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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… 

Over the weekend, Sheffield Wednesday finally appointed Steve Bruce’s successor with Garry Monk taking the reins at Hillsborough.

Bruce departed for Newcastle United back in the middle of July with Lee Bullen being named caretaker boss for the third time.

The Owls started the season well but have since slipped to three defeats in four games and could use the wealth of experience that Monk possesses at Championship level after managing Leeds United, Middlesborough and most recently Birmingham City.

His system and way of playing could bring an opportunity for several players that have struggled to make an impact in south Yorkshire, none more so than Sam Winnall.

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On the Chalkboard

Monk’s preferred formation is 4-4-2, per Transfermarkt, and it is one he frequently played at Birmingham last season, which means there’s potentially a spot available to partner Steven Fletcher in the attack.

Maybe it is Winnall’s time to shine at long last.

At 5 foot 9, he offers a differing presence to Fletcher, who stands two inches taller and is likely to be the target man under Monk.

Che Adams is the same height as the 28-year-old, and he partnered Lukas Jutkiewicz upfront at Birmingham so that certainly can be mirrored here – that duo garnered 36 goals in this very league last season.

Winnall joined Wednesday in January 2017 but has scored just four times in 28 appearances, per Transfermarkt.

In the following season he was loaned out to Derby County and ever since then he has struggled to cement a spot in the starting lineup, playing just eight matches last campaign.

His record in the division is actually pretty good, scoring one in every three games, having netted 21 goals in 63 career appearances.

Winnall just needs a run in the side with a manager that can give him some confidence – Monk’s previous case studies, namely Adams and Chris Wood, show signs of that.

The latter frontman had a career year in the 40-year-old’s first and only season in charge at Leeds, scoring 30 goals in 48 appearances while Adams contributed 22 goals to Birmingham’s campaign last season.

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Pre-season looked extremely shaky for Real Madrid, to say the least. But the Galacticos rose to the occasion on their opening day of La Liga and made a statement. So here are three things we learned from that clash.

Down but not out

Real Madrid may be down based on their pre-season form but they are certainly not out. Zidane hasn’t miraculously solved all of their issues in one game, of course, but there is life in this squad and when everything is said and done, they are still a formidable side in Spain.

And now that their biggest rivals, Barcelona, have stumbled on their first steps, leaving the top of the table for Real instead, maybe we’re still in for a thrilling title race. But nonetheless, the challenge has only begun and while the first step is often a very important one, Zidane still has a long way ahead of him.

Check out an epic rant about Real Madrid fans that we can all relate to below…

Bale might have a role to play

Even though earlier this summer we were definitely under the impression that Gareth Bale is going through the exit door sooner rather than later, it appears that may well not be the case. Bale started the game against Celta Vigo on the weekend and helped his team cruise to a 3-1 victory with an important assist to his name.

Zidane also spoke highly of his player, saying he’s an important piece of the team and practically confirming he’s staying at the capital. It seems that either the two have solved their differences or the Frenchman has simply realised he’s going to need all hands on deck if he’s going to pull another trick out of his sleeve and lead Real Madrid to glory once again. Bale just might be a part of that trick after all.

If it ain’t broke

Real Madrid played well in Vigo at the weekend but one thing that may have caught the attention of the more observant ones is the lineup itself. Zidane, maybe a bit unsurprisingly, decided to put his faith into the old guard and reverted back to the tactics that brought him three Champions League titles in a row.

Nine out of 11 players fielded on the opening day were all amongst Real Madrid’s regulars last season. The only exceptions were Vinicius Junior and Alvaro Odriozola. Of course, that is also (mostly) the same squad Zidane used back when he was in charge. He had Cristiano Ronaldo in the team back then but the core of the squad remained unchanged and it brought a good result back home.

It still remains to be seen if Zidane is going to stay faithful to that lineup or if changes are on the horizon for the Galacticos despite a good start to the campaign.

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سلطت صحيفة “آس” الإسبانية، الضوء على ما حدث في مباراة ليفربول وتشيلسي، بين لاعبنا المصري، محمد صلاح، ويورجن كلوب، المدير الفني للريدز، في مباراة الأمس، بين الفريقين في الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

ليفربول سقط في “آنفيلد” بهدف نظيف على يد تشيلسي، في المباراة التي جمعت بين الفريقين مساء أمس الخميس، ضمن لقاءات الجولة التاسعة والعشرين من البريميرليج.

صلاح شارك في المباراة كأساسي من البداية، وتم استبداله في الدقيقة 62، وحل أليكس تشامبرلين بدلًا منه، وبدا مو غاضبًا تمامًا عقب استبداله. شاهد ملخص لمسات محمد صلاح

وقالت الصحيفة في تقريرها عن استبدال صلاح ورد فعله: “المصري استبدل في الدقيقة 61 ضد تشيلسي، وغضبه كان لافتًا، كما فتح وكيل أعماله، رامي عباس النقاش حول مُستقبله بتغريدة غامضة”.

وواصلت: “ليلة رمادية لـ يورجن كلوب، مساء الخميس مع ليفربول الذي سقط أمام تشيلسي، في مباراة شهدت استبدال المهاجم المصري، محمد صلاح، وأظهر غضبه بمغادرة الملعب وهو أمر غير معتاد بالنسبة له”.

وأضافت: “محمد صلاح سار أمام كلوب بوجه غاضب، وجلس في المدرجات بينما كان يقوم بإيماءات غاضبة، صلاح ليس الوحيد الذي أزعجه استبداله، بل جيمي كاراجر أيضًا، والذي أعرب عن اندهاشه باستبدال مو”.

جماهير ليفربول تهاجم كلوب بعد استبدال محمد صلاح أمام تشيلسي: ماذا يفعل بحق الجحيم؟ https://t.co/rtyv8LmdrX pic.twitter.com/Ue2p2BXDU0 — Btolat.com (@Btolat) March 4, 2021

اقرأ أيضًا.. أوين: ماني رفض الحصول على ركلة جزاء أمام تشيلسي بسبب محمد صلاح!

وتابعت: “مستقبل محمد صلاح في الهواء، حيث سرعان ما نشر وكيله رسالة غامضة على تويتر، التي أثارت الشائعات حول مستقبله، بعد دقائق فقط من مغادرة لاعبه المباراة، كتب تغريدة بنقطة، لقد احتاج فقط إلى وضع نقطة للرسالة لتنتشر بشكل كبير وانفجرت الشبكات وهي تتحدث عن الموقف الصعب الذي يعيشه الجناح المصري مع كلوب”.

وأكملت: “لا ينبغي أنّ ننسى أن صلاح لاعب تحبه الأندية الكبرى في أوروبا، مثل ريال مدريد أو برشلونة وبايرن ميونخ، هم الأوائل في قائمة المرشحين إذا قرر يومًا ما اتخاذ خطوة جديدة في مسيرته”.

 صلاح تسبب في إثارة الجدل حول مستقبله، بنفسه، بعدما أجرى حوارًا مع الصحيفة ذاتها، وترك باب الرحيل عن ليفربول مفتوحًا، حيث ألمح لإمكانية رحيله إلى برشلونة أو ريال مدريد.

واختتمت الصحيفة تقريرها قائلة: “في سن الـ28، يمكن لصلاح إعادة التفكير في قفزة في مسيرته الآن لأن الأمور ليست كما يود ليفربول تحت قيادة كلوب”.

Another day, another Real Madrid player injured.

That’s, unfortunately for all the Madridistas around the globe, the reality of supporting the club at the moment.

Marcelo is the latest to join the list and fans just can’t believe it ahead of their opening Champions League encounter against PSG. They travel to France on Wednesday evening and will also face Club Brugge and Galatasaray in their group.

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Indeed, midfielders Isco, Luka Modric and Marco Asensio are all currently sidelined, per Goal, as are Brahim Diaz and Federico Valverde. Sergio Ramos and Nacho are both suspended for the European encounter, too, adding to Zinedine Zidane’s woes.

Many supporters couldn’t take it anymore after the latest update and they did not hesitate to voice their displeasure once Real Madrid officially confirmed Marcelo’s injury.

One of them accused the club of becoming “clowns”, while another claimed they were done with supporting the Galacticos altogether.

You can see some of their reactions down below.

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Think of a great Premier League striker and who comes to mind? Thierry Henry? Alan Shearer? Perhaps a present-day marksman such as the unnervingly clinical Sergio Aguero?

Once we get going the names easily roll off the tongue – Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Ian Wright, Wayne Rooney – and we can all play along. And should we do so it would take most of us a good deal of time before we reached Jamie Vardy.

Why is this? After all, the Leicester City forward boasts 83 goals from 180 Premier League appearances, which equates to a goal every 2.1 games over a period of several campaigns. That’s a ratio comparable to the very best the English top flight has gifted us with since 1992 and sharing their stratosphere is all the more remarkable given that – the fantastical 2015/16 season aside – Vardy’s team usually reside outside of the top six.

Three years ago the Sheffield-born hit-man won the FWA Footballer of the Year award, an honour not bestowed on Michael Owen, Robbie Fowler, Andy Cole – we could go on – and in that same season his 24 goals were pivotal in securing his side a wholly unexpected league title. A quick run-through of the Premier League’s most prolific goal-scorers brings up a whole host of players who didn’t achieve that. Vardy did.

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In a reputational sense, as important to the stats is the fact that the 32-year-old is not merely a tap-in merchant.

Indeed, the bread-and-butter finish from close range is a barely used trait in his arsenal, one that is instead eclipsed by an array of spectacular drives, cute and clever executions, and ice-cold dispatches at the end of explosive darts with defenders trailing in his wake.

Last weekend the ball bounced up 25 yards out against Bournemouth and Vardy struck a glorious, arced effort that sailed into the net over the goalkeeper. Brendan Rodgers later deemed it ‘sublime’ and it really was.

It was the kind of goal we would all be overly familiar with by now had Henry scored it; a staple of greatest goal compilations. Yet, just like the French genius’ goals that take your breath away could be described as being typical to the man, that’s Vardy’s stock-in-trade: the spectacular.

With all this in mind, assessing where he is pitched among the brilliant forwards of yesteryear and today intrigues. To suggest that Jamie Vardy is under-rated would be disingenuous and all told he is rightfully admired and acknowledged. Yet when compared to the ‘establishment’ greats – from Shearer right through to Aguero – it’s hard to shake the feeling that he’s placed short of them.

In part this is because he will forever be the ‘non-league footballer turned England international’ and though admittedly Ian Wright took a similar rags-to-riches route to the very top, it’s worth remembering that Wrighty did much of his plundering for Arsenal and Vardy for the Foxes, one club significantly more glamorous than the other.

It should be remembered too the scepticism that bordered on puzzlement when Vardy was linked with Arsenal just three short years ago. Why was this? Could it be because we had gotten too immersed in the Vardy narrative, that of the Sunday League everyman perennially punching above his natural calling?

If that was – and indeed is – the case then as one of the Premier League’s most consistently deadly strikers continues to defy his twilight years by firing goals aplenty (he currently has three goals and an assist from 360 minutes played this term) perhaps a long overdue revision is required.

It used to be said that Jamie Vardy is having a party. Maybe now is the time to stop viewing his goal-scoring exploits as debauchery and instead invite him to the top table of legendary Premier League forwards.

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One of a number of signings this summer following Aston Villa’s promotion to the Premier League, Bjorn Engels has found himself at the heart of defence alongside Tyrone Mings.

The 24-year-old arrived from French side Reims in a reported £9m deal and was immediately thrown into the deep end by Dean Smith for Villa’s opening two Premier League games of the season.

Despite seeing the side fall to successive defeats, Smith kept faith in the 6 foot 4 ace and he duly rewarded his manager with an imperious performance against Everton on Friday night.

The Belgian registered a team-high three aerial duels won and put his body on the line multiple times with three blocked shots too.

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After seeing the centre-back lay everything down for the cause against the Toffees, Villa fans took to Twitter to marvel at the 24-year-old’s display.

Many supporters of the Midlands side looked back fondly to a moment in the game when he appeared to celebrate a superb block with a fist pump.

Indeed, some fans made comparisons between Engels and former club stalwarts Martin Laursen and Olof Mellberg, and one insisted he is “exactly the sort of CB” the side have been waiting for.

Check out some of the reaction of Villa fans below:

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Tottenham are one of several teams linked with a move for French sensation Eduardo Camavinga, and fans are desperate to make this one happen.

Spurs had a productive summer, bringing in four new faces, three of which are expected to make an immediate impact on the first-team.

Fans are already eyeing up another though, after reports claimed there is a major tussle going on for Camavinga.

The 16 year-old wowed spectators as he dropped a midfield master-class against PSG this weekend, guiding his Rennes side to a shock 2-1 win, and The Daily Mail claim Manchester City and Arsenal are alongside the Lilywhites in the race for his signature.

The report says the trio are “hot on the trail” of the wonderkid, who broke onto the scene last season, and has already racked up ten first-team appearances for Rennes, despite not turning 17 until November.

Fans are loving these links, as you can see from the Twitter reactions down below…

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Although it was only against League Two opposition, this could be the goal that kickstarts Grealish’s season as he’s failed to find the net in any of the first three Premier League games.

A couple of the goalscorer’s teammates took to the comments section to congratulate their captain.

Keinan Davis and Ezri Konsa both posted emojis below Grealish’s post showing support for the midfielder, and it certainly seems spirits are high at Villa Park after two consecutive wins.

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أعلن الجنوب إفريقي بيتسو موسيماني، المدير الفني للنادي الأهلي، تشكيل فريقه الذي سيخوض به مباراته أمام الإسماعيلي، المقرر إقامتها على استاد برج العرب.

يلتقي الأهلي مع الإسماعيلي، في السابعة والنصف من مساء اليوم الأربعاء، في المباراة المؤجلة بينهما من الجولة الثانية عشر من مسابقة الدوري المصري الممتاز.

طالع | مباشر بالفيديو | مباراة الأهلي والإسماعيلي في الدوري المصري

يحتل الأهلي المركز الثالث بجدول ترتيب الدوري المصري الممتاز، برصيد 24 نقطة، فيما يحتل الإسماعيلي المركز السادس عشر برصيد 10 نقاط.

أقرأ ايضًا.. بدلاء الأهلي أمام الإسماعيلي.. ناصر ماهر يجاور والتر بواليا تشكيل الأهلي أمام الإسماعيلي اليوم

في حراسة المرمى: محمد الشناوي.

خط الدفاع: بدر بانون، ياسر إبراهيم، أحمد رمضان بيكهام، محمد هاني.

خط الوسط: عمرو السولية، أليو ديانج، محمد مجدي أفشة، جونيور أجاي، حسين الشحات.

خط الهجوم: محمد شريف.

Bertrand has been working with Football Beyond Borders, an educational charity that uses football as an engagement tool to support young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

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The left-back knows his responsibilities as a public figure as his caption states ‘As an athlete we need to enlighten while we inspire’.

The England international has to be commended for this type of work. He’s not only gotten involved in person, but he’s spread the message on his Instagram to almost 250,000 people.

Hopefully, this post from Bertrand encourages more and more footballers to get involved in similar projects.

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