This week, the weather has been a major talking point, with snow sweeping across the nation.
The adverse conditions have now begun affecting football, forcing a handful of matches to be postponed.
Given that there is still a few days before the weekend’s Premier League action gets underway, those fixtures are yet to be affected.
However, plenty of football grounds, including West Ham United’s London Stadium, were covered in a blanket of snow overnight.
The East London outfit’s social media team decided to upload a short video showing the snowflake-decorated ground.
In the tweet, the club used the phrase “snow place like home”, but it was not met with much joy from the fans.
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Many supporters took issue with club’s decision to leave their base of 112 years the Boleyn Ground in 2016 to move to the Olympic stadium.
With that in mind, a large number of fans reacted to the Hammers’ social media post with negativity.
Tottenham Hotspur could have a clear shot at signing Bayer Leverkusen defender Jonathan Tah as Barcelona are willing to drop out of the race, according to Gol Digital.
What’s the word?
The North London outfit could be in the market for a new defender this summer due to the growing uncertainty over Toby Alderweireld’s future.
The Belgian is yet to sign a new contract, but fans have made it clear that they want the 29-year-old to stay put.
According to Spanish website Gol Digital, Barcelona have been tracking Leverkusen’s Tah for some time, but are prepared to walk away if it means their chances of signing Alderweireld are boosted.
The Mirror recently reported that Tottenham may have to spend around £35m to sign Tah, who has been playing for Leverkusen since his 2015 switch from Hamburg.
How should Tottenham play this?
In most cases, if a rival dropped out of a transfer pursuit, then it would be good news for those still in the race.
However, in this instance, if Spurs move for Tah it will be because Alderweireld is edging towards the exit door.
While Tah has strong defensive qualities, at 22 years old, the German still has plenty of development to make.
Alderweireld is the finished product and has already proven that he is an asset to Mauricio Pochettino’s team.
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Tottenham’s main focus should be sorting out the future of the centre-back, and ideally convincing him to sign fresh terms.
Only once the situation is resolved one way or another should Spurs then look at transfer strategy.
Manchester United kept their season alive by beating Brighton to make the semi-finals of the FA Cup on Saturday afternoon.
The Red Devils went crashing out of the Champions League against Sevilla last week, which only served to intensify their need for a win over the Seagulls and they delivered with a 2-0 triumph.
The limp nature of United’s European departure meant that their performance was under scrutiny and on that score, they underperformed.
Jose Mourinho called his players out for a lack of quality, personality and desire despite the win but one man he singled out for praise was Nemanja Matic.
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The numbers back up Mourinho’s positivity. Matic was constantly involved in the play, not hiding despite a week of intense pressure on the players at Old Trafford, having 136 touches.
He put the game beyond Brighton with the crucial second goal but also made three interceptions and seven dribbles, which is surprisingly high for a holding midfielder without too much in the way of flair.
His pass accuracy was up there, with 90%, but Mourinho emphasised the importance of players, such as Scott McTominay, not being scared to give the ball away as long as they have the personality to play.
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In a team of expensively-assembled eye-catching players, Matic – valued at £36m by Transfermarkt – is the most ‘Mourinho’ signing United have made, so maybe it is no surprise that the Serbian is the one performing well lately.
Mourinho will be hoping that more of his players follow Matic’s lead and they will need to if they are to finish this season with silverware.
Tottenham Hotspur won at Stamford Bridge for the first time in 28 years on Sunday as a second-half double from Dele Alli gave them a 3-1 victory over Chelsea.
The result was huge when considering that fourth-placed Tottenham are now eight points clear of fifth-placed Chelsea in the Premier League table.
Alli answered his critics with a brilliant performance for Mauricio Pochettino’s side, while Christian Eriksen once again impressed for the London club.
However, it would be fair to say that the Tottenham fans were not overly pleased with the performance of Ben Davies.
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Davies continues to keep Danny Rose out of the Spurs XI at left-back, but the Wales international had a difficult first 45 minutes against Chelsea.
The 24-year-old, who is believed to collect £30,000 a week in wages at Tottenham, has made over 120 appearances in all competitions for his current club since a 2014 move from Swansea City.
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His overall performance levels have been impressive this season, but the Spurs supporters, who were pleased with Eric Dier at the weekend, are a little bit concerned with his current form.
A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:
Leicester City plan to use their summer windfall from the sale of Riyad Mahrez to steal James Maddison from under the noses of Tottenham, according to the Sun.
Mauricio Pochettino, who has made a habit of developing young English talent, has reportedly had his eye on the Norwich City playmaker for quite some time and would be disappointed to miss out on his signature.
What’s the story, then?
Mahrez was close to joining Manchester City in January but a deal did not get done. Despite his reintegration into the Foxes ranks, Claude Puel is reportedly resigned to losing the Algerian in the summer.
The Frenchman plans to use the money raised from the sale of Mahrez to splash out for Maddison. The reported price tag is £17m but the expected windfall would allow them to go even higher than that if necessary.
Spurs are named in the report as an interested party and Leicester’s growing confidence in signing the English starlet is evidence that Pochettino looks set to miss out.
Gametime may be the issue
Given that Puel is looking to Maddison to replace Mahrez, we get an impression of how highly he is rated at the King Power and how central his role would be.
Spurs on the other hand, could offer Champions League football but as part of a rotation system which has seen even experienced internationals like Lucas struggle to force their way into the first-team picture.
Pochettino would be brilliant for Maddison’s development and not many would bet against the playmaker getting into the senior England setup if he arrived in North London but he wouldn’t be a guaranteed starter right way.
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Leicester have European ambitions of their own and putting Maddison right at the heart of it, alongside international team-mate Demarai Gray may well just be enough to tip the balance – along with the huge cash injection Mahrez’s departure would bring in.
West Ham United’s biggest game of the season may have been the 3-0 home victory over Southampton on the last day of March, but the most gratifying part of that from a Hammers point of view might have been the fact that they backed up a good performance with another fighting display away to Chelsea just over a week later.
Arguably the last time they truly backed up positive performances was in the opening weeks of the David Moyes reign as manager, when West Ham were narrowly beaten by a record-breaking Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium in a game they may have actually won if they’d taken their chances, before beating Chelsea, drawing with Arsenal and thumping Stoke City.
After last week’s draw at Stamford Bridge, the Hammers’ next three games are… Stoke, Arsenal and Manchester City.
The fact that Moyes’ side have been unable to capitalise on good results when they have come around for the majority of the season is probably why they are still in the midst of a relegation battle, but if there’s ever a time to repeat the good run from before Christmas this is it: victories over Southampton and Stoke in the space of three weeks would not just be points on the board for a West Ham side who have feared relegation for much of the season, but they would be victories in what are effectively six-pointers.
A win over Stoke on Monday night would not see safety mathematically secured, but they would be feeling very safe indeed.
But the opposite is also true.
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If results don’t go their way this weekend, West Ham could find themselves dragged back into the mire with a defeat to Stoke. That would make for a nervy end to the season because, as it turns out, the Potters are the only remaining fixture the Hammers’ have against a team below them in the league: every other game is against a team who are free from the pressures of a relegation battle, and would look on a game against David Moyes’ side as a probable three points.
When a team is on a good run of form, games which looked difficult a few weeks ago now seem that little bit easier, and given Stoke’s position in the table, West Ham can be forgiven for having a certain amount of confidence going into the game at the London Stadium on Monday night. But relegation battles, just as you think you’ve found a way out, have a nack of sucking you right back in.
That’s why there’s still pressure, and that’s why this game is a case of all or nothing: it’s duck on the menu or no dinner at all for a Hammers side starved of prolonged periods of success this season.
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Victory and safety looks probable, even if the season ends with more than a few defeats in the final games. Lose, however, and that tough run-in becomes a minefield West Ham have to negotiate in order to somehow find points against opposition who are in better form.
Under the lights at the London Stadium, the West Ham who can back up positive performances with more fighting displays will be the side who feel safe in their status as a Premier League club come the final whistle. If the Hammers side who flop after a short burst of good form show up, however, the bubble of optimism will well and truly burst.
Spanish journalist Guillem Balague has claimed that Luis Enrique would be interested in becoming Arsenal’s new manager at the end of the season.
Arsene Wenger will step down as Gunners boss this summer, and Enrique is seen as the favourite to take control of the London club heading into the 2018-19 campaign.
Enrique has been on a sabbatical for a year having left Barcelona at the end of the 2016-17 season.
Balague, who has close ties to Enrique, has insisted that the 47-year-old ‘would absolutely love’ the opportunity to take control of the Gunners as he prepares to return to the game.
Balague told Sky Sports:
“I tell you what Arsenal needs, it’s Luis Enrique. Would he fancy it? He would absolutely love it. Why? Because after a year sabbatical he is ready to come back, he has had all kinds of offers.
“PSG were certainly one of them, but I do believe that Arsenal have not made a step yet to negotiate. Luis Enrique is available, and he has left himself available because he wants to get the right job.
“Luis Enrique loves the Premier League, always loved playing in England, and sees things in England that he didn’t see in Spain; the relationship with the fans and how the fans relate to the game.”
Enrique’s first taste of management came with Barcelona B, before he joined Roma in 2011.
The former midfielder left the Italian giants after one season to take control of Celta Vigo, and then spent three years in charge of the first team at Barcelona.
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Enrique stepped away from Camp Nou last summer having delivered two La Liga titles, two Copa del Reys and one Champions League during his time as head coach.
The Arsenal fans have welcomed suggestions that the former Spain international will replace Wenger at the helm.
Arsenal right-back Hector Bellerin delighted the fans when he signed a new long-term contract in November 2016.
The Spaniard was linked to Barcelona and Manchester City at that time, but the Gunners managed to convince their star to stay.
Fast forward 18 months later, and some supporters may wish that the 23-year-old had moved on to pastures new.
During Thursday night’s Europa League semi-final second leg against Atletico Madrid, the speedy right-back had a difficult night in his homeland.
There was only one goal scored during the contest and Bellerin played a hand in it happening, but unfortunately for Arsenal, it was for the opposition.
The full-back – valued at £36m by Transfermarkt – was caught out of possession, which led to Diego Costa netting in the dying moments of the first half.
Not only was Bellerin at fault for the goal, he committed just one clean tackle, and only Granit Xhaka created fewer crosses than the full-back.
In the end, Atletico sealed a 2-1 victory on aggregate, which sent Diego Simeone’s team into the final of the second-tiered competition.
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It was a hugely disappointing night for the North London outfit, and in particular Arsene Wenger, who will end his two-decade spell in charge of the club this summer.
There will be no more fairytale end to the season for the manager or the club, who will miss out on Champions League football for the second season in a row, much to the delight of Tottenham Hotspur fans.
Manchester United showed their willingness to engage in a high-profile swap deal with the agreement over Alexis Sanchez and Henrikh Mkhitaryan during the January transfer window and another could be on the cards this summer.
According to the Mirror, Jose Mourinho is planning to ditch another player who, like Mkhitaryan, did not respond well to his methods – Anthony Martial – in return for Christian Pulisic from Borussia Dortmund, the Armenian’s former club.
The American starlet is slightly more comfortable playing out on the right than Martial, which may count in his favour as Mourinho looks to upgrade his attacking options during the summer in pursuit of Manchester City next season.
However, the United fans are not impressed with their manager’s idea to jettison such a promising young prospect in Martial to get Pulisic in return.
The experience with Mkhitaryan has also put some fans off the idea of signing players from Dortmund and we’ve taken a closer look at the fiercest reaction…
Rangers fans have hailed the signing of former Burnley midfielder Scott Arfield after the club confirmed on Monday he will be joining Steven Gerrard’s squad next season.
The 2017/18 Scottish football season isn’t even over yet, with the Scottish Cup Final to come this weekend, but the Light Blues are already busy planning for life under Gerrard, with the Liverpool legend set to officially take charge on June 1st.
His first signing is Scott Arfield, who has spent the last six seasons playing English Premier League or Championship football.
It’s a fantastic bit of business for the Gers and Arfield brings determination, hard work and experience to what has been a lightweight midfield at Ibrox this season.
Fans are certainly excited to see what he can offer, believing that his transfer is an important first step for Gerrard’s new look Rangers.
The challenge will now be bringing in players of a similar quality who can help the club compete for major honours next season.
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Supporters took to Twitter to share their thoughts on it all…