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Glasgow Rangers’ European dream came to an end last night against Slavia Prague at Ibrox, and Leon Balogun was partly to blame for the Gers’ collapse.

The 55-time Scottish champions drew 1-1 in Czechia in the first leg of their Europa League round of 16 clash and will have been hoping to get the job done at home. However, they ended up losing 2-0 in the return match and therefore were defeated 3-1 on aggregate.

Balogun, in particular, struggled against Slavia. His lack of pace was clear, he lost possession 15 times (SofaScore) and he was also sent off for a second bookable offence in the second half. That dismissal came after Kemar Roofe had already been given his marching orders for a stomach-churning tackle on goalkeeper Ondrej Kolar – Balogun made his side’s job even harder.

The Gers supporters were far from happy with his display, and they took to social media platform Twitter to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about Balogun below

“Balogun was shocking since the first minute, probably should of gave a penalty away and then gets sent off. Disaster.”

Credit: @ProctorDre

“Both balogun and goldson were awful!”

Credit: @APearson93

“Three players tonight showed the are true Rangers in an important game, Davis, Kent and Patterson. Ariobo, Barasic, were ify. Kamara, Arfield, Morelos. Balogun was a liability. Roofe? should go. Lord have mercy on us come Sunday barring one of our opponents miracle.”

Credit: @alexanderlair10

“Because the red card was coming all game. He was pathetic tonight. Shouldve been hooked at half time”

Credit: @Tjrfc97

“Garbage”

Credit: @steviegwilldo

“Balogun isn’t good enough for Rangers .. that’s just the truth & it’s not based on one game”

Credit: @andybearz

In other news, Rangers are interested in this 18-goal striker.

David Moyes should unleash West Ham United’s skilful youth talent Nathan Holland after losing Andriy Yarmolenko to knee ligament damage.

The Irons boss confirmed that the Ukraine international had sustained damage to his knee while speaking following the Hammers’ FA Cup defeat to Manchester United on Tuesday night.

Yarmolenko was one of three causalities of the loss, with Angelo Ogbonna forced off with an ankle injury and Issa Diop later becoming the first player in English football history to be replaced through the newly instigated concussion protocols.

Yarmolenko had started the Old Trafford affair as Moyes’ de facto centre-forward as West Ham opted to leave Michail Antonio at home, after the striker displayed signs of serious fatigue during his side’s goalless draw with Fulham last Saturday.

Moyes is optimistic over Antonio’s chances of featuring when West Ham next take to the field against Sheffield United on Monday night, but less so on Ogbonna or Yarmolenko.

“Ogbonna has injured his ankle and Yarmolenko his knee ligaments,” the Irons boss said, via quotes by football.london. “Angelo will be a miss because he has been a big player for us.

“I don’t think he [Antonio] is too bad; we are just being careful with him and he is a concern for Sheffield United but hopefully [he will be fit]. We will see in the next few days.”

Losing Yarmolenko for any lengthy period of time will not be a blow felt as hard at West Ham as the potential loss of Antonio or Ogbonna, but a blow nonetheless and one that presents Moyes with an opportunity to promote Holland into the senior fold.

The Irons do have options in the wide roles with Yarmolenko only the back-up for Jarrod Bowen, who may now be covered by Pablo Fornals, winter loan signing Jesse Lingard or even full-back Ryan Fredericks who has featured there in previous matches.

Yet Holland should not be ignored, having been named in the east London outfit’s updated 25-man Premier League squad for the remainder of the 2020/21 season.

Holland remained at the London Stadium after the January transfer window having seen potential loan moves fall through, despite Hammers insider ExWHUemployee suggesting he was set to leave with Oxford United and Hull City at points leading the race for his signature.

Now, Moyes can look to afford the 2019/20 Young Hammer of the Year greater first-team opportunities after leaving the 22-year-old an unused substitute in the FA Cup win over Stockport County last month, in what was his only first-team involvement thus far this term.

Injury has played its part in Holland only making one Under 23 outing this season with the Manchester-born winger ruled out for nine-months across 2020, but he is now fit once again and feeling stronger than ever.

When better, then, to see if the former England U20 international is ready to build only his only West Ham first-team start, having enjoyed a taste of senior football while on loan with Oxford United for the latter half of the previous campaign and scoring three goals in 12 games.

Goals or assists have never been an issue for the youngster having netted 19 times and created a further 18 in 50 U23s outings, and now should be the time to see if those numbers can translate into the senior fold at the London Stadium.

AND in other news, West Ham will have to pay in excess of £26.5m to land a prolific 18 goal striker in the summer…

Glasgow Rangers fans are far from happy with comments from SNP staffer Rosa Zambonini following the celebrations of Gers’ fans after they clinched their 55th Premiership title.

On Sunday, the Gers’ status as champions was confirmed after months of it being an inevitability. They did not even need to play to be crowned – after Celtic drew 0-0 with Dundee United, it became mathematically impossible for the Bhoys to catch the Ibrox outfit.

After the final whistle in that match, thousands of Gers supporters took to the streets to share their delight. Unfortunately, a small number of fans let the club down as they damaged public property – 28 arrests were made (Sky News). Zambonini was clearly angry with their behaviour, and suggested the whole of Scotland was feeling the same way.

She shared the comments on Twitter, and the quotes attracted plenty of attention from the supporters. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say to Zambonini below

“The latching on to funerals thing is totally ghoulish and deliberately sensationalist. Let’s find the most difficult aspect of lockdown and blame Rangers fans for it. Take it from one of those families you’re determined to speak for, you’re the one who has misread the room.”

Credit: @JJM55TIMES

“Coward”

Credit: @SF3___

“Haters will hate no matter what you do.”

Credit: @murdoch_charles

“Rosa doesn’t half hate the people’s club. The bitterness utterly drips from her.”

Credit: @coplandrear4

“Are you for real”

Credit: @Sneddon0472

“Another example of the obtuse hatred for Rangers, its supporters & traditions.”

Credit: @BedsBucksRSC

“The anti Rangers brigade are just loving this”

Credit: @Kat_Bee_123

In other news, Rangers fans laud this key figure.

According to The Scotsman, Lille remain interested in a move for Glasgow Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos.

Lille monitoring Morelos

Lille, who are currently second in Ligue 1 on goal difference and are still in the Europa League, were heavily linked with a move for the Colombia international during last summer’s transfer window – they were said to have agreed personal terms with the £13.5m-valued 24-year-old (Transfermarkt), while they also had a £16m bid rejected.

The Scotsman has been discussing players who will attract interest this January, and while they admit it is unlikely Morelos will depart this month, Lille are still monitoring his situation north of the border.

May be worth selling

Given his impressive scoring record at Ibrox – he has 85 goals in 164 games for the 54-time Scottish champions – the Gers were eager to hold on to Morelos as they resisted the temptation to sell last summer. However, this campaign, the striker has just eight goals in 26 games despite the Gers losing only once in all competitions.

His temperament has got the better of him on occasion, as well. He has been involved in altercations with Scott Brown in both Old Firm derbies, while Steven Gerrard has spoken out against his attitude when being substituted. It is getting to the point where he is becoming far more trouble than he is worth – another £16m offer could well force Ross Wilson’s hand.

In other news, Rangers fans hammer this politician’s lack of respect.

Liverpool return to Premier League action on Thursday evening, as they face Tottenham Hotspur away from home.

Jurgen Klopp’s side have started 2021 in terrible fashion, as they remain without a win in the top-flight, whilst they were knocked out of the FA Cup by Manchester United last weekend.

The Reds have scored just one goal in four top-flight fixtures and are in for another tough game on Thursday, as they face Jose Mourinho’s Spurs in North London.

Liverpool showed signs of improvements in the defeat at Old Trafford but looked vulnerable to counter-attacks throughout the game, so changes seem likely for the game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, considering how deadly Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son have been throughout the season so far.

Here’s how Football FanCast expects Klopp to line his side up against Spurs, with three changes from the team that started against Manchester United…

Alisson keeps his place in goal, although his performance at Old Trafford was arguably one of his worst in a Liverpool shirt as he should have saved Marcus Rashford’s goal and he’ll have been disappointed to have been beaten on his side by Bruno Fernandes’ free-kick.

There’s one change in the defence, as Joel Matip returns to the starting line-up after being rested for the FA Cup game last weekend, and he replaces Rhys Williams, who struggled badly against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side.

Jordan Henderson could also reportedly make his return, so Klopp should select his captain in the hope that he can provide some much-needed leadership on the pitch against Spurs and he’ll be picked in midfield, having filled in at centre-back in recent weeks.

He starts alongside Georginio Wijnalduma and Thiago in midfield, with £140,000-a-week man James Milner dropping to the bench.

Unsurprisingly, the “unbelievable” Sadio Mane returns to the side after starting on the bench in the FA Cup meaning Curtis Jones drops to the bench, and Klopp will be hoping that his strongest front three can do the business against Mourinho’s side, with Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino having shown glimpses of being back to their usual selves at Old Trafford last time out.

There have been suggestions that Fabinho could be missing for the game as he wasn’t spotted training with the Reds today, although there has been no confirmation at this time. If that is the case, and The Reds are without the Brazilian, then we’d expect Henderson to drop into defence alongside Matip, with Milner getting the nod in midfield.

And, in other news… “I think they”ll try and get it done this window” – Exclusive: Pundit tips LFC to sign “perfect” 28 y/o

Wolves’ season has turned into a peculiar state of affairs.

For the first time in Nuno Santo’s tenure at Molineux, he switched from a three-back to a four-man defence a few weeks ago.

It initially paid off with Wolves drawing with Southampton and then beating Arsenal.

However, combined with the injury to Raul Jimenez, Nuno’s defence is suddenly being breached on a regular basis. They have conceded five goals in their last two matches so clearly some degree of change is required.

In fact, we’re tipping Nuno to make as many as three alterations to his starting XI to face Chelsea on Tuesday evening.

We think that with Wolves on a poor run of form that the manager will shift back to his tried and tested three-man defence.

As a result, Wily Boly comes back into the side and we’re also tipping Nuno to remove Marcal from the squad and bring in summer signing Rayan Ait-Nouri.

A notable change comes in midfield where Joao Moutinho is suspended. Consequently, Ruben Neves is back in the side after a run of one start in the last three games.

The final alteration is in attack where Fabio Silva drops out of the side. Despite being the club-record signing, he’s not enjoyed the greatest of starts to his career at Molineux and thus, Daniel Podence leads the line again as he did against Liverpool a few weeks ago.

The Portuguese didn’t score on that occasion but has been lively in 2020/21, providing two goals and registering two assists.

With Jimenez out with a fractured skull, Nuno desperately needs to find a solution to his woes.

In other news, Forget Silva: Wolves can strike gold with swoop for “swashbuckling” 9-goal bully…

Manchester United left-back Alex Telles was handed a start by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to face Wolves and while some fans will have been delighted to see him keep his place in the starting line-up, he looked far from his very best.

Telles arrived at Old Trafford in the summer to add more attacking intent than what Luke Shaw was offering. His numbers at Porto certainly seemed to suggest that he could do just that, after he provided 13 goals and 12 assists across all competitions for the Portuguese outfit last season, via Transfermarkt.

However, the 28-year-old looked increasingly lacklustre against Nuno Espirito Santo’s side, as he was run ragged by the likes of Rayan Ait-Nouri, Ruben Neves and Adama Traore.

Per SofaScore, Telles lost possession of the ball ten times in the first half which suggests that he struggled to get a foothold in the game as he couldn’t hold on to the ball.

Despite his attacking instincts, he failed to record a single shot – let alone a shot on target – or register a single key pass, as per SofaScore. On the very few occasions he actually ventured forwards into the opposition half, he was caught in an offside trap once and lost his only duel of the game. Even Edinson Cavani, who had a shocker by all accounts, managed to win three of his duels overall.

Injury issues aside, Telles was unable to complete even just one of his attempted crosses from seven attempts as he proved to be rather wasteful in possession.

Solskjaer will have no doubt been left unimpressed by the new summer recruit’s latest showing as it’s fair to say that he has offered very little since he first arrived at Old Trafford, with only one assist in nine appearances across all competitions, as per Transfermarkt, which is a pretty paltry return.

The Sun gave Telles a 5/10 rating and claimed he ‘frequently looked to swing the ball into the box, but rarely found his team-mates’, while The Manchester Evening News were equally scathing in their assessment by offering him a notch better, insisting ‘his crossing was rarely of the requisite standard for Edinson Cavani.’

It’s hardly surprising he was substituted for Shaw at half-time and he ought to be wary after he was outshone by the Englishman, who looked lively in his 16th appearance of the season.

United can count themselves lucky they find themselves second in the table after a last-gasp victory over Wolves, with Telles’ poor performance on the left-wing clearly causing problems for Cavani and co.

His tenth start of the season could be his last for some time after such a dismal showing – with a clash with Liverpool on the horizon, Solskjaer will have to start considering other options.

AND in other news, Man Utd chief Ed Woodward can upgrade Daniel James in Inter Milan winger Ivan Perisic…

Glasgow Rangers boss Steven Gerrard has been hit by a major transfer blow as long-term target Jacob Murphy is excited by the chance to play for Newcastle United, reports say…

What’s the word?

In a recent interview with NUFC TV, Murphy has admitted that he thought there was a point where his Newcastle career was over. When asked to about how he fought his way back into contention to start for his boyhood club, he said: “It was tough. I had a run of games in October and November and I was voted Player of the Month when I had those games.

“It was tough to come in and not get many games, then get my games and do all right and then not to feature.

“There was the game against Stoke where I played well and got an assist and then I didn’t start again for another month.

“To get setbacks like that was tough because I was thinking: ‘What have I done wrong?’

“Those times were tough but looking back on it now it has moulded me into a stronger individual.”

However, his patience has been rewarded by Steve Bruce this season, as the 25-year-old scored on his first Premier League start since 2018.

Reports in recent times had revealed that Rangers were closely monitoring his situation in the summer. However, according to The Chronicle, Murphy is now desperate to seize his opportunity, which will be bad news for Gerrard, who may have been interested in signing him next summer, as his current contract is set to expire in 2021, so he may have only cost the club a fraction of the price.

Major blow?

Murphy is a dynamo on the wing and is averaging 1.5 dribbles in the Premier League this season, whilst he has also made 1.5 tackles and 1.5 clearances per game, via WhoScored, which shows that the attacking midfielder is more than capable of tracking back to help out at the back as well.

By comparison, both Brandon Barker and Jordan Jones are managing fewer than one dribble per game in the Scottish Premiership, as per WhoScored. Let’s face it, the least said about their defensive contributions, the better.

The statistics show that he would surely be an upgrade on the back-up options available if these numbers are anything to go by as Ianis Hagi arguably remains the club’s first-choice right winger. The 14-cap Romania international has featured 16 times for Gerrard’s side this season so far, which is more than both Barker and Jones combined.

Once hailed as a “fantastic” beast by former Leeds United and Aberdeen striker Noel Whelan, Murphy’s Newcastle teammate Rob Elliot believes the former 6-cap England U21 international has “great ability.”

Last season, Murphy spent time on loan with Sheffield Wednesday, where he made 44 appearances for Garry Monk’s side, scoring nine goals and supplying six assists in all competitions, via Transfermarkt.

One thing’s for sure, some Gers fans will secretly be hoping that he doesn’t become another one who got away. However, it’s surely only a matter of time before the Magpies offer him a new and improved deal to extend his £25k-per-week contract. After all, he spared Bruce’s blushes against Wolves with a sublime free kick.

AND in other news, Ross Wilson must reward Glasgow Rangers ace Glen Kamara with new contract…

Southampton goalkeeper Fraser Forster returned to the South Coast this summer following an impressive loan spell with Celtic, with the intention of challenging for a first-team spot in Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side.

Celtic were heavily linked with a return for the 32-year-old over the summer before Martin Semmens confirmed that he was set to stay with the Saints, where he would challenge Alex McCarthy and Angus Gunn for a spot in the first-team (per Daily Mail).

However, the former England international has failed to make an appearance this season, with Southampton opting to send Angus Gunn out on loan to Stoke City instead, leaving Forster to sit on the bench.

This looks to have been an expensive decision by the Southampton board, as, despite his lack of appearances, Forster is one of the top earners at the South Coast club, as he currently earns £70,000 a week with the Saints, which is joint-second with Ryan Bertrand.

Only Danny Ings earns more than the shot-stopper, suggesting that he is a very expensive option to just have sitting on the bench and perhaps the club should look into bringing in a cheaper second-choice during the January transfer window.

Celtic have recently been linked with a January move for the Englishman, so Southampton could raise some funds by selling the £4.05 million-rated ‘keeper.

After his impressive loan spell there last season, you would expect the 32-year-old to be guaranteed first-team football with the European giants, meaning a deal could benefit both parties.

During his time with the Bhoys, an impressive performance in the Europa League against Copenhagen, in which he saved a penalty, earned him glowing praise from manager Neil Lennon.

He said: “He’s brilliant, but that’s down to the work that he and (goalkeeper coach) Stevie Woods do behind the scenes.

“Credit to Fraser he’s done brilliantly with a magnificent save. I think it would have been really harsh on us if we’d lost the game with the amount of chances we had, especially in the first half.” (per Daily Mail)

Therefore, considering Forster’s considerable wage and his lack of minutes at Southampton so far this season, there doesn’t seem many reasons why the South Coast club should deny him a permanent move to Celtic should they reignite their interest in January.

West Brom have been in the market for a striker all summer.

The Baggies have consistently been linked with a move for Huddersfield Town’s Karlan Grant, but with this month being described by The Athletic as ‘crucial’ for that transfer, the Baggies seem to be making contingency plans for if they don’t land him.

M’baye Niang has been linked in recent weeks, but it seems as though the Midlands outfit have another Senegalese attacker from Ligue 1 in their sights.

The Sun’s Alan Nixon is now claiming that the Baggies are looking at signing FC Metz’s Habib Diallo on loan.

The striker netted 12 goals in 26 appearances in Ligue 1 last term, and while the rental fee is reportedly quite high, that amount will then be taken off of the transfer fee should Slaven Bilic’s side choose to make his stay permanent.

Diallo would certainly be an exciting acquisition at The Hawthorns, with Nixon describing him as ‘speedy’, and the fact that Chelsea were strongly linked with a move for him in January shows just how highly he is thought of.

Whether or not this transfer comes off remains to be seen, but Diallo could add some much-needed firepower to West Brom’s frontline in their battle against relegation this season.