Oumar Niasse has had the Everton fans in his corner even though manager Ronald Koeman snubbed him from the team.

The Dutchman did not include the 27-year-old in his plans when taking over from Roberto Martinez last summer.

The striker, who was not even issued with a squad number at the start of the 2016-17 season, spent half of the campaign on loan at Hull City.

During that stint, the Senegal international scored four goals and created one assist in 17 Premier League outings before the club were relegated.

Niasse was linked with a permanent summer move away from Everton, but he ended up staying put and was eventually given a lifeline from Koeman in the Carabao Cup in midweek.

The forward scored his first goal for the club in a 3-0 win over Sunderland, and he followed that up with two against Bournemouth in the Premier League this afternoon.

Everton were staring at a 1-0 defeat at Goodison Park, but Niasse came to the rescue in the second half when he came off the bench and scored twice in five minutes.

The fans were understandably full of praise for the former forgotten man, and a number of supporters believe that Koeman should publicly apologise for his treatment of the striker.

Others think that there has been an ironic twist in Niasse’s resurgence.

Sheffield Wednesday followed up their disappointing 4-2 Steel City defeat against Sheffield United at Hillsborough on Sunday by losing 1-0 to Championship strugglers Birmingham City at St Andrew’s on Wednesday night, and Owls fans want manager Carlos Carvalhal to go.

Despite finishing in fourth position last season and losing out to eventual play-off winners Huddersfield Town at the semi-final stage, the Yorkshire outfit have so far failed to rediscover that kind of form this term and they currently lie 14th in the standings.

The humiliating home loss against the Blades turned the heat up on the Portuguese boss, and he wasn’t helped at all when his men slipped up against a Birmingham team that had won just one of their opening nine league games this season.

Sheffield Wednesday supporters were quick to have their say on Carvalhal’s future via social media, and while some said “he’s had enough time”, others believe “he has to go now”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

Ross McCrorie’s introduction into the Rangers first team was undoubtedly a trial by fire. Making his first start for the club was always going to be a momentous occasion but to do it against Celtic at Ibrox is stuff of dreams for boyhood Rangers fans.

By half-time in that match-up, he had proved he can hold his own against the Scottish Champions, something more established stars had failed to do for an entire season. It was a breath of fresh air for supporters and they were quick to shower praise on the young defender.

His manager too was not hesitant was his praised, stating that the teenager could in fact go on to be one of the defensive greats for club and country. That’s the kind of media spotlight that could go to a young player’s head, but McCrorie has dealt with it all superbly and in a manner that suggests he would benefit from further exposure to first-team football.

The 19-year-old made a promise to ‘stay humble and work hard’ when interviewed during the international break despite all the praise coming his way.

That hard work is needed, he is far from the finished article. His performances so far have shown that as much as they’ve shown he doesn’t look out of place in the Rangers first team. With hard work and dedication though, he could become a regular.

Faith of Caixinha

What the young defender needs now is for the Rangers manager to put his words into action and give him the first-team football that can bring his game to the next level.

McCrorie has not yet played alongside Bruno Alves, the youngster was the player who came on as a substitute when he picked up an injury in a Scottish League Cup match against Partick Thistle.

Striking a partnership with the trophy-laden Portuguese legend would be a fantastic step in his development and the time is right to make it happen. Caixinha must not delay, with the young defender high on confidence and eager to impress. Alves’ time at the club may be limited and making use of his experience in this manner could be huge for the young defenders at the club.

[ad_pod id=’leo-vegas’]

The manager’s case is helped given the fact that Fabio Cardoso hasn’t exactly looked irreplaceable in the centre of defence and the likes of Danny Wilson not match-fit after his own injury issues.

The upcoming fixture schedule may be a difficult one with trips to Perth and a national semi-final on the horizon, but McCrorie showed that he can thrive in a big game environment. It’s been in quieter moments that his concentration has dipped and he’s looked less confident.

The risk

The argument against introducing him as a firm fixture of the Rangers starting eleven would of course be that he isn’t quite as ready as many think. We saw last season that after initial bright performances, the form of Myles Beerman dipped. It’s the old enemy of youth in football, inconsistency.

Pedro Caixinha can’t afford passengers in his Rangers side right now and playing McCrorie regularly could be seen as something of a risk. However, if he was honest in his assertion that he can go on to become a Light Blues and Scotland great, then he must have the bravery and the boldness to make the decision and persist with the talent he sees in the youngster.

When managers are under pressure, every decision takes on an even greater importance than it would usually. The decision to rely on Cardoso to turn around his faltering performances when McCrorie is waiting in the wings, ready to be adored by an under fire and increasingly impatient Rangers support, could be a costly one for him personally.

When Patrick Roberts re-joined Celtic at the end of the summer transfer window, it was a move heralded as a coup for the Scottish club. After a fantastic 18 months at the club in his initial loan spell, it appeared that if the Manchester City youngster could not work his way into Pep Guardiola’s elite side that he would be sent elsewhere to continue his development. However, fan power, the player’s relationship with the club and Celtic’s desire to bring him back to Glasgow won out.

Since then though, it hasn’t exactly been the blockbuster return that people anticipated. Far from ripping up the Scottish scene, the 20-year-old has scored just once in 10 appearances and while he’s been trusted to do a job in the big matches, he’s failed to hit the heights that he set for himself last season. In fact, against the elite opposition in the form of Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich, when the heat is really on, he’s been a luxury that Celtic can ill afford at that level.

Whether Brendan Rodgers was planning to play him against Bayern again this Tuesday we’ll never know, but a hamstring injury sustained against Kilmarnock has ruled him out, with the Celtic boss telling reporters it’ll be weeks before he returns. While it’s undoubtedly a blow not to have a player of his ability available, it does present an opportunity for another Hoops player; James Forrest.

Is it the Scotland international’s time to show that he can provide a better team-focused performance in the UEFA Champions League, in contrast to the individual brilliance of Roberts?

Unfocused talent

For the avoidance of doubt, there is absolutely no question that Partick Roberts will play an important role for Celtic this season. His ability to cut through tight defences and spark into life around the opposition penalty box is a something that the Hoops don’t have elsewhere in the team. There’s the pace of Scott Sinclair and the vision of Tom Rogic, but Roberts has a dribbling ability beyond both and a final product that resulted in him leading the assist charts at the club last season.

There’s every chance he does that again this term, even after a slow start. His performance at Ibrox against Rangers showed what he can do to the better teams in Scotland when the pressure is on.

However, in Europe against the elite giants his style has not lent itself well to how Celtic need to play. While an effective out ball, he hasn’t coped well carrying the ball into the opposition half, often shut down and showing poor decision making not to release the ball to teammates quicker.

You can see his thinking as it plays out in real time, passing a square ball just isn’t in his nature, he’s a player who thrives on taking on defenders. For all his talent, he hasn’t shown the focus or awareness needed to allow the Hoops to build play into the opposition half.

Forrest’s growth

James Forrest has always threatened to be a reliable Celtic mainstay but difficult personal years under Ronny Deila and his inability to ever take his goal or assist tally into doubles figures in any given season meant that by the time Brendan Rodgers arrived at the club, he was a frustrating character to Celtic supporters.

It’s easy to forget though that the 26-year-old kept Patrick Roberts out of the Celtic side for large chunks of last season. It wasn’t really until the last couple of months that the Man City loanee cemented himself as one of the first names on the teamsheet. A return of eight goals and 12 assists under Rodgers was far beyond anything he had managed previously and his growth has been one of the most obvious examples of Rodgers bringing a player’s game to the next level.

His workrate has improved and his defensive game has come on so much that Rodgers showed now hesitance in starting him as a right wing-back away to Aberdeen last week in a crucial top of the table clash. It’s primarily these attributes that make him a more effective choice than Roberts in matches they are not expected to dominate possession in.

In attack too he’s come on massively in areas that aren’t purely about taking on players or using his pace to burn opposition defenders. His decision making is far better now than it’s ever been and he’s mostly managed to shake that frustrating tendency of playing himself into unrecoverable positions, moving the ball on to teammates quicker.

It’s now up to him to show he can improve Celtic’s right flank in Tuesday’s match against Bayern Munich and perhaps prove that despite all the hype surrounding Patrick Roberts and the Englishman’s immense ability, Forrest is the right man to utilise when the big matches come calling.

According to reports in the Manchester Evening News, Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Dele Alli told Manchester United’s Ashley Young to ‘retire with a zimmer frame’ during the two clubs’ Premier League clash at Old Trafford on Saturday, and Spurs fans have had their say on their star’s comments.The England duo were involved in a spat in the 30th minute of the 1-0 win for the Red Devils after Young had claimed he had been caught by an elbow from Serge Aurier.Alli went head-to-head with the 32-year-old but even after things had died down a little, the verbals between the two continued with the former MK Dons saying his piece, before Young replied by telling the 21-year-old to “let me know when you win the Prem”.Tottenham supporters were quick to give their reaction to the quotes via social media, and they were divided with their opinions.While some said “he needs to grow up”, others said “good on him”.Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

Gareth Southgate’s policy of rotating the England captaincy certainly hasn’t done him a disservice so far. Since long-term skipper Wayne Rooney was dropped in March this year and subsequently decided to retire, Gary Cahill, Jordan Henderson, Joe Hart, Eric Dier and Harry Kane have all worn the armband for the Three Lions and Southgate has lost just two fixtures in that time – friendlies against Germany and France.

But when the World Cup in Russia comes around next summer, Southgate will need to choose a permanent captain for the tournament itself. Football FanCast take a look at the arguments for and against giving that honour to Tottenham’s Harry Kane – before giving our readers the chance to decide.

Pros – Key Player and Consummate professional

In regards to prior England captains, perhaps the most obvious Kane comparison is David Beckham. By no means the loudest voice in the dressing room, but always leading by example through consistency of performance, industriousness, integrity and professionalism.

Indeed, Kane is very much the head prefect of the England camp; you won’t see him in the newspapers for the wrong reasons and although he’s not exactly the most engaging character, he always gives a humble account of himself in the public eye.

On top of that, Kane is perhaps the only player in the England setup guaranteed a starting berth at the World Cup, simply because he’s the Three Lions’ biggest goal threat by a significant distance and arguably their most talented player. Some, however, will view that as a bad thing in regards to the captaincy, which brings us on to…

Cons – Not a natural leader, not in a captain’s position

Some believe strikers shouldn’t be captains, simply because they rarely view the game with the same tactical perspective as those behind them and they’re usually pretty far away from the action, leading the line rather than getting involved in the midfield battle.

On top of that, there is an argument that scoring goals is already enough responsibility; that armband could serve as an unnecessary weight, adding only further pressure to perform and distracting Kane from his primary duties. On top of that, it’s clear Kane isn’t a natural leader in the mould of John Terry or Steven Gerrard.

While that’s not necessarily a bad thing (neither of those guided England to success at major tournaments) there are perhaps more obvious leadership figures within the squad who’ll more proactively challenge team-mates, such as Cahill and Henderson.

So, should Kane wear the armband in Russia? Let us know by voting below…

It is standard practice for football clubs to stage events where fans can meet the players and get an autograph or two.

Southampton have scheduled one of those for this Thursday with Mario Lemina and Oriol Romeu.

Unfortunately for the club, some fans are not in the mood for meet-and-greets given their current run of form.

As it stands, the Saints sit 14th in the Premier League table, just four points above the relegation zone after 12 games.

The team have picked up just one win in their last seven top-flight outings, and the fans suffered further disappointment on Saturday when they lost 3-0 to Liverpool.

On paper, the Reds were always going to be favourites at Anfield, but in the previous four meetings between the clubs in all competitions, Southampton won two and the remaining games were drawn.

It seems that a number of fans have turned on manager Mauricio Pellegrino, while some have been left frustrated by the players’ efforts on the pitch.

Arsenal winger Theo Walcott produced a man of the match display as his side thrashed BATE Borisov 6-0 in their final Europa League group game at the Emirates Stadium on Thursday night, and Gunners fans were quick to have their say on his performance.While he has been a regular in Europe, the 28-year-old has found first-team minutes hard to come by in the Premier League this season – he has featured for just 46 minutes – and he has been linked with a move away during the January transfer window, with West Ham and Southampton among the interested clubs.However, manager Arsene Wenger told the England international to give him a decision to make with an impressive showing against BATE, and that is exactly what happened as he scored once and produced a further three assists in the comprehensive win.Arsenal supporters took to social media to give their thoughts on his display, and while one praised him for ‘proving his haters wrong’, another believes he may have “finally found his level”.Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

[ad_pod ]

Liverpool fans in the Transfer Tavern are eagerly awaiting their next signing with the transfer rumour mill going crazy.

Jurgen Klopp has made no further additions to his squad since signing Brazilian midfielder, Fabinho, from Monaco back in May. Stoke winger, Xherdan Shaqiri, has been heavily linked with a move but Liverpool are yet to make their interest concrete according to reports. Klopp has also confirmed the club will not sign a goalkeeper much to the dismay of our regulars in the Tavern.

The German will be keen to bolster his attack this summer with little quality on offer outside of Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane. It remains to be seen whether Liverpool will rekindle their interest in Nabil Fekir following the World Cup. If not, they would be wise to make an audacious attempt to sign a Juventus star if Cristiano Ronaldo completes a stunning move to Turin.

Reportedly, the Real Madrid star is keen to make a £88m move to Italy which would cast doubt over the future of Paulo Dybala. Valued at £99m by Transfermarkt, the Argentine could be sold in order to fund the move for Ronaldo. If so, Liverpool must do everything in their power to bring him to Anfield.

Dybala has established himself as one of the world’s best forwards. Last season, he scored 22 goals in just 26 Serie A starts and also notched five assists for his team-mates. Capable of playing right across the forward line or as a number ten, his versatility will be attractive to Klopp. The 24-year-old is a fantastic dribbler as well as an expert finisher and would propel Liverpool into title contention.

He is the ideal replacement for Philippe Coutinho and slots in behind Firmino seamlessly. The Reds have money in the bank and would certainly be foolish to ignore the chance to make their best signing in history.

Liverpool fans, could the Reds seal a deal for Paulo Dybala? Comment below!

Angelo Ogbonna continues to be linked with a move away from West Ham United.

The centre-back has proved to be a dependable performer since arriving from Juventus in the summer of 2015, and he was a regular for the club last season.

[ad_pod ]

New Hammers boss Manuel Pellegrini has already brought Issa Diop to the club this summer, however, and is also believed to be keen on a deal for Newcastle United’s Jamaal Lascelles.

Reports in Italy have linked Ogbonna with a move to Napoli, and the West Ham fans have been responding to the transfer speculation on social media.

Whilst there are a number that would not be prepared to sell Ogbonna, there are plenty who have offered up a variety of swap deals, which would equal huge money.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”269905″ player=”12034″ title=”Football’s Coming Home The Myth Behind ‘Three Lions'”]

Indeed, the West Ham fans want Napoli to offer up some of their best players in exchange for Ogbonna, who could find it difficult to secure regular football next season.

It has certainly been an exciting summer for West Ham, and that is showing no sign of slowing down as the new Premier League campaign draws ever closer.

A selection of the best Twitter reaction to the transfer speculation can be seen below: