Southampton have launched a new initiative that aims to give fans more of a voice.
Via the club’s official website, it was announced that the coastal outfit have introduced ‘Saints Voice’, which is a panel that will give supporters the opportunity to speak directly to members of the club’s hierarchy.
The plan is for 12 fans to meet with key staff three to four times a year to hold talks about a wide range of off-the-pitch topics.
The supporters are encouraged to put forward their own ideas on how certain things can be improved.
On the field, the Saints have struggled this season, winning just five of their 27 Premier League games.
Following Sunday’s 2-0 defeat to Liverpool, the club sit in the relegation zone, one point from safety.
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Many fans have been vocal about the on-pitch troubles, and manager Mauricio Pellegrino has taken the brunt of criticism.
This latest initiative from the club has sparked further conversation from fans on Twitter.
Liverpool star Mohamed Salah has been advised by Aston Villa’s Ahmed Elmohamady to stay at Anfield.
The Egyptian international has been in stellar form at the Merseyside outfit having scored 30 goals in all competitions this season.
The 25-year-old arrived at Liverpool from Roma last summer with question marks over his head.
The jury was still out on whether Salah could thrive in the Premier League having had a disappointing spell at Chelsea.
The wide player struggled to get a game at the West London outfit and ended up having loan spells at Fiorentina and Roma during a two-year stint between 2014 and 2016.
Salah has certainly shown Chelsea what they missed out on as he has been in stunning form at Liverpool, and currently sits one goal behind the Premier League’s leading scorer Harry Kane.
Elmohamady is well aware of Salah’s qualities given that he plays alongside the attacker on the international stage.
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The Villa man believes that the ex-Chelsea player should stay at Anfield for the time being and not get distracted by inevitable transfer rumours.
While speaking to Kingfut, Elmohamady said:
“His spell with Chelsea helped him a lot. He is a source of happiness and joy to us, in my opinion, I think he should stay at Liverpool. He’s the club’s superstar, but if he wants to leave he should leave after spending another season at Liverpool at least.”
Manchester United right-back Matteo Darmian is onJuventus’ radar, according to Goal.
What’s the story?
The Italian full-back has struggled for playing time this season, excluded from the first team squad for large swathes of the season and only appearing four times in the league for the Red Devils.
Having made his name in Serie A and being an Italian himself, Goal understands that the 28-year-old is open to a move back to his homeland.
Juventus are desperate for full-back cover, having lost summer signings Mattia De Sciglio and Benedikt Howedes to injury and with veteran defender Stephan Lichsteiner no longer wanted by the the Old Lady.
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Can United afford to let him go?
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Manager Jose Mourinho has so far resisted the sale and United have yet to place a value on Darmian, but the Italian appears to be the odd one out with Antonio Valencia the favoured right-back in Mourinho’s starting XI.
That said, Phil Jones looks to be heading to Arsenal in the summer and with Luke Shaw only just coming back to the starting lineup after foot surgery, there are a lot of reasons to keep Darmian at Old Trafford as much for protection as anything else.
West Ham United will look to boost their Premier League survival chances when they host Burnley at the London Stadium on Saturday, on the back of a disastrous 4-1 defeat against Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium last weekend.
The Irons sat three points above the Welsh club and the relegation zone ahead of their trip to south Wales, but a disappointing performance saw them fall to a comprehensive loss against Carlos Carvalhal’s side.
Luckily for the Hammers, other results largely went for them during the course of the weekend and they remained three points clear of the drop zone ahead of their clash against the Clarets, with David Moyes saying their next two fixtures could define their season.
Moyes’ men can’t afford to slip up again against the Lancashire outfit in their bid to avoid relegation, and they come up against a team that picked up their first top flight win since December 12 when they beat Everton 2-1 at Turf Moor last weekend.
Meanwhile, the east London club have won five of their 14 Premier League matches on their own patch this term, and they must be aware that despite their disappointing form in recent months, their visitors on Saturday have the sixth best record in the division on their travels.
Moyes will have to make at least one enforced change to the XI that lost against Swansea with Winston Reid set to miss out through injury, but that may not be the only one and the Scot will regret if he fails to make a couple of important alterations to his team.
Here are two big changes the 54-year-old must make to his West Ham side when they host Burnley…
Joao Mario for Cheikhou Kouyate
Moyes lined up with a 3-4-2-1 formation against Swansea with Kouyate and Mark Noble in the middle of the park and Joao Mario starting on the substitutes’ bench for the first time in the Premier League since he signed for the club during the January transfer window.
Kouyate has struggled for form throughout the campaign and while he had shown some slight improvement in recent weeks, he was awful against the Swans and was often a liability as he continued to attack even though he was supposed to be playing in a central midfield role.
The Senegal international was criticised by Irons supporters afterwards and needs to be taken out of the side for a couple of games, and Joao Mario certainly would have felt hard done by to be dropped at the Liberty Stadium given he has done little wrong in his handful of outings for the east London outfit.
The Portugal international has the quality to slot in alongside Noble in the middle of the park though, and he will give them the attacking threat and quality they need when they welcome Burnley to the London Stadium.
Michail Antonio for Patrice Evra
Patrice Evra started his second successive match at left wing-back for West Ham against Swansea last weekend, but he was replaced at half-time at the Liberty Stadium following a disappointing first-half display that saw him criticised by the Irons faithful.
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Michail Antonio replaced the Frenchman and for the second successive match, he scored from the substitutes’ bench in a 4-1 defeat for his club.
The 27-year-old played as a left wing-back against the Swans, but he would be much more threatening to the Burnley defence if he was playing in an advanced role on the right-hand side – perhaps in a 4-2-3-1 formation – where he has fewer defensive responsibilities.
As reported by The Scottish Sun, Celtic have opened discussions on potentially handing a new and improved long-term contract to defender Kristoffer Ajer after an impressive season.
What’s the story?
The Norwegian teenager’s current deal doesn’t run out until 2020, but it appears he’s set to be rewarded with improved terms after emerging as perhaps the most reliable defender at the club this season.
The Scottish Sun say discussions have been held about extending his stay beyond 2020, with talks set to continue between club chief Peter Lawwell and the player’s agent Tore Pedersen.
Is he the right man for Brendan Rodgers to build his defence around in the years to come?
How good has he been?
With mistakes littering Jozo Simunovic’s and Dedryck Boyata’s seasons, Ajer is easily the most popular central defender amongst the Celtic support right now, often looking composed beyond his years.
Watching him play, it’s easy to forget he’s still just 19 and still a novice at centre-back after starting his career as a central midfielder.
His technical ability on the ball is apparent, having the ability to step out of the defensive line with the ball at his feet, crucial in Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic system.
With strong commitment and desire, in the vein of first team leaders like Kieran Tierney, he is enjoying every minute he gets on the pitch right now.
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Having just received his first international call-up, his future shines brighter with each passing month and the Hoops extending his deal would be a massive signal of intent that they’ve found a central defender worth hanging onto.
Manchester United are set to release veteran striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic from his Old Trafford contract imminently to allow him to move to MLS, as per the BBC.
The experienced frontman enjoyed an impressive debut season in English football and bagged 29 goals during his time at Old Trafford but a knee injury sustained in the Europa League quarter-final against Anderlecht last term was a huge setback.
The Swede did manage to recover to the extent that Jose Mourinho offered him a contract for a further season but in truth, that was a poor decision.
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It was always going to be a huge ask for the aging striker to come back strongly enough to make an impact at Old Trafford and the arrival of Romelu Lukaku provided another barrier for Ibrahimovic to scale.
Ultimately, he has been unable to do so. That hasn’t diluted Manchester United fans’ affection for him however, and we’ve taken a closer look at the best of the reaction…
Aston Villa are still in contention for automatic promotion to the Premier League following Tuesday night’s victory over Reading.
Steve Bruce’s side are seven points adrift of the top two with six games left to play, but as it stands, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Cardiff City are making it into the Premier League via the automatic route.
Villa’s stock dropped slightly in recent weeks after failing to win three Championship matches on the trot.
However, goals from Birkir Bjarnason, Conor Hourihane and Scott Hogan against Reading ensured that the Midlands outfit got back to winning ways at Villa Park.
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Understandably, the supporters were delighted with the result, and special praise was given to Hogan and Jack Grealish.
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Bjarnason also dominated the social media channels, with supporters hailing his performance, in particular the 25-yard strike that rippled the back of the net in the one-sided clash against the Royals.
The midfielder has only started nine league matches this season and has come off the bench in a further 12, scoring three goals and creating one assist.
Rangers failed to win for the third successive match on Saturday, drawing 2-2 away to Motherwell in the Scottish Premiership.
After back-to-back defeats to Celtic and Kilmarnock before the international break, a win was crucial against the Steelmen in the Light Blues’ bid to secure second place in the top-flight.
However, their afternoon got off to a terrible start, falling to a two-goal deficit by the break and requiring a monster second half performance to rescue a point against Stephen Robinson’s outfit.
Supporters were left frustrated with the result and performance, criticising their defensive line in particular.
Bruno Alves got much of that criticism with fans believing he’s been a massive disappointment since arriving last summer.
They are now hoping to see David Bayes get more game time in his place, completely losing faith in the Portuguese’s ability.
With another year left on his contract, some are even hoping the club manage to get rid of him this summer.
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Mohamed Salah has been a crucial member of Liverpool’s team this season, and if he were to miss out on Tuesday’s Champions League tie against Manchester City, it could be detrimental.
The Egyptian international has been in scintillating form, scoring 38 goals in all competitions, the most recent of which came against City in the first leg.
The 25-year-old opened the scoring in a sensational opening 45 minutes that resulted in the Reds going 3-0 up.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Sadio Mane also found the back of the net, while City struggled to respond and failed to nab what could have been an important away goal.
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Given how dominant Pep Guardiola’s side have been in the Premier League as they have a 13-point advantage in the title race, many tipped the club to be favourites to progress.
However, Liverpool find themselves in that position due to last week’s result, which was not just about the attackers, but the team’s ability to keep City’s stars quiet.
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During the match, Salah pulled up with a groin problem and missed last weekend’s Merseyside derby, but Klopp is hopeful that his key player will be fit for tomorrow.
Liverpool fans have tweeted their reaction to the update.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger announced on Friday that he would be leaving the club in the summer after 22 years in charge of the north London outfit, and the search will now begin for the iconic Frenchman’s successor.
It was expected in many circles that the 68-year-old would go at the end of what has been a largely disappointing season, with the Gunners once again set to miss out on Champions League qualification in the Premier League – where they have failed to pick up a single point on the road so far in 2018.
They can still qualify for the Europe’s elite club competition by winning the Europa League however, and Wenger will be determined to see off La Liga giants Atletico Madrid in a two-legged semi-final tie in order to get through to the final.
There will be many names linked with coming in to succeed Wenger in the coming days and months, and Arsenal certainly have a big decision to make given that the new man will need to follow in the footsteps of a legend – even if things haven’t always been positive in recent years.
Former players Mikel Arteta and Patrick Vieira may well be in contention, while the fans chose Juventus’ Massimo Allegri as their preferred option on Twitter earlier this month.
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte may also be in the frame with his future at Stamford Bridge looking to be in severe doubt.
While the Italian could be a contender to replace Wenger, Arsenal could also easily find themselves fighting with their London neighbours to appoint a certain individual this summer.
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So, Arsenal fans, who would you like to see replace Wenger next term? Let us know by voting below…