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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… 

Aston Villa’s Tyrone Mings has had quite the career renaissance in 2019.

He found himself massively out of favour at Bournemouth, so he was duly sent out on loan to Villa Park, and he quickly became the clear choice at centre-back, going on to contribute substantially in their historic ten-game winning run.

After gaining promotion with the club, he then signed permanently in a £20m deal and in the Premier League so far, he’s clearly continued his imperious form as the 26-year-old has been called up to Gareth Southgate’s England squad for their 2020 European Championship qualifiers during this international break.

Watch Aston Villa Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

That’s quite a turn around for a defender that had played just 17 Premier League matches across four seasons – serious injury only six minutes into his Cherries career effectively placed havoc with his time on the south coast.

He suffered torn anterior and medial ligaments in his knee, which ruled him out for well over a season.

On the Chalkboard

His performances can’t have sprung randomly from anywhere; the upturn has to be a correlation with his arrival at Villa, as he has had the perfect mentor to learn from.

Legendary Chelsea and England centre-back John Terry is the assistant manager at the club to Dean Smith, so undoubtedly he has contributed to Mings’ change in fortunes.

Terry captained England 34 times and could be the man to help England find a towering long-term option at centre-back.

The 6 foot 5 defender has the ‘ideal teacher’ according to Smith, who said: “JT has been an influence on Tyrone since he’s been here; he’s getting better and better. JT will give him a heads up [about being in the England squad], but Tom Heaton is also a regular in the set-up.”

Find out which Premier League stadium has been ranked the worst in the video below…

Smith also describes Mings as a ‘born leader’ in the dressing room, which admittedly only goes to show the effect of having someone like Terry around has had.

The 26-year-old is averaging a mighty 9.8 clearances per game in the league, which is the highest in the division by some margin, on top of 2.3 blocks and 1.5 interceptions per match, according to WhoScored.

So it’s no wonder that the titan is part of the England setup this time around. He’s been perfectly groomed, even if unknowingly, for this moment – thanks to Terry.

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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… 

West Brom are enjoying life under Slaven Bilic this season as they sit fourth in the Championship table, having not lost any of their opening six matches.

This weekend they head to Craven Cottage to face Fulham, who too are in the promotion hunt following relegation from the Premier League last season.

Saturday’s early kickoff is the first for both teams after September’s international break played havoc to the schedule in the last ten days or so.

Watch West Bromwich Albion Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

It’ll be a tough test against the Cottagers considering they are just two points behind the Baggies and average the highest number of possession of any side in the league at an average of 63.8%, per WhoScored.

The biggest concern is the fact that West Brom have not yet kept a clean sheet.

On the Chalkboard

The Croatian’s comments this week could be a hint towards where it has gone wrong defensively this season, telling Express & Star: “Zonal gives you a little bit of extra security. You are covered, everyone has got their own areas. But what we are trying to do is mix it up.”

Bilic seems to favour a system which utilises zonal marking, but if the side had actually kept out a goal once in a while, there wouldn’t be any eyebrows raised over it.

The Baggies have let in seven goals so far this campaign, which compared to the rest of the league isn’t a lot, but it is still an issue, particularly for a team chasing promotion.

Four of those have come from set-pieces – that’s over 50%.

West Brom fans will want to cover their ears for the video below…

It is something that needs improving, otherwise, it may put their quest for Premier League football at risk.

Sheffield United went up last year recording 21 clean sheets in 46 matches while West Brom faltered in the playoffs, having kept just nine of them.

As Sir Alex Ferguson once famously said, “Attack wins you games, defence wins you titles,” and that’s something that needs to be abided by in the Championship for West Brom.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

As quoted by Sky Sports, former Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar has revealed David de Gea isn’t irreplaceable at Old Trafford.

What did he say?

De Gea has been one of the Premier League’s leading goalkeepers since his move from Atletico Madrid, being named into the PFA Team of the Year on numerous occasions.

However, following a rather underwhelming campaign by his own standards last season, in which he made four errors directly leading to goals, Van der Sar has insisted the Spaniard could be replaced.

Watch Manchester United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

He said: “The decision needs to come at a certain point. It takes a long time now, so it’s a case of ‘yes’ or ‘no’, but I’m not a director of United. Other goalkeepers can also fill the gap. There are a few Premier League goalkeepers playing at the club who can also take the step up. I was 34 when I went to United. So there are lots of opportunities there.”

Ominous

Reports in recent weeks have suggested the Spain international is closing in on signing a new deal at Old Trafford. The supposed new deal would make De Gea one of the highest-paid goalkeepers in the world, and that in itself surely brings a sense of expectation when it comes to what he produces on the pitch.

Despite his previous years of standing at the top of the goalkeeping mountain, the 28-year-old really did let his standards slip last season. Even this campaign, his failure to stop what looked like a routine near-post effort from Patrick van Aanholt consigned United to a shock home defeat to Crystal Palace.

As Van der Sar’s own move from Fulham to United suggests, there are shot-stoppers around the league who could potentially come in and become the Red Devils’ number one. So, whether a new contract is signed or not, De Gea will really have to up his game to ensure he remains worthy of being the main man between the sticks.

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Crystal Palace will be looking to make up for their embarrassing 4-0 defeat to Tottenham this Sunday when they take on Wolves at Selhurst Park.

The Eagles were all but out of the game after just 23 minutes against Mauricio Pochettino’s men, having conceded three goals, and went into the half-time break 4-0 down – the defending on show from Roy Hodgson’s side was shambolic.

However, there is a good chance to get a result against a Wolves side who are yet to win a game in the Premier League this term.

Let’s take a look at the XI Hodgson should put out to give his side the best possible chance of a result against Nuno Espirito Santo’s men…

While Wolves at home is a vastly different kettle of fish in comparison to playing Tottenham away, there are some changes that Hodgson simply has to make.

Patrick van Aanholt, for a start, cannot keep his place.

The Dutchman was poor against Spurs, registering a WhoScored rating of just 5.26, the lowest of any Eagles player.

We think Jeffrey Schlupp should take the former Chelsea man’s place in what will otherwise be an unchanged back four.

Given the fact that Palace often struggle to break sides down at home – they were the only team to win more points away than at home last term – Max Meyer should be summoned into the starting XI with Schlupp dropping back into defence, where the four-cap Germany international can hopefully provide some attacking impetus.

Up top, an unchanged attacking trio of Wilfried Zaha, Jordan Ayew and Andros Townsend should help provide the width needed to harm a Wolves side who operate with wing-backs, meaning the flanks could be an area full of opportunity for Palace when Jonny and Adama Traore, or Ruben Vinagre and Matt Doherty, push forward.

With these changes, the south Londoners will have the best chance of getting a result against the Midlands-based side.

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Some QPR fans have taken to Twitter to heap praise on Dominic Ball, after they watched their side secure a fourth successive win with a 2-1 victory over Millwall.

The 24-year-old – who was signed on a free transfer after leaving Rotherham at the end of last season – has been a key cog in Mark Warburton’s side as a defensive midfielder, screening the back four and allowing Eberechi Eze and Ilias Chair the attacking freedom they require.

Ball has previously played as a centre-back, right-back and defensive midfielder – as per QPR’s official confirmation of his arrival – and is a player Warburton knows well, having worked with the 24-year-old while at Rangers and Watford.

The six-foot ace impressed against the Lions, recording four tackles, two clearances and one interception as the R’s extended their excellent form – they now sit fifth in the table and are just a point off the top.

Let’s see what the QPR fans are saying about the 24-year-old on Twitter following another solid display for the Championship outfit…

It’s not really a surprise when Barcelona are linked with big-money transfer targets.

But the latest story that Daily Mail broke out suggests that the Catalan giants could try and swoop for Manchester City’s 24-year-old winger, Raheem Sterling.

And that’s not all, actually. They go on to say that the club will only up their interest in the English winger once Xavi Hernandez has assumed his role as their coach since Sterling is actually the Spaniard’s wish for the future.

Watch Spanish Football Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Naturally, such big claims prompted a lot of reaction from the Barcelona community on social media and many of the fans swarmed Twitter in order to voice their opinions.

Many of them seem to think this is actually brilliant news and are delighted with it.

But there are also some fans who believe this is a bad idea and some were even going as far as bashing Xavi for his reported interest in Sterling.

It seems that they can’t make up their minds at the moment and you can see some of their replies down in the collection of tweets below:

Liverpool host their first Champions League fixture of the season tonight with Red Bull Salzburg the visitors, and fans are keen to see a midfield duo take to the field.

Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain have not got as much game time as they would have hoped for so far this campaign due to various injury and fitness issues.

The latter has been match fit since making a return from an ACL injury at the end of last season, but so far Jurgen Klopp has taken care in his recovery and he has been limited to just four starts and 323 minutes as a result, excluding a small cameo in the Community Shield.

Watch Liverpool Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Keita also featured in that season opener, but other than that has played only 63 minutes – all of which came in the Carabao Cup clash against MK Dons last week.

Due to their absences, fans are eager to see them in action at Anfield once more, with many believing they would work well in a trio alongside Fabinho. Since both Keita and Oxlade-Chamberlain have enjoyed a better pass accuracy than Jordan Henderson so far, they could be correct.

The following reactions show how excited fans are by the prospect of them both starting, and with Keita coming up against a former club it could be an enjoyable evening for the Guinea international.

Everton fans have taken to Twitter to express their faith in the director of football Marcel Brands after the club dropped into the relegation zone over the weekend.

The club are currently in the same league position that they found themselves in when they sacked Ronald Koeman two seasons ago. In his first full season, the former Barcelona man spent £77.3m and then splashed an incredible £182.88m the following campaign – the season where he would eventually lose his job on Merseyside.

Despite the positives from 2016-17, where Koeman finished eight points shy of Manchester United, the Dutchman failed miserably in getting to the Champions League, which was the main reason Farhad Moshiri let him spend so much money.

On the other hand, since the time Brands moved into the role where he oversees the transfers, Everton have spent £197.73m and yet still themselves closer to a relegation scrap than a fight for Europe.

Watch Everton Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Brands has been relatively successful during his time as a director of football in Europe, winning three Eredivisie titles and one KNVB Cup during eight years at PSV Eindhoven, whilst helping win AZ Alkmaar’s second-ever league title in 2008 alongside Louis van Gaal.

However, despite his proven success in his homeland, it has been close to a nightmare on Merseyside thus far. In terms of recruitment, the Dutchman has spent well so far with the likes of Richarlison scoring 13 league goals last season and Lucas Digne winning the Player of the Year last campaign.

Here’s what the fans have had to say…

Some Tottenham fans have taken to Twitter to reminisce about 2016 Danny Rose, following a clip of his highlights from that year.The 28-cap England international was arguably one of the best left-backs in the Premier League back then, playing a significant role in Spurs’ title charge up against Leicester City during the 2015/16 season.

Rose, 29, scored one goal and recorded three assists back in that campaign, but he has fallen away since that impressive season.

The former Sunderland man made just 10 Premier League appearances in the 2017/18 season, and also started just 20 of Tottenham’s 38 league games last term as he continues to deteriorate as a footballer.

After watching just how good he was in 2016, some Spurs fans have been sparked into talking about Rose on Twitter following the video of his best moments.

Let’s take a look at what the reminiscent Tottenham fans on Twitter have been saying…

Troy Deeney news for you now.

He’s currently doing his best to come back from injury and posted a video to his Twitter account showing off his efforts.

Whilst the health and fitness of a Watford forward might not be the biggest news when it comes to fans at St Andrew’s, there was one part of the video that got their attention, and that was the tattoo he had on his leg.

It’s no secret who Deeney swears his allegiances to, and Bluenoses loved seeing the sight of it, with a couple even trying to convince the forward to move in January.

If Wayne Rooney can go back to Everton and Andy Carroll can return to Newcastle, then who knows what the future might hold for Deeney.

Saying that, one thing that may have passed them by, is that even though he’s a fan of the club, he has stated in the past that he isn’t 100% keen on playing for them. Perhaps he’s changed his mind since then? Some fans will certainly hope so.