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OLE GUNNAR SOLSKJAER made a U-turn by claiming Manchester United were still in the title race — despite this West Brom flop.
Failure to beat second-bottom Baggies means United have now dropped nine points from their last five games.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer insists Man Utd remain in the title race despite drawing with West BromCredit: Getty Images – Getty

Harry Maguire also believes United can keep the pressure on leaders Man CityCredit: Getty Images – Getty

Boss Solskjaer, who wrote off their Prem hopes after the 3-3 draw with Everton nine days ago, said: “No one will give it away this early — no one knows.
“This season is so unpredictable anything can happen. I’m not going to settle for second, of course we’re not.
“It is a  compliment to the boys we got into the position we are now.
“We won’t let City run away with it, we’re playing them soon.

“We’re not giving it away early.  But we’re in desperate need for three-pointers and  disappointed with one point only.”
United captain Harry Maguire backed up his manager’s claim they are not giving up on the title with Manchester City seven points in front and with a game in hand.
He said: “We  have to go again and win the next one, then the next one.
“Manchester City are on a great run at the moment and created a points gap — but we  have to fight for every game.”

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West Brom snatched the lead inside the first two minutes with a header from Mbaye Diagne before a Bruno Fernandes volley levelled it up.
Solskjaer said: “Still, we’d 90 minutes-plus to get two goals. It was a great goal, fantastic technique by Bruno.”
Maguire saw a last-gasp header  saved by  Sam Johnstone  and  a penalty decision reversed by VAR, who deemed he had not been fouled by  Semi Ajayi.
He said: “At the end we huffed and puffed and it’s a great save from Sam.”
Solskjaer said: “It’s a foul but I see Harry being in an offside position, so someone must have been asleep in that VAR office.”
For  West Brom boss Sam Allardyce it was proof they can stay up.
He said: “I see a squad of players who are getting better.
“That is now what they have to aspire to every single week.”

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NEWCASTLE legend Kevin Keegan has hit out at owner Mike Ashley — claiming ‘anybody’ could run the club better than him.
Keegan believes the retail billionaire does not understand the demands of running the club.

Kevin Keegan has hit out at Mike AshleyCredit: Getty – Contributor

Ashley, 56, has owned Newcastle since 2007Credit: PA:Press Association

And he insists it will be a red-letter day on Tyneside when Ashley finally sells up and walks away from St James’ Park.
Keegan said: “It won’t go on for ever. Someone, somewhere, will see the benefits of that great football club.
“The problem with Mike Ashley is that he didn’t really know what he was buying. He doesn’t get it. The best day they’ll have is when he sells the club because anybody — and I mean anybody — can run it better.
“Just anybody. It cannot be run worse than it is.”

Keegan, 70 today, saw out the final years of his illustrious playing career at Newcastle.
He narrowly missed out on steering the club to the Premier League title in the first of his two spells as manager.
Tycoon Ashley has owned the club since 2007.
And Keegan believes they should still be competing at the top end of the table — and not scrapping to avoid another relegation.

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Keegan worked under Ashley at St James’ Park in 2008Credit: PA:Press Association

In an interview with Alan Shearer for The Athletic, he said: “I don’t care what anybody says, it’s a special club. It’s not like any other club.
“If you’d said in 1927 — the last time they won the league — that nearly a century later they wouldn’t have won it again, people would have laughed at you.
“They had won it four times by then. You can never foresee.
“It just needs running. It needs direction, leadership. It needs understanding of what it is. It needs some care.
“If you take Newcastle by takings, crowd, whatever, it’s something like the 17th-biggest football club in the world.
“That means it should be among the top four or five in England.
“Yes, Man United are bigger. Yes, Liverpool are bigger. But they’re only bigger because they’ve won things. It could all change with new ownership. You never know, it might just be around the corner.”
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LEEDS legend Lee Chapman has urged Patrick Bamford to ‘lose his temper’ and ‘hurt a few people’ if he is to win a senior England cap.
Laid-back Bamford, 27, has notched 12 Premier League goals for Marcelo Bielsa’s side this season — including a career 100th in Monday’s 2-0 home win over Crystal Palace.

Bamford has bagged 12 goals this seasonCredit: Reuters

As Gareth Southgate prepares to name his squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against San Marino, Albania and Poland, calls for Bamford to be picked are growing.
The forward represented the Republic of Ireland at Under-18 level but switched to England and played for the Three Lions  Under-21s when Southgate was still boss.
Ex-striker Chapman, 61, said: “Bamford is very level-headed and nothing fazes him — but I’d like to see him lose his temper a few times!
“I want to see him get stuck in, hurt a few people, and be a bit more aggressive.

“Sometimes you can be too nice and if Bamford misses chances, he doesn’t seem too upset, so I think he needs to push himself a little bit harder.
“But he’s improving every year and I think he could be a useful back-up to Harry Kane.
“If you compare Bamford to Kane, there is only one winner because Kane is a better all-round player who also scores more goals.
“I’m not saying Bamford shouldn’t be given a chance but he’s behind Kane, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Marcus Rashford in the pecking order.

Chapman scored 80 goals for Leeds in the early ninetiesCredit: Getty Images – Getty
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“The big problem I had with Bamford two seasons ago was that he didn’t score enough goals and got too involved in the build-up play.
“Now what I’ve noticed — and I was at Leeds’ game at Tottenham a few weeks ago — is that he’s staying in the box more and in positions where he can score goals.
“That said, I saw Bamford miss a great chance at Tottenham — he headed well over the bar at a crucial time in the game — and those are the sort of chances you’ve got to take.
“He’s improving but I still think he needs to be a bit more clinical, ruthless and aggressive in the box.
“If there are injuries to Kane, Calvert-Lewin or Rashford, and Bamford is playing well, then he’s definitely worth a chance.
“I think he could be a good squad player, who Southgate could maybe throw on from the bench.”
Chapman scored 179 English top-flight goals during his career — more than Thierry Henry, Les Ferdinand, Ian Wright, Robbie Fowler, Michael Owen and Gary Lineker.
His match-winning header at Bournemouth earned Leeds promotion from the old Second Division under Howard Wilkinson in 1990 — and he was instrumental in their top-flight title success two years later.

I was a victim of the new era and even when I scored 31 goals in 1990-91, they just gave me an England B cap as a consolation prize
Lee Chapman

Chapman represented England once at U-21 level and once for the B-team but never won full international honours.
He added: “At the time, Gary Lineker was the main striker and the old-fashioned centre-forward, which I was, had kind of gone out of fashion.
“I was a victim of the new era and even when I scored 31 goals in 1990-91, they just gave me an England B cap as a consolation prize.
“It was against Iceland at a cold Vicarage Road — it was absolutely dreadful! But that was the era I was in, I reached my peak at the wrong time.”
Chapman also scored 16 top-flight goals in the 1991-92 season.
Meanwhile, research from 888 Sport shows that Leeds’ record on a Sunday should give them hope ahead of the match against Arsenal.

Chapman, 61, still keeps an eye out for his old teamsCredit: Getty Images – Getty

Bamford has been linked with an England call-upCredit: AFP
They have won 60 per cent of their Sunday matches so far, while Arsenal have only won two of their eight Sunday games.
Chapman, who played for Arsenal in the early 1980s, said: “I predicted a top-ten finish for Leeds and I’m sticking with that.
“They can be too predictable at times in trying to play out from the back and Tottenham just kept setting traps in the recent game I attended.
“I think Arsenal will give Mikel Arteta until the end of the season but they’re vulnerable at the back — and Leeds have a great chance this weekend.”
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