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This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more… 

Liverpool’s victory against Everton means they have now won 14 out of their first 15 games in the Premier League this term, and they have preserved their eight-point lead at the top of the table. It was the way they did that was particularly impressive.

On the chalkboard

This victory now takes Jurgen Klopp’s team’s unbeaten run to 32 matches, which is a new club record. Surprisingly. he made five changes to the side that beat Brighton at the weekend, including Xherdan Shaqiri coming in for Mohamed Salah and Divock Origi replacing Roberto Firmino. The 5-2 triumph proved the German manager’s decision to rotate right.

Having seen Richarlison score just before half-time, though, Marco Silva will have been hoping they could have put more pressure on their opponents after the break. However, the Reds’ second-half performance controlled the game and displayed their title credentials.

Controlled

The Anfield outfit raced into a 2-0 lead, with them scoring twice in the first 17 minutes. However, Michael Keane scored just four minutes after the second and, although Liverpool scored twice more before the interval, Richarlison bagged in the 45th minute.

The match was far too open, and Klopp will have likely had a small worry that his team could crumble when they came back out of the dressing room. After all, it was a local derby and, the Toffees actually managed more shots than their opponents in the first half. It was just that the Reds were particularly clinical.

However, the Reds closed out the match in impressive fashion. Their possession went up by two percent from 58% to 60%, whilst they also reduced Everton to half as many attempts.

This is especially intriguing considering that Silva’s men were chasing the game at the point, and should, therefore, have been putting on far more pressure than they were allowed to. In terms of shots inside the box, the visitors had just one compared to seven in the first half.

Who the heck is that?! Can you name all 25 of these obscure Liverpool signings…

They also appeared to battle a lot harder, winning 40 duels in the second half compared to 28 in the first period. Overall, Klopp’s side made sure that they didn’t let their opponents back into the game, and they did that with relative ease.

This is not the last time they will be tested and will need to rely on their composure to see out matches. This, therefore, will have been a beautiful sight for the 52-year-old boss, perhaps even more so than some of the well-worked goals he also saw.

In other news, Liverpool fans react to one man’s Ballon d’Or placing.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more… 

QPR’s elusive clean sheet doesn’t seem like it will come anytime soon, and one reason for that is the lack of form of the goalkeepers at the club.

On the chalkboard

Mark Warburton has tried different things to stem the flow of goals conceded in recent games, but his team’s problems continue.

So far there have been two constant factors which he can’t avoid – playing either Joe Lumley or Liam Kelly – both of whom have underwhelmed during their time between the sticks.

Lumley, as the more experienced of the two, is perhaps more of a disappointment. His errors have cost the R’s at times this season – with a mistake against Luton gifting Harry Cornick a goal – and due to conceding 16 goals in 10 league games he was rightly dropped.

Kelly fared no better though, conceding 14 in six league games, before injury ruled him out of the Middlesbrough fixture, and that means Warburton will have to persist with Lumley for the foreseeable future.

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Difficult to resolve

Warburton’s hand was forced over the summer in regard to signing a new goalkeeper, as Matt Ingram departed for Hull, but so far Kelly is not proving an astute purchase.

The two worked together at Rangers, though, so the R’s boss must have been confident in his abilities. His failure to get up and running reflects badly on Warburton, and until he improves the decision to bring him in could be considered a mistake.

However, he is still young and adjusting to a new club as well as a new league, and with more games under his belt he may perform better.

Some of the goals he has conceded have been as a result of those in front of him, too, but the same can be said for Lumley, and that means there may be a lack of organisation of the defence from both individuals.

Worse still for Lumley is that his mistakes can unnerve his teammates, as they may be worried about his abilities, and in turn that can disrupt concentration and lead to more goals conceded – as the Boro game showed.

The goalkeeping situation should clearly be a big worry, yet Warburton feels Lumley could play in the Premier League one day, which suggests he isn’t too concerned by the problem.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

Newcastle are interested in signing Real Valladolid’s Mohammed Salisu, according to Spanish outlet Pucela Fichajes.

What’s the word?

The 20-year-old has enjoyed a breakthrough in La Liga this season and his impressive performances have reportedly caught the eye of several clubs across Europe.

As well as the Magpies, Everton, Schalke and Sevilla are among the clubs interested, with each considering a bid of €12m (£10.2m), a fee which would activate the defender’s release clause.

Sevilla and Everton are believed to be leading the race currently, but since a bid is yet to be submitted by any party it still remains unclear where his future lies.

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Planning for the future

At first glance it seems a little odd that Newcastle are taking interest in another central defender, as it is the area of their squad that is most well-stocked with six players able to play there.

However, it is a positive step to take, as if he did join he’d have a plethora of individuals to learn from, and could gradually be eased into the starting line-up by Steve Bruce.

That would allow him to build his understanding of the Premier League and adopt the best attributes of those at the club, which could be massive in his improvement.

Planning for the long-term is a transfer strategy that has been quite alien to Newcastle in the past few months and years, and that could be a reason why they have stagnated a little since promotion in 2017.

Examples such as Fabian Schar, Andy Carroll and Salomon Rondon have arrived with varying success, with the latter two appearing to be short-term solutions.

Now with a new manager who is looking to stay at the long-term there is an opportunity to build something, if funds are available, and following the astute additions of Allan Saint-Maximin and Jetro Willems, Salisu could be next to impress.

Operating with three centre-backs means the Ghanaian should get his chance even if he joined in January, and given he has conceded 17 goals in 13 La Liga appearances this season, skewed a little with five of those coming against Barcelona, he has the potential to make a surprise impact.

Chris Wilder has been one of the stand-out managers in English football in recent years.

The 52-year-old has done an absolutely outstanding job at his hometown club Sheffield United. He took over when they were entering their sixth season in League One, but changed their fortunes immediately and guided them to the title that term with 100 points (Sky Sports).

He then established them in the Championship the following season, before guiding them to automatic promotion from the second tier in his third season in charge (BBC Sport), meaning he had achieved an impressive two promotions in three years.

Wilder is now upsetting the odds with the Blades in the Premier League, after 11 games he has already led them to 16 points and they currently sit in sixth place in the top flight (BBC Sport).

A major reason for his success is his revolutionary style of play. He has implemented a 3-5-2 formation at Bramall Lane which sees the two outside centre-backs joining in attacks (medium.com), and it is a system which most other teams are struggling to deal with.

As a result of Wilder’s success, pundit Tony Cascarino has recently suggested on talkSPORT that he should be considered for the biggest managerial roles in England, including the Arsenal job.

However, several Sheffield United fans disagree and believe that Wilder wouldn’t suit the Gunners due to a number of different reasons.

Here is why some Blades supporters don’t believe that Arsenal and Wilder are a match…

Sheffield United fans, is Chris Wilder good enough to manage a club such as Arsenal? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below…

This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Real Madrid had a rocky start to the 2019/20 campaign but as time has gone on, Los Blancos have improved significantly and all of that is thanks to Zinedine Zidane’s ability to solve their defensive woes.

On the chalkboard

Even before the start of the ongoing 2019/20 campaign, Real already seemed doomed.

Having suffered their worst pre-season in 39 years with a total of 16 goals conceded in the span of only five games played, things were not looking good for Los Blancos.

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But now, fast forward a couple of trying months, they are sitting top of La Liga and are enjoying the view in front of both Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, who are currently second and third respectively.

And even though it’s still fairly early in the new season, the Galacticos owe their recent upturn in fortunes to their greatly improved defensive record.

A steady improvement

Looking back at Real’s first couple of stints in the new campaign, even though results were not really catastrophic, they simply couldn’t stop leaking goals.

In the first five games played across all competitions, Real Madrid conceded nine times in total.

Watch Lionel Messi and Gareth Bale answer the internet’s weirdest questions in the video below…

Not only that, but their defensive woes were actually one of the main talking points of Zidane’s squad and one of their biggest weaknesses.

But a lot has changed since then.

Now, not only are they still undefeated in La Liga but they have conceded just four goals in the last five games.

As a result, they are enjoying their place at the top of La Liga and it feels well deserved.

Now, it will be up to them and Zidane to find a way of sustaining this form and possibly even translating it into the Champions League; they have yet to win in Europe’s top competition.

The start has been decent but the season is long and it’s now crucial that defensive resilience is maintained.

In today’s Leeds United roundup, we take a look at what news has been doing the rounds for the Whites. Ben White has won the PFA Fans’ Player of the Month, Victor Orta speaks about recruitment, and Darren Bent goes in on Mateusz Klich after his penalty miss against Derby County.

White wins PFA award

Report: Ben White has claimed the PFA Fans’ Player of the Month award for August in a vote run by Snack Media. The Leeds defender beat Swansea City’s Borja Baston to the award by winning 44% of the votes, as Baston claimed just 16%. Patrick Bamford was also nominated for the prize but received only 9% of votes.

White said at the presentation: “It’s really nice to get an award like this and I’m thankful to the people who voted for me.”

Verdict: The centre-back has become an integral part of Marcelo Bielsa squad in the early stages of the season, playing in every minute of Championship football so far and averaging an incredible performance rating of 7.41.

White, on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion, has been a rock at the back for Leeds, conceding just four goals in eight games and playing a huge role in placing his side at the top of the Championship table. In the Leeds defence that boasts the best record so far, conceding just four goals in eight games, the 21-year-old has averaged 2.3 tackles per game and 3.8 interceptions per match [WhoScored].

The Englishman has proved to be a very worthwhile signing, and if Leeds are to continue to edge closer to Premier League stardom, Bielsa must keep this man on the pitch throughout the season.

Orta on recruitment

Report: Leeds Director of Football, Orta, spoke at the World Football Summit (as quoted by La Vanguardia) about the clubs recruitment and scouting. He told the listeners: “I have grown up in Seville with a teacher like Monchi, who changed the club.

“The big difference in modern football is information, everyone has it, and the important thing is to transform it into useful knowledge for the club.”

Orta then said, “there should not be a ceiling in the scouting department” and if they are scouting a 16-year-old “it’s perhaps too late.

“One of the keys is that bigger clubs decide quickly, smaller ones don’t. Sometimes it’s better to go to small clubs to get players and train them,” he added.

Verdict: Orta has been the Director of Football for Leeds ever since Andrea Radrizzani’s takeover in 2017 when the Italian appointed him into the role. Since then, Orta has received a good reception from Leeds fans for transfers such as Patrick Bamford, whom he nabbed from Middlesbrough after the Englishman impressed him during his time as Boro’s head of European recruitment.

Most recently, Orta has managed to bring in the likes of Eddie Nketiah, Helder Costa and Ben White, all of which have had positive seasons so far for the Whites.

Indeed we have seen in recent times the impact in a Director of Football, with Txiki Begiristain of Manchester City proving to be of great worth to the champions of England, whilst on the opposite end of the stick, clubs such as Manchester United have struggled in the recruitment stages by refusing to appoint someone within that role.

As for Leeds, Orta is already doing a magnificent job in recruiting talent for the club and if they are to finally return to the Premier League next season, the Spaniard must take some credit in helping them to do so.

Bent blasts Klich

Report: Former England striker Darren Bent has criticised Klich for his penalty miss in the 1-1 draw against Derby County. Bent old Football Insider:

“I like it but the only thing I’d say about it is don’t miss the target. I wouldn’t even have minded if the goalkeeper dove the right way and saved or caught it.

“I’d go: ‘Okay, it’s a poor penalty,’ but there’s no excuse not to hit the target, especially when you’re calm with your run as well. To roll them in, if you’re going to do that technique, you need to hit the target.

“I don’t care if the keeper saves it, just hit the target.”

Verdict: Earlier in the season, Klich also stepped up to the spot against Barnsley, although that time he converted the penalty and gave the Whites a 2-0 lead over their Yorkshire rivals.

The Polish international also had an impressive record from 12 yards during his time at FC Twente when he slotted home all six efforts from the spot. The only other miss so far in his career came when he was at PEC Zwolle, so having scored in seven out of eight throughout his career, it is fair to say Klich has a good record from penalties.

However, Bent does have a right to criticise the 29-year-old here. After the Sky Sports commentator labeled Klich ‘a competitor for the coolest penalty taker in the Championship’, the no.43 effortlessly walks up to the spot like he was making a five-yard pass and blazes it wide. Truthfully, it was a shocker and Bent rightfully so sheds some light on what is a very questionable technique.

This article forms part of our Profit Players feature series, which is where Football Transfer Tavern takes a look at how well a player has fared since being signed or sold, using statistical figures and statements from pundits to prove how good of a deal the club managed to achieve.

Ipswich finished a respectable 12th in the Championship in 2017/18, scoring 57 league goals, but their striking resources were heavily depleted the following summer with the departures of Martyn Waghorn, Joe Garner and David McGoldrick, who between them had scored 34 times in all competitions that season.

The loss of that trio affected the Tractor Boys terribly as they finished rock bottom of the Championship last season, managing a paltry 36 league goals. Their top scorers in all competitions, Gwion Edwards and Freddie Sears, managed only six each.

Their next most prolific player was Kayden Jackson, who came to the club in August 2018 from Accrington Stanley for a fee of just £1.62m, according to TransferMarkt. As noted by the Lancashire Telegraph, that made him the first million-pound sale for Accrington, who had just been promoted to League One.

He didn’t quite shoot the lights out in his first season at Portman Road, with just four goals in 38 appearances across 1,698 minutes of football, but patience has proven to be a virtue for those who felt he would come good in Suffolk.

Albeit in the less testing climes of League One, Jackson has enjoyed a fine start to the current campaign as Ipswich seek to emulate the likes of Leicester, Wolves, Southampton and arch-rivals Norwich in being an ex-Premier League club propelling back to the top flight having bottomed out in the third tier.

In the space of 12 days in late August, he matched his entire season’s tally from 2018/19, a run kick-started by a stoppage-time winner against AFC Wimbledon and culminating with him being nominated for the League One Player of the Month prize.

Jackson was also on target against Tranmere and Fleetwood in recent days to take his tally for the season to six goals in just 12 games and 860 minutes, a drastically improved return on last term. [via TransferMarkt]

If he can maintain that form throughout the campaign and inspire Ipswich to an immediate return to the Championship, the £1.62m paid to Accrington Stanley for his services will have proven to be a bargain.

Ipswich fans, do you think Jackson has been a value for money signing? Let us know your views in the comments section below!

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Nottingham Forest continued on their upward trajectory under Sabri Lamouchi on Saturday as they saw off the challenge of Barnsley.

Ben Watson’s goal was the difference between the two teams as his strike settled the points.

However, the game could have been far different if it wasn’t for their man between the sticks.

25-year-old Brice Samba was impressive in goal as he made five saves and also won an aerial duel.

It was a performance from the stopper that earned a huge amount of praise from the Forest faithful on Twitter.

One hailed him as outstanding while another claimed the team would have been unbeaten if he started against West Brom instead of Aro Muric.

A further individual stated he was the man of the match.

The Congolese is a new recruit at the City Ground having been signed from Caen over the summer.

He has so far made four appearances in the Championship, quickly becoming a fan favourite in the Midlands.

Here’s the best of the discussion.

[ad_pod ]Harry Maguire arriving at Old Trafford has ushered in a new era of Manchester United defenders – one where Chris Smalling, Marcos Rojo, Eric Bailly, and Phil Jones will unlikely feature.We think it’s fair to say that United are currently experiencing a sticky patch in defence. Their only clean sheet so far this season came against Chelsea in the opening match, which was a dubious one in itself, and they’ve since conceded four times in three matches – once against Wolverhampton Wanderers, twice against Crystal Palace, and another against Southampton at weekend. Good enough? Not even close.Watch Manchester United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

It’s times like these that make us all look back and admire the guardians that once stood at the heart of United’s success: Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic.

Often considered one of the greatest partnerships to ever grace the English game, the pair have set a benchmark from which every future unit will be feverously compared. As it stands, we’re yet to see any electorates come close (not that we’re surprised).

Maguire and Victor Lindelof appear to be Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s chosen ones, having featured in every one of the Norwegian’s line-ups this term, and currently find themselves in a global vetting process. Are they the ones to restore glory back to Old Trafford, to replicate Ferdinand and Vidic, and create a defensive dynasty for years to come? Only time will tell.

…time, and a bit of harmless predicting from Ferdinand:

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Danny Mills has given his verdict on Spurs’ dramatic draw at Man City, and it makes an awful lot more sense than some of the ridiculous views tossed out this week.

What’s the word?

Spurs fans have been understandably irked by some of the commentary on their 2-2 draw at the Etihad, as Paul Merson blasted Mauricio Pochettino’s side’s performance, saying they took an “absolute battering”.

Mills has taken a more measured approach than the former Gunner however, telling Football Insider: “I think it was without a doubt nine outfield players plus the goalkeeper (behind the ball) at times. Manchester City are very, very strong at home, the dominate possession, pass the ball around.

“I think at one stage the stats were 75% possession (for City), which is incredible for a team that is trying to challenge for third, possibly even higher, in the Premier League.

“They got absolutely battered, chance after chance, couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net. You have to say Tottenham came good.”

About time

Until the last three words, you probably thought Mills was delivering an identical verdict to Merson, but his final comment seems to have been missed by so many in the aftermath of the match.

For all the talk of City’s dominance, Pochettino’s bus parking and of course the VAR controversy, everyone seems to have forgotten the 11 players that went out there and wore their hearts on their sleeves for 90 minutes.

Davinson Sanchez for example recorded a whopping eight clearances, while Tanguy Ndombele made five tackles and Toby Alderweireld blocked three shots, all per Whoscored.

Spurs deserve to be praised for their defensive effort, not chastised. Taking a point from a rival’s ground where you had your backs against the wall for the entire 90 minutes isn’t a weakness, it’s a strength.

Both City and Liverpool won several games by very small margins towards the end of last season, and ‘winning ugly’ is often considered one of the hallmarks of a title contender. So much so in fact, the Reds were actually praised several times last season for exactly that.

It’s hypocrisy at its finest, and as Mills correctly said, Tottenham came good on Saturday evening – it’s about time someone had the guts to say it.

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