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Manchester City fans have taken to Twitter to discuss Oleksandr Zincheko’s season so far, after a stunning campaign in which he has excelled whilst Benjamin Mendy has been out injured.

The Ukrainian almost left the Etihad Stadium back in the summer, after the Citizens agreed a £16m fee with Wolves for his signature – Zinchenko himself decided to stay in Manchester and fight for his place in the team, despite making just 14 appearances last season.

442oons have charted the entire career of Man City’s main man Sergio Aguero through song in the hilarious video below…

He found himself behind Mendy in the pecking order at the start of the current campaign, but after another serious injury to the Frenchman, 22-year-old Zinchenko took his chance by the scruff of the neck – in that respect, it feels as if he is always an unsung hero due to the pedigree, price tag and reputation of the World Cup winning left-back.

He has one goal and four assists to his name this season, starring under Pep Guardiola as he marauds up and down the left flank to great effect, and his efforts have clearly gone down well with the City supporters on Twitter…

كشف محمد أسامة رئيس الجهاز الطبي لفريق الكرة بالزمالك خضوع حازم إمام ومحمد عبدالغني لأشعة خلال الساعات الماضية للاطمئنان عليهما عقب الإصابات التي تعرضا لها في لقاء وادي دجلة الأخير بالدوري الممتاز.

وأكد أسامة أن حازم إمام يعاني من شد خفيف في العضلة الأمامية ويخوض حاليا تدريبات تأهيلية، لتجهيزه للمباريات المقبلة.

بينما محمد عبدالغني أثبتت الأشعة أنه يعاني من كسر في الأنف وعليه تم تركيب قناع واق بمكان الإصابة ليشارك به في التدريبات والمباريات.

طالع.. تقارير | فيفا يفرض غرامة مليون يورو على الزمالك

وأوضح طبيب الزمالك أن إصابة عبدالغني لن تسبب له أي إعاقة أثناء تواجده مع الفريق، وسيقوم ببعض الجلسات العلاجية بشكل طبيعي أيضًا، حيث شارك اليوم بالفعل في التدريبات بشكل طبيعي .

ويستعد الزمالك لمواجهة فريق حرس الحدود في الجولة 33 للدوري الممتاز والتي تقام مساء الإثنين المقبل بالإسكندرية.

Modern football is a disaster, and Tottenham Hotspur are the evil purveyors of all things wrong in our game.

Picture this: the year is 2030 and the final reasonably priced blocks at *insert any Premier League stadium* have been replaced by cheese rooms, cinema screens, hotel suites, theme parks and gyms. Football has ceased to be about watching the sport and has devolved into a corporate playground within which the fans have become secondary to complimentary drinks and gift bags.

An array of all things sanitised have exploded onto the beautiful game stripping away the pure, unadulterated essence of what makes football so great.

Spurs’ new stadium may be a thing of beauty, and believe us, it is, but it has become a flagship for everything disastrously wrong in the modern game.

The “Tottenham Hotspur Stadium” – until it is otherwise named after some sort of deodorant, coffee brand, energy drink or airline company – boasts a number of pointless gimmicks.

Consisting of a cheese room, a “tunnel club” – where fans can gawp at players through a glass pane like a zoo, a microbrewery because, hey, clubs love fans drinking at games, an in-house bakery (?), a sky-lounge, and the feature we all have not been waiting for: USB ports bedded into the seats – ideal for those wanting to document their experience on social media.

Yes, Tottenham’s new project has become a hotbed for modern ploys. The stuff average lifelong fans never asked for but must suffer the consequences of.

According to TalkSport, most matchday tickers at £10 more than they were at Wembley, whilst Category B and C tickets are 30 to 50 per cent more expensive than they were at White Hart Lane. Fans being priced out of the game. Again.

If the aforementioned did not shock you enough, however, brace yourself for Spurs most recent announcement.

The Sun have reported that Tottenham are keen on hosting the Super Bowl and want to be ‘home the first NFL team outside the US’

“From the start we’ve had NFL  in mind,” said the club’s head of business development Aidan Mullally.

“The anchor tenant is Tottenham Hotspur, but this is designed to be a permanent home for the NFL outside the US.”

But why? What benefit will this bring to the lifelong fans of Tottenham? What will the average supporter gain from their increased ticket price? Why are Tottenham so utterly obsessed with satisfying the needs of other fans before their own?

There are so many questions that need answering.

Tottenham fans, what do you make of the NFL news? Join the discussion by commenting below… 

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Former Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Mick McCarthy will appear on the latest Old Gold Club podcast on Wednesday evening, and he has named four signings he made for the club in the Premier League that he got completely wrong, as per wolves.co.uk.

What’s the word, then?

Well, the now Republic of Ireland boss spent five-and-a-half years at Molineux between 2006-2012, leading the west Midlands outfit in the Championship and in the top flight.

The now 60-year-old was sacked following a poor run of results that culminated in a 5-1 home humiliation by arch-rivals West Bromwich Albion.

One of the reasons for their downfall was poor recruitment, and McCarthy has admitted on the Old Gold Club podcast that four signings he believed would be good turned out to be the complete opposite.

He said: “The recruitment turned out not to be great. Roger Johnson, Nenad Milijas, Jelle Van Damme, Jamie O’Hara.

“I’m thinking we’re signing better players, we all thought it, but they weren’t better than Christophe Berra, David Jones. Roger Johnson was nowhere near better than Christophe Berra, Jamie O’Hara was nowhere near the lads we’d already got.”

Is this a ground-breaking revelation?

Not particularly, no.

It was clear to see from the quartet’s performances on the pitch that they were nowhere near good enough – and no better than some of the players they replaced in the starting XI – but it is always interesting to hear a manager’s take on what happened.

McCarthy isn’t one to mince his words and he certainly hasn’t in this case either, throwing Johnson and O’Hara under the bus in particular.

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Arsenal manager Unai Emery is set to send Denis Suarez back to Barcelona when his loan spell ends, per The Sun.

The 25-year-old joined the club on loan in January and the aforementioned report claims the Gunners hold the option to buy Suarez in the summer for £18million; a clause they are unlikely to exercise.

What’s the word?

Suarez has flattered to deceive since arriving in England and has yet to start a game for the Gunners.

Per Transfermarkt, Suarez has not played more than 24 minutes for the club, with that cameo coming in a 3-1 loss to Manchester City.

The Sun claim that manager Unai Emery is worried about the chances of the midfielder adapting to life in England.

Indeed, they state that Emery is already planning the club’s summer signings and is considering alternatives, such as PSG winger Christopher Nkunku.

The London Evening Standard reported in January that the former Sevilla boss wanted the club to sign Suarez permanently, but he is now likely to be sent packing this summer.

Can Emery be trusted?

Emery clearly cannot lead the club’s transfer strategy if Suarez is a sign of things to come.

He wanted Arsenal to pay up to secure him on a permanent basis but, since he arrived on loan, the manager has deemed him unworthy of starting games for the club.

The silver lining here, of course, is that Arsenal have not committed to major investment and can cut their losses in the summer.

But it should ring alarm bells for fans who have seen Arsene Wenger bring in numerous players who have failed to make the grade at the club over the years.

Perhaps it is merely growing pains and Emery has not yet worked out the attributes needed by top Premier League players.

Or maybe he cannot be trusted to identify the club’s signings; Suarez already looks destined to be a disappointing flop.

This summer brings up the two year anniversary of Serge Aurier being at Tottenham, although the chances are he may not make it until the 31st August, which was the date he was signed for £23 million in 2017, as France Football has claimed that he’ll be sold this summer. You can read the story on the TEAMtalk website, but the fans aren’t happy.

The Lilywhites are all of the agreement that Serge Aurier is the best right-back they have at the club at the moment, even if that isn’t saying much at all. The only reason that the Ivorian can claim that tag is because he’s competing with Kieran Trippier, who is still struggling to find the form he managed at the World Cup last summer, with Spurs suffering as a result of the defender’s awful performances.

Of the three right-backs that the club have on their books at the moment, only Kyle Walker-Peters is one who the fans are happy to keep over the summer, and whilst they seem gutted that Aurier could be on his way out, it’s only because that implies Trippier will stay. Mauricio Pochettino has used Aurier as his Champions League right-back with Trippier in the Premier League, and if one of them was to go the fans are all in agreement it should be Trippier.

You can read the Lilywhites’ thoughts on the Aurier news here:

The feeling isn’t that Spurs fans want to keep Aurier, they’d just rather see Trippier go if it was between the two and in an ideal world both would be on the move when the summer comes around.

Ki Sung-Yueng insists Newcastle players are starting to look up the table, while still keeping a wary eye below them, with the club now having a six point cushion between themselves and the drop-zone.

Ki made his return to the Newcastle starting lineup for Saturday’s spectacular come-from-behind win against Everton, having found it difficult to break back into the side following his Asian Cup exploits and recovery from a subsequent injury which cut his tournament short.

The South Korean had to be patient due to the outstanding form of youngsters Isaac Hayden and Sean Longstaff. But a serious injury to the latter meant Ki got his chance, and in football one player’s misfortune is another’s opportunity.

With United’s great run of five consecutive home wins easing relegation fears, Ki acknowledged that they need to be more “disciplined” and “compact” away from home.

He told the NUFC.co.uk: “As a player, of course you want to go higher — you don’t want to stay at the bottom of the table all the time. Now we have games that we can have a go in. We don’t underestimate the teams who are below us, but we have to have more confidence that we can go even higher.

“Confidence gets higher which is very, very important at this stage of the season, because we are still fighting relegation. Of course we are in a good position, but it’s not finished yet. We still have eight games to go and we have to win as many as we can.

Looking forward to the game on the South coast, he added: “It’s going to be a difficult game because they are above us and it’s their home game, so they will have an advantage.

“But we beat them at home, so like normal we will give our best. We have to be more disciplined, especially in away games when it’s more difficult, so we have to be more compact.”

After the influence fit again Jonjo Shelvey had in his cameo appearance against Everton on Saturday, it would be no surprise to see him come into the side for Saturday’s long trip, and with Hayden in such good form, it would likely be the Korean who dropped out.

But with Shelvey ready to take his chance, and a fully fit Mo Diame also available, it is a nice problem for the manager to have.

Certainly away from home, Shelvey’s ability to pick out a killer pass will give the Magpies their best chance of picking up a win, but it remains to be seen if Rafa sees it the same way.

What are your thoughts on Newcastle’s current midfield options? Who would you play as the central pairing at Bournemouth on Saturday? Share your thoughts with us below…

What do Newcastle United need to do in order to get back among Premier League giants? Make big signings of course!

While the Magpies showed a lot of heart in their thrilling win over Everton recently, in which Rafa Benitez once again proved his ability to turn the Toon Army into a top-six side, heart isn’t enough. The need for quality is of paramount importance, Mr Mike Ashley.

Indeed, for the club to fight against those in the top positions, the Magpies need to sign top players themselves. They’re already looking to do so in the summer and according to reports (via ChronicleLive), United are scouting Roma’s wonderkid Nicolo Zaniolo.

The 19-year-old’s been their breakthrough star this season, dazzling everyone with his majestic ability out in the Italian capital and looks a cut above Newcastle United right now. Even the most ardent Geordie would struggle to disagree with that, though with the likes of Real Madrid also apparently interested, it’d be very hard to appeal to him.

Still, where’s the fun in that? Newcastle United need to be ambitious and, according to a report from the same source, the club are prepared to be in order to keep Benitez at the helm.

Zaniolo’s adapted himself to the brutal Serie A environment effortlessly, having scored three goals and assisted twice so far for Roma. An exciting young talent, Italy’s next great hope is an extremely skilful player full of surprises. His dribbling ability, tendency to score world-class goals and creativity can greatly add to Benitez’s side.

With big sides are on his tail, it’ll be a difficult task for Newcastle to sign him but Mike Ashley needs to show ambition in putting in a surmounting bid for the blooming Italian this summer and charge up his side with a future superstar.

Zaniolo can add swagger to the Magpies game, allowing them to play attacking football with a stunning rhythm. Not only can his link-up with Miguel Almiron and Ayoze Perez be a tantalising one, but a signing like Zaniolo’s can be a statement of intent detailing Newcastle’s future ambitions of getting back among the best.

Newcastle fans, do you think Zaniolo’s signing can be a profitable one? Join the discussion by commenting below. 

They couldn’t, could they?

Sheffield Wednesday’s hopes of reaching the play-offs seemed to have all-but fallen away during the reign of former boss Jos Luhukay who experienced a torrid time at Hillsborough before finally being sacked in January.

Yet after the arrival of Steve Bruce as manager last month, the Owls’ fortunes have turned around completely with the club now just two points behind Aston Villa who currently occupy the final play-off position in the Championship.

Although their run-in includes tough fixtures against the likes of Leeds United, Norwich City and Preston North End, it is by no means implausible that they could sneak into the play-offs if they continue to extend their current unbeaten run of ten games.

However, regardless on whether they achieve an unlikely promotion this year or face another season in the Championship, Wednesday must commit to making a decision on one of their most enigmatic players.

Since joining the Owls for a reported fee of £3m (according to the BBC), Fernando Forestieri has shown his fair share of individual brilliance. During his first campaign with the club, he fired in fifteen goals as Wednesday narrowly missed out on play-off glory after losing 1-0 to Hull City.

Over the following two campaigns, Forestieri continued his fine scoring form yet the Owls suffered promotion heartbreak once again before finishing in an underwhelming 15th position last season.

Although the Italian’s exploits in-front of goal has rightfully endeared him with the club’s supporters, it can be argued that he is a player who can either deliver a thrilling performance, or simply not turn up for his side.

During the 2018/19 campaign, Forestieri’s form has been lackluster to say the very least with the former Watford forward scoring just four times in eighteen appearances. A lack of involvement due to injury as well as team selection purposes has seen the 29-year-old miss 20 Championship fixtures this year, leaving the Owls to perform without him, which under the guidance of Bruce they have.

With Forestieri’s contract running out in 2020 (via The Star), it could benefit Wednesday to call time on the forward’s four year stay in Sheffield in the summer as they would be able to recruit a fee of some sorts for him.

Yet if the striker is to stay, he must step up to the plate in the club’s final eight games this season which will determine what level they will be playing at next year.

What do you think Owls fans? Should Forestieri leave in the summer? Or does Bruce need to back the forward to deliver the goods once again for your side? Let us know below.

أثار مدرب منتخب بلجيكا روبيرتو مارتينيز القلق بشأن نجم مانشستر سيتي، كيفين دي بروين، بعد استبداله في مباراة الأمس أمام منتخب إنجلترا.

وتواجه المنتخبان في الجولة الثالثة من المجموعة الثانية، في المستوى الأول، ببطولة دوري الأمم الأوروبية.

وفازت إنجلترا بهدفين مقابل هدف في ملعب ويمبلي، وشارك دي بروين في المباراة كأساسي، وطلب التغيير في الدقيقة 73.

وقال روبيرتو مارتينيز، في تصريحات نشرتها شبكة “جول” العالمية: “لن أقول أن دي بروين مُصاب”.

وأضاف: “لقد أخبرني إنه يشعر بشيء ما، من السابق لآوانه معرفة ما يعاني منه”.

وواصل: “دي بروين شعر إنه ليس لائقًا بنسبة 100%، يمكن القول أن استبداله كان احترازيًا”.

يُذكر أن بلجيكا ستواجه آيسلندا يوم الأربعاء المقبل، في دوري الأمم الأوروبية في الجولة الرابعة.