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Sheffield Wednesday fell to a fourth straight defeat in the Championship on Saturday afternoon, meaning the pressure is surely mounting on manager Garry Monk to quickly turn things around.

The Owls were defeated by basement boys Wycombe Wanderers, who now have recorded their first victory of the season. Embarrassing.

Statistics tell a different story – 73% possession, 15 total shots and well over double the number of passes, per SofaScore, but at the end of the day, it’s only the scoreline that matters.

Evidently, the South Yorkshiremen have struggled in front of goal and perhaps Monk is risking his own downfall with his persistence to start woeful Rams loanee, Jack Marriott.

He was abysmal in leading the line once again.

The 26-year-old won just one of seven duels (14%), committed two fouls, made just 63% of his passes, lost possession ten times and had both of his shots blocked by the opposition, via SofaScore.

As a result of his socking performance, YorkshireLive’s Dom Howson scathingly handed him a four out of ten rating, claiming: “Another difficult afternoon for the Derby County loanee. Nothing seems to be falling for him right now. Cut a frustrated figure when he was subbed off.”

Since arriving in the summer, Marriott has bagged just once and that came in the second match of the season for Derby, meaning he’s yet to get off the mark for the Owls in five attempts. Somehow, he has still started the last four and has looked utterly hopeless.

Monk will undoubtedly be under pressure to deliver, that much is evident in supporters’ reaction to the club’s official Twitter account at full-time, as you can read here.

He’s building his own grave by continuing to trust Marriott. The former Peterborough star has been a calamity at Hillsborough thus far.

Instead, the former Swansea, Leeds and Birmingham boss should axe his summer arrival – accept that it hasn’t gone to plan just yet. It could well buy him a little more time.

Jordan Rhodes, who will certainly have a point to prove, is wasting away on the bench. Monk needs to make the change to salvage his Owls career before it’s too late.

AND in other news, try the Ultimate Sheffield Wednesday transfer misfits quiz…

Football is by far one of the most loved sports with over 4 billion fans worldwide. Its impact is felt in various fields like the arts, business, and gaming world. Moreover, it has found its way to slot games. Slot online gaming uses a theme-based method to provide a unique gaming experience. It is no surprise that football-based slots are successful in online betting sites.

Microgaming and NetEnt have used real-life players like Johann Cruyff, Pele, and Maradona from their glory days. You can feel the eccentric excitement associated with the game through the casino slots. Another impressive aspect of football-themed slots is their compatibility with mobile gadgets. You can play any game that you prefer from your smartphone, PC, and tablets. Play these slots yourself at the best online casino of your choice anytime you wish.

Here are some of the best football-themed slots to try out.

Champions Cup

Who does not wish for their home team to win the championships? The champions cup is a creation of NetEnt and released for the 2016 European Championships. It contains five reels and three rows. This slot game features 20 ways to win and free spins. Besides, an RTP of 96.82% and overlay wild substitution increases your chances of winning.  If you prefer a slow and steady approach, then you will love this game.

When it comes to the graphics, wild cheering crowds and teams add authenticity to the slot game. You will also enjoy two bonus features and a penalty shootout bonus. Getting through the four rounds of the tournament can earn you 500 times your stake.

Football Star Slot

The Football Star is among the most popular slots in online casinos. It is popular due to its relating concepts with the real-world football experience. As a fan, you can relate to the game as the symbols used relates to football in the best possible way. The slot activities range from striker heading the ball to goalkeepers making a save.

With 243 paylines, this creation from Microgaming presents various chances to win. Football star features an RTP of 96.42%, five reels, and three rows. You will love the world cup songs, 3D animated visuals and the opportunity to win real money. This slot further features stacked wilds, striking wilds, and rolling reels.

Foxin’Wins Football Fever

This creation is by NextGen Gaming, one of the top casino software developers. The game centers on Mr. Fox around the 2018 World Cup. With this slot, you get five reels and up to 25 ways to win.  The vibrant colours combined with football-related symbols create an exciting football atmosphere.

Not only can you win 50 times your bid by catching leprechaun but also when your spin activates the random bonus. If you want to access wilds and massive wins, turn on the SuperBets options. Watch out for Mr. Fox as he might throw huge cash your way. Because this is a high-risk game, you can opt to change your bankroll needs. The least you can stake per spin is 0.25, with an RDP of over 95%.

Subbuteo

Do you remember those childhood evenings you used to spend playing Subbuteo football? This NextGen game is filled with nostalgia to bring back those old memories to reality. Quick-paced game lovers are bound to find this slot highly entertaining. Furthermore, it features a universal appeal thanks to its colourful interface and immersive feeling.

The slot contains football-related items such as football boots, referees’ whistles, Subbuteo players, and even trophies. It is interesting to know that on getting eleven players, you activate the free spins feature. This bonus includes penalties, free kicks, and action replay. The Manager of the Month feature is responsible for gaining extra players.

Universal Cup

This football slot from Leander Games captivates with its defiance of gravity. It features possibly the best team in the universe. This alien tournament has a galaxy backdrop and various amazing ways to win big. Besides, with the 20 fixed pay lines, players can bet from 0.20 to 100.

What is more, is the wide selection of bonuses and amazing graphics. Not only does the fun and upbeat atmosphere favor football fans, but it also appeals to gamblers.

Final Thoughts

Generally, sports continue to influence casino games. With various championships around the corner, you can expect more football-themed slots in the future. The provided list is some of the best football slots that you can play in most online casinos. However, you can check out reviews for various features and offer bonuses.

Burnley look set to lose talented young defender Ali Koiki after he rejected the offer of a new contract at Turf Moor.

Football Insider reported that the 20-year-old had been offered a contract extension by the Clarets but he has instead decided to leave the club upon the expiry of his existing deal and is set to become a free agent.

According to Football Insider, the left-back was unhappy at never being given a senior debut by Sean Dyche, believing that his performances in the underage ranks had earned him a shot at the first team.

Koiki has indeed enjoyed a superb season for Burnley’s under-23 side, scoring no fewer than 10 goals despite playing as a left-back and reportedly attracting interest from clubs in the Championship and League One as well as abroad, according to Football Insider.

He was named on the bench in a couple of first team fixtures this term but did not make an appearance in either (as per TransferMarkt). Even with Dyche naming several academy prospects among the substitutes for the recent Premier League games at Manchester City and Crystal Palace and not being able to name the maximum permitted complement of nine subs, the 20-year-old was conspicuous by his absence.

With four players leaving the club this week upon expiry of their contracts, Burnley’s senior squad is now down to just 20, seven of whom are either injured or completely out of favour. Somewhat unluckily for Koiki, both of the Clarets’ senior left-backs Charlie Taylor and Erik Pieters are among the precious few players still at the club and available for selection.

While Koiki’s frustration at not getting a chance at first team level is understandable and he feels that a move away is what’s best for his career, it seems a shame that he is set to walk out on Burnley given their depleted numbers at the minute.

Dyche has already had his squad heavily curtailed without letting young talents leave and, in the case of the 20-year-old defender, some of those appear to have plenty of promise given their performances at underage level. Koiki’s departure is one that the Clarets could come to regret.

Burnley fans, are you disappointed that Koiki is leaving or is it a case of ‘good riddance’ seeing as he turned down the club’s offer? Have your say by commenting below!

Aston Villa got last summer’s transfer window horribly wrong.

Over £100m was spent, and despite all this new talent coming in, the Birmingham outfit only secured their Premier League survival on the final day of the season.

Understandably, the higher-ups at Villa Park feel as though something has to change, and they have made steps towards that, parting ways with their transfer chief Suso and bringing in Johan Lange.

Gregg Evans documented what this change means, and he mentioned that the Villans already have some players of a certain mould lined up.

What’s been said then?

The Atheltic journalist wrote a long and detailed piece about Lange’s background and how his role at Villa Park is likely to affect the club, and he stated that the transfer strategy this term is going to go in a completely different direction than last season.

Watch Aston Villa Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

“First and foremost, The Athletic understands that tried and trusted players from the English game will be targeted and that some of those have already been lined up.” Evans wrote.

Better strategy

Dean Smith’s side may fare a lot better with this transfer strategy than they did last season.

We’ve seen it all too often that players from abroad sometimes struggle to get to grips with the tempo and tenacity of the Premier League, and that’s where Villa struggled this term with the likes of Wesley and Mbwana Samatta scoring just six league goals between them, while Bjorn Engels was often criticised by fans throughout the season.

It’s no coincidence that four of Villa’s five highest-rated players on WhoScored had experience in England before this season, with Frederic Guilbert the exception to the rule on this occasion.

Fingers crossed Smith can get the right profile of player in and guide Villa to a lot more comfortable position next season.

Newcastle United reporters Mark Douglas and Lee Ryder, both of the ChronicleLive, provided supporters with a Q&A session on Wednesday afternoon where they answered a wrath of queries about the prospective takeover.

One fan wondered just how much longer they would have to wait for the deal to get the green light to which the former offered up a fresh update.

Douglas remains confident and believes it won’t be much longer before it all goes through. He said:

It’s been well over a month since reports first emerged over the potential sale of the northeast outfit and there’s still been no word of official confirmation since.

The decision has been in the Premier League’s hands for a couple of weeks now as they have been conducting the owners and directors test on the Saudi Arabian consortium but the top-flight have also been trying to get their plans to restart the current campaign back underway, so understandably they’ve had a lot on their plate.

The Greatest Bargains in Premier League history – How much did they cost?

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While Douglas won’t put an exact timeframe on the matter, his claim that it will be soon is hugely positive news for those at St James’ Park.

AND in other news, UAE journalist makes big claim about Newcastle takeover…

Name: David Brooks

Club: AFC Bournemouth

Date of Birth: 8 July 1997 

Position: Midfielder, winger

David Brooks – His career so far

David Brooks was born in Warrington, England, and at just the age of seven he was part of Manchester City’s youth academy. Brooks was a City youngster for ten years before joining Sheffield United’s youth academy in 2014. After two years and a brief loan spell at Halifax Town, Brooks broke into the Blades’ first team on 30 August 2016, making his first professional debut against Leicester City U23’s in the EFL Trophy.

Brooks made his first start for Sheffield United just over one month later, in the same competition. Just four days after his first start, Brooks was called up to the senior Wales team, by Chris Coleman, having previously represented England’s U20 team at youth level.

In the summer of 2018, Brooks caught the eye of Premier League side Bournemouth, and joined the Cherries for a £11.5m fee. The youth midfielder made his Premier League debut in the Cherries’ first game of the season, and he scored his first goal for the club in a 2-1 home victory over Crystal Palace soon after.

Unfortunately, Brooks suffered a nasty ankle injury in a pre-season friendly match against Brentford. It was later revealed that this injury would keep him out for almost eight months, and after two operations he returned to full training in March 2020.

Transfer Latest

After facing relegation with Bournemouth at the end of last season, Brooks has been linked with a move to Manchester United this summer after the Red Devils hopes of signing Jadon Sancho look to have been shattered.

Player Profile

Brooks is a very versatile footballer – he is able to play as a number ten, as well as on either side of the attacking line. He has a great dribbling ability and is able to use both feet, which makes him a solid all-rounded youngster.

It seems that Jose Mourinho is slowly but surely gelling into his new squad and times are good over at Tottenham Hotspur at the moment.

After all, the first two clashes with the Special One at the helm – despite being chaotic and highly tense – both ended in a victory for the London club and we’re already seeing signs of progress for the squad as a whole.

A lot of that most likely has to do with Mourinho’s relationship with his players, and just recently, Football Daily released some footage showing the gaffer’s talk with Heung-Min Son, one of the stars of the squad.

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And even though the video only shows the two walking and talking during a training session, many fans seem to think it’s a sign Mourinho is already falling in love with his player.

They were quick to state that it’s only natural to love Son and that no one can blame the coach for that.

Others also pointed out that Mourinho could very well turn Son into a world-class player, even better than he is right now and that exciting times lie ahead.

You can see some of their reactions and comments down in the tweets below:

Elsewhere, many Spurs fans were delighted with one of their star’s recent performance and were quick to show it on Twitter…

Sheffield Wednesday may not have been in action over the weekend, but some of their current squad members were still on international duty.

Owls full-back Liam Palmer is starting to cement his name as one of Steve Clarke’s first-choice options, having played the full 90 minutes in each of their last three Euro 2020 qualifiers.

Scotland defeated Cyprus 2-1 on Saturday afternoon and will face a play-off in March to determine whether or not they make it to next summer’s tournament.

Watch Sheffield Wednesday Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

Footage has emerged from the pre-game build up in the tunnel, and it has left some Wednesday supporters delighted as Palmer appears to help a young Cypriot with his boots.

One member of the Hillsborough faithful said that a simple act of kindness like that showed a lot about the man while another hailed the 28-year-old as a ‘legend.’

A further fan went as far as saying he was the best full-back in the world with one more labelling the gesture as ‘class.’

Here’s the best of the reaction:

Many Everton fans have revealed the one player that they regret leaving Goodison Park, with various names being thrown into the hat.

Italian boss Carlo Ancelotti will embark on his first summer transfer window in charge of the Toffees, and it is expected that the former AC Milan and Real Madrid man will look to allow numerous player exits in order to bring his own faces.

With the potential of a busy transfer window at the Merseyside club, many fans have looked back on players who have departed in previous seasons and in doing so, an abundance of household names have emerged.

Former striker Romelu Lukaku is one that pops up more often than not when Toffees fans think of players they wanted to stay, having seen the Belgian international spend a fruitful time at the club.

Wayne Rooney is another player who has gone on to play at the highest level after playing at Everton. The former England international is now turning out for Championship side Derby County, but his career saw him gain multiple successes at Manchester United.

Rooney did return to Everton prior to a stint in Major League Soccer with DC United, but many have been left asking ‘what if’ when looking back on his time at the club.

Other names that were thrown up in the debate were players such as Gary Speed, Steven Naismith, and Gary Lineker.

Reacting to the question on Twitter by fan account @thetoffees_com, fans gave a varied response, and below are some of those…

Everton fans, which player do you wish never left? Let us know in the comments below…

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…

Former Chelsea defender Paul Elliott feels that Aaron Ramsey left the club “at the right time” after his free transfer to Juventus last summer.

What’s the word?

The Wales international signed a pre-contractual agreement with the Serie A side after being unable to agree to a new deal at the Emirates with a year left on his contract.

Ramsey left north London after a nine-year stint, having signed from Cardiff City in 2008 for £5m.

Elliott, 55, told football.london that the Welshman made the right decision to leave the club.

He said: “They bought him for barely nothing and they have got ten years of services out of him. He is an outstanding talent. I speak to a lot of Arsenal supporters and they were devastated when he left. He went for nothing essentially and that’s to Juventus’ benefit.

In the video below, we look at where it all went wrong for Arsenal’s former ‘saviour’, Mesut Ozil…

“Aaron Ramsey is a modern-day top-class midfield player. He is all over the pitch and scores goals. He does the ugly things in football, technically he is very proficient and he will always get you goals. He is a fantastic acquisition for Juventus.

“He is at the peak of his career and I think he is going to have a great two or three years there. He’s a fine acquisition. He has a legacy at Arsenal cemented and I think he’s got out at the right time and he can still be at his peak for a while yet. He had been one of the most consistent Premier League performers.”

The emergence of Joe Willock

Elliott claims that Ramsey left at the right time but Arsenal may well have let him go at the right time too.

Indeed, Joe Willock has been a regular in Unai Emery’s side this season and has the potential to step into the shoes of the Welshman in the future through his liveliness in the middle of the park, tenacity and eagerness to press forward.

With the 20-year-old having featured seven times in the Premier League this season as well as twice in the Europa League, it’s clear that the manager has plans for the Englishman. Willock has two goals in Europe this season, as well as scoring against Nottingham Forest during Arsenal’s 5-0 win in the Carabao Cup.

Emery even insinuated that the youngster can replace Ramsey in the long run after his goal against Standard Liege in the Europa League.

Per The Sun, he said: “My decision was after I saw him the last two months of last season working with us, his really big challenge was that Jack Wilshere left here, Aaron Ramsey left and he had to take that opportunity to be with us.”

Albeit looking from the opposite perspective, what Elliott said about Ramsey was spot on as his departure has effectively paved the way for Willock to show the world what he is about.

Having represented the England U21s for the first time this season, the youngster’s progression as a player continues to accelerate at an impressive rate, which could end with the 20-year-old cementing his status as Ramsey’s swashbuckling midfield successor.