ScorecardGlen Chapple moved closer to 1000 first-class wickets on a rain-affected day•Getty Images
Lancashire will need to take 14 wickets in the final three sessions to win their Division Two game against Glamorgan after rain restricted the teams to only 52.2 overs on the third day at Old Trafford.In the cricket that was possible before showers of varying intensity coalesced into serious rain, Glamorgan lost five more first-innings wickets, two of them to Glen Chapple, in scoring 134 runs and were 182 for 6 when umpires Rob Bailey and Richard Illingworth finally called play off for the day.Resuming on 48 for 1 in reply to Lancashire’s 462, Glamorgan lost their skipper Jacques Rudolph for 22 in the sixth over of the morning when his unwise push at a Chapple delivery which was cleverly pushed across the left-hander only edged a catch to wicketkeeper Alex Davies.Forty minutes later Colin Ingram, having batted safely enough in making 17, opted not to play a shot at a ball from James Faulkner which plucked out his off stump. That left Glamorgan on 96 for 3 but nightwatchman Andrew Salter and Chris Cooke then added 26 before Salter was stumped by Davies off Kerrigan when he came down the wicket but was defeated by a little turn.Until his dismissal, Salter had batted very well for his 45 runs and had recorded his fifth successive score above 30. Indeed he had looked far more competent than his status as a nightwatchman might imply.There were only 19.2 overs in the afternoon session before an early tea was taken but Steven Croft’s bowlers claimed two further wickets in the play that was possible to strengthen their team’s hold on the match.David Lloyd was bowled by Chapple for 15 when he played most crookedly at a ball outside his off and succeeded only in edging it onto his middle stump, thus giving Chapple his 982nd first-class wicket. Twelve overs later, Cooke, having batted in a pleasantly accomplished fashion for 31 was leg before to Faulkner, who brought the ball back from the off to trap the Glamorgan batsman on the crease.Mark Wallace was unbeaten on 20 off 38 balls when, with the sky darkening and the rain setting in, the players came off for good.Should Lancashire win this game they will clinch promotion back to Division One of the Championship with three four-day games still to be played. However, the destination of the Division Two title may well depend on the result of the match against Surrey, which begins on September 14.
With a third of the Premier League season now gone by, the table is starting to find its level and supporters are starting to get a better understanding of where their respective clubs are at this season and the challenge that faces them in the coming months. Once again the Premier League has been broken up into three tiers, with each team facing their own private battle.
Unlike previous years there has certainly been some stability on the managerial front with only Steve Bruce succumbing to the bullet so far, as clubs look to show patience with their managers to turn around their current plights. The managers may not be so patient with players at their disposal and may look to make significant changes in the January transfer window.
The January transfer window is loved and loathed in equal measures, with many managers and supporters alike welcoming the opportunity to freshen things up, while others see it as a source of distraction. History shows it is a renowned place for panic buying, as last January certainly proved, but there have been notable successes in the past that shows it can be a significant period to turn around a club’s fortunes. I feel the African Cup of Nations and the unprecedented amount of long term injuries we have seen will force many club’s hands and subsequently we can expect to see another expensive month for many Premier League chairman.
So how do you feel about Tottenham’s fortunes so far this season and would you look to see changes made in January? Who would you like to see brought in and ultimately who would you like to see moved on in the up and coming window?
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The book has the perfect title – The Ghost of White Hart Lane. John White’s nickname always was apt, even before his tragic death at the age of 27. They called him The Ghost because he seemed to glide around the pitch, ghosting into space, never more than 30 yards from the ball. And any time you were in trouble, he was always there for you.
He was one of the greatest players I ever saw, and in many people’s opinion, THE outstanding player of Tottenham’s 1961 double-winning side. When he was killed by lightning in 1964, he left us questioning just how great a player he would have ended up. John also left behind two children, including a baby son, Rob – who has now co-written a book, subtitled In Search of My Father, The Football Legend*.
I spoke to Rob when he was researching the book about the dad he never knew. I told him John White was a sublime footballer, blessed with wonderful touch and awareness as well as a great engine. Before arriving at White Hart Lane, John had been a cross-country runner for the British Army team. When we were sent on gruelling six-mile runs around our Cheshunt training ground, he was so much quicker than the rest of us that he’d showered and got into his car before we’d even finished.
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But unlike a lot of modern players who are athletes first and footballers a distant second, John was a natural playmaker with a great footballing brain. His anticipation was phenomenal and he was an absolute master of the game. Spurs always seem to have players like that – from Glenn Hoddle, Chris Waddle and Ossie Ardiles, through to Rafa van der Vaart and Luka Modric in the team currently bidding for European glory.
But John was more complete than any of them. He scored 18 goals in the double-winning season and netted in the 1963 Cup-Winners’ Cup final, when Spurs became the first English club to win a European trophy. When he died, it wasn’t the loss of his footballing ability that hit us hardest, it was the fact that he was such a carefree lad, such a damned good laugh.
He and his best mate Cliff Jones were such a handful that our manager Bill Nicholson had to stop them sharing a room. I was told to room with Cliff, while Whitey had to share with my old roomie Terry Dyson. We were in the Grand Hotel in Manchester one match day morning when Whitey burst into the room, dived on top of Cliff, opened the window and started screaming: “Help! Help!” at passers-by down below. A few minutes later, a copper was knocking at our hotel door and asking us if we were in distress – so I had to deny all knowledge of it.
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The day John died, he had been due to play golf with Cliff, who was, as always, late. So Whitey went out and played a few holes on his own at Crews Hill in north London, when the heavens opened and he was struck by lightning while sheltering under a tree. I was out for lunch with my bank manager at the time and the storm was so heavy that when we returned to the Barclays branch in Tottenham High Road they were mopping the water out of the door. When I got home I heard the same storm had killed John.
He died a few weeks before the start of the 1964-65 season and before the big kick-off, Bill Nick asked me if I would take over his No.8 shirt, rather than my usual No.10. I said I’d take it but it was a poignant moment – to go out wearing his shirt when we were all numbed by shock and grief. John’s widow Sandra was the daughter of our assistant manager Harry Evans, so his death had a huge impact on everyone at the club. Yet John certainly packed a lot of living into his 27 years – as his son has been finding out.
* The Ghost of White Hart Lane – In Search Of My Father The Football Legend, by Rob White and Julie Welch, is published by Yellow Jersey Press at £16.99.
So much has been written about the Premier League’s proposed quota system and to be honest most of it has been negative; however Richard Scudamore finally has someone applauding his policy. Wayne Rooney has given the move his full backing and believes it vital to the future of England and the Premier League.
“I think the new home-grown rules coming in are important.
“As an academy graduate myself I like to see young players coming through because I think they’re vital for the future of England and the Premier League.
“I also think it’s important for clubs to have a bunch of home-grown players because they are the lads who know their history.”
I for one couldn’t agree more and whilst most supporters only care for their own clubs, before country, the fact remains that with the exception of the likes of Everton and West Ham home-grown English youngsters are not being given the opportunity to progress from the youth team right through to the first XI. The counter argument is that if they were good enough then they’ll come through; a naive and throwaway comment in my opinion because how do you know if they are good enough if they are not given the chance in the first place? The new quota ruling will increase the probability and hopefully give Fabio a bigger pool of players to choose from as a result.
Fabio Capello was widely criticised for not attending the England U19s tournament in France, but what would have been the point? Let’s be honest how many of that squad are going to get anywhere near the first team at their respective clubs in the next two years, therefore the whole exercise would have been extremely pointless. Until the football clubs start changing their ways of working then nothing is likely to change therefore the Premier League should be applauded for intervening and ensuring that action is now taken. The results of this quota ruling won’t happen overnight, but you would hope that come the next World Cup the England manager will have a damn sight more options available to him throughout the squad.
Written By Jerome Johnstone
With the PL season nearly upon us, let’s see the WAGS that will be keeping the players on their toes. Click on image to VIEW gallery
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‘Silent’ Stan Kroenke’s affliction to public address has done little to appease Arsenal fans’ scepticism about his intentions for their club, and after making his oratory debut at the Arsenal AGM last Thursday, many of those doubts will still remain.
The 54-year-old American took the opportunity to lavish praise upon fellow countrymen and Manchester United counterparts the Glazer family, musing how the much maligned Old Trafford owners, “could have done it any better?”
Arsenal’s majority shareholder was talking admiringly about how during their six year tenure at Old Trafford, the Glazers have overseen huge revenue and turnovers gains whilst watching the team go through arguably their most sustained period of on-field success in their history.
Since the Glazers arrived in 2005 the Red Devils have scooped four Premier League titles, three League Cups and appeared in three Champions League finals, and this trophy-laden era has been coupled with an ever increasing cash-flow into the club and escalating value of their asset. In many ways, the Glazers have perfectly executed a chapter from Uncle Sam’s big fat textbook of business acquisitions.
Kroenke’s appraisal of the Glazers will come as a surprise to your average football fan, but your average football fan and the American billionaire businessmen are looking at the issue from two completely different perspectives. His complimentary rhetoric was not due a response, yet there will be few United fans lacking suggestions of how the Glazers ‘could have done it any better’.
Financial figures released at the start of September show United now have debts of over £300m with hundreds of millions of pounds of club money being siphoned off to pay high rate interest payments and debt administration to fund the Glazers leveraged buyout.
Legally the Glazers are doing nothing wrong but within footballing morality their conduct is up for debate. The football club are making more money than ever but huge proportions of it are going straight back out to effectively pad out the Glazers eventual profit. Kroenke may approve, but the father to son tradition that has made United what they are see differently.
The Manchester United brand is one which has been cultivated over decades to the point where they are arguably the biggest football club in the world. The seeds of United’s commercial success were sewn from before the Busby era and beyond, with the likes of Edwards, Charlton, Best, Robson, Cantona, Beckham and the many others all shaping the club as a global commodity long before the Glazers decided to capitalise on ‘Gold Trafford’ – the emporium which is a licence to print money.
Recent endorsements such as an £80m shirt sponsorship agreement with Aon and a £40m training kit deal with DHL show the profitability of Manchester United as a money making vehicle. Such deals will always be likely within the financial pulling power of football as a sport, meaning that clubs with the identity of United will always appeal to the masses – especially if they are winning.
Nine major trophies since their takeover suggests United are winning, but once again, the influence of the Glazers over this period is dwarfed by the presence of Sir Alex Ferguson and his unparalleled ability to manage Manchester United football club.
Another barometer that United’s relative success is despite the Glazers and not because of it comes when you analyse the transfer spend Ferguson has had to work with during their helm.
In the five seasons preceding the takeover, United’s former PLC spent approximately £120m net on players, but the Glazers have reduced that lavish spending. Between 2005-2011, United have spent close to £230m on players but have offset that with sales of £175m, meaning net over six years is less than half what the PLC commissioned. It’s a good job Ferguson can make wine from water.
The chicken and egg scenario for United fans wishing to oust the Glazers is that the more successful the club are, the more income they generate and the more money the Glazers will eventually earn. It seems the football team and the owners are living a symbiotic life whereby the football element does what it can and achieves what it does in contradiction to the way the owners do what they do.
So, in summary, Manchester United are making more money than ever but huge amounts of that is leaving club coffers to fulfil unrelated personal debt commitments, whilst less of their self earned money is being reimbursed back into the team and supporters are being forced to pay heavily inflated ticket prices to watch their heroes.
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The fact that Stan Kroenke thinks the Glazers are doing a good job should strike an ominous chord with Arsenal fans.
follow John Baines @ http://twitter.com/#!/bainesyDiego10
Japan’s national team beat a J-League XI in a charity match in Osaka to raise funds for victims of the country’s natural disaster.Samurai Blue manager Alberto Zaccheroni started Stuttgart striker Shinji Okazaki, who was a victim of an earthquake in his homeland in 1995, and the goal scorer said the match – which Japan won 2-1 – was a chance for him to return assistance that he received when he was in trouble 16 years ago.
“I am alive now because the people around me helped me,” he said, referring to an earthquake that hit near Kobe in 1995.
“This time I want to help people as I experienced it. Today’s game is the first step in giving back.”
Vegalta Sendai is a Japanese club in one of the worst affected areas by the earthquake and tsunami, and Sendai midfielder Kunimitsu Sekiguchi said it was a burden off his shoulders to play for the Japanese people in need.
“It was March 24 when I first touched the ball this season. I couldn’t run enough today but I think it was worth it to play this game,” Sekiguchi said.
Kazuyoshi Miura, a 44-year-old Yokohama midfielder, said he proved critics of his age wrong by scoring in the exhibition match.
“I don’t like to talk about my age but always people ask me about it. I never give up so I wanted to show my heart with a goal,” Kazu said.
The end of what has been an incredibly poor World Cup will come as light relief for most tonight, but for me it will mark the start of the Torres and Gerrard transfer storm that intends to engulf the Red side of Merseyside for the next seven weeks. Events in South Africa have seen the journalists (if that is what they should be called) draw their attention away from the domestic scene, but on their return to England the big wooden spoons will be out in force stirring up trouble.
Why we are no strangers to negative press within the media, I do feel that over the passing years they have become destructive in their methods to unsettle and destabilise football clubs. Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres in particular are likely to be their main focus, as they look to build on their personal destruction of Rafa Benitez in the last 12 months.
I never understand their motivation in looking to drive the best players away from the Premier League, but like with Fabregas at Arsenal they clearly have no shame in doing their level best to fabricate stories and quotes in order to stir the mix. As this excellent article I read suggests ‘Torres is being forced out of Anfield’ and I have a genuine fear that they really real.
As a Liverpool fan I have always failed to understand why the club (who have always claimed that they have no intention of selling both Gerrard and Torres) fail to nip these rumours and speculation in the bud by insisting that both players conduct a press conference committing their futures to the club. For me that would be the logical option and one that will end all talk in one short statement. Unfortunately I doubt the club share my view here and instead they choose to turn their back therefore allowing the rumours to manifest themselves on a daily basis, until the transfer window eventually closes. It promises to be an uncomfortable next few weeks and I for one hope, that come September 1st, we emerge unscathed.
Click on image below to see the Argentinean babes at the World Cup
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The likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are not likely to be seen in the Premier League in the near future but the rest of Europe is certainly open to trading for the big guns in the English game and whether it be in January or the summer, there could be some more big names on the plane to the best league in the world.
The likes of Ronaldo, Robinho, David Silva, Carlos Tevez and Fernando Torres have graced the Premier League in recent years and that has turned the English game into the best in the world. Here is a list of players in Europe that are targets for Premier League clubs and could be seen here in the near future. Who would you like at your club?
Click on Ricardo Montolivo to unveil the top 10
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Compiled by Brad Pinard
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Hamilton Academicals inched closer to relegation from the Scottish Premier League following a 2-1 loss at home to Hibernian on Tuesday.Akpo Sodje opened the scoring for visitors Hibs in the 37th minute at New Douglas Park. David Wotherspoon fed on-loan Celtic fullback Richie Towell, who held off an opponent before cutting back for Sodje to slot home from inside the area.Sodje had a hand in the second, drawing two men toward the ball before playing in Wotherspoon, who picked out Derek Riordan. A first-time finish from the Scotland forward made it 2-0 with 15 minutes remaining.Flavio Paixao pulled one back three-and-a-half minutes into stoppage time, but it proved too late for the hosts to mount a comeback. The win lifts Hibs up to eight in the table.Hamilton are now seven points from safety with six matches left to play.Dundee United climbed into the top six with a 2-0 win away to Inverness Caledonian Thistle.Substitute Prince Buaben broke the deadlock at the Caledonian Stadium just seconds after coming on for visitors Dundee.Played in by David Goodwillie, the Ghana central midfielder side-footed home from 10 yards out.Irishman Adam Rooney might have equalised for Inverness, but he headed over from Richie Foran’s cross.It was another substitute, David Robertson, who secured the win for Dundee. This time Buaben turned provider, setting up attacking midfielder Robertson to strike home from 18 yards.The win takes Dundee above Inverness and into sixth. They are a point ahead of their beaten hosts and also have three games in hand.
After yesterday’s disappointing second round exit to Germany manager Fabio Capello could see his reign as England manager coming to an end in the next few days. However despite England’s poor World Cup campaign sacking Capello is not the answer.
England walked off the pitch humiliated and dejected following their 4-1 defeat to bitter rivals Germany, England were outplayed in every department and apart from a 10 minute spell in each half didn’t really look threatening at all. The expectation on Capello was that the team reach the semi-finals at least, and with the personnel at his disposal it should have been an achievable task. However just like at ever tournament England once again flattered to deceive, but this time around it seems to feel more heartbreaking. As there was an impression that finally with someone like Capello at the helm England had the world class manager they’ve been lacking to complement the players.
However it is quite simply the players who should shoulder most of the blame for this World Cup, Wayne Rooney didn’t turn up at all after a great season with Manchester United much was expected of him and he didn’t deliver. Aaron Lennon was very disappointing on the right hand side, his replacement James Milner was better putting in a lot of dangerous crosses but still should have made more of an impact. Steven Gerrard was fairly decent but it’s clear he isn’t the right captain for England as his leadership skills were nowhere to be seen on the pitch, Frank Lampard was good against Germany but missing for the other games and the opposite can be said for Gareth Barry. The defence were woeful against Germany and had it not been for David James in goal the scoreline could have been a lot worse. Overall throughout the tournament the only players that come out of it with a shade of credit are James, Ashley Cole and Jermain Defoe.
Despite the poor performances of many individual players, as a team England only really played badly in two games against Algeria and Germany. In their opener against the USA the Americans proved to be very resolute and difficult to break down, they are a good side who have vastly improved and a point against them isn’t anything to be ashamed of. In the Slovenia game England should have won by at least by two goals and a third wouldn’t have been undeserved, however luck just deserted them on the day and they only won 1-0. Also against Germany although England were poor the Germans have unfairly not been given the credit they deserve for playing so well.
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Capello has shown that he can get England to play as they looked impressive in the World Cup qualifying campaign, topping their group and only suffering one defeat. This also included good performances particularly against a Croatia side that caused England many problems in their Euro 2008 qualifying campaign. Without a doubt Fabio Capello made mistakes at the finals by playing players out of position like Gerrard and not taking players who deserved to be there like Darren Bent. However Capello will have learnt from these mistakes and although it’s hard to think about it now, if you were offered England going out in the second round of the World Cup but winning the European Championships surely it would be worth it? The blame has been put on Capello all too quick by the media when these were the people who were praising his appointment saying that England have been needing a disciplinarian for a long-time. Now there are reports of player unrest it looks the media has decided to change its mind once again and side with the players.
Based on how powerful the English press can be it wouldn’t be surprising if they got their wish and Capello was indeed sacked from his job, but should that happen who is out there to replace him? The FA probably wouldn’t go with another foreigner and the only English managers who are close to being good enough are Harry Redknapp and Roy Hodsgon. Even then Redknapp and Hodgson are not as good as Capello and nothing about them suggests that they could do a better job than him, chopping and changing the manager now will only halt progress and would cost the FA money. It would be better to leave Capello in charge until his contract expires after Euro 2012 and see what happens at that tournament. Although it would be nice to win, if Capello couldn’t deliver it then a new manager can come in and have two years to work towards the big prize of the World Cup so it’s a win-win situation.
With all the experience Capello has on his CV it makes him one of the best managers in the world and if someone of his calibre can’t get England to perform then really who can? This simple logic should be the reason why he gets to keep his job, Capello can deliver success to England but people need to be patient and unfortunately as patience is hard to find in football nowadays it seems unlikely he will get the chance to atone for the World Cup.
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