All posts by h79snht.top

Everton have joined Crystal Palace in putting their name in the hat for the FA Cup semi-finals. Unlike the Eagles, the Toffees had to take on opponents of the highest calibre in Chelsea (no disrespect to Reading), and came through in stunning style.The game itself was a drab affair until the last 15 minutes, when Romelu Lukaku sparked a fantastic finish with two quick-fire goals. Shortly after Diego Costa received a second yellow card, a feat which was swiftly matched by Gareth Barry. Quite the ending.So, Everton march on and Chelsea have a long drive back to London in which they can further pick apart the bones of what has been a dreadful season. But, what did we learn from the explosive 90 minutes at Goodison Park? Well, here are FIVE lessons…

Chelsea’s season is over

In the space of just a few days Chelsea have been eliminated from the Champions League and FA Cup. When this is rolled into the fact that it’s near impossible for them to qualify for any form of European competition via the league due to their poor form all season, it becomes clear that Chelsea have nine games left to play and nothing to play for.

Blues fans must be hoping that the coming few months will fly by!

Lukaku made a point

Okay, it’s all been said before… Chelsea must feel pretty silly for not giving Lukaku a chance. Granted, £28m for his signature from Everton in the summer of 2014 was excellent business, but with Diego Costa having struggled this term, it’s likely there have been some envious glances towards the blue half of Merseyside as the Belgian continues to plunder goal after goal.

Lukaku’s opening mazy effort showed all that he’s brilliant at, with the 22-year-old bulldozing in from near the touchline, bypassing defenders aplenty on his way, before drilling the ball low into the net. It wasn’t majestic, but it was effective, and minutes later he blasted another to seal the game. Point well and truly proven.

John Stones needs to improve

From being the talk of the transfer rumour mill last summer, Stones has been somewhat found out this season. In fairness, Everton’s open style of play doesn’t help their two centre-backs, but the England youngster has been below par in terms of form of late, and was dropped to the bench this evening by Roberto Martinez, even though it was, arguably, the Merseysiders’ biggest match of the season.

We’re certainly not writing off the starlet, but he needs to buck his ideas up.

Diego Costa embarrassed himself once again

Diego Costa spat at the refs feet and gets away with it. pic.twitter.com/nOO8dc2rFU

— Troll Football (@TrollFootball) March 12, 2016

All evening the Spaniard was playing on the ragged edge. We all know that what his game relies upon, but when he’s not performing well his actions are just embarrassing. From seemingly spitting towards referee Mike Oliver in the first half (above), Costa continued to stalk the pitch like a man possessed until just after the 80th minute it all boiled over as a clash with Gareth Barry resulted in a red card.

Considering he has such talent, it’s a shame to see the ex-Atletico Madrid man’s reputation eroded yet further.

Pato’s Chelsea future looks bleak

Alexandre Pato is yet to make an appearance for Chelsea. He signed on loan for them on the 2nd February… Even if he was, as we suspect, not fully fit upon his arrival from Corinthians, surely he should be ready to play now? Alas, the Brazilian was once again nowhere to be seen, with Guus Hiddink dropping him from his match-day squad altogether, even though Diego Costa is still nursing his own fitness problems after being forced off during Wednesday’s Champions League loss against PSG.

The clock is ticking, and with Chelsea set to have another manager in charge next season, Pato has little time to prove himself.

Aston Villa’s official Twitter account spoilt what could have been a lovely day out for a fan today. The account had wished the fan good luck, but Steve went on to see his side get utterly humiliated by Liverpool at Villa Park and further increase the chances of Villa’s relegation.

Steve had tweeted to the club about his long journey, they were some torturous flights to watch a torturous game.

Other fans quickly bit back at the club and demanded some sort of compensation for the committed fan, would you travel that far for your club?

Randy Lerner doesn’t even splash the cash on players, so its hard to see that he will be putting much of his money in the pocket of a customer… (fan).

Unfortunately, not everyone was quite as sympathetic to our travelling friend.

Aston Villa are having one of the worst campaigns you could imagine and it looks like even their social media team needs upgrading.

The Championship is one of the most exciting and unpredictable leagues in Europe. Whilst many English fans mock the second division, supporters around the world watch it with a close eye, making it actually one of the most viewed leagues in Europe.

And this season has been particularly exciting with the race for promotion twisting and turning every week. Old Premier League favourites have struggled to get into gear, whilst some outfits have surprised, flirting with the prospect of the play-offs for most of the season before falling away entirely.

But the three front-runners Middlesbrough, Burnley and Brighton are currently leading the way and it looks like they are here to stay.

Whilst teams like Hull have fallen away, the three Bs have kept pace and are now leading the fight for automatic promotion as we head into the final crunch games of the season.

Middlesbrough are arguably the favourites as they sit top of the division, but with Burnley and Brighton both only two points behind, things could still change massively at the summit. One of these will end up in the play-offs, which is always a bitter blow if you’ve been in a title charge for the majority of the season, but that’s what makes the Championship so special.

Middlesbrough have been impressive for the entirety of the season, and were in the mainstream media not long ago after that bust-up between Aitor Karanka and his players a month or so ago. After a controversial defeat, the Argentine told his stars he didn’t want to manage them any longer, and a furious set of events ensued. But the club’s chiefs managed to calm the situation, he came back and they’ve been impressive since.

An intense 1-1 draw with Burnley on Tuesday halted their progress somewhat, but prior to that they’d won six on the spin – impressive stuff.

Burnley on the other hand haven’t been too bad either. Led my Sean Dyche, their immediate form hasn’t been as impressive as Boro’s, but they have a canny knack of being able to get out of a hole, and that was proved on Tuesday as they grabbed a last-gasp equaliser to stop Middlesbrough in their tracks.

Under Sean Dyche the Clarets have a manager that knows the league well and that can get them out and into the Premier League. It’s always tough but if you want anyone for the job, Dyche would be the man.

Nine goals in two games from Chris Hughton’s Brighton have also made certain teams stand up and take notice. The Seagulls are supported well at home week-after-week and have pushed their two rivals all the way. A 4-0 drubbing of QPR on Tuesday was needed in order to keep pace and they have every chance come the end of the season if they can keep pace.

Things will surely change as the season comes to an end, but this could be one of the most exciting Championship finales in years.

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GERMANY

Qualified as: Group D winner

Top scorer in Qualifying: Thomas Muller (13)

Key Player: Mesut Ozil

Manager: Joachim Lowe

The world champions will be determined to assert their dominance on the continental scene as well, possessing a squad as talented and experienced as any other involved in Euro 2016. Die Mannschaft have lost some key players since their World Cup triumph through retirement, most notably Phillip Lahm and Per Mertesacker, but still boast one of international football’s most potent goalscorers in Thomas Muller, who netted 13 times in qualifying, eleven during the last two World Cups and epitomises their supreme blend of technique, tactical awareness and physicality. Arsenal star Mesut Ozil and deep-lying playmaker Toni Kroos are the combined brains of the operation in midfield, whilst Jerome Boateng and Mats Hummels offer world-class quality in defence.

UKRAINE

Qualified as: Play-off winners

Top scorer in Qualifying: Andiry Yarmolenko (4)

Key Player: Andriy Yarmolenko

Manager: Mkyhaylo Fomenko

Ukraine’s progression through Euro 2016 will depend on a defence that conceded just four times in qualifying and the efforts of their two stellar attacking threats at the other end of the pitch; Yevhen Koloplyanka, one of just four players in Mykhalo Fomenko’s squad not to ply his club trade in Ukrainian football, and in-demand Dynamo Kiev star Andriy Yarmolenko. They provide quality and long-range netting prowess from the flanks but if there’s one thing Ukraine worryingly lack, it’s a striker who scores goals regularly at international level.

POLAND

Qualified as: Group D runner-up

Top scorer in Qualifying: Robert Lewandowski (9)

Key Player: Robert Lewandowski

Manager: Adam Nawalka

Poland are unfortunate enough to find themselves once again in the same group as bitter rivals Germany, who finished above them in qualifying. Accordingly, Adam Nawalka’s boys can probably hope for a second-place finish at best but they are privy to a talismanic front-man in Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski, who has bagged a career-best 42 goals across all competitions this season. Likewise, Grzegorz Krychowiak of Europa-League-winning Sevilla fame offers defensive protection in midfield, whilst Lukasz Piszczek and Jakub Blaszczykowski are famed for their partnership down the right flank.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Qualified as: Group F winners

Top scorer in Qualifying: Kyle Lafferty (7)

Key Player: Steven Davis

Manager: Michael O’Neill

Northern Ireland will be determined to prove they’re not at Euro 2016 simply to make up the numbers, especially after the limelight of qualifying as group winners was somehow eclipsed in the British media by Wales’ runner-up finish. But Michael O’Neill faces some difficult choices; Chris Brunt, an experienced international who brings real quality and experience to the side, is absent through injury, whilst top goalscorer Kyle Lafferty has spent the majority of the season rotting in Norwich’s reserves. Nonetheless, Northern Ireland boast a well-bonded and familiar squad, more than aware of where their strengths do and don’t lie.

KEY FIXTURE – POLAND VS UKRAINE (June 21st)

Considering Germany are likely to dispose of their Group C opposition rather comfortably and Northern Ireland could find themselves drastically out of their depth, second place appears to be a fight between Poland and Ukraine – two teams boasting a few top-class names but limited quality overall. So by the time they meet in the ultimate fixture of Group C, Ukraine and Poland could find themselves in a straight-up playoff for runner up. With political subplots aplenty, it’s shaping up to be a real firecracker of a match.

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Watching England’s performances over the past two weeks leaves you with the impression that some of those players in France just shouldn’t be there.

Roy Hodgson had a plethora of talent at his disposal for this tournament and although everyone understands that the England boss can only take so many with him, it is about time that Roy woke up to those that just aren’t performing.

It’s not that they are not performing in France, but they have struggled all season long with injury and/or a drop in form, which does make you wonder why Mr Hodgson decided to choose them.

Roy is a very dignified man of the old school and he’s obviously taken the majority of the players based on loyalty alone. How else could the likes of Henderson, Milner and Wilshere be out there when there are others more capable. Surely it’s about winning matches?

With this in mind, West Ham have four players who would have given heart and soul for the cause. They would have been eager, enthusiastic and better than some already wearing the Three Lions badge. Hodgson, however, is colour blind when it comes to claret and blue. For whatever reason, he can’t see those particular colours and persists in those that are, at times, truly awful.

Time to remind Roy Hodgson about West Ham’s England quartet because with them it could have been an easier ride to the last 16…

Mark Noble

A lot has been said about Mr West Ham’s omission from the final 23.

In his finest season yet, Noble led a successful West Ham side to seventh and broke record after record along the way.

Combative in midfield and capable of scoring goals, he is hands down better than Henderson.

Noble can pass, intercept and tackle better and anyone who has seen the lamentable Liverpool man last season must surely see that Mark Noble would have been the better choice.

Although Noble is three years older than Henderson, his performances should not have gone unnoticed, unless you are Roy Hodgson.

England will no doubt face a penalty shoot-out, they always do. Who better to take a spot-kick?

Andy Carroll

Injury-prone, yes, but a definite handful for any defence.

It would have been interesting and mildly amusing to watch the unsuspecting European defences trying to contend with the 6ft 2in striker. His powerful heading ability is beyond any of the other forwards in France, his ability to cause chaos would have been a sheer joy to watch and for a big man, his footwork is very neat.

Although, Carroll would never have started a game, he would have been a great dice to roll in the last fifteen minutes. Against Slovakia, England needed a big man in the middle to mix it up and Carroll would have been perfect instead of the tired Kane and the ineffective Vardy and Sturridge.

Michail Antonio

At 26-years-old, Antonio player is nearing his peak. After transferring from Forest on the final day of the transfer window last summer, Antonio had to bide his time for a first team opportunity, but when his moment came, boy did he snatch it with both hands.

The flying winger scores goals as well as being a half decent right back when required. He must be an England player of the future and will need to keep up his performances to get that elusive first cap. Many will say that he only played one season.

True, but on the evidence of Marcus Rashford, you don’t need to play a whole season. Eight league goals, eleven in all matches and talent – come on Roy, what are you waiting for?

Aaron Cresswell

Despite Danny Rose’s inclusion in the final 23, Cresswell is a far better option.

An ever-present since Big Sam bought him from Ipswich, Hammer of the Year in first season and the left back delivers in every game.

He is a superb crosser of the ball and likes to link up with the forward play. He defends exceptionally well and there’s no one else at West Ham to touch him in that position.

At 26 he is still right for England and a replacement for Rose, who doesn’t start every game for Spurs. What more does Cresswell have to do Roy?

Yet again when England come calling, they bypass the claret and blue. It’s happened before and it’s disappointingly happening now. Hodgson obviously favours bigger clubs, but bigger isn’t always better.

The best thing any young player can hope for is to earn the respect of your first team manager. Imagine struggling away in the development squads for years to then be given the chance and to then reap the rewards after turning in a couple of decent pre-season performances.

And the latest man making waves at Anfield is lung-busting winger Sheyi Ojo, who is known around the area for his break-neck pace down the wing.

He’s had somewhat of a taste of senior football in the near past after he spent time with Wigan Athletic and Wolves but he’s expected to have much more of a senior role at Liverpool in the upcoming season, despite Sadio Mane’s arrival this summer.

But as hinted at above, he’s earned the praise of Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp during this pre-season, most notably for his impressive performance in the game against AC Milan, which the Reds won 2-0.

An impressive statistic also read this week that Ojo has been directly involved in 12 goals in his past 13 appearances for the Reds, showing just how much of an influence he can be when he is in-form. But it was his manager who backed up this statistic, with a glowing praise for his young starlet.

Klopp said of Ojo after the game: “Sheyi is a wonderful player that’s for sure and his future is 100 per cent at Liverpool. We don’t have to make decisions so early – we have time and we have to use the time”.

Praise indeed, but what does it mean for the immediate future and will Ojo be able to force his way into the first-team right away?

Perhaps not no, unless injuries play a serious part in the coming days. It seems unlikely that Jurgen Klopp would drop the likes of Mane, Firmino, Coutinho, Markovic and even Wijnaldum to give Ojo his chance. But we’ve seen stranger things in football and with the early rounds of the League Cup on the horizon, Ojo may be given the chance to shine on this smaller platform. And after that, who knows. He might be given some minutes in the league, if Klopp doesn’t have a loan move in mind.

But Ojo does have a particular strength over some of his fellow attackers in that he is naturally left-footed. Whether this is enough to earn him a starting berth on the wing is yet to be seen but if it’s something that sets him aside from some of his team-mates, then it gives him an added chance.

It’s always good to have plenty of options and with Liverpool set to have another busy campaign, the addition of Ojo as a first-team player could in fact feel like a new signing.

He has promise by the bucket-load.

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On the surface, it may seem a silly question. After all, Thierry Henry is not an easy man to replace. How many clubs find a new record goalscorer straight after parting with one? How many clubs sell their star player to Barcelona and instantly fill the void with a signing of equal or superior quality?

After Liverpool lost Luis Suarez to the Nou Camp giants in summer 2014, they finished four places and 22 points worse off than the campaign previous. Less than 18 months later, they even instigated a change in management – a chain reaction that started with the Urugayan’s £65million move to La Liga.

But in the case of Arsenal, we’re not talking 18 months or a few seasons down the line. It’s been nine years since Henry made the same journey as Suarez and for one of the most successful clubs throughout the Premier League era, who have annually qualified for the Champions League under Arsene Wenger’s watch, not adequately replacing the iconic forward is a failing that deserves scrutinous attention.

Excluding youngsters who barely saw the light of day, winger-forwards who only took the central role in dire straits such as Alexis Sanchez and Lucas Podolski, utter flops and the simply ridiculous career of Nicklas Bendtner, we make it seven front-men who’ve been charged with the task of undertaking Henry’s goalscoring mantle – albeit, with hugely varying levels of expectation – since his departure in 2007.

As you can see, some have performed notably better than others, starting with the unfortunate case of Eduardo. He arrived as Henry’s direct replacement, almost crossing each others’ paths exiting and entering the Emirates, but a cruel twist of fate in the form of a harrowing leg break ended the Croatian’s Arsenal career before it had truly begun. The striker scored just 21 goals in three seasons for Arsenal, before fading into relative obscurity with Shakhtar Donetsk.

At the opposite end of the spectrum of Henry successors, we have the short-lived but potent Emmanuel Adebayor and former captain Robin van Persie who, unlike the Frenchman, both did Arsenal the grave disservice of jumping ship to direct Premier League rivals.

The Togo international enjoyed the most fruitful campaign of his career with the north Londoners, finishing Arsenal’s first season in the absence of Henry, 2007/08, with 30 goals across all competitions. It may not have been fully-fledged Henry territory but it wasn’t far off and only Cristiano Ronaldo finished up with more Premier League goals that season. But the financial allure of Manchester City prevailed and the African attacker left just one year later. If he’d stayed at the Emirates, things could have panned out differently. But what we know from Adebayor’s turbulent spells with City and Tottenham Hotspur suggests he would’ve never quite filled Henry’s shoes.

Van Persie, meanwhile, is unquestionably the closest Arsenal have possessed to a genuine replacement for their all-time leading goalscorer. Like Henry, the Dutchman was converted from a winger into a striker by Arsene Wenger, a transition that truly came to the fore as he finished as Arsenal’s top scorer in two consecutive seasons – the biggest dominance any Arsenal striker has asserted over the club’s goal charts since Henry’s run of seven straight campaigns. But almost combining the tales of Adebayor and Eduardo, van Persie’s Gunners career stuttered through injury problems before ending with a controversial move to Manchester United. Once again, the potential to truly fill Henry’s void was never quite filled.

Currently, of course, Arsenal’s attack is headed by Olivier Giroud, a striker who constantly divides opinion. Underrated to some, loathed by others, the Frenchman’s goal tally is what raises the biggest question marks. 0.44 goals per match is nothing to be sniffed at, but it’s still shy of Chelsea’s Diego Costa, 0.48, Liverpool’s Daniel Sturridge, 0.58 and Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero, 0.66. Likewise, whilst RVP, 0.48, and Adebayor, 0.44, arrived as developing youngsters and even played in less advanced positions on occasion, Giroud was purchased as an established striker and has been utilised in that role exclusively since 2012.

Regardless, the fact of the matter is that all the aforementioned, and more, never truly came close to rising above Henry’s almighty shadow. As we’ve already alluded to, that’s an incredibly tough task. But Arsenal enjoyed a formidable line of centre-forwards before Henry’s 1999 arrival – Nicolas Anelka, Ian Wright and Dennis Bergkamp to name a few – and at one time or another, Wenger has found successors comparable to the rest of his ‘Invincibles’ clan.

Mesut Ozil, for example, can be mentioned in a similar breath to Bergkamp. Alexis Sanchez is as talented as Robert Pires. Petr Cech offers as much experience and quality as Jens Lehman. Cesc Fabregas proved himself a worthy replacement for Patrick Vieira, albeit a completely different type of midfielder. Laurent Koscielny, on his day, can be as effective as Kolo Toure or Sol Campbell. Bacary Sagna, meanwhile, was probably a shade above Lauren.

So why does quality parallel to Henry continue to evade Arsenal in such key position – one that usually makes the difference between title-winners and also-rans? Manchester United went from world-class striker to world-class striker under Sir Alex Ferguson, divine centre-forwards are synonymous with Liverpool and Chelsea have even replaced their own Henry counterpart, Didier Drogba, in the form of Diego Costa.

As with any critique of Arsenal, it eventually comes down to the bottom line. And the bottom line is always Arsene Wenger’s reluctance to spend.

When the Frenchman bought Henry in 1999, he splashed out £11million – at the time, a staggering sum for a 21-year-old. That’s £17.5million in today’s value and considering how the transfer market escalates at a vastly greater level of inflation than the general economy, would probably be comparable to Manchester United’s £36million swoop for Anthony Martial – coincidentally, dubbed ‘the next Henry’ – last summer.

So it’s rather incredible to think that in the 17 years since, only once has Wenger paid more to sign a striker – £16million man Danny Welbeck, and even he’s considered more a forward than an out-and-out front-man. In the meantime, Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United and untold other Premier League clubs have all set new club-record transfer fees on strikers.

And worryingly for Arsenal, the threat of being left behind is only getting greater. World-class strikers are becoming an increasingly rarer commodity whilst the price-tags of those just outside that elite bracket are exploding beyond all proportion. £79million for Gonzalo Higuain? £65million for Romelu Lukaku? £60million for Alvaro Morata? Earth-shattering price-tags for those who aren’t even the best in their trade. Imagine how much a peak Thierry Henry would cost Arsenal now… can you envisage Arsene Wenger ever parting with that kind of money?

Unless the Gunners gaffer strikes pure gold with a purchase of the Takuma Asano variety, Henry’s rightful heir may not materialse at Arsenal until Le Prof steps down. That’s a whole can of worms we’ll leave for another day.

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What a night for Celtic Football Club!

After their Champions League campaign got off to the worst possible start with a 7-0 loss away at Barcelona many wondered just how they’d fare against a Manchester City team who had won 10 straight games. Well, they needn’t have worried.

From the first whistle, the Bhoys hounded and hassled the men from south of the border and took the lead three times in a pulsating 3-3 draw. The Celtic players ran themselves into the ground for the cause with many pulling up with cramp whilst the atmosphere in Celtic Park was simply immense.

The whole evening made everyone connected with the club proud but what stood out most of all was the young striker Moussa Dembele’s performance.

He seems to turn up for the big games and hit two last night, the second being a sumptuous overhead kick, and his all round game has left Celtic fans on Twitter in jubilant mood, here are some of the best reactions.

Jamie Vardy has revealed who he would like to star as him in a movie about his life, naming comedian/actor James Corden as his choice.

The Leicester City striker wrote himself into the history books last year as he broke Ruud van Nistelrooy’s record for scoring in 11 consecutive games whilst helping his 5000/1 Foxes defy all the odds and lift the Premier League title for the first time in the club’s history.

What really turned the heads of Hollywood producers, however, was Vardy’s remarkable rise from non-league football with Stocksbridge Park Steels to being a Premier League champion and England international in less than a decade.

Rumours are ongoing surrounding a big screen adaption of the ‘zero to hero’ story of the 29-year-old forward, and Vardy himself has given none other than James Corden the nod to star if the movie does indeed to go ahead.

Vardy told the BBC: “Watching him the other night, I think James Corden could do a good job. Funny guy as well so I think he would make it very enjoyable.”

The striker also gave some much-anticipated details about the upcoming screenplay, stating: “I think it has been more than talk for a quite while now. From what I’ve heard the script’s nearly finished and they’ve just got to get a director now as well and all the actors in.”

And so it continues, Jamie Vardy’s rise from rags to riches seems set to extend even further than the King Power Stadium and onto Hollywood. Good on you, Jamie.

Next week’s match away to Kilmarnock seems an age away as the international break drags in.

Brendan Rodgers will be watching at Wembley tonight with his fingers crossed that Scott Brown doesn’t regret his decision to return to the international scene.

The Celtic boss will be getting updates from around the world over the weekend as he prepares for a vital stage in the season.

Following quickly on from the game with Killie, Rodgers will be preparing his squad for the visit of Barcelona followed by a return trip to Hampden to meet Aberdeen in the final of the Betfred Cup.

With the schedule coming up, Rodgers will have to make full use of his squad and ensure that as many players as possible are on top of their form.

There seemed to be a few signs of tiredness in some of the players against Inverness Caley Thistle but after four punishing away matches in ten days that was understandable.

So here are three things Celtic must improve on after the international break…

BACK TO BACK GAMES FROM JOZO

It was something of a surprise when it was revealed that Jozo wouldn’t be in the squad away to Monchengladbach because of concerns over his injury recuperation.

He returned against Inverness Caley Thistle and explained why he had to be used sparingly, and the process involved in selecting his matches.

With a 13 day break between the matches against Caley Thistle and Kilmarnock he has set his sights on playing successive matches against Barcelona and Aberdeen towards the end of the month.

THE OLD IZAGUIRRE

Kieran Tierney’s injury was entirely unexpected but it seems that Izaguirre has kept himself in shape despite struggling to make the substitute bench at times.

He has the experience and know how for the programme ahead but needs to fully integrate into the way that his new manager likes things done.

Izzy is too good a player to be left on the sidelines, his next eight weeks can have a big impact on Celtic’s season and also revive his club career at Celtic or elsewhere.

90 MINUTES FROM TOM ROGIC

As the season has progressed, and the influence of Tom Rogic on the team, more focus has been placed on his fitness.

Most fans would expect an Australian to be fitter than most but for some reason Rogic struggles to get beyond the 70 minute mark.

With his goals and all round game having such an impact on the team, getting an extra 20% playing time from Rogic would be a very welcome bonus for Brendan Rodgers and his plans for the team.