Liverpool will travel to the Stadium of Light to face Sunderland on Saturday, with both sides desperately seeking their first win of the season.
Sunderland have held Arsenal and Swansea in their previous away matches, impressing on both occasions, whilst Liverpool have suffered their worst start to a season in 50 years, collecting just one point from a possible nine.
Brendan Rodgers side lost 2-0 at home to Arsenal last time out, where there lack of threat in front of goal was particularly evident.
Liverpool fans are still wondering how their season will shape up, following the clubs disastrous deadline day business, where they failed to secure a replacement for Andy Carroll, leaving the club with just two senior strikers.
One of which is Fabio Borini, a 21-year-old signed from Roma in the summer, with no previous Premier League experience.
Sunderland has not been a particularly happy ground for Liverpool in recent years, losing twice 1-0 in the past three meetings, one of which was to the famous ‘beach ball’ goal.
Rodgers will be desperate to record his first league victory as Liverpool manager, especially with his side occupying a relegation spot, and the visit of Manchester United on the horizon.
Joe Cole (hamstring) and Lucas (thigh) remain the only names on the injury list.
Sunderland meanwhile are set to welcome back Lee Cattermole, Phil Bardsley, Wes Brown and David Vaughn, as they too search for their first win of the season.
However Adam Johnson is likely to miss out having withdrawn himself from the England squad in midweek with a thigh injury.
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Prediction: Sunderland 0-0 Liverpool
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Arsene Wenger’s future is not with Arsenal, but the Frenchman is ‘convinced’ that Jack Wilshere will still be with the Gunners entering the 2018-19 campaign.
Wilshere is yet to agree terms on a new contract at the Emirates Stadium, and as it stands, he will be free to leave at the end of next month.
The 26-year-old’s future at the club has been a bit of a merry-go-round, and it would be fair to say that the Arsenal supporters are a bit fed-up with the situation.
Wilshere, who is valued at £16.2m by transfermarkt.co.uk, has not exactly been brilliant for the Gunners in recent months, but is certainly a different player to the one that struggled on loan at Bournemouth last season.
Wenger is not involved in the contract talks with Wilshere, but the current Arsenal manager believes that the midfielder will ultimately sign a fresh deal at the Emirates Stadium.
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The club’s supporters have been reacting to Wenger’s quotes, and whilst there are plenty that want Wilshere to stay, it is not an opinion shared by all.
A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:
One of the biggest transfer stories of the summer isn’t even taking place in England. Or in Europe.
But our neighbours across the pond got a fantastic surprise Saturday when Liverpool icon Steven Gerrard was officially introduced to his new LA Galaxy home crowd.
Gerrard is just the latest Premier League player to move to Major League Soccer, and to LA, after David Beckham and Robbie Keane – for his part, Keane bagged a hat trick in Saturday’s 4-0 win over Toronto FC.
Although Gerrard won’t make his on-field MLS debut until the Galaxy’s July 17 contest against the San Jose Earthquakes, the former Reds captain was unveiled at half-time and gave a speech to fans.
Oh, and he bought beer for 500 of them.
Most were pretty grateful.
But, understandably, many LFC supporters are still just a tad bitter…
Some people questioned if Americans even know what they’re getting with Gerrard.
Regardless, MLS fans are excited to see what Stevie G will bring to the pitch.
David Moyes is reportedly looking to pip Chelsea and take Southampton’s highly-rated left-back Luke Shaw to Manchester United, according to the Daily Mail.
The 17-year-old academy graduate and England youth international has taken the Premier League by storm in the past season having been thrust into the first team by former Saints boss Nigel Adkins.
Shaw remained in the side when Argentinian coach Mauricio Pochettino replaced Adkins in mid-January and has gone on to make 28 appearances as the side successfully secured their Premier League status.
Shaw is a self-confessed Chelsea fan and the Blues were thought to be lining up a summer swoop for the youngster. But Pochettino recently spoke out to insist that the player would not be leaving St Mary’s in the transfer window.
However, Moyes, who has scouted Shaw on several occasions during his time as Everton boss, is now believed to be pondering an offer as he looks to find a long-term replacement for Patrice Evra and is likely to be rebuffed in his efforts to take Leighton Baines with him from Goodison Park.
Despite the Premier League champions expressing an interest, the Telegraph claims Shaw will be happy to stay put at Southampton and will sign a five-year contract at the club when he turns 18 in July.
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Following a relatively indifferent start to the Premier League season, Mark Hughes won’t need to need to be reminded just how important it is that his QPR team start winning games.
An impressive recruitment drive that’s seen the likes of Esteban Granero and Julio Cesar come to Loftus Road, has led some observers to tout Hughes’ men for a mid-table finish.
But the realities of what constitute a successful season for the R’s, lie simply in their need to avoid relegation. Whatever happens this term, as long as they avoid dropping out of the riches of the Premier League, it must be consigned as a success. Otherwise, this could be one rollercoaster ride that comes to a very nasty end indeed.
There’s no doubt that on paper, QPR now possess a squad that should at least be making a decent shot at survival. The now possesses a Champions League winning goalkeeper in Julio Cesar. The duo of Park Ji-Sung and Jose Bosingwa are both players who have excelled at the very top and the likes of Andy Johnson, Bobby Zamora and Djibril Cisse are all more than capable of scoring goals in this league. Throw in the likes of Adel Taarabt, Alejandro Faurlin and Junior Hoilett and you can understand why some may feel safety is something of a banker at Loftus Road. A little short at the back perhaps, but Hughes doesn’t possess a bad squad at all.
Whether he can them all to gel and play cohesively for the rest of the term is a different matter, but there’s still no guarantees of Premier League safety- bigger and better teams have succumbed to the trap door of English football’s top tier and QPR are no different.
The question mark that appears to be hanging over the West London club, however, is more of what happens if they do end up slipping back into the Championship. QPR did an awful lot of business during the summer and on paper, you’d feel as if the books were relatively balanced. They brought 11 players in but shipped out 13 before the window slammed shut. But although the wage bill is now bereft of the likes of Peter Ramage and Danny Shittu it now beholds the likes of Esteban Granero and Julio Cesar.
Indeed, Tony Fernandes’ intense recruitment drive since January has been perceived in many quarters to be a high risk, heavily invested game of chance. Throw money at the team in an attempt to secure the desperately needed status of Premier League football in the short-term and reap the rewards of fiscal benefits in the long-run. Of course, it is not that simple. But the stakes still remain high, whatever way you look at it.
The crux of the issue revolves far more around the expenditure on wages, than it does on transfer fees, which even then is hard to gauge without the publishing of the most recent accounts. QPR have hardly gone on some irresponsible summer spend. The realms of the undisclosed fee make it a bit more difficult to judge exactly how much they’ve spent, but the majority of their business has been on free transfers and loan deals. Considering their most expensive acquisition was that of Granero for an initial £6.5million (rising to £9million with add-ons), they’ve not done badly at all.
But the issue resides more with the money paid out in the realm of wages, singing on fees and clauses in these new contracts. Again, making judgments upon accounts that we’ve yet to see is perhaps foolish, but even basic speculation suggests that maybe some risk has been taken with Fernandes’ approach.
Because in terms of revenue streams, you would imagine that QPR are putting a lot of eggs in the bag of the lucrative television money they receive from being in the Premier League. A very rough estimate would suggest that the latest TV money would be worth at least £40million as a basic figure- quite the boost to the club’s coffers. Because when you consider they have an average Loftus Road attendance of around 17,000, the revenue certainly isn’t coming from matchday income.
One figure people seem to like to bash QPR round the head with, was their last published accounts figure in which wages accounted for an astonishing 183% of revenue. What some kept forgetting is that the books are always for the year before- which would be QPR’s promotion winning season. This doesn’t account for the new television money or the bonuses and activated clauses that were triggered as a result of promotion. But it’s still an alarming figure.
Furthermore in August of last year and January, when Fernandes had to spend big to keep the club afloat, there is evidence to suggest that the clubs recruitment drive this year might not necessarily be bulletproof. The likes of Joey Barton, Djibril Cisse and Bobby Zamora et al were widely reported to have no relegation clauses built into their extremely lucrative contracts. Some may argue that may have been the only way to attract them to a club that was still in real danger of relegation, but it represents an undeniably reckless strategy if true. If the latest batch of signings – you would have thought the likes of Cesar would be at least – earning within the £50k to £70k mark are without similar clauses, they could be in real trouble if they go down.
The notion is that QPR would be forced to sell these players at an outrageously cheap rate, if not for free, should they go down. And considering most came in on free transfers or for a pittance, then that’s not a problem. But many of these players are at the wrong end of 20 and getting rid of players like Zamora and Wright-Philips, who are on those sort of wages, could be tough. We’ve seen before with Winston Bogarde and more recently Wayne Bridge that not every player will happily give up their pay packet. Even the Premier League parachute payments would struggle to cover QPR if they had to pay those sort of wages in the Championship.
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Tony Fernandes is no mug of a businessman and he recently stated:
“We’re not panic-buying; we’re not spending beyond our means; and we’re certainly not throwing money away like some are reporting.
“We’ve got a very strict and precise business plan in place at this club and any deal we do for a player is well within our budget.”
Whether that is media spin or good, honest, business acumen, all will be revealed in good time. Fernandes’ plans for the future are bold and if Hughes can keep the team up this year, securing the financial stability they need, there’s no reason why they can’t achieve their goals. But in the meantime, they simply cannot afford to move back own into the Championship. QPR fans know all too well the pain of financial disarray. Only if they do succumb to relegation, will we truly see the logic in the last 12 months worth of boardroom decisions.
How do you feel about QPR’s chances for the new season? Are you confident that Fernandes is managing the club well or do you fear the ramifications of relegation? Let me know what you think on Twitter: follow @samuel_antrobus and bat me your views.
India A suffered a morning collapse but fought back as offspinner Minnu Mani continued to shine
ESPNcricinfo staff23-Aug-2024The ball dominated on the second day between Australia A and India on the Gold Coast as Minnu Mani took her match haul to ten wickets, after Kate Peterson had taken five for the hosts to earn a narrow first-innings lead, but Maddy Darke ensured what could be a tricky chase.Having taken a 28-run advantage, Australia A lost two wickets before scoring a run in their second innings with Mani striking in consecutive overs to remove Georgia Voll and Charli Knott – caught at slip and deep midwicket respectively – on her way to claiming the first four batters to fall.Related
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Nicole Faltum edged behind and Tess Flintoff was bowled by a big-spinning offbreak that ripped between bat and pad.However, Darke put together an unbeaten half-century to stretch the lead towards 200, adding 54 for the sixth wicket with Maitlan Brown before she became Mani’s tenth wicket, smartly caught off the face of the bat at short leg.Emma de Broughe also made a half-century in challenging conditions against India’s spinners before being given caught behind off legspinner Priya Mishra although she did not seem convinced by the decision.Earlier, India A had resumed on 100 for 2 but were soon in trouble as Peterson ran through the middle order. Her first wicket of the day came with a delivery that moved late to take Tejal Hasabnis’ off stump and then it was further away swing that did for opener Shweta Sehrawat who was caught behind.Peterson found herself on a hat-trick when Sajana Sajeevan got a leading edge to a full toss that looped up into the off side. Uma Chetry survived the next delivery but soon fell to Peterson as she edged to slip via a glance off the keeper.India A’s collapse became 5 for 27 when Raghvi Bist was run out but some handy lower-order contributions ensured they closed in on Australia A’s total.
Winless Yorkshire left frustrated once again as youthful hosts build on promising start
Alan Gardner20-Apr-2023Sussex 275 for 5 (Alsop 95, Carter 60*, Haines 48) vs YorkshireThere is a mood of sporting optimism down on this part of the south coast. Granted, that might be in large part due to Brighton’s impressive season under Roberto de Zerbi – they currently sit seventh in the Premier League and play an FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United at Wembley on Sunday – but there are already encouraging signs for those hoping that Paul Farbrace can oversee a long-awaited renaissance at Sussex.A hard-fought win in the opening round against Durham was followed by a gritty display with the bat on day one of this encounter with Yorkshire. Tom Alsop’s 95 was the centrepiece, with Oli Carter following up his match-sealing turn in the fourth innings two weeks ago by recording an unbeaten first half-century of the season. Had Alsop not holed out to deep midwicket off the second ball after tea, with a fifth first-class hundred since joining Sussex last year ready to be ticked off, their position might have been even stronger.Alsop is one of the players that Farbrace has identified as key to turning a promising but inexperienced squad into one that can challenge for promotion. At 27, he has been around the game for the best part of a decade but left Hampshire unfulfilled, his average just 25.88. For Sussex, that number swells to 42.56 and this year he will act as vice-captain in the LV= Insurance Championship, ready to step in when Cheteshwar Pujara is away on India duty.Always a stylish-looking left-hander, Alsop appears to be developing the substance to go with it. He had a dose of luck early in his innings, inside-edging consecutive deliveries from Mickey Edwards past his stumps for four, but grew steadily more authoritative during the afternoon as his 94-run stand with Carter edged Sussex away from a potentially tricky position at 124 for 4.His dismissal, hoicking at a half-tracker from George Hill – Yorkshire’s fifth seamer bowling his first over of the day – straight to Dom Bess in front of the pavilion, brought an understandable groan from the crowd. But with the always approachable Farbrace regularly doing his rounds, the mood at the 1st Central County Ground is currently one of positivity – and that was reflected back during another punchy half-century stand between Carter and Fynn Hudson-Prentice before rain and bad light brought about an early close.Yorkshire’s disposition was less sunny as they skulked from the field, hands thrust deep into pockets. They arrived in Hove having suffered a complete washout on their trip to Bristol last week, and in the wake of a first defeat at Headingley by Leicestershire in more than 100 years. The club is attempting another rebuild after relegation in 2022 – not to mention the racism scandal that rumbled on right through pre-season – and here they included two debutants, in Pakistan batter Saud Shakeel and beanpole Aussie quick Edwards, who is eligible as a local due to a British passport.There was also a first outing this term for Matt Fisher, capped by England in Tests 13 months ago but subsequently sidelined by a back stress injury. Fisher spoke while on England Lions duty over the winter of looking to bulk up, in order for his body to better withstand the rigours of a first-class career that has been limited to 27 appearances across eight years; he certainly hit the pitch hard running downhill from the Cromwell Road End but went unrewarded despite troubling both Alsop and Tom Haines.Sussex’s decision to bat looked a sound one, on an oatmeal-coloured deck beneath pale blue skies, and the openers went off at a canter against some wayward early bowling. Fisher and Ben Coad pitched the ball up in search of swing but were left kicking the turf in frustration as Haines and Ali Orr rattled up 41 runs from the first seven overs of the morning.Haines had an unsuccessful whoosh at Fisher first ball and looked a little uncertain to begin with, before settling into a series of crisp, front-foot punches. Orr, meanwhile, addressed the ball as if he meant business, bat raised high in his stance before launching Coad dismissively through long-off. But, having been unluckily run-out at the non-striker’s end in his first innings of the season against Durham, he somehow managed to be caught at slip off his thigh pad pulling at Jordan Thompson, as Yorkshire broke through after an opening stand worth 48.The spin of Bess was introduced as early as the 17th over, and Yorkshire gradually found a measure of control. Bess was lofted for a brusque straight six by Haines in his second over but had his revenge in the next, winning an lbw decision from umpire Neil Pratt to make the score 83 for 2. Haines’ reaction, holding his bat in front of his face while turning away in frustration, suggested the opener was convinced of an inside edge.The soothing presence of Pujara at the crease is another reason for optimism at Sussex, but he fell after adding a round 50 for the third wicket with Alsop – Thompson smuggling one past his inside edge for a dismissal that sent his first-class average for Sussex plummeting to a mere 97.07. Coad then sent Tom Clark’s off stump for a jaunt towards the Sea End, but in the end it was Yorkshire who were the more grateful when the bad weather swept in.
Victorian premier Andrews said there will be no crowd cap at the venue, which can hold up to 100,000 spectators
AAP09-Mar-2022Shane Warne will be publicly farewelled at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, home to many of his greatest sports moments, later this month.Victorian premier Daniel Andrews has confirmed the MCG as the venue for a state memorial service on March 30 to honour the Australian legend, who died suddenly due to heart attack in Thailand last week.Related
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“There’s nowhere in the world more appropriate to farewell Warnie than the ‘G,” Andrews tweeted on Wednesday.The MCG was the stage of the legspinner’s famous Ashes hat-trick in 1994 and the 700th Test wicket on Boxing Day in 2006, his final series before he retired from international cricket.Ticket information for the evening event is yet to be released, but the premier said there will be no crowd cap at the venue, which can hold up to 100,000 spectators.”It’ll be a very big event. It will be a celebration of his life as it should be,” Andrews said.Autopsy results showed that Warne died from a suspected heart attack, confirming the death was due to natural causes with no signs of foul play.Deputy director of Samui Hospital Songyot Chayaninporamet said the autopsy showed Warne, 52, died of a “congenital disease”.Following his death on the Thai resort island of Koh Samui, Warne’s body was taken by ferry to the mainland city of Surat Thani on Sunday. It was transported to Bangkok on Monday night and was being prepared to fly home to Melbourne, according to media reports.Warne’s family issued a statement on Monday describing the night of his death on March 4 as the beginning of “a never-ending nightmare”.
The spin trio combined to take 6 for 80 to hurt New Zealand’s chances of posting a competitive score
Andrew McGlashan03-Oct-2020Australia 3 for 181 (Lanning 62*, Haynes 44, Mair 2-21) beat New Zealand 180 (Green 35, Perkins 32, Wareham 2-23, Molineux 2-28, Jonassen 2-29) by seven wicketsAustralia resumed their dominance over New Zealand by cantering to a seven-wicket victory in the first ODI at Allan Border Field to extend their unbeaten run to 19 matches. Their spinners combined to great effect before Meg Lanning guided a comfortable chase with an unbeaten 62 as Australia barely broke sweat in reaching the target with more than 16 overs to spare.Georgia Wareham, who was named Player of the Match, Jess Jonassen and Sophie Molineux combined for figures of 29.1-4-80-6 as New Zealand could never find any momentum in their innings. At 6 for 83, it appeared they could fold for less than 150, but Maddy Green counterattacked to a degree with an innings that included three sixes.However, a target of 181 was never going to challenge Australia unless there were major early alarms. That didn’t happen as Alyssa Healy gave the chase a brisk start. Lanning then took over, passing 1000 runs against New Zealand, while others chipped in and the captain finished the match with a grand six over long-off.ALSO READ: Australia women’s record glory run in ODIs: how they made it 18 wins in a rowAfter being put in, there had been a brief promise of a solid foundation for New Zealand as Natalie Dodd made a brisk start, including a six off debutant Annabel Sutherland, but from the moment she was caught at midwicket off Megan Schutt, the Australians never looked back.Sutherland, who had been handed her cap by Ellyse Perry, was a little inconsistent in her first outing in the format but claimed a significant maiden wicket when she had Amy Satterthwaite smartly held at slip by Lanning.Spin was then introduced in the 11th over and would dominate much of the remainder of the innings against a New Zealand batting line-up unable to impose itself. It didn’t help that Australia were gifted a couple of wickets. Suzie Bates, who later injured her right shoulder diving in the outfield, pulling a big full toss from Wareham to deep midwicket – Ash Gardner hurting her finger in the process – then captain Sophie Devine could not believe it when she clubbed Jonassen to mid-on.When Katey Martin was defeated by a superb delivery from Molinuex that drifted past the inside edge and Amelia Kerr drove Wareham to cover, New Zealand were sinking fast at 6 for 83 in the 28th over. The hold Australia’s spinners had was highlighted by the 125 dot balls sent down between the three spinners – at one stage, left-armer Molinuex had bowled her first four overs for three runs.It could have been worse for New Zealand if Wareham had managed to get under a tough return catch when Green got a leading edge on 8, but instead it was Green and Katie Perkins who showed their team-mates a way forward with far more proactivity than the top order. Green’s strong shots down the ground, which brought her three sixes, were complimented by Perkins’ nudges and sweeps in a stand of 62 in 14 overs.However, Green was cut off before potentially giving the innings a strong finish – beautifully defeated by Molineux’s flight – and though Hayley Jensen struck some handy runs, it was all too late.In response, Healy thrashed five boundaries in her 26 before being well held at midwicket by Kerr off the impressive Rosemary Mair, who was comfortably the pick of the New Zealand bowlers. In their search for wickets, they offered up too much inconsistency as a unit and it was telling how Australia quickly went on the attack against Kerr when she was introduced.Rachael Haynes had her challenges against Mair, who tied her up outside off stump, but dispatched Kerr over long-on before miscuing Jensen to midwicket.Lanning, looking very at ease in the longer limited-overs format, had flicked an effortless six off Devine early in her innings and was barely troubled during her half-century, which came off 62 balls. She completed the match by lofting Green way back over long-off – that shot, like Australia’s overall performance, was another statement from this team.
Nick Gubbins adds 90 to set up Middlesex’s third-highest 50-over total
ECB Reporters Network01-May-2019Sam Robson recorded his maiden white-ball century as Middlesex crushed Somerset by 118 runs at Radlett to reignite their Royal London One-Day Cup prospects.Robson, making his first appearance in the competition since he limped off with a hamstring injury against Hampshire almost exactly two years ago, top scored with 106 from as many balls.He shared an opening partnership of 138 with Max Holden (45) and, supported by a fluent knock of 90 from Nick Gubbins, set up Middlesex’s third-highest 50-over total of 364 for 6 after they had been put in to bat.Somerset, who have now lost twice after winning their first four South Group fixtures, were unable to build any significant partnerships and were bowled out for 246 in 43.4 overs.Holden was the more aggressive of Middlesex’s opening pair as they made a solid start, but Robson gradually eased into his stride, picking the gaps and hitting Josh Davey for successive leg-side fours.Robson particularly relished the introduction of Tim Groenewald, heaving the Somerset seamer over the top for four and six in successive deliveries and following that up with 14 off his next over.It was part-time bowler Azhar Ali who finally made the breakthrough, with Holden – who had earlier survived a chance to Tom Abell at midwicket – driving the leg-spinner into the hands of long on.Gubbins moved up the order to three and made his attacking intent clear, looking particularly strong on the leg side, while Robson offered just one chance at 90, with Azhar unable to cling on to a return catch.But the Middlesex opener motored on to reach his ton from 99 deliveries, taking advantage of a misfield to run two before eventually pulling the first ball of Craig Overton’s second spell to Roelof van der Merwe at mid-wicket.Gubbins looked well-placed to follow Robson into three figures, but his innings of 90 from 59 balls came to an end when he swung van der Merwe into the hands of Lewis Gregory on the boundary.Middlesex maintained their momentum during the later overs, with John Simpson (32) and Stevie Eskinazi (30) adding 60 before some powerful blows from George Scott (20*) and Toby Roland-Jones (22*) hauled them beyond 350.Two sharp catches, from Nathan Sowter and Robson respectively, enabled the home side to make early inroads when Somerset replied, with Tom Banton (3) and Peter Trego (12) back in the pavilion before the end of the Powerplay.James Hildreth briefly threatened to make a significant impact, hitting 18 from 19 balls before he played on to James Harris, while Abell (8) was run out at the non-striker’s end when Scott deflected Azhar’s drive onto the stumps.Sowter claimed 3 for 50, striking with his second delivery by persuading George Bartlett (17) to sweep to backward square leg before Azhar – who had batted tidily for 46 – was caught behind swishing at Tom Helm.Van der Merwe threw the bat for a swift 38 and, although Groenewald (28) and Davey (23*) delayed Middlesex with a last-wicket stand of 50, Roland-Jones wrapped up victory when the former scooped him to mid-wicket.