QPR’s out-on-loan Paul Smyth’s versatility a saving grace for his first-team hopes

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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.

Since signing for Wycombe Wanderers back in July, QPR loanee Paul Smyth has enjoyed an impressive run of form with the League One side.

The 21-year-old joined the Chairboys on a season-long loan deal, having previously made 19 first-team appearances for the R’s whilst scoring two goals and grabbing an assist.

Despite his young age, Smyth has already made two senior appearances for Northern Ireland and even managed to net on his debut against South Korea last year.

Since arriving at Wycombe, Smyth has already grabbed a goal and an assist in three league games for the club under Gareth Ainsworth, although he could’ve been forgiven for having a little panic after seeing what Mark Warburton recently did back at his parent club.

The former Brentford and Rangers boss recently switched to a 5-3-2 formation – a system which suits left-back Ryan Manning like a glove – and the move had the desired effect with a 2-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday last time out.

For Smyth however, as a natural right-sided attacking midfielder, he may have feared for his chances of game time under Warburton seeing as the 5-3-2 system does not have a place for a right-sided midfielder, as that flank is occupied by the right wing-back.

With that said, the saving grace for Smyth is his versatility.

After the controversy surrounding young Bobby Duncan at Liverpool, we ask if enough is being done to protect young players from shady agents in the video below…

Luckily, the Irishman can also play as a centre-forward, a position which Warburton’s new system does account for and as such, his hopes of making the grade in the QPR first-team have been somewhat saved by his ability to play in another position other than on the right flank.

Smyth has made two appearances as a right-forward this term, and one as a centre-forward.

Whilst his early performances for Wycombe and for his country have been encouraging, Smyth still has a long season to go under Ainsworth before he can turn to Warburton and argue that he should be handed a chance.

However, if he does keep up his impressive form, his ability to play in the centre could well salvage his hopes of a spot in the first-team playing in a 5-3-2 formation should the QPR boss choose to stick with it.

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Real Madrid will be pleased with Dani Carvajal’s performance for Spain

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…

Life hasn’t really been easy for Dani Carvajal at Real Madrid as of late.

The 27-year-old right-back has been one of the main targets of the recent outburst from the fans as many seem to think he is one of the biggest liabilities in Real Madrid’s defensive line.

Many called for him to improve as he was dragging the team down but his latest performance will definitely please Zinedine Zidane and Real Madrid’s fans.

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Spain played Faroe Islands in the sixth round of the Euro qualifications and Carvajal started the game on the right side of their defence. Needless to say, the 27-year-old showed the whole repertoire of his skills and proved why he’s a starter at Real Madrid.

Carvajal was heavily involved throughout the 90 minutes as he mustered a total of 120 touches. He was efficient and deadly going forward, tallying two key passes, four accurate crosses and 94% passing accuracy overall.

But he was also no slouch in the defensive aspect, an area that Real Madrid seem to be lacking in at the moment. He recorded one tackle, won possession four times, won all of his aerial duels while also winning 3/4 ground ones. By anyone’s standards, that was an impressive display at both ends of the field.

Now, however, it would be ideal if he could somehow transfer that form back into the Spanish capital once the clubs return to action later on in the week.

So far, he has averaged one tackle and 0.5 interceptions in the new 2019/20 La Liga campaign with, granted, one assist to his name. But when everything is said and done, Real Madrid have conceded four goals in three games and have dropped four points in total, and a part of that blame certainly lies with their defenders.

Despite some good results on occasion, there’s still a lot left to be desired from those performances. But Carvajal proved on international duty that he’s still very much got it and only needs time to find his groove once again.

It will be up to Zidane to help him rediscover that form and get the best out of his right-back by any means necessary.

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يوفيتش يمنح لاعبي الإسماعيلي 24 ساعة راحة قبل الاستعداد لـ الأهلي

منح دراجان يوفيتش المدير الفني للفريق الأول لكرة القدم بالنادي الإسماعيلي راحة سلبية لمدة 24 ساعة للاعبي الدراويش قبل الاستعداد لمواجهة الأهلي في الدوري المصري.

ويلتقي الإسماعيلي مع نظيره الأهلي مساء يوم 10 مارس المقبل في المباراة المؤجلة بينهما من الجولة 12 بالمسابقة المحلية.

طالع أيضًا.. دراجان يوفيتش لـ بطولات: سنحاول تقديم أفضل ما لدينا أمام الأهلي “بطل إفريقيا”

ويستأنف الإسماعيلي تدريباته يوم الأحد المقبل استعدادًا لمواجهة الأهلي المرتقبة.

وكان الإسماعيلي قد تعادل اليوم الجمعة أمام وادي دجلة سلبيًا، في المباراة التي احتضنها استاد الأهلي وي السلام في الجولة الخامسة عشر من الدوري المصري.

جدير بالذكر أن الإسماعيلي يحتل المركز السادس عشر بجدول ترتيب الدوري المصري برصيد 10 نقاط، فيما يتواجد الأهلي في وصافه الترتيب برصيد 24 نقطة.

الاتحاد السكندري يتعادل سلبيًا مع غزل المحلة في الدوري

فرض التعادل السلبي بدون أهداف كلمته على مباراة الاتحاد السكندري وغزل المحلة، التي أقيمت مساء اليوم ضمن منافسات بطولة الدوري المصري الممتاز.

المباراة أقيمت على أرضية ميدان استاد الإسكندرية، في إطار مؤجلات الجولة العاشرة من عمر البطولة المحلية.

منتخب جامايكا يطلب استدعاء ثنائي الاتحاد السكندري

وكان الاتحاد وغزل المحلة قد التقيا في 17 مناسبة من قبل، حقق السكندري الفوز في 8 مباريات، كما فاز زعيم الفلاحين في 5، وحسم التعادل 4 مواجهات بينهما، لتسجل نتيجة اليوم التعادل الخامس بين الفريقين.

بتلك النتيجة يرتفع رصيد الاتحاد السكندري إلى 22 نقطة محتلًا المركز السابع، وذلك بعد فوزه في ست مباريات وتعادله في أربعة، وخسارته في 5 مواجهات.

وفي الوقت ذاته يرتفع رصيد المحلة إلى 19 نقطة، حصدهم من 4 انتصارات وسبع تعادلات، فيما تلقى 4 هزائم.

Norwich City: Fans in awe of Teemu Pukki after winning Player of the Month

Norwich City fans have taken to Twitter to show their love for inform striker Teemu Pukki.

Norwich striker Teemu Pukki unsurprisingly claimed the Player of the Month for the Canaries after the 29-year-old netted five goals in the four Premier League of August. [WhoScored]

The award comes two days after Pukki also bagged the EA Sports Player of the Month and became just the 10th player in Premier League history to score in his first three appearances in the competition, whilst also becoming the first Finnish player to win the award since Mikael Forssell in March 2004.

Indeed, Pukki has continued his breathtaking form from last season and has established himself as one of the league’s top scorers during the early stages, as Sergio Aguero and Tammy Abraham oneÂahead of him on seven goals each.

Most recently, although not in August, Pukki scored the third and decisive goal in the historic victory over Manchester City, and fans just can’t get enough of their main man right now.

Here’s how they reacted to his POTM award…

ترتيب هدافي الدوري الإسباني بعد نهاية الجولة 27

سجل ليونيل ميسي ثنائية في فوز برشلونة أمام هويسكا، في ختام الجولة 27 من الدوري الإسباني للدرجة الأولى.

نجم برشلونة تمكن من الوصول إلى هدفه الـ21 هذا الموسم، لينفرد بصدارة ترتيب الهدافين، خاصة بعد عدم تسجيل سواريز خلال هذه الجولة.

طالع أيضًا.. ترتيب الدوري الإسباني بعد نهاية الجولة 27

الفرنسي كريم بنزيما سجل ثنائية أمس في لقاء ريال مدريد أمام نظيره إلتشي، كذلك يوسف النصيري سجل هدفًا ضد ريال بيتيس في ديربي الأندلس. ترتيب هدافي الدوري الاسباني بعد نهاية الجولة 27

ليونيل ميسي، برشلونة، 21 هدفًا.

لويس سواريز، أتلتيكو مدريد، 17 هدفًا.

جيرارد مورينو، فياريال، 15 هدفًا.

كريم بنزيما، ريال مدريد، 15 هدفًا.

يوسف النصيري، إشبيلية، 14 هدفًا.

أليكساندر إيزاك، ريال سوسيداد، 12 أهداف.

مارتي روجر، ليفانتي، 11 أهداف.

ميكيل أويارزابال، ريال سوسيداد، 10 أهداف.

خوسيه موراليس، ليفانتي، 10 أهداف.

ياجو أسباس، سيلتا فيجو، 9 أهداف.

Tottenham Hotspur: Alan Hutton raves over this young Spurs defender

Ex-Tottenham Hotspur defender Alan Hutton has been raving over young defender Kyle Walker-Peters, saying the full-back can become a ‘great player’.

The 22-year-old right-back has started the season well for Mauricio Pochettino’s side, starting the first three Premier League games of the season (via Transfermarkt).

However, a thigh injury cut short his stint on the right side of the defence and he missed the games against Arsenal and Crystal Palace.

In an exclusive interview with Football Insider, Hutton was full of praise for the youth product as he lauded him for his lack of fear.

He said: “For one so young, it’s difficult to play in the Premier League at any age, but to come through the ranks is impressive and he seems that type who has no fear.”

“He’ll only learn off someone like Pochettino. If you really want to become a great player, from what I’ve seen he can be, these are the types of boys (the Tottenham stars) you really need to be learning from.” (Source: Football Insider)

The Scotland international’s praise of Walker-Peters is completely founded, and he is right about how far he can go in his career.

Walker-Peters has enjoyed a brilliant start to the season as he’s shown his defensive nous. The 22-year-old has won the most tackles per game (2.7), as well as winning the most offsides per game (1.7) of any player in the Spurs squad (via WhoScored).

The Englishman also has a cool head between his shoulders, making a mere 0.3 fouls per game in the Premier League, the least among Spurs defenders to have started a top-flight game.

Walker-Peters has really shown how smart he can be in defence, and if he continues in the same vein he could well turn out to be the ‘great player’ Hutton says he can be.

Tottenham fans – how highly do you rate Walker-Peters? Do you see him becoming a regular at right-back? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

مدرب الأهلي يعلق على أنباء رحيل حسين الشحات ويصرّح: سعيد بانضمام بواليا لمنتخب الكونغو

أكد سامي قمصان، المدرب العام بالنادي الأهلي، أن الجهاز الفني تعامل في ظروف صعبة خلال مباراة الفريق أمام فيتا كلوب، سواء من ناحية الملعب أو الأجواء المحيطة.

وفاز الأهلي على فيتا كلوب الكونغولي، بثلاثة أهداف دون رد، في إطار منافسات الجولة الرابعة من دور المجموعات ببطولة دوري أبطال إفريقيا.

اقرأ أيضًا.. كاف يختار هدف أفشة أمام فيتا كلوب الأفضل في الجولة الرابعة من دوري أبطال إفريقيا

وقال قمصان خلال مداخلة هاتفية عبر برنامج “كورة ترند” المُذاع عبر قناة “الحدث اليوم” عن التعامل مع تصريحات الجهاز الفني لفيتا كلوب قبل المباراة: “ظروف صعبة عملنا عليها، سواء من ناحية الملعب أو الأجواء المحيطة، بغض النظر عن هذه التصريحات هذا أخر شيء نفكر فيه، المباريات في إفريقيا والمدربين يحبوا مثل هذه التصريحات والمبالغة فيها”.

تابع: “ولكن نحن كان لدينا هدف معين ونركز عليه وهو تحقيق الفوز، لعبنا في درجة حرارة صعبة وملعب صعب جدًا، ولكن كل هذه العوامل أعطت دافع كبير للاعبين”.

وواصل: “لم نتأثر بتصريحات الجهاز الفني لفيتا كلوب، وطبيعي أن يقول ذلك، الأهلي لا ينظر سوى لنفسه، وكان الرد بالنسبة لنا من خلال الملعب”.

وعن الأنباء التي ترددت بشأن رحيل حسين الشحات عن الأهلي، قال: “هو من اللاعبين المميزين جدًا، وكان مطلب جماهيري من قبل جمهور الأهلي، وأدى أداء مميز جدًا في كل البطولات التي شاركنا فيها، سواء بطولة إفريقيا أو كأس العالم للأندية، وأيضًا في كأس مصر”.

أردف: “الشحات لاعب مهم جدًا بالنسبة لنا، ومن الطبيعي أن يتعرض أي لاعب في العالم لفترات من سوء التوفيق”.

أوضح: “دور الجهاز الفني والجماهير أن يقفوا بجانب اللاعب في الأوقات الصعبة”.

وعن والتر بواليا قال: “سعداء بانضمامه لمنتخب الكونغو، هو لاعب مميز جدًا ونتابعه منذ فترة طويلة، يمتلك خبرات كبيرة وسجل أهداف مؤثرة جدًا ومختلفة، وقادر على أن يحافظ على الكرة، ويجيد اللعب برأسه بشكل جيد ويمتلك قوة بدنية مميزة”.

QPR target Sekou Gassama could struggle to start matches if he signs

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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…

QPR target Sekou Gassama could potentially struggle to start matches at the club if he does end up signing from Spanish side Almeria.

Mark Warburton’s side have been in fine form so far this term, winning their last four Championship games on the bounce with a number of players putting in some impressive displays.

Why might Gassama struggle?

Well, The Sun (print version, 22/09, page 61) report that Gassama is on the Londoners’ radar ahead of a potential January move.

The striker is out of contract in the summer, and the aforementioned report states that the 24-year-old could choose the R’s over a switch to another Spanish side in Real Zaragoza.

However, if Gassama does move to the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium, he would struggle for first-team starts due to the form of Jordan Hugill and Nahki Wells.

Both men sit at the top of the Championship scoring ranks with five goals each, impressing in a 5-3-2 system alongside each other.

As a result, it is tough to see any new face breaking the duo up.

Could be a good option from the bench

The Senegalese forward appears to be a capable pair of hands judging by his form so far this season.

Gassama has scored five goals and recorded one assist across seven appearances in Spain’s second tier this term – six goal involvements in just seven outings isn’t too shabby at all.

Seeing as Warburton starts his two best strikers together, there isn’t really a danger-man who could make an impact from the bench at the club right now, so Gassama may well become that figure if he does sign.

It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world for him as he acclimatises to a new country, although if he was hoping to start games for the R’s, he could struggle to do so due to the form of Wells and Hugill.

That said, having an option to come on and shake things up from the bench when things aren’t going the duo’s way could be crucial in the promotion race. His goal output this term suggests he makes an impact whenever he is on the pitch, so Gassama could be Warburton’s super-sub.

ساسي والجزيري ينضمان لمعسكر منتخب تونس استعدادًا لتصفيات أمم إفريقيا

كشف الجهاز الفني للفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي الزمالك، عن سفر فرجاني ساسي وسيف الدين الجزيري ثنائي الفريق إلى تونس للانتظام في معسكر نسور قرطاج.

ويستعد منتخب منتخب تونس لخوض التصفيات المؤهلة لنهائيات كأس الأمم الإفريقية.

طالع أيضا.. موعد مباراة مصر القادمة أمام كينيا في تصفيات كأس أمم إفريقيا

ويلتقي منتخب تونس مع نظيره الليبي يوم 25 مارس الجاري، ثم يستضيف غينيا الاستوائية على ملعب “رادس” يوم 28 من الشهر ذاته.

وكان الجهاز الفني لنسور قرطاج قد قرر ضم ساسي والجزيري لقائمة المنتخب في ظل تألق الثنائي مع الزمالك في الفترة الماضية.

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