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Liverpool have done a U-turn on their decision to offload Xherdan Shaqiri this transfer window, according to David Lynch.

The report claims that unless a surprise bid is tabled for the Swiss international’s services, he will remain with the club for this season. A very wise decision for Michael Edwards and Jurgen Klopp, given they will likely still be reeling from their 7-2 mauling on Sunday.

A deadline day change of heart

Despite making just 11 appearances across all competitions last season, Shaqiri proved he is capable of delivering the goods when called upon. He got himself on the scoresheet in Liverpool’s thrilling 5-2 win over Everton back in December and popped up with a goal in the Carabao Cup this campaign as though he’d never been away (via Transfermarkt). Pep Lijnders lauded his performance and said he was “superb” during a cup post-match conference.

The Reds have already been ruthless with their outgoings by cashing in on could-have-been heir to Roberto Firmino, Rhian Brewster. Harry Wilson is also linked to a move away from Anfield after failing to break into the senior team full-time.

With Sadio Mane out due to illness, selling Shaqiri would have left Liverpool with a skeleton crew up front. One major injury to either of their star wingers, and the reigning league champions would be in serious trouble. Luckily for the the Swiss man, Klopp realised how much the Reds missed Mane during their Aston Villa defeat and can’t risk shredding his options up front. To be in with a chance of securing back-to-back titles, depth is absolutely key for the current holders.

In other news, Liverpool must move to sign Paulo Gazzaniga to end Adrian woes…

Key Information about Bescot Stadium

Bescot Stadium, also known as the Bank’s Stadium for sponsorship purposes is the current home of Walsall Football Club. Walsall moved to Bescot Stadium in August 1990 after moving from their previous home of Fellows Park, which had been their ground for 94 years.

The new stadium has an all-seater capacity of 11,300 and comprises four stands; the HomeServe Stand, Main Stand, St Francis Group Community Stand, and University of Wolverhampton Stand.

A history of Bescot Stadium

As a result of Terry Ramsden’s takeover of Walsall in 1986, the move to a new stadium was identified immediately with plans acquired for the move to a new site in the town. Work began on Bescot Stadium in 1989, and the stadium was opened one year later ahead of the 1990-91 season by Sir Stanley Matthews. The first competitive game was played a week after a friendly loss against Aston Villa, as just over 5,000 spectators watched the Saddlers draw 2-2 with Torquay United.

The first goal was famously an own goal which was scored by Walsall defender Matt Bryant after just 65 seconds, and the first goal scored for Walsall was by Stuart Rimmer. The stadium was originally built to accommodate standing areas for fans, though in 1992 the capacity was reduced from over 11,000 to 9,800 which meant the away supporters terrace was filled with seats. During the 2002-03 season, the Tile Choice Stand (formerly known as the Gilbert Alsop Stand) was extended to make the season all-seated and hold a capacity of 11,300 which still stands to this day.

Walsall agreed a sponsorship deal with Bank’s Brewery back in 2007, and in turn, the name of the stadium officially changed from the Bescot Stadium to the Bank’s Stadium – this sponsorship deal extended by the club in 2016 to run until the summer of 2022.

The West Midlands based stadium famously hosted its second concert in the summer of 2015, where 14,000 fans watched Elton John perform. The Saddlers originally had plans to develop multiple stands in the stadium in 2005; however, due to the club’s misfortune in regaining their Championship status back then, the plans have been put on hold ever since. In 2008, the club attempted to sell the stadium to Walsall Council, though this fell through due to insufficient funds to purchase the stadium.

Tickets to Watch Walsall at Bescot Stadium

Tickets to Bescot Stadium can be purchased in person at the stadium’s Ticket Office, as well as over the phone and online via the club’s e-ticketing website. The Ticket Office is located at the front of the Main Stand and is open weekdays from 9.15am to 4.30pm.

Adult ticket prices range from £18-23, and all under-18 tickets are priced at just £10. under-12s can watch all home league games for free by joining Swifty’s Squad and attending each match with a full-paying adult. Full adult season ticket prices start from £250, and under-21s from £125.

Related Links

https://www.saddlers.co.uk/ – Official website of Walsall FC

https://www.saddlers.co.uk/ticket-information/ – Walsall FC Ticket Office

Liverpool have just won their first league title in 30 years, and it doesn’t look as though they’re going to rest on their laurels after their success.

Indeed, the Reds have been linked with a number of players that will improve their squad with the Thiago Alcantara rumours running rampant, while links to Kalidou Koulibaly still bubble under the surface.

However, despite all these targets from mainland Europe being reported, the Reds are now apparently looking domestically at one player.

What’s the story then?

The Daily Mirror are reporting that Liverpool are interested in signing Leicester’s Harvey Barnes.

The paper’s story says that Barnes fits Liverpool’s transfer strategy of signing young players with high sell-on potential, and you can understand exactly why the Reds are in the market for him.

The 22-year-old has been pivotal in Leicester’s success this term, contributing to 14 league goals, despite only starting 24 games throughout the campaign.

Perfect Shaqiri replacement

Liverpool’s front three is almost impenetrable, and any attacking player that is brought in may have to offer something a little different if they want to see a lot of first-team action, and Barnes is that man.

Not only can he play on either wing, but he can also slot into a midfield role, and that sort of versatility is exactly what Liverpool need, especially if Xherdan Shaqiri leaves as he’s expected to.

Shaqiri has played in five different positions since joining Liverpool, and despite Barnes’ career still being in its infancy, he has played in six different roles for Leicester.

The Swiss international is far from a key player at Anfield, but he does offer something valuable, and it seems as though his versatility won’t be missed all that much if Barnes joins this summer.

It’s safe to say Louis van Gaal may not be the most popular of figures in Manchester right now.

Former Manchester United striker Robin van Persie opened up on his departure from the club, and revealed that it was down to Van Gaal’s ruthlessness that saw him make his exit.

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Speaking on The High Performance Podcast back in April, he said (as quoted by The Manchester Evening News): “I had this chat with Louis van Gaal and he told me: ‘Ok Robin, our ways will part. I’m the coach, you’re the player – you have to go, your time is up.

“Ruthless. Towards the end of it, I saw something coming but not this ruthless. And the way he said it as well. And then, like a lot of things go through your mind when you get a message like that.”

After the footage re-emerged via Twitter user @ManUnitedZone_, fans of the Manchester side took to Twitter to voice their thoughts on Van Gaal.

One United fan simply called Van Gaal “bitter” and criticised his treatment of Van Persie as being “very harsh and too direct”.

After firing in the goals to lead United to a final Premier League title under Sir Alex Ferguson, Van Persie surely deserved better treatment from the club and Van Gaal in particular.

He may not have spent too many seasons there, but he certainly contributed massively, and Van Gaal’s abrasive approach feels a little jarring.

It’s no wonder many United fans seem to be up in arms over him.

Lots of Newcastle United fans have come to the defence of Amanda Staveley after the woman leading the proposed takeover in the northeast was subjected to some rather misogynistic comments in her ongoing court case with Barclays, according to the Daily Mail.

As per the outlet, the businesswoman and head of PCP Capital Partners was labelled as a ‘foxy blonde’ as well as a ‘tart’ by bosses at Barclays Bank, the company with whom she is currently involved in a court case dispute.

Staveley has accused the then-Barclays executive Roger Jenkins of pressing her to use her fees from the £7bn deal with the bank to make a sizeable donation towards a £10,000-per-person charity fundraiser in Mayfair. However, the financier has now also accused the executives at the company of misogyny and sexism after hearing the remarks referring to her.

As a response, some angry members of the Toon faithful have sent out complaints to the judge running her case as they overheard somebody from the legal side of Barclays claiming that she was ‘obviously a liar’ when she gave her evidence in court.

Plenty of Newcastle supporters tuned in to the live Daily Mail feed and thus told the jury about what they heard, which were rather unacceptable comments toward Staveley when she left the witness stand. As a consequence, the legal team of Barclays at Simmons and Simmons were forced to read out an apology in court last Friday.

It is perhaps unsurprising that so many Magpies supporters came to the defence of Staveley given her association with the prospective takeover at St James’ Park and it is also nice to see them standing up for her when needed.

The fans will be surely be hoping that she wins her case so that she can help get the takeover of Newcastle over the line.

Geordies, would you be happy for Staveley to be your new owner? Comment below with your views!

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

Sheffield Wednesday sank to a fourth straight game without victory, but it was always going to be a hard task to follow up recent developments off the field.

Even more so when coming up against the league leaders, West Bromwich Albion.

The Owls succumbed to a 2-1 defeat at the Hawthorns on Saturday afternoon and, once again, were left rueing a late goal against them as they looked sure to be returning to south Yorkshire with at least a point.

It comes just days after the club were charged by the EFL for financial misconduct with them staring down the barrel of a hefty points deduction at the very least.

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In three straight matches now, Wednesday have seen results slip from their grasp, starting with Blackburn Rovers’ come-from-behind victory before Swansea City snagged a point at the death before the international break.

Time and time again, it appears that it is down to individual mistakes. After the game, manager Garry Monk said: “We’ve just got to keep doing what we’re doing and cut out silly mistakes. It’s nothing to do with tactics or anything like that. But, unfortunately, we’re human beings, sometimes we make mistakes.”

But this problem continues to arise as those who make such errors are given the very platform to do it again, and again, and… again.

This is epitomised by goalkeeper Keiren Westwood, whose rush of blood to the head led to him scything down Matheus Pereira inside the penalty area, just weeks after his awful clanger against the Swans.

Liam Palmer also saw red for a reckless yet needless challenge soon after to halt any chance of salvaging a point back in their favour.

The 40-year-old has also added: “We’ve talked about it, we’ve discussed it, we’ve trained it, we’ve shown it, that’s all you can do.”

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However, this is where he is wrong. Monk needs to be gutsy and show some mettle to drop those that have consistently let him down in recent weeks.

Then they will truly know that their place is up for grabs, and they’ll hopefully learn from it, rather than sitting back with the safety net of knowing they’ll be starting the next game regardless of whether they hoof the ball into their own net or not.

Time to be bold, Garry.

In other news… one Wednesday regular shouldn’t face the axe after he ran the show against the league leaders.

Tottenham Hotspur have nurtured a lot of talent over the years and suffered some agonising near misses as well as eras of success. Here’s a look back into the archives at some of the London side’s most iconic goals.

Jonathan Woodgate vs Chelsea (2008 League Cup final)

Back when it was known as the Carling Cup, Spurs stamped their names on the silverware after a nail-biting win over London rivals Chelsea.

It took until extra-time for someone to find a winner after Didier Drogba’s stunning 39th minute free-kick was cancelled out by a Dimitar Berbatov penalty in the second half. Spurs only needed an extra four minutes, with Jonathan Woodgate finding the back of the net and indeed, Tottenham’s ticket to glory.

Petr Cech almost kept his side in the game but Woodgate’s fearless header and pressing presence caused the Czech powerhouse into an error and Spurs snatched the win very late on.

Dele Alli vs Crystal Palace (2015/16 Premier League)

Like any football star, they weren’t always a league icon or household name, and the same goes for Dele Alli. The Englishman did, however, rise into the limelight very quickly.

After signing for Tottenham from MK Dons for £5million, Alli took no time before showing the Premier League what they’d been missing out on. After returning from his loan spell, he had become integrated into Mauricio Pochettino’s side, but was still viewed merely as a young talent. Until his audacious bit of skill against Crystal Palace.

Latching onto Christian Eriksen’s pass, Alli chipped his defender before setting himself up on the volley and firing his side’s winning goal into the back of the net. Those few seconds of sauce really put the 24-year-old’s name on the map.

Lucas Moura vs Ajax (2019 Champions League semi-final)

Spurs haven’t had much luck in Europe over the years, but the 2018/19 season really turned that around for the London outfit. In similar fashion to reigning winners Liverpool, Tottenham overturned a huge deficit in order to book their ticket to the final.

After a young Ajax side looked comfortable sitting 3-0 up with an away goal, Spurs looked down and out. But a hero came along in the form of Lucas Moura and his sensational hat-trick to make club history and secure Tottenham’s place in the Champions League final for the first time ever.

The Brazilian’s third goal of the match sliced into the back of the net in the fifth minute of added time and Moura wrote both his and his side’s name in the history books.

Are there any other iconic goal-scoring moments you’ve enjoyed from over the years? Let us know!

Saturday was filled with frustration for many linked with Tottenham Hotspur, as they drew 1-1 against Sheffield United.

What makes the result even worse is that Spurs had 60.9% of possession, but only managed 1 more shot on target than the Blades, while having the same number of corners and dribbles.

Even the club’s Twitter admin sounded dejected when the final whistle was blown:

Plenty of the discontent many Spurs fans were feeling after the disappointment the game provided ended up working its way towards Mauricio Pochettino.

With the club currently sitting in the bottom half of the table, there are fans who feel now is the time for the Argentinian to leave the club.

There is a sign that Pochettino is aware of the pressure that is building on him, as he was quoted in football.london after the game as saying: “You expect better results than you get. Of course we are in a process to build and we’ll see if we have time to build what we want.”

A selection of Twitter reaction to the result, including posts from fuming Spurs fans, can be seen below:

The Sky Bet Championship is back at the end of the week and the bonus is that there are no more international breaks for a few months now.

The second tier is looking as tight as ever right now, as well, but it does seem as though a couple of sides down near the bottom need to improve their form and fast before they get cut adrift.

Barnsley, promoted from League One last year, are one of those sides and the Tykes will be hoping their new manager can help steer them to safety.

Indeed, it’s been a while since Daniel Stendel left the club but it seems as though the men from Oakwell are edging towards a new appointment now.

This comes from Ronan Murphy:

It’s caused a fair bit of reaction on Twitter, too – and not just from Barnsley fans – so let’s take a look at what has been said on the social media site:

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

According to The Sun, Tottenham are to make West Bromwich Albion’s Nathan Ferguson their number one right-back target to fill the void left by Kieran Trippier.

What’s the story?

With the transfer window just around the corner, the Premier League’s clubs are already planning ahead. Spurs, of course, are no different.

And The Sun is reporting that the team’s scouts are “raving” about 19-year-old Ferguson amid something of a breakthrough season at the Hawthorns. They see him as a potential new recruit on the right side of the defence despite him currently being used at left-back by Slaven Bilic.

Can fill the Trippier void

England international Trippier joined Atletico Madrid in the summer, and Spurs have struggled to find a successor since then. So far this season, there have been no less than four players filling in there, and none of Serge Aurier, Davinson Sanchez, Moussa Sissoko or Kyle Walker-Peters have set the world alight.

Clearly it’s having an effect too, as just five teams have conceded more than the Lilywhites in the league.

The Tottenham crisis deepens even further in the video below…

Between the four, they have just one assist and no goals. Quite frankly, it is one of their weakest positions on the field and is part of the reason why Mauricio Pochettino and co are finding it so hard this term – they have won just one of their last six games in all competitions and currently sit five points behind the top four in the Premier League.

The interest in Ferguson, therefore, makes total sense and would start to solve some of the team’s defensive problems. So far this season, he has averaged 2.6 tackles per game, which is the most of any of his teammates, whilst his 2.1 clearances per match has been bettered by just two Baggies players. He also has the second-most interceptions, as well, with 1.2.

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It is intriguing that Spurs see him as a right-back considering he has played more games at left-back this campaign, but it would make more sense to have him on his favoured foot in the long-term. His versatility, though, is something that they can put to good use if needs be, with Danny Rose and Ben Davies not necessarily looking irreplaceable on the left.

Ferguson’s age means that he could make the right-back position his own for the foreseeable future, and with the reported fee somewhere in the region of £10m, it would not break the bank either.