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[ad_pod ]Tottenham Hotspur hosted their first Premier League game at the new stadium on Wednesday, as they beat Crystal Palace 2-0.The curtain-raiser featured a lavish opening ceremony prior to the match, which Spurs won courtesy of goals from Son Heung-Min and Christian Eriksen.The result leaves Spurs third, one point ahead of Arsenal and Chelsea and three ahead of Manchester United. The Gunners have a game in hand, however.Despite the victory and there being much positivity towards the stadium itself, a number of supporters have expressed their dismay at certain parts of the stadium’s infrastructure – transport links being the recurring theme.

It is perhaps to be expected, with the opening of a new 62,000 seater stadium in an area that is used to hosting just 36,000 fans.

But that did not stop a number of supporters from venting on Twitter after the encounter. Take a look at the best of the reaction on Twitter below!

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Over the course of the last few seasons, Declan Rice has emerged as one of English football’s most exciting young talents, his rise resulting in a place in Gareth Southgate’s most recent England squad.

There is no doubting the West Ham youngster’s potential, although there still remains a debate over whether his qualities are best served in defence or midfield. So, what does Rice need to do to silence the doubters and emerge as a world-class presence in the middle of the park? Football FanCast’s writers give their verdicts below…

James Beavis – Leadership

“At the moment, Rice is a player that is consistently producing 8/10 performances for West Ham United, sometimes almost under the radar. To become a world-class midfielder he needs to start being more of a leader on the pitch and impose himself on matches even more. He needs to be the star man every week instead of merely the reliable one doing his job at a high level. He can learn a lot from Mark Noble in that respect, and that can be the difference for the 20-year-old if he wants to make it to the very top.”

Ben Goodwin – Keep it up

“At just 20 with barely a full season of first team football under his belt, Rice has to do little more than what he is doing right now. The twice-capped ace is controlling matches for the Hammers, and the technical qualities of this young crop of English midfielders are a breath of fresh air. Stay fit, stay consistent, keep performing and keep learning and the world class tag will arrive in no time.”

Jack Saville – Distribution

“Rice has the well-rounded skill-set to rise into the world class bracket. He is remarkably excellent and consistent with his distribution considering he started his career in central defence, but if he can fine-tune that aspect of his game he could step further upfield into a box-to-box role. Modelling his game on a complete all-rounder like Fernandinho could transform him into one of the Premier League’s best.”

Christy Malyan – Goals

“Deep-lying midfielders are never going to be judged on goals but it’s becoming increasingly rare for those in the engine room to boast the height and aerial prowess of a centre-half, something Rice demonstrated with great effect during his previous stints in defence. As there will usually be at least two centre-backs on the pitch already when he plays, he should be the free man at set pieces or at the very least marked by someone who will struggle to match him in the air. That should result in plenty of goals and if he provides them while maintaining his usual standard of performance, he’ll be an exceptionally unique commodity.” 

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Tottenham Hotspur can seal progress to their first Champions League semi-final in a generation on Wednesday, as they take on Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side won the first leg of the quarter-final 1-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, meaning any kind of draw or win, or even a 2-1 loss, would see them safely through to a last-four encounter with Ajax, who conquered Juventus in Turin on Tuesday.

They will be without Harry Kane, however, after the England captain sustained ligament damage during the first leg.

Dele Alli, meanwhile, is likely to wear a protective cast after sustaining a broken hand in the first leg.

With Kane injured, it is likely that Spurs will favour a counter-attacking gameplan.

It worked to great effect against Borussia Dortmund in Germany as Spurs picked up an excellent 1-0 win at Signal Iduna Park, and could do so again, with Spurs looking to break with pace and aggression.

With that in mind, Football FanCast has put together a predicted XI for the encounter…

The big talking point here is clearly Victor Wanyama’s selection.

The Kenya international returned to form against Huddersfield Town at the weekend, scoring in the 4-0 thumping of the Terriers.

Lucas Moura playing through the middle, with the support of Christian Eriksen and Heung-Min Son, allows Spurs the opportunity to counter with lightning speed, and it would also be mightily harsh to drop the Brazilian after his hat-trick against Huddersfield!

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Former West Ham United defender Jose Fonte impressed and found the net in Lille’s brilliant 5-1 win against 10-man Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday night, and Irons fans on Twitter are clearly still split on the decision to get rid of him in February 2018.

The Portugal international had moved to the London Stadium just over 12 months earlier but he struggled to hit the ground running with the Hammers, sometimes looking way off the pace.

The 35-year-old left for Chinese Super League club Dalian Yifang before moving back to Europe last summer, and he has been a key player for the Ligue 1 outfit who lie second in the standings and look destined for Champions League football next term.

The centre-back scored a bullet header as PSG suffered their biggest French top flight defeat in 19 years, and dealt well with the threat of the mercurial Kylian Mbappe up top.

While some West Ham supporters clearly regret letting him go when they did with one saying the club “shouldn’t have sold him so quickly”, others clearly disagreed with one individual saying “he was dreadful for us”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

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Tottenham Hotspur shipped four goals in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Manchester City on Wednesday night, but still managed to book their spot in the final four on the away-goals rule.

Indeed, a 1-0 win at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium in the first leg meant that Wednesday’s 4-3 loss to City was enough to send the London club through.

It was not really an evening where either defence covered themselves in much glory.

Indeed, City could have scored six or seven on the night, with Raheem Sterling and Kevin de Bruyne causing so many issues in the final third.

It was not Jan Vertonghen’s finest night for Spurs, but that did not stop a number of the club’s supporters taking to social media to lavish praise on the Belgium international.

The 111-cap defender might have had a tough evening, but the 6 ft 2 ace had the last laugh as Tottenham advanced to the semi-finals of the Champions League.

A selection of the Twitter reaction from the club’s fans can be seen below:

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Manchester United fans on Twitter aren’t happy with reports linking them with a move for Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Jan Oblak.

Whilst you would expect the Red Devils fanbase to be happy with the news, seeing as Oblak is arguably one of the best keepers in world football, the majority of them are seemingly not in favour of a move as it will use up funds needed for more problematic areas.

The Flying Pig unleashes fury on Dea Gea, Young, Sanchez and Pogba in the funniest player ratings ever in the video below…

United are struggling to renew David de Gea’s contract, as the Spaniard wants to be earning the same amount as the club’s highest paid player, Alexis Sanchez – the Chilean takes home £350,000-a-week before bonuses.

The ongoing discussions seem to be affecting his form on the pitch as well. De Gea has made a number of errors in recent weeks, most recently when he spilled Antonio Rudiger’s shot and allowed Marcos Alonso to prod home in the 1-1 draw with Chelsea.

Also, United have a great No.2 in Sergio Romero, and have a fantastic young keeper in Dean Henderson waiting in the wings; the 21-year-old has enjoyed an excellent season with Sheffield United, helping them earn promotion to the Premier League.

As a result of this, lots of United fans on Twitter don’t want another goalkeeper, especially when other areas of the team are desperately in need of reinforcement…

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According to reports in the Daily Mail, Sheffield United are ready to make Gary Madine a permanent fixture at Bramall Lane in the Premier League.

The Cardiff City loanee has been brilliant since joining the Blades in January but should the Yorkshire club keep him beyond this season?

Good for the Championship

Madine is undoubtedly one of the best forwards available to clubs in the second tier.

His game is dynamic as he can be deployed as both a target man and a poacher, he has fantastic hold-up play but also possesses a decent scoring record when used as the main striking threat.

During his last season at Bolton, the striker netted 10 times in the league but the goals dried up when he moved to Cardiff.

A loan spell to United followed, and despite only netting three goals, the 28-year-old has been seen as a handy player up top.

Lack of ambition

If this move is a sign of things to come for Sheffield United in the next season, then their fans should be anxious.

Although Madine has enjoyed a good spell at the Lane so far, he isn’t good enough to make an impact in the top flight.

Perhaps this move suggests that the funds aren’t there or that the Yorkshire club are making an early insurance signing for potential life back in the Championship.

With the abundance of wealth that comes with promotion to the Premier League, Chris Wilder could surely look at more lucrative players to play their target man role.

Former Wigan & Fulham man, Jimmy Bullard recently showed that he’s still got it! Check out the video below…

One positive for Blades supporters is that this move may open the door for Dean Henderson to return after his initial loan spell. Wilder clearly isn’t adverse to keeping on the loanees that helped him win promotion this season.

The Man United goalie has kept 20 clean sheets in the league, and therefore the Blades would be foolish to not go in for him ahead of their top flight return.

Mark Bosnich: the man who had more interest in filling his stomach than playing for Manchester United.

Ah, the great Peter Schmeichel. A Manchester United legend of the highest order; the man who guarded the sticks on one of the most memorable nights in the club’s history, and a cat-like dictator no player would mess with if they wanted to return home to their family intact. In the interest of maintaining his United legacy, we’ll forget about his move across the city in 2002 (though Gary Neville probably never will).

https://gfycat.com/inferiordampgalapagossealion-vent-gary-neville-peter-schmeichel

How on earth does a club replace a player like Peter Schmeichel, the best in class, you might ask? Well, United had just the answer. Sort of. Not really. Okay…not at all, we were lying.

The Red Devils brought in Australian stopper Mark Bosnich to fill the immense void left by the Great Dane when he departed for Sporting Lisbon in 1999, which was essentially like trying to cork a wine bottle with a single bb pellet.

You know things are bad when Sir Alex Ferguson, one of the greatest of all time, and someone who later admitted he didn’t have the greatest luck when signing goalkeepers, calls you a “terrible professional”.

“We played down at Wimbledon and Bosnich was tucking into everything: sandwiches, soups, steaks. He was going through the menu,” he said in his latest book, My Autobiography.

“I told him, ‘For Christ’s sake, Mark, we’ve got the weight off you. Why are you tucking into all that stuff?’

“We arrived back in Manchester, and Mark was on mobile phone to a Chinese restaurant to order a takeaway. Is there no end to you? I just couldn’t make an impact on him.”

Indeed, Bosnich’s takeaway antics probably explains why he leapt around the goalmouth like a fish out of water. A string of indifferent performances, and an obvious taste for Asian cuisine, eventually saw Manchester United terminate the 29-year-old’s contract in 2001 – two years and one million tikka masalas down the line.

Manchester United fans, where does Bosnich rank as one of your worst ever signings? Let us know in the comments below…

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Celtic midfielder Callum McGregor has claimed in the Daily Record ahead of the last Old Firm derby of the season on Sunday, that the corresponding 1-0 defeat at Ibrox back in December was the first time in two-and-a-half or three years that the Bhoys players didn’t turn up in a big game.

What’s the word, then?

Well, the Scotland international has been speaking ahead of his side’s trip across Glasgow at the weekend, with both teams looking to put down an early statement ahead of next season with the title already tied up.

Former Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers suffered his first derby defeat in 13 attempts on that day at the end of 2018, in what was a poor display by the visitors – they had goalkeeper Craig Gordon to thank for keeping the score down.

Controversial. Uncompromising. Leader. C’mon the Hoops’ Keith talks the future of Celtic’s evergreen captain Scott Brown in the video below…

McGregor has been speaking about that day, telling the Daily Record:

“I think the game at Ibrox was the one time in a two-and-a-half or three-year period when the boys didn’t turn up in a big match.”

How can his comments be interpreted?

Firstly, he appears to be backing up his teammates with many thinking this has been a below-par season for Celtic despite the fact that they remain on course for the treble-treble.

Secondly, his words suggest that the Bhoys aren’t used to failing to turn up on the big occasions, and that history isn’t going to repeat itself again at Ibrox on Sunday with the previous trip a one-off.

It will certainly be an interesting encounter given Rangers will be motivated and wanting to end their season on a high, while Neil Lennon’s men will be keen to prove why they are the deserved champions.

It is hard to call how things pan out on Sunday – and whether both sides can keep 11 men on the pitch – but you can bet your bottom dollar that the visitors won’t be anywhere near as bad as they were on that December afternoon last year.

When you look at this Liverpool team, it’s not crazy to suggest that they’re near perfect in every position.

The goalkeepers are solid, the defenders are world-class, the midfielders all add their own unique dynamic to the team, and the attackers are lethal, intelligent and unafraid of anything, but there’s always room for development, and for most fans, that improvement has to come in the form of creativity.

Since the departure of Philippe Coutinho last year, Liverpool have been deprived of a world-class playmaker, that player who can create a chance out of thin air and produce magic in the blink of an eye, and this summer could see that void finally be filled in the form of Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves.

The Portuguese international has been a revelation for the West Midlands club since his sensational move to the team in 2017, leading Wolves to promotion back to the Premier League and securing them a 7th place finish in their first season back in the top-flight, and Neves is exactly who Liverpool need this summer.

The 22-year-old, who scored against the Reds to knock them out of the FA Cup in just the third-round as well as being linked (as per the Daily Mail) with them already this season and being backed as a great signing by former Red Stan Collymore (speaking to Sport Astro via the Daily Star earlier this week), has the creative ability to fill the hole left by Coutinho in the team that has been needed fixing for nearly 18 months as well as bringing a little bit of unpredictability.

Neves’ ability from range has made him an enjoyable player to watch and will make him a favourite on Merseyside, and now Liverpool need to go out there and secure his signature before another team beats them too it.

Liverpool fans, would Neves be a good addition this summer? Let us know!