All posts by h716a5.icu

An intriguing claim has been made on Serge Aurier’s future at Tottenham Hotspur which is sure to leave many in N17 delighted…

What’s the word?

Speaking in a recent Q&A with supporters on football.london, the ever-reliable Alasdair Gold delivered some insight into where the north London outfit stand with their inconsistent right-back.

He wrote: “It’s quite simple with Aurier. He wants to go, Spurs would be happy for him to go, but they need a reasonable bid (not as high as the 20m euros reported in France last week).

“Tottenham will move for a new right-back if he does head out of the exit door. Tottenham like [Norwich City’s Max] Aarons and they need some homegrown signings but it’s all on Paratici now.”

Time’s finally up

Having joined the club from Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain for £23m back in summer 2017, Aurier’s time at Spurs has been clouded by controversies off the pitch and poor performances on it.

The £18m-rated defender has featured 110 times for the club, in which he has regularly been lambasted as a calamity.

For example, following their Carabao Cup final defeat to Manchester City, Sky Sports pundit and former Liverpool centre-back Jamie Carragher described the 28-year-old as “maybe one of the biggest liabilities in Premier League football.”

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-on-spurs-manager-search-transfer-rumours-gossip-enic-levy-paratici” title= “Read the latest from Spurs’ manager search, transfer rumours, gossip, injury updates and more!”]

It’s certainly not the first time the word “liability” has been used to slam Aurier, with former Spurs stars Darren Bent and Jamie O’Hara saying the same thing some several seasons apart.

The fanbase has also echoed these thoughts regularly. Again, following that Wembley defeat to City, some called him “dreadful” and urged the club to “get rid,” as relayed by This is Futbol.

Amid interest from his former club PSG, lots of the Lilywhites faithful were buzzing, claiming that it would be a “[Fabio] Paratici masterclass” to offload him for a substantial fee.

During lockdown last year, The Mirror reported that the Ivory Coast international was fined for breaking government guidelines, with further reports suggesting that he stormed home after being substituted against Liverpool back in January.

Therefore, this latest claim from Gold will surely come as immensely exciting news to many in and around the club, as on the above evidence, Aurier is not a player who should be sticking around for the new era.

In short, he wants to leave, Spurs are happy for him to leave, and they will consider a replacement – perhaps Aarons. It’s all very encouraging news.

AND in other news, Levy could find his next Pochettino in 46 y/o who has already “impressed” Spurs’ squad…

© CricInfo One of the big clashes in the early stages of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions Trophy is the New Zealand-Australia encounter at the Sinhalese Sports Club grounds

Anand Vasu11-Sep-2002
© CricInfoOne of the big clashes in the early stages of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions Trophy is the New Zealand-Australia encounter at the Sinhalese Sports Club grounds. While England have already begun to focus a lot of their attention on the upcoming Ashes tour, the Australians are keen to take it one game at a time. After all, their island neighbours have always played at their best when they have been up against it. With New Zealand having several batsmen who play pace with ease in their ranks, Shane Warne becomes a central figure in the clashes involving the two sides.The charismatic leggie, who has provided hours of entertainment on the field and some of the tastiest sound bites off it, was relaxed, collected and yet raring to go when he spoke to pressmen at the Taj Samudra hotel in Colombo. And he was not one to underestimate his opposition.”I like bowling to Craig McMillan, I’ve had some success against him, but he’s a dangerous player, and Cairns as well. It doesn’t help New Zealand that those two aren’t here. They still have some good players though. They always lift their game when they play against Australia and it’s a tough game for us first up. New Zealand have always been one of the hardest teams for us to beat. Stephen Fleming is probably the best captain in world cricket. He’ll have plans for every single player,” Warne observed.Just recently, the Aussies were in fine fettle in Kenya, firing on all cylinders. As their batsmen merrily plundered hapless opposition bowling and pacemen Jason Gillespie and Glenn McGrath regularly upset the timber, Warne himself used the chance to get ready for the Champions Trophy.”We played pretty well in Kenya. Bowled Pakistan out cheaply twice. We need to do pretty much the same and keep going. It was a good tournament to play leading up to this. We all got a chance to get some match practice on turf wickets and clear the cobwebs that come from not playing for a period,” said Warne.Although, he was quick to add that being away from the game did not mean putting his feet up, sipping lager and watching the telly. “I’ve been training twice a day for the last six months. I’ve been in good form with both the bat and ball in the last year or so. I think I bowled some good spells and some bad ones in Kenya but it was ideal preparation for this tournament,” he said.With a shoulder injury ruling out bowling, Warne took the opportunity to work on his batting and catching in the slips – two things he says that give him immense pleasure. “All my coaches tell me I’ve been underachieving with the bat. In the last twelve months I’ve got some runs. I still didn’t get a hundred but it was good to get a 99. Couple of 80s and 70s as well. I’ve worked really hard at playing the short ball – hooking and pulling. Worked with Ian Chappell and had very good chat with him on that. With Gilchrist coming in late in the order in Tests, it’s important for us tail-enders to bat a bit and give him support.”It is the sort of planning and execution that has given Australia an edge over all the other sides in international cricket, South Africa included. “The edge we’ve got over South Africa is basically because we’ve beaten them in every form of the game – except for that tie in the World Cup. I feel we’ve got the wood on South Africa. They’re still a great team. They intimidate other teams but I think we intimidate them. As the home country they’ll be very tough to beat in the World Cup,” Warne suggested.
© ReutersTalking of intimidation, there is one man coming up against whom gave Warne nightmares. When you listen to Warne speak of Tendulkar, you are clearly able to discern the existence of a special bond of sorts between the two.”I don’t know if I’ve always been in awe of him. I respect his cricket and we get on well off the field. We’ve both got respect for each other. We’ve both been around for a long time now and I think we both admire each other. To me, he’s the best player of our generation. People who have played with Bradman and Ian Chappell and those sort of guys would say they were the best. I think it’s unfair to compare eras. Any good player in any era would adjust and be a fine, excellent player. To me, Sachin is the best player and daylight’s second,” Warne said.Small wonder, then, that the ace leggie picked Tendulkar as the hardest batsman to bowl to, while adding Navjot Sidhu, Chris Cairns, Graham Gooch and Dave Houghton to that list. Of that list, Warne can only come up against Tendulkar in this tournament. If he does, you can be sure there will be some fireworks.

Leicester City have ended talks to sign Celtic striker Odsonne Edouard after a lengthy pursuit of the 23-year-old.

What’s the story?

The Foxes had been heavily linked with a move for the France Under-21 international in recent weeks as Brendan Rodgers aims to bolster his first-team squad.

However, according to well-known journalist and transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, negotiations to bring Edouard to the King Power Stadium have broken down as the Midlands outfit are set to sign Patson Daka instead.

Fans will be gutted

After narrowly missing out on a Champions League qualification spot last season, Rodgers has moved quickly this summer as he plots another assault on the Premier League’s top four.

Lille midfielder Boubakary Soumare is expected to sign in the coming days, and the addition of Daka from RB Salzburg will be another significant injection of quality for the current FA Cup holders.

However, news that Edouard won’t be lining up alongside the likes of Jamie Vardy and Youri Tielemans will leave large sections of the club’s supporters feeling gutted.

The 6 ft 1 forward has enjoyed four incredible years at Celtic Park, scoring 83 goals in 168 appearances for the Hoops, winning nine major trophies along the way.

Rodgers had previously managed the former Paris Saint-Germain academy graduate during his time in Scotland, with many hoping the reunion would see Edouard adapt to the demands of the English top-flight with relative ease.

After qualifying for next term’s Europa League, Leicester will need the resources required to fight on multiple fronts in 2021/22.

And although Daka will certainly help them do just that, an injury to either the Zambia international, Vardy, or Kelechi Iheanacho will leave them dangerous light on attacking options once again.

With only 12 months remaining on his contract at Celtic, Edouard appeared to be available at a bargain price this summer, and some fans may be left scratching their heads at the hierarchy’s decision to call off proceedings.

Rodgers has done a stellar job throughout his two-and-a-half-year stay with the Foxes, but he’ll have to try and improve on consecutive fifth-placed finishes without the addition of one of his former star performers.

And, in other news…Rodgers can save millions by unleashing “incredible” rarely-seen Leicester colossus 

Everton arguably have one of the best left-backs in the Premier League, especially in the final third with Lucas Digne’s crossing second to none, however links suggesting that they could move for Marcelo this summer is a concern for former defender, Michael Ball.

Digne is hugely effective for the Toffees in the final third with his seven assists last season proving to be the most in the entire squad, and five of those came from crosses into the box – something that he has become well renowned for since joining from Barcelona.

Despite Digne being so important for Everton and more specifically, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, the Toffees are being linked with Marcelo who could see his game time severely limited next season with Ferland Mendy performing very well for Real Madrid last season at left-back.

Marcelo is still a very good left-back despite being in the twilight years of his career now but it would not be a signing that seems necessary unless Digne was to leave this summer, something that concerns Ball, who spoke exclusively to Football FanCast:

“The Marcelo links surprised me and also concerns me. Obviously, he’s 33 and was a fantastic full-back in his prime and I could probably see that happening if Ancelotti was still the manager.

“It concerns me because does it mean that Digne could be on his way out and ready to move on? So that concerns me about Marcelo because why bring him in if you’ve got Digne and two young left-backs in the squad who are ready to pounce if Digne’s not available.”

There is no doubting that Marcelo is a top-class full-back and his trophy cabinet speaks for itself really but if Everton are to get anywhere near the top seven and qualify for Europe, a 33-year old left-back is not the way to go about it.

With fresh reports suggesting that Rafa Benitez is no longer going to be in the dugout for Everton next season, their search for a new manager continues and thus, new signings will be put on the back burner.

It was obvious that much would depend on how Kallicharran got the bestout of his depleted side

Partab Ramchand20-Oct-2002The West Indian side that toured India in 1978-79 was perhaps theweakest to come to these shores till that date. In the aftermath ofthe Packer crisis, most of the top stars had defected to theAustralian TV tycoon’s World Series Cricket, and the team that came toIndia was largely made up of unknown names. Captain Alvin Kallicharranwas of course a world-class player, and Larry Gomes was fairly wellestablished as a batsman whose wicket had to earned. But little wasknown of the others, and predictably enough, interest in the visitorswas lukewarm.

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It was obvious that much would depend on how Kallicharran got the bestout of his depleted side. He certainly led from the front, scoring 538runs and inspiring players like Gomes and Faoud Bacchus to come good.The left-handed Gomes was a model of consistency, hitting 405 runswith four half-centuries, while Bacchus, after notching up scores of96 and 61, touched his peak in the final Test at Kanpur.

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Given the fact that India were at full strength, the home team wasexpected to win the series. They did, and though the 1-0 margin in thesix-Test series may give the impression that India struggled forvictory, they were very much the better side, and the West Indies werelucky that they were not beaten by a more comprehensive margin.Incidentally it was India’s first home triumph over the West Indies infive attempts.It was obvious that much would depend on how Kallicharran got the bestout of his depleted side. He certainly led from the front, scoring 538runs and inspiring players like Gomes and Faoud Bacchus to come good.The left-handed Gomes was a model of consistency, hitting 405 runswith four half-centuries, while Bacchus, after notching up scores of96 and 61, touched his peak in the final Test at Kanpur. In scoring250 in 8-1/2 hours, the Guyanese right-hander made the highest scoreat Green Park, the second-highest score in any Test in India, and thesecond highest in India­West Indies matches, next only to RohanKanhai’s 256 in Calcutta in 1958-59.There was little substance in the rest of the batting. The bowling toodepended heavily on the pace duo of Sylvester Clarke and NorbertPhilip. While they were no match for the likes of Andy Roberts,Michael Holding, Joel Garner and Colin Croft – the men they had thethankless task of replacing – they were a pretty hostile pair and hadtheir moments in the series, notably in the fourth Test at Madras on apitch of exaggerated bounce. Clarke and Philip were involved in abouncer war with Kapil Dev and Karsan Ghavri, and with some help fromVanburn Holder, almost won the match for the West Indies before Indiasqueaked home by three wickets for the only decisive result of therubber.But considering their relative inexperience, the generally flat tracksand the strong Indian batting line-up, Clarke (21 wickets in fivematches) and Philip (19 in six) could look back with somesatisfaction. The series took place just after India’s historic tourof Pakistan, and with India losing that series, Sunil Gavaskarreplaced Bishan Singh Bedi as captain. The responsibilities certainlydid not affect his batting, for Gavaskar took a heavy toll of theCaribbean attack. For the second time in his Test career, he toppedthe 700-run-mark for a series. In scoring 732 runs with four hundreds,including a double century, Gavaskar confirmed his stature as one ofthe world’s leading players. En route, he hit a century in eachinnings for a third time, the only batsman to achieve this feat, andbecame the first Indian to reach 4,000 runs in Tests.The Indian batting never had it so good. Besides Gavaskar, GundappaViswanath (2), Dilip Vengsarkar (2), Anshuman Gaekwad, MohinderAmarnath and Kapil Dev got hundreds. As many as 11 centuries werenotched up by Indian batsmen, and in two successive Tests in New Delhiand Kanpur, three Indians got hundreds in the same innings. At theFeroze Shah Kotla, India surpassed a 18-year-old record by compilingtheir highest-ever total in Test cricket ­ 566 for eight declared. Butthis record lasted for precisely one match. In the next game at theGreen Park, India raised this to 644 for seven declared.The bowling was in the shadow of these stupendous batting feats, butKapil Dev, Ghavri and Srinivas Venkataraghavan came up with some fineperformances. Kapil Dev took 17 wickets and Ghavri 27, and for once,Indian pace bowling was the dominant destroyer. The tour of Pakistanhad seen the break-up of the spin quartet, and this series hastenedthe end. Both Bedi and Bhagwat Chandrasekhar were dropped, and even ifthey were brought back, it was obvious that the main thrust of theirattack was over.It was left to Venkataraghavan to carry the spin burden virtually onhis own, and he did this admirably, taking 20 wickets in the sixTests, playing a leading role in the lone victory at Madras and almostbowling India to victory at Calcutta. The West Indies had only onewicket left when bad light halted play, and they were again lucky toescape defeat at New Delhi when rain halted proceedings with India inan advantageous position.

Sheffield Wednesday defender Matt Penney is set to make the move to Ipswich Town this summer, according to a fresh report.

The Lowdown: Outgoings expected at Hillsborough

The Owls suffered the agony of relegation to League One last season, having failed to win away to Derby County on the final day when they needed victory to preserve their Championship status.

Darren Moore now has the task of perfecting his squad ahead of the 2021/22 campaign, but a number of key players could move on from Hillsborough.

The Latest: Penney set to join Ipswich

Penney is one of those, with his Wednesday contract expiring at the end of this month, bringing an end to his time at the club.

According to The East Anglian Daily Times, the 23-year-old on his way to fellow League One side Ipswich, having managed just 12 Championship appearances last season.

The Verdict: Big loss for Owls

Penney is a talented young player – former Owls manager Jos Luhukay once described him as ‘fantastic’ – so it is a blow to lose someone of such promise, even though the club didn’t exactly try too hard to keep hold of him by letting his contract run down.

While the 23-year-old didn’t feature regularly for Wednesday in 2020/21, his tackling average of 1.6 per game was still the joint-fifth highest in the squad, while only three team-mates bettered his 0.8 dribbles per match (WhoScored), so he will be quite a loss to Moore’s squad.

Ipswich are expected to be one of the Owls’ promotion rivals in League One next season, so potentially strengthening Paul Cook’s squad isn’t an ideal scenario.

The hope is that the versatile Penney is replaced this summer, with improved squad depth badly needed at Hillsborough as Moore considers new signings.

In other news, Sheff Wed are reportedly eyeing up a move for a midfielder – find out who it is here.

South Africa’s selectors have named an unchanged squad for the second Testagainst Sri Lanka, which starts at Centurion on Friday.

Staff Reporter12-Nov-2002South Africa’s selectors have named an unchanged squad for the second Testagainst Sri Lanka, which starts at Centurion on Friday.The weakness of the visitors against top-class fast bowling was brutally exposedduring the three-day opening Test at Wanderers and Sri Lanka can expect moreof the same at Centurion.The pitch is expected to assist the fast bowlers and the South Africans maygamble once again on five fast bowlers, a strategy that proved so successfulat Wanderers with all of the bowlers contributing to the tourist’s downfall.The only possible change is the inclusion of opener Herschelle Gibbs, whowas forced out of the first Test with a back injury minutes before thestart. Gibbs is due to have a fitness test on Tuesday.If Gibbs does then return, one of Martin van Jaarsveld, Neil McKenzieand Ashwell Prince will have to sit out of the middle order.Convener of selectors Omar Henry hoped for another landslide victory: "Isuppose every cricket fan would like to the Test go the distance over fivedays, but it is good to win as emphatically as this."South Africa squad:
Shaun Pollock – Captain, Mark Boucher – Vice-captain, Steve Elworthy,Herschelle Gibbs, Andrew Hall, Mornantau Hayward, Claude Henderson, JacquesKallis, Gary Kirsten, Neil McKenzie, Makhaya Ntini, Ashwell Prince, GraemeSmith.Coach: Eric Simons
Assistant Coach: Corrie van Zyl
Physiotherapist: Shane Jabbar
Fitness Trainer: Andrew Gray
Manager: Goolam Rajah

Bruno Lage has already made a tremendous start to his first transfer window at Wolves.

The Old Gold manager may have limited funds to spend but he’s finding ways around that difficulty, luring Trincao to the club on a season-long loan deal.

The Portuguese’s arrival from Barcelona was a surprising one but further transfers are in the pipeline.

On the chalkboard

One of the biggest decisions the new boss had to make upon his entry to the Midlands was the future of some of their previous loan players.

Rayan Ait-Nouri looked as though he wasn’t going to return until last week when it was revealed they were close to sealing a permanent deal of £10m for his transfer from Angers.

However, the future of Vitinha remains a little less clear. The attacking midfielder only started five times in the Premier League last season and was relatively inconsistent.

He starred at the U21 European Championships but Lage and Wolves sense they may be able to find better value elsewhere.

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The fee that was being touted for his services was around £18m, a fair whack for a squad player when you don’t have much to spend.

The solution

One player who could be searching for a new club this summer is West Bromwich Albion’s creative magician, Matheus Pereira.

The Brazilian had a wonderful first campaign in the top-flight of English football but was ultimately relegated with the Baggies.

If he stays in the Championship then it would be an almighty surprise for a player who delivered so much in 2020/21.

Kevin Phillips revealed back in April that a Portuguese connection could see him move to Molineux. The player came through the academy at Sporting Lisbon and spent most of his formative years in Iberia.

Although he offers more quality than Vitinha, he would presumably come at a greater cost after such an impressive 12 months.

Speaking about the versatile attacker’s qualities last season, pundit Micah Richards could only find praise. He commented: “I watched him a lot in the Championship last season (2019/20), wondering if he can do it in the Premier League, and he showed me in the last couple of games that he definitely can. He’s just an absolute delight to watch.”

Pereira was simply outstanding for Albion last term, scoring 12 goals and registering six assists. That took his tally in a Baggies shirt to 20 strikes overall as the 25-year-old contributed to around 48% of his team’s goals. For context, only Harry Kane (61%) had a higher percentage in the league last season.

Meanwhile, in 2019/20, only Kevin De Bruyne with 20 assists, created more goals than Pereira (16), in the entirety of England’s top four leagues.

With that in mind, Wolves must surely consider luring him across the Midlands.

AND in other news, Imagine him & Trincao: Wolves must sign “remarkable” 22-goal beast with “magic” feet…

Pakistan have notched up yet another victory, beating South Africa by 61 runs in a 2002 Blind World Cup league match at Chennai

Staff Reporter11-Dec-2002Pakistan have notched up yet another victory, beating South Africa by 61 runs in a 2002 Blind World Cup league match at Chennai. Wicketkeeper Tariq Samuel, who made an unbeaten century, was the man who scripted the win for his team.In the morning, Samuel made 131 off 119 balls after South Africa put his team in. Middle-order bat Ashraf Bhatti was the other major scorer with a 42 as Pakistan posted a mammoth 301/8 in their 40 overs.It was always going to be a daunting task for South Africa from then on. With opener Em Conradie making 70 and NA Meyer making 47, their team though made an effort. But once the duo were dismissed, the South African challenge floundered.Pakistan, then, were rewarded with five points (one bonus) for the win.

The 2002 Annual General Meeting of Somerset County Cricket Club that took place on Monday evening in the Centre of Excellence at the County Ground was attended by more that two hundred people

SOMERSET18-Dec-2002The 2002 Annual General Meeting of Somerset County Cricket Club that took place on Monday evening in the Centre of Excellence at the County Ground was attended by more that two hundred people.Richard Parsons the retiring chairman presented the annual report and commenced the meeting by telling those present: "Cricket is our business and it has been a disappointing season for the club."However despite the poor playing results 231 more members had been recruited than in 2001, which he said was remarkable for a small rural county.The chairman reported that this was the eleventh consecutive year that the club had reported a profit that he felt was an excellent achievement.Regarding the three new signings that had been made coach Kevin Shine told the meeting that he felt they would most certainly raise the competition stakes for places in the side.In response to a question regarding the Head Groundsman, the chairman told the meeting that Phil Frost had verbally told the club that he was resigning and had confirmed this in writing, but at the present time he was still carrying out his duties on the ground.The Report for 2002 was accepted as were the accounts that were presented by Rory O’Donnell, the Honorary Treasurer.Agenda item seven, relating to the proposed rule changes, the essence of which were the creation of a single committee to streamline the decision making process, and the appointment of a chairman from outside of the committee prompted several questions, but when a vote was taken the changes were passed by an overwhelming majority.Club President Michael Hill thanked the retiring chairman for his years of service to the club, and told the meeting that Richard Parsons had been elected an honorary life member of Somerset County Cricket Club.Before the meeting closed the new chairman elect Giles Clarke, a businessman with a substantial track record, was presented to the meeting and told those present that he was deeply honoured and immensely privileged to be asked to become chairman of Somerset County Cricket Club. He looked forward to doing his best towards helping the club to further great triumphs both on and off the field and to a strong financially independent Somerset.He also hoped that during his tenure as chairman that he would see the County Championship pennant flying at the club, a sentiment that was greeted warmly by all of those present.