This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Speaking on “The Last Word with Stan Collymore” podcast, the former Liverpool striker has revealed Newcastle are heading for relegation this season following their abject showing at the weekend.

What did he say?

The Magpies suffered a 5-0 humiliation at the hands of Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester side, and reports since the debacle have claimed the players will be holding a meeting to try and sort the situation out.

Watch the video below to see the most insane overhead kick you will see this week…

However, Collymore has slammed the side for their performance, and insisted they committed the ultimate sin on a football pitch.

He said: “One **** performance, two or three good ones, another diabolical one. That is heading one way and that will be relegation.

“The biggest criticism you can ever make of a football team is that they didn’t try. At Norwich, the narrative was that Newcastle United didn’t try. I’m accusing Newcastle United – their players – of not trying against Leicester City.

“Make no mistake about this if Newcastle had 12 men on the pitch, never mind ten, they could have been 5-0 down.”

Betrayal

To be accused of downing tools, and “not trying” as Collymore alludes to, is perhaps the biggest slight you could make on a footballer’s character. Whether you’re playing Sunday league football with your mates or matching up against the best in a World Cup final, there is no point playing football at anything less than 100%.

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Instead, the Magpies’ display has raised severe questions of whether they’re committed to the cause. Steve Bruce already had a difficult job on his hands in trying to replace Rafa Benitez, but when his players let him down as they did so against Leicester, then he really has no hope.

If they don’t buck up their performances, Newcastle look set for a really rough season indeed. The least the club’s fans deserve is the players trying their best. Anything below that level is unacceptable. On Sunday, the Magpies stooped lower than anyone could have imagined, and if Collymore’s verdict is correct, it is the ultimate betrayal of the fans who dedicate their time and money to the club they love so much.

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After returning to the club as manager, everything that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer touched turned to gold. The Norwegian could do no wrong in the early weeks of his reign at Old Trafford, winning games left, right and centre.

However, after getting the job on a permanent basis, United’s results took a turn for the worse, and their poor end to the season last year has carried into the current campaign.

The Red Devils find themselves with just five points from their opening four games, and Solskjaer’s injury update at his pre-match press conference on Friday did nothing to lift the spirits.

The United boss confirmed the side would be missing a number of key players for the clash against Leicester, with the likes of Paul Pogba and Aaron Wan-Bissaka joining the lengthy injury list, although the latter is not definitely out.

After hearing the manager’s update, United fans took to Twitter to voice their concerns ahead of the match against the Foxes.

Many supporters of the Manchester side appeared to be in meltdown, and suggested they would be taking the “L”.

Some Red Devils fans went one step further, and said the season is already “doomed”, and that they should simply “liquidate” the club. Quite the reaction indeed.

Check out some of their tweets below:

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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…

Lionel Messi is pretty good, isn’t he?

“Pretty good” would be a huge understatement and this is especially true for the little magician’s performance against Inter Milan at the Camp Nou on Wednesday.

Barcelona welcomed the Nerazzurri to Catalonia in the second fixture of the Champions League group stage and after a really tough 90 minutes in front of their own fans, Ernesto Valverde’s men took all three points.

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But it was anything but straightforward.

Their Italian guests even took an early lead as Lautaro Martinez slotted home in the first couple of minutes and Inter looked dangerous on numerous occasions, even tallying 11 shots on the night. By all accounts, Valverde’s back was against the wall.

But then Messi arrived.

The now 32-year-old Argentine recorded one assist but that doesn’t really do him justice at all. He also registered six key passes with an overall 85% passing accuracy and had three shots on target and ten successful dribbles. Not to mention that he created two big chances on the night as well.

Messi was magical once again but that’s what the world is expecting from him.

Still, it has to be said that he has only just returned from an injury, receiving the medical green light the night before the clash and participating in his first full training session before stepping out onto the pitches of Camp Nou to tear Inter apart.

Watch Lionel Messi and Gareth Bale answer the internet’s weirdest questions in the video below…

Not many are actually able to do what he does, especially with no match sharpness and almost no game time.

This was, in fact, Messi’s first full game of the ongoing 2019/20 campaign and now he has a total of just 210 minutes to his name.

By all accounts, not really as much as Barcelona would probably like.

But now that he’s back, the Catalans will be looking to pick up their form and start chaining together victories.

And with Messi in their side once again, few would bet against them.

أكد طارق محروس المدير الفني لفريق كرة اليد بالنادي الأهلي، أنه ينتظر قرارات اتحاد اليد بشأن استكمال الموسم الماضي.

وكان اتحاد اليد قد أعلن استكمال منافسات دورى المحترفين للرجال 2019 / 2020 يومى 1 و2 أبريل المقبلين بنفس شروط المسابقة لهذا الموسم.

إلا أن النادي الأهلي اعترض علي استكمال المسابقة بنفيس الشروط والقوائم القديمة، عكس الزمالك الذي أبدى موافقة على اللعب بالشروط.

طالع | الأهلي لـ بطولات: استكمال الموسم الماضي من دوري اليد يضعنا في أزمة

طالع | الزمالك يطالب لجنة اليد المؤقتة بالالتزام باستكمال الدوري الماضي بالقوائم القديمة

وقال محروس خلال تصريحات خاصة لـ بطولات: “نحترم قرارات الاتحاد، ونتتظر القرار النهائي بشأن دوري الموسم الماضي”.

وأضاف: “الإصابات في الفريق وراء تراجع أداء اللاعبين في الشوط الثاني خلال مباريات دوري المحترفين”.

وتابع: “احتراف اللاعبين يفيد المنتخب الوطني في المقام الأول، ومصر لديها جيل قوي من اللاعبين”.

وأتم: “منتخب مصر به أزمة في مركز الجناح الشمال، ودوري المحترفين هذا العام هو الأقوي، بدليل أن كل مباراة تجد بها مفاجات كبيرة، والمنافسة على اللقب محتدمة”.

ويتصدر فريقا الأهلي والزمالك، جدول ترتيب دوري المحترفين لكرة اليد هذا الموسم برصيد 28 نقطة لكل منهما.

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Some Charlton fans have taken to Twitter to mock the incident that saw Lee Bowyer sent from the touchline against Birmingham.

The 42-year-old was shown a red card late on as the Addicks lost 1-0 to Birmingham at The Valley, courtesy of a goal from 16-year-old Jude Bellingham.

Bowyer was sent off after appearing to leave his technical area to retrieve the ball, before throwing it in the direction of the Birmingham bench – the Charlton boss later accused the away side of wasting time by rolling the ball onto the pitch.

Given the harmless nature of the situation, a number of Charlton fans on Twitter have decided to mock the incident that saw their side’s manager sent off.

One sarcastically said that they were surprised the army wasn’t called in to calm Bowyer down, while another jibed that the former Birmingham midfielder “could’ve killed someone” – all in jest, of course.

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

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Marco Silva has revealed that he didn’t want to sell Ademola Lookman this summer as he believes he will go on to have a great career.

What did he say?

Everton signed Lookman in January 2017 but he failed to establish himself in the side, even under Silva last term after he impressed on loan at RB Leipzig in the six months prior, scoring five and assisting four in 11 appearances for the German side.

Naturally, the player grew restless and frustrated at his lack of game time, and the Everton boss has revealed he requested to leave last summer, before finally confirming his departure in a £22.5m move a few weeks ago.

Given his lack of minutes for the Toffees that price seemed fair, and was too good for the club to ignore, but Silva wishes the winger was still at Goodison Park.

Speaking to the Liverpool Echo, he said: “At the beginning of last season he spoke to me about his desire to leave the club. I said no, no and no, even if we received a very good offer to sell him, for our structure, no because I saw in him, and I keep seeing in him…[his quality].

“If you are asking me about my technical point of view, if I would like to sell him, I will say no.

“He has all the qualities to have a very good career. The quality is there, he has to change some things, but the quality is there.”

Regretful decision?

The Portuguese also explained that the 22-year-old was already unhappy when he first became manager, yet he started Lookman on only three occasions in the Premier League last year.

That was despite him hitting good form in his spell in the Bundesliga, and the fact he was likely high on confidence with a point to prove.

If he was already unhappy and desiring a move away, then Silva should have satisfied his wish to play more, particularly if he saw the quality and talent the youngster possesses.

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It wasn’t as if Bernard, who played ahead of him, was undroppable last season. The Brazilian scored one and assisted five in 34 league games in 2018/19, but if Lookman was trusted to play regularly he could have achieved more, as his record for Leipzig suggests.

There is still a long way to go for the former Charlton man but he has proved his effectiveness at other clubs, and Everton could live to regret the fact they sold him so soon, without seeing what he really had to offer – and Silva must bear some of the blame.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Loan Watch series, which takes a closer look at those players who are aiming to galvanise their careers away from the spotlight of their parent club.

Glenn Middleton’s late loan move to Hibernian raised a few eyebrows given the fractious relationship between the two clubs and their recent history.

What it did though was provide the youngster with an opportunity to impress in full view of Rangers fans and, more importantly, his manager, Steven Gerrard.

Middleton arrived at Rangers in January 2018 on a development contract from Norwich City. As a Rangers supporter growing up, he couldn’t pass up the chance to join his boyhood heroes. It didn’t take him long to make an impact at youth level, providing both goals and assists with his direct style of play and powerful running.

Gerrard arrived at the club in the summer of 2018 and Middleton was one of a few youth players to join the senior squad for pre-season training. He obviously impressed the new boss as he was promoted to the senior squad with immediate effect, earning a new contract to reflect this in October 2018.

He was thrown in at the deep end in the Europa League and impressed for an 18-year-old with no previous first team experience, he contributed with a goal and an assist against Spartak Moscow in a 4-3 defeat.

Middleton’s first team opportunities were limited once Ryan Kent found his feet and Scott Arfield was moved into a more advanced position, with Gerrard preferring Daniel Candeais as a back up. He still managed to finish with figures of 5 goals and 5 assists in 29 games, a goal contribution rate of 0.8 per 90 minutes.

This season Middleton was going to face a similar problem with the arrival of  Jordan Jones, Sheyi Ojo, Brendan Barker, Jake Hastie and eventually Ryan Kent. At just 19-year-old, Middleton is the youngest and least experienced in terms of first team football so, playing games at senior level was always going to be key for his development this season.

In true Middleton fashion he started with an assist in his first game for Hibs.

The team have have struggled for form this season but he has still managed 2 assists in his first 6 appearances and played 71 minutes of the 1-1 draw with Celtic last weekend.

Add this to his 1 goal and 1 assist in 2 Scotland under 21 games (just 82 minutes of football) and it’s fair to say he’s enjoyed a solid start to the season without setting the world alight.

Middleton was outstanding in a 12 minute cameo against Croatia in a recent qualifier, winning the ball on the half-way line before beating three defenders to set up Connor McLennan to score the equaliser in a 2-1 victory.

Middleton has shown, in flashes, that he is capable of being a first team regular for Rangers.

His performance against Spartak Moscow away from home particularly supports this claim. With youth and inexperience comes inconsistency and the Ibrox club will be hoping that Middleton returns with plenty of games under his belt so that he can once again pull on the famous blue jersey.

The talent is there, he now has the opportunity to progress, if he does and with time on his side, Middleton could be a Gers fans’ favourite for years to come.

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We may only be five games into the new Premier League campaign, but already the end-of-season cliches are being trotted out.

Newcastle find themselves third-bottom after a run of one win, one draw and three defeats. Steve Bruce’s side now face 16th-placed Brighton on Saturday, and Magpies skipper Jamaal Lascelles delivered an interesting verdict on the importance of the game.

Speaking to the club’s official website, the 25-year-old urged his side to pick up a much-needed win, and then went on to say that “these games are six-pointers”.

After hearing Lascelles’ comments, Newcastle fans flooded to Twitter to voice their thoughts on the situation.

Many supporters of the Tyneside club insisted it showed just how far the club have fallen, with one fan in particular saying it represented a “small club mentality”.

Others however leapt to Lascelles’ defence, and revealed that it is hugely important to ensure they pick up a win against fellow relegation candidates.

Check out some of the reaction of Newcastle fans below:

تحدث الألماني مارك أندريا تير شتيجن، حارس مرمى برشلونة، عن فرص فريقه في التتويج بالدوري الإسباني هذا الموسم، وأكد أنه يفتقد داني ألفيس، زميله السابق ولاعب ساو باولو الحالي.

وعبر “تويتر”، أجاب تير شتيجن على أسئلة متابعيه، والتي جاءت على النحو التالي: 

رأيك في المباريات الثلاث الأخيرة لبرشلونة؟

“الأداء الجماعي الجيد الذي لا يزال بإمكاننا تحسينه، في أبريل نعود مجددًا!”.

من تريد أن يفوز باليورو؟

“ألمانيا”.

كيف تقيم فرص برشلونة في الفوز بالدوري الإسباني؟

“الآن هناك 3 مباريات مهمة مع ألمانيا، نريد الفوز بها، بعد هذه الفترة، هناك 10 مباريات في الدوري الإسباني، هناك العديد من المواجهات التي يجب أن تخوضها وتضغط على الآخرين، ونهائي الكأس، نحن متحمسون بنسبة 100٪”.

اقرأ أيضًا.. شتيجن يعلق على هدف ياسين بونو ويصرّح: أوليفر كان قدوتي ومونشنجلادباخ فريقي المفضل

هل تفتقد داني ألفيس؟ 

“أي لاعب شارك داني في غرفة خلع الملابس سيفتقده، طاقته هي مستوى آخر من الجنون الجيد والسعادة”.

ما مدى جودة بوسكيتس؟

10/10.

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…

Eden Hazard’s start to his Real Madrid career hasn’t been as shiny as he probably would’ve liked.

So far, the great Belgian bomber has played a total of six games across all competitions for Los Blancos and has only managed to score and assist once in the process.

And while every player needs a certain adaptation period when coming to a new club, especially when that side is in a different league and a different country altogether, the 28-year-old’s price tag will soon demand more.

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After all, the Galacticos forked out a reported sum of £89m to get their man from Chelsea, and they will undoubtedly want him to perform accordingly.

We don’t have to look much further than his latest outing with his national team to realise what he can do, even if it was against some international minnows.

Belgium faced San Marino in the seventh round of their European Championship qualifications and they completely dismantled their opposition, winning 9-0 in the end.

Hazard was very much a big part of that huge victory, contributing with two assists to his name in the process but doing so much more as well. The 28-year-old managed to tally four successful dribbles, a total of six key passes and maintained 92% passing accuracy as well.

These numbers don’t really lie and Hazard dropped a masterclass in the 63 minutes he spent on the pitch before he was taken off by the coach.

This performance should definitely catch the eye of Zinedine Zidane, his gaffer over at Real Madrid, as the Frenchman will want his big start to replicate that back in Spain as well.

Hazard is well capable of dropping these performances and while we are still waiting for his full emergence while donning the white kit of the Galacticos, it could very much just be a matter of time.

At Real Madrid they wait for no one, and the sooner Hazard can unleash his full potential, the better.

For him, the club and not so much for their opponents.