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Charlton Athletic fell out of the playoff zone as they recorded their first defeat in 11 matches on Saturday afternoon.

Nigel Adkins’ side were beaten by fellow promotion hopefuls Peterborough United at The Valley but they will be left reeling in disappointment that they didn’t come away with at least a point.

The division’s top goalscorer, Jonson Clarke-Harris, fired Posh into an early lead in the ninth minute and right before the break, the Addicks had the perfect opportunity to square things up when Alex Gilbey was fouled inside the box.

Jayden Stockley confidently stepped up but saw his penalty saved by the goalkeeper and despite going on to dominate the second half with 68% possession, Charlton just couldn’t find a way back into the match.

Some could blame the Preston loanee for costing his side dearly but there were far more wasteful teammates that should take the brunt of the criticism first.

None more so than Liam Millar, who struggled to make the same sort of impact we saw in midweek.

After a goal and an assist against Plymouth Argyle, the Liverpool gem starved Stockley of decent service throughout the 90 minutes the pair were on the pitch.

As per SofaScore, the 21-year-old Canadian failed to deliver a single accurate cross from four attempts, leaving his target man striker to feed off scraps inside the box.

Furthermore, Millar could only pull off one successful dribble against the Posh’s right flank of Joe Ward and Nathan Thompson.

His struggle to combat the opposition was further seen by the fact that he made four fouls despite only recording one successful tackle. The 5 foot 11 dynamo even lost 14 of his 20 duels (70%) and was seen losing the ball 23 times – the most of anyone on the pitch, comfortably.

It meant the young winger handed possession back to Peterborough once every 3.9 minutes – or once every three touches – so for all his involvement, he was certainly rather disappointing in terms of end product and on the above evidence, was rather weak and ineffective.

Speaking after the match, Adkins claimed Millar was still “learning his way” but that’s not something they can afford to risk with so much on the line heading into May.

The Addicks are now two points adrift of the playoffs and will need to win that game in hand to rise back into contention this week.

AND in other news,  Adkins must resolve key Bowyer problem to bolster promotion hopes…

According to a report from the Evening Standard, Chelsea will want in the region of £40 million for striker Tammy Abraham – coming after ExWHUemployee’s recent big claim that he is now West Ham United’s number one forward target.

Indeed, West Ham are still keen on Abraham and especially if manager David Moyes does the previously unthinkable and guides his side to a Champions League place.

GSB told asking price for Abraham

However, the report also suggests that the Irons will face competition from Serie A giants AC Milan for Abraham’s signature – dealing a possible blow in their hopes of landing the Englishman.

As well as this, Chelsea will demand a £40 million asking price due to the fact manager Thomas Tuchel wants to bring in ‘at least’ one top class striker this summer.

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Romelu Lukaku, Sergio Aguero and Erling Haaland are on the west London side’s shortlist of targets but the club will aim for a financial bolster with the £40m sale of Abraham.

Transfer Tavern take

Given his age, the fact he is homegrown and his goal record over the past two seasons – we believe it is no surprise he is West Ham’s priority striking target, per the reliable ExWHUemployee.

In the Premier League alone, he has bagged a consistent 21 goals in 37 starts since the beginning of 2019/2020 (WhoScored) – as well as being dubbed a ‘phenomenal player’ recently by former Scotland manager Alex McLeish (Football Insider).

However, as GSB are told it will take £40m to sign the forward, West Ham may need to invest heavily as they also aim to clinch a permanent deal for star loanee Jesse Lingard.

With Lingard’s price only going upwards thanks to his incredible form, we feel it will be difficult for Moyes to convince GSB to part with two big transfer fees for the English pair.

In other news: GSB are also ‘dreaming’ of a return for this star, find out more here.

This season has been a torrid affair for everyone at Celtic, no less than Neil Lennon.

Their capitulation this term led to his departure and there were no shortage of reasons as to why he left Parkhead.

They have lost their dominance on Scottish football and performances, certainly from a defensive point of view, have been lacklustre.

Though, one issue lying slightly beneath the surface is a lack of minutes for their younger players. Cameron Harper has left the club while Karamoko Dembele could follow him through the exit door this summer when his contract expires.

As a result, a host of their talented reserve players have headed out on loan. Luca Connell is spending the second half of the campaign on loan at Queen’s Park while talented Norwegian Leo Hjelde is with Ross County until the climax of the season.

The centre-back has already been compared to both Virgil van Dijk and Kristoffer Ajer but his development for now, is clearly best suited away from the Hoops.

One player who has earned the trust of coaches at Celtic, however, is Dane Murray. Another 17-year-old defender, he is now training with the senior team.

There is no loan spell in the pipeline for Murray but such is his immense potential that he’s already getting used to his surroundings among the first team squad at Lennoxtown.

He has trained under John Kennedy on a number of occasions now, a period he’s described as “brilliant.”

After penning new terms with Celtic, Murray spoke this month about his development and transition to playing alongside more experienced players.

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“Everything about your game comes on more when you train with the first-team,” he began. “The standard and intensity are much higher. Everyone helps you along every step of the way and they’re constantly giving you information. They just want the best for you really.”

The teenager is clearly being guided by the right people and he has been extremely keen to learn from someone like Ajer.

The Norway international came to Scotland as a teenager and has developed into one of Celtic’s key players.

“You also have Kris Ajer who came in at 17 and look at him now. The change he’s made has been brilliant,” Murray explained.

“Then you have the club captain Scott Brown. What he’s done in his career has been brilliant and I can only hope for even half of that,” he added.

It’s not just the age at which Ajer and Murray broke into the set-up that’s similar, however. The latter started out as a midfielder and is still very much capable of playing further forward, as well as in defence.

Ajer has played in a holding role in the past and has also performed admirably at full-back. Versatility like that, particularly at a young age, is a very useful asset to have.

With that in mind, it might make the transition to first team life a little smoother for Murray.

Unlike Hjelde, he has been trusted to stay at the club and develop. That can only be a good thing.

AND in other news, Celtic may be on the verge of repeating Deila’s costly blunder, fans should be fuming…

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Rob Lee, who made 267 appearances for Newcastle United in the Premier League, admits he feels sorry for Steve Bruce because he’s just like the fans.

Many journalists, players and fans expected and thought Bruce would be relieved of his duties as Newcastle manager after their 3-0 defeat against Brighton last month, but instead he received the full backing and support of both Lee Charnley and Mike Ashley, bouncing back with four points from two games.

Bruce has experienced a turbulent season on Tyneside as they gave Sheffield United their first win of the season, required penalties to get past Newport County in the Carabao Cup before subsequently being knocked out by Championship side Brentford with ease.

Speaking on why he has sympathy for Steve Bruce at Newcastle and what fans must realise, Lee told FFC:

“He’s a Geordie and surely Newcastle fans realise that. I’m not a Geordie but I think I’m an honorary one and If you can’t play football anymore, then surely that’s your ultimate goal to manage Newcastle.

“It’s his dream job. So, regardless of what the fans say, he does have the club’s best interests at heart but like I’ve said on TV, he should have done better.”

Newcastle face a tough run of fixtures now which includes games against the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool and Leicester City.

The Magpies face Sheffield United and Fulham in their last two games of the seasons which could be where their fate is sealed.

David Moyes has claimed that Jesse Lingard is getting fitter and fitter at West Ham United and will be in contention to face Arsenal in Sunday’s Premier League clash.

The Irons were without the England international as they lost 1-0 to Manchester United last weekend due to the on-loan playmaker being ineligible to face his parent club.

Lingard had been in terrific form in claret and blue before the Hammers visited Old Trafford, with the 28-year-old scoring four goals and providing two assists in six games played since joining in the January transfer window.

His form under Moyes has seen Gareth Southgate recall the 24-cap midfielder to the England squad for this month’s international break, having not featured for his country since the UEFA Nations League finals in June 2019.

Moyes is delighted for Lingard to be given another chance to represent his country as he deserves the call-up, and looks forward to seeing what more he can produce at West Ham.

“I’m really pleased for Jesse,” the Irons boss said on Friday. “It’s great for him and his performances have warranted it in how he’s played for us.

“I have to say he’s been very good. We just hope that continues and we want him to keep showing exactly what he can do on the pitch and he’s helped us. He’s been a good acquisition to the squad, and we hope he can add more goals between now and the end of the season.

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“He’s looked very good in training this week and I think since the day he came in everybody has been a bit surprised how good his fitness is and how good his all-round game is.

“I can see by the way he is working that he’s even getting better, and his physical data is getting better and overall, he’s been very good for us. He’s helped us, he’s given us another string to our bow in terms of attacking options, so we’re really pleased with him.”

Lingard had only played three times this season for Manchester United before joining West Ham on loan, with two outings coming in the Carabao Cup in September and one in the FA Cup in January.

It is no surprise, then, that Lingard’s overall match fitness has somewhat been lacking, given he had only played 179 minutes over those appearances for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, yet the £13.5m-rated maestro has still had a huge impact on West Ham’s form.

No Irons player has found the back of the net more often than Lingard since he moved to the London Stadium, with Tomas Soucek, Declan Rice, Issa Diop, Ryan Fredericks, Michail Antonio scoring two each and Craig Dawson accounting for West Ham’s other goal.

Moyes sharing that Lingard’s fitness is only getting better the more time that he spends at Rush Green may now allow the Red Devils product to reach an even higher level to his game, having occasionally waned towards the end of matches.

Having Lingard able to operate as close to 100 per cent for longer in matches will be a huge boost for Moyes after the international break, too, as the Hammers will still have to face Leicester City, Chelsea and Everton in the fight for a top-four Premier League finish after hosting Arsenal on Sunday.

His immediate availability could be beneficial at home to the Gunners, who will be striving to bounce back from a first defeat in five games after losing to Olympiacos in the Europa League on Thursday night.

AND in other news, a West Ham winter target is set to be available for £17m this summer…

Michael Chopra has dropped quite a big claim on the potential takeover of Newcastle United by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) group.

The former striker at the St. James’ Park faithful was a member of the Bellagraph Nova Group (BNG) who submitted an offer back in 2020 in order to try and buy the North East club after the initial breakdown of the deal between Mike Ashley and the KSA consortium.

However, the bid was reported to be much lower than the original asking price of the chief executive of Sports Direct, and so it collapsed.

Chopra, who was involved in an advisory capacity with the group, has since told FourFourTwo (via The Chronicle) that their £280m offer was ‘genuine’ but got no reply from Ashley’s lawyer, labelling it as ‘strange’.

He also dropped a very enticing claim on the proposed takeover of the Tyneside club by the KSA group, adding: ‘There’s more about the Saudi bid which hasn’t come out yet’.

Does Chopra know something about the NUFC takeover?

Given that Chopra claims that he was ‘aware of’ the Saudis pulling out of their original deal with Ashley weeks before it was made in the public domain, there may well be something that he knows about the prospective bid by the KSA group that is lurking beneath the surface.

Nonetheless, the original deal is far from being able to be revived yet, as the Gulf country’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) have not yet brought themselves back to the table, and the pending arbitration case between the Magpies and the Premier League needs to be completed in order to settle their legal disputes first.

In other news, find out what PIF claim a finance guru has dropped on the potential takeover here!

Sunderland’s busy period of football is showing no signs of letting up with another fixture to prepare for on Saturday afternoon.

The Mackems have tasted defeat in just two of their last 17 league outings, a brilliant run that has been engineered by the methods of Lee Johnson.

He has been game-changing for the Mackems’ attack with Charlie Wyke becoming the league’s second top scorer and Aiden McGeady becoming League One’s most prolific creator.

They have swatted aside fellow promotion hopefuls Lincoln and Doncaster in recent months but Crewe could represent another tough encounter on Saturday.

Therefore, what formation and starting XI could Johnson field?

We’re predicting the Mackems boss to make two changes from the team that beat Fleetwood in midweek.

There is a change of formation with the manager reverting back to a four-man defence. That means that Lynden Gooch is axed from the XI with the £8.1k-per-week Josh Scowen returning from injury in the middle of the park.

There is a solitary change in defence where Jake Vokins comes in for Callum McFadzean. The pair have been poor in recent weeks but with a four-man defence in operation, we feel it would be too risky to bring the more attacking Jordan Jones into the fray.

Bailey Wright is still out while Tom Flanagan is a week away from returning according to the boss.

The effervescent trio of Wyke, McGeady and O’Brien all continue in forward areas. The latter scored against Fleetwood and appears to be in good form, quickly becoming one of Johnson’s go-to men.

Under Phil Parkinson, he struggled for much game time. The same can be said for McGeady, a player who is now among the most dangerous in the third tier.

AND in other news, Imagine him & McGeady: Sunderland missed dream signing in “extremely talented” 27 y/o…

Former Liverpool forward Stan Collymore has talked up the possibility of a summer overhaul at Anfield.

The Reds’ title defence has unravelled rather spectacularly, with a mid-table finish increasingly on the cards after a sixth home defeat on the bounce against relegation-threatened Fulham on Sunday.

Jurgen Klopp’s side may have reached the end of its cycle, with evolution required to avoid a sustained drop-off.

Collymore pointed out in a tweet that Liverpool’s current three have ‘won the lot’ and may ‘fancy Madrid, Bayern or Juve for a new challenge’.

The money involved in a Liverpool evolution

If Mohamed Salah or Sadio Mane were to leave, it could fetch the Reds up to €120 million if they met their valuations. Roberto Firmino, meanwhile, is valued between €70 and €90 million (via CIES Football Observatory).

Liverpool tend to spend only what they earn, and so one of these deal could enable them to target a younger, blockbuster replacement.

Collymore says Erling Haaland (£120-£150million), Jack Grealish (£40-£50million) and Ansu Fati (£90-£120million) could be among those on the Reds’ list.

Transfer Tavern Verdict

Mohamed Salah is the only member of the renowned trio who has performed this season.

Sadio Mane has managed just seven Premier League goals, while Roberto Firmino very much looks to have peaked too.

It would be rash to entertain the idea of selling Mane unless he were to push for a move (which seems unlikely).

But if a respectable offer arrives for Firmino, the club ought to seriously consider it.

The Brazilian has left an indelible mark at Anfield but his sale, in conjunction with others, could conceivably fund a move for Haaland and whoever signs the Norwegian, you feel, is in for a glittering decade.

In other news, this LFC player came under fire after his post-Fulham Instagram message

When Sunderland face Fleetwood on Tuesday evening, they will do so full of confidence.

They swatted fellow promotion hopefuls Doncaster to one side in recent weeks, and their win over Burton demonstrated that the Mackems truly have the wind in their sails.

On the chalkboard

Lee Johnson won’t want to make too many changes to the side that beat the Brewers so comfortably at the weekend.

However, if he is thinking of making a change, then he must drop one specific player to the bench again. That happens to be Southampton loanee Jake Vokins.

The left-back has had a pretty torrid start to life at the Stadium of Light and to date, his temporary spell has been a difficult one. Roker Report said it was hard to picture many worse Sunderland debuts after the 2-2 draw with MK Dons and he’s looked unconvincing ever since.

He was at fault for the second goal during the defeat to Shrewsbury and misplaced a succession of passes in the win over Burton.

It eventually saw him hauled off in the second period in place of a man who simply has to start on Tuesday night.

The solution

The answer to their woes with Vokins lay at the feet of another loanee; Jordan Jones.

The winger has only played six times and started twice since his move south of the border from Rangers, but he’s caught the eye in his minimal time on the pitch.

He was hailed for his efforts by supporters after his cameo off the bench last time out and as his fitness grows game by game, he could become a force to be reckoned with.

Jones was only on the field for 23 minutes against Burton but managed three key passes – the second-highest number of anyone in a Black Cats jersey. On top of that, he finished the clash with a pass success rate of 100%.

You only need to heed words from Glasgow Live reporter Mark McDougall to understand what he can offer: “In all honesty, he should stroll League One if his attitude is right when he goes down there. He’s two-footed so can go inside or outside and has pace to burn.”

The journalist added: “He can be a joy to watch when he’s on his game because of how direct and tricky he is.”

Johnson has already extracted similar qualities from Aiden McGeady in recent weeks so it’s exciting to see what he could do with Jones.

He needs to be unleashed on Fleetwood, not just because of his individual attributes, but because Vokins is struggling down the left.

AND in other news, 1 goal in 15 games: SAFC ace who left Parkinson fuming has been a passenger for months…

Speaking exclusively to FootballFanCast, former Premier League ace Rob Lee has slammed Arsenal star Willian.

The £220k-a-week earning star joined on a free transfer from London rivals Chelsea in the summer transfer window, and enjoyed a superb debut for Mikel Arteta’s side by assisting two goals in a opening day 3-0 win over Fulham.

Since then however, things have gone downhill for the Brazil international, with the 32-year-old still yet to score for the club and only adding one more assist to his total.

That has seen the winger drop out of the starting line-up in recent weeks, with the likes of Bukayo Saka and Nicolas Pepe firmly ahead of him in the pecking order on that right-hand side.

And when asked about how Willian has done this season for Arsenal, Lee delivered a scathing verdict on the Gunners’ summer signing.

He said: “Awful. For someone of his ability, you can see why Chelsea didn’t want to give him a long contract. Could have been Frank’s (Lampard) decision or could have been someone else’s decision, but you can see why they weren’t going to give him a longer contract.

“Willian has got so much talent and so much ability, but again, I don’t know, he just seems he’s not bothered. If he plays great, then great. But if he doesn’t, then not really bothered.”

The idea that Willian hasn’t been particularly bothered at Arsenal this season echoes the kind of problems the Gunners have had with Mesut Ozil, who also has that similar languid style – in fact, The Athletic recently claimed that “some feel that, not unlike Ozil, Willian is not helped by his relaxed body language”.

With the Gunners’ young guns like Saka and Emile Smith Rowe showing the way in recent weeks, Willian’s performances have just been scrutinised even more. And given he still has more than a couple of years left on his contract, it feels like a bad signing already.

Meanwhile, Arsenal could sign another Kieran Tierney in this starlet…