You wait all season for a scorpion kick and then suddenly two turn up at once – well, in a very short space of time at the very least.
Indeed, Manchester United’s Henrikh Mkhitaryan popped up on Boxing Day to acrobatically blast the ball into the roof of the net via the almighty power of his heel, only to see his effort rivalled by Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud against Crystal Palace on New Year’s Day.
Both goals, although very similar, have their own strengths and weaknesses. As you can see below, Mkhitaryan’s appeared to happen in the blink of an eye – but it was technically offside.
Giroud’s, meanwhile, although a little slower, started with a fantastic touch from the Frenchman in midfield and ended with an incredible one in the penalty area – the sheer audacity and accuracy of which left Wayne Hennessy completely bamboozled.
But which goal is better? Who deserves the slightly cringe-worthy title of The Scorpion King? FootballFanCast simply can’t decide (a very heated debate has already lead to certain editors getting certain pens shoved up certain holes), so we’re keen to get some quantitative evidence by opening the discussion to our readers.
Have a watch of both goals and let us know which you prefer by voting in the poll below!
Liverpool have received plenty of plaudits this season for their attacking force under manager Jurgen Klopp, but questions are now being raised.The Reds have now failed to score in their last two games in all competitions – an unwelcome statistic for the Merseyside outfit.Not only that,ÂOptaJoeÂhas revealed that it has been almost a year since the team have recorded consecutive matches without finding the back of the net.[ad_pod id=’now-tv’ align=’centre’]
Klopp’s men were held to a goalless draw by League Two outfit Plymouth Argyle at Anfield last weekend in the third round of the FA Cup.
In fairness, the starting XI had a number of academy players, but the manager brought back some first-team members for Wednesday night’s EFL Cup semi-final first leg against Southampton, and they still could not score, in the end suffering a 1-0 defeat.
The positive heading into Sunday’s Premier League clash, though, is that Philippe Coutinho has made his long-awaited return by coming off the bench against Southampton.
The Brazilian scored six goals in all competitions before he was struck down by an ankle injury towards the end of November.
Klopp will be hoping that the playmaker has his shooting boots on when the team travel to Old Trafford this weekend.
Dimitri Payet has let West Ham down: that’s been the overriding narrative of the past few days. The Frenchman has downed tools and is now training away from the club’s other first-team players, with a transfer away from the East End of London looking like the only sane outcome before the close of the transfer window – even if the Hammers have, at least publically, maintained their stance that he will not be sold.
Granted, Payet’s actions leave a bitter taste. The vast sums of money the he earns on a monthly basis are unimaginable for the average punter passing through the turnstiles at the London Stadium to watch their team partake in the sport they hold so dearly, so to see a man openly flout the advantageous position he’s in isn’t overly edifying. However, for all the talk of Payet letting West Ham down, maybe it’s the club that have actually let the player down.
[ffc_insert title=”Payet Replacements” name=”Stats show West Ham will miss Payet” image_ link=”https://www.footballfancast.com/premier-league/west-ham/stats-show-just-how-much-west-ham-will-miss-payet” link_text=”Click to read more” ]
Before you zoom to the comment section to hurl abuse in my direction or quickly hit that little cross at the top of your browser window, just look at the mess the Irons are in. The summer just passed was a golden opportunity for the club, one in which they could have pushed on and built on all they achieved last term. Okay, Champions League qualification was the ultimate ceiling they could push for – and surely miss – but that wouldn’t have made for a bad season. The way the campaign has gone thus far, though, really reflects the mistakes they have made.
The off-season was akin to a desperate episode of Supermarket Sweep in which the club journeyed around Europe offering cash for just about any forward willing to give them a second glance before belatedly settling for Simone Zaza. The Italian has already been written off and cast back to Juventus, who have, in turn, shipped him to Valencia. After that, the London Stadium move showed an alarming lack of organisation and the club’s transfer business has been repeatedly leaked into the press – not a positive at all when Hull’s key player, Robert Snodgrass, has been the subject of an insulting £5m offer.
Football – Olympique Marseille v Arsenal – UEFA Champions League Group Stage Matchday One Group F – Stade Velodrome, Marseille, France – 13/14 – 18/9/13 Bacary Sagna – Arsenal and Dimitri Payet – Olympique Marseille Mandatory Credit: Action Images / Alex Morton EDITORIAL USE ONLY.
But, this is about Payet, not the false dawn at West Ham. On the back of his Euro 2016 heroics, we’re sure that the now 29-year-old would have had his pick of clubs from across continent. It could be argued that West Ham didn’t need to sell, but that hand was never forced as Payet himself clearly decided to give the ‘project’ in the capital a go, which he now, evidently, regrets.
And he’s right to regret it. After all, the Hammers failed to take advantage of the situation they found themselves in – European competition, a new stadium and having one of the most exciting players in Europe in their XI – which is exactly why they are where they are now. Payet deserves better.
Football – Olympique Marseille v Arsenal – UEFA Champions League Group Stage Matchday One Group F – Stade Velodrome, Marseille, France – 13/14 – 18/9/13 Bacary Sagna – Arsenal and Dimitri Payet – Olympique Marseille Mandatory Credit: Action Images / Alex Morton EDITORIAL USE ONLY.
Had they been a bit more methodical in the approach they could have laid the groundwork for a deal to sign a player like Carlos Bacca or Alexandre Lacazette. They could have also identified the areas of weakness in their squad, such as centre-back and right-back, which are now being filled by players either not fully suited to the tasks they’re being asked to perform or are just not of the required standard.
It’s not about the money for Payet, as has been revealed by Ligue 1 expert, Julien Laurens, who has lifted the lid (via Radio 5Live) on the Reunion-born playmaker’s desire to rejoin Marseille, who are keen to offer him a route back to France:
“He still hasn’t settled, his family hasn’t settled, the children are not happy in school here his wife isn’t happy either.
“They all went back to France, they’re already looking at houses and schools.
“I keep hearing about ‘mercenaries’ but Payet will take a pay cut to go back to Marseille. It’s not about the money, the money has nothing to do with it.
“He’s not gong to China where you can double or triple your salary. He’s ready to take a pay-cut.
“Marseille and Payet have already reached an agreement so it’s all sorted to go back there.”
There we have it. Payet’s motivation is not financial and, chances are, he would have made more of an effort to push through this difficult period in his life had the club been performing to a better level. That is, of course, an opinion. But not so long ago he signed a new contract worth a mooted £125,000-per-week, so things haven’t always been sour. It seems as if the factors have all snowballed together.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04pqx9j/player
The only plausible outcome is Payet heading back to the south of France. There’s every chance, as Laurens says, that l’OM will come nearer to West Ham’s £30m valuation and it’s just insane for the club to keep their most valuable asset rotting away in the reserves and poisoning the atmosphere due to his unhappiness.
And West Ham only have themselves to blame. It’ll be the fans, as ever, that suffer, but the finger needs to be pointed at the men and women running the club, not at the first major casualty of the wasted summer of 2015, which could yet unravel the work of Slaven Bilic and his players on the pitch.
As reported by The Daily Mail, Hull City tried to make an audacious bid to bring Nani back to the Premier League from La Liga club Valencia.
What’s the word?
Struggling badly at the bottom of the English Premier League, Hull City have a big few months ahead of them if they’re to avoid the drop.
Marco Silva recognises this and tried to bring one his former players back to England on transfer deadline day, Nani.
The Mail reports that they tabled a bid for the Euro 2016 winner yesterday and obviously that hasn’t come off with the only arrival at the club yesterday Kamil Grosicki from Rennes.
Could he have kept them up?
Marco Silva previously worked with Nani at Sporting Lisbon when the Portuguese club had him on loan for a season from Manchester United so would have likely been able to get the best out of the winger.
Since Sporting he’s had spells at Fenerbahce and now Valencia where he’s enjoying a pretty good season. He’s scored two goals and contributed five assists in fourteen starts for the La Liga club playing on the left hand side but also through the middle.
That kind of attacking edge could have been crucial for Hull who have scored just 20 Premier League goals this season and have let their star man Robert Snodgrass leave for West Ham.
Sadly for Tigers fans, they will just have to wonder ‘what if’ when it comes to Nani and hope that Silva has recruited the players he needs to keep them up this season.
Manchester United are planning to offer manager Jose Mourinho a 12-month contract extension, reports The Sun.
The Portuguese coach has only been in the job for nine months, but the hierarchy at Old Trafford are already thinking about the long-term future.
Mourinho penned a three-year contract when he replaced Louis van Gaal last May, and he had a difficult spell in the early stages of the campaign.
From the start of October to early December, United picked up just one win in eight Premier League games, which heavily hampered the team’s chances of title glory.
The main objective for Mourinho and his men is finishing in the top four as they are 14 points behind league leaders Chelsea, but securing a Champions League spot will be a tough ask with just five points separating second from sixth.
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Despite not being in the mix for the English crown, The Sun report that the North-West outfit are hoping that Mourinho will agree to a one-year extension, which will include the option of a further 12 months.
The British newspaper claims that the 54-year-old will not receive a pay rise if he pens the new deal, but will have financial bonuses depending on success.
United remain in contention for silverware before the end of the season. They head into this month’s EFL Cup final as favourites against Southampton, while the Europa League trophy is still up for grabs.
Despite residing sixth in the league, United are on an impressive 15-game unbeaten run in the top flight.
Tottenham Hotspur star Dele Alli has received plenty of plaudits since joining the club in 2015, but he was subjected to a plethora of criticism following his horror tackle in Thursday night’s Europa League match.
Not only did Spurs get eliminated from the tournament at the last-32 stage, one of their key players faces a UEFA ban.
It was a disappointing night for Mauricio Pochettino and his men as they were beaten 3-2 on aggregate by Gent.
Christian Eriksen put the North London outfit ahead after 10 minutes at Wembley, but an own goal from Harry Kane put Spurs on the backfoot.
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A thumping effort from Victor Wanyama sent Tottenham in front for a second time in the match, but an 82nd-minute goal from Jeremy Perbet ensured Gent’s progress into the next phase of the competition.
Spurs were at a massive disadvantage for 51 minutes when Alli was given a straight red card after lunging in for a loose ball and connecting with Brecht Dejaegere’s knee.
Plenty of fans gave their views on the incident, with many criticising the England international, who has had similar moments of madness on the pitch before but the red card against Gent was the first of his career.
Celtic took another massive step towards their ambition of a domestic treble with a victory over St Mirren in the Scottish Cup at Celtic Park on Sunday.
Surviving an early scare, in the end the Bhoys’ quality shone through with an impressive second half showing that sent the Buddies packing despite a spirited first half performance.
That performance saw the Paisley side go into the break 1-0 up thanks to a Harry Davis goal from a John Sutton knock down. At that point in the afternoon things were looking pretty dire for Brendan Rodgers’ team and things could’ve gotten worse early in the second half when a Moussa Dembele mis-kick ricocheted off his own bar.
That Dembele incident seemed to spark the Hoops into life though and, inspired by Rodgers’ substitutions, the team pushed on to eventually blow Jack Ross’ side away with goals from Mikael Lustig, Scott Sinclair, Dembele and Leigh Griffiths.
The win puts them into the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup where they’ll face Rangers in a massive clash at Hampden.
Here are FIVE lessons we learned from Celtic’s quarter-final win…
Leigh Griffiths is still absolutely vital
Leigh Griffiths hasn’t had the best of starts to 2017 having not started any games and only featuring from the bench twice prior to Sunday’s encounter. However he’ll have done his chances of more regular appearances the world of good after his dynamic display in the second half on Sunday.
He came off the bench with the Hoops 1-0 down and won the free-kick that resulted in Mikael Lustig opening the scoring before providing the assist for Scott Sinclair to curl home and put Celtic ahead. Later getting on the scoresheet himself, it’s clear he was the catalyst for the win and keeping the Bhoys’ treble dreams alive.
The emergence of Moussa Dembele has meant Leigh Griffiths is no longer the main man around Celtic Park but Sunday’s showing showed that he is far from done and dusted in a green and white shirt.
Patrick Roberts should play ahead of Gary Mackay-Steven
Britain Soccer Football – Celtic v Manchester City – UEFA Champions League Group Stage – Group C – Celtic Park, Glasgow, Scotland – 28/9/16Celtic’s Patrick Roberts comes on as a substituteReuters / Russell CheyneLivepicEDITORIAL USE ONLY.
Gary Mackay-Steven had a woeful first half at Celtic Park, seemingly unable to provide any sort of chance for Celtic despite finding a tonne of space on the right hand flank. The Hoops looked a bit toothless in all honesty and it wasn’t until Patrick Roberts came on at half-time that it began to change.
Roberts may be on his way back to Manchester at the end of the season and that may be influencing Rodgers’ hesitance to start him at the expense of permanent members of the squad but it’s clear that if James Forrest is out then Roberts should be starting.
Going into next week’s derby at Celtic Park with Mackay-Steven on the wing would be a mistake and Rodgers must consider unleashing the young English winger from the start, even if it means leaving out one of the club’s assets in the cold.
Moussa Dembele can’t stop scoring
Britain Soccer Football – Celtic v Rangers – Scottish Premiership – Celtic Park – 10/9/16Celtic’s Moussa Dembele celebrates scoring their second goal Reuters / Russell CheyneLivepicEDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or “live” services. Online in-match use limited to 45 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further details
Moussa Dembele has now scored an incredible 12 goals in his last 6 matches and no matter the occasion seemingly is always able to find the net. He really kicked his game up a gear in the second half after a fairly poor first 45 minutes by his standards and got onto the end of Scott Sinclair’s low cross after some find counter-attacking play.
He’s now on 32 goals for the season and is rapidly closing in on Leigh Griffiths’ 40 goal total of last season. Can he reach that milestone? We wouldn’t like to bet against it.
There is a game plan to defeating Celtic
St Mirren manager Jack Ross proved again he is one of the brightest managerial prospects in Scotland after inspiring his struggling Buddies side to a hell of a performance at Celtic Park, at least for the first hour anyway.
Brendan Rodgers went so far to say that St Mirren were the toughest Scottish side Celtic have played all season, even compared to Premiership sides, which is high praise indeed for the performance of Ross’ men.
The St Mirren manager proved in the first half that Celtic are not unbeatable and that there is a gameplan to defeating them. The key to it all appeared to be shutting down the left hand side and squeezing the space between Kieran Tierney and Scott Sinclair. It took them out of the game and meant that Celtic’s only outlet was Gary Mackay-Steven on the right hand side who squandered opportunity after opportunity.
It was a very interesting tactical battle and while Celtic of course eventually came through unscathed, was perhaps a window into a potential future defeat for the Bhoys.
The treble is hard to argue against
Britain Football Soccer – Aberdeen v Celtic – Scottish League Cup Final – Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland – 27/11/16 Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers celebrates winning the final with the trophy Action Images via Reuters / Pool Pic Livepic EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or “live” services. Online in-match use limited to 45 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. Please contac
Celtic are well on their way to a domestic treble of trophies, a feat that would only be achieved for the fourth time in their history if it happened. It’s hard to argue against it given not just the form of the Hoops but their resiliency too. Even when they go behind Rodgers finds a way to change the team, players find a way to win individual battles and collectively they find a way to win.
There are big tests to come at Hampden of course, a place that has sometimes been unkind to the Hoops over the last decade, but this Rodgers side seem to have a steely quality that just cannot be denied.
Despite the unfortunate 3-2 defeat in the EFL Cup Final against Manchester United, Southampton appear to be finding form in the Premier League having recorded successive away wins – scoring four goals in both matches.
However, as the season begins to enter into the final straight, Saints supporters will already be getting nervous about what the summer transfer window holds.
Over the course of the past few years, they have seen stars like Adam Lallana, Morgan Schneiderlin, Victor Wanyama and Sadio Mane leave for pastures new, and they will finally be hoping that it is a different story at the end of the current campaign.
However, one of their star men in the 2016/17 season – Oriol Romeu – is being linked with a move to Spanish giants Barcelona by The Sun, and it is a departure that would leave a huge gap in the Saints midfield.
When Morgan Schneiderlin left in the summer of 2015, Southampton still had Victor Wanyama in the middle of the park, and when the Kenyan left for Spurs last summer, Claude Puel could call upon Romeu to provide that barrier in front of his defence.
However, the Spaniard has largely been doing that on his own this term with no like-for-like option available, and has quickly become one of the Frenchman’s key men.
In 25 Premier League appearances this season, Romeu has made 66 tackles and 59 interceptions, while committing 46 fouls – not too bad considering his position and responsibilities on a weekly basis.
As well as his defensive abilities, one thing that will have attracted the interest of Barcelona is the 25-year-old’s skill on the ball.
Romeu’s technical ability has come on leaps and bounds this term and he has a 85% passing accuracy, while he has also shown that he can effectively bring the ball out of defence when needed by completing 21 take-ons.
Reports in The Sun on Friday, via HITC, claim that West Ham United boss Slaven Bilic is interested in signing Bournemouth forward Josh King in the summer.
The 25-year-old has been in impressive goalscoring form for the Cherries this season – netting 11 times in the Premier League, including a hat-trick against the Irons at the Vitality Stadium earlier this month.
With Simone Zaza struggling to fire early on in the campaign and Andy Carroll and Diafra Sakho once again spending the majority of the season on the sidelines because of injury, the east London outfit are in desperate need of reinforcements up front.
However, despite the fact that he has more goals than the Hammers’ top marksman this term – Michail Antonio – it seems the majority of West Ham supporters aren’t impressed by the link to the Norway international.
Here is just a selection of the reaction on Twitter from Irons fans to the news of the rumour…
But not everybody was so negative about the rumour…
Everton midfielder Ross Barkley put in a man of the match performance in the Toffees’ 4-2 win against Leicester City at Goodison Park on Sunday, and Toffees supporters want to see more of the same in the future.
Ronald Koeman’s men knew they needed to pick up all three points on Merseyside to maintain their hopes of securing European football next term after Manchester United and Manchester City both won over the weekend.
The England international – who was one of only two outfield players that failed to make an appearance for the Three Lions during the recent international break – assisted Romelu Lukaku’s opening goal with a brilliant cross in what was a thrilling clash.
The 23-year-old posted on social media following the game saying that the victory was the perfect way to finish his week off, and Everton fans were quick to praise him for his performance.
Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction to his showing…