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Some Leicester City fans have been left to fume at some details that have emerged of their FA Cup semi-final game against Southampton.

As per the official website of the King Power faithful, the match will be played on Sunday 18th April at 6:30pm and will be shown live from Wembley Stadium on BT Sport.

This has caused some anger among Foxes supporters given that some of them do not have access to the TV channel and so would much rather have had it on one like the BBC.

It has also caused a stir that the fixture will be played on a Sunday evening, with most LCFC fans having to work the next day and so may not have much time to celebrate reaching the final of the competition should they beat Ralph Hasenhuttl’s team.

Leicester fan reaction to FA Cup news

These Leicester fans fumed upon learning of the news on Twitter, with one even going as far as to claim that it was a ‘joke’:

“What weapon has decided this?”

Credit: @Olliehorton_93

“Absolute joke. 6.30pm on a Sunday is no time for a football match to KO.”

Credit: @Greg_Gibson

“Evening kick off you absolute weapons!!! Get your coats on lads!!”

Credit: @Georginho1987

“6:30pm on a Sunday for a semi-final, Jesus wept #lcfc #FACup”Credit: @MrJoeStratford”Ikr, I can’t watch it now either! We’ll have to rely on Stringer and Piper instead”Credit: @Marco21Cardoni”Why on BT sport not BBC ????”Credit: @normcastleIn other news, find out what news on one Leicester ace has got fans talking here!

Celtic’s managerial vacancy is one of the most talked-about gigs in world football right now.

Of course, the Hoops are a massive club so they likely won’t have any shortage of suitors in their hunt to replace Neil Lennon.

Big names like Roberto Martinez have been linked with the vacancy but another name mentioned in recent days is Thierry Henry.

He has recently left his role with Montreal Impact in MLS due to family reasons but a number of coincidences have occurred since. Indeed, the man he wanted as his number two a few years ago, Julien Stephan, has left his role at Rennes.

That provoked journalist Robin Bairner to comment the following on Twitter: “Interesting that Stephan has quit just days after Thierry Henry left Montreal. Henry wanted Stephan to be his assistant at Monaco but Rennes refused permission to talk. Could they team up, Henry as figurehead, Stephan as the coach?”

Described as someone with “a science to football” by Radamel Falcao, his coaching methods have drawn mixed results. He was sacked as manager of Monaco after just three months for instance.

That being said, it would certainly be an interesting line of approach for Celtic to take but it could be game-changing in keeping one of their star players.

Odsonne Edouard has regularly been linked with a move away, most recently to Arsenal. Given the mass interest and Celtic’s trophy-less season, it would be very difficult to keep him in Glasgow. That being said, he is a man that Henry rates incredibly highly.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-celtic-manager-hunt-stories-wagner-marsch-martinez-lennon-news” title=”The last stories on Celtic’s hunt for a new manager!”]

Speaking about the relationship between the two last year, Ally McCoist told talkSPORT; “I spoke to Thierry Henry at the Liverpool vs Leicester City game and he really rates Edouard. He was saying in France in particular [he’s rated] and he personally really, really thinks he’s got a chance of going right to the top.”

Henry, of course, is a legend of the French game and there would be few better strikers to learn from than the Arsenal great.

He is one of the most lethal strikers we’ve seen over the last two decades and if Henry sees Edouard as someone who could reach the top, he’d surely be central to his plans at Parkhead.

Of course, a move to a bigger club may be on the cards but surely a man of Henry’s influence in French football could sway him to stay?

After all, why wouldn’t he want to learn from a master craftsman in Henry? The 43-year-old could take him to the next level and help him earn an even bigger move than may initially be on the cards.

This has the potential to be a dream combination. Dermot Desmond needs to see if it can become a reality.

AND in other news, Celtic may have their new Ajer in 17 y/o “hungry talent” never-seen in the first team…

Former West Brom midfielder Carlton Palmer has urged his old side to persist with Sam Allardyce even if they get relegated, in an exclusive interview with Football FanCast.

10 points adrift of safety, it is looking increasingly likely that the Baggies will go down this season, a development that would cast doubt over Allardyce’s future at the club.

The 66-year-old admitted last month that he does not know if he will still be in the Hawthorns dugout next term, with there said to be a break-clause in the 18-month contract he signed in the middle of last December to replace Slaven Bilic.

For Palmer, though, whatever happens, West Brom should stick with the man they currently have at the helm. Speaking exclusively to FFC about Big Sam’s future, the ex-England international said:

“I think it’ll be a win-win [Allardyce staying] because I can’t see Sam getting another job in the Premier League. Sam’s worked with those players, knows those players. He’s a very, very good manager. So I believe if they [get relegated and] keep Sam, they’ll come straight back up.”

The Midlands club continuing with Allardyce makes sense, even if they do end up getting relegated. The former England manager is more than familiar with the Championship and has managed to achieve success in the division in the past.

In the 2011/12 season, he guided West Ham back to the Premier League via the play-offs, laying the foundation for them to become an established top-flight outfit again, with the Hammers not seeing relegation since.

After beating Newcastle 2-0 at the weekend, Aston Villa return to Premier League action on Wednesday night when they travel to Turf Moor to take on Burnley.

Dean Smith’s side have looked in imperious form this season, finding themselves just six points off a top four place but with three games in hand on West Ham.

Burnley, meanwhile, just appear to have picked up a bit of form, first beating Liverpool at Anfield in the Premier League, before dispatching Fulham in the FA Cup fourth round.

With a European spot firmly in their sights, Smith will no doubt look to go as full strength as possible for the game against the Clarets tonight. And with that in mind, below is a look at just how Villa might line up.

The back-five should remain unchanged with Smith clearly settled on Emiliano Martinez in goal, and Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Tyrone Mings and Matty Targett in front of him – they’ve mainly been responsible for Villa conceding just 18 goals in 17 league games this season.

In midfield, with Burnley’s better defensive solidity compared to Newcastle from the other night – Sean Dyche’s side have let in just 22 goals compared to the Magpies 34 – Smith may be tempted to start Jacob Ramsey to give Villa a bit more offensive thrust alongside Douglas Luiz.

Further forward, Ross Barkley could drop out of the starting line-up after a disappointing performance against the Magpies, with the England international being substituted in the second-half after tiring quite badly.

The Birmingham Mail gave the 33-cap ace a 6.5 match rating, the lowest of any Villa starter, and said: “Back-to-back starts now for Barkley after such a long layoff. He felt it in terms of his fitness as the game went on and was rightly taken off as he was breathing heavy.”

If Barkley’s given a rest, Jack Grealish could move inside, with Bertrand Traore on one flank and Trezeguet potentially returning to make a start on the other after his own comeback from injury.

And up front, Ollie Watkins will be hoping to continue from where he left off the other day, after breaking his goal-scoring drought.

Predicted XI: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Targett; Luiz, Ramsey; Traore, Grealish, Trezeguet; Watkins.

Meanwhile, Villa could land a Barkley upgrade in this Brazilian…

Many Southampton fans were not impressed with winger Nathan Redmond during his side’s Premier League clash against Chelsea at St Mary’s.

The 26-year-old made his seventh start of the season after playing a bit-part role in Ralph Hassenhuttl’s side during the 2020/21 campaign.

Redmond started alongside Takumi Minamino in attacking midfield with Danny Ings playing as the tip of the Saints’ attacking force, replacing Che Adams who has failed to score since December.

The English trickster found himself struggling down the right-hand side due to Chelsea’s adventurous fullbacks out wide, coming out second best in the majority of his individual duels – as per Sofascore, he lost a whopping nine of his ten 50/50s.

He did however play a part for the Saints’ goal before the break, providing the assist for Takumi Minamino’s strike.

That action didn’t see him escape the wrath of supporters, who were furious that the £16.2m-rated Redmond was selected ahead of Adams and did not sugarcoat their words when making their feelings clear on social media.

Redmond fails to impress these fans

Can we take off Redmond already please, can’t hold the ball to save his life #saintsfc”

Credit: @LiamEyre25

Back four. Still, no idea where Redmond fits into this team ahead of Adams. At least give Ings something to work with… Prove me wrong, Redz. #saintsfc

Credit: @StMarysMusings

I can take McCarthy in goal, I can take Djenepo at Rwb but what has Redmond done in the last few games to warrant starting at ST #SaintsFC

Credit: @mattcw0410

“Never seen a more disinterested team! #SaintsFC Redmond out for a Sunday jog, Ings not chasing down the keeper like he usually does!”

Credit: @SaintsFCFanZone

“Redmond giving @SouthamptonFC nothing. Useless every week. Get him off and give others a chance #SOUCHE #SaintsFC #COYR #redmondoff thank you minimino!”

Credit: @TheKingydelay

“Need to put on Kayne Ramsay & Che. Take off Djenepo & Redmond. Redmond in particular has done nothing and I can’t for the life of me understand why Ralph is playing him upfront”

Credit: @ODagogo

In other news, Mark Halsey reacted to controversial Southampton incident – EXCLUSIVE.

Nir Bitton’s display against Hamilton a few weeks ago was impressive. It was safe, resolute and most importantly, there was no drama or fuss.

Considering Celtic have been so disastrous defensively this season, it was a welcome change.

The Hoops have shipped 19 goals in the Europa League and they have also conceded ten more goals than Rangers in the league, despite playing on three fewer occasions.

We issued claims that Bitton had begun to solve some of Neil Lennon’s issues but in the Old Firm derby, he was undoubtedly the biggest letdown.

The Israel international was sent off and consequently, the Bhoys tasted defeat against their bitter rivals.

If there was ever a timely reminder of the problems Lennon has, it was there for all to see last weekend. Thus, in January the club simply have to find a new centre-back.

If they don’t, it must be their main focus in the summer window.

Fortunately, someone capable of fixing their defensive struggles has presented themselves. That happens to be Motherwell colossus Declan Gallagher.

A source close to Gallagher told The Daily Record this week: “He is desperate to play for Celtic and in the current climate, he would be a brilliant signing.”

Gallagher is out of contract at the end of the season and thus, could either be available for a cut-price fee or on a free transfer in several months time. Celtic are now supposedly monitoring his situation alongside Blackburn, Hibernian and Aberdeen.

If the move did go through, it would be a humongous upgrade on the player that was shown a red card against the Gers.

Bitton has proven himself to be an inconsistent figure at Parkhead and in Gallagher, they’d have one of the best players aerially in the entire division.

He has won a mammoth 83 aerial duels this term – the 16th highest in the SPFL – which means he is above Bitton. The Celtic defender has only won 3.7 aerial duels per game compared to Gallagher’s 4.2.

Furthermore, he wins more tackles a match – 1.5 compared to Bitton’s 0.8.

Standing at 6 foot 6, there aren’t many taller players in the league. Dubbed a “complete player” by former Motherwell boss Steve Robinson, he would be an astute acquisition from Nick Hammond.

Celtic must tie things up for the seven cap Scotland international as quickly as possible.

AND in other news, Forget Laxalt: Celtic must swoop for 21 y/o who makes defenders do “very silly things”…

West Brom’s pursuit of a new defensive midfielder has taken them in a new direction if emerging reports this weekend are to be believed…

What’s the word?

According to the Mail on Sunday (17/01, page 150), the Baggies are eyeing a move for Real Betis powerhouse William Carvalho this transfer window.

Albion boss Sam Allardyce is thought to be determined to land a holding midfielder before the end of the month, having been linked with Leicester City’s Hamza Choudhury in the past week, as per the Express & Star.

The 66-year-old also told reporters, via BirminghamLive, that three loan moves had fallen through, so reports linking the Midlands outfit with a move for the former Sporting Lisbon man is certainly intriguing, to say the least.

Big Sam’s next Nzonzi

It’s hardly a surprise that Allardyce is looking for a proper anchorman as the current West Brom side does not have one, aside from rarely-seen academy graduate Sam Field.

Big Sam has had many a top player in the role throughout his long managerial career – at Bolton, there was Fernando Hierro and Ivan Campo, whilst in charge of West Ham, he had Mo Diame and Mark Noble.

Although the most interesting comparison has to be made to Steven Nzonzi, who he signed at Blackburn Rovers in 2009.

The pair are both rangy, imposing 6 foot 2 plus monsters and most importantly, are out-and-out holding midfielders. Both have even been likened to Patrick Vieira, so it’s a fair assessment to suggest they are cut from the same cloth in terms of playing style and for their physicality.

“You can see [Carvalho] as a mix between Yaya Touré and the classical Patrick Vieira,” wrote the Guardian before the 2014 World Cup.

Indeed, his figures throughout the course of his career reinforce this perspective – as per WhoScored, the 28-year-old enforcer has averaged 1.6 tackles, 1.4 aerial duels won, 1.3 dribbles and one interception per game over 172 appearances.

This shows that defensively, he’s a brute as he’s making tackles on a very consistent basis, whilst the fact that he can hold onto the ball makes those Vieira comparisons all that more true.

Such dribbling numbers would rank him alongside the dynamic Matheus Pereira whilst no other Baggies central midfielder wins as many duels in the air, also per WhoScored.

The Baggies have leaked more goals than any other team in the top-flight this season, so the addition of an anchorman could help shore up a leaky backline and as evident above, Carvalho, who has been capped 63-times for Portugal, would be an ideal candidate to bolster the position.

“He’s an amazing player with fantastic passing ability for such a strong holding midfielder,” once lauded international teammate Tiago.

Whilst his performances at Euro 2016 drew glowing praise from Rio Ferdinand too, he told BBC Sport (via the Metro): “He’s a giant, he’s huge. What is most impressive was his calmness and he’s secure with the ball.”

He’s won the European Championships and the UEFA Nations League, so perhaps the £18m-rated brute is an even better option than the aforementioned Choudhury.

It’s on Luke Dowling and co to sanction this move.

AND in other news, Fewer touches than Button: £9m-rated lightweight will have Big Sam fuming…

This is a complex time for Celtic.

Heading into their clash with AC Milan on Thursday evening, it looked as though it was the worst possible time to face one of the giants of European football.

The Hoops were already knocked out of the competition and had nothing to play for. Perhaps with the pressure off it would have helped proceedings, but confidence was at an all-time low.

Celtic had won just two of their last ten matches before last night and their 2-0 defeat against Ross County marked the nadir of the season so far.

To put things simply, Neil Lennon is in real bother.

They are 11 points of the pace in the SPFL and as a result, he could be sacked. The man tasked with replacing him might be Mark Hughes, that’s if Peter Lawwell views him suitable.

The idea of Hughes heading to Parkhead was brought up last week by Paul John Dykes on A Celtic State of Mind podcast. “Mark Hughes is a name that’s cropped up over the last few days, I think the Celtic support are kind of divided on that one.”

You can understand why they’re a bit split on Hughes. At Southampton, he had a win percentage of just 18.5%.

That being said, the Welshman has traditionally overachieved and took Fulham to an eighth-place finish in the Premier League during the 2010/11 campaign.

Hughes then worked wonders with Stoke, establishing them as a top-half side in the Premier League, lifting the Potters to three straight ninth-place finishes.

Once he lost his job at Stoke, his profile was given the complete assessment by BBC journalist Phil McNulty: “There have been peaks and troughs in that career, but it is unlikely a man whose quiet exterior masks a fierce passion and determination to succeed is ready to walk away from management at a relatively young age.”

Lo and behold, he joined Southampton and for Celtic’s sake, they will have to hope he is ready to jump back in and take on the Hoops hot seat after some more time away.

His overachievements are notable on his CV but it’s the coaching that stands him apart from Lennon, someone who is reportedly still using Brendan Rodgers’ training methods.

It’s long been suggested that Lennon needs to balance his coaching staff properly and bring in his own men, but that wouldn’t be a problem with Hughes.

That’s because, in every job he’s had, he’s been joined by the same two people – Mark Bowen and Eddie Niedzwiecki.

In terms of banishing the nightmare Lennon appears to be having at Lennoxtown, Hughes would be pretty perfect.

He already has a structure and a balanced coaching staff – something Lennon has never had.

In other news, Celtic should regret missing out on their next Arzani… 

West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen repeating his 2018 masterclass will be key to David Moyes beating Leeds United in the Friday night Premier League kick-off.

The Irons visit Elland Road looking to move fifth in the standings with a win, while the hosts strive to put another three points on the board having tasted victory just once in their last five top-flight fixtures.

Bowen has faced Leeds on four occasions throughout his career but only deprived Marcelo Bielsa’s side of the win once, when his brace in December 2018 tormented the Argentine in a complete performance Moyes will need to see the 23-year-old replicate.

Bielsa has been a huge advocate of Bowen’s talents from facing the Leominster-born forward in the Championship, and will hope he will not be on the receiving end this week with the forward presently West Ham’s top scorer in the Premier League with four goals.

“You know how he plays. This season we can see a lot of good attackers in every team and in most of the teams, not just those at the top. This is a very good player who unbalances the team. And he scores because he has a good shot,” Bielsa said, via quotes by Leeds Live.

“We don’t underestimate inferior opponents, so we prepare ourselves for the worst situation. In this case, he’s a great attacker but we keep working in the same strategy and keep trying to improve this.”

Leeds kept Bowen quiet the last time the West Yorkshire outfit faced the former Hull City winger, who Tigers boss Grant McCann lauds as an “exceptional” talent, but are well aware of his threat from his dazzling display in December 2018.

Bowen was the standout player as Hull shocked Elland Road to record a 2-0 win, with the 23-year-old touching almost every blade of grass as he drifted from touchline to touchline imposing himself on players Bielsa will name to face West Ham on Friday night.

Bielsa has already confirmed that from the side which lost to Hull two years ago, Luke Ayling, Ezgjan Alioski, Kalvin Phillips, Mateusz Klich and Jack Harrison will feature while Illan Meslier, Stuart Dallas, Liam Cooper, Rodrigo Moreno, Patrick Bamford and Raphinha come in.

Bowen had his way with Leeds up against Harrison and Barry Douglas, forcing Bielsa to bench the pair in the second-half, having won six of eleven ground duels and one of two aerial contests whilst netting a brace from just two shots on target, per SofaScore.

The £96,154-per-week attacker turned creator to register a key ball and delivered one cross, too, while winning one of his two dribbles, took 39 touches and forced Leeds into three fouls.

He consistently thwarted the Whites’ attacks with three clearances, blocked one shot, made four interceptions and two successful tackles, and Moyes will need to see the man he signed for £22million deliver at a similar level if West Ham are to emerge victorious on Friday night.

AND in other news, David Moyes would throw an “outstanding” £30m West Ham star under the boss with his brave plan to beat Leeds United.

Carlo Ancelotti must be cautious in any efforts to sign Tottenham Hotspur defender Davinson Sanchez amid reports James Rodriguez wants his compatriot to join him at Everton.

What’s the word?

According to Don Balon, Rodriguez would like to see the Goodison Park outfit pursue a potential deal for Sanchez to move to Merseyside and take their Colombian contingent up to three.

It is understood Rodriguez has discussed the potential move with Blues boss Ancelotti, who gave the midfielder the green light to argue the benefits of life at Everton with Sanchez while the pair shared a dressing room with fellow Toffees ace Yerry Mina during the October internationals.

Rodriguez joined Premier League leaders Everton from Real Madrid this summer in a deal reportedly worth between £12m and £20million, though also claimed to be free by his former side Banfield, and he has already proven his worth with three goals and three assists in six Premier League appearances.

Sanchez is a key aspect of Jose Mourinho’s backline at Spurs, with the Portuguese tactician favouring the 24-year-old in four top-flight starting line-ups and all three of the north London side’s Europa League qualifying ties.

A deal to lure the Caloto-born centre-half away from Tottenham would not come cheap, as it is claimed Everton would be willing to pay €45m (£40.6m) for the imposing colossus to up their Colombian contingent and recreate the international unit on Merseyside.

Rodriguez has “spoken wonders” of Everton and the coaching staff at Goodison Park in the hopes of convincing Sanchez of a move, but the Spurs man intends to wait until the end of the season before deciding on his future in order to see if Mourinho can secure any success.

Ancelotti must tread carefully

While Don Balon claim Ancelotti gave Rodriguez the green light to argue the benefits of life at Everton, the Italian would be wise to tread carefully in any pursuit of the Tottenham defender, especially at the £40.6m figure touted.

Sanchez has frequently been the subject of criticism during his time in north London, with former Chelsea star Tony Cascarino of the belief Mourinho considered the centre-back to be a weak-link during the 2017 Europa League Final while in charge of Manchester United.

“I can tell you for nothing that in 2017, when Manchester United played Ajax in the Europa League final, which they won, I know before the game that Davinson Sanchez was a target for Manchester United,” Cascarino, who used to work on Dutch Football, told talkSPORT.

“That was one of the tactics that Jose used thinking he was a weakness. He’s now in the heart of the defence of Spurs. A guy that Jose obviously didn’t rate and saw as a weak-link on the night and tried to expose him and they did.”

Sanchez was sold to Spurs for a then-club-record £42m shortly after the 2017 Europa League Final and has been a regular in north London when fit since, but is yet to shrug the concerns from three years ago and would be a very expensive gamble by Everton just to appease Rodriguez.

AND in other news, Carlo Ancelotti has landed a big break but it comes as an unfortunate blow for a “talented” Everton ace.