Whilst Newcastle’s proposed takeover has of course surrounded those higher up in the food chain at St James’ Park, that doesn’t mean to say the likes of the manager and players haven’t been affected by it.

And as per his comments ahead of the FA Cup clash against Manchester City, Magpies boss Steve Bruce has seemingly had enough of all the waiting around to see whether the Saudi consortium’s bid will finally be approved by the Premier League.

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Speaking in his pre-match press conference, he said (as quoted by The Daily Mirror): “Like all of us we are still waiting. I think all of us feel this decision has to be made. It just seems to have become tedious. It’s been going to be this week, it’s going to be due in days, it’s going to be in 48 hours. We need the people who are making the decisions to make that decision. We need them to make it. And be quick about it.”

And after hearing what Bruce had to say, Newcastle fans flooded to Twitter to share their reactions.

A few Newcastle fans lauded Bruce for speaking up and “saying it how it is”, with a couple of supporters in particular voicing their frustrations with the Premier League, labeling it as “disgraceful”.

One Magpies fan admitted that whilst he isn’t Bruce’s “biggest fan”, he appreciates the Newcastle boss’ outspoken comments and claimed it showed “he’s on side and has the fans’ interest”.

It’s fair to say Bruce is unimpressed with the amount of time it’s taking for the green light to be given for Newcastle’s takeover.

And it’s completely understandable too. Whilst this season is still yet to be finished, Bruce will be keen on looking ahead to the next campaign and making decisions on who to get rid of, and who to sign.

But with all this uncertainty hovering above the club, those kinds of important calls just cannot be made at the moment. It’s no surprise to see so many Magpies fans on board with what the manager had to say.

Paul Robinson has urged Troy Parrott to stay at Tottenham Hotspur and learn from fellow striker Harry Kane, in an exclusive with Football Insider. 

After arriving at Spurs from Belvedere FC for an undisclosed fee in July 2017, Parrott is spending his second season with the Lilywhites. He has bagged 6 goals and produced 1 assist in just 4 games in the UEFA Youth League, but despite injuries to both Kane and Son Heung-min, the teenager is yet to make a start all season.

In fact, Jose Mourinho’s side have been playing without a recognised striker since February. 

However, Robinson stressed the 18-year-old should remain in London to capitalise on any opportunities that may come his way throughout the course of next season. 

Speaking to Dylan Childs, the veteran goalkeeper said: “If the club thinks sending him out on loan will benefit him, he would certainly command a loan to a Premier League side or a top Championship side.

“At Spurs, there is the potential for him to play cup games. Being in and around the squad he can learn from Harry Kane.  Subconsciously you pick up all of his traits, his habits, and his finishing if you work with him in training. You mould yourself without even knowing it.

“It is important to get football but with injuries and suspensions, he might get two or three games and score a bagful. We saw it with Rashford. Football is all about timing. If he is out on loan they cannot recall him.”

All things considered, it is difficult to disagree with the former England international here. 

Understandably, given his track record, lots of supporters have been begging for Parrott to get the chance to prove himself, and crowds all around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium rose to their feet when he came on in extra-time in the FA Cup fifth-round defeat to Norwich City. Although the youngster didn’t lack the courage to take a spot-kick in the penalty shootout, sadly his attempt on goal was saved (BBC).   

It is fair to say his teammate Harry Kane is quite a dead-ball-specialist, having buried 37 penalties and only missed 7 in all competitions in his career so far.

While it would be easy to ship the starlet out to a lower league, if Parrott does stay in the English capital, not only will he be able to pick up finishing tips and tricks from the England captain during first-team training, he will become more ingrained with the Tottenham backroom staff and therefore develop a greater understanding of Mourinho’s methodology.

In contrast, he would potentially have to start all over again once he returned to his parent club after a loan spell with another side.  

The Irishman signed a new contract earlier this year, and it remains to be seen whether or not he will heed Robinson’s advice, or head out on loan in the coming months. 

Missing football!? There’s still plenty of Spurs discussion going on in the Vital Tottenham Forum! Click here to get involved!

MatériaMais Notícias

Após o empate na Argentina, o Palmeiras depende de uma combinação de resultados para se classificar às oitavas de final da Libertadores. Além de vencer o River Plate (URU) no Allianz Parque, quinta que vem, o Verdão terá de torcer por resultados diferentes dependendo do duelo entre Nacional e River, nesta quinta-feira. Entenda abaixo quais os placares necessários para que o time de Cuca passe de fase:

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CASO O NACIONAL NÃO SEJA DERROTADO PELO RIVER:

PALMEIRAS (3º colocado, 5 pontos): Tem de vencer seu jogo, em casa, contra o River, e por um placar maior do que 1 a 0 para descontar saldo – se o Nacional fizer 3 a 0 no Rosario, a vitória mínima serve. Hoje, o Verdão tem saldo 0, enquanto o Rosario, segundo colocado com oito pontos, tem 3.

ROSARIO (2º colocado, 8 pontos): Precisa ser derrotado pelo Nacional no Uruguai. Se perder por 1 a 0, Verdão precisa ganhar por, pelo menos, 3 a 0 do River Plate (URU). Caso Palmeiras e Rosario terminem com número de pontos e saldo igual, o Verdão precisa ter vantagem no número de gols marcados.

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NACIONAL (1º colocado, 8 pontos): Caso não seja derrotado nesta quinta pelo River, o Nacional vai para a última rodada classificado. Para o Palmeiras, neste cenário, apenas a vitória dos uruguaios na última rodada serve.

RIVER PLATE (4º colocado, 3 pontos): Se o time uruguaio não vencer o Nacional, entra na última rodada para enfrentar o Palmeiras já eliminado.

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CASO O NACIONAL SEJA DERROTADO PELO RIVER:

PALMEIRAS (3º colocado, 5 pontos): Precisa vencer o River Plate (URU) no Allianz Parque e tirar diferença no saldo de gols. Neste caso, tanto Nacional quanto Rosario teriam oito pontos antes da última rodada. Caso o Nacional seja derrotado nesta quinta por um gol de diferença, terá saldo de 1, contra 3 do Rosario (ambos com oito pontos) e zero do Palmeiras. Um empate entre Nacional e Rosario não serve para o time de Cuca.

ROSARIO (1º colocado, 8 pontos): O time neste caso inicia a última rodada da chave como líder pelo saldo de gols. Se for derrotado, é o mesmo caso anterior: o Palmeiras precisa descontar os três gols de desvantagem no saldo.

NACIONAL (2º colocado, 8 pontos): Caso o time uruguaio seja derrotado pelo Rosario, a distância no saldo de gols é menor para o Palmeiras: hoje o Nacional tem 1, contra zero do Verdão, apenas. Se a disputa terminar nos gols pró, os brasileiros também levam vantagem: são oito contra quatro atualmente.

RIVER PLATE (4º colocado, 5 pontos): Rival do Palmeiras na última rodada, precisa, obviamente ser derrotado no Allianz Parque para manter o Verdão vivo no grupo da Libertadores.

He may not have spent too many years with Rangers, but Nikica Jelavic certainly left a major mark at Ibrox.

The Croatian played 56 times for the Gers, scoring an impressive 36 times and providing a further 15 assists. His form with the Scottish side eventually earned him a move to the Premier League with Everton, where he went on to enjoy another few successful years.

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But after Rangers’ official Twitter account posted a clip of Jelavic’s strike against Hearts as part of their ‘Goal of the Day’, fans flooded to Twitter to share their thoughts about their former star.

One Rangers fans even suggested that Jelavic was under-rated, and that the club haven’t had anyone as good as him since.

It certainly says a lot about the kind of impression that Jelavic made, that he is compared favourably with strikers both past and present in the club’s history.

He may not be the most high-profile name, or a man with a marquee reputation, but Jelavic banged in the goals for fun at Rangers, and his contributions won’t be forgotten.

Former Glasgow Rangers winger Andrei Kanchelskis has said that he would one day like to return to Scotland in a managerial role.

The ex-Russia international signed from Fiorentina for £5.5m in 1998, spending four years at Ibrox. During that time, he won the Scottish Premiership on two occasions, the Scottish Cup three times and the Scottish League Cup twice, as per Transfermarkt.

Speaking about his future as a manager, he said:

“My aim was always to become a manager after I finished playing and I would like to return to Scotland to manage.

“I’ve made sure I have the right education and built my CV with the clubs I have managed, which has been very tough but I felt was important to give me the skills I need to manage a team in the UK.

“Now I have my UEFA Pro license, and with the experience I have, I believe I’m one step closer to managing in British football.”

So far, Kanchelskis’ managerial journey has seen him manage a host of clubs in his homeland and in Latvia, as well as Ubzek side Navbahor Namangan, where he is currently in charge. He is also without a major trophy to date – it is not exactly the kind of record that will leave clubs desperate to give him the top job.

Having said that, Steven Gerrard had no experience before he stepped into the Ibrox hot seat and he has not done too badly since he was appointed in 2018. Given that he does not quite have the playing pedigree of the former Liverpool man, Kanchelskis may need to prove himself a bit more before the ‘Gers would consider him, but it is not impossible to picture him in the role in the future.

‘Gers fans, can you see Kanchelskis being a future first team manager at Ibrox? Let us know what you think by commenting below!

أعلن نادي آرسنال، في بيان رسمي اليوم الخميس، موعد عودة لاعب وسط الفريق محمد النني إلى التدريبات، بعد تعافيه من الإصابة.

وكان النادي اللندني قد أعلن في 9 سبتمبر الماضي إصابة النني في أوتار الركبة، مُشيرًا إلى أنه سيغيب لمدة 3 أسابيع.

ولكن يبدو أن النني تعافي من الإصابة أكثر مما كان متوقعًا، حيث أوضح النادي أن لاعبنا المصري سيعود إلى التدريبات الأسبوع المقبل.

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وقال آرسنال في بيانه: “محمد النني الذي يُعاني من إصابة في الركبة اليسرى، عمل بجد مع الفريق الطبي بعد تعرضه لإجهاد في أوتار الركبة، ويهدف إلى العودة للتدريب الكامل الأسبوع المقبل”.

وعن المدافع روب هولدينج والذي يُعاني من إصابة في الركبة اليمنى، ذكر النادي اللندني أنه ما زال يتعافى من إصابته، ولن يكون مُتاحًا لمباراة السبت أمام بيرنلي.

آرسنال يحل ضيفًا على بيرنلي يوم السبت القادم، في تمام الساعة الرابعة بتوقيت القاهرة، على ملعب “تورف مور”، ضمن لقاءات الجولة الخامسة من الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

Celtic fans have been discussing the future of loan winger Mohamed Elyounoussi this week as he edges ever closer to the end of his temporary spell at the club.

The 25-year-old joined the Bhoys on a season-long loan at the start of the season from Premier League outfit Southampton but has found regular game time rather hard to come by this term.

Elyounoussi has managed only 1,309 minutes from 20 appearances, but has directly contributed to 13 goals across both domestic and European competitions, so he’s not been a complete dud.

Rated at £8.55m by Transfermarkt, it remains to be seen if the Norweigan wide man will be available for a permanent switch ahead of the new season – whenever that may be – though, it hasn’t stopped many of the Celtic faithful from debating whether or not Neil Lennon should try and keep hold of him.

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Injuries have put pay to most of his time in Scotland so far.

Here’s the word from supporters…

AND in other news, Celtic fans debate Tom Rogic future…

يرى مارسيلو بروزوفيتش لاعب إنتر ميلان الإيطالي، أن النيرازوري كان يمكنه الفوز 3/0 على ريال مدريد، بدلًا من الخسارة بهدف نظيف في المباراة الافتتاحية أمس لـ مباريات الفريق بدوري أبطال أوروبا.

بدأ إنتر ميلان دوري أبطال أوروبا هذا الموسم بخسارة على أرضه في جوسيبي مياتسا أمام ريال مدريد بهدف نظيف ضمن الجولة الأولى من دور المجموعات لبطولة دوري أبطال أوروبا.

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النيرازوري خلق العديد من الفرص للتسجيل ولكن لم يتمكن من التغلب على تألق تيبو كورتوا، قبل أن يعاقب رودريجو الفريق الإيطالي في الدقائق الأخيرة بهدف قاتل عند الدقيقة 89.

قال بروزوفيتش في تصريحات لشبكة “أمازون برايم” الإيطالية: “لقد لعبنا شوطًا أول رائعًا، كان بإمكاننا الفوز 3/0، ولكن لم يحدث ذلك”.

وأضاف: “الآن لا يوجد فرق بيننا وبين ريال مدريد، لكن إذا لم تسجل ستخسر، وهذه هي القاعدة في كرة القدم، ولذلك فاز ريال مدريد بالنقاط الثلاث رغم أننا كنا الأحق بذلك”.

واختتم: “مازال أمامنا 5 مباريات أخرى في المجموعة، وعلينا القتال من أجل الفوز والتأهل إلى دور الـ16، ويمكننا فعل ذلك بهذا الفريق العظيم”.

إنتر ميلان بعد الخسارة يحتل الآن المركز الثالث في المجموعة الرابعة، قبل شاختار صاحب المركز الأخير الذي خسر أمام شيريف تيراسبول المولدوفي صاحب الصدارة بفارق الأهداف عن ريال مدريد.

Tottenham Hotspur are holding talks with Jan Vertonghen over a new contract, according to The Telegraph via @RickSpur. 

Ricky Sacks tweeted the news that Spurs have reopened discussions with Vertonghen’s representatives over a potential extension, amid interest from a number of leading European clubs including the likes of AC Milan, Inter Milan and Juventus.

The Love Sport Radio host posted: “Tottenham Hotspur have now resumed negotiations with Jan Vertonghen with view to extending his contract”. He added: “The Belgian is out of contract in June with AC Milan, Inter and Ajax expressing interest but Spurs aren’t ready to give up on the defender yet.”

After arriving at White Hart Lane from Ajax for £11.25m in July 2012, the 33-year-old established himself as one half of a formidable partnership with Toby Alderweireld, going on to make more than 300 appearances for the Lilywhites, scoring 14 goals and producing seven assists in all competitions.

He was a firm favourite under former manager Mauricio Pochettino, starring in 212 games for the Argentine, and has played in 19 matches in the Premier League this season, making 2.1 tackles per game, averaging 1.6 interceptions, and completing a staggering 5 clearances on average in the English top flight (WhoScored).

The veteran’s current contract is set to expire in June but it appears Daniel Levy plans to extend this agreement. Unsurprisingly, loads of Lilywhites ripped into the news on Twitter, with one fan slamming the talks as “pointless,” and another adding the club should “let him go.”

Scroll through some of the scathing reactions down below…

Tottenham fans, do you think the board should let Vertonghen leave in the summer? Let us know in the comments!

Sunderland have begun their search to find a new academy manager after Paul Reid left the role last month.

Reid left his job towards the end of June with immediate effect after a whole host of young players opted to leave the Academy of Light over the last 12 months. He held the post for two years after previously working for Eastleigh under current Sunderland owner Stewart Donald.

Young talent Bali Mumba is expected to be another one of those set for a summer exit amid interest shown in him by Premier League side Norwich City.

Whilst some players have departed, results on the pitch have taken a nosedive, with neither the under-18 nor under-23 sides managing to pick up a win in their respective leagues this term.

The Wearside club have now released a job description and advert via their official website, welcoming applicants to apply for the role.

As per safc.com, the post reads: “An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced Academy Manager to join Sunderland AFC’s EPPP Category 1 Academy, overseeing the Youth Development department,”

Whoever is chosen for the job will have a mammoth task on their hands to revive the youth teams’ fortunes after such a chastening 2019/20.

Finally, the advert asks for a manager to come in and ‘produce players for the first team’, potentially seeing some players follow the likes of Mumba and Benji Kimpioka, who have gained first team chances in recent months.

It is bound to be a challenging task for whoever steps in to replace Reid and finding the right candidate for the Sunderland academy job is imperative.

With the Wearsiders’ first team also languishing in League One, a positive turnaround of their academy fortunes could provide a welcome fillip to offer hope to the Stadium of Light faithful.

Who do you think should come in to replace Reid? Let us know in the comments section below…