Celtic’s season has been a diabolical, error-prone affair. Whether it be Scott Brown being sent off after five minutes of his introduction against Livingston or Shane Duffy’s baffling cameo in the Old Firm, it has been full of mind-boggling moments.

Over the last decade, very rarely have the Hoops made mistakes. They’ve recruited well, ably replacing players like Virgil van Dijk and Moussa Dembele, and they’ve won an unprecedented number of trophies.

Unfortunately, they’ve now surrendered their grasp on the Premiership title to their biggest rivals. They have eradicated one part of the problem with the much-maligned Neil Lennon departing a fortnight ago but issues remain on the pitch.

Their 0-0 draw with Dundee United last weekend typified their inability to score goals on a regular basis as they were given a classic case of ‘what if’.

What if Celtic had signed Benjamin Siegrist in January was the query. The Dundee United stopper was in inspired form, making a grand total of 12 saves at Tannadice on Sunday afternoon.

The 29-year-old was linked with a move to the club a few months ago after his agent revealed that the Hoops had been scouting him. Indeed, they were shown firsthand his qualities last weekend in what was a remarkable performance by the Swiss stopper.

Celtic troubled Siegrist’s goal on numerous occasions but couldn’t break his resolve. The Bhoys lacked a cutting edge but it showed the benefit of having an adequate ‘keeper between the sticks.

Time and again this term, their goalkeepers have been the Hoops’ biggest problem. Celtic have conceded 14 more goals in the league than Rangers and shipped a grand total of 19 in just six Europa League outings.

It was in Europe where their goalkeepers really let them down. Vasilis Barkas, signed for £4.5m last summer, somehow let in a free kick against AC Milan which was fired towards his part of the goal.

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Then, in Prague, it was Scott Bain running a mockery. Two of the goals were his fault as he let the ball across the box for one of the strikes before racing out of his area for another and failing to clear.

Even Conor Hazard was full of errors in the Scottish Cup final; that was despite saving Celtic’s bacon in the penalty shootout.

One of a few defensive players who has looked capable this season is Kristoffer Ajer. John Hartson dubbed him a “credit to the rest of the players”, suggesting he was the glue which binds this team together. As he demonstrated with his winning kick against Hearts in the aforementioned final, he is the man for the big occasion.

Thus, just imagine what a defender of his calibre could do with someone like Siegrist in the defence.

Ajer has lacked a competent goalkeeper behind him all season long. By signing the 6 foot 4 star in the summer, it could go a long way to fixing some of the issues which have plagued Celtic’s season.

Siegrist has been described as a “monster” by Dundee United manager Micky Mellon this season. That not only typifies his display a few days ago, but also his season as a whole.

AND in other news, 108 aerials won: Celtic could replace Edouard with “special” 6 ft 7 colossus…

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Newcastle United Hall of Famer Rob Lee says he hates the formation and system the Magpies are persisting with, and feels sorry for the likes of Dwight Gayle having to play as a winger.

Since Graeme Jones joined Newcastle they have adopted a split striker system which sees the two strikers play wider and allows midfielders to arrive into the box unmarked, however Lee doesn’t believe the Magpies have the players to play this way.

Lee would like to see players deployed in their natural positions for the remainder of the season, stating that Gayle is a goalscorer and if he’s on the wing, he won’t be able to get the goals Newcastle desperately need.

Speaking on the split striker system which has become the norm on Tyneside and why he feels for Gayle at the minute, Lee told FFC exclusively:

“I don’t like the formation they play. I don’t think we’ve got the players to play it and I know it’s Graeme Jones’ preferred way of playing, he likes his two strikers to split, but personally, I hate it.

“I feel sorry for the likes of Gayle because they barely touch the ball and you have to realise what Dwight Gayle is. He is a guy that can score goals and he’s brilliant at doing that.

“He’s very quick and plays on the last defender but he has to be around the box not wide because he’s not going to give you anything there.

“They seem to be persevering with this system and it’s not for me to say, but from looking inside and from what I’ve seen we haven’t got the players to play that way.”

Dwight Gayle was signed to help get Newcastle out of the Championship in 2016 and over his career, he’s proved his ability in the box having scored 165 goals in 248 games.

The Magpies lost their potential six-pointer against Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday evening, and have to bounce back when they host Tottenham Hotspur on April 4.

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Steve Howey, who made 193 Premier League appearances during his career, believes if Mohamed Salah’s attitude is a problem, then Liverpool shouldn’t think twice about selling him.

Salah is the Premier League’s top scorer this season with 17, which has taken his total for Liverpool up to 118 in just 190 league appearances, despite the Reds struggling this campaign.

Liverpool have had a front three of Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino for four seasons now, however, it may be about to be dismantled if the Premier League champions follow Robbie Fowler’s advice to sell the Egyptian if he isn’t happy.

Speaking on the £200,000-a-week star’s future at Liverpool, Howey exclusively told FFC:

“Nobody is bigger than one club. If there is an attitude problem with Salah then you don’t want him in there.

“I think Salah has done amazing but, you don’t want anything that could spoil the dressing room.

“Once the dressing room is infested, it’s difficult to get it all cut out.”

Salah has once again proved he’s a clinical finisher and any team in the world would like to have one and with the Real Madrid rumours, it could be time for the Egyptian to depart.

Liverpool have struggled on all fronts this season after winning the Premier League and Champions League in the last two seasons, although they have progressed into the last eight of the latter following their two-legged success against RB Leipzig.

Plenty of Crystal Palace fans have been reacting to a report on social media regarding the club’s summer plans.

According to The Telegraph, the Eagles are planning a £50m summer overhaul in the upcoming transfer window to take advantage of what will reportedly be a buyer’s market.

Palace spent just over £20m for the 2020/21 season, and it appears as if that will increase dramatically over the coming months.

The report also adds that Palace could still have to find a new manager for the 2021/22 season, with Roy Hodgson’s contract up at the end of the campaign.

Burnley’s Sean Dyche has been linked with a move to Selhurst Park in recent days. Palace officials have been in discussion with Hodgson over his future, however, a decision isn’t set to be made until the final few weeks of the season.

Palace fans react

@cpfc_xtra shared The Telegraph’s report on Twitter on Thursday evening. These Palace supporters were quick to give their positive thoughts in reply…

“THIS is the sort of news I want to hear”

Credit: @redandbluesite

“April fools or for real for real??”

Credit: @cpfc_sean

“50 mil with the right manager could be massive”

Credit: @Sumo08112

“Lovely”

Credit: @BMCPFC

“what u love to see”

Credit: @CPFC_Ollie_

“You know it’s past 12pm right?”

Credit: @s_cpfc

In other news: Many CPFC fans buzz over links to Championship ace, find out more here. 

It is fair to say that Kelechi Iheanacho’s renaissance at Leicester City has been a remarkable one.

Previously just an under-study to Jamie Vardy at the King Power Stadium, the Nigerian has burst into life in recent months, netting a remarkable nine goals in as many games in all competitions since the start of February.

His form is certainly all the more surprising considering that as recently as August 2020, the striker was being linked with a move away from the East Midlands, with Fenerbahce interested in his services, according to Fotospor.

Rodgers’ decision not to sell the £13.5m-rated striker and instead put faith in him appears to be one that is reaping rewards for not only Iheanacho but also The Foxes.

Now on 12 goals for the campaign following his brace against Manchester United in the FA Cup, the Nigerian is in the midst of his second-most productive season of his career. He only needs a further two strikes to match his 14-goal haul of his breakout season at Manchester City.

His record this season is all the more eye-catching considering that during the two seasons following his move to the East Midlands from the Etihad Stadium, he only notched 11 strikes.

Iheanacho’s hot form though is once again down to Rodgers’ renewed faith in the striker.

Having made just 16 starts in all competitions for The Foxes last season, he now looks sure to surpass that figure this time around having started four consecutive Premier League matches for the first time this year.

In that time, he has scored five league goals alone.

Rodgers’ gamble on Iheanacho has plenty of praise too.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Dean Windass labelled the Northern-Irishman’s show of faith as “unbelievable” and also said of the player that “his attitude has been spot on”.

Rodgers’ decision to not only keep the striker but also play him regularly has been rewarded with his stunning recent run and has justified his choice to keep him back when he could have moved to Turkey.

AND in more news, take a closer look at the Nigerian’s fantastic performance against Man Utd in the FA Cup…

Rangers’ decision to cash in on left-back Declan John in August 2018 looks to have paid off, with the Welsh defender enduring a dramatic fall from grace since leaving Ibrox.

The former Welsh international was signed on a permanent basis from Cardiff City in January 2018, having spent the first half of the season on loan in Glasgow.

However, after making 31 appearances for the club, in which he contributed three goals and four assists, he was sold to Swansea City for £800k in the summer of 2018 following the arrival of Borna Barisic.

Since then, he has managed just 18 appearances for the Swans in all competitions and has quickly fallen down the pecking order at the South Wales club, whilst he also failed to make a single appearance on loan at Sunderland in League One last season, although the campaign was ended early as a result of the current viral outbreak.

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After making no appearances in the first half of the season for Steve Cooper’s side in the current campaign, John was sent out on loan to League Two side Bolton Wanderers, which represents an unfortunate decline since his Ibrox exit.

Although the 25-year-old is impressing in Ian Evatt’s side and has been a big part of their upturn in form, contributing two goals in his 14 appearances so far and averaging a solid 6.83 rating, it seems clear that Steven Gerrard was right to allow him to leave in 2018 despite his brief spell at the club.

The left-back has unsurprisingly also seen his market value decline during the past few years, as having once been valued at £900k following his move to the Liberty Stadium, he is now valued at just £360k.

[freshpress-quiz id=“593776″]

Therefore, you could definitely argue that Rangers did very well to sell him for as much as £800k in 2018 and his fall from grace since then emphasises that the Gers made the right decision in getting rid of him.

And, in other news… Rangers handed huge transfer boost over £2.7m-rated beast, Wilson must deliver

أعلن روبرتو مانشيني المدير الفني للمنتخب الإيطالي عن قائمة الأزوري لمعسكر يناير الذي من المفترض أن ينطلق يوم 26 يناير الجاري.

معسكر منتخب إيطاليا لن يشهد مباريات دولية لأبطال أوروبا، لكنها ستكون فترة تحضيرية قبل تصفيات كأس العالم لقارة أوروبا، وتحديدًا الملحق المؤهل للمونديال في مارس المقبل.

تم استدعاء 35 لاعبًا من قبل الإيطالي روبرتو مانشيني، أبرزهم كان ماريو بالوتيلي بعد غياب أكثر من 3 سنوات، بينما انضم ماركو كارنيسكي لأول مرة للمنتخب.

طالع أيضًا.. مدرب إيطاليا السابق: وافقت على تدريب الأهلي الأعظم في إفريقيا

وكانت آخر مباراة شارك فيها بالوتيلي مع المنتخب الإيطالي، يوم 7 سبتمبر في 2018.

ومن المقرر أن ينطلق المعسكر يوم الأربعاء 26 يناير، بعد المؤتمر الصحفي الذي سيعقده مانشيني بعد الواحدة ظهرًا، ثم يقوم بأولى الجلسات التدريبية. قائمة منتخب إيطاليا لمعسكر يناير

حراسة المرمى: ماركو كارنيسكي (كريمونيزي) ، أليسيو كراجنو (كالياري) ، أليكس ميريت (نابولي) ، سالفاتوري سيريجو (جنوى)

الدفاع: أليساندرو باستوني (إنتر) ، كريستيانو بيراجي (فيورنتينا) ، دافيد كالابريا (ميلان) ، جورجيو كيليني (يوفنتوس) ، ماتيا دي تشيليو (يوفنتوس)، جيوفاني دي لورينزو (نابولي) ، أليساندرو فلورنزي (ميلان) ، لويز فيليبي (لاتسيو) ، جيانلوكا مانشيني (روما) ، لوكا بيليجريني (يوفنتوس) ، جورجيو سكالفيني (أتالانتا) ، رافائيل تولوي (أتالانتا).

وسط الملعب: نيكولو باريلا (إنتر) ، بريان كريستانتي (روما) ، نيكولو فاجيولي (كريمونيزي) ، دافيد فراتيسي (ساسولو) ، مانويل لوكاتيلي (يوفنتوس) ، ماتيو بيسينا (أتالانتا) ، صامويل ريتشي (إمبولي) ، ستيفانو سينسي (إنتر) ، ساندرو تونالي (ميلان).

الهجوم: : ماريو بالوتيلي (أضنه دميرسبور) ، دومينيكو بيراردي (ساسولو) ، فيديريكو برنارديشي (يوفنتوس) ، سيرو إيموبيل (لاتسيو) ، لورنزو إنسيني (نابولي) ، جواو بيدرو (كالياري) ، جياكومو راسبادوري (ساسولو) ، جيانلوكا سكاميا (ساسولو) زاكاني (لاتسيو) ، نيكولو زانيولو (روما).

MatériaMais Notícias

Um dos nomes do triunfo do Botafogo em Salvador foi Sidão. Com grandes defesas, o arqueiro alvinegro ainda defendeu pênalti batido por Diego Renan, sendo fundamental para mais uma vitória do Glorioso fora dos seus domínios. Na saída do campo, ele comemorou a bela exibição dentro do Barradão:

-Costumo dizer que, para o goleiro, é difícil conquistar os três pontos, porque não faz gol. Mas se a gente fizer 1 a 0 lá na frente e eu não tomar gol, sai a vitória, como foi hoje – celebrou o goleiro botafoguense na saída do campo.

Apesar da boa fase, Sidão não sabe se continuará sendo o titular do Botafogo nas próximas partidas. Isso porque o ídolo Jefferson já está recuperado de cirurgia, tem treinado nas últimas semanas e já está em condições de jogo. Mas nada que desanime o atual titular, que falou de “chance da sua vida”:

– Sempre disse que eu ia aproveitar essa chance como se fosse a grande chance da minha vida. E é isso que estou fazendo. Estou fazendo meu trabalho e deixo na mão deles (comissão técnica) para ver quem vai jogar – comemorou Sidão.

RelacionadasFutebol NacionalNúmeros da Bola: Estatísticas de Vitória 0x1 BotafogoFutebol Nacional18/09/2016Futebol NacionalSidão brilha, Pimpão faz gol incrível e Botafogo bate o Vitória em SalvadorFutebol Nacional18/09/2016

Glasgow Rangers fans have been reacting to comments from Kemar Roofe on their Premiership title triumph.

The Gers were confirmed as champions almost two weeks ago, and they didn’t have to play. Their fierce rivals Celtic could only draw 0-0 with Dundee United, meaning they could no longer mathematically catch the Ibrox outfit. Cue pandemonium and jubilation amongst both the Gers players and the Gers supporters.

28-year-old Roofe was speaking to the Super Six Podcast about Rangers finally having their status as champions confirmed, and while he admitted it was fantastic to win the title regardless of the way they did it, a number of the club’s players wanted Celtic to beat the Tangerines so the title could be won at Parkhead the following week.

These comments were relayed on Twitter by The Scottish Sun, and as you can imagine, the Gers fans were absolutely delighted with what Roofe had to say. They took to the social media platform to share their pleasure.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the comments from Roofe below

“My team”

Credit: @ORANGEMAN_1690

“Ouch”

Credit: @Championees55

“As if being remembered as the team who lost the holy grail of 10 in a row in their clubs most important season of their history wasn’t bad enough,the rangers players still want to be Piling on the agony”

Credit: @AyeReady_444

“Oh I love this squad hahahahahahah”

Credit: @PipoSilvia

“Weren’t we all”

Credit: @Wuldo1872

“We just treat them as a joke”

Credit: @joe_black1509

In other news, Rangers fans react to this injury update.

South Africa manager Eddie Ntseki has shared his anger after Glasgow Rangers refused to allow Bongani Zungu to join up with the Bafana Bafana squad for their clash against Ghana.

Ntseki angry over Zungu situation

Zungu was selected to represent his country during the international break. However, while he will be able to play against Sudan, he has been denied permission to travel to his homeland for the Ghana match as South Africa is on the UK’s “Red List” (gov.uk). That means Zungu cannot travel there without needing to quarantine for two weeks upon his return to Scotland.

Ntseki was far from happy with Rangers’ decision on the 28-year-old as he said (via IOL):

“We should all agree that nobody from South Africa or Africa brought Covid-19. It is very unfair for us to be punished by saying: ‘You cannot be released to go to South Africa because it is a hot spot’. I think all over the world, it’s a hot spot.

“For them not to release our players it’s a very big disappointment for us. I think even in South America, they were made aware that there were players that weren’t going to be released for the World Cup qualifiers and they suspended their games.”

Rules are the rules

Unfortunately, this is the way of the world at the moment. A pandemic on this scale is unprecedented in our lifetime, and that means everyone has to make sacrifices. Football is already granted plenty of exceptions to travel regulations. and while Zungu’s absence is unfortunate for South Africa, that’s just the way it is.

The 28-year-old will probably be disappointed not to be able to join up with his national team. He has started just one of Rangers’ last 10 Premiership matches and recently found himself in hot water after breaking lockdown rules to attend a house gathering (Sky Sports).

A return to his homeland may have given him a welcome distraction as well as some more playing time. As it is, he will have to wait until the Sudan fixture to get back on the pitch.

In other news, this man has been tipped to be Rangers’ Player of the Year.