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Leyton Orient fans have expressed their pride at defender Dan Happe being called up to England’s ‘C’ team.

Happe is a graduate of the club’s youth academy and, at the age of 20, has become a fixture in the National League outfit’s defence this term.

He has made 51 appearances for Orient and has twice been voted the club’s Player of the Month this season alone.

Happe will now be eligible to make his debut for his country against Wales on Tuesday.

The England C squad is representative of Under-23 players in non-league football and they won their most recent outing, beating their Estonian counterparts 1-0 at the end of last year.

They now face a nation much closer to home, with manager Paul Fairclough naming a 16-man squad for the encounter.

He initially selected club teammate Marvin Ekpiteta, but he picked up an injury and will subsequently be replaced by Happe.

And Orient fans believe the call-up for the youngster is more than merited. Take a look at the best of the reaction on Twitter below!

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Arsenal fans have flocked to Twitter in their droves to wish on-loan goalkeeper David Ospina well after he suffered a very worrying injury at the weekend.

The Colombian has been turning out for Napoli in the 2018/2019 campaign and collapsed in harrowing scenes during Sunday’s 4-2 home win over Udinese, having returned to the field of play after a kick to the face.

A day after, the shot-stopper announced on Twitter that he was fine and hoped to “be back stronger than ever” appearing in a photo at his home.

This has prompted an outcry of good-will messages from Gooners towards the star whose future at the Emirates Stadium remains uncertain.

Some have simply commented “get well soon,” whilst others have gone further, reminding Ospina that he’s still a firm member of the Arsenal family and proclaiming that he’s not just being thought of in north London, but all over the football world.

Check out the pick of the heartfelt messages from Arsenal supporters towards their injured goalie, below…

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Will West Brom ever find a new manager? It’s becoming increasingly unlikely. That’s until the end of the season at least.

James Shan is looking like he may take the job until the end of the current campaign after journalist Matt Wilson confirmed that the club will give him temporary help in the coaching department if he wants it.

It’s yet more news that has left Baggies supporters incredibly frustrated, branding the club a laughing stock and claiming they were utterly incompetent.

One fan’s message was simple, leaving a GIF of a clown, summing up how the entire situation has become a circus since Darren Moore was sacked.

The club dismissed the 44-year-old from his position at the beginning of March but are still yet to find a replacement. Talks with Slavisa Jokanovic were reportedly ongoing but nothing has materialised.

For now, the wait will go on for a new permanent manager to walk through the door at the Hawthorns.

However, Shan has steadied the ship having won his first two games in temporary charge.

Here’s how West Brom supporters reacted to the latest update.

Hibs’ failure to win against Kilmarnock on Wednesday meant they were unable to overhaul neighbours Hearts, in the table, but it has added extra importance to the derby tomorrow — if there was not enough riding on it already.

The midweek goalless draw kept the Edinburgh side’s unbeaten run going — which dates back to February 9 — which has seen manager, Paul Heckingbottom, named SPFL Manager Of The Month.

The Englishman knows how big the Hearts game is, and said he is expecting his “biggest test so far” in what will be a titanic battle at Tynecastle.

Speaking ahead of the game, he told the Edinburgh Evening News: “This will be our biggest test so far.

“It will be a different type of test. We faced arguably the most organised team in the league on Wednesday night in the shape of Kilmarnock and not many sides have been that difficult to play against when we have had the ball. They were well disciplined.

“This challenge [against Hearts] is still only three points but it is a derby and there is a rivalry there and it is all about handling the intensity of the occasion.

“Tynecastle is a different stage and a different environment to play in. It will be good to see how my players respond to that.”

If it is played like a regular football match, Hibernian will fancy their chances, with the run they are on meaning confidence will be through the roof for Heckingbottom’s side.

He has them playing their best football for a long time, and fans will not have given up hope of clambering into the top three to claim a Europa League spot.

Although currently six points behind Kilmarnock, in third, and Aberdeen, in fourth, who both have 55 points, it is a big ask for the Easter Road side.

But if Heckingbottom can see his team continue their unbeaten run, and hope it remains in tact during the final games following the split, he knows that it is a very real possibility.

Of course, when the division does split after this weekend’s games, they will be playing all their rivals, which means maintaining the run will be a very tough prospect.

But that is for next week. All immediate thoughts are on the derby tomorrow, and Heckingbottom knows how difficult they are to perform in, given the “hype and intensity” involved.

He said: “Hearts are a difficult, physical team to play against. It will be a hard game. Whether you perform well or not, there is so much hype and intensity and adrenalin involved in these matches.

“That’s why derbies are sometimes too frantic to play any football. “We’d like to think we can get the ball down and play, but the nature of a derby, regardless of what type of team Hearts are, will make it a really frenetic game.”

It will be some occasion tomorrow, and is probably the most important Edinburgh derby there has been for quite a while.

But with a number of incidents in recent SPFL games— by both fans and players — the one thing the game needs, and everyone will hope for, is an incident-free day — both on and off the pitch.

What are your thoughts and expectations ahead of tomorrow’s Edinburgh derby? Can your side leapfrog your neighbours with a win? Let us know…

Leeds United fans will be hugely disappointed after witnessing their side’s performance against Birmingham City on Saturday as they were beaten 1-0. The Whites now find themselves behind Sheffield United in the race for an automatic promotion place. 

Of course, consistency is vital at this point in the season with very little room for error in the race for an automatic promotion place. And, with the likes of Preston North End and Sheffield Wednesday coming up next in the Championship, things aren’t about to get any easier for the Yorkshire club.

However, it looks as if the Championship club have their eyes set on a possible summer addition, as according to Football Insider, Leeds United are interested in a summer move for John Swift.

But, Andrea Radrizzani may need to splash the cash to sign him in the summer as he’s one of Reading’s prized assets.

The former Chelsea man was very highly-rated as a youngster as he was labelled as the ‘new Frank Lampard’ (as per Daily Mail), but he’s not quite been able to live up to the hype as he now finds himself at Reading.

He’s impressed in the current campaign at the Madejski Stadium having produced six goals and three assists in all competitions. He operates as an attacking midfielder which makes him a very attractive player in the eyes of Leeds United as Samu Saiz’s future looks less than certain at Elland Road.

His pace, creativity, dribbling and finishing ability would be sure to get Elland Road excited as he constantly poses a threat in the final third, and he has more than enough quality to make the step up to the Premier League.

Leeds United fans, is John Swift the man you’d like to see replace Saiz at Elland Road? Join the discussion by commenting down below! 

Is Martin O’Neill the man to take Nottingham Forest forward? Fans are certainly torn over the answer to that question and could become clearer by the end of the season, judging as to whether they make the play-offs or not. 

With a place in the play-offs at the moment unlikely, it seems that Martin O’Neill will have a lot of time over the summer to adapt his team so they can finally achieve promotion next season.

He does know the club and understands the fans have high expectations, so it could prove to be a very important summer transfer window indeed.

So what has gone wrong for the team that spent over £25 million at the start of the season? Their failure to kill off games has come back at them a number of times and is therefore down to the lack of finishers in their team apart from Lewis Grabban.

In a bid to solve that problem, trying to sign Southampton’s Sam Gallagher once again would be a great idea as he’s ready to prove himself on a regular basis.

Gallagher, (who is valued at £2.7 million on Transfermarkt) was a target (as per Alan Nixon of the Sun) for Nottingham Forest along with a number of other Championship sides in January, after Gallagher has played just 30 minutes of Premier League football this season.

The 23-year-old cannot afford to play that little amount of time if he is to progress in his career so a move away this summer will be the best idea for him.

Last season he spent the campaign on-loan with Birmingham and with seven goals to his name, went some way to proving why he is a good Championship striker.

Options in the market for a striker are generally rare so should the opportunity come along once again to sign Sam Gallagher, no hesitation should be made from Nottingham Forest.

Nottingham Forest fans, do you agree? If not, why not? Let us know!

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Dwight Gayle has hinted his future could be away from Newcastle United by revealing he’s enjoying life in the Midlands with West Brom, according to The Express and Star.

The 29-year-old striker is on a season-long-loan from the Magpies, in a deal which saw Salomon Rondon go the other way – both men have excelled for their respective clubs.

What did he say?

Asked if he saw his future at the Hawthorns, Gayle replied: “Yes of course. I’ve really enjoyed the season and the fans have taken to me and showed great support. I’m going to see what happens in the summer, but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time here.”

These quotes could give Newcastle a big boost in their pursuit of Rondon. With Gayle hinting he sees his future at the Hawthorns, maybe a swap deal can be done rather than the Toon paying the reported £16.5million release clause for Rondon, which would rise to £20million if the Baggies are promoted.

Championship is Gayle’s level

Gayle has played 99 Premier League games scoring 21 goals over a period of four seasons with both Newcastle and Crystal Palace.

His Championship record meanwhile is 95 appearances and 54 goals while he also has assisted 15 – this comes from three seasons in the Championship with Newcastle, Peterborough and West Brom.

The stats clearly show that Gayle is more suited to the Championship than the Premier League in every way, he simply scores twice as many.

Gayle played a key part in the Newcastle side that was promoted as champions from the Championship, scoring 23 goals in 32 appearances. However, once they were promoted Gayle only missed three games all season and managed to only score six goals. He also had less shots per game, going down from 2.8 to 1.6.

This could be down to the fact defending is better in the Premier League, but it also seems likely that Gayle has less confidence than he does in the Championship.

The ex-Peterborough man will be remembered fondly by Newcastle fans for helping secure promotion but he is better in the Championship and the Toon have upgraded with Rondon, who has scored nine goals and registered five assists in the Premier League.

Gayle’s quotes are likely to help Newcastle in their pursuit of the Venezuelan, or at the very least push himself a little closer to the exit door. Clearly not at the required standard, his comments have done the Magpies a welcome favour.

[ad_pod ]He has divided opinion since his £24m move from Manchester United back in 2017, but Morgan Schneiderlin’s mini-revival in the second half of the current campaign bodes well for Everton if they cannot sign Andre Gomes permanently.The Frenchman has made just 11 Premier League appearances this season, but only seven of them have been starts – he did not begin a league game from the start of September to the end of February.In this era of ‘big 6’ dominance, has finishing 7th become as good as winning a trophy? The Pl>ymaker FC squad have their say in the video below…He has certainly not been highly thought of by Everton fans in the past, mainly as he arrived to such high expectations.

However, in his appearances since the turn of the calendar year, the 29-year-old has shown why the Toffees spent so much money on him.

A tall, dominant centre-midfielder, the former Southampton man is also a composed figure on the ball who looks very impressive in a midfield two alongside Idrissa Gueye.

He is efficient with his use of the ball, and has a good enough technique to make things happen if the opportunity presents itself, similar to the way in which Gomes goes about his work in the middle of the park.

Of course, it must be said that the Portuguese international has become a fan favourite in his short time on Merseyside.

However, their hopes of seeing Gomes sign permanently look set to come at a cost of around €40m if the Spanish champions get their wish, a figure that would be a hefty one for the Toffees.

Many Everton fans will certainly be upset to see the former Valencia midfielder depart, whilst any failure to sign him will surely spark disappointment around the blue half of Merseyside this summer.

Admittedly, they have splashed out on Richarlison and Gylfi Sigurdsson in recent windows, but if that figure proves too expensive for them this time around, Schneiderlin’s displays – most notably his classy showing in the 4-0 win over his former employers United – look set to ease the pain if Gomes does return to Catalonia.

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Sheffield Wednesday are in talks with Achraf Lazaar about making his loan move permanent in the summer.

The Moroccan revealed to Tuttomercatoweb that he was in talks with the club about staying in Sheffield beyond the end of the season.

He said: “Sheffield would like to keep hold of me, we’re talking about it. I have a two-year contract with Newcastle.”

Keeping Lazaar

For many a Wednesday fan this move may come as somewhat of a surprise. The Newcastle loanee has only appeared four times for the Owls since making the move to Yorkshire due to a hamstring injury he picked up.

Lazaar is a more than capable player at Championship level, but he wasn’t expected to be at the top of Steve Bruce’s shopping list this summer.

The left-back has only played a full 90 minutes twice for Wednesday since joining in January, but perhaps this move is more telling about the Owls’ transfer policy this summer.

Future signings?

This signing could be telling for the future of the Sheffield Wednesday squad as Bruce gets his first chance to manage a transfer window since coming to Hillsborough.

It shows that Wednesday aren’t adverse to signing loanees on a permanent deal, news which should excite fans of the Yorkshire club as it increases the likelihood of Michael Hector staying beyond this summer.

It may also signal moves for Rolando Aarons and Josh Onomah in the upcoming transfer window.

It’s evident as to why Bruce would want to keep as much of this squad together as possible. Wednesday have flourished under their new manager, losing just two games since the former Villa boss took charge in early February.

Check out the video below to see how Brazil fans reacted to being asked how Cristiano Ronaldo would perform for them in a hilarious prank by Pl>ymaker FC…

Their form under Steve Bruce has been that of a promotion candidate, and if he can keep the majority of the squad together next season then they could be in and around the top six.

As the final whistle blew and the fans ran onto the pitch, Justin Edinburgh knew he had just accomplished something great.

After two years down in the National League, the O’s are heading back to the Football League after sealing the title on the final day of the season after results went their way, and Orient’s return to the Football League is a true football fairytale.

It’s easy to forget in just how bad a position Orient were in when they were relegated from League Two in 2017. Players and staff had been unpaid for weeks in a season where the O’s had five different managers, and their game against Colchester United was delayed due to fans invading the pitch and protesting in front of the infamous former owners.

To go from that situation to being able to rebuild in just two years and win promotion back to the Football League with owners who are willing to invest in the club and bring players in is truly an outstanding turnaround, and it has resulted in one of the most historic and well-respected teams in the country returning the division they deserve to be in.

Orient’s return to League Two is one of the many reasons we love football, a tale of a team destroyed by their owners and rising from the ashes to come back stronger than ever, and to hopefully be better than ever when the 2019/20 Football League season kicks off.

Leyton Orient fans, is promotion back to the Football League one of the stories of the season? Let us know!