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Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, former Premier League midfielder Carlton Palmer believes the criticism that Gareth Bale has received this season has been fair.

Given the impact Bale made during his first spell at Tottenham and what he managed to achieve at Real Madrid, much was expected of him.

However, the 31-year-old has been unable to replicate the sort of form that made him such a popular figure at White Hart Lane first time round, failing to nail down a regular spot in Jose Mourinho’s starting XI, including being left on the bench and featuring for zero minutes in the win against Aston Villa on Sunday.

As a result, Bale has come under fire, though ex-Manchester City and England defender Micah Richards recently came out to defend him, believing the Welsh forward has been disrespected to a certain degree.

Palmer, however, is not too sure and feels Bale should be delivering more. Discussing the Wales international, who is on loan from Real Madrid, the retired Premier League footballer told FFC:

“I think everybody would have expected that Gareth would have done better than what he’s done. Of late, he’s started to show signs of the old Gareth Bale, but you can’t just go off what people have done in the past and say that you should give him respect.

“He’s not come over to Tottenham on a free transfer and on small wages. He’s come over on a huge salary. If he was honest and if Jose was honest, they would have both wanted his impact to be more.”

In recent weeks, Bale’s form has certainly picked up. He scored two goals in Tottenham’s 4-1 win against Crystal Palace at the start of the month and another two prior in a 4-0 win versus Burnley.

However, before that, he was having very little influence on the pitch, really struggling in front of goal when called upon, making the criticism he has faced this season unsurprising.

Former Premier League striker Marlon Harewood has given the thumbs up to Rafael Benitez to Celtic in an exclusive interview with Football FanCast.

Following the resignation of Neil Lennon last month, Celtic are in need of a new permanent manager, and Benitez is just one name that has been linked with the job.

The 60-year-old Champions League-winning boss is currently available after leaving Chinese Super League outfit Dalian Professional earlier this year, so he would be free to join the Bhoys in a move that would be massive for the club, according to Harewood.

Speaking of the possibility of Benitez in the Celtic Park dugout, the ex-Aston Villa and West Ham forward exclusively told FFC:

“It’d be good if they can get him. Wow, that’d be a massive appointment for them. Obviously, it’s hard when you talk about [Scottish] football [to ignore] Celtic. Everyone looks forward to the Celtic-Rangers games.”

Harewood, however, did question whether the Glasgow club could convince the ex-Liverpool manager to join. He added: “It’s hard to get a manager to go up there and be excited, so they obviously have to get a package together for him to go up there.”

After losing the SPFL title to rivals Rangers and missing out on 10 in a row, Benitez is exactly the type of manager Celtic could do with.

With experience in England, Spain and Italy, winning multiple trophies during his time in those three countries, the Spaniard has the kind of pedigree that could help Celtic wrestle the title back from his former player and progress in Europe.

It remains to be seen just how interested Benitez would be in the gig at Celtic Park if at all but, even so, he is an option that surely has to be considered.

Many Arsenal fans were left to slam the display of Pablo Mari in the first half away at Leicester City in the Premier League at Sunday lunchtime.The central defender was partially at fault for the early goal that was scored by Youri Tielemans as he failed to close down the Belgium international in the box, who ended up having a free shot on goal and thus blasted the ball past Bernd Leno into the far corner of the net.It made Mikel Arteta’s quest of taking all three points away from the King Power Stadium that much harder as they found themselves 1-0 down very early on again, following an early goal conceded last week at home Manchester City through a Raheem Sterling header.Nonetheless, it is a piece of defending that Mari will not want to look back on.

Arsenal fan reaction to Mari display

These Gunners supporters slammed his performance in the first half on Twitter, with one Gooner even going as far to say that the 27-year-old Spaniard was ‘abysmal’:

“@YankeeGunner one for the Mari haters that! Shocking goal to concede. Terrible from Xhaka, Willian and Mari”
Credit: @BradleyPowell04
“Mari man what are you doing brother?”
Credit: @NotZuZmeister
“Mari’s positioning was horrendous”
Credit: @soundnajib

“How do Mari and Elneny just watch Tielemans run 30+ yards and let him get a shot off?? Bad!”

Credit: @capitalgunner

“That’s abysmal by Mari and Elneny.”

Credit: @afcsidd

“Awful defending…. Elneny or Mari need to get out and shut that down… Xhaka is never going to catch him on that recovery sprint.”

Credit: @DanArsenalHQ1

In other news, find out whose display was slammed versus Benfica here!

Marcel Brands will rue failing to offload Muhamed Besic to Reading on Deadline Day after they declared their late interest in the Everton midfielder.

What’s the word?

According to the Liverpool Echo, the Madejski Stadium natives eyed a late swoop for Besic after turning attentions to Goodison Park in the final hours of the winter transfer window.

Royals coach Veljko Paunovic is said to be a fan of the 28-year-old, while Besic would have been keen to secure a move to the Championship side.

Reading’s interest emerged with less than four hours remaining of the mid-season market but it led to another failed exit for the Bosnia and Herzegovina international, after a move to Rangers in October failed to materialise.

Besic has played no part in Everton’s 2020/21 campaign after being omitted from Carlo Ancelotti’s 25-man Premier League squad.

And while he spent parts of pre-season training with the Toffees first-team, he has since been working with the Under 23s to maintain his fitness.

The £2m-rated enforcer only has six-months remaining on his £30,000-per-week contract and he is likely to now leave Everton as a free agent at the end of the season.

A missed opportunity

Reading’s interest in Besic will represent a missed opportunity for Everton, and specifically, their Director of Football Brands, who would no doubt have wanted to get the Roberto Martinez signing’s salary off the wage bill.

Everton are currently paying Besic to not play, with the 28-year-old not even turning out for David Unsworth’s junior side, having been omitted from each of the U23s’ Premier League 2 fixtures this term.

The Blues managed to offload Cenk Tosun and Jonjoe Kenny’s wages for the time being with the duo departing on temporary deals with Besiktas and Celtic, respectively, while Yannick Bolasie sealed a loan move to Middlesbrough that will run until his Everton contract expires in the summer.

Despite Reading’s interest coming so late, Brands should have moved heaven and earth to see that Besic moved to the Madejski Stadium.

Yet Besic remains on Merseyside to train, stay fit and look ahead to pastures new, knowing he can now reach pre-contract agreements all the while offering nothing to Ancelotti or Everton, despite picking up £30,000-a-week.

AND in other news, the exit of a £28k-p/w dud is great news for a “gifted” Everton outcast…

Alongside the several potential new players Celtic have been linked to this window, they also have their eye on a new manager. The Mirror recently reported that Rafael Benitez is in the picture to usurp Neil Lennon as head coach of the Glasgow giants, following his decision to leave his role in China.

No decision has been confirmed yet and Lennon is still very much in charge of the Hoops, but if he is to be shown the door, the club have a lot to thank him for.

Not only did the Irishman lead Celtic to their historic quadruple-treble accolade, alongside several Premiership titles but he has developed players like Ismaila Soro and David Turnbull into proven first team players.

The 2020/21 season has undeniably been tough on the Bhoys, who are down and out in their chances of securing a tenth consecutive Premiership trophy. They were also handed an early exit from the Europa League after conceding the joint-most amount of goals (19) and managing to win just one match out of the group stages.

With a crisis on their hands, Lennon was forced to rummage around in the substitutes barrel. Taking a punt, the boss took a chance on 2020 signings Turnbull and Soro. This is one of the smartest decisions Lennon has made this season and if he is to part ways with Celtic, he will leaving two ready-made stars in his wake.

According to Transfermarkt, Turnbull has contributed six goals and three assists for Celtic this season, despite only making his first start in October. He has been the difference for his side on numerous occasions, including his goal to secure a point against Hibernian earlier this month.

Soro has also made a vast difference to Celtic’s midfield and has taken the place of Scott Brown on several occasions. According to WhoScored, the 22-year-old has averaged a higher passing accuracy than the Hoops skipper and more interceptions and tackles per match.

This goes to show the benefits of Lennon taking a risk as he desperately tried to turn this season on its head. Whilst he hasn’t achieved what he wanted, he can be proud that he has developed two overlooked players into solid and reliable starters.

In other news, Carlton Palmer believes Benitez would be good coup for Celtic…

David Moyes’ decision to field West Ham United winger Jarrod Bowen as a makeshift centre-forward against Brighton and Hove Albion backfired horrifically on Sunday.

Bowen was fielded in a central role to serve as the middleman between striker Sebastien Haller and captain Mark Noble, with an emphasis on pushing high up the field at the London Stadium.

Instead, most of the work Bowen could muster at home to the Seagulls saw the former Hull City maestro backtrack into Irons territory, before seeing his reputation spared any further damage when replaced by Andriy Yarmolenko at half-time looking absolutely knackered.

West Ham’s inability to dictate the flow of proceedings in the opening 45 minutes hindered Bowen’s hopes of making a move into a central role work, with the £25m-rated playmaker unable to find the needed space to create or the end product when openings developed.

Brighton’s buoyant start left Haller isolated without his attacking partner able to get close, while even Bowen’s deliveries from set-pieces was woeful with the 24-year-old failing to find a teammate with 50 per cent of his four corners taken.

His SofaScore heatmap from the Seagulls affair even showed the right-hand corner flag to be where a majority of Bowen’s 25 touches were taken, as he laboured to a mere seven successful passes, misplaced his two open-play crosses, offered zero key balls and missed the target with his sole shot before being hooked.

The £96,000-per-week forward further lost possession 10 times, though won three of his four ground duels, and will be desperate for the hectic festive schedule to end in order to earn a welcome rest having started all 15 of the Hammers’ Premier League fixtures this term.

Moyes will now be forced to go back to the drawing board ahead of West Ham’s trip to Southampton on Tuesday night looking to resolve his creativity crisis, that left the Hammers forced to come from behind twice to snatch a point at home to Brighton.

Yarmolenko is unlikely to be Moyes’ answer having endured a frustrating cameo against Brighton, as the Ukraine international’s direct runs caused the Seagulls problems but often without a decisive end product.

AND in other news, a West Ham gem who’s “not been at the races” betrayed David Moyes vs Brighton.

Crystal Palace take on West Ham United on Wednesday night, and manager Roy Hodgson provided an update on the squad. He pointed out that the club have one injury concern before the clash.

The latest from the Eagles manager

Speaking in his press conference previewing the West Ham game, Hodgson said: “The only player missing from training this morning was Mamadou Sakho. He will need to be assessed. Other than concern for Sakho, only the long-term absentees remain unavailable.”

Is this a big blow for Palace?

Speaking earlier this season following Sakho’s return from injury, Roy Hodgson praised the former Liverpool man’s work ethic in getting back to fitness as ‘incredible’.

His injuries have been an issue as they have seen him miss over 375 days of football since he joined the Eagles (Transfermarkt). However, he has been a key player for the club when fit, especially in the 2017/18 campaign. It was arguably his best, as he managed 1.1 tackles, 1.6 interceptions, and 5.2 clearances a game (WhoScored). If he could rekindle this form, then there is no doubt that Palace should keep him long-term.

The South London side do have an abundance of experience at the back, and reliable pairing Cheikhou Kouyate and Gary Cahill seem like first choice currently for Hodgson, but they are now one injury away from being dangerously thin in that department.

In other Palace news, have a read of a bizarre statistic about the club which fans aren’t happy with here!

Carlo Ancelotti would tarnish his Everton record by completing a deal to sign Sami Khedira in January after the Juventus outcast confirmed that talks had taken place.

What’s the word?

While speaking with Bild, Khedira has confirmed he’s spoken with Ancelotti over a potential move to Goodison Park in the mid-season market as the German continues his search for a route out of Turin.

The 33-year-old has been excluded from Andrea Pirlo’s plans at the Allianz Arena this term, while knee surgery and a tear in the abductor muscle saw Khedira make his most recent Serie A appearance in November 2019.

Reports have suggested Khedira has accepted the fact that his future no longer resides with Juventus, who would like to offload his gargantuan £185,000-per-week contract that runs until the summer.

Khedira has no intentions of waiting until his deal lapses before joining a new side, feeling there is still enough strength and energy in his elderly body to bring something to the pitch again.

“We spoke on the phone and wrote. You know my situation,” Khedira said of talks with Ancelotti. “I’m open to a new sporting challenge.

“I have had a difficult time and want to play football again, fighting for three points week after week. That’s what I long for.

“At the moment, I still have so much strength and energy, so I am not dealing with summer 2021 but with December and January. A change is realistic, my full focus is on that.”

Ancelotti to tarnish transfer record

Ancelotti persisting with a move to sign Khedira, who Shaka Hislop said of last year his “legs are gone”, would see the Italian tarnish his record in charge of Everton just months after setting the tone with the captures of James Rodriguez, Allan and Abdoulaye Doucoure.

It appeared a sizable coup for Everton to sign Rodriguez from Real Madrid after winning two Champions League titles and two La Liga honours, plus a Bundesliga crown while on loan with Bayern Munich. Something the Blues would only have hoped to build on in future windows.

Khedira would not be the next step in the right direction, though, but rather the opposite, with Ancelotti showing himself to be living firmly in the past by signing another player he worked with years ago.

Everton’s need for a player like Khedira, who turns 34 in April, has also been questioned by former England international Rob Lee, who exclusively told Football FanCast that Ancelotti ought to look elsewhere to solve his real need in the Blues squad.

“Are you buying him for his name and what he’s done in the past? Do they need him? I’m not sure they do. I’m not sure he’s the sort of player they need,” Lee claimed.

“It’s strength in depth what they need. Is he going to come in and be a bit-part player? Probably not. Just hope they are not going to sign him just for the sake of his name.”

AND in other news, a “hungry” Everton maestro is fast becoming Carlo Ancelotti’s main man.

Whilst Kevin De Bruyne’s missed penalty may be the biggest cause for frustration amongst Manchester City fans following their 1-1 draw against Liverpool on Sunday afternoon, Rodri’s performance was really disappointing.

As per SofaScore, the Spanish midfielder picked up a worrying 6.0 rating for his display against the 2019/20 champions, which was the joint-worst of any player on the pitch.

Whilst the defensive midfielder’s passing wasn’t too sloppy during the game, with him picking up a pass accuracy rate of 84%, with 56/67 of his passes finding their mark, he still managed to lose possession on 13 occasions during the game against Jurgen Klopp’s side.

Of the six ground duels he was involved in, he managed to win just one, whilst he failed to win his one aerial duel during the game, suggesting that he certainly wasn’t at his sharpest against the Reds.

Since joining from Atletico Madrid for £56.43 million last summer, the 24-year-old has gone on to make 63 appearances for Pep Guardiola’s side, contributing four goals and two assists (per Transfermarkt).

Last season, the midfielder made 35 appearances in the Premier League, averaging a very strong 7.09 rating, whereas this season so far has seen him average a much less impressive 6.76 rating for his performances in the top-flight (per WhoScored).

This suggests that, so far this season at least, the £57.6 million-rated man has not been at his best for the Citizens and perhaps this is reflected across the whole team, with the Etihad Stadium outfit sitting in 11th position in the Premier League after their opening seven games (per BBC Sport).

Both Rodri and Manchester City will have to improve on their performances following the international break if they want to re-establish themselves as title hopefuls, although they face another tough game in their next Premier League fixture when they face Tottenham Hotspur away from home.

Loads of Everton fans were left fuming over the possible exit of Dominic Calvert-Lewin to play under Ronald Koeman at Barcelona.

According to Spanish news outlet Mundo Deportivo (via The Toffee Blues), the former Everton manager is interested in reuniting with the 23-year old in Spain.

Incidentally, Calvert-Lewin did not have the best of times playing under Koeman, as he only managed to score four goals and provide three assists in 28 games in all competitions at Goodison Park, as per Transfermarkt.

However, the striker has been much-improved so far this term, scoring no fewer than nine goals in just six matches over all competitions, including scoring a hat-trick in two separate games (per Transfermarkt).

Therefore, it is perhaps not a surprise that Koeman is interested in signing him, and the Dutchman may well make his move in the January transfer window.

Everton fan reaction to possible Calvert-Lewin exit

These Everton supporters on Twitter were raging over the possibility of Calvert-Lewin leaving the Toffees:

Evertonians, would you sell Calvert-Lewin for the right price? Comment below with your views!