Championship triumph, starting 36 of Leeds’ 46 league games as the Whites made it back into the Premier League.

The veteran goalkeeper has been far more of a peripheral figure in 2020/21, however, starting only once in the league and playing second fiddle to Illan Meslier.

Hay claims Casilla’s time at Leeds is up

This lack of playing time has raised question marks over Casilla’s long-term future and the reliable Hay believes his time at Elland Road is almost up.

Speaking on the The Phil Hay Show podcast [via MOT Leeds News], the journalist revealed that Leeds will look to replace him in the summer:

“He [Bielsa] was clear on Monday there was no injury to Casilla and that it was a tactical move for want of a better move.

“What it meant is that you had a goalkeeper in Meslier starting who is 21 and you had a keeper on the bench, Elia Caprile, who isn’t even 20 yet. That combination is very rare to see two keepers with such little experience.

“I think it’s been over for Casilla here in real terms since the FA charge and the suspension. My understanding is that he is a player they are thinking of trying to move on this summer. He is a player they would like to replace.

“Casilla was on a very high Championship wage and he would have got an uplift with promotion. It’s not a straightforward move.

“I have never got the impression that Casilla has enjoyed the last year and has found it very difficult, he’s found the tension and the criticism of him hard to handle.”

Transfer Tavern take

It makes perfect sense for Casilla to move on to pastures new this summer, considering Meslier and now even arguably Elia Caprile are ahead of him in the goalkeeping pecking order, after they were named as the ‘keepers in the matchday squad to face West Ham.

He is still at an age where he could be a regular elsewhere, but it seems clear that Marcelo Bielsa is preparing for life without the Spaniard.

In other news, Noel Whelan has slammed one Leeds player’s performance against West Ham. Read about it here.

After slipping to a damaging defeat in the Old Firm clash against Rangers last weekend, Celtic are facing up to the now unfamiliar prospect of not lifting the Scottish Premiership at the end of the season.

Neil Lennon’s side had just started to put together a run of form before losing 1-0 at Ibrox, and many Hoops fans may already be thinking about next season.

But with the January transfer window open, chief executive Peter Lawwell must surely be on the look-out for some reinforcements, and he could arguably salvage this campaign for the Bhoys by snapping up Exeter starlet Joel Randall.

Reports in recent days have linked the 21-year-old with a move to Celtic Park, and the left-winger who has scored eight goals this season for the English League Two side could represent the club’s future.

Lennon already has a talented young wide player in Mikey Johnston, and adding Randall into the mix would give Celtic a more youthful and vibrant look going forward.

His manager at Exeter, Matt Taylor, said: “He’s exceeded our expectations. He’s had talent and potential in him since a young age. His running stats are phenomenal but he’s added an extra dimension to his game in terms of the end product.

“He’s been a constant threat down that left side, worked tirelessly for the team and contributed at all times this season. He’s been a standout player.”

This campaign may already be seen as a write-off what with their attempts at 10-in-a-row going disastrously wrong. But bringing Randall in could give Celtic something to shout about not just for the here and now, but for the future too.

Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish can’t afford to gamble on Wilfried Zaha’s future at Selhurst Park if recent reports are to be believed.

What was the story?

Reports in recent times revealed the Ivory Coast international attracted interest from European heavyweights Paris Saint-Germain, Borussia Dortmund and Monaco in the summer.

Zaha, 28, is out of contract in 2023, having signed a new deal to become the club’s best-paid player by signing a contract extension, which didn’t include a release clause, back in 2018.

The versatile forward wanted to leave Selhurst Park after Palace finished 14th in the table last term, with Roy Hodgson telling reporters that he had made it clear that his future lay elsewhere, but he was eventually forced to stay put.

The stakes have never been higher

Following the news he tested positive for Covid-19, Zaha’s absence has been keenly felt following a period of self-isolation after his fine start to the season.

Zaha has almost singlehandedly spearheaded the Palace attack, albeit with Eberechi Eze chipping in here and there, as he has scored five goals and supplied two assists in the Premier League so far this season.

It’s these kinds of numbers that make it all the more difficult for him to be ignored, as the 2-0 defeat to Newcastle United ensured that Hodgson’s side have lost 15 out of the last 17 Premier League games in which the Ivorian has been missing.

As impressive as Eze has been, with a tally of a goal and an assist to his name in the top flight this term, the 22-year-old simply cannot be expected to shoulder the burden of responsibility alone.

Praise has continued to pour in for Zaha from various directions, with former Palace boss Ian Holloway once insisting he would be a “fantastic” signing for London rivals Chelsea, whilst Hodgson himself singled him out for praise after his performance against Fulham, saying: “He’s an excellent player and that’s what he’s capable of doing. If ever I sound mildly critical he thinks I’m picking on him, but every press conference I go to he’s the only player they want to talk to me about!

“He deserves all the praise he’s going to get. He reminds us that when he’s on top of his game he’s a very hard player to stop.”

Hodgson’s effusive praise will have left Parish with no room to gamble on the Palace playmaker’s future with the winter transfer window set to open in just a few months’ time.

Whilst the club are in talks with a number of players over contract extensions, including Christian Benteke, Patrick van Aanholt and Gary Cahill, there seems to be no dialogue with Zaha’s representatives, despite interest from abroad.

There’s no doubt that this is something that must change very soon, as his importance cannot be underestimated, that’s for sure.

AND in other news, Roy Hodgson must axe Crystal Palace centre-back Scott Dann…

Tottenham Hotspur has been mooted as a potential future destination for a rival midfielder this week…

What’s the word?

According to the Daily Mail, boyhood Newcastle United graduate Sean Longstaff has signed a deal with a super-agent, Pini Zahavi, and it’s expected that the Israeli veteran will look to move his new client on before his contract expires in 2022.

They claim that sources close to the situation say the 23-year-old workhorse could be offered to Spurs even if a fresh attempt to sign an extension is made in the next 12 months.

Zahavi is also the representative of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Champions League superstar, Robert Lewandowski.

More trouble for Winks?

Whilst it very much remains to be seen if the north London outfit hold any real interest in the Magpies midfielder, it would be an interesting move to consider, especially with Harry Winks’ immediate future up in the air.

The Telegraph’s Matt Law reported earlier today that the England international is set for crunch talks with Daniel Levy over his lack of game time under Jose Mourinho.

Winks himself has already expressed that the situation is “difficult” at Spurs ahead of the European Championships this summer.

Perhaps Longstaff is an ideal replacement later down the line.

Former Spurs midfielder Jamie Redknapp once compared the £15.75m-rated talent to another ex-Lilywhite in Michael Carrick, speaking on Sky Sports (via ChronicleLive), he said:

“He reminds me a little bit of Michael Carrick. He’s got that nice stance and the way he plays, always looking to pass the ball to a black and white shirt.

“He has got a nice pass from either foot. That’s a massive asset to have and he can score goals as well.

“He’s very down to earth. He looks like a bright kid, he’s got good pedigree.”

Longstaff has previously been linked with a £50m move to Manchester United, so there’s a chance he won’t come cheap but Levy shouldn’t pass up the opportunity to replace a wantaway player with one compared to a former great.

The “ridiculous” maestro has even been lauded by Pep Guardiola and he certainly knows a player when he sees one.

AND in other news, Mourinho must unshackle his “extraordinary” genius after match-winning display…