All posts by h716a5.icu

According to Foot Mercato (via Inside Futbol), Southampton are making a late push to sign Arsenal’s William Saliba on loan – but it could end in disappointment as he wants to join Marseille, which could prove to be a major obstacle in the Saints’ pursuit of him.

The Lowdown: Southampton prepare for new term

Southampton are preparing for the new season and have recently confirmed the signing of Romain Perraud from French side Brest (southamptonfc.com).

He is unlikely to be their only signing of the summer, and it seems the Saints now have their eyes on another defender.

The Latest: Saints eye Saliba

As per this latest report, Southampton are joined by Newcastle in a late push to sign Saliba on loan for next season.

However, according to The Athletic, the 20-year-old wants to join Marseille, although Arsenal would rather that he stay in the Premier League.

The Verdict: Up-and-coming talent

Signed by Arsenal in 2019, the £16.2m-valued defender (Transfermarkt) returned to Saint-Etienne immediately on loan before joining up with the Gunners in 2020. He is yet to make a senior appearance for the north London outfit, instead making a move to Nice in January of this year, but he has been compared to Raphael Varane by his childhood coach Fabio Frasconi (planetfootball.com) and should have a big future ahead of him.

Marseille are a big draw in Saliba’s native France, so it makes sense that he would want to go there. However, if Arsenal really want him to stay in England, he could blossom under the guidance of Ralph Hasenhuttl if they send him to Southampton. It remains to be seen whether the youngster can be convinced to choose the English south coast over the French one.

In other news, many Southampton fans have been reacting to this transfer news.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is likely to retain Waqar Younis as captain for the Test matches, but the consensus for the one-day skipper is yet to emerge as three players Wasim Akram, Moin Khan and Shoaib Akhtar are in the running for the slot

Mohammad Yaqoob24-Oct-2002Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is likely to retain Waqar Younis as captain for the Test matches, but the consensus for the one-day skipper is yet to emerge as three players Wasim Akram, Moin Khan and Shoaib Akhtar are in the running for the slot.Well informed sources told Dawn that PCB is contemplating to form separate teams for both versions (Tests and one-dayers), and still considers Waqar to be the best choice for Test captain. However, the PCB is in a quandary to find a leader for the one-day edition of the game.To assess form and fitness of some senior and junior players before selecting the Pakistan team for the twin tour of Zimbabwe and South Africa, PCB is organising a one-day match at the Gaddafi Stadium, Friday. Akram and Moin are playing in that match.The tour is starting from Nov 1 and Pakistan are to play two Test and five one-day matches in each country. If Akram and Moin succeed in proving their fitness, they will vie for the captaincy of the one-dayer. Otherwise Shoaib will be another alternative for the PCB.PCB is considering all options seriously to avoid any further debacle after 3-0 defeat by Australia in the Test series held at offshore Colombo and Sharjah this month.But can the PCB appoint Wasim as captain? Will PCB set aside the recommendations of the one-man judicial commission headed by former justice Malik Mohammad Qayyum which probed into the match-fixing and gambling allegations levelled against some members of the Pakistan team from certain quarters.Justice Qayyum had recommended that PCB avoid appointing Wasim as captain in future. But the PCB, sources say, is more concerned in building up strong teams to avoid disasters such as witnessed in the current series and in the three one-day tournaments.Moin, who was sacked as captain in 2001 and replaced by Waqar, is also likely to make a comeback in the international arena.Earlier, he was to be considered for the Test series against Australia.For this, PCB included Moin in the Pakistan ‘A’ team to play inthe home series against Sri Lanka ‘A’ last month. But under his captaincy, the ‘A’ team lost the second unofficial Test at Multan. After that Moin left the team and did not lead it in the three-match one-day series.

The second match of the season for me and we’ve won another toss; we’ll bat first again

Claire Taylor's Winter Diary11-Nov-2002The second match of the season for me and we’ve won another toss; we’ll bat first again. East Shirley haven’t won a match yet and we want to gain an early advantage. Our openers establish a 100-run stand and we’re off to a good start. Lancaster Park total 219 for nine off 50 overs (Gould 50, Tiffen 53) and then bowl East Shirley out for 69 off 26 overs. A very good day in all departments.There are only four teams in the league – we play four rounds against each team so the next match was the second against St. Albans. First toss lost, first time that we had to field first. Our pitch is settling down nicely now, good even bounce if still a little green. Saints scored 194 for five off 50 overs after a strong start, slowing up in the later stages of their innings.I opened the batting with Tamara Gould, a promising 15-year-old (selected for the Canterbury full squad) who travels up to Christchurch from Lake Tekapo each Saturday (a three-hour trip each way). We establish another 100 opening stand, scoring 70 off the first 15 overs whilst the fielding restrictions are in place.I scored a good 78 before being caught in the covers and, after an intelligent 51 not out from Tiffen, we secured the game in the 48th over.After the match against Saints I travelled down to Geraldine for the two trial matches against Otago. Unfortunately the weather gods were not with us and both matches were rained out. The first after only 2.5 overs and the second after 28 overs with Otago struggling in awful conditions on 49 for nine. 14 will be selected for Canterbury training and the squad will be reduced later.Later that week I travelled over to the West Coast to help Haidee Tiffen with some development work. In her role as Women’s Development Officer for Canterbury Cricket she will visit each of the districts to promote women’s and girl’s cricket and set up small competitions.The scenery on the West Coast is amazing and the drive through the Lewis Pass – beautiful! Neither Reefton or Westport will top my list of must-see towns in New Zealand but the people were friendly and there was a good response to Haidee’s visit.First impressions of club cricket in Christchurch are good. The league is smaller and more matches seem to be competitive. On average the teams are younger than in England. I’m the oldest in my club at 27 which in England would put me in the middle.This leads I think to better fielding with most players able to field anywhere. The one outage could be in the slips – as the oldest in the team I’ve bagged that spot! There’s also less travelling involved in getting to matches, the longest trip is probably 15 minutes (except for those travelling up from the country!) which means higher availability as matches take up less weekend time.I’ve settled in well now. Canterbury training has started up and the next task is going to be combining that schedule with the England training schedule that I’ve been given. I’ll have to ensure that I get enough rest days to let my body recover since the emphasis is now on high intensity, power & speed building work.I’ve been exploring over the past couple of weeks; I have driven up the east coast very early in the morning to photograph sunrises and have been to the beaches of the west coast. I’m planning to go on a “tramp” – a Kiwi walking holiday whilst on my next training break.We’re not allowed to do anything hazardous so no bungee jumping, white-water rafting or winter sports, but there’s plenty of other things that I want to do whilst I’m over here.Last weekend’s match was against Riccarton. An awful day with a freezing wind and it had been raining overnight. We got to the pitch at 10am and agreed to return later that day to see if we could get a game in.Once the covers were off, the pitch and square dried quickly and we agreed to play a 40-over match. Riccarton scored 174 for five off their 40 and Lancaster Park took the match in the 38th over on 175 for five (Taylor 51, Tiffen 54*). Five matches into the season and Lancaster Park are unbeaten and top of the league!

The last 12 months have been a perplexing nightmare for everyone associated with Celtic Football Club.

The 2019/20 campaign drew to a close with the Hoops being handed the league crown but since that moment, everything has gone downhill at Parkhead.

Their stadium has been the polar opposite of Paradise, instead depicting a hellish landscape of obscurity and terror.

It’s not often the Bhoys end a season without a trophy to their name but that was the unfortunate eventuality that fell on the shoulders of Neil Lennon and co in 2020/21.

Now without a manager, the farcical situation that played out in their chase for Eddie Howe has finally come to a conclusion.

However, in typical Celtic fashion, it ended in disaster with the club having to U-turn. A move collapsed at the 11th hour, leaving the Hoops to pursue a move for Ange Postecoglou instead.

Their chase of Howe continues to unravel with fresh information coming to light on a regular basis.

Despite his backroom staff proving to be an issue, it was his interest in Southampton that provoked him to have second thoughts on the vacancy in Scotland.

Though, such were the stunning turn of events that played out that even the playing staff will be left dazed and confused.

The Athletic claimed this week, in a fresh update, that certain players had even been told that Howe was going to become the new manager.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-celtic-news-faria-postecoglou-howe-elyounoussi” title= “Read the latest Celtic news!”]

This may show a level of incompetency from the board but we shouldn’t really be surprised judging by what’s happened this term. The board have come under fire on a regular basis with protests taking place outside Parkhead.

It’s worrying that so many supporters have rallied against Dermot Desmond and the top brass at Celtic but what’s even more of a concern is how badly this has impacted the players.

Those in the dressing room have an affinity with John Kennedy but the last thing they needed after such a lacklustre campaign was more uncertainty.

A number of players have been linked with a move away and they’re hardly going to see Glasgow as a place to develop if they’re being told things that aren’t true.

Odsonne Edouard looks set to join Leicester in what feels like an inevitable switch to the Premier League but there are also concerns over the future of David Turnbull and Ismaila Soro.

Those two should have the squad built around them in the coming years but instead, they’re being linked with Aston Villa and Tottenham.

A sense of stability would convince them to remain at Celtic but it feels like the football club is far from that at this moment in time.

Supporters will have every right to be confused by events going on behind the scenes. Celtic have issued statements to appease the fan base but there is still a distinct lack of clarity; that simply has to improve.

AND in other news, Imagine him & Postecoglou: Celtic can forge dream duo by signing “breathtaking” 29 y/o…

Serie A expert Conor Clancy believes that Daniel Levy will get along with Tottenham Hotspur Managing Director Fabio Paratici because he doesn’t tend to sign a huge number of players every summer.

The north London outfit officially announced the appointment of the Italian on Saturday evening, after he agreed terms to become the club’s new director.

The Italian will move after leaving Juventus at the end of the season, and he will be entrusted with the responsibility of singing new players and also appointing the club’s next manager following the mid-season sacking of Jose Mourinho.

Paratici only signed four players for a fee last summer for the Italian club, bringing in Arthur, Nicolo Rovella, Stefano Gori and Rolando Mandragora. Alvaro Morata, Federico Chiesa, and Weston McKennie all arrived on loan.

And Clancy, who is the editor-in-chief of Forza Italian Football, thinks that Levy may have found a kindred spirit in the sense of his lack of transfer activity.

Indeed, under Mauricio Pochettino’s management, Spurs became the first and, to date, only Premier League club to go an entire summer without signing a player.

Speaking exclusively to The Transfer Tavern, Clancy said: “I think Levy might like the fact that he doesn’t go and sign players all that much.”

An innings of quality from Mahela Jayawardene has put the Sri Lankans into a commanding position against Middlesex at Shenley

Ralph Dellor12-May-2002An innings of quality from Mahela Jayawardene has put the Sri Lankans into a commanding position against Middlesex at Shenley. With one day to go, the tourists lead by 193 runs with six wickets in hand. This was after the county side had been bowled out for 274 for a first innings lead of 88.Middlesex had started the day on 178 for six, but they lost Ed Joyce when the Irishman was in sight of his third first-class century. When he had 93 he fell lbw to Charitha Buddika Fernando who then took the wicket of David Alleyne almost immediately to claim his fourth wicket of the innings.Despite an undefeated 39 from Aaron Laraman, the rest of the innings did not detain the Sri Lankan bowlers for too long and the stage was left for Jayawardene and Hashan Tillekeratne to share an unbroken partnership of 179 for the fifth wicket. This was only after four of the top-order batsmen had again spurned the opportunity for batting practice in advance of the first Test by giving their wickets away far too easily.However, Sri Lanka manager Chandra Shaffter pledged that it will be a different story at Lord’s. “There will be a different atmosphere, a whole different ball game and the attitude of the players will be different,” he said.”Although some of the batting has in a sense been disappointing, I’m not unhappy with the situation because everybody has shown what they can do since we arrived in England.”Virtually all the batsmen have had a good score and shown they can perform well at some stage.”But he was forced to concede: “Fewer boundaries and more runs might have been better. Weweren’t taking the ones and twos we should. They have been making the big hits but not the singles.”He added: “Overall, I’m satisfied. I am certainly in no way despondent. I’m sure we will be a different team when the Test comes along.”The manager will not want a different performance from the two not out batsmen. So far, Jayawardene has scored 125 and Tillekeratne 71, and the manager will be hoping they can go on to set up a morale-boosting victory on the final day of this game before the team head a few miles south to the venue of the first Test.

Warwickshire Bears went top of Division One of the Norwich Union League as they eased to a 19-run victory over Kent Spitfires courtesy of some sensible batting and the rain at Edgbaston

George Dobell30-Jun-2002Warwickshire Bears went top of Division One of the Norwich Union League as they eased to a 19-run victory over Kent Spitfires courtesy of some sensible batting and the rain at Edgbaston.Chasing a theoretical 267 to win, the approaching storm clouds made it pretty obvious to both sides that the chances of the match taking its full course were minimal. The home side therefore decided to keep ahead of the rate and ensure that, when the rain came, they would be deemed winners according to the Duckworth/Lewis formula.Neil Carter, promoted up the order as a pinch hitter thrashed Saggers for a four and a six before perishing to just his third ball for 10. But the tone had been set and skipper Mike Powell continued the charge in a stand of 57 with Dominic Ostler for the second wicket.Ostler, fresh from his match-winning century against Somerset in the championship, kept up the rate with 43 before he was bowled off his pads by the deserving Ealham while Ian Bell was unbeaten on 29 off 28 balls at the end. It was the second time in a week that the youngster has seen his side home. There was a slightly disappointing end to this game, though, with the players already forced off by rain when the winner was announced; the Bears ahead of the 107 that the D/L formula decreed was the winning line.In truth the Spitfires didn’t enjoy much luck. They must have thought they had a good chance of victory having set an impressive total, and Mark Ealham must wonder what more he could have done for his side. The former England allrounder struck a fine half-century earlier in the day, before taking the wicket of Powell with his first ball and following it up by dismissing Ostler.The afternoon started with Kent Spitfires setting Warwickshire Bears a challenging total of 266-9, despite suffering a mid-inning stutter.Against the backdrop of Eid celebrations from neighbouring Cannon Hill Park, Spitfires’ openers made good use of a short boundary and some loose bowling to post 50 in just the seventh over after winning the toss.Amjad Khan (who opens for Denmark in the ICC Trophy) and Rob Key soon hit Neil Carter out of the attack. With both batsmen driving fiercely, the South African seamer’s first two overs cost 21 as he struggled with line and length.Khan took an ugly swing at Brown and departed for 21, but Hockley and Key continued untroubled and it looked as if the hosts may pay for Pollock spilling a low chance at mid-off as Key, on 42, drove uppishly at Sheikh.But it barely mattered as 95-1 became 97-4. Hockley spooned a simple catch to Ostler at mid-on off Sheikh before Symonds was caught at point moments later as the Spitfires appeared to be losing altitude.Troughton’s one-handed catch to dismiss Symonds was sensational. The batsman cut hard at a wide long-hop, only to see the youngster fling himself to his favoured left side and pluck the speeding ball out of the air.Worse was to follow for the Spitfires. The in-form Key fell lbw for 46, playing across the line as the visitors were forced into a period of quiet consolidation.Fulton (captaining in the continued absence of Fleming with a thorn muscle) and Walker added a measured 60 for the fifth wicket, with Fulton beginning to look ominous. But he fell attempting a pull, dollying a catch to the young Ian Cifford off the returning Neil Carter to keep the game on an even keel.But Ealham was soon into his stride. Dropped by Powell on eight, and badly by Sheikh on 36, he responded with sixes off Carter, Powell and Wagg as the Spitfires accelerated with a sixth-wicket partnership of 86. The ex-England allrounder brought up his 50 off just 41 balls (4×4 and 3×6), before departing to a fantastic one-handed catch by the diving Clifford. Walker, too, accelerated smoothly, clipping Brown off his legs for four before lofting him for six in successive balls.All the bowlers suffered, though Sheikh (2-40) and Wagg (4-50) came back well. Bears’ skipper, Mike Powell, bowled himself for seven overs as he juggled his attack, but chose to ignore the off-spin of ex-England man Neil Smith.In the end though it made little difference. The Spitfires were left to rue their ill fortune as the Bears utilised the rules sensibly. Benson and Hedges Cup holders, and on top of the NUL Division One: Warwickshire can once again claim be the top one-day side in England after a barren few seasons.

West Ham must pick Tammy Abraham over Olivier Giroud if they do business with Chelsea this summer, says former Premier League midfielder Carlton Palmer.

Both strikers, 23 and 34, are currently being linked with a move to the London Stadium after being left out in the cold by Thomas Tuchel this season.

According to The Telegraph, Chelsea are ready to offer Abraham in any potential deal for Declan Rice. Meanwhile, Calciomercato.it (via Hammers News) claims West Ham could make a swoop for Giroud, who will be a free agent in the upcoming transfer window.

For Palmer, if it is a toss-up between the two, then Abraham is a no-brainer. The ex-Leeds United midfielder told TT in an exclusive interview:

“In terms of taking the club forward, you’d rather get Tammy Abraham, wouldn’t you? Young player who needs to leave Chelsea. If he’s not going to play, he needs to leave, he needs to leave.

“Of course, you’d always have somebody like Giroud in your squad and around your squad, but the future is the likes of Abraham. Even if they get him out on a season loan, Abraham’s the one they need to get.”

Even though he has not played regularly, Giroud has still shown his worth this season, scoring those four goals against Sevilla in the Champions League, for example.

Given the age factor, however, Abraham quite clearly one for now and the future, going for the England international instead might make a little more sense.

West Bromwich Albion are interested in a deal to bring Jack Hendry to The Hawthorns this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by 90min, who claim that the Baggies, along with clubs such as Burnley, Newcastle United, Crystal Palace, Leeds United and Sheffield United, are keeping a very close eye on the KV Oostende centre-back ahead of a potential move in the upcoming transfer window.

It is also reported that there is significant interest in the 26-year-old from Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium, with clubs thought to be willing to pay up to £10m for the Scotland international.

It is then revealed that Oostende themselves have only just secured the £2m signing of Hendry from Celtic, although the Jupiler Pro League side are believed to have informed the defender that they will be selling him to the highest bidder this summer.

Dowling must move

Considering just how impressive Hendry was during his season-long loan spell at the Belgian side last season, it is unsurprising to learn of the significant amount of interest in the centre-back’s services this summer.

Indeed, over his 30 Jupiler Pro League appearances for Alexander Blessin’s side, the 26-year-old helped his team keep six clean sheets, as well as making an average of 0.6 interceptions, one tackle, 4.1 clearances and winning 4.8 duels per game.

The £3.15m-rated man also impressed in an attacking capacity, chipping in with two goals and providing one assist, in addition to making an average of 0.2 key passes per fixture.

These metrics saw Hendry earn a highly impressive seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.01, ranking the defender as Oostende’s third-best performer in the Belgian top-flight – something that is no mean feat having only arrived at the club last summer.

As such, it would be a difficult argument to make that Hendry would not be an extremely useful addition to West Brom’s current options in the heart of defence, leading us to believe that the club’s sporting and technical director, Luke Dowling, should be doing all he can to convince the man Blessin dubbed a “natural leader” of a move to The Hawthorns this summer.

In other news: West Brom dealt transfer blow over “tenacious” £31k-p/w gem that’ll leave fans gutted

The annual regional Under-15 competition bowls off in Trinidad on Saturday with a few concerns being expressed even before a ball has been bowled

Haydn Gill29-Mar-2002The annual regional Under-15 competition bowls off in Trinidad on Saturday with a few concerns being expressed even before a ball has been bowled.It stems from the fact that the tournament will be staged in the same country for the third successive year.There has been no official word on where the Under-19 championship will be held, but indications suggest that it will be in Guyana – for the third consecutive year.Neither tournament has had a sponsor in recent years. Nortel, the North American telecommunications company, supported the Under-19s between 1984 and 1999, while Jamaica’s Carib Cement was a brief sponsor for the regional Under-15 tournament, which started in 1996.Since the withdrawal of the sponsors, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has scheduled these youth tournaments exclusively in Guyana and Trinidad.One might assume that it has done so primarily for financial reasons – a US dollar can stretch further in those countries than in the Eastern Caribbean.These are hard economic times and the WICB’s balance sheet might not be too rosy. It is probably seeking ways to cut and contrive, as we all are.Be that as it may, we are talking about the development of a sport that is so dear to many of us in the Caribbean.We should not just resort to playing a competition in a country because we know we can get $175 for a US$1.Quite apart from providing the same teams with a constant home advantage, one wonders whether the game can develop if these tournaments are continuously staged in countries where pitches are known to be low and slow.Whether it be Enmore or Everest or somewhere in the Essequibo in Guyana, or whether it be Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad, Inshan Ali Park or Barataria Oval, it is almost certain that the surfaces will not encourage faster bowlers.Is it a sheer coincidence that no young fast bowler has been able to come to the forefront in the last few years?The most recent Test cap to have emerged from a regional youth tournament was Corey Collymore, who played in the 1996 championships in Jamaica.Guyana hosted three of the next five tournaments and not a single fast bowler in those competitions has graduated to Test level.By extention, no one is coming through at Under-15 level either, the exception being Trinidad and Tobago’s Ravi Rampaul, a member of the champion West Indies Under-15 team of 2002 who went on to make the regional team that played in the recent Youth World Cup in New Zealand.For a region that has produced Hall, Griffith, Marshall, Garner, Holding and Roberts, we are surely in a sad state with our fast bowling stocks.The situation will not be helped if we continue to play our premier youth competitions in Georgetown and Port-of-Spain.A look at the leading wicket-takers in the last two Under-19 competitions tells the story.In 1999, the top six were off-spinner Kevin Bazil (31 wickets), leg-spinner Camillus Alexander (28), off-spinner Chaka Hodge (27), left-arm spinner Derick Bishop (21), leg-spinner Ron Matthews (20) and left-arm spinner Davindra Krishna (20). The leading fast bowler was Rayon Thomas, his 18 wickets putting him eighth on the list and overall only four pacers took more than ten wickets.In 2000, the top five wicket-takers were left-arm spinner Derick Bishop (25), left-arm spinner Alston Bobb (24), off-spinner Wayne Simpson (23), along with fast bowlers Rampaul (23) and Jeremiah Harris (23).Interestingly enough, the two fast bowlers who attracted the most fans throughout the recently-concluded Busta Series, Jamaican Darren Powell and Barbadian Tino Best, did not have the opportunity to play regional youth cricket.Powell and Best are two youngsters with promise, but if we don’t want to kill off other emerging fast bowlers, it’s high time that we ensure our regional youth competitions offer scope for their development.