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Crystal Palace’s Back of the Nest podcast (February 23, 35:09) have praised James McArthur’s performance against Newcastle United, due to how tired he appeared before the game.

What’s the word?

Palace won 1-0 on Saturday, their first victory in seven games, climbing to 13th in the Premier League table, nine points clear of the relegation zone.

McArthur has played in all but one of the club’s league games this season and played a key role in the game against Steve Bruce’s side, earning a WhoScored rating of 7.6 for his performance, lower than just two of his team-mates.

And regular contributor Chris hailed his performance on the podcast.

He said: “We’ve looked really tired for a while. And you know, a large part of that is because our squad is thin, we’ve had a lot of injuries.

“And so, and also the way that Roy tends to rely on the same players rather than, you know, rotating members of the squad means that players inevitably get tired.

“People like James McArthur in particular have looked very, very tired of late, and he really looked so much brighter.”

Calling all Eagles fans: Can you get 90% on this quickfire Palace quiz?

A virtuoso performance

McArthur really was excellent for Palace at the weekend.

Per WhoScored, the 32-year-old had 59 touches of the ball, laying on one key pass, completing three dribbles and also making three tackles, along with a game-high five interceptions.

It is remarkably impressive for a player who is used so regularly by Hodgson and speaks to his ability to hold the years back despite the advancement of his career.

His display was integral to his side’s victory and has gone a long way to ensuring they are unlikely to be in severe relegation trouble this season.

Meanwhile, one Crystal Palace decision was entirely vindicated at the weekend!

Aston Villa were beaten 2-1 by Manchester City in the League Cup on Sunday at Wembley. One Dean Smith change may have cost them their chance of victory.

On the chalkboard

Mbwana Samatta may have pulled Villa back into the game towards the end of the first half, but the reality is the Midlands outfit failed to cause the Citizens any real problems.

They managed just 30% possession and a paltry three shots on target. Had City been more clinical, the scoreline would have read a lot worse.

Smith made four changes to the side that succumbed to Southampton in the previous match, but it was his change of position to his star man Jack Grealish that may have damaged his side’s hopes of glory.

Unnecessary

Grealish has undoubtedly been his side’s star player this campaign. The Villa captain has scored nine goals and provided eight assists in all competitions – he tops the charts amongst his teammates in both areas.

He has spent most of the campaign on the left wing – according to WhoScored, he has appeared there 14 times so far this term – yet in the final, Smith gambled and decided to play him in the central attacking midfield role – somewhere he has played just twice this season.

The 24-year-old disappointed on the big stage. He picked up a SofaScore rating of 6.5, which was the worst of his team’s four attackers, and he was unable to exert the influence he usually does on Villa’s forward play. He managed one key pass and one successful dribble, whilst he failed to even register a shot at goal – on the left in the Premier League, he has averaged 3.4, 2.4 and three per match respectively.

Smith’s unnecessary decision to play Grealish more centrally backfired. Not only did it affect the player himself, but it also had a negative impact on the team as a whole – they have averaged 12.6 shots per league match this term, but only mustered up five here. Of course, Pep Guardiola’s side are one of the best teams in the top flight, but they are far from immune to slip-ups – they have already lost six league matches this season.

As Villa look to stay in the division, Smith must not try to be clever and take gambles where they are not needed. Grealish has proven his ability on the left, and his performances are vital to any hopes the Villa Park side have of playing Premier League football again next season – he needs to be played where he is most comfortable.

Elsewhere, this man embodies Villa’s grit against City.

Greg Taylor has posted a hilarious tweet following Celtic’s 1-0 win over St Johnstone in the Scottish Cup.

A goal from Ryan Christie – which initially looked as if Christopher Jullien got a touch to it – just nine minutes from full-time helped Neil Lennon’s men progress into the semi-finals.

Following the full-time whistle, Taylor – who has made 19 appearances for the Scottish giants this season across all competitions – tweeted a funny post making light of the weather at McDiarmid Park on Sunday afternoon.

The 3-cap Scotland international tweeted an image of his kit completely covered in mud during the quarter-final tie, so much so that you can barely see his name and number on the back of that famous green and white shirt.

Celtic’s next outing will be against Livingston in Scottish Premiership action on Wednesday.

You can see the hilarious image Taylor posted on Twitter, along with some comments from the full-back below:

In other news, take a look at how Chris Sutton reacted to Sunday’s win on Twitter…

Sheffield Wednesday are in freefall at the moment.

The Owls have won just two of their last 14 games, and if they’re not careful they could be sucked into a relegation battle sooner rather than later.

It’s safe to say that plenty of changes are needed at the Steel City club, and the most obvious place to start is between the sticks.

Cameron Dawson was hounded by the fanbase over the weekend for a mistake he made for Brentford’s opening goal on Saturday, and his day didn’t get much better after that – he picked the ball out of his net five times as Wednesday were hammered by Brentford.

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A number of fans called for him to be dropped, and unfortunately, we have to agree with that sentiment.

The most obvious switch to make would be to put Keiren Westwood back in goal. The Irishman is a former Player of the Year winner at Hillsborough and he has plenty of Championship experience, which could be exactly what the Owls need if they’re to get out of their current slump.

Unfortunately, Garry Monk seems intent on freezing the 35-year-old out, and his comment on social media last month seemed to suggest that he won’t be getting another chance at Wednesday anytime soon.

If Monk is going to remain stubborn on that one, then he must at least put Joe Wildsmith in for the Owls’ next game.

Leaving Dawson in after conceding five and dropping a howler is doing nobody any favours – the fans would have every right to be on both the player and the manager’s back, and it also sends out the wrong message to Wildsmith.

The 6 foot 2 shot-stopper played recently against Manchester City and he had a solid enough game, conceding just once against the Premier League’s top-scorers despite facing nine shots on target.

If Monk is going to dig his heels in regarding Westwood, then he must at least give Wildsmith a chance.

In other news, Sheffield Wednesday once again have to ponder one man’s future.

According to an update by Leeds United’s official account, the top of the table home clash against Fulham next week at Elland Road will be played in front of away fans that could only sell a portion of their away ticket allocation – resulting in swathes of Whites fans laying into the London club given the significance of their bout. 

Fulham, who are seven points behind Marcelo Bielsa’s league leaders, currently lying third in the Championship table, prepare for one of their biggest games of the season in the hopes of making a return to the Premier League – with a win at Elland Road potentially helping them catch up to second-placed West Bromwich Albion who currently occupy the last automatic spot.

However, as per this club update, the Cottagers have seemingly failed to sell out their away allocation for the bout next week – resulting in many supporters roasting their promotion rivals.

One fan even blasted the news as ‘tinpot of the highest order’ and ’embarrassing’ – find all of their best comments down below.

What do you make of the attendance update? Join the discussion by commenting below…

It wasn’t too long ago that Kun Temenuzhkov was looking like one of the hottest young talents at Leeds United.

The Bulgarian, who used to play for Barcelona, was named in The Guardian’s top 60 players to look out for back in 2017, and you can understand why.

The striker had netted 30 goals in 30 games for one of Barcelona’s youth sides, and he was showing signs that he would one day have what it takes to turn out for La Blaugrana.

Therefore, it was something of a shock when Leeds managed to nab him from La Masia at just 17 years old, but recently it’s been evident as to why Barcelona were willing to let him go.

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Temenuzhkov failed to score a single goal in the PDL this season, being outshone by the likes of Ryan Edmondson who has found the net eight times, and in an attempt to aid his development, Leeds sent him out on loan in January.

It was back to Spain for the Bulgarian as he joined CF La Nucia in the third tier.

One would think that a player who netted 30 in 30 for one of Barcelona’s youth sides would have no problem ripping it up in the Spanish lower leagues, but the fact of the matter is that it’s still not working out for him.

The 20-year-old has played just twice since arriving, and even those appearances were off the bench.

He’s been in the squad plenty of times, so it’s not an injury that has hampered his chances, the manager seemingly just doesn’t fancy him. If you’re not getting a run at that level, your chances of breaking through at Leeds are minimal.

Is it time to write him off? No, the 20-year-old is far too young to do that, and he clearly has the talent there somewhere, but it’s fair to say that this loan spell hasn’t done him any favours in terms of opening the door to the first-team at Elland Road.

In other news, this 2001 signing has to be considered Leeds’ worst ever.

Aston Villa star Jack Grealish has taken to Instagram to address reports regarding his off-field conduct.

Reports emerging over the weekend suggested that Grealish had been partying with friends and subsequently crashed his Range Rover just hours after urging fans to stay indoors to combat the global pandemic.

And Grealish has now moved to address growing speculation via his Instagram account.

Clearly embarrassed and ashamed by his irresponsible actions during an international health crisis, the Villa star gave an apology on his Instagram story.

Here’s what he had to say.

“Hi everybody, I just want to do a quick video message to say how deeply embarrassed I am by what’s happened this weekend.

“I know it’s a tough time for everyone at the moment being locked indoors for so long, and I obviously just got a call off a friend asking to go round to his, and I stupidly agreed to do so.

“I don’t want anyone to make the same mistake that I did and obviously I encourage everyone to stay at home and follow the rules and the guidelines of what we’ve been asked to do. I know for a fact that I’ll be doing that in the near future now and, like I said, I urge everyone else to do the same.

“I hope everyone can accept my apology and we can move on from this and obviously in the near future we can all be out enjoying ourselves again once this has all boiled over, so cheers guys.”

Exactly how Villa, the footballing and legal authorities will deal with the situation remains to be seen, but there can be no doubting that this will leave a dark stain on an otherwise glowing campaign for the 24-year-old.

One can only hope that this will be a profound, attitude-changing lesson for the budding England international.

Aston Villa legend Alan Hutton, otherwise known as the Scottish Cafu, has been discussing the future of Keinan Davis.

In an exclusive interview with Football Insider, the Villa Park favourite suggested that the club should be doing everything they can to tie the 22-year-old down to a new contract, with his current deal due to expire in the summer.

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The striker has found himself on the fringes of the first team this season, making just eight appearances in the Premier League in total.

That he wasn’t included in the starting XI in any of those outings underlines his lowly status at the club and perhaps suggests Dean Smith deems him surplus to requirements.

Despite that trend, though, Hutton believes Davis can still blossom into a valuable player for the club, per Football Insider.

“There’s other boys, like Keinan Davis, I think he’s out of contract. He’s one I would be desperate to tie down even though he’s had his injury problems this season.

“I think he’s got everything to be a top centre-forward. It’s just as a club where you see them in the future.”

And in response to those quotes, plenty of Villa fans also offered their endorsements for Davis, with many suggesting he should be offered fresh contractual terms.

Here’s what the Villa fans had to say in response to Hutton’s quotes…

Many Tottenham Hotspur fans want Real Betis striker Loren Moron at the club after Twitter fan account TranSpurs relayed a story from Estadio Deportivo last month saying he is keen to link up with Giovani Lo Celso in north London.

The report says that 26-year-old has been tempted by both Spurs and Serie A giants Napoli, although it added that he will only be allowed to leave if the price is right for the La Liga outfit.

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The prospect of Moren linking up with Lo Celso again would have to be seen as an exciting one for Tottenham, seeing as the Spaniard has scored 26 goals in 89 matches for one of the Spanish top-flight’s less fancied sides.

Jose Mourinho certainly looks to need another striker during the summer transfer window given he hasn’t trusted Troy Parrott to play there in Harry Kane’s injury absence in recent months, with the likes of Dele Alli and Lucas Moura preferred out of position in the centre-forward role instead.

As you can see from the reactions below, Spurs supporters would certainly be keen to see “Gio’s mate” arrive at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium…

In other Tottenham news, Spurs’ 23-goal target has sent a promising transfer message to Daniel Levy…

Newcastle United skipper Jamaal Lascelles divides opinion on any given week, but his latest revelation earlier this week has split the fanbase like a knife through butter.

Speaking in an Instagram Q&A on Monday evening, the 26-year-old claimed that he would like to finish his playing career at St James’ Park and plenty of supporters have been reacting on social media.

Who the heck is that?! Can you name all 25 of these obscure Newcastle signings…

He originally joined the club in 2014 but didn’t make his debut until August 2015, and has since gone on to feature 160 times in the black and white stripes.

Lascelles is under contract for another four years, so it’s rather plausible that he could see his time out in the north-east.

Although not every Magpies fan would be completely behind the idea.

The divide is most epitomised by one supporter labelling him as a passenger whilst another replied claiming he was the best defender at the club.

Lascelles is clearly a polarising individual, so here’s what people have been saying about his comments…

AND in other news, Danny Mills names position Newcastle must prioritise this summer…