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Former Aston Villa midfielder Lee Hendrie has told Football FanCast in an exclusive interview that he expects Steve Bruce to remain at Newcastle United.

With the Magpies having found themselves in a relegation battle this season, some supporters have called for the 60-year-old to be sacked.

They have managed to find some form of late, though, picking up good results against Tottenham, Burnley and West Ham and no longer look to be in danger of going down – especially after Fulham failed to hold onto their 1-0 lead away at Arsenal.

Some fans may still not be happy, but Hendrie cannot see a change in the St. James’ Park dugout happening anytime soon.

Speaking exclusively to FFC about Bruce’s future, the ex-Villa player said:

“I don’t actually think Steve Bruce will go if I’m being quite honest. From sources that I know and speak to, they’ve got no thought of changing him at this current time.”

While Bruce’s short-term future at the club looks safe as Newcastle continue to remain out of the drop zone, it will be interesting to see what happens in the summer.

Talk of a takeover continues to rumble on. If one eventually does happen, the new regime may want a new man in the dugout.

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A estratégia do Fluminense para atrair a torcida para a decisão contra o Atlético-PR, na terça-feira, foi colocar jogadores identificados com o Clube das Laranjeiras para conceder entrevistas durante essa semana, que marca o início do trabalho de Marcão a frente do time. O meia Marquinho, herói em 2009, revelou como foi o papo como o novo técnico e se colocou à disposição para ajudar a equipe nesta reta final do Brasileirão. Faltam apenas quatro rodadas.

-Vou dizer exatamente o que falei para o Marcão: “Estou aqui, me identifico com o clube, assim como você. Independentemente se for jogar ou não, vou te ajudar”. O grupo inteiro gosta dele, os funcionários do clube gostam dele, é um cara carismático – declarou o meia, que ainda convocou a torcida para o jogo:

– Mais uma vez contamos com o apoio do torcedor tricolor. Se o torcedor encher o Maracanã e jogar junto com a gente como eles têm feito, e a gente jogar como estamos treinando nesses dias, tem tudo para dá certo. É uma cartada nossa, confronto direto – afirmou Marquinho nesta quinta-feira.

Os ingressos para o duelo contra o Atlético-PR, dia 15, às 17h, no Maracanã já estão sendo vendidos nos pontos físicos e on-line, e todos os setores custam R$ 20. A partida é válida pela 35ª rodada do Campeonato Brasileiro. Com 48 pontos, o Tricolor está na nona colocação, a três pontos do sexto lugar, que é justamente o Furacão.

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O São Paulo começou, neste sábado, a ganhar forma para encarar o Santos na 30ª rodada do Campeonato Brasileiro. Em treino que começou às 8h30, Ricardo Gomes comandou atividade tática com portões fechados no CT da Barra Funda e já deixa os testes feitos em segredo.

Usualmente, os treinos da manhã no Tricolor começam às 9h, com conversas na área interna do CT ou exercícios no Reffis. Neste sábado, porém, o grupo já estava todo em campo meia hora antes e encarou intenso aquecimento comandado pelos preparadores físicos Zé Mário Campeiz e Kako Perez.

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Tricolor terá mais três dias de treinamentos para encarar o Santos, às 21h de quinta-feira, no Pacaembu

Sob os cuidados de Ricardo Gomes, o time participou de trabalho tático de uma hora de duração. Devido ao forte calor na capital paulista, o técnico dividiu a atividade em tempos de dez minutos, com pausas para hidratação. A prioridade era jogar pelas laterais e fazer inversões rápidas.

Na última sexta-feira, nove dos titulares do empate em 1 a 1 com o Sport havia feito apenas treino regenerativo no CT. Já neste sábado apenas os lesionados Lyanco e Gilberto e os convocados Auro (compõe os treinos da Seleção Brasileira), Mena e Cueva desfalcaram o treinamento.

A programação da comissão técnica estabeleceu folga para o grupo neste domingo. Já na segunda-feira, serão dois períodos de treino: um às 9h e outro às 16h. Na terça, a atividade será às 15h, com uma hora de portões fechados. No dia seguinte, o CT ficará fechado das 9h às 10h30. Por fim, o clássico com o Peixe está marcado para as 21h de quinta-feira, no Pacaembu.

After being omitted from yet another squad for Serbia in their 3-2 victory against Republic of Ireland, it would be fair to say that Marko Grujic is in footballing purgatory.

The Liverpool midfielder, currently on loan at FC Porto, has only made one appearance for his country since July 2018 in what is a sad summary of his fall from grace over the past few years.

After signing for Liverpool from Red Star Belgrade in January 2016, he was expected to become a key player in the Reds line-up, even being talked up as a “top talent” by manager Jurgen Klopp.

That assessment was certainly justified having turned in a series of exciting performances in his home country, with six goals and seven assists from midfield for Red Star in 2015/16.

He has only made 14 competitive appearances for Liverpool since, though, with just five of those being starts, all coming in the Carabao Cup.

Away from Anfield, the 24-year-old has also failed to have that much of an impact at any of his adoptive clubs.

Farmed out on loan deals to Cardiff City, Hertha Berlin and now Porto, it was only with the Bluebirds that he could find regular opportunities, making 14 appearances in all competitions throughout the second half of the 2017/18 campaign.

Whilst he has been afforded 29 appearances in Portugal throughout 2020/21, just ten of those have been starts. As a matter of fact, he has taken to the pitch for just 307 minutes of Liga NOS action, having been introduced after the 85th minute in his last four league fixtures.

That is not something which will do his chances of first team football with Liverpool any favours, especially as he has considerable competition at Anfield from the likes of Thiago Alcantara, Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, Naby Keita and more.

Now rated at £12.6m by Transfermarkt, it seems unlikely that Grujic’s talent is going to see him break out of the footballing purgatory in which he currently finds himself.

Many of Klopp’s signings at Liverpool have proven to be masterstrokes, but investing in the Serbian was a rare misjudgment from the Anfield boss.

AND in more news, take a look at which fellow Reds’ midfielder has seen his transfer valuation plummet…

Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has been handed another devastating injury blow ahead of a potential international debut.

The 22-year-old stopper was originally included in Stephen Kenny’s Republic of Ireland squad for the upcoming international break, with the Boys in Green now unfortunately confirming that he has had to pull out.

An ongoing abdominal tear has kept him on the sidelines at Anfield, with the problem also now seemingly putting paid to his chances of appearing for his country this month in World Cup qualifiers against Serbia and Luxembourg, as well as a friendly versus Qatar.

It will be a hugely disappointing development for Kelleher as he was in line to not only make his debut for his nation but also stake a claim for the Number 1 shirt with regular stopper Darren Randolph also ruled out with injury.

That certainly would have been another remarkable step for the young stopper who has seized his chance under Jurgen Klopp this season.

Following an injuriy to Alisson Becker, Kelleher was able to make both his UEFA Champions League and Premier League debuts, making five appearances in all competitions for the Reds.

He had conceded just three goals within those five games and managed to keep two clean sheets.

However, since appearing in the 1-0 loss against Brighton & Hove Albion at Anfield, Kelleher has been ruled out with his injury, not even appearing on the bench since, meaning Adrian played when Alisson was given compassionate leave follwing the death of his father.

There were fleeting hopes that Kelleher would return in time for Liverpool’s clash with Fulham two weeks ago, but he was still ruled out with a problem that now looks slightly more serious than first feared.

Devastatingly for Kelleher, it not only looks to have disrupted his debut season in the Reds’ first-team but it has also brought his short-term international aspirations down, too.

Given that he would have likely have been given a chance to feature for his country, and stake a claim to be Ireland’s number one, Kelleher will be gutted to have been ruled out for the next few weeks.

AND in more news, read which youngster Jurgen Klopp has to give a chance in the Anfield first-team during the 2021/22 season…

Having been allowed to leave Aston Villa on loan in the January transfer window, it’s fair to say Conor Hourihane is doing his best to remind those at his parent club why he should have been kept.

The Republic of Ireland international had struggled to get much game-time at Villa Park in the first half of the season in the Premier League, playing just 228 minutes of top-flight football before his departure for Swansea.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of a game against West Ham earlier this season, Villa manager Dean Smith was quick to acknowledge that it was difficult for Hourihane. He said: “Conversations can be difficult but if you’re just speaking to the players with honesty then you usually find a way through that.

“We’d played two, won two and Conor had come off in both games. We signed Ross and I felt we needed to go a different way against Liverpool given who we were playing against. I explained that to Conor and, yes, he was disappointed because he had been involved in the first two games but we felt we’d brought in a real, high-calibre, different type of player.”

Now on loan at the Liberty Stadium, Hourihane is underlining just what a talented player he is on his day, already racking up five goals in just 12 games in the Championship.

It’s no surprise that Steve Cooper, his manager at Swansea, has raved about the Irishman, saying: “He’s been so impressive from the day he’s come through the door, which wasn’t that long ago. I thought his composure and quality on the ball is what we want it to be. If that’s the start of things to come then happy days.”

Last summer, Villa journalist Dan Bardell waxed lyrical about the midfielder’s ability following an impressive performance in a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace towards the end of the 2019/20 season.

He said: “Whether you rate Conor (Hourihane) or whether you don’t, and obviously we’re two people that rate him highly, you can’t deny that when he’s on the pitch, we’ve looked better this season. And he’s a weapon from set pieces.

“The way he looks after the ball is very underrated as well. I think a lot of people take that for granted.”

Given how well he has performed for Swansea in the short time he has been there, and the troubles which Villa themselves have faced in recent weeks (they’ve managed just three goals in their past five games), Smith must surely be ruing letting the 1.81m-tall (5 foot 11) Hourihane leave in January.

Meanwhile, Villa are making a big mistake over signing this midfielder…

Lots of Everton fans have flocked to the latest tweet from the club that recently emerged on social media.

The Toffees’ Twitter account posted an injury update involving Abdoulaye Doucoure, with the tweet stating the fact that the midfielder sustained an injury before Everton faced Chelsea and Carlo Ancelotti said that the former Watford man will miss ‘some games’ in the next few weeks.

Ancelotti made it clear that he wasn’t completely sure about the injury that the midfielder has suffered, but he will certainly be out until after the international break.

The Italian did back his side to thrive without their box-to-box machine. He said that when Lucas Digne was out, they managed to replace him on a temporary basis and they did the same when Allan was out of action. He is hopeful that the Blues will deal with Doucoure’s absence too.

The 28-year-old Doucoure has been a regular for Everton in the current campaign, making 25 Premier League appearances. He has scored two goals, also picking up three assists for the Toffees. In the FA Cup, he has scored once for Ancelotti’s side (as per Transfermarkt).

The tweet sharing Doucoure’s update drew the attention of the Everton faithful, who made their views clear about him.

What did Everton fans make of the update about Doucoure?

“That’s a real shame. We will miss the lad’s energy in our midfield. Hope his injury isn’t too long.”

Credit: @PeterPapadopo11

“Gutted. He’s the engine of this side.”

Credit: @ferninho

“Huge loss.”

Credit: @Houndog6105

“Such a loss.”

Credit: @ollietramineee

“Nice one, sons crying.”

Credit: @_____h23

“Ah mate that’s the final straw, am off ahaha.”

Credit: @1878Lee

In other news, Everton could be set to a lose a midfielder in the summer – read more here.

Leeds United could not bounce back from their recent 4-2 loss to Arsenal at Molineux last night. Despite an end-to-end match that saw skipper Liam Cooper register four shots on target, the Whites couldn’t find a way back from Illan Meslier’s own goal in the second half.

An Adama Traore shot ricocheted off the woodwork before colliding with the Leeds goalkeeper and into his own net. But this wasn’t the only disappointing event of the night, several of Marcelo Bielsa’s men were lacklustre in their performances.

One man who wasn’t up to scratch was Jamie Shackleton, who is still battling for a regular spot in the starting lineup.

Shackleton vs Wolves

The 21-year-old has featured just 12 times from a possible 25 matches so far this season, with only four of those coming as starts, as per Transfermarkt.

He has been left out of the action on numerous occasions in favour of the likes of Mateusz Klich and Stuart Dallas in midfield.

Shackleton was handed a chance to prove himself as he was named amongst the lineup against Wolves.

However, he didn’t live up to expectations.

According to Sofascore, the midfielder took just 32 touches – ten fewer than Meslier – which is a very low amount for a creative playmaker. The centre of the pitch is the engine room of Bielsa’s system, so for Shackleton to have fewer touches than the goalkeeper proves he wasn’t part of many attacking attempts.

And ultimately, that was really poor to see.

The £2million-rated youngster should be on the ball, orchestrating play from midfield but instead, his stats show that he was rather absent in the middle of the park in what was a passenger-like display – it’s no wonder he was hooked after only 66 minutes of action.

Shackleton failed to register a single cross, long ball, shot or dribble in terms of attacking contribution, and he made zero clearances, blocks or interceptions.

The young midfielder was also hugely lightweight in his battles, winning just one of five duels (20%).

By comparison, both Klich (6.7) and Tyler Roberts (6.8) were graded better as per SofaScore ratings, both combining for five shots and one key chance created.

This performance isn’t exactly painting him in a good light for a player already slipping down the pecking order.

Although Bielsa is fond of him and recently lauded him as a “dynamic” player, Leeds can’t afford to field deadweight, and if Shackleton continues to slip off the radar in his performances, he will find himself demoted to the bench once more.

In other news, Cryptic Pablo Hernandez Instagram post could spell trouble…

Liverpool are continuing to be linked with a move for Lille midfielder Renato Sanches ahead of the summer, and the Portuguese could be the ideal long-term heir for Jordan Henderson.

According to reports from Italy, the 23-year-old ‘seems destined’ to join Jurgen Klopp’s side this summer, as he continues to impress with his performances in Ligue 1.

Whilst the young midfielder is perhaps best known by a lot of Premier League fans for his torrid time on loan with Swansea City, Sanches has proved himself an extremely capable player in his time with both Bayern Munich and Lille, whilst also being one of Portugal’s stars of Euro 2016.

This season has seen Sanches has made 10 starts in Ligue 1 and in the games he has started, he has averaged a solid 6.97 rating for his performances, whilst also contributing one goal.

The midfielder has averaged a solid 89.1% pass accuracy in Ligue 1, whilst Henderson has managed an 87.3% pass accuracy in the Premier League.

Both Henderson’s and Sanches’ main strength is their passing, whilst the Portuguese international is also strong when it comes to dribbling, crossing and defensive contribution.

WhoScored (see links above) suggest that both players like to play long balls and play the ball off the ground often, which suggests that Sanches would fit into Liverpool’s style of play well.

Considering Henderson will turn 31 in June, the Reds arguably need to cast their eye towards the future and look at bringing in a long-term replacement for the influential captain, although his impressive fitness levels suggest that he has a few more years at the top at least.

Sanches also scores superbly on the scouting website FBRef, with his chance creation and progressive passing stats particularly impressive.

He was also well thought of during his time at Bayern Munich, with former manager Niko Kovac full of praise for the midfielder in 2018, saying:

“Renato has an exceptionally good technique, very good speed and a great body.

“It’s true that people fly off him left and right – just like they used to do with Lothar Matthaus.”

Therefore, the 23-year-old could certainly prove to be the long-term replacement for Henderson in this Liverpool side, as all the stats suggest that he would fit well into Klopp’s style of play.

AND, in other news… Edwards can rectify January transfer window blunder with summer swoop for 21 y/o centre-back beast

Liam Kennedy has given an update on the proposed £300m takeover of Newcastle United by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) group.

Replying to a fan of the Tyneside club on Twitter, The Shields Gazette journalist was asked about the possible arbitration hearing involving the Magpies and the Premier League to settle their legal disputes over the failed deal between Mike Ashley and the consortium.

The Magpies supporter asked him if a chair has been agreed or if the top flight are stalling for time, to which Kennedy said: “Things aren’t quite that black and white”.

He also went on to say that any thaw in terms of relations between the Saudis and Qatar may well have implications in terms of a legitimate reason for rejecting any form of bid.

What next for the Newcastle takeover?

Mark Douglas believes that the summit in the Kingdom on January 5th may well be the next point of hope for the takeover to possibly be revived, where the first meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) of the new year will take place, when it is expected that steps will be taken to end the political disputes between Qatar and the KSA.

It could well be something to come back on to if and when the arbitration hearing does takes place, which could give more hope to fans in the North East that the takeover can be resurrected.

In other news, find out who has been put under pressure to give takeover answers here!