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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…

Wolves have finally started to see their fortunes turn around, particularly in the Premier League.

Sunday’s shock victory over Manchester City meant it was three straight victories in regulation time – a far cry from a month ago when the west Midlands club were thrashed 5-2 by Chelsea at Molineux before losing their Europa League group opener.

With the season taking an interval for the second international break of the season, transfer rumours tend to resurface with the lack of considerable competitive football on offer at the top of the elite game.

Wolves this week have already seen Willy Boly linked with a move to Arsenal, but there’s also been chatter about Ruben Neves’ future over in Spain as La Liga giants Real Madrid see him as a possible target in January.

One Wolves fan thinks he’s pinpointed the moment when they went from EPL strugglers to “peak Barcelona 2011” in the video below…

It’s doubtful that many would like to see his departure, though, it is one that should ultimately happen.

Firstly, those reports suggest that the Portuguese anchorman would be available for €50m (£44.8m), which is more than double what they originally paid for him, but they could probably get a lot more, especially with how heavily Los Blancos tend to pursue their targets.

Secondly, he wouldn’t be that big of a miss based off this season.

The 22-year-old was outstanding in the Championship when Wolves won the title – the fact he left Champions League regulars Porto for the English second tier was quite surprising, so him looking a cut above everyone else was a complete contrast in reality.

Neves bagged six goals while averaging a passing accuracy of 84.9% and 2.3 tackles per game, via WhoScored.

But since then, it’s gradually decreased culminating in this season’s weak attempt, which suggests he’s struggled to step up to the difference in quality.

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His passing accuracy is currently at a career-low 71.7%, and he hasn’t had the domineering effect in midfield that he once had in the old gold shirt, averaging only 1.3 tackles per game.

Neves played in 35 top-flight games last campaign, but he’s been dropped several times already this season because of his poor performances – starting just one of Wolves’ last three Premier League matches.

Fellow countryman Joao Moutinho has stepped up to contribute in areas he probably didn’t previously do earlier in his career – as seen against City, where he recorded three more tackles than the defensively-minded Neves.

It may be harsh, but the 6-foot midfielder has been good for the odd screamer since their title-winning campaign, but aside from that, he’s struggled to live up to that golden debut season. On that evidence, he’s someone they could potentially replace.

Transfermarkt rate him at £45m, they can get a lot more than that, which will help them find a replacement that can do a better job in defensive midfield.

Lots of Crystal Palace fans have taken to Twitter to react after it was revealed that Gary Cahill had won the club’s Player of the Month award for September.

The 61-cap England international played every minute of the action last month, helping the Eagles pick up four points from games against Tottenham, Wolves and Norwich, keeping one clean sheet in the process.

Palace were moments away from making that two, although conceded a 95th minute equaliser against Wolves.

Cahill has shone since signing on a free transfer after leaving Chelsea, helping Palace take 11 points from their first seven games, just one point off 4th-place Arsenal – does a Champions League spot beckon for the south Londoners?

Probably not.

Nevertheless, Cahill has been brilliant and he deserves the award.

One fan doesn’t agree, however, saying that Vicente Guaita was “robbed”, although the rest of the responses are kinder to the 33-year-old.

Let’s take a look at some more of the Twitter reaction…

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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… 

The games just don’t get any easier when you’re in the Premier League as struggling Aston Villa are about to find out.

Dean Smith’s men have found life difficult in the top-flight after gaining promotion back in May.

They have won just one of their five matches, leaving them one place outside the relegation zone on goal difference.

Last Monday night they looked lacklustre against a ten-man West Ham side, recording five shots on target, so they will be hoping to make amends this weekend.

Though, a trip to north London to face Arsenal may throw up similar results.

The Gunners’ defence is fragile, having faced more shots at their goal than any other side in Europe with 96, but the key battle does not involve their defence but rather one of their dangermen.

On the Chalkboard

Club-record signing Nicolas Pepe cost Arsenal £72m, which is half the sum Villa boss Dean Smith spent on 12 players this summer.

He’s yet to get off the mark in three Premier League starts, but he’s shown just how dangerous he can be.

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Last season, the 6-foot winger netted a monumental 22 goals for Lille while also providing 11 assists which steered the club into the Champions League.

Pepe provided his first assist in a Gunners shirt in the north London Derby against Tottenham and so far this season has averaged 2.6 shots per game and 3.8 dribbles each match, per WhoScored.

This would suggest that Neil Taylor is in for a torrid time at left-back.

Although the experienced 30-year-old only allows an average of 0.4 dribbles past him per game, he’s faced no one of Pepe’s calibre.

The Welshman will really have to be on his game to combat such a threat – 2 clearances, 1.8 tackles and 1.2 interceptions per game suggest he’s doing a decent enough job at left-back.

One thing on his side is the fact that the winger is regularly dispossessed, averaging 1.8 per game – before making his debut there were doubts over whether he could cope with the Premier League’s physicality.

The Ivory Coast international records 2.2 unsuccessful touches per match too so there’s further hope that Villa can get the better of him.

Saying that, the pure technical dribbling ability of the pacey forward could leave Taylor on the ropes. The Welshman must be at the top of his game to avoid a torrid afternoon.

It was a disappointing result for Rangers against Hearts of Midlothian.

With Celtic hammering Ross County 6-0 on Saturday, the Gers needed a victory against the Jam Tarts to move back to the top of the Scottish Premiership table. However, they could only manage a 1-1 draw, and they only got that after Alfredo Morelos had levelled following their opponents’ opener in the first half. They now sit second in the table on goal difference.

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There were plenty of displays that were lacking, but right-back James Tavernier’s was particularly disappointing. The 27-year-old was at fault for Hearts’ goal and other than that, he did not manage to reach his usual high standards.

His display did not go unnoticed by the Ibrox outfit’s supporters, and they were quick to slam his performance. They took to Twitter to share their thoughts, and you can see some of the best comments from the social media platform below.

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Football fans tend to have long memories.

They will sometimes hold a grudge against a player who celebrated in front of them for the remainder of that man’s career.

They will remember a referee who had a terrible performance which did not benefit their side.

However, in some Crystal Palace fans’ cases, they may instead have short memories after reacting so badly to the club’s lack of signings this summer.

Just nine years ago, the Eagles were on the brink of falling into obscurity with liquidation looming, before Steve Parish and the rest of a consortium named ‘CPFC 2010’ saved them.

Speaking on the HLTCO podcast, Parish said: “In the summer when we were looking for those positions we felt the prices were very inflated, there was a lot of risk in some of the options that were out there.

“It is very easy to waste money, spending money per se doesn’t do anything but make everybody happy for a few weeks because you’ve got an expensive signing.”

Whilst you can easily point the finger at him and say that the squad should be in far better condition than it is – Roy Hodgson was forced to play a centre-back and a centre-midfielder in the full-back positions recently – you can’t blame Parish for being careful and wanting to wait for the right opportunity.

So many clubs splash the cash on seemingly exciting players who simply don’t cut the mustard.

Let’s look at Southampton, for example. The Saints spent a combined sum of £68.1m on the likes of Wesley Hoedt, Mario Lemina, Mohamed Elyounoussi and Guido Carrillo, all of whom would presumably have excited the fanbase when signing.

However, Elyounoussi has since been loaned to Celtic whilst Carrillo has joined Leganes on loan, with Hoedt and Lemina also going on September 2 – it seems like a far-fetched thought that the Saints will even get a fraction of their £68.1m back.

Right now, with clubs like Bury going under and Bolton only just surviving by the skin of their teeth, Parish is completely within his rights to be careful and wait for the right moment – even if it does infuriate some supporters.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets…

After selling Aaron Wan-Bissaka to Manchester United in a deal worth £50m this summer, you would’ve expected Crystal Palace to sign a replacement.

However, the Eagles opted not to splash the cash on a new face to replace the academy graduate, and instead decided to go into the new campaign with Joel Ward as the only right-back at the club – a bold decision, to say the least.

The Englishman has played every minute of the Premier League campaign so far, but was an injury doubt for the visit of League Two side Colchester in the Carabao Cup, with academy centre-back Sam Woods deputising for him in an unfamiliar position at right-back.

At just 20 years of age, you could forgive Woods for turning in an average performance in a position that he isn’t accustomed to.

However, the man with just one first-team appearance prior to Tuesday evening’s fixture impressed and showed signs that he can deputise for Ward at right-back on a more regular basis.

Woods almost scored a fantastic goal on his first ever start for the south Londoners after a nice exchange with Connor Wickham and Christian Benteke inside the box, whilst also delivering a solid performance from a defensive aspect.

The youngster, wearing the No.35 shirt on the night, won four aerial duels and made three clearances.

He also managed to complete one dribble as well as one tackle on a night where he enhanced his first team prospects.

Of course, one may suggest that the quality of the opposition must be taken into account on this occasion.

However, you could also argue that the League Two side performed above their expected ability with Colchester more than holding their own against the likes of Benteke, Max Meyer, Andros Townsend and Victor Camarasa.

This makes Woods’ performance even more impressive given how difficult Colchester made the fixture, and whilst it wouldn’t be wise to jump to conclusions and say Woods will go straight into Roy Hodgson’s thinking for the Premier League, there were plenty of encouraging signs from the defender to suggest that he could be a promising understudy to Ward.

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The board hopes to bail out last season’s teams who haven’t paid their players fully

Mohammad Isam26-May-2025The BCB will introduce revenue distribution for the first time in the BPL in a bid to bail out last season’s teams that haven’t cleared their dues to players. The decision was taken during the BPL’s governing council meeting in Dhaka on Monday.The payment issue came to the fore last season after Durbar Rajshahi’s overseas players boycotted a match over non-payments. Their local players had also skipped a training session during the tournament as a mark of protest. Towards the end of the tournament, the payment delay left some of the overseas players stranded in their hotel in Dhaka.After Durbar Rajshahi kept missing the payment deadline, Bangladesh’s sports ministry put pressure on the team owner Shafiqur Rahman.The BCB, in principle, has decided to allocate a portion of the tournament’s ticket sales to the seven franchises according to their final position in the points table. The four teams that reached the playoffs last season will get Taka 5.5 million (US$45,000 approx.) and the ones that didn’t reach the playoffs Taka 4.5 million (US$36,000 approx.).”This is the first time that the BCB will distribute revenue from ticket sales to BPL franchises,” a BCB statement said. “The disbursement, scheduled ahead of Eid-ul-Adha, will be conditional upon the verification of payment acknowledgments from the respective players.”The BCB also threatened legal action against the franchises that are still defaulting on payment obligations.”The final disbursement amount for each franchise will be determined proportionally, based on the percentage of outstanding player payments they have cleared relative to their eligible share,” the statement said. “In addition, the Governing Council has decided to pursue legal action against any franchise that continues to default on payment obligations despite repeated official notices. This decision reflects the BCB’s commitment to ensuring contractual accountability and maintaining the integrity of the league.”

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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…

Attacking players win you games, right?

One may argue that you can never have too many quick-thinking forwards capable of that moment of brilliance, the flash that can turn one point into three.

However, having such an embarrassment of riches prompts the question: How can they all fit into the side and get a sufficient amount of game time?

In Southampton’s case, Ralph Hasenhuttl has this same dilemma on his hands.

The former RB Leipzig boss doesn’t necessarily have Lionel Messi, Ousmane Dembele, Antoine Griezmann and Luis Suarez at his disposal, but he still has plenty of game-changing attackers who can’t quite all fit in the same XI.

Nathan Redmond, Danny Ings, Che Adams, Sofiane Boufal, Moussa Djenepo and Michael Obafemi.

Six forwards. Just three attacking positions up for grabs – if Hasenhuttl continues with his 3-4-2-1 system which he used last time out against Sheffield United, that is.

It should be mentioned that James Ward-Prowse also took up one of these positions against the Blades, so you could argue that seven players are vying for three positions – however, a bold move from Hasenhuttl looks to have helped solve this huge selection headache somewhat.

Against Chris Wilder’s side, the Austrian boss deployed £15m summer signing Moussa Djenepo at the unnatural position of left wing-back – the Mali international is commonly a left-sided forward.

Whilst some at Southampton may have been scared to see the 21-year-old – making just his fourth appearance in English football – play as part of the backline, Djenepo didn’t let them down.

In fact, he performed brilliantly.

Before being moved further forward later on in the game, the former Standard Liege man registered two tackles, one interception and two clearances, proving to be a capable pair of hands in the new role.

Upon being moved further forward, he then performed a bit of magic to sidestep Oliver Norwood, before dropping a shoulder and slotting home into the bottom corner.

When asked about the tactical decision, Hasenhuttl said: “I tried to have a right-footer on the left side to come inside and create and go into the red zone.

“Moussa showed against Liverpool in the last ten minutes that he can play this position in an offensive way but it was sure a risk, but I wanted to take this risk.”

Although Djenepo won’t be involved against Bournemouth on Friday night due to injury, that self-proclaimed risk may have just solved a huge selection problem for Hasenhuttl in the long-term, especially when all his options are fit.

Let’s just try to sum up how tough this situation is.

In Redmond, the Saints have a man who was their main attacking outlet last term with six goals and four assists to his name, so it would be a questionable decision to drop him.

Boufal has steadily become a starter once again since returning from his loan spell at Celta Vigo, with Hasenhuttl stating how important the Moroccan’s ability to carry the ball up the field is after the 1-1 draw against Manchester United.

Elsewhere, Adams – a £15m signing from Birmingham – has got himself into promising positions despite not scoring. it would be a huge call to drop him so soon into his Saints career – especially given the price tag he commanded.

Ings, a striker of real pedigree having turned out for Liverpool and England, commanded a £20m fee this summer and would certainly feel hard done by if he was dropped for a long period of time – the former Burnley man also hit seven goals last season.

Obafemi is an up-and-coming youngster who has already found the net once this term, whereas Ward-Prowse has worn the armband for the club, demonstrating how key he is at St Mary’s.

Every player involved in this selection headache – perhaps excluding Obafemi given his inexperience – has some sort of case to start.

However, by finding Djenepo a spot at left wing-back and discovering that the Malian is a capable option there, Hasenhuttl has freed up more space in attack, thus reducing the dilemma on his hands.

Ironically, it solves a problem at left-back too. With Ryan Bertrand injured and apparently out of favour – Hasenhuttl said he would’ve dropped the occasional England man regardless – Kevin Danso filled in there against Manchester United only to be sent off in the second half.

Djenepo represents a solution there as well, an alternative for the left side of the St. Mary’s defence, albeit as a wing-back rather than a traditional No.3.

The summer signing is already ticking a lot of boxes for the Saints boss, albeit perhaps not in the way he expected when he arrived on the south coast, and much of it owes to Hasenhuttl’s willingness to take a tactical gamble away from home.

Victory condemns depleted Yorkshire to their third successive defeat in the competition

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay06-Jun-2025Warwickshire Bears condemned Yorkshire to a third successive Vitality Blast defeat as they handed them a six-wicket beating at Edgbaston.The Bears registered their first win of the campaign after Yorkshire, put in, totalled 164 for 7, having lurched from 139 for 2 to 146 for 7 in 17 balls. Dawid Malan (69 not out, 48 balls) and James Wharton (39, 23) set a solid foundation, but the middle and lower orders were scalped by the spinners as Danny Briggs, Jake Lintott and Moeen Ali each took two wickets.Alex Davies (65) and Tom Latham (44) then added 103 for the first wicket and though Matt Milnes (3 for 23) induced a wobble, the Bears reached 168 for 4 with six balls to spare,A heavily depleted Yorkshire team, without Jonny Bairstow (calf strain), Will Sutherland (broken toe) and George Hill (Lions duty), was given a lively start by Will Luxton who hoisted Dan Mousley for six but was bowled trying to do the same to Briggs.Adam Lyth swung Moeen’s third ball to deep mid-wicket but Malan and Wharton quietened the crowd by clearing the ropes five times in a stand of 74 in 43 balls. Malan posted a 32-ball half-century and Yorkshire were motoring nicely but then hit a big pothole (almost as big as some of those on the A435 south of Birmingham) as three wickets fell for one run in eight balls.Lintott had Wharton caught at long on and Matt Revis caught behind sweeping at what would have been a wide. When Dom Bess clipped Moeen to mid-wicket, his and Revis’ ducks had occupied an entire over for no runs.The collapse continued as Briggs ousted Harry Duke lbw and Matt Milnes embarked upon a single in which Malan was not interested and left Hasan Ali with a simple run out in his follow through. Malan, starved of the strike as the clatter unfollowed, scored just eight runs in the last five overs and walked off two runs short of 10,000 in T20 cricketBears openers Latham and Davies took a measured approach to the small target and put 50 on the board in 35 balls and 100 in 65. Revis’ unproductive day continued when he came on for the eighth over and Davies swung his first and third balls for six.The pair set a new record T20 opening stand for the Bears against Yorkshire, surpassing the 55 by Ed Pollock and Ian Bell at Edgbaston in 2018, before Latham heaved Bess to deep mid-wicket. Mousley, back in the Bears’ Blast team for the first time this season, and Davies fell in the same Milnes over to leave two new batters to find 37 from 35 balls.Those new batters were Moeen Ali and Sam Hain, who arrived at the crease with 11,854 career T20 runs between them. Yorkshire were still in the game when Moeen holed out to Milnes with 18 needed from two overs but Hain (24 not out) smote two fours and a six in the first of those overs to see his side home.

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Some Newcastle fans are furious with Steve Bruce, after the Magpies boss said his side had a “remarkable” transfer window.

It’s over. The transfer window has slammed shut and we can now stopping checking every day for links to Bas Dost and Thiago Maia.

The Magpies have signed five new players, smashing their transfer record on Joelinton, adding pace and electricity with Allan Saint-Maximin, depth at the full-back position with Jetro Willems and Emil Krafth and finally a welcome homecoming with the return of Andy Carroll.

Still, there is a feeling that the overall ability of the squad didn’t improve much, considering the likes Salomon Rondon, Ayoze Perez and Mo Diame left.

Bruce clearly disagrees with that statement, saying: “Remarkable (the transfer window). I’m delighted. A lot of hard work has gone in. They’ve backed me.”

While the final three words should be music to the ears of any fan base, the infamous Mike Ashley’s decision to back Bruce, and formerly Steve McLaren, but not Rafael Benitez has irked the Toon Army.

They also feel Bruce is only saying what his boss wants him to say, bashing the gaffer for being a “puppet” and a “yes man”.

You can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

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