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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…

Lee Cattermole has spoken of a key failing of David Moyes during his spell as Sunderland manager, and thinks it was critical in the Black Cats’ relegation from the Premier League in 2017.

What did he say?

Sunderland were a disaster under Moyes as they tallied a points total of just 24, and though some may believe their relegation was a long time coming, having struggled in the years previous, Cattermole thinks otherwise.

Under Sam Allardyce, Moyes’ predecessor, the club appeared to be moving in the right direction and had the makings of a good squad, but the former Black Cats captain points to the changing circumstances of four key players as the main factor behind their decline.

Younes Kaboul, Yann M’Vila, Lamine Kone and Wahbi Khazri had performed well under Big Sam and each was instrumental in the club’s success that season.

However, Kaboul and M’Vila didn’t remain at the club, whilst Kone was alienated as a result of a failed move to Everton and Moyes didn’t favour Khazri, which was disastrous according to Cattermole.

Speaking on the Roker Report podcast, as reported by the Sunderland Echo, he said: “Losing Younes Kaboul was huge, he was such a big player for us at the time in terms of helping the French boys.

“For Younes to leave the club was massive and obviously Yann M’Villa. Wahbi Khazri didn’t play much after that and these were all massive players for us the year before.

“Obviously, [Lamine] Kone we had a load of drama with the potential move to Everton. These were tough things going on at the club and unless they’re managed really well, it’s going to affect people.”

Unfortunate circumstances

Cattermole was a leading figure in the dressing room at the time, and although injury prohibited him from playing often, it is fair to assume his knowledge of what contributed to the club’s failings that year is as good as anybody else.

And from what he says, it is fair to say that Moyes didn’t have the rub of the green.

To lose such important players in one way or another is a difficult hurdle to overcome for any manager, and though his management of Khazri was his own doing, he could do little to prevent others departing.

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As a result, his team suddenly lost a commanding figure in Kaboul, and the key to the midfield in M’Vila, who had achieved a pass accuracy of 81% during his spell in the north-east.

Moyes should, therefore, be granted some sympathy, as it wasn’t like he had resources to amend the situation either, instead having to perform under pressure and in trying circumstances.

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…

Mateusz Klich has started every single league game since Marcelo Bielsa’s appointment as Leeds United manager.

The Pole has been a key component in the Argentine’s plans, but Phil Hay has revealed that Bielsa considered dropping him on Tuesday night as Leeds faced Preston.

What’s been said then?

In his Q&A session for The Athletic, the journalist confirmed that the Argentine thought about dropping Klich at Deepdale in order to implement Tyler Roberts into the starting XI.

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One fan asked if Roberts has a chance of starting to which he replied:

“That’s probably the one tactical change you could see.

“From what I’m told, Bielsa gave some thought to replacing Klich with Roberts on Tuesday, but decided not to.

“Roberts might be the answer to the problem, Leeds have been trying to play through the middle as opposed to always going out wide.”

Time for the change

If the manager considered dropping Klich for Roberts on Tuesday, Saturday is the perfect time to pull the trigger on that switch.

The Poland international didn’t show much-attacking prowess in midweek, and he actually looked like he may be better off playing in a deeper role.

We mastered the trick in the video below in 8 attempts… could you do better?

However, it seems that Stuart Dallas will be an important player against Sheffield Wednesday as Marcelo Bielsa looks to counteract the mistakes he made against Garry Monk last term.

Roberts’ substitute appearance against Preston was exciting as he managed to get as many shots away as Klich did in the whole game, despite only playing 15 minutes.

Now more than ever it makes sense to drop Klich for Roberts, and after Hay confirmed that Bielsa thought about it on Tuesday, don’t be surprised if we see that switch at Hillsborough.

QPR fans have taken to Twitter in fury over referee Andy Woolmer’s decision to award Brentford a crucial penalty in the 3-1 west London derby defeat on Monday evening.With the score nicely poised at 1-1, 20-year-old Brentford forward Bryan Mbeumo got a toe on the ball inside the box before leaping into the air and going to ground, and Woolmer then pointed to the penalty spot.

It looked like there was minimal contact and certainly not enough to send the Frenchman over, but Said Benrahma smashed the ball into the top left corner from 12 yards to leave QPR facing an uphill battle, one that they couldn’t overcome.

Understandably, a lot of the R’s supporters were left fuming by the decision, which cost their side the game in truth.

One supporter said that “football is dead” if that kind of challenge merits a penalty, whereas another QPR fan said that it was the “most blatant dive” they’ve ever seen.

Let’s take a look at some more tweets from the clearly livid QPR fans on Twitter…

West Brom still hold that sole position atop the Championship table as we pass the first third of the season, and fans have been talking up an unlikely candidate ahead of Monday’s trip to Stoke City.

Despite not picking up a victory in their last two fixtures, the Baggies somehow have a two-point cushion from second-placed Preston North End.

On Saturday, Slaven Bilic’s men missed out on three points thanks to the referee’s dubious decision to award Charlton Athletic a 94th-minute penalty, which Josh Cullen duly dispatched.

Charlie Austin’s struggles in front of goal continued, meaning he’s netted just the one goal in ten appearances at the west Midlands club, while Hal Robson-Kanu bagged his second in three matches off the bench.

In midweek, Kenneth Zohore made his return from injury, playing for the U23 squad against Swansea City in the Premier League 2, which has led to some supporters calling for him to start against the Potters.

The 25-year-old has only scored two penalties for the senior side, but this latest showing saw him net an 11-minute brace, leading to fans hyping up his future prospects under Bilic.

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One supporter labelled his performance a ‘masterclass’ while another said Zohore was now ‘bagging a hattrick’ on Monday.

A further member of the Hawthorns faithful believed it was time to give him another chance, stating that Austin’s record wasn’t good enough, considering it is worse than two players who have played far less.

Here’s the best of the reaction:

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Off the Bench series, which places in-game managerial decisions and squad selections under FFC’s microscope.

Sheffield Wednesday succumbed to just their second defeat of Garry Monk’s reign at the south Yorkshire club, but it was one that could have easily been prevented if the 40-year-old made a bolder choice in either starting Atdhe Nuhiu or bringing him on much sooner.

Snapshot

The Owls thought they had won the match seven minutes from time when substitute Jacob Murphy headed home a close-range attempt, but the home side fought back with two goals in the final three minutes.

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First, Tosin Adarabioyo looped a header over Keiren Westwood before John Buckley’s first senior goal clinched all three points for Tony Mowbray’s side.

Monk meanwhile opted for just one striker in attack and didn’t change it up until there were less than 15 minutes left on the clock.

Off the Bench

The decision to omit a presence like Nuhiu may have cost Wednesday the match, or at the very least, some form of points.

Prior to the game, the only loss on Monk’s record was a 1-0 defeat to Hull City, and that was in the absence of top goalscorer Steven Fletcher.

But in this match, he was given far too much to do on his own, the 32-year-old had five of their 17 shots at goal, when we have seen that a 4-4-2 or a formation utilising two up top has paid dividends on multiple occasions.

None more so than when the Owls stuck four past Middlesborough in the space of just half an hour – the Kosovan was a nuisance, assisting Adam Reach’s goal while winning a total of 13 aerial duels.

The 6 foot 5 colossus just simply offers Wednesday something that no other player can, and if he started the match alongside Fletcher or even if he was brought on ten or 20 minutes earlier, then the result could well have been a different story.

Instead, they were made to suffer with another underwhelming performance from Joey Pelupessy, who lost possession 12 times while managing a dire 58% passing accuracy rate, per SofaScore.

When you see your side languishing in tenth place in the Premier League, and with just 13 goals scored in 11 top-flight games, the last thing you probably want is for your manager to play down talk of possible new arrivals in the January transfer window.

Speaking ahead of the Europa League clash against Partizan Belgrade on Thursday night, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted that there may not be reinforcements in the winter, and that the “priority” is for them to get players returning from injuries.

He said (as quoted by The Evening Standard): “The priority now is to get players fit and get through to the next round. Transfers – we always look at the league table, look at players. There might be none, there might be one, might be two in January, but the summer window is the big one and you can’t do many good deals in January.”

After hearing Solskjaer appearing to downplay any potential excitement of some transfer market action in the January window, United fans flooded to Twitter to voice their thoughts on the situation.

Many supporters of the Manchester side felt the Norwegian is simply getting his excuses in early, and that they aren’t surprised by his mentality.

Check out some of the reaction of United fans below:

Trent Alexander-Arnold has liked a post by the official Liverpool account on Twitter, sharing that Virgil van Dijk has been recognised as the Premier League Player of the Season at the Northwest Football Awards.

The NWFA’s annual ceremony was held on Monday and lauded van Dijk for his efforts for the Reds last season, as the Dutch centre-half helped toward a title-challenge that boiled down to the final day of the campaign.

Van Dijk played in each of Liverpool’s 38 top-flight fixtures in 2018/19 and helped toward 21 clean sheets, as the Merseyside outfit laid claim to the best defensive record in the division having allowed just 22 goals to be scored against them.

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Breda-born van Dijk was also never dribbled past by an opposition player in the Premier League last season, as he won each of his 38 attempted tackles, made 40 interceptions, 199 clearances and 31 blocks, per data collected by WhoScored.

The £180,000-per-week defender faced competition from Manchester United’s Luke Shaw, Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva, Burnley’s Ashley Westwood and Everton’s Lucas Digne for the Premier League Player of the Season accolade at the Northwest Football Awards.

Van Dijk beating the competition he faced has seemingly brought joy to Alexander-Arnold going by his activity on Twitter…

Van Dijk’s success was not the only thing to catch Alexander-Arnold’s attention, either, as the England right-back also liked a post announcing that Jurgen Klopp had been named the Manager of the Season at the NWFA’s.

Liverpool won 30 of their top-flight games under the German last term, as they secured their most points since the formation of the Premier League.

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… 

If there was one word to describe Patrick Cutrone it would be enigmatic.

Once a hot prospect, he scored 18 goals in 2017/18. However, he’s since dropped off and found himself at Wolves where a lack of game-changing impact is evident.

It’s perhaps indicative of the way his career has panned out at the age of 21 that he’s playing at Molineux, rather than the San Siro, and his performances to date in England are also a hallmark of how his form has dipped.

In 2018/19, he netted nine times and he’s only scored once in the English top-flight since arriving. For a man now rated at £22.5m you’d expect more.

Restricted to a plethora of substitute appearances, he’s failed to really impress in his time on the field. The Italy international struggles to retain possession, registering a measly pass success rate of 69.2% while his goal threat, amassing just a solitary shot per game points to a man low on confidence.

However, this international break may have just renewed his vigour and brought back the swagger we saw so often from Cutrone in Serie A.

Playing for Italy U21s, he was in exceptional form as he netted twice in a 3-0 win over Iceland.

During this outing, the young forward was playing on the left-wing, rather than in a central striker position that he’s played in for Wolves. He thrived, performing three dribbles and showing a far greater threat on the opposition goal.

Being utilised in a two up front with Raul Jimenez this term simply hasn’t worked and all it has taken is one performance on the wing to prove that Nuno Santo has been going wrong with his positioning of the summer arrival.

Cutrone was utilised six times on the flanks for Milan and in the process he scored on three occasions and also picked up two assists. It shows how valuable he can be in wide positions and another example was given over the weekend.

The £16m signing has played all 15 games for Wolves in a more central role but in order for him to prosper in England, perhaps playing him on the left of Jimenez would be beneficial. After all, Diogo Jota is struggling himself and only has one strike in the Premier League.

Liverpool fans have started an intriguing debate on Twitter which concerns whether the club should sign Zlatan Ibrahimovic to play over Divock Origi after ESPN pundit Craig Burley suggested he would be an ideal short-term signing.

The Swedish superstar has once again got many clubs around the globe playing the guessing game after he announced he was leaving LA Galaxy. Now, it seems the Liverpool fanbase is split on signing the legendary striker, with some supporters happy with Divock Origi.

One fan said “get the big man in”, as another said he would take Ibrahimovic “every day of the week”.

However, other fans have disagreed, as some of them questioned his ego within Liverpool’s dressing room. Many other supporters have also touched on how important Origi has been for the club, with his huge goals in the Champions League last season.

However, Ibrahimovic would surely be a great addition to the side considering he scored 22 goals in his debut season at Manchester United. Plus, in recent years in the MLS, the former Barcelona man has bagged 53 goals for the American giants in Los Angeles.

Although, despite his greatness down the years, it seems not everyone is sold on acquiring his services.

Here’s what some fans have had to say on this debate…

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…

Leeds United have been linked with a move for David Stockdale as their goalkeeper spot looks to be headed for a rocky period.

Indeed, Kiko Casilla could be staring a long-term ban in the face after being charged with racially abusing Jonathan Leko during the Whites’ game against Charlton earlier this season.

This has reportedly led to United considering signing a new goalkeeper, and according to The Sunday People (via Leeds Live) one man that they’re interested in is the Birmingham City stopper.

While many Championship fans may remember Stockdale for his heroic performances for Brighton that aided their promotion back in the 2016/17 season, he simply isn’t that player anymore.

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He isn’t Birmingham’s number one anymore for a reason, and it’s not as if he’s been dropped in favour of a top-class stopper as Lee Camp is the man consigning him to life on the bench, someone that’s made some clangers in 2019/20.

Stockdale conceded 53 goals in 36 appearances during his last full season as number one at Birmingham, and that return just isn’t good enough for any team looking to challenge at the top-end of the Championship.

You couldn’t even blame those stats on a dodgy defence as his showings in goal were poor as well.

He actually had to issue an apology to all Birmingham fans after his performance against Brentford in the Blues’ 5-0 loss back in February 2018 – that’s how bad he was.

This isn’t the same goalkeeper who was brilliant for Brighton in this division, this is a man who conceded five in three while being sent on an emergency loan down to League One to play for Southend United.

He simply isn’t up to scratch at this level anymore, and he could easily cost Leeds points if they brought him in in January. They’d be better off promoting from within.