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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

Talk about the perfect time to turn the tide.

Having gone through a bit of a tough stretch in the past couple of weeks in terms of results, the Blues are heading into the international break very much on a high note.

Having come under a lot of criticism from the St Andrew’s faithful, perhaps there was that little voice in the back of Pep Clotet’s mind that was thinking ‘told you so’, after their dramatic victory on Friday night.

Clotet was given a bit of a difficult task when he took over from Garry Monk in the summer, not only being thrust into the position in the aftermath. but also with the dagger of last year’s Financial Fair Play punishment hanging over him. Given the circumstances, he’s been doing a relatively steady job.

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He even managed to get them as high as eighth in the table and managed to grab a scalp in high flying Charlton away from home a few weeks ago before they went through their slump.

However, everything that was going disastrously for them on the pitch, were all things that could easily have been prevented.

For instance, the winner that Wigan Athletic scored last week was the definition of a howler from goalkeeper Lee Camp. Going back even further to the game against Derby County, the second goal that day came about because of a slip by Marc Roberts.

So it’s not as if they were being blown apart in the same way that they were earlier in the season against Nottingham Forest and Swansea City.

Thogden ranks all 24 Championship home kits in the video below…

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After a pretty much mistake-free game against Middlesbrough and with the international break coming up to sure up any holes in the team, this could be the perfect opportunity for Clotet to finally put his foot down on the team and get them back on track the way they were before their recent troubles.

After all, it’s been the mistakes of his players, rather than his own that has led to some recent troubles.

Birmingham fans aren’t expecting much this season, so Clotet shouldn’t really have been under much pressure to begin with, but perhaps this result will be enough to get them off his back for the next couple of weeks as fortunes begin to change.

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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…

Rekeem Harper’s future with West Brom seemed to be in doubt for a while.

After it was revealed he’d been offered a new deal in the club’s retained list, it took until beyond the 1st July, when players out of contract usually become a free agent, to finally put pen to paper.

The news will likely have come as a welcome relief to the club who are clearly keen to tie down their best young stars.

Unfortunately for Albion, the same couldn’t be said for Louie Barry who rejected a new deal, but Harper’s contract and the addition of Filip Krovinovic on loan could signal a key change that’s already happening under new manager Slaven Bilic.

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On the chalkboard

West Brom’s midfield last season was incredibly one dimensional, boasting players like Gareth Barry, Jake Livermore and Chris Brunt.

It was an area of the pitch that lacked much energy with all three players, barring Livermore now ageing individuals. Barry, at the age of 38, has now left the club, but the two latter names are still embedded within the squad.

Brunt has the ability to pick a pass, claiming six assists last term but beyond that, is nothing more than a steady player.

However, Harper’s new contract and the arrival on a temporary basis of Krovinovic is signalling a key switch.

All of a sudden there is a far more energetic and refreshing feel to the midfield, one which could arguably help drive the club forward in a new era.

Watch fans explain why the Football League is better than the Premier League in the video below…

It’s likely that Albion’s new Croatian will play as a number ten whilst their academy graduate could play behind him as a box-to-box midfielder.

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As a result, the middle of the park could look far more vibrant for West Brom going into the 2019/20 campaign, particularly if Sam Field is also trusted.

Krovinovic is only 23 whilst Harper is still a teenager, meaning the wheels have already been put in motion for a changing of the guard from the older heads that dominated their failed promotion campaign.

Since Bilic has arrived, there has already been significant losses in regards to the playing staff but those of the experienced members that still remain are unlikely to influence things too much in the future.

Under the ex-Hammers man, a youthful approach looks to be coming to the forefront, and after giving a season to those who came down with the team from the Premier League, it’s now evident that a new form of approach is being taken.

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Izzy Brown is injured. Water is wet. The two phrases have been as consistent as each other throughout this season for Leeds fans. His latest setback surely all but confirms that he will never play for the Whites again as his loan spell nears its end.

Another setback

Brown suffered a horror injury during his loan spell with Brighton last season as he tore his ACL in January meaning that he would miss almost a year of action.

Despite his ongoing injury problems Leeds wanted to take a punt on the Chelsea man for this season. Their gamble has backfired horribly as the midfielder has appeared just once since joining the club last summer.

A hamstring injury followed which saw him miss another three months of action and since then he has been resigned to playing for the Under 23’s in a bid to get back his match fitness.

Numerous small knocks have seen his return delayed and his latest injury all but confirms he will not appear again this season.

A fitting end

Unfortunately, the latest update on the Chelsea loanees fitness is a story that Leeds fans have heard all too often.

The 22-year-old was brought in having been a vital member of the Huddersfield squad that was promoted in 2017 and, as well as enjoying a solid half a season at Brighton in the Premier League.

Under different circumstances, Brown could have been a key player for Marcelo Bielsa and perhaps could’ve been the difference between the playoffs and automatic promotion.

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It has been an absolute waste of a year for both parties and if the former England U20 international’s problems continue you have to ask what it means for the course of his career.

The youngster is clearly a very talented player but his time at Elland Road can only be described as a nightmare, as the Whites haven’t been able to use the attacking midfielder at all this season. It seems his career at the Yorkshire club will finish as it started, on the treatment table.

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With the FA Cup returning this weekend, the Fixture In Focus Podcast team have decided to take up the opportunity to momentarily break away from all matters on-pitch.

Indeed, this week’s episode is a special edition honing in on the world of goalkeeping, perhaps the most under-discussed, under-represented and misconceived position in modern football.

Host James Jones and #FIFpod regular Christy Malyan would only be adding to the problem by pretending to be knowledgeable masters of the trade, so they’ve drafted in the help of former Watford and Brentford goalkeeper Richard Lee for an exclusive chat.

In a wide-ranging interview, the agenda included the mental battle goalkeepers constantly face, how poor punditry has lead to wrongful criticism of Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa, Ben Foster’s incredible form this season and the debate over which shot-stoppers should be included in the next England squad.

If you love what we do and don’t want to miss another episode, don’t forget to subscribe on your preferred podcast platform by clicking here.

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Romelu Lukaku has struggled to keep all Manchester United fans onside this season due to his failings in front of goal.

The striker has only scored four times in 14 appearances in all competitions, and he has not found the back of the net for United since mid-September.

The 25-year-old remains Jose Mourinho’s main forward, but his availability for next weekend’s Premier League clash against Crystal Palace is uncertain.

The Belgium national team confirmed this weekend that Lukaku has withdrawn from their squad due to a hamstring problem.

The injury has prevented him from playing a single minute for his country during the international break.

United fans have been giving their reactions to the news on Twitter, and some have even made a joke at Lukaku’s expense.

A few suggested that the team would not be affected given how anonymous he has been in recent fixtures.

The Red Devils have struggled to make an impact in the league this season as they currently sit seven points adrift of fourth and 12 behind leaders Manchester City.

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Mourinho will be frustrated by the news given that Anthony Martial, Paul Pogba and Victor Lindelof also have injury problems.

Check out Playmaker FC’s Joe Street’s unfiltered take on Wayne Rooney’s England legacy in the video below…

Harry Winks made 33 appearances for Tottenham Hotspur during a breakthrough 2016-17 campaign, and was a regular in the early months of last season.The England international did not play a Premier League game in the second half of the 2017-18 campaign, however, after picking up an ankle problem which required surgery.Winks only had surgery at the end of May, but returned to the training field earlier this month, and featured against Fulham in the Premier League last time out.The 22-year-old is certainly a popular figure with the Tottenham fans, and many have taken to social media to pay tribute to the 5ft 10in ace.[brid autoplay=”true” video=”255896″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch Tottenham’s opening fixtures for the 201819 Premier League season”]Spurs have beaten Newcastle United and Fulham in their first two matches of the new Premier League season, and will be looking to make it three from three when they travel to Manchester United next week.Winks will hope to be involved in the clash at Old Trafford, and the Tottenham supporters are looking forward to watching the midfielder build back to full fitness over the next few months.A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

Everton are keeping a close eye on Atalanta midfielder Josip Ilicic ahead of the summer transfer window, according to Calciomercato.

What’s the story?

Everton have been very busy in the past two transfer windows; under former manager Ronald Koeman the club spent in excess of £100m on several new faces.

With Sam Allardyce at the helm, the buying continued in January as Theo Walcott and Cenk Tosun joined the party, while Eliaquim Mangala arrived from Manchester City on loan.

According to Calciomercato, another player has been added to Everton’s transfer wishlist, in the form of Ilicic from Atalanta.

The midfielder has made 33 appearances in all competitions for the Italian club so far this season, scoring 11 goals and creating eight assists.

Do Everton need another attacking midfielder?

That is one area where the Merseyside outfit are certainly not short!

Even though the 30-year-old’s statistics are impressive, there are more pressing matters that the Toffees should be focusing on.

During the January window, supporters demanded a left-back, but the Merseyside outfit did not deliver.

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Right-footed Cuco Martina has been taking on the role in Leighton Baines’s injury absence.

With the latter turning 34 next year, the club should priorities bringing in another man to fill his boots, rather than an attacking midfielder.

Everton came away from the Etihad Stadium yesterday evening with a massive point that owed everything to Dominic Calvert-Lewin at the tip of attack.

The youngster showed his quality earlier in the summer by netting the winning goal for England U20s in the World Cup final and appears to have taken that confidence into the new season, highlighted by a performance beyond his years against arguably the Premier League’s top side in Manchester City.

Indeed, Everton set up to spoil the party and hit the Citizens on the counter, which hinged on Calvert-Lewin’s ability to not only lead the line and bring Wayne Rooney into the game but also provide the pace to push back the likes of Nicolas Otamendi, John Stones and Vincent Kompany.

That’s exactly what the 6 foot 1 forward did; in addition to creating four chances, one of which supplied Rooney for Everton’s goal in the first half, Calvert-Lewin won two fouls, two aerial duels and completed two dribbles to give his side a vital foothold in the final third.

It was an exceptional performance from a youngster who appears to have an incredibly bright future at Goodison Park. But was he your Man of the Match? Let us know by voting below…

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No matter which side of the #WengerIn/#WengerOut debate you stand on, it’s hard to argue that Arsene Wenger’s players put in a real shift for him last night as Arsenal slipped to a humbling 5-1 loss at Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena.

The Gunners were always likely to come away with a negative scoreline for the second leg of their Champions League last 32 tie against the German giants, but the manner in which they were out-played and the fact that, barring a bizarre turnaround, they’re out of Europe once again has sent some supporters of the club into meltdown.

In an attempt to harness this energy for good (well, sort of good) we asked Gunners fans to name and shame the 14 players who took to the pitch and here are the THREE biggest offenders. Amazingly, six-passes-completed-in-77-minutes midfielder Francis Coquelin got off lightly, with his name not making the trio of shame…

3) Granit Xhaka

Quickly becoming a questionable signing, the hot-headed Swiss midfielder was expected to shine vs. Bayern Munich. After all, he knows the Bundesliga giants well having played for Borussia Monchengladbach up until his £30m+ summer switch to London and has that spiky streak that is always needed in the biggest games.

Alas, he and his midfield partner Francis Coquelin were anonymous vs. the Bavarians as the home side ran riot and exploited the space between the engine room and defensive line.

2) Alex Iwobi

A youngster thrust up against Philipp Lahm – a player whose won it all at international and club level – there was always the potential for the Gunners ace to struggle. And struggle he did, with the German veteran running the right side of the pitch for his team by producing overlapping surges that were a constant thorn for Wenger’s side. Iwobi offered very little going forward, too.

1) Mesut Ozil

In at number one we have big game bottler extraordinaire, Ozil. The midfielder attempted the same number of passes as Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, which is a damning stat given that he’s hailed as the Londoners’ main playmaking talent.

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Ozil is often slated for not showing up when it really matters, and those criticisms will surely continue off the back of this.

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Results

English football can be an unforgiving place. The past decade or two has seen a number of clubs fall on hard times, financially, structurally and even professionally. Former giants of the English game have been reduced to shadows of their old selves, their proud histories looked back on with fondness as they tumble down the league(s), battling relegation and financial ruin, chasing the dream of their past glories as they head in the ‘wrong’ direction.

You only have to look into the Championship for evidence as to the ease of which clubs’ fortunes can rise and fall in dramatic fashion. From past Premier League winners to Champions League semi-finalists, the list of sides whose fortunes have fallen on harder times is notable. Even into the third and fourth tiers we can find modern-day FA Cup winners and finalists along with sides that have competed at the highest level in recent seasons.

One of the biggest clubs to have dropped away from mainstream public consciousness in recent years is Sheffield Wednesday. One of the founding members of not only the Premier League, but the original FA in the late 19th-century, the club have a proud tradition, large fan base and an excellent stadium. Hillsborough has unfortunately become synonymous with the tragic events of the 1989 FA Cup semi-final but it nevertheless remains an impressive ground with a near 40,000 capacity, of which at least half is regularly filled by their loyal fans.

The modern era has generally headed in one direction for the Sheffield giants, however. The last 25 years have seen the Owls go from League Cup champions and multiple cup finalists to wading around in the Championship, even falling in to the third tier at one point. Since falling out of the Premier League in 2000, the club have gone through 10 different managers in an attempt to improve their fortunes, although none succeeded in raising the club to anything more than mid-table fodder – a sad sight for one of England’s most historic clubs.

As is often the case in this day and age, the club battled financial problems alongside it’s on-pitch mediocrity and narrowly avoided a winding-up order at the start of the decade. But brighter days are ahead for ‘Wednesday’, the club’s coming through its downturn and is now in a good place to attempt a push for a return to top-flight football for the first time in over 15 years.

Like many clubs across the country, the ‘Steel City’ side were bought by foreign investors in early 2015. They’ve found a new lease of life under owner Dejphon Chasniri, however, and currently occupy the last promotion spot in the ultra competitive Championship. Aiming to get the side back in the top-flight in time for it’s 150th anniversary in 2017, the Thai businessman has invested heavily since his arrival, both structurally and with personnel.

But he clearly knows his stuff both on and off the pitch. Not many would have heard of their manager before this season, the relatively unknown Carlos Carvahal bought in following unremarkable spells in Portugal and Turkey. With the help of some excellent investment in quality players, however, the Portuguese coach has made the Sheffield side one of the most impressive in the Championship, and outside candidates for promotion.

Their form on their own patch has been particularly eye-catching, with the club only losing once in front of their own fans so far this season. They are right up there amongst the leagues top-scorers, a feat aided by prolific strikers Fernando Forestieri and Gary Hooper, who are both in double figures for the season. Carrying on the fine work undertaken by previous caretaker and full time boss Stuart Gray, Carvalhal has taken the team on another level, mixing talented imports with some fine UK players to produce a side that’s both good to watch and able to get results with great team spirit.

If they are to really cement their place in the play-offs for this season they may need to improve their away form, but they’re headed in the right direction for sure and would actually be a year ahead of schedule if they did somehow get to the Premier League this time around. It seems more logical to suggest they can make a concerted effort for automatic promotion next season, the squad, manager and club still in development together under the new owner.

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After so many years of battling relegation, staving off financial ruin and merely just treading water in the anonymity of lower mid-table Championship football, Owls fans may have finally found something to get excited about once again. With good investment behind them, an intriguing and exciting manager at the helm and the loyal and passionate Hillsborough crowd alongside them, this tight-knit group of players have the talent and potential to re-establish the Owls as a Premier League force once again.

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