Author: Prabhat Vaibhav

A Bavarian through and through.
Always appreciate quality football, wherever it may come from.
Premier League and Bundesliga are my jam.

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Photo – Jan Vertonghen hints dislike at Tottenham’s decision to furlough staff

The ongoing pandemic has taken the world by storm, with various businesses heading towards a steep decline. Football Clubs across Europe are taking massive hits as far as the financial returns are concerned, with some even hanging on the verge bankruptcy.

To ease some pressure off of the management, players from various clubs have decided to forego a portion of their salaries. However, questions were justifiably raised upon big clubs like Tottenham and Liverpool with regards to the decision of their hierarchy to put half of the non-playing staff on temporary leave.

The move has been judged to be ominous exploitation of the government’s job retention scheme, which states that during such circumstances, the staff would receive 80% of their salaries and the rest shall be taken up by the club.

The decision was criticised by many, including the former Liverpool players Jamie Carragher and Stan Collymore, and seemingly, as a result, the club has taken a u-turn on their decision, issuing an apology for ‘getting it wrong’.

The protests are far from restricted from within the Merseyside, with Spurs faithful pushing the club to overturn their decision as well.

Adding to that, Spurs defender Jan Vertonghen has apparently joined in the fight.

The Belgian ‘liked’ a tweet reporting the reversal of the decision taken by the Liverpool owners, hoping for his own club to follow through.

Check out a screenshot of Vertonghen’s Twitter activity below –

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Photo – Chelsea fans are head over heels in love with these concept kits for next season

Chelsea F.C announced back in January stating that the UK based internet service provider company ‘Three’ will soon replace Yokohama Tyres as shirt sponsors, whose deal runs out at the end of the current season. 

The Blues faithful have been wondering how this deal might affect the outlook of the kit as a whole. Now, as various fans and designers publish the concept kits for the 20/21 season, we might get a decent visualization of how the Chelsea players might look donning the new strips.

Twitter user @HamzaElky posted his designs on the platform and given the reception from the fans in the comments, it’s safe to say that they are left gazing at the outfits in awe.

The illustration depicts the home, away and the third kit for Chelsea next season with traditional blue, white and black colours respectively. The modest designs seem to perfectly complement the overall look of the jersey.

With no clue of what may happen to the ongoing season amid the coronavirus outbreak, the least Chelsea fans can look forward to is being presented a kit with a similar, if not better, quality for next season.

Check out the concept kits below –

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Photo – Fresh new leaks of Liverpool’s adventurous looking away kit for 20/21 drops online

Liverpool’s five-year deal with their kit suppliers New Balance is finally drawing to an end.  

Nike, a behemoth of a company as far as sportswears are concerned, will soon be at the helm, providing Liverpool with new outfits come the start of next season.

Having perhaps already won over fans with their decision to allow New Balance to provide the kits for the Reds’ coronation as Premier League champions, Nike has to deal with the huge pressure on their shoulders to supply enthralling strips for the next season.

Needless to say, Nike would have their fingers crossed as fresh pictures, after the initial leaks, surfaced online, all but confirming Liverpool’s away kit for next season.

The strip sees some radical changes from the previous years. Following the current Nike template, the kit consists of a black logo, crest and collar with a teal shade accommodated to get the contrast kicking in. A unique wave pattern describe the overall look of the jersey.

The changes made by Liverpool’s new kit sponsors are heavily distinctive in nature.

One has to wait and see how this bold move pays off for Nike as well as the club.

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Liverpool and Man United among the biggest losers as study reveals brutal impact on football due to coronavirus pandemic

From nearby shops to large-scale industries, the world has come to a standstill amid the coronavirus outbreak.

With businesses coming to a halt, various sectors are facing huge monetary drops with respect to their financial returns.

And football has been no exception to the case. Various clubs across Europe will remain out of action at least till the end of April. As a result, a major dip in the revenues and players’ transfer values are expected.

According to a study carried out by the CIES Football Observatory, who specialise in the statistical analysis of football, an estimated 28% (on average) decrease in the players’ transfer value is anticipated, given that no matches are played and no contracts are extended until the end of June.

The numbers were calculated using an intricate algorithm, which took into account several factors such as the players’ age, contract duration, career path and recent performance.

The players who have played fewer games in the current campaign than the previous one and are having short-term contracts, would foresee the heaviest fall in the market.

For instance, Manchester United star Paul Pogba might see his market value drop from €65m to €35m, which contributes to almost a 50% loss.

The report shows that if the impact of the virus does not reduce in the coming months, top Premier League clubs including Manchester City, Liverpool and United would have to face considerable ramifications in the market.

If the assumptions in the study are proven to be true, the clubs will not be able to spend as unreservedly as they have done in the past and signing quality players from the transfer window would be hard to come by.

Here is a list of the 10 biggest losers (clubs) according to the study –

ClubsEstimated Loss(million € )
Manchester City 412
FC Barcelona366
Liverpool FC353
Real Madrid350
Paris St-Germain 302
Manchester United293
Internazionale276
Bayern München267
Chelsea FC251
Tottenham Hotspur227
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Kevin-Prince Boateng asks Aubameyang to renew his Arsenal contract during an Instagram live session

When you’ve got a player of Aubameyang’s quality, it’s only natural that the player would have some big expectations from the team and the club as a whole.

The Gabonese international has been an indispensable figure for the Gunners ever since his arrival from Borussia Dortmund in a £56 million deal and has had an incredible rate of return with 49 goals and 10 assists to his name in the Premier League.

The same, however, could not be said of Arsenal as their overall lacklustre display has seen them fall down to 10th place in the Premier League.

Having already been knocked out of the Europa League, there seems to be little to no chance for Auba to play Champions League football next season if he decides to continue in Arsenal’s colours.

This has been one of the main reasons that negotiations with the Arsenal captain stalled, with several reports pointing towards a move elsewhere.

A glimmer of hope, however, has appeared out of nowhere for the Gooners as Kevin-Prince Boateng requested Aubameyang to extend his Arsenal contract during a live video session on Instagram.

The former Schalke star apparently left Auba completely bamboozled by the request. Caught off the heels on camera, the Arsenal striker replied with an unassertive ‘uhh…Yeah’, followed by a pretty unconvincing ‘Sure’.

https://twitter.com/the_beard_era/status/1243982878142337024

Realizing the awkwardness of the situation, Boateng tried to play down the talks, having a quick word of humour about him switching places with Aubemayang at Arsenal.

Arsenal fans seem to have found an unlikely hero in Agent Boateng as the Besiktas forward expressed his desire yet again, stating, “you are a great captain.. and I think the captain should extend his contract at Arsenal” because “You cannot leave”.

https://twitter.com/IceColdAuba14/status/1243981567392964608

Kevin Prince Boateng has certainly won some fans at the Emirates despite not kicking the ball even once for the Londoners.

The Gooners would hope that Boateng’s words help Arsenal to turn the tide with respect to their captain’s contract as the current deal is set to expire in 2021.

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New leaked photos of Tottenham Hotspur home and away kits for 20/21 season surfaces online

The quarantine life has become a sort of monotony. With no football, the fans are running out of things to watch and chores to work upon. There has been little to no developments as far as the football community is concerned.

However, for the Spurs faithful, the day is going to be a tad more captivating than usual, as Tottenham’s home and away kit for the 2020/21 season has been leaked online.

Nike, Spurs kit sponsors since 2017, have opted for a slightly vibrant style to the traditional plain white shade of the home kit.

Tottenham fans online can’t seem to arrive at a unanimous decision as to whether the outfits look awesome or awful at best.

Fans are divided about the new home jersey which has the traditional white colour with shades of blue on the shoulder and collar along with a grey pattern all over white template.

The green away kit has received mostly negative reactions as most of the fans have refused to embrace it, leaving them frustrated and annoyed by the outfit presented by Nike.

Sometimes fans take a while to come around and accept the new club colors; and if these really are the kits that Spurs would be rocking next season, Nike better hope that is the case this time around as well.

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Photo – Eden Hazard goes completely bald whilst in quarantine

As we near the end of another week under quarantine, football has been a massive miss amongst the football fans. Meanwhile, the players are left wondering how to fill the void left by the halt in their usual routine of training and match days.

An ongoing trend, however, has surfaced among players, with several major footballing personalities including Premier League stars Anthony Martial, Paul Pogba and Spurs defender Jan Vertonghen opting to go for a highly trimmed look.

Today, former Chelsea star Eden Hazard joined the trend as the Belgian was snapped with a completely shaven head.

Although the look might feel a bit unorthodox to the eye, some suspect that the trimmed look might be more of a precaution rather than a fashion statement.

It is being inferred that going bald might help reduce the transmission of the novel coronavirus.

Since his move to the Los Blancos, Eden Hazard has struggled to find the form he was famous for back in his Chelsea days, which, for the most part, comes down to his nagging injury problems.

As football fans, we’d wish to see the player return to his magical form again, preferably in his usual look when football returns to normalcy.

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West Ham star Michail Antonio wears Tottenham shirt after losing to Ryan Sessegnon in FIFA

Although footballers betting amongst each other in the popular football simulation game is not a new thing, but one needs to be especially careful when the two players involved belong to the rival clubs.

West Ham United star Michail Antonio challenged Tottenham Hotspur youngster Ryan Sessegnon to take him on in FIFA, in order to decide the result of the clash between the two sides in-game after Friday’s game was postponed amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Hence the rules were set: The loser will have to offer a full kit apology after the match.

Spurs ace Ryan Sessegnon decided to take on Antonio for the challenge and secured the victory for his side in the FIFA duel, winning 2-0 and seeing two penalties saved in a dominant victory.

Already put to the ground in FIFA, Antonio now had to face even more public embarrassment following his own bet as the Hammers forward posted a video on Twitter wearing the Spurs home kit.

Although he did try to save his blushes, scraping off the Tottenham jersey to unveil a West Ham kit, stating that wouldn’t let the rival kit touch his skin.

Nonetheless, it was all a light-hearted affair between the two which lead to a £1,000 donation to a mental health charity.

Check out the tweet from Antonio below –

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James Milner’s isolation XI whilst in quarantine is the best thing you’ll see this week

An important utility player on the field, James Milner has shown his humorous side off it, in a video that would instantly bring a smile to your face.

The Liverpool star put his free time to a unique use by putting forth his ‘isolation XI’, consisting of some of the huge personalities in English football.

In what was a hilarious pun-filled interchange with the fans, Milner described the players in his XI by relating them to a household object.

The defence consisted of Joe ‘Heart’ guarding the goal with Kyle Walker, John Terry, Dominic Matteo, and Leeds legend Trevor ‘Cherry’ just in front.

While, City’s David Silv(er)a, Leeds born David ‘Bat’ty and fellow teammate ‘Genie’ Wijnaldum completed the midfield trio.

The attack was lead by Patrik ‘Burger’, Theirry Henry and former Lincoln City striker Geoff ‘Hors’field.

Milner opted for a strong presence on the bench with major personalities such as ‘Bread’ Friedel, Gabriel ‘Heinz’e, Frank ‘Lamp’ard making the squad managed by none other than the former England manager Fabio ‘Cap’ello.

Check out the video below –

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(Video) Man Utd legend Paul Scholes effortlessly nails the toilet paper challenge

Figuring out what to do with the time spent in isolation has been a difficult task for many. Footballers in specific, are finding it hard to quench the feeling of having the ball at their feet.

Some unique ideas, however, has emerged on the internet. The toilet roll challenge has been a thing for some time now on social media with major footballing personalities including Xavi, Messi and Riqui Puig posting videos of their shot at the new trend.

Paul Scholes joined in on the action as well as the Manchester United legend showed he still hasn’t lost his touch.

Demonstrating remarkable skill and composure, the former United star juggled the toilet roll with such an ease that many don’t possess with a football.

During his time at Manchester, Scholes was considered one of the best midfielders in the world, heavily applauded for his superb sense of creativity and control, and over the years he still seems to have that bit of magic left in him.

With the self-isolation period not appearing to near an end, many other players will soon follow the United legend to the trend.

Although if they would be able to do any better than Paul Scholes himself, is another matter.

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Photo – Man United star Anthony Martial goes bald during his time in quarantine

The most atrocious of ideas originate in the human mind when kept in isolation.

People are having it hard to break free from their dull and boring daily routine in self-isolation amid the coronavirus outbreak.

However, some silly yet brilliant ideas have surfaced the internet, take the toilet roll challenge for example.

In the midst of all this, the Manchester United star, Anthony Martial decided to go for a complete shave of the hair on his head.

The Frenchman posted his new bald look on social media and safe to say the fans were quite amused by his appearance.

Check out the photo of a bald Anthony Martial below –

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Arsenal fans slam ‘ridiculous’ rumor linking Burnley striker Chris Wood to replace Aubameyang

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been an indispensable figure up front for Arsenal since his arrival at the Emirates from the Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund back in January 2018.

The Gabonese striker coming up clutch in difficult phases of the game has been a recurring theme in Arsenal’s season. 

The stats provide further evidence of Arsenal’s reliance on the African star with over 30% goals coming from him in the Gunners’ sum in the Premier League. Aubameyang has increased his tally up to 49 goals in the Premier League while registering 10 assists to date. 

He’s our most important player.

Stats wise, there’s no question about the impact that he has on this team. 

Mikel Arteta on Aubameyang

However, the Arsenal boss admitted that a star with such potential and stats would look to demand more from his team and the club. 

With the emergence of new rumours linking Auba with a move away from Arsenal, the Gunners faithful are slowly grasping the fact that they might have to let go their beloved striker come the start of next season.

However, this recent report stating the possibility of the Gunners replacing the Gabonese ace with the Burnley striker Chris Wood has had Arsenal fans convulsed with laughter given the absurdity of the rumour.

On paper, this seems quite a mismatch in stature, or at least that’s what the fans think given their reaction on social media.

https://twitter.com/ArsenalWay/status/1241641960735154176
https://twitter.com/SakaSZN_/status/1241714606000742402

But is the rumor as ridiculous as it seems?

Let’s get real for a second, and try to go behind the scenes to see if this rumour is really that ludicrous as it seems in the first look.

Woods has scored 11 goals in 26 games this season in the Premier league, of which, five goals came from set plays which are more than any other player this season.

Meanwhile, Arsenal are one of the worst if not the worst team in the air in the whole Premier league, only Newcastle United have conceded more attempts from dead ball situations than the Gunners. He’s got a decent chance conversion rate of 1 in every 4.8 [chances] compared 1 in every 6.5 for Lacazette.

Woods plays for a Burnley side, whose playing style was branded as “anti-football” by David Luiz back when he played for Chelsea. Burnley play by far the highest percentage of long passes of any team in the Premier League – 23.5 per cent in total, so it’s safe to say Woods plays a crucial role in this. 

He may allow Arsenal to play a different style, to be that serious option in the opposition area, maybe perform the role that Giroud used to play.

Many people will scoff while listening to these rumours, surely Chris Wood isn’t “The” replacement if Aubameyang is to say goodbye to the Gunners. While Chris Woods being the direct replacement of Aubameyang certainly raises some questions, the Clarets star surely can prove to be a handy option to bring in from the bench given his proven track record in the Premier league.

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Photo – Liverpool away kit for next season with YNWA lyrics looks stunning

It’s still early days to talk about the new season amid the suspension of the current campaign because of the coronavirus outbreak. However, a recent Liverpool kit leak has the fans enthralled as they can’t wait to see the team rocking the mint design from their new sponsors Nike next season.

This will be the first time that the Reds don a green template since the 2008/09 season.

The emergence of the leaks soon followed the concept kits from various designers on the internet.

One that seems to stand out is this re-imagination from Twitter user @HarrisCreativ3 which combines the kit with the highlights of the lyrics of the famous YNWA chant –

The lyrics engraved in the background were the winner, as many fans unanimously agreed that the kit was definitely better than the leaked kit.

The other significant changes included the shifting of Liverpool’s logo and Nike’s iconic Swoosh symbol to the center of the kit.

Given the possibility that the FA pushes the current campaign even further, the Liverpool faithful might not have to wait for the next season to see their favourite players rock the new mint away kit and even witness the team lifting the Premier League trophy in the very same outfit.

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(Video) Lionel Messi destroys the 10-touch toilet paper challenge after being nominated by ex-Barca teammate Xavi

Leo Messi shows how good his ball control skills are, with a roll of toilet paper!

There have been a variety of ways by which the famous football personalities are spending their time off the pitch in isolation at home currently.

The toilet roll challenge has been the new thing amongst the footballers under the new #StayAtHome hashtag trending on social media, amid the coronavirus outbreak.

The rules of toilet paper challenge are simple, one has to try to juggle the toilet paper like a football trying to get 10 touches in a row before the roll touches the ground.

Barcelona star Lionel Messi joined the fun as he took on the challenge himself and boy, did he do it.

Showing a telepathic communication with the roll at his feet, Messi swiftly broke the 10-touch barrier and looked as if he could continue for ages if he wanted to –

Barcelona’s Riqui Puig appears to have started this craze, which some people even called the ’10-touch toilet paper challenge’. He uploaded a video of himself juggling a roll of toilet paper on his Instagram and quickly the video did crazy numbers.

From there on this soon became a trend as this challenge was not only tried by footballers but also by other professional athletes and fans as well.

Having already smashed the toilet roll challenge with a bang, Messi has nominated his Barcelona and Argentina team-mates Jordi Alba, Luis Suarez and Sergio Aguero to join in, although, we doubt they would be able to do any better than the best in the world himself.

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Rangers fans cite Klopp example before tearing into Celtic boss Neil Lennon for ‘classless’ behaviour

With all major footballing action coming to a standstill because of the spread of the COVID-19 disease across Europe, many famous personalities and clubs have come forward to communicate their stance on the situation.

The common expression amongst them was that the sport itself plays a subsidiary role given the circumstances and that health and safety of the people must be the priority for every nation.

In the midst of the words of consolation, Celtic Boss Neil Lennon recently came out in a press conference with a statement that has sparked outrage amongst football fans.

While responding to the possible scenario of an early conclusion of the SPFL, Lennon said – “If it was to stop now I would doubt very much that they would say it was null and void.”

“It could be death by a thousand cuts. We have played over 30 games, that’s well over two-thirds of the season so we should be declared champions.”

The Irish manager stressed again that Celtic, who are 13-points clear at the top, should be the worthy winners if the league is to end today.

“Certainly, if you are talking about the Armageddon of the league being cancelled or stopped, it should go on the average points total which would make us clear champions and rightly so.

“We are over 30 games into the season, they are not going to take that away from us.”

While from a sporting point of view, the statement might seem logical to some extent, however, considering the current environment of fear and concern in the public regarding the pandemic, this certainly was not the way or the time to express such views.

Interestingly, Liverpool manager Klopp issued a message on the same day striking a completely different chord than Lennon –

Liverpool last league title win came in the 1989-90 season, while Celtic were eyeing their 9th consecutive league title.

The words from the Celtic boss has provoked a strong reaction not just from the Rangers fans but from supporters of other Premiership clubs as well.

Many found Lennon’s comment lacked class while Klopp’s words struck home. Check out the reaction (be advised for the usage of strong words) below –

As football fans, none of us would be able to easily digest the fact that our favourite teams’ work and effort put into the season might go down in vain.

However, the current requirement for society is to stop the spread of the deadly virus. After all the health of the players and the fans is important if football, as we know, is to continue in future.

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Jurgen Klopp brings football fans together with a passionate message for humanity amid coronavirus crisis

These are tough times, not only for the football world but for the whole of society.

The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has already begun showing its adverse effects in Europe, initially hitting Italy, the virus has now become a point of major concern for the whole continent.

As a preventive measure, the governing bodies have postponed the top five football leagues in Europe until further notice.

UEFA also declared that no football activities will take place as far as the Champions League and Europa League are concerned.

The football community hasn’t been immune to the coronavirus, with big personalities like Arsenal boss, Mikel Arteta and Chelsea star Callum Hudson-Odoi been tested positive for the virus.

Naturally, the circumstances have created an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty amongst the football fans. Facing such a strange occurrence for the first time, many cannot process the situation and don’t know how to react.

Amid all the panic, an emphatic message from Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has provided some sense of relief and direction for the football fans around the globe.

In a message published on the official Liverpool website, the German expressed his views on the decision to postpone the games along with the concerns and anxiety caused in the society because of the pandemic.

In a wholesome message, Klopp communicated the fans to put the health of themselves and the ones around them first, and deal with the ongoing issue with compassion towards each other.

The word of class from Jurgen Klopp was duly appreciated by the Liverpool and rival fans alike.

https://twitter.com/RobertBlaszczak/status/1238613034710507520

Football has proved time and time again that it’s more than just a sport and has the ability to bring people together no matter which crest, colour or creed.

In the midst of the current crisis, humanity shall prevail in order to bring peace and calm back in society, as intimated by Jurgen Klopp’s words.

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Photo – Atletico fans unfurled an Everton flag to troll Liverpool at Anfield

Liverpool were in for a rude awakening as Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid were about to give the men from Merseyside a harsh lesson to learn.

It needed a big performance from Liverpool at home to turn around the first leg deficit, however, much for the talk of another ‘Anfield Miracle’ by Andy Robertson and co., the reigning UCL Champions took another daunting hit to their season in a month that has already seen them get knocked out of the FA Cup by Chelsea.

Llorente celebrates after scoring a goal against Liverpool

Although it has to be conceded that the Reds were rather unfortunate, as they saw their chances get thwarted by a magnificent Jan Oblak who turned out to be Atletico’s palisade in goal, followed by two goals in extra time from the substitute Marcos Llorente and the icing on the cake for the Spanish giants by Alvaro Morata, sending the Kop end at Anfield to a complete blackout.

The arrogance of Liverpool was thoroughly broken down on and off the pitch by Atletico Madrid and their fans as they brought in an Everton flag to troll the Reds at the stadium.

Amusingly, this has to be the first occasion in a long time that an Everton flag has witnessed a victory against Liverpool at Anfield.

The loss has spelled an atmosphere of frustration and embarrassment amongst the Liverpool faithful.

Jurgen Klopp now must help the boys keep their heads steady and react accordingly to the defeat in an attempt to hang on to the only title left to fight for, the Premier League.