Kyle Lafferty has had a bit of a tough time on his return to Ibrox this season. The 31-year-old striker had bagged just four goals before yesterday, with his most recent goal coming against Cowdenbeath in the Scottish Cup in January, and before that his most recent Scottish Premier League goal coming all the way back in late September.

There has been no doubting that Alfredo Morelos is Steven Gerrard’s number one choice up front, and the January signing of Jermain Defoe has only pished Lafferty further down the pecking order. However, when the Northern Irishman came on and scored yesterday it would have given him the much-needed confidence boost that he’s been needing for a while.

The Bluenoses will hope he can put together some kind of run of form now and if he can kick on and grab some goals between now and the end of the season then it will be a welcomed bonus that would relieve some of the goalscoring burden that is so often put on Morelos. However, it won’t be easy to string together goalscoring form, and if it is to happen then the big man will need more than cameo appearances from the bench.

You can read the Gers’ reaction to Lafferty’s strike here:

The Bluenoses loved seeing their big man score and will hope there are few more to come from Lafferty this season.

أعلن نادي الترجي التونسي إصابة معين الشعباني المدير الفني لفريق كرة القدم، بفيروس كورونا المستجد كوفيد 19.

وأوضح الترجي التونسي في بيان رسمي ان نتائج المسحة الطبية التي أجراها طاقم الجهاز الفني أظهرت إصابة 4 أفراد بينهم معين الشعباني. بيان الترجي

صدرت نتائج التحاليل لفيروس كورونا لأعضاء الطاقم الفني للترجي الرياضي التونسي وهم معين الشعباني وعثمان النجار صبري البوعزيزي وكانت إيجابية مع الأسف الشديد.

ونؤكد بالمناسبة أن حالة الثلاثي المذكور مستقرة والحمد لله مش ما هو الشأن بالنسبة المدرب مجدي تراوي الذي تعرف على نتيجة تحليله منذ نهاية الأسبوع المنقضي

تمنياتنا بالشفاء العاجل للجميع

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Tyrone Mings found it very difficult to earn minutes for Bournemouth in the first half of this season, but he has been an ever-present since arriving at Aston Villa.

Mings joined Villa on loan from Bournemouth in January and has not missed a minute of football for the Championship club since his arrival.

Mings again operated alongside Tommy Elphick at the heart of the defence in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Stoke City at the Bet365 Stadium.

And the Villa fans absolutely loved what they saw from the towering centre-back again.

It remains to be seen whether Dean Smith’s side are able to secure a spot in the playoff positions come the end of the 2018-19 campaign.

Who are the best away fans in the Championship? Pl>ymaker FC’s Thogden gives his top 10 in the video below…

However, whatever happens, it would be fair to say that the Villa fans are absolutely desperate for their club to sign Mings on a permanent contract.

According to WhoScored, the 25-year-old had a pass success rate of 88% against Stoke, which is staggering for a centre-back at Championship level.

A selection of the Twitter reaction from the Villa fans can be seen below:

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After Tuesday night’s Champions League clash, there’s plenty of Liverpool content doing the rounds at the minute. But rather than you spanning the internet far and wide, Football FanCast have put the biggest and most interesting stories all into one place. Here’s our Reds roundup…

Liverpool interested in Buckley

According to an exclusive from Teamtalk, Liverpool are one of a number of clubs interested in Blackburn Rovers’ highly promising youngster John Buckley. The attacking midfielder is yet to feature at senior level, but nonetheless his other suitors are said to include Everton and Manchester United – which has reportedly prompted a round of contract talks at Ewood Park. Football FanCast, however, fear for how signing Buckley could affect Rhian Brewster and Harry Wilson’s development at Anfield.

Fans livid with Mane

Liverpool drew a blank against Bayern Munich in midweek and Sadio Mane has emerged as the scapegoat, not least because he failed to capitalise on a glorious chance in the first half and then neglected numerous opportunities to set up team-mates as the game went on. Reaction on social media then has been pretty fierce with some fans calling for the 26-year-old to be dropped – you can check it out in full here.

Lewis signs new contract

Highly-rated 19-year-old Adam Lewis has signed a new contract at Anfield, the club confirmed on Tuesday. The teenager has been a regular at U23 level this season but is still awaiting his first-team breakthrough with the Merseysiders. With Alberto Moreno expected to leave the club this summer though, some Liverpool supporters have tipped him to fill the void and become Andrew Robertson’s deputy next season.

Liverpool fans pleased with Oliver appointment

Referees are very rarely figures of popularity but Michael Oliver represents a rare exception. Liverpool face Manchester United on Sunday in a potentially season-defining Northwest derby and their fans are pretty chuffed to hear that the 33-year-old will be in charge, with some dubbing him the best referee in the Premier League. Mike Dean won’t be too happy about that. Click here to see our full coverage.

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When you think of Wolves this season, eyes are likely to be cast in the direction of Raul Jimenez, Ruben Neves and Diogo Jota.

All three have been imperative to their wonderful first season back in the Premier League. But one man who goes under the radar is Joao Moutinho, a number in a line of Portuguese stars to feature for the club.

Following his performance against Manchester United last weekend, Wolves supporters have been left in awe of the midfielder, as he made seven key passes over the course of the 90 minutes.

Supporters at Molineux have had plenty to jump and shout about this season, but Moutinho presents them with the latest chance to rave over one of their players.

Individuals took to Twitter to laud the ex Monaco man, hailing him as the best player they’ve ever seen in a Wolves shirt whilst one tweeted that he was the best Wolves player he’d seen in his lifetime.

It was glowing praise for an experienced professional who has also been labelled by supporters as a superstar, world-class, a legend, and like a Jack Russell in the Wolves midfield.

What’s your club’s best chant? Check out the video below for a Wolves epic that surely has to be one of the best in English football…

Nuno Santo’s side signed him for a bargain price as one fan claimed it was the best £5m ever spent.

Here’s what was said about him on Twitter…

سجل محمد فاروق لاعب بيراميدز الهدف الثاني لفريقه أمام مصر المقاصة في مباراتهما اليوم ببطولة الدوري المصري الممتاز.

ويلعب بيراميدز ضد المقاصة في إطار منافسات الجولة 31 من الدوري.

وأحرز محمد فاروق الهدف بتسديدة من داخل منطقة الجزاء في الدقيقة 42 بعد تلقيه تمريرة من زميله صانع الألعاب عبد الله السعيد.

طالع أيضًا.. ترتيب الدوري المصري بعد فوز بيراميدز على المقاصة.. هبوط نادي مصر رسميًا

طالع أيضًا.. فيديو | بيراميدز يسجل هدف بيراميدز الأول أمام مصر المقاصة في الدوري

وكان الغاني جون أنطوي قد تقدم لبيراميدز على المقاصة بالهدف الأول. شاهد هدف بيراميدز الثاني أمام مصر المقاصة

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The father of Antonio Valencia has claimed that West Ham are one of the candidates to sign the Manchester United captain at the end of the 2018-19 campaign.

What’s the word, then?

Speaking to El Universo, via the Daily Mail, Luis Valencia said that West Ham were in the race alongside Arsenal, Inter Milan and a club from the Chinese Super League.

The 33-year-old has been with United since 2009, making 338 appearances for the Red Devils in all competitions.

Valencia has made just five Premier League appearances this term, however, and has only turned out once for the club in 2019.

Despite still being club captain, the Ecuadoran will move on this summer.

West Ham are said in the hunt for the midfielder-turned-defender, but the Hammers should swerve a move for the experienced ace despite his impressive credentials.

Why should West Ham drop their interest?

It seems likely that Pablo Zabaleta will be leaving West Ham this summer when his contract expires.

The Argentine has been a good servant to the London club, but was part of a team that conceded three times against Huddersfield Town on Saturday afternoon.

Ryan Fredericks has had some decent moments in recent weeks, but neither he nor Zabaleta have really convinced in that area of the field.

As a result, the interest in Valencia is not all that surprising; after all, this is a player with an incredible amount of Premier League experience.

In this era of ‘big 6’ dominance, has finishing 7th become as good as winning a trophy? The Pl>ymaker FC squad have their say in the video below…

The 5ft 11in ace will be 34 before the new campaign begins, though, and he has hardly kicked a ball over the last few months.

West Ham need to improve their defence in this summer’s transfer window, but Valencia would not be an upgrade on either Zabaleta or Fredericks and therefore the club should be looking elsewhere.

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Tottenham fans have taken to Twitter to heap praise on Jan Vertonghen after the defender played a key role in helping Spurs avoid defeat to Arsenal in the north London derby.

The 6 foot 1 Belgian international put in an impressive display in general, but it was his stoppage time heroics that helped Spurs leave Wembley with a vital point after seemingly being seconds away from defeat that will grab the spotlight.

After Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang fluffed his lines from 12 yards, the ball was fizzed back into the box for the Gabonese forward to have another chance, but Vertonghen somehow managed to divert his goal bound effort over the bar.

That isn’t the first time that the 31-year-old has saved his side this season, and it certainly won’t be the last as the former Ajax man emerges as one of Mauricio Pochettino’s most important figures.

Let’s take a look at how the Spurs fans on Twitter reacted to his performance…

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Tottenham fans are missing Mousa Dembele after the Lilywhites suffered yet another setback that could well be the nail in the coffin of their title challenge.

Tottenham lost their eighth league match of the season on Wednesday night, falling to a 2-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge to a revitalised Chelsea side, and they are now eight points behind Manchester City.

While the Blues deserve a lot of credit for bouncing back from their cup final defeat, Mauricio Pochettino will not be happy with his side, as they were poor in all three phases.

Pl>ymaker FC Exclusive: Jermaine Jenas reveals he would have snubbed Tottenham for Arsenal if they’d come knocking in 2005…

Harry Kane and Son Heung-min looked out of sorts up front, while Toby Alderweireld, Kieran Trippier and Hugo Lloris all had difficult evenings at the back.

The midfield might just be the biggest problem of all the three though, where Pochettino has just two players to pick from on a regular basis in Harry Winks and Moussa Sissoko.

Neither of them covered themselves in glory on Wednesday night, and fans are bashing the decision to sell Dembele.

The Belgian international departed in January for a fee of around £11m, as the 31 year-old was set to be out of contract this summer.

Despite his contract situation, £11m is pocket change for a player who always delivered in the biggest matches, and the Twitter reactions down below are regretting the club’s decision to move him on…

Tottenham may well have said their goodbyes to any chance of silverware this season but that shouldn’t stop them from trying to finish as well as they can.

With the Champions League still being a possibility, albeit a small one, Tottenham must now focus their priorities in order to progress further in that competition, as well as ensuring the finish in the top four this season.

That, wouldn’t be a bad season for Tottenham but to improve they must eye some new players in the summer, after not spending a single penny this season.

Some areas on the pitch demand reinforcements more than others and defence is certainly one of those for Tottenham.

At centre-back, Tottenham could bolster their options by signing Borussia Monchengladbach’s Matthias Ginter.

Ginter, (who is valued at £31.5 million on Transfermarkt) is a player Tottenham should seriously consider investing in.

With both Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld extending their stay in Tottenham colours until the summer of 2020, they need to have solutions in mind to just how about they will go about replacing the pair should they leave.

At the age of 25, Matthias Ginter – who has been linked with Spurs and bitter rivals Arsenal by Sky Sports – still has plenty of time left in his footballing career, time that could well be spent helping Tottenham to achieve bigger and better things.

In his 20 appearances this season, Ginter has helped keep seven clean-sheets, as well as supplying one goal at the beginning of the campaign.

His reputation in Germany is a strong one after the capabilities he has shown whilst at Monchengladbach and Dortmund alike, so there is no reason to think that Matthias Ginter wouldn’t be a success at Tottenham. With the new stadium on the way, moving for the enforcer would certainly make for an exciting summer.

Do you agree… Let us know!