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Dean Windass has exclusively told Football FanCast that he expects Roy Hodgson to take a break from football after his Crystal Palace departure, following reports from The Sun that he could be a contender to replace Sam Allardyce at West Bromwich Albion.

Following just under four years in the Selhurst Park dugout, the 73-year-old made the decision to stand down from his role at his boyhood club earlier this week.

Palace have endured a poor end to Hodgson’s reign, winning just three times in their final 11 Premier League games, and whilst they could finish as low as 16th depending on final-day results, he’s continued the good work from those before him to make the Eagles an established top-flight club.

They never finished lower than 14th in Hodgson’s, showing that he’s clearly still more than good enough to manage at Premier League level despite this being his 45th year as a manager.

Hodgson’s previous club job before Palace was West Brom, with Jeremy Peace labelling him as “outstanding” following his appointment in the west Midlands in 2011. And following the departure of Sam Allardyce, does Windass believe he could make a sensational return to the Hawthorns?

He told Football FanCast:

“I think he needs to take a break; he’s getting on now. I’m aware that he’s hands on, on the training ground, but take a bit of time out, do a bit of media work, watch a lot of games.

“I think he will sit off now, enjoy your life. He’s been remarkable. I’ve never met him but he looks like a gentleman, but I think he will walk away.”

As we reach the conclusion of a season that the vast majority of Sheffield Wednesday fans would probably rather forget, Darren Moore’s side know that nothing but a win on Saturday will give them a chance of surviving the drop.

Having picked up an impressive 14 points from their last nine Championship fixtures, the Owls have given themselves a glimmer of hope on the final day of the season. A win against Derby County, coupled with Rotherham United failing to beat Cardiff City, would be enough to miraculously ensure that Wednesday retain their Championship status.

As such, considering the magnitude of the fixture, will Moore decide to make any changes to his starting XI from the 0-0 draw with Nottingham Forest last time out? Here’s our predicted XI, along with the latest team and injury news…

Despite receiving the welcome boost of having two injured players in contention for a return to the matchday squad, we predict that Darren Moore will make just one change to the team which started against Forest, along with a slight tweak in formation.

Following a fine performance from the bench last time out, having five shots at goal, making one key pass and winning four of his six aerial duels over just 34 minutes on the pitch, we predict that Jordan Rhodes will come back into the starting XI. That is at the expense of Andre Green, whom the 31-year-old replaced in the second half against Forest, with the youngster failing to record a shot and completing only five passes.

This means that the striker Moore dubbed a “wonderful talent” will partner Josh Windass up front in a switch to a 3-4-1-2 formation.

Meanwhile, both Chey Dunkley and Massimo Luongo could make the squad after returning from injury, but with Jamie Smith claiming that he does not want to rush them back into the starting XI, we expect both players to be named among the substitutes this afternoon.

In other news: Encouraging update emerges on “excellent” Owls ace, Moore and fans will be buzzing – opinion

Kelle Roos faltered on two occasions in Derby County’s crucial clash with Swansea City on Saturday afternoon, and fans took to Twitter to express their frustration.

Wayne Rooney’s side took the lead in the first half courtesy of Tom Lawrence, but former Rams forward Morgan Whittaker equalised for Swansea on 63 minutes.

The Athletic’s Derby correspondent Ryan Conway tweeted that Roos ought to have done better.

“It’s a weak header and he just can’t sort his feet out,” he wrote.

Three minutes later, Swansea scored again to complete the turnaround, as Connor Roberts was given acres of space and punished the visitors.

Conway again noted that Roos hadn’t ‘covered himself in glory’ with his attempt at the save.

SofaScore rated Roos’ performance a 6.0, the lowest in the Derby team.

How much will Roos’ errors cost Derby?

A point would have been enough for County to secure survival ahead of the final day of the season.

But now their clash with Sheffield Wednesday at Pride Park next Saturday will be a relegation decider.

They’ll have to avoid defeat to stay in the Championship, and these fans won’t be full of confidence if Roos is in between the sticks…

Derby fans tear into Roos after Swansea turnaround

“Kelle Roos stopped us getting promoted now relegating us”

Credit: @dcfc53

“Kelle Roos is an embarrassment”

Credit: @DcfcFansTalk

“That is pathetic from Roos, I’m sorry but why is he playing?!? I don’t get it”

Credit: @rooybears

“I’ve seen sturdier poppadoms than Kelle Roos”

Credit: @joeycoxon97

“Has Roos ever had one good game for us?”

Credit: @adamcoynee

“Roos never in a million years a number 1 keeper”

Credit: @Stevemac_25

In other news, see Rams fans’ reaction to this takeover development.

Speaking to Football Insider, pundit and former Tottenham Hotspur defender Alan Hutton has been blown away by the major news of Jose Mourinho’s appointment at AS Roma.

The Lowdown: Mourinho announcement great for Spurs?

Just two weeks after Spurs chiefs opted to sack the Portuguese, coming a year and a half after his appointment at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Mourinho managed to find a new job very quickly.

Indeed, as confirmed by the Serie A side, Mourinho will take charge at the Stadio Olimpico from the 2021/2022 season onwards – with current boss Paulo Fonseca being aloud to finish the current campaign.

This comes as a potentially big financial boost for Spurs according to reports, prompting much reaction from both members of the media (Dan Kilpatrick) and former players (Football Insider).

The Latest: Hutton blown away by Mourinho announcement

Dropping his take in an interview with Football Insider, it’s safe to say Hutton is one of the pundits who have been simply blown away by the surprise announcement.

“Amazing, unbelievable,” Hutton explained.

“Two weeks out a job and then bang, there’s Roma? Unbelievable. What a result for Levy.

“I’m pretty sure he was on gardening leave so that was a lot of money they’d have had to have paid until he got another job.

“It’s worked out well in the end.”

The Verdict: Hutton right to be overjoyed

Reliable reporters from the likes of Sky Sports (via Football Daily) and the Evening Standard have backed suggestions this comes as a major boost for chairman Daniel Levy and the club financially.

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Indeed, journalist Kaveh Solhekol recently revealed that Spurs could be set to save ‘millions and millions’ from the end of Mourinho’s gardening leave once he commences the Roma job.

His salary is reported to be around £13m-per-year (Sky via Football Daily) and Tottenham would have had to keep on paying it despite his dismissal due to gardening leave.

This could have gone on for as long as 18 months (Alasdair Gold), but Mourinho finding a new job so soon will cut the time right down in a big financial bolster.

Amid uncertain times caused by coronavirus, it’s safe to say this does indeed comes as brilliant news for the Lilywhites.

In other news: Tottenham make inquiry to sign this powerhouse, find out more here.

MatériaMais Notícias

A classificação do Atlético-MG à final da Copa do Brasil, feito alcançado na noite desta quarta-feira, fez o técnico Marcelo Oliveira alcançar Felipão, o então único recordista, no número de finais da competição. O comandante atleticano chegou à quinta decisão em um intervalo de apenas seis anos. São três vices e o título do ano passado comandando o Palmeiras.

A carreira de Marcelo Oliveira como técnico alcançou novo status no Coritiba. Foi à frente do Coxa que ele conquistou o Campeonato Paranaense em 2011 e 2012 e, nos mesmos anos, foi vice-campeão da Copa do Brasil – o seu Coritiba foi superado por Vasco e Palmeiras, respectivamente, nessas duas decisões. Após um “hiato” em 2013, Marcelo Oliveira chegou à terceira final em 2014, com o Cruzeiro. E, novamente, ele viu seus comandados serem superados, desta vez pelo Atlético.

A “redenção” de Marcelo na Copa do Brasil veio no ano passado, após ter sido bicampeão brasileiro com o Cruzeiro, mas lidar com muitas críticas pelo desempenho dos seus times em torneios mata-mata. O Alviverde superou o Santos na decisão e foi campeão, garantindo a primeira taça do técnico na Copa do Brasil após três batidas na trave.

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Ao alcançar a quinta final em um intervalo de apenas seis anos, Marcelo Oliveira alcançou a marca de Luiz Felipe Scolari. Felipão foi campeão com Criciúma (1991), Grêmio (1994), Palmeiras (1998 e 2012) e vice com o Grêmio (1995). Felipão que alcançou sua quinta decisão 21 anos após a primeira. Neste “quesito”, o treinador atleticano leva ampla vantagem.

– É muito importante e gratificante. Não é fácil chegar a tantas finais com times diferentes. Tanto no Cruzeiro, no Palmeiras, e até no Coritiba, se falaram muito do elenco, mas depois que nós passamos por esses times, eles não conseguiram chegar à final da Copa do Brasil – disse o técnico, em coletiva.

Marcelo Oliveira dividia a segunda posição em decisões de Copa do Brasil com Levir Culpi, atualmente à frente do Fluminense. Ele foi finalista em 1996 (campeão com o Cruzeiro), 1998 (vice com o Cruzeiro), 2000 (vice com o São Paulo) e 2014 (campeão com o Atlético-MG).

Resta saber se Marcelo Oliveira, ex-jogador do Galo e de diversas passagens pelo clube na condição de técnico, colecionará mais um vice ou será bicampeão da Copa do Brasil tendo pela frente o Grêmio nos próximos dias 23 e 30.

Sheffield Wednesday gave their survival hopes an almighty boost on Tuesday night as they defeated Blackburn Rovers 1-0 at Hillsborough Stadium to move to within four points of safety.

In the absence of manager Darren Moore from the dugout, the Owls edged this close affair thanks to a 37th-minute strike from Josh Windass, taking his tally for the season to nine goals.

And whilst he deserves plenty of plaudits – he did receive YorkshireLive’s ‘Man of the Match’ award – there was another name who was potentially Wednesday’s unsung hero on the night.

Joey Pelupessy.

Keeping that clean sheet was just as important as the 27-year-old finding the net and it was the Dutchman’s bustling energy and drive in the heart of midfield that was most notable, and ultimately infectious towards his teammates.

You’re never going to get anything fancy from the Jos Luhukay signing and truth be told, he’s rarely looked fantastic in an Owls shirt but against Rovers, he has to be given more credit.

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The 27-year-old beast won 83% of his duels – five of six – to dominate his battles and drive Wednesday forward, often giving the ball to Barry Bannan to provide some sort of creativity.

But it is often that dirty work that goes unnoticed. He also chipped in with four successful tackles, which was the most of any player on the pitch – either home or away – and also managed an Owls-high two interceptions, only further proving his ability to read the game perfectly on Tuesday night.

Furthermore, he was a hard man to shake off. From his 36 touches, he only lost possession three times – by far the lowest of any starter on the pitch. He even made 75% of his long balls, and 88% of his 25 passing attempts, as per SofaScore.

These figures were all better than his averages for the campaign, where he has featured 36 times, too.

The Star summed it up perfecting in their post-game column, describing Pelupessy’s display as “unflashy but assured,” also adding: “Wednesday won the midfield battle and Pelupessy was a part of that.”

Indeed that was certainly the case and as a result, Pelupessy was Moore’s, assistant Jamie Smith’s, and the Owls’ unsung hero from this wonderful victory.

He and the side must now back it up with another win this weekend.

AND in other news, “He’s someone who’s always..” – Exclusive: Palmer drops Sheff Weds player claim amid club issues…

Rangers’ deal to sign Glen Kamara for just £50,000 in January 2019 has always been regarded as a bargain for the Ibrox outfit, but Steven Gerrard’s side could be set to make a significant profit on the Finnish international this summer.

Kamara joined for the minimal fee from Dundee in 2019 and has established himself as a key player in Gerrard’s squad in the two years since, going on to make 98 appearances for the Light Blues, in which he has contributed four goals and four assists.

His superb performances for Rangers have not gone unnoticed, however, with a host of Premier League clubs including Newcastle United, Everton, Southampton, Crystal Palace and Sheffield United having all reportedly registered an interest last summer.

Although Gerrard will no doubt be keen to keep Kamara in his squad, a recent report from Football Insider has suggested that the Champions value him at £10m-plus following his impressive performances in both the Premiership and the Europa League this season.

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If the Gers were able to receive that sort of fee for the 25-year-old this summer, then it would represent magnificent business from the club, and they could reinvest that into Gerrard’s squad ahead of the return to the Champions League next season.

Kamara made a huge impression after just a few months at Rangers, with teammate Scott Arfield full of praise for him in May 2019, saying:

“Glen for 50k is the biggest steal of the century. He’s come in and he’s took to life. In terms of coming from Dundee with no expectation on him but in terms of how he plays the expectation arises because he’s such a good footballer and he’s kept that going.”

Transfermarkt has also recognised Kamara’s impressive performances in his time at Ibrox as they now value the midfielder at £4.05m, which represents a significant increase from last summer, when he was valued by the website at just £1.08m.

[freshpress-quiz id=“588789″]

Kamara’s time at Rangers has clearly made him a much better player but, if Premier League sides come knocking again this summer, it would perhaps not be a surprise to see the Gers cash in on the former Arsenal youth.

In other news… Wilson must stand firm with in-demand Rangers wonderkid this summer

Fans of Wolverhampton Wanderers have been reacting to a post on Twitter, in which Tim Spiers shared an article of his concerning Wolves centre-forward, Willian Jose.

In his article for The Athletic, Spiers discussed the fact that, since joining Wolves from Real Sociedad on a five-month loan deal back in January, the 29-year-old has now played 11 hours of football for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side without finding the net once, taking a total of 10 shots and having 19 touches in the opposition box to no avail.

The journalist goes on to claim that the chances of Wolves making the Brazilian’s loan deal an £18 million permanent move this summer – with the club having the option to buy the striker at this figure – appear to be increasingly slim.

And, after Spiers relayed his report on Twitter, fans of Wolves flocked to have their say on the matter, with many stating their belief that the £34,000 per week forward is simply not good enough for Premier League football.

So, what exactly did these Wolverhampton Wanderers fans have to say in reaction to Tim Spiers’ article regarding Willian Jose?

“Didn’t see it last night personally, just think he’s way off the pace at times.”

@Jandersonn94

“No pace, no quality, no goals, no good. Get rid.”

@Curly34008700

“Put him back on the plane now, one of the worst signings we’ve ever made. Looks like a National League player.”

@WolfgarRichie

“Not the level we are looking for at all. If we sign him it shows where our ambition levels are at.”

@casmalta

“No goals, no effort, no chance – send him back in the summer and get someone who can actually score goals.”

@TheAdmiral2153e

“Fabio is so clear of this fraud, send him back to Sociedad.”

@nj_401

“Dire.”

@FW90

“Lazy. Disinterested.”

@Gus2fur

In other news: This well-rounded midfielder is reportedly on Wolves’ radar – find out more here!

Glasgow Rangers fans have been reacting after The Guardian journalist Ewan Murray shared an update on Slavia Prague’s criminal complaint.

The Czech champions progressed to the Europa League quarter-finals on Thursday after beating the Gers 2-0 at Ibrox. However, the match was marred by an incident of alleged racism, with Rangers midfielder Glen Kamara saying he was racially abused by Ondrej Kudela.

Slavia have moved to deny the allegations, and even said Kamara hit Kudela on the back of the head in the tunnel (slavia.cz). They threatened to lodge a criminal complaint against the 55-time Scottish champions, but Murray has revealed Police Scotland have so far received no word from Slavia. He also mentioned the Czech embassy in London has now got involved.

Murray shared the update on his official Twitter page, and it attracted plenty of attention from the Gers supporters. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts, with a couple of movie references along the way.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the update from Murray below

“That mob will be signing Jason Bourne at this rate”

Credit: @ian_barrie

“Seen a couple vids of the lad today and he looks alright, so if there was an “assault” in the tunnel did they set some wrong rules….”

Credit: @monkjohnson82

“Not sure that makes any sense? If they are making a complaint what’s it to do with the Czech embassy?”

Credit: @scott41mcd

“I welcome an open honest investigation.I don’t believe the racist was assaulted.Looking at him when boarding buses, there were no obvious signs of a beating.Albeit mask covered much of his face,but they wud surely have publicised pics of his bruised face etc it it were true.”

Credit: @ElaineBoyle4

“This is totally embarrassing……”

Credit: @joe_black1509

“I want to say Tom Cruise just got in a helicopter”

Credit: @3Michelenstar

In other news, Alan Hutton has suggested this Rangers ace could leave the club this summer.

According to reports, Tottenham Hotspur recently had a bid rejected for AS Roma centre-back Roger Ibanez.

The report by Voce Giallorossa (via Sport Witness) claims that Ilario Di Giovambattista revealed both Tottenham and Leicester City made recent offers of €30m (£25.7m) for Ibanez, who just signed a permanent deal with Roma having initially been on loan from fellow Italian outfit Atalanta.

According to Di Giovambattista, both Jose Mourinho and Brendan Rodgers have been tracking the £18m-rated centre-back for some time and will continue to do so despite the 22-year-old officially becoming a Roma player in recent weeks.

Transfer Tavern Take

Considering that Ibanez has impressed over his 22 Serie A appearances for Paulo Fonseca’s side this season, with the defender’s average WhoScored match rating of 6.92 ranking him as the club’s sixth-best performer in the Italian top flight, the claim that Spurs have been keeping tabs on the Brazilian is not overly surprising, considering Mourinho’s desire to sign a new centre-back last summer.

However, it is more difficult to believe that the club would have offered a large sum of money for Ibanez in the January transfer window, as the Tottenham manager himself stated the club would not likely be doing any business in the winter market.

Indeed, Sport Witness suggested that Di Giovambattista’s claims could well be an attempt to make Roma’s business appear in a better light with the club’s supporters, which seems a much more plausible scenario.

In other news: Tottenham are also monitoring this attacker, find out more here.