Ross McCormack has not had the most fruitful career at Aston Villa since his switch to the Midlands outfit from Fulham in 2016.
The Scotland international scored just three goals and created one assist in 20 Championship outings.
After a troubled spell, which included a rumoured fallout with manager Steve Bruce, McCormack was sent on loan to Melbourne City in September.
The forward’s stint in Australia, which saw him score 14 goals in 17 A-League outings, has since come to an end.
McCormack has now travelled back to the Midlands where he will discuss his options with Villa.
According to the Birmingham Mail, Bruce is believed to be open to letting go of the 31-year-old.
The publication claims that Melbourne are keen to re-sign him on loan again, while MLS clubs in the United States are also said to be interested.
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Villa fans, though, have been discussing whether the forward should be given another shot at the Midlands outfit.
Celtic’s fine start to 2018 continued on Saturday after they bested Hibernian 1-0 in the Scottish Premiership.
However, it was a match that was marred by injuries to two keep Hoops players, with goalscorer Leigh Griffiths and shot-stopper Craig Gordon, who both contributed hugely to the win, being forced off before the second half.
Brendan Rodgers confirmed that Gordon’s injury is looking serious, with the Scotland international set to have a scan on his knee to determine how long he’ll be out of action.
It leaves the Bhoys with a serious problem between the sticks with only veteran goalkeeper Dorus De Vries available who has had any sort of playing time with the Scottish champions.
Celtic supporters are now hoping the club can do emergency business in the final few days of the window and bring in a goalkeeper that can provide cover for the injured Gordon and compete with his Dutch deputy.
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They took to Twitter to share their thoughts on the situation…
Where do Arsenal go from here? They may have only lost 1-0 to a Tottenham Hotspur side in good form, but in truth Saturday’s scoreline flattered the Gunners, who only seemed further away from their bitter rivals in terms of performance the more the game went on.
Inevitably, some finger pointing is in order, so we asked Arsenal fans earlier today to give individual performance ratings out of ten for the players who featured in Saturday’s defeat at Wembley Stadium.
And it was January signing Henrikh Mkhitaryan who picked up the worst average rating out of the eleven Gunners players who started, Arsenal fans who took part in our poll awarding him a miserly 3.5 out of 10.
The statistics suggest Arsenal fans have a point. Before being hooked off in the second half, the 70-cap Armenian failed to record a shot at goal, a created chance or a successful dribble, while being dispossessed twice and suffering two unsuccessful touches.
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Was it a mistake to sign Mkhitaryan, Arsenal fans? Let us know by voting below…
As Jose Mourinho hauled off Paul Pogba during the 2-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur after being outclassed for an hour by Mousa Dembele, he must have been overcome with a mixture of envy and frustration.
Frustration that the player he devoted a world-record sum to bring back to Old Trafford hasn’t emerged as unrelenting complete midfield force he expected, and envy that a colossal star for one of Manchester United’s divisional rivals provided the perfect template for what he wants from Pogba in the sitting role alongside Nemanja Matic.
The irony of Dembele’s next performance, a midfield masterclass that provided the platform for Tottenham’s two-goal comeback against Juventus in Turin, won’t have been lost on Mourinho either. Here’s a club that have never quite replaced the power and dynamism Pogba offered them in midfield, being absolutely dominated by the kind of player he wants the Frenchman to become – or at the very least, the Frenchman to play like at this moment in time.
That’s not to suggest Mourinho would swap Pogba for Dembele; there’s always been a stubbornness to the Portuguese and he’ll want to prove his investment in the former Old Lady star is the right one. There’s also the question of the varying market values of both players, and the fact Pogba is six years Dembele’s junior.
But in terms of style and influence, it’s clear Dembele embodies what Mourinho expects from Pogba in a deeper midfield role. Dembele’s greatest asset is the control he gives Tottenham; whether using his power and close control to win the ball back or shield it before smartly distributing, Dembele completely dominates his pocket of the pitch and the midfield battle in most matches tends to be decisive. Tall and strong but blessed with delicate feet and unique fluidity for such a robust specimen as well, Pogba – on paper at least – has all the attributes to provide a likewise platform in United’s engine room.
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And there is another distinct resemblance between the two. Just like how many pundits believe the defensive midfield slot squanders Pogba’s intuitive flair and attacking prowess, Tottenham’s decision to alter the role Dembele enjoyed at Fulham initially raised eyebrows. It indeed seemed a waste, and even a bizarre theory in the first place, to deploy an attack-minded player who was used as a support striker at Craven Cottage as a playmaking shield in front of the defence – even if he had the natural power to do so.
At this point, a transition that Tottenham first started in 2012 under Andre Villas-Boas has been completely vindicated. When he’s fit enough to start, Dembele is one of the most prepotent midfielders in Europe. But it’s easy to forget just how long it took Dembele to truly acclimatise to deep midfield, let alone receive the acknowledgements his performances deserved.
As much of the six years since have been spent criticising Dembele for not offering enough going forward, particularly in terms of goals and assists, as praising him for the quality and control he provides in the deep-lying berth, and only recently has the Belgian been widely revered as one of the best around. Now aged 30 and suffering from longstanding injury problems that mean he’s never quite fully fit, Dembele’s era of recognition unfortunately won’t last long.
So perhaps the ultimate question is whether Mourinho believes that kind of long-term commitment to transitioning Pogba’s game, in the same way Tottenham did with Dembele, can be justified when you’ve already spent £90million on a player United owned once before. In contrast, Spurs spent just £15million on Dembele; if their attempt to rewire the Belgian didn’t work out, it would have been a failure paling in comparison. On top of that, considering the criticism Pogba already receives after any unspectacular performance, does he really want to put his star player through several more years of that? Is Pogba even mentally robust enough?
Soccer Football – Premier League – Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester United – Wembley Stadium, London, Britain – January 31, 2018 Manchester United’s Paul Pogba receives instructions from manager Jose Mourinho Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or “live” services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publ
More pertinently for the United boss, can Mourinho really afford to wait as long for the 49-cap international to truly master arts that have taken Dembele the best part of six years? His contract, signed last month, expires in 2020 and although not everybody has been convinced by the France international since returning to Old Trafford, it seems almost implausible that Manchester United can win the Premier League title without their club-record signing in something close to peak form.
United would have to buy more top-class players just to compensate for the level of performance Pogba isn’t bringing to the side, and at that point he becomes more valuable to them in the transfer market than on the pitch. In short, if Pogba were to take as long as Dembele to be recognised as a likewise domineering force in deeper midfield and provide the same level of consistent performance, something at Old Trafford would surely give long before that point. Either Pogba is sold, Mourinho is sacked or United never function at the level required to win the English crown while both are at the club.
In any case, attempting to transform Pogba’s game so significantly now is a monumental waste of his peak years, and to a far greater extent than Dembele’s who was only a promising attacking player at best. This is, after all, a former European Golden Boy we’re talking about, who has already played in a Champions League final, and remains one of the most effective in Europe when given license to roam in an advanced central midfield role that allows his dynamism, creative flair and netting prowess to thrive. Maybe Pogba will naturally suit deeper positions later in his career, when he’s not as mobile and develops a more experienced reading of the game, but why not play him further forward now while he’s still capable of making such an intrinsic impact on matches?
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More crucially, for all the comparisons, no two players are precisely the same and there is a clear polarising difference between the pair. Dembele’s problem when deployed deeper was never his lack of positional discipline or defensive awareness – rather, the biggest accusation was that he became far too passive for a player of such obvious technical quality. Pogba, in contrast, just can’t abide sitting deep and waiting for the game to come to him; he wants to be the driving force that launches attacks by bursting forward. If anything, Pogba’s too proactive for a defensive midfielder.
More than style of play, that’s a matter of mindsets, which is why turning Pogba into a deeper-lying player could take even longer than Dembele’s transition. The Belgian was always willing, but the Frenchman clearly isn’t and before Pogba even gets to the point where he’s learning the finer details of Dembele’s trade, Mourinho will have to transform his mentality first. After subbing Pogba off in his last two Premier League appearances and amid rumours of United’s club-record signing being disillusioned at Old Trafford, that’s already proving a gruellingly difficult challenge.
In one of the more bizarre nights in recent F.A. Cup memory, Tottenham crushed Rochdale 6-1 to progress to the Quarter Finals of the competition.
With below freezing temperatures, two goals controversially disallowed by VAR and a Fernando Llorente hattrick, it was truly a unique evening at Wembley.
However, one Spurs player that can always be counted on to disappoint the fans is Moussa Sissoko.
Once again, the Frenchman had a poor game, never establishing himself into the flow of the action and failing to provide any attacking threat.
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Sissoko, who is valued at £18 million by Transfermarkt, has been the subject of much criticism from Spurs fans this season.
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With Mauricio Pochettino’s continued insistence on selecting the 28-year-old, Tottenham supporters are growing increasingly frustrated, wondering how a manager as astute as theirs could select Sissoko into the first team almost every week.
Following the game, Spurs fans took to Twitter to express their disappointment at Sissoko’s performance yet again…
Tottenham Hotspur picked up an impressive 4-1 win away to Bournemouth in the English Premier League on Sunday, in a match that talisman striker Harry Kane was substituted off with an ankle injury.
Heading into the break level with the Cherries after a competitive first half, Spurs eventually showed their class with three second half goals, restoring their five point lead over fifth placed Chelsea.
Fans were delighted with the performance, especially after their most important player was subbed off after a nasty looking ankle injury.
The Guardian report that Harry Kane is set to receive a scan tomorrow to find out the severity of his injury, which could rule him out of the World Cup in Russia this summer.
However, supporters are remaining upbeat, believing they’ve shed their image as a one man team and can cope with the striker’s absence no mater how long he is out for.
Arsenal got back to winning ways in the English Premier League on Sunday, defeating Watford 3-0 at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners headed into the match having lost their previous three matches in the top-flight and knew that the pressure was on to secure a victory and build on their impressive win away to AC Milan on Thursday.
Arsene Wenger made six changes ahead of the crucial second leg of that tie against the Italians but was rewarded with a fine performance and goals from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Shkodran Mustafi.
One player coming into the team was Alex Iwobi, but the attacker failed to live up to supporter’s expectations once again, having been on the receiving end of plenty of criticism lately.
Fans are now calling on game time being given to the likes of Danny Welbeck or Reiss Nelson instead of the Nigerian international, believing he should be benched in the closing stages of the season.
Does he get too many opportunities in Wenger’s first team?
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Arsenal fans are crying out for some inspiration in their side after a disappointing season that leaves the Europa League as their only realistic route back into the Champions League next term.
Players such as Danny Welbeck and Alex Iwobi have disappointed Gunners fans this season and that feeling is intensified when there is promising talent such as Reiss Nelson in reserve.
He has been given some gametime in the Gunners first team this season and while that shows how highly he is regarded by Arsene Wenger, some Arsenal fans want to see more.
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That feeling grew when Nelson showed what he could do on international duty. His double helped England Under-19s to a 4-1 win in Hungary and his first goal was particularly impressive.
Arsenal fans reacted by calling on Wenger to give him an extended run in the team and we’ve taken a closer look at the best of the online reaction…
Liverpool confirmed on Tuesday afternoon that centre-back Joel Matip is expected to undergo an operation on his injured groin.
Matip picked up the problem in Liverpool’s 2-1 win over Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.
Rumours surrounding the seriousness of the problem gathered pace over the weekend, with suggestions that the defender could miss the remainder of the season.
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Liverpool were careful to confirm that Matip would indeed undergo surgery, but heavily suggested that would be the case in a statement on their website.
Matip seems to have won over the Liverpool fans with his recent performances alongside Virgil van Dijk at the heart of the defence, and his absence will open the door for either Dejan Lovren or Ragnar Klavan to come into the team.
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The Liverpool supporters have been reacting to the injury news, and it would be fair to say that not many are delighted with the thought of Van Dijk having a new partner.
A selection of the Twitter reaction can be found below:
Manchester City had scored 16 goals in three Premier League games, but they had yet to face a real test.
Manchester United, too, were keeping the pace, and the two clubs were neck and neck at the top of the table.
The heavyweights were posturing: the Manchester clubs had spent the most money, they were the most feared, and were both in their second seasons with two of the most feted managers currently plying their trade in football. It looked like we were finally going to get the showdown we craved, that Pep v Jose was to see its intensity boil over once again, just like it did in 2011. But this time in the Premier League, and this time with rivals from the same city.
Although Manchester City had already faced Liverpool, their season hadn’t always been the most convincing to date. A routine, if sluggish, victory over newly-promoted Brighton in the opening game was followed by an unlucky draw at home to Everton where Guardiola’s side played the second half with ten men after the sending off of Kyle Walker. A very late victory over Bournemouth followed before they faced their first top six game of the season at home to Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool.
They needn’t have worried about that one: Sadio Mane’s red card may seen the Anfield side give up the ghost and allow City to walk all over them, but it was already 1-0 to the home side by the time goalkeeper Ederson had his face sliced open and left the field in an oxygen mask.
Manchester City’s Ederson Moraes (L), is fouled by Liverpool’s Sadio Mane resulting in a red card for Mane at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain, September 9, 2017. Action Images via Reuters/Lee Smith/File Photo EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or “live” services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. Please contact your account repres
The 5-0 scoreline, though, seemed to kickstart something. Two more big wins followed, over Watford and Crystal Palace, and City were suddenly flying. They had overcome United in the table and slotted into first place by this point. By the time they faced a real test, a trip to champions Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, the shootout was well and truly on come the end of September.
On the final weekend of the month, United went first and beat the luckless Palace 4-0 in a 3pm kick-off. We were now getting used to the two sides, red and blue, swapping places at the top and daring the other to better their result. United moved three points clear – and tied on goal difference – waiting for City to take to the field 45 minutes later in London to see if they could take back pole position.
The build-up to the game, however, wasn’t dominated by United v City narratives, it was dominated by injuries.
News broke through early in the morning just days before the game that Sergio Aguero had been injured in a car crash. Luckily, the Argentinian wasn’t too seriously hurt, but his broken ribs were enough to rule him out of City’s biggest game yet. More worrying, by the time the game came around, was the effect his absence would have on his teammates at Stamford Bridge.
Concerning, too, was the absence of Benjamin Mendy, who suffered a rupture of his cruciate ligament the weekend before, leaving City without a recognised left-back.
In the summer, Guardiola’s team found themselves the subject of numerous headlines regarding the money they had spent on full-backs. Despite this, Mendy’s injury had left them short. They had let go of four full-backs and signed three: two rights-backs and a left. Of all the laterals to lose, the left-sided Frenchman was the worst.
And so if this game, in which City dominated the ball and dictated the play, seemed like a defining moment in the season, it was not simply because Pep Guardiola’s side went to the home of the champions of England – rejuvenated and unbeaten since their shock opening day defeat to Burnley – and came away with a commanding victory. It’s because they did so less two important players, with Gabriel Jesus and Fabian Delph deputising seamlessly for their injured counterparts.
When the time comes to look back over a Manchester City season which saw records fall and rivals swept aside, there will be plenty of highlights for the reels but few real defining moments to look back on. We love hardship, and we demand our champions to have weaknesses to overcome. We want triumph in spite of something.
The 2017/18 Premier League champions didn’t do that. There are few moments where we can look back and say they overcame adversity. But the theme of the season is the creation of a squad which coped with whatever was thrown at it, from long-term injuries to the squad’s weakest pressure point, to absurdist plot twists worthy of Beckett or Camus which saw a star striker swept up in a car crash.
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And yet, Guardiola’s men just dusted themselves down and marched on. To Stamford Bridge, where Kevin de Bruyne led the side to a win they rightly celebrated. It was a brave performance where injuries changed nothing as City played their normal game, the fluidity they had achieved saw them triumph just as surely as they would have done if they’d been at full strength.
A week later, Manchester United traveled to Anfield without Paul Pogba and Eric Bailly. And with a weakened spine of the team, Mourinho’s side – who had matched City for goals and entertainment up until that point – played out a drab 0-0 draw. In stark contrast to their city rivals who had accepted the challenge the footballing gods had handed them, United retreated into their shell and shied away from the good fight.
That was the moment when the title rivals were tested. Only one side passed.