Sunderland were dealt a major setback on Sunday as they fell to a 1-0 defeat at promotion rivals Coventry, a result which saw the Sky Blues extend their lead over Phil Parkinson’s side to six points.

The only positive from the weekend was Rotherham’s draw with MK Dons, meaning the Black Cats are still only four points off the automatic promotion spots, though they did drop to fifth place.

Parkinson went with an unchanged line-up once more and was unfortunate not to find an equaliser, with Charlie Wyke particularly guilty of missing some good chances – sending a first-half header over the bar from a few yards out for example.

Watch Sunderland Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

Supporters aimed criticism at his performance after the match and there have now been some calls for the 27-year-old to be dropped in favour of Will Grigg, who hasn’t featured since December.

The Northern Ireland international has been unfavoured by his manager possibly due to his lack of goals and poor physicality, averaging just 1.5 aerial duels won per game compared to Wyke’s 4.1.

However, with Sunderland chasing the game on Sunday and in need of something different it is a little surprising that Grigg wasn’t considered, even if he does only have three goals this season.

Some fans are still supportive of the player despite his inadequate contribution this term, suggesting that he should have been given a chance against Coventry and must be an option from now on.

Not all fans are keen to see Grigg back in action, however, arguing that his problem is not just a lack of ability but also poor attitude, an issue that doesn’t exist with Wyke or Kyle Lafferty.

Whose Line Is It Anyway: Michael Owen, Garth Crooks or Mark Lawrenson?

Meanwhile, fans have also been criticising a first-team regular this season who has seen his form dip in recent games…

Pedro Chirivella has issued his thoughts following Neil Critchley’s departure from Liverpool.

The Reds midfielder – who has spent most of the campaign playing under Critchley in the Reds’ U23 ranks – took to his official Twitter account to share a message after the 41-year-old left Anfield to take up the role of Head Coach at Blackpool.

Critchley would usually be in the shadows given his role, but Jurgen Klopp shone the spotlight on him twice this season when vacating the touchline for Liverpool’s Carabao Cup quarter-final tie against Aston Villa, and then again for the club’s FA Cup fourth round encounter with Shrewsbury.

Liverpool lost 5-0 to Aston Villa while Klopp, Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and others were on Club World Cup duty, although Critchley achieved perhaps his finest moment as a coach when he recorded a 1-0 win over Shrewsbury at Anfield.

Chirivella – who has made 11 first-team appearances for Liverpool – shared his heartfelt thoughts on Critchley following his exit, which you can see below:

In other news, Troy Deeney was spotted poking fun at Virgil van Dijk in the tunnel before Watford beat Liverpool…

Sunderland dropped more crucial points on Saturday but former player Stephen Elliott thinks the result was totally avoidable and laid blame for the draw at Phil Parkinson’s door.

What did he say?

The Black Cats scored in the last ten minutes to seemingly wrap up all three points, only for Mikael Mandron to equalise for the visitors with one of the last touches of the game.

It is a result which adds another dent in Sunderland’s promotion bid, making it three games without a win in a pivotal moment of the season.

Phil Parkinson’s team dominated for large spells, achieving 62% possession and six shots on target, but Elliott still feels that a key failing of the manager was responsible for the dropped points.

In a tweet he wrote after the match, Elliott said:

“Think Parkinson should have changed it today. Why has he brought Scowen and John to the club? Deserved the plaudits after a good run but surely he has to recognise that the team needed freshening up after last few performances.”

There is a lot of truth to what the former striker says, as the only change from the Coventry defeat was Kyle Lafferty taking the place of the unavailable Charlie Wyke.

Costly stubbornness

Sunderland fans have grown increasingly frustrated recently that underperforming players like Wyke and Denver Hume continue to start, particularly as the likes of Lafferty and Declan John were added in January to provide an alternative in the positions they play.

Lafferty’s two goals against the Gills show how effective he can be, considering that was his first start since joining.

Watch Sunderland Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

It is concerning, therefore, that the only reason he got his chance was because Parkinson couldn’t pick Wyke. Now, especially as fatigue could be a factor after conceding so late on, the Black Cats boss must be open to change, and look to give others in his squad a chance.

From Jay-Z to Tom Hanks: Do you know which clubs these famous celebrities support?

Josh Scowen and John, the two payers mentioned by Elliott, both have Championship experience and could provide a big boost to the team if they were to start. A failure to even test them out now appears to be holding Sunderland back.

Meanwhile, Sunderland have made their feelings perfectly clear about one aspect of the team following Saturday’s draw…

John Moncur was a special guest on the We Are West Ham Podcast and talked about the recent emergence of Jeremy Ngakia in the senior squad of David Moyes.

Even though he is still officially a player of West Ham’s U23 squad, Ngakia has been something of a regular presence in the east London club’s right-back position in the last few weeks.

And the youngster hasn’t disappointed so far, drawing all sorts of praise from Moncur who hailed him for his natural talent and even compared him to Aaron Wan-Bissaka as well.

Here’s what he said for the We Are West Ham Podcast (11/3/2020): “He’s got a lot of natural talent. He eats the ground up and he looks good at times going forward. He reminds me a little bit of Wan-Bissaka. He’s leggy and he’s a good defender. He’s hard to get past.”

Ngakia has so far played a total of four games for West Ham and has also remained on the pitch for the full 90 minutes in all of those clashes, three of which have unfortunately been defeats.

But it seems that Moyes trusts him enough to let him start games regularly now and whenever such a promising young talent emerges from the youth squad, it’s a big bonus since you’re basically getting him for free.

It’ll be interesting to see how he develops in the near future.

West Ham fans, what do you think about Ngakia? Do you see him as a big talent capable of playing for the seniors? Let us know down in the comments below!

West Brom centre-back Semi Ajayi has clearly been enjoying his time off after uploading a video of his fresh new haircut to

/B-Ff0LbgCqN/” data-lasso->Instagram this week, and it’s sparked a reaction from two members of the Albion setup.

The summer signing has been a frequent figure in Slaven Bilic’s backline this term, starting 35 league games whilst also contributing with five goals, per Transfermarkt.

His different look has seen both winger Kyle Edwards and assistant manager Danilo Butorovic reply with the following remarks…

The two responses were in a light-hearted joking manner, and it only goes to show that without training and regular fixtures, there really isn’t much they can do other than keeping up with their own fitness levels.

For just £1.5m, Ajayi has arguably been one of the steals of the season as the Baggies find themselves sitting in second place with a six-point advantage over those in the playoff positions.

Life after football: Do you know what all of these former players did next?

Only a major collapse stops them from returning to the top-flight after a two-year absence – you’d imagine.

And in other news, talkSPORT got West Brom pre-season call ever so wrong…

Sky Sports transfer expert Kaveh Solhekol has made a strong claim about Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho ahead of the summer transfer window, in a Transfer Talk Q&A.

What did he say?

Well, Solhekol was asked by a fan whether the Portuguese boss was genuinely happy with his squad ahead of the next window, and his answer was pretty clear.

He told Sky Sports: “There’s no chance that Jose Mourinho is happy with his Tottenham squad. Spurs were all over the place before the season stopped. They lost four and drew two of their last six games. They had no strikers. They were knocked out of the FA Cup by Norwich at home. They were knocked out of the Champions League without laying a glove on RB Leipzig.

“When Mourinho got the Spurs job, he said he was happy with his squad. He didn’t mean it. He was just saying the right thing. There are problems all over the Spurs squad and it’s going to take more than just one window to fix them. And somehow he has to convince Daniel Levy to spend big again.”

The Greatest Bargains in Premier League history – How much did they cost?

World Class score: 95% | Expert score: 80% | Veteran score: 65% | Intermediate score: 45% | Amateur score: 30% | Try Again: 5%

Solhekol went on to say that as well as needing to keep hold of Harry Kane, they probably also need at least six new faces.

Is he right?

It certainly wouldn’t be a surprise if he was right about Mourinho’s thoughts.

Spurs look to have a decent enough squad on paper, but far too many of their players have underwhelmed during the 2019/20 campaign to date.

Their form before the current halt to proceedings tells you all you need to know as Solhekol has pointed out, with no striker available and a leaky defence costing them over and over again as they were knocked out of the FA Cup and the Champions League.

It is clear that the backline needs to be a priority for Tottenham in the summer, with the likes of Hugo Lloris, Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen – if he signs a new contract – not the players they once were, while there are questions marks over whether the likes of Davinson Sanchez, Ben Davies and Serge Aurier are good enough to be regular starters.

Solkehol says that Tottenham need to spend – presumably also to keep Mourinho happy.

Over to you, Daniel Levy.

In other Tottenham news, talkSPORT pundit Adrian Durham has launched a brutal attack on Jose Mourinho & Harry Kane…

Liverpool fans are reflecting on a goal scored by Yossi Benayoun back in 2009 against Fulham in order to send the Reds to the top of the Premier League.

In a tense game that looked sure to end as a stalemate, Liverpool’s Israeli winger thumped a last-gasp strike home in order to clinch all three points and send his side to the top spot in the league (via The Guardian).

Benayoun spent three years with the Merseyside outfit after joining from West Ham in 2007 for a fee of £6.5million (via Transfermarkt). He went on to become a Liverpool centurion after making 134 appearances for the club, scoring 29 goals and assisting 19 in that time (also Transfermarkt).

Reds fans are remembering the day the winger pulled off his heroics at Craven Cottage and reminiscing over where they were and what they were doing at the time. One supporter has recalled watching the match and there being ‘limbs everywhere’ when Benayoun netted the winner, whilst another has said it was ‘total bedlam’.

What are your memories of Benayoun? Join the discussion by commenting below… 

Crystal Palace have had some seasons to forget over the years, but there have been some moments that have really sent the Eagles fans into fits of rage.

Here’s a look at just a few of them…

Christian Benteke penalty miss

In a moment where it mattered the most, club-record signing Benteke failed to step up and deliver for his team. In the match against Bournemouth, Palace could have been on their way towards climbing out of the relegation scrap after a golden opportunity presented itself.

Following a foul on Wilfried Zaha, Benteke fought off his teammates and put himself forward to take the spot-kick despite not scoring in over six months. He wrestled the ball away from Luka Milivojevic, who is of course known for his pinpoint set-piece accuracy.

Every Crystal Palace fan must have had their head in their hands when the Belgian scuffed his shot and saw the penalty saved. Fortunately, the Eagles stayed up that season, but Benteke’s selfishness had sent his side hurtling to the bottom of the league table and could have cost them deeply.

Isolation Busters: The only quiz you need to cure your boredem

World Class score: 95% | Expert score: 80% | Veteran score: 65% | Intermediate score: 45% | Amateur score: 30% | Try Again: 5%

Luka Milivojevic red card vs Derby

Earlier this year, Crystal Palace hosted Derby County in the FA Cup third round. Not only were they handed an early exit from the competition but their skipper was shown a straight red card for his scuffle with Tom Huddlestone.

Originally handed a yellow card, the Eagles thought they’d gotten away with the captain’s unprofessional bust-up, but after VAR made a historic overturn, Milivojevic was given his marching orders.

Fans were absolutely livid with the Serbian’s behaviour, with many demanding he be stripped of the captaincy.

Wilfried Zaha’s transfer request

The likelihood of Zaha leaving Selhurst Park has increased over the last couple of seasons as Crystal Palace have failed to put any major stamp on their performances. However, the nature of their star man’s transfer request rubbed some Eagles supporters up the wrong way.

The Ivorian announced he wanted to leave the club last summer with just three weeks of the transfer window left. The club had already rejected offers from Arsenal and Napoli with Everton still keen on the winger.

Although some Palace fans acknowledged it wouldn’t be long before Zaha left the London outfit, many were irritated at his latest approach and stated it was ‘too late’ to leave.

Celtic fans have been discussing one of their former players on social media this week, and evidently, he is someone that they wish was still playing in the green and white hoops.

One account on Twitter asked fans to give their thoughts on ex-defender Erik Sviatchenko, who left the club in the summer of 2018.

The single toughest football logo quiz of all time…

World Class score: 95% | Expert score: 80% | Veteran score: 65% | Intermediate score: 45% | Amateur score: 30% | Try Again: 5%

The 28-year-old recorded 63 appearances across his two seasons in Glasgow before returning to FC Midtjylland initially on loan before making the move permanent.

He’s now the captain of the Danish side and has featured 24 times this season, including their two Europa League qualification games against old rivals Rangers.

Most of the Bhoys faithful have been lauding him as an underrated figure during Brendan Rodgers’ reign, one that should still be around at Celtic Park.

Neil Lennon currently has several options in the centre-back role, including Kristoffer Ajer, Christopher Jullien, Hatem Abd Elhamed and Jozo Simunovic.

Here’s what fans have been saying about their former star…

AND in other news, Celtic fans discuss Mohamed Elyounoussi future…

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsIan Bell played some elegant stokes to steer England’s path to victory•PA Photos

Stumped Kieswetter bowled Tredwell is hardly the commonest entry on England scorecards, but it dominated proceedings at Lord’s as England took a 2-1 lead against South Africa in the NatWest series with one to play and as a result ensured they would complete the series at the top of the ODI rankings. India will have the opportunity to claim that status when they face England in January.Three times, James Tredwell lured a South Africa batsman down the pitch and three times Craig Kieswetter completed a stumping. It was the first time an England wicketkeeper had pulled off three stumpings in a one-day international and it set them en route to a comprehensive six-wicket victory with 20 balls to spare.Ian Bell, with 88 from 137 balls, ensured England’s run chase would stay on course, a task not entirely straightforward with the floodlights piercing the gloom and mizzle causing a 20-minute stoppage. He fell with victory in sight, making room to cut Dale Steyn, South Africa’s one bowler of menace, over the off side and edging to the wicketkeeper, his man-of-the-match award assured. Craig Kieswetter completed victory to cheers by depositing Steyn fox six into the pavilion.Bell’s Warwickshire team mate, Jonathan Trott offered, grim, indeed grimacing, support, in a second-wicket stand of 141 in 31 overs, batting on gamely for 48 after being struck on the hand during a fiery opening spell from Steyn, who also removed Alastair Cook lbw in his first over with a high-class inswinger. Trott, not as much as a Bear with a sore head as a Bear with a sore hand, will have a hospital scan on Monday morning.Trott took a blow on the hand in Steyn’s third over and needed pain-killing spray and tablets as he batted on manfully in obvious discomfort. One uppercut over point off Tsotsobe Lonwabo was followed by a curse at the discomfort and he settled for wise deflections thereafter. Not that it would have unduly bothered him.Like Trott, Tredwell is a representative of an unglamorous species. His very appearance, unassuming in manner, deliberate in tread and economical of hair, accentuates the impression. He does not even deal in Graeme Swann’s happy brand of kidology. But South Africa will give more attention to this thoughtful Kent cricketer after his figures of 3 for 34 gave England an advantage they never relinquished.It was an influential toss for England to win on a murky, overcast September morning. Their catching and fielding was again sketchy, but at least the Tredwell/Kieswetter combination was working well. JP Duminy, who had looked fallible against Swann’s off spin earlier in the summer, was the first batsman removed, in Tredwell’s second over. Then he returned in his second spell to defeat de Villiers’ expansive drive and extended the habit by finding appreciable turn past Wayne Parnell’s outside edge.Tredwell’s success transformed his morning. He has the convivial air of a suburban doctor and any self-diagnosis changed from feeling decidedly poorly to tip-top condition. He began by dropping Hashim Amla at second slip, not a habit designed to make winning cricket matches any easier. Amla had 5 when Finn found the edge and Tredwell, fingers pointing downwards as the ball reached him at shoulder height, fumbled a chance he made more awkward than it might have been. England have been dropping Amla throughout the summer and have given him more than 500 additional runs since the start of the Test series. Here they also lose their review in attempting to have an lbw call overturned.Ravi Bopara, who was unfortunate not to have Amla lbw, belatedly removed him for 45, seaming the ball back a little into the stumps as he defeated a loose drive. It was the sort of classically English late-season day when Bopara’s wobbly medium pace had an influential role to play. But Bopara’s batting was again found wanting, an unfocused innings ending cheaply when Ryan McLaren defeated a lethargic drive.Tredwell, the latest addition to a rickety England close-catching cordon, also missed Graeme Smith at slip off Finn when Kieswetter dived across him and unsettled his view, the ball striking him on the body; they were a happier couple when they were a length of the pitch apart. Smith’s reprieve was not too costly for England as Dernbach surprised him with a bouncer which he top-edged through to the keeper.Once he and Amla departed, many who followed lacked the same threat. De Villiers, with 39 from 45 balls, got himself into a position to play a decisive innings before Tredwell pushed one a little wider for the stumping, but Faf du Plessis is horribly out of form as he proved when he unwisely tried to run a ball from Bopara against the Lord’s slope.Elgar is another South Africa batsman who has been inhibited in English conditions. His 35 occupied 59 balls before he tried to pull Finn’s slower-ball bouncer and gloved to the keeper. Ryan McLaren was run out the next ball, Finn’s disappointment when a good appeal for lbw was refused turning to delight when Dernbach dashed around the boundary at third man and hit the stumps direct.That South Africa made as many as they did was largely thanks to a highly-imaginative unbeaten 31 from 20 balls by Robin Peterson, the highlight of which was a reverse hit over extra cover for six into the Grandstand. But South Africa’s one-day side lacks the balance and certainty that the Test XI displayed so emphatically.