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Ex-Everton player Michael Ball has bemoaned The Toffees’ struggles at Goodison Park but admits he’s ‘used to’ such frustration.

The Blues were beaten 2-1 by relegation-threatened Burnley on Saturday evening in a blow to their top-four hopes.

Chris Wood and Dwight McNeil put the visitors two goals up inside 25 minutes, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s effort before the break was not enough to inspire a fightback.

Everton have now lost on home soil to the teams in 15th (Burnley), 17th (Newcastle) and 18th (Fulham) this season.

They sit eighth in the table, five points off fourth-placed Chelsea with a game in hand. Had they beaten those three struggling outfits, they would be within striking range of Manchester United.

Everton players need ‘kick up the backside’

Without supporters present, Ball fears that complacency may have set in. He lamented what he sees as a tendency for Everton to shoot themselves in the foot.

“The lads should be embarrassed by this home record,” he wrote in his Liverpool Echo column.

“We’re not the only team struggling on our own turf, and it probably is down to the fans not being there, but find a solution.

“Some players are getting away with it because there’s no-one there to give them a kick up the backside.

“The sad thing is that we’re used to this. We’ve got many home games coming up and we’ve got a find a way to stop this rot.”

Transfer Tavern verdict

After the initial frustration, Everton fans will find solace in perspective.

Yes, they have squandered opportunities, but they are still having an excellent season and remain in a strong position in the European race.

The key for Carlo Ancelotti going forward in this long-term process is to hone the different ways of playing.

Everton have been able to frustrate high-quality sides like Spurs, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal, but it’s a different matter when the onus is on them to be constantly on the front-foot.

In other news, Everton fans are unhappy that this player was overlooked by his international boss.

Rangers took one step closer to the title with an important three points on Wednesday evening.

Steven Gerrard’s side were frustrated by David Martindale’s Livingston side for much of the match before Alfredo Morelos popped up with a late winner after Scott Arfield’s shot was blocked.

The result means that should the ‘Gers pick up three points against St Mirren on Saturday at Ibrox and if Celtic drop points the following day against Dundee United, then they will win the title for the first time since the 2010/11 season.

Whilst Morelos will steal the headlines for his late goal, it was perhaps the performance of Connor Goldson that stood out the most at the Almondvale Stadium.

As per SofaScore, the centre-back would earn an impressive 7.6 rating for his display – the best of any player on the pitch from either side.

His defensive partner Filip Helander was the closest in terms of match rating, with the Swedish international earning an excellent 7.5 rating, which emphasises just how solid Gerrard’s side were at the back against Livingston.

During the game, Goldson would superbly win 14/16 of his duels, resulting in a success rate of 88%. So far this season, the 28-year-old has averaged 4.5 aerials won per game in the Scottish Premiership but he managed nine against Livingston, which demonstrates that he was arguably even better than usual.

This total was also more than any other player on the pitch, whilst Livingston striker Scott Robinson, who came on for the injured Gavin Reilly early on, would win just 1/5 of his duels during the game and was limited to just two passes in his 67 minutes on the pitch.

This shows that Goldson and Helander were effectively able to mark Livingston’s attackers out of the game on Wednesday evening.

Earlier in the season, Gerrard was full of praise for his defender, saying:

“I think Connor Goldson has been outstanding this season, showing incredible leadership alongside James on and off the pitch.”

The former Brighton man was also unfortunate that his header in the first half was ruled out for offside, as it was typically brave of the defender to beat Livingston ‘keeper Max Stryjek to the ball and power home, only for a late flag to be raised.

Therefore, whilst Morelos might be the name on a lot of Rangers’ fans lips after his late goal, it was arguably Goldson who stole the show on Wednesday evening.

And, in other news… Get it done: Gerrard should hand £18k-p/w Rangers beast a new contract

David Sullivan must strive to beat Manchester United and Hertha Berlin to hire Eintracht Frankfurt’s Fredi Bobic as West Ham’s new Director of Football.

What’s the word?

According to Sport BILD, via Sport Witness, the Irons and Red Devils have shortlisted Bobic as an option to be their new Sporting Director after the Eintracht chief announced that he intends to leave Frankfurt at the end of the season.

The 49-year-old has decided to step down from his role at the Deutsche Bank Park two years early, having remained at the club for the 2020/21 campaign to help Die Adler manage through the situation caused by the pandemic after first expressing intentions to leave last summer.

Eintracht had sought to change the former Borussia Dortmund and VfB Stuttgart striker’s mind with the offer of a more lucrative contract, but they are now resigned to losing him.

Bobic believes his time at Frankfurt has reached its end and will now possibly take on a new challenge with Hertha BSC, a club he supports and enjoys a good working relationship with CEO Carsten Schmidt.

West Ham, Manchester United and RB Leipzig are also interested in hiring the 2001/02 Bundesliga champion, as they look to appoint a new Director of Football to fill the currently vacant roles at the London Stadium and Old Trafford.

Frankfurt are noted to have been irritated, both privately and publicly, by the manner at which Bobic announced his departure, and are expected to hold out for compensation in the region of €5m (£4.5m) should any side look to hire the former Germany international.

Bobic is to stand before the Eintracht leadership at a crunch board meeting on March 10th to discuss his exit and actions, at which poin,t Die Adler will decide how best to handle his situation with the club chief believed to be keen on finalising a deal to join Hertha.

Should West Ham hire Bobic?

While £4.5m may seem like a lot of money to pay for the release of Bobic from his Eintracht Frankfurt contract, Sullivan should not baulk at the fee as the German has established a phenomenal record for discovering top talents at bargain fees in the Bundesliga.

Bobic is a hot commodity in Europe for the success Eintracht have built on the pitch during his four-and-a-half-years at the Deutsche Bank Park, having gone from a side that narrowly avoided relegation to one eying regular Champions League football.

He has also rejected offers to take up a Director of Football role at VfL Wolfsburg, RB Leipzig and AC Milan in recent years, and was even once suggested to be in the running to replace Christian Seifert at the head of the German Football League (DFL).

Now, with Bobic feeling like he is at the end of the road in Frankfurt, Sullivan should be doing all he can to tempt the transfer wizard to try his hand in the Premier League and hope to see players of the same calibre work wonders for West Ham.

Bobic has been at the Eintracht helm while Ante Rebic, Luka Jovic, Filip Kostic and Andre Silva all agreed to join Die Adler.

Rebic joined Frankfurt from Fiorentina for just €2m (£1.5m) in 2018 and provided 25 goals plus 12 assists in 100 games before leaving Germany for AC Milan in a €32m (£27.5m) deal in 2020.

Jovic left Die Adler in 2019 by sealing a €60m (£52.5m) move to Real Madrid, netting the Bundesliga outfit £42m in profit after the forward – who Kostic describes as “unbelievable” – struck 27 goals and provided seven assists in 48 games across all competitions.

The Serbian was replaced by Silva, who moved to the Deutsche Bank Park from AC for just €9m (£8m), and has since attracted a €30m (£26m) valuation amid interest from West Ham and Atletico Madrid after hitting 16 goals in 38 games this season.

West Ham would surely love to have the man responsible for those deals in charge of their transfer activity, making Bobic a dream hire if Sullivan does whatever it takes to get him.

AND in other news, West Ham have been dealt a huge blow with a David Moyes favourite ruled out until mid-April…

Former Premier League striker Kevin Phillips has recently come out and said clubs will be lining up to sign Glasgow Rangers centre-forward Alfredo Morelos in the summer, but the 54-time Scottish champions simply can’t afford to let their star striker go.

What’s the word?

Morelos’ return to form has been welcomed by Steven Gerrard as the Colombia international has enjoyed a prolific spell since the start of the year, having fired in two goals in just three appearances across all competitions over the past couple of weeks.

The Rangers star was linked with the Ibrox exit last summer, but a move did not materialise, although this has done little to dampen down speculation over his future.

Naturally, other sides have caught wind of his situation, with German publication Sport.de recently claiming Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich have the 24-year-old firmly in their sights.

The report revealed Munich are reportedly eyeing up a move for Morelos as a possible replacement for Robert Lewandowski.

Stand firm

But from Rangers’ point of view, Morelos – who earns around £33,000-per-week at Ibrox, is one of the few players Ross Wilson simply can’t afford to lose. Despite his disciplinary issues, he is far too important for their chances of future domestic and European success.

And yes, the Gers may have scored 11 goals in six Europa League games, but Morelos is still their joint top-scorer in Europe this season with a tally of two goals to his name. Whilst that might not sound like a lot, he recently broke Ally McCoist’s longstanding record, which is certainly saying something.

Apart from Morelos, Gerrard seems to be well-stocked with several options up front, as Kemar Roofe has proven to be a useful versatile asset, having scored 10 goals in 15 top-flight games. However, the 27-year-old has also shown he is rather injury-prone as he has only made one appearance since the start of the year.

Jermain Defoe is always an option, but the former England international is also 38 and has only managed to muster seven appearances in the Scottish Premiership this season as he has entered the twilight of his career.

It’s no wonder players like former Rangers defender Fabio Cardoso have described the Colombian as a “machine” as his phenomenal goal record arguably speaks for itself. 87 goals in 166 games for the Gers is simply astonishing.

Should Morelos depart Ibrox, Gerrard would lose an important piece of his jigsaw puzzle, which is why Ross Wilson shouldn’t even consider sanctioning a sale in the summer, should they receive an official approach.

AND in other news, Borna Barisic was Rangers’ unsung hero against Motherwell…

Thanks to a narrow victory on the road, Leeds United are back to positive results. The Whites were welcomed to St James’ Park for their latest Premier League clash, which played out to a 2-1 win in the visitors’ favour.

Leeds took control early on by netting the first goal of the game in the 17th minute through Raphinha. They went into the break with the lead, but Newcastle hit back less than ten minutes after the restart with a Miguel Almiron equaliser. But the Magpies didn’t trouble Leeds for long.

Thanks to Jack Harrison, the Whites restored their lead and played out a much-needed win, banking an important three points. However, the second goal has seemingly flattered the Leeds winger’s overall performance against the Toon.

Jack Harrison vs Newcastle

Whilst his 61st minute goal was undoubtedly the difference on the day for Leeds, Harrison struggled to pull off a solid performance out wide. It was a quiet evening for the Manchester City loanee overall, who was largely absent aside from his second half goal.

According to Sofascore, Harrison made fewer touches (49) than goalkeeper Illan Meslier (55) and lost a huge 80% of his attempted duels. The £45,000-per-week winger also gave up possession 21 times – which was the most out of anyone on his team – and failed to register a single cross from the flank.

In comparison to Newcastle’s left winger Almiron, Harrison seriously underperformed. The Toon wide-man not only contributed a goal but he managed to win nine of his 16 attempted duels and made three key passes, compared to zero from Harrison. His previous outing was also much better despite it being a defeat to Brighton. The Englishman was able to complete 3/4 dribbles and win six of his 13 attempted duels, losing just 53% compared to 80% at St James’ Park.

In hindsight, the performance doesn’t matter. Leeds secured the all-important three points, which breaks their three-game losing streak. However, for a player from Man City, you would expect his attacking prowess to be a bit more lethal in the final third, particularly as a winger.

Harrison is currently Marcelo Bielsa’s only recognised senior left winger, which is a worrying thought for if or when he leaves the club. Leeds may have an option to make the move permanent for the 24-year-old following the end of his loan, but if he wants to boost his chances of staying at Elland Road he must be utilising his skills as a creative player and put in stronger performances for Leeds than this one.

In other news, Leeds made right decision not to sign Michael Cuisance…

Crystal Palace take on defending champions Liverpool at Selhurst Park in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon as they aim to improve their standings in the table after a 1-1 draw with West Ham United on Wednesday.

Christian Benteke gave the Eagles the lead, before he was sent off for a second yellow card after Sebastien Haller scored an overhead kick, which saw Roy Hodgson’s side slip to 12th in the table, a point adrift of Aston Villa, who have two games in-hand.

The Eagles have only won one of their past five games, though they are unbeaten in their last three in the league, but Hodgson will be well aware his side will have to be at their very best if they are to beat the league leaders, who are three points ahead of second-placed Spurs.

Palace will be without Benteke, while Martin Kelly, Mamadou Sakho, Connor Wickham, Wayne Hennessy and Nathan Ferguson remain sidelined due to injury.

Here is Football FanCast’s best guess for the predicted starting line-up, which sees Hodgson make four changes to the team that drew with West Ham.

The Palace boss rang several changes for the trip to West Ham, which means some key players should be fresh for today.

Vicente Guaita is expected to start, whilst Gary Cahill could come back in for Scott Dann, whilst the same goes for Nathaniel Clyne, who will most likely replace Joel Ward at right-back. Patrick van Aanholt and Cheikou Kouyate have started the past seven consecutive domestic games, and we’re backing the duo to start again on Saturday afternoon.

Jairo Riedewald came off the bench against Spurs, and is yet to feature since, but we reckon he will be back today, forming a partnership with club captain Luka Milivojevic in the engine room.

Upfront, things could get a little more interesting, as Hodgson may decide to hand Michy Batshuayi a rare start, despite the Chelsea loanee failing to find the back of the net in the past eight games in the Premier League in a row.

AND in other news, Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson must recall Jairo Riedewald to face Liverpool…

The Athletic’s Wolverhampton Wanderers reporter, Tim Spiers, recently dropped a hint concerning Patrick Cutrone’s Wolves return, via Twitter.

This comes after the journalist posted another tweet explaining that alleged transfer targets Christian Eriksen and Diego Costa are unlikely to join the West Midlands club due to their wages.

Recalling Cutrone

In response to that original tweet, one Wolves fan asked Spiers why the club doesn’t recall centre-forward Cutrone from his loan at Serie A side Fiorentina if they are unwilling to splash out on a new signing in January, with fellow Old Gold centre-forward Raul Jimenez out of action due to a fractured skull at present.

This comes after Cutrone moved to Fiorentina from Molineux on loan a year ago and is currently scheduled to return from that loan spell in the summer.

However, with Cutrone having failed to set the world alight at Fiorentina after not even scoring a single goal for the club so far this term, the journalist replied to that Wolves fan’s tweet to reveal that the West Midlands club “probably will” recall the 23-year-old from his loan prematurely.

What does that mean for Cutrone’s Wolves future?

So, while Spiers indicated that the Italian may not be at Fiorentina for much longer, this doesn’t mean that he will be part of Nuno Espirito Santo’s squad for the second half of the 2020/21 campaign, as the journalist explained that it may be more likely that we’ll see the £10.8m-rated forward get sent out on another loan elsewhere.

However, with 18-year-old Fabio Silva the Old Gold’s only fit, recognised centre-forward at present, per Transfermarkt, surely the West Midlands club will have to consider keeping Cutrone at Molineux if they do intend to cut his loan spell short, rather than sending him out on another loan when they’re already short for numbers in his position and it will be interesting to see how the club does proceed with Cutrone from this point.

In other news, some Wolves fans are buzzing to see their club linked with a move for Christian Eriksen.

Loads of Everton fans have been slamming Andre Gomes as the Liverpool Echo highlighted some quite damning stats about the Portugal international.

As per the news outlet, he has not managed to record a single shot on target for the Goodison Park faithful since the 2018/19 term.

While his primary job is not to score goals, it is still a pretty alarming statistic considering that midfield players like him should be looking to take some of the burden off of the strikers.

Gomes did not have the best of games in his last outing versus Newcastle United in the Merseyside club’s 2-1 loss in the Premier League over the weekend, and there may now be some calls for the 27-year old to be dropped if he does not improve on his performances.

Everton fan reaction to Gomes stat

These EFC supporters slammed Gomes after reading the damning stat on Twitter, with one Toffee even claiming that he is a ‘poor’ player:

In other news, find out why this Blues star returning to training is ‘great news’ here!

What on earth has happened to Celtic?

Over the last decade, they have been the dominant force in Scottish football. They have swept teams away with ease and battered their rivals Rangers.

Yet, in 2020/21, nothing has gone according to plan.

Neil Lennon’s side have won just two of their last ten outings and after an embarrassing defeat to Ross County, he is now feeling the pressure more than ever.

Therefore, a game against Italian giants AC Milan has come at exactly the wrong time for the Hoops.

Celtic face them in the Europa League on Thursday night, a competition they’ve already been knocked out of. Though, who can we expect to play?

Well, we’re tipping three changes to be made.

In goal, we think that Vasilis Barkas will continue ahead of Scott Bain despite shipping two in the cup last weekend.

Lennon decided to switch things up and with a 3-5-2 formation, something we reckon he’ll continue to test versus Milan.

That means that Diego Laxalt and Jeremie Frimpong will play as the wing-backs. Frimpong missed out through suspension against Ross County but because of his athletic qualities, we think he’ll come back into the side.

Shane Duffy and Christopher Jullien are doubts so the defence comprises of Kristoffer Ajer, Nir Bitton and Hatem Elhamed.

The biggest change is no Scott Brown. At the age of 35 and in poor form, he could probably do with a rest in the middle of the park. Thus, a dynamic triumvirate will operate in those areas. Olivier Ntcham has the capabilities to act as the box-to-box midfielder so they shouldn’t lose any defensive attributes by leaving Brown on the bench.

A final change is up front where we’re suggesting that Patryk Klimala partners Odsonne Edouard in the attack.

Albian Ajeti extended his run without a goal to nine games last weekend so should have to settle for a place among the substitutes. Klimala deserves his chance.

In other news, Celtic missed the chance to sign their next Arzani…

David Moyes must look at the positive aspects of West Ham United’s deal to sign Watford defender Craig Dawson on an initial one-season loan, even though the centre-back can leave much to the imagination.

What’s the word?

West Ham have completed the signing of Dawson on a season-long loan, bringing the 30-year-old to the London Stadium to add depth to Moyes’ backline having failed in an array of efforts to sign a centre-back this summer.

The Rochdale-born defender joins the Hammers following Watford’s relegation from the Premier League last season, as well as falling behind Francisco Sierralta and William Troost-Ekong in the pecking order at Vicarage Road under new boss Vladimir Ivic.

Dawson, who Watford signed from West Brom for £5.5million in 2019, is expected to end the Irons’ search for late signings to improve the backline and could see his temporary stint in east London turned permanent next summer with West Ham taking hold of a £2m option-to-buy.

Moyes could call on Dawson to make his Irons debut in Sunday’s London derby away to rivals Tottenham Hotspur, and the centre-back cannot wait to join his new teammates.

“I’m delighted to be here and really looking forward to being back in the Premier League and working with the manager and group of lads,” he told West Ham’s official website. “I’m really excited and looking ahead to the game at the weekend.”

Moyes must see the positives

While Dawson was clearly not Moyes’ preferred centre-half signing – having courted Burnley’s James Tarkowski, RC Strasbourg’s Mohamed Simakan, Fiorentina’s Nikola Milenkovic and Bayer Leverkusen’s Jonathan Tah among others – the Irons boss must see the positives that his arrival from Watford presents.

Dawson has vast top-flight experience from his time at Vicarage Road and West Brom, for whom he’s amassed 182 Premier League appearances for, while averaging 5.0 duels won, 3.8 clearances, 1.2 interceptions, 1.0 tackles, 25.0 accurate passes and 0.6 shots a game last season, per SofaScore.

His knowledge will come in handy as he makes up the numbers alongside Fabian Balbuena, Issa Diop and Angelo Ogbonna, while allowing Aaron Cresswell to focus efforts back at left-back having often been utilised at centre-half thus far this season.

And if Dawson does not feature regularly or impress in his time on the field, West Ham will be able to part company next season and explore signing other – potentially superior – options on a permanent basis than be committed to a player former Aston Villa boss Tim Sherwood suggested effectively retired on the field when embarrassed by Danny Ings in June.

“This almost retires Dawson,” Sherwood told Optus sport. “He was so bad, for someone who is such an experienced campaigner.”

Former West Ham boss Alan Curbishley was likewise unimpressed, adding: “[Ben] Foster tries to clear it, but what is so bad – forget that he throws it to Danny Ings – is Dawson’s defending.

“The gap is about three or four yards, and it stays three or four yards. He doesn’t go anywhere near him. He’s petrified of the pace.”

Moyes will be hoping that Dawson does not shy away from getting close to players who boast rapid pace should the 30-year-old feature against Tottenham on Sunday, with Spurs able to call on Heung-Min Son who tore Manchester United apart alongside Harry Kane last time out.

AND in other news, the dominant displays of an £10.8m-rated West Ham star are backing the Irons into a corner concerning his long-term future.