All posts by h716a5.icu

Wolves are enjoying an interesting summer so far after Bruno Lage came in to replace Nuno Santo at Molineux.

It was a surprise departure but the man who succeeded their head coach of four years ticked all of the boxes.

The Old Gold had tracked Lage for a considerable period of time and with Jorge Mendes his agent, it made a move seamless.

On the chalkboard

Lage’s first marquee signing was Trincao from Barcelona but he faces a potential excruciating end to the summer.

That’s because a number of the club’s top players including Adama Traore and Ruben Neves could be heading for the departure lounge.

The latter has been one of the stand out players for the Midlands outfit since signing when they were still in the Championship.

He’s gone from the second tier’s record signing to a reliable and consistent former. Neves was often the quarterback in Nuno’s Wolves team but began to pick up pockets further forward last season.

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The Portugal international scored five times last term, the highest volume of goals he’s racked up since his debut in English football.

Therefore, the new manager will need to replace him with not only a player capable of breaking up the play but also one that’s effective in the final third.

The solution

One replacement could be Chelsea midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

The England international spent last season on loan at relegated Fulham but Thomas Tuchel isn’t particularly keen on sending him out again.

The Blues are planning on taking a look at him over pre-season but Wolves legend Steve Bull reckons he’s a player that would fit in well at Molineux.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast last month, Bull said: “He’d be ideal, I’ve watched him quite a few times and he’s big, sturdy, not afraid to put his foot in or put his head where it hurts. If they were to bring him in I’d take him all day long.”

Loftus-Cheek is a classic box to box midfielder, using his long levers and energetic style to get from one end of the pitch to the other in the blink of an eye.

That said, he disappointed last term with the Cottagers, averaging a WhoScored match rating of only 6.5.

Though, in the words of Scott Parker, he is “unplayable” on his day. Like Neves, the midfielder is incredibly assured in possession of the ball, competing over 90% of his passes in two seasons for Chelsea.

Furthermore, he knows how to make an impact offensively. Loftus-Cheek bagged ten times during the 2018/19 campaign, being hailed as an “unstoppable force” by Owen Hargreaves after scoring a Champions League hat-trick.

The 25-year-old’s progress in the last few years has been dented by injury but he is a brutal midfielder once he gets going.

Loftus-Cheek is an adequate tackler and when it comes to replacing Neves, that will be one of the basic requirements.

On a wage of £150k-per-week, he will have to significantly reduce his salary in order to move to Midlands.

If he can rediscover his form, something Bull tipped him to do in a recent interview with This is Futbol, he’d be a solid capture.

AND in other news, Wolves eye swoop for “fantastic” 25-cap colossus, he may axe one of Nuno’s favourites…

Services clung on to earn a nail-biting draw at the end of their four-day Ranji Trophy plate group encounter against Vidarbha on Friday

Staff Reporter23-Nov-2002Services clung on to earn a nail-biting draw at the end of their four-day Ranji Trophy plate group encounter against Vidarbha on Friday. This after last man H Naidu was called upon to play out the last three balls. Fortunately for the Services, he hung on to ensure that the Services were 159-9 when play was called off.Earlier, Vidarbha, who began the day on 72-0, added a further 102 runs at a fair clip for the loss of four more wickets before declaring. NS Gawande (41* off 34 balls) and skipper PH Sutane (33 off 42 balls) were the men who led Vidarbha’s charge. This left the Services with an improbable victory target of 315 runs to get in 70 overs.They made a strong start to their second essay, reaching 99-1, thanks in main to a 91-run third wicket partnership between opener PMS Reddy (43) and No. 3 Jasvir Singh (69). But, then, the rot set in; off-spinners Pritam Gandhe (5-66) and Madhusudhan Acharya (3-54) wrecking the visitors’ innings. Only skipper S Verma, amongst the remaining batsmen, was able to make it to double figures as the Services avoided an outright loss by the slenderest of margins. Vidarbha had to eventually be content with just one point for having secured the first-innings lead.The third day of the other Ranji Trophy plate group match between Goa and Tripura at Margao saw the hosts secure an impressive 170-run first innings lead. With RR Naik (41 off 157 balls), SB Jakati (61 off 142), Sanjay Dahad (65 off 67 balls) and RP Rane (75* off 110 balls) all contributing, the hosts reached 466-8 in reply to Tripura’s 296 before declaring. Tripura were 13-0 in their second essay when stumps were drawn at the end of the third day.

I am delighted that Mark Waugh will captain the Prime Minister’s XI for the match against England on Tuesday 10 December at Manuka Oval in Canberra.

Prime Minister of Australia – John Howard02-Dec-2002PRIME MINISTER’S XI VERSUS ENGLANDI am delighted that Mark Waugh will captain the Prime Minister’s XI for the match against England on Tuesday 10 December at Manuka Oval in Canberra.Throughout the history of the Prime Minister’s XI matches, visits by the English cricket team have always been a much anticipated event for the national capital.The 2002 match is no exception and I look forward to welcoming Nasser Hussain and his team to Canberra next week.England will be meeting a Prime Minister’s XI team that consists of some of the most talented young players in Australia. The Prime Minister’s XI announced by the Australian Cricket Board today is as follows:

Mark Waugh (captain – NSW)
Matthew Bradley (NSW)
Lee Carseldine (QLD)
David Dawson (ACT)
Brad Haddin (NSW)
Shane Harwood (VIC)
Mark Higgs (SA)
Simon Katich (NSW)
Ashley Noffke (QLD)
Paul Rofe (SA)
Cameron White (VIC)

The match will be umpired by Bruce Oxenford from Queensland and Graham Clifton from the ACT.The Prime Minister’s XI fixture would not be possible without the longstanding commitment of the Australian Cricket Board, for which I am very grateful.Also, I wish to thank the ACT Cricket Association for the tremendous job they do every year in hosting this game.The great cricketing tradition associated with an English touring team in Australia ensures that it will be a terrific day for everyone who attends.

Former Leeds United ace David Norris insists that Raphinha will want to stay at the club this summer.

The winger enjoyed a superb season in the Premier League in 2020/21.

He made a total of 30 appearances in the top-flight, under the management of Marcelo Bielsa, and scored six goals, while laying on nine assists.

Raphinha only moved to Leeds last summer from Rennes but a report from journalist Gianluigi Longari claims that there is interest from Liverpool, Manchester United, and Manchester City in snaffling him away from Elland Road.

The Brazilian has a lengthy contract at the club until 2024, and is valued at £27m by Transfermarkt, but he would surely be a hugely expensive acquisition for any of the three clubs if they did formalise their interest.

Norris insists that he fits in well with his team-mates and thinks that he would be more than happy to stay with Leeds this summer.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, he said: “He wants to do well. The lads say he’s very good in the changing room, he’s a good lad, he seems very happy there, mixes with the players well, not just one to keep himself to himself, has the banter and joins in.

“So he seems very settled and that’ll play a big part in it as well.”

NAIROBI – If Jason Gillespie is true to his word he shouldn’t bowlanother no-ball until some time next year.

Michael Donaldson02-Sep-2002NAIROBI – If Jason Gillespie is true to his word he shouldn’t bowlanother no-ball until some time next year.Gillespie, who took career-best figures of 5-22 as Australia routedPakistan in the opening match of the triangular cricket series here,says bowling no-balls is one of his pet hates.He proudly calculated he bowled only one no-ball last season.”I hate bowling no balls, I don’t bowl many – in fact last season Ithink I bowled just one,” he said ahead of today’s match against Kenya.”I did bowl one on Friday so that’ll do me for another season.”At Australian training here, Gillespie, Glenn McGrath, Andy Bichel andBrett Lee can be seen helping each other out with their run-ups.Gillespie pays minute attention to detail and compares his run-up tothat of a long jumper trying to hit the take-off board at full speed.”That’s exactly how I approached my run-up a couple of years ago – it’slike a long jumper because really you just have to hit the same spotevery time. You don’t want to be over (the crease) too many timesbecause that costs the team runs.”Where Gillespie seems to have perfected the skill, Lee has struggled inrecent seasons but Gillespie was hopeful the speedster’s problems werebehind him.”Brett’s been tinkering with his run-up a little – just trying a coupleof things to find a little bit of rhythm and smoothness in his run-up,”he said.”He bowled fantastic today [at training] – his rhythm was excellent.”Gillespie played down his five-wicket haul in Australia’s 224-run winbut did admit it made up for the times he should have been moresuccessful but for bad luck.”I feel I’ve bowled pretty well without luck a couple of times in thepast but the other day was one of those days when the ball didn’t alwaysgo exactly where I wanted it but wickets came my way.”Gillespie has played surprisingly few one-dayers since his introductionto the side in 1996, racking up just 38 games as injury and specialistone-day bowlers kept him on the sidelines.But in the past two seasons, the rangy South Australian has been a moreregular part of the team.He hopes the back and leg injuries which have troubled in the past -most recently keeping him out of the second and third Tests againstSouth Africa in Melbourne and Sydney last year – are finally a thing ofthe past.He’s getting on top of injuries by bowling less at practice and bycutting out road running from his training to remove the stress it putson knees and back. Yoga and pilates sessions have also helped.

The West Indies Cricket Board have named a West Indies 14-member squad to participate in the International Cricket Council’s Champions Trophy limited-overs competition in Sri Lanka from September 12 to 27.

Derrick Nicholas14-Aug-2002The West Indies Cricket Board have named a West Indies 14-member squad to participate in the International Cricket Council’s Champions Trophy limited-overs competition in Sri Lanka from September 12 to 27.As part of the competition’s Participating Nations Agreement, all countries were required to submit their teams to the ICC by August 12.The WICB had hoped that the Selection Committee, under the chairmanship of Sir Vivian Richards, would have been able to use the imminent Red Stripe Bowl limited-overs championship as a yardstick for the squad’s selection.The ICC’s August 12 submission deadline, however, made this impossible and the WICB requested an extension of this deadline, but was refused by the ICC.The West Indies squad is largely the same that played in the 2002 Cable & Wireless Trophy limited-overs home series against India and New Zealand with Runako Morton replacing Gareth Breese and Mahendra Nagamootoo returning to limited-overs international duty.With back-to-back tours to India and Bangladesh to follow the ICC Champions Trophy, those players not selected for the visit to Sri Lanka will have a chance to impress the selectors during the Red Stripe Bowl.Squad: Carl Hooper (captain), Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Pedro Collins, Corey Collymore, Cameron Cuffy, Mervyn Dillon, Chris Gayle, Ryan Hinds, Wavell Hinds, Ridley Jacobs, Brian Lara, Runako Morton, Mahendra Nagamootoo, Ramnaresh Sarwan.

Erik ten Hag remains in contention for the vacant Tottenham Hotspur job despite Paulo Fonseca being in advanced talks with the club…

What’s the word?

That’s according to Italian transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, who delivered a major update on the situation to the Guardian on Wednesday evening.

He claims that the North London outfit have been recommended the 48-year-old former AS Roma boss by their incoming sporting director Fabio Paratici and the two parties are in negotiations over a three-year deal.

However, it’s also suggested that the Ajax head coach is still in the running to take over from Jose Mourinho, despite the Eredivisie giants having triggered a one-year extension to his deal.

After recent blows to Mauricio Pochettino and Antonio Conte, this saga appears to be far from over.

It’s not too late, Levy

And that could be fantastic news for the Lilywhites faithful, who have been less than impressed with news of Fonseca becoming their next manager.

It’s not too late for chairman Daniel Levy and the club’s hierarchy to gauge the reaction here and make amends, with ten Hag the clear favourable option if it’s indeed between the two coaches.

The reaction to football.london reporter Alasdair Gold’s tweet on the bombshell speaks volumes – even if it is a small sample size, it does highlight how the vast majority are feeling in N17 right now.

For example, the arrival of Fonseca was described as the “cheap” option. Another wondered whether he could get a refund on his season ticket as he felt the fanbase were being “mugged off,” whilst a further fan went as far as suggesting that Spurs would be in a relegation battle next season.

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That’s merely three responses but when trawling through hundreds more, it’s hard to find anyone behind the potential appointment.

It’s hard to disagree with them either. After all, going from the likes of Pochettino and Conte to a man that failed at Roma is not only uninspiring but it lacks ambition.

The Portuguese was replaced by none other than Jose Mourinho too, only fuelling supporters with further ammunition.

By contrast, there would be a lot to be excited about with the 51-year-old Dutchman, not at least because his brand of football has been inspired by the likes of Pep Guardiola and Johan Cruyff.

According to Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, he’s “one of the most exciting coaching talents in world football” right now.

As relayed by This is Futbol, much of the Spurs faithful were behind ten Hag becoming their next manager, with one fan even claiming that he would rather him than Pochettino.

Fonseca struggled to surpass fifth place during his time in charge of the Stadio Olimpico outfit and was embarrassed when he accidentally made six subs during a defeat to Spezia in a Coppa Italia Round of 16 clash.

The fact that Romano says ten Hag is still in contention is one small glimmer of hope for the Spurs fanbase. Let’s hope Levy changes his mind before it’s too late.

AND in other news, Paratici can deliver instant Spurs masterstroke by axing £120k-per-week “absolute liability”…

Fabrizio Romano has corroborated a report that Wolves’ Adama Traore is on Chelsea’s radar this summer.

The lowdown

Wolves paid £18million to sign Traore from Middlesbrough ahead of the 2018/19 season and he’s since gone on to rack up 131 appearances for the club.

Last season, he played 41 times in all competitions, scoring three goals and assisting three more.

Traore led the league for successful dribbles per 90 minutes with 4.1, edging out Newcastle United’s Allan Saint-Maximin (via WhoScored).

The Spaniard, who is valued at £27million by Transfermarkt, is about to enter the final two years of his contract at Molineux.

Tim Sherwood, who oversaw Traore at Aston Villa, perhaps best summed up his abilities, calling the winger a ‘fantastic talent’ and describing him as ‘dynamic’ in possession.

The latest

Romano tweeted that Chelsea are rivalling Paris Saint-Germain in the race for Inter Milan’s Achraf Hakimi.

Newly-crowned Serie A champions Inter are said to want €80million for the Moroccan.

If the Parisians were to beat Chelsea to Hakimi’s signature, then Traore could be an alternative for their wing-back position.

The Euro 2020-bound star is on a ‘list’ of options for the Blues, confirmed Romano.

The verdict

From Chelsea’s point of view, Traore would arguably be a more sensible addition than Hakimi.

Reece James is already an excellent option in the right-back or wing-back role, so there’s little point shelling out €80million on another out-and-out wing-back.

Traore would be a strong back-up option from whom Thomas Tuchel would hope to extract more consistency, but he could also excel further up the pitch, as he has done in the past for Wolves.

It could well be the end of road in the Midlands, but one would have to assume the Molineux outfit will have a decent negotiating position with two years still left on his deal.

In other news, is there a rival for Bruno Lage in the Wolves manager race? 

Somerset Sabres new mascot, the friendly dragon, who made his first appearance at the NUL game against Yorkshire Phoenix on May 12th is no longer nameless

Richard Walsh11-Jun-2002Somerset Sabres new mascot, the friendly dragon, who made his first appearance at the NUL game against Yorkshire Phoenix on May 12th is no longer nameless.As a result of a competition that was run by the Somerset County Gazette the dragon is now to be known as Stumpy, which is quite an appropriate name for a cricket club mascot.The name Stumpy was submitted by twelve year old Caty Larcombe, who lives in Ilminster, and many congratulations to her.Caty was delighted with her prize which is to spend the day as a guest of the club at one of their home matches later on this season.Stumpy the dragon has been taking it easy in Taunton since his first appearance a month ago, but this Sunday all being well he will make the long journey to The Rec at Bath to make a celebrity guest appearance and watch the NUL game against Leicester Foxes.Earlier today Stumpy told me through his interpreter Jo Betsworth: "I’m really looking forward to going all the way up to Bath on Sunday and meeting everybody in that part of the county.It’s along way for a dragon to travel, and I hope it is not too hot because I get very warm inside my dragon skin suit! Please tell people that I am very friendly and I want everybody, both young and old, to look out for me at The Rec and come up and say hello."

Sheffield Wednesday centre-back Julian Borner has been linked with a return to Germany this summer.

The Lowdown: Good servant for Sheff Wed

The German has made 70 appearances for Wednesday overall, scoring four times and proving to be a solid member of the defence.

Borner was unable to prevent Darren Moore’s side from suffering relegation to League One, however, and the manager is now planning for life in English football’s third tier.

His central defender may not be part of those plans, though, following the emergence of a fresh report.

The Latest: Borner linked with Owls exit

According to Bild [via YorkshireLive], Borner could join Bundesliga 2 side Hannover 96 this summer, returning to his homeland and back to second-tier football.

He has reportedly “received an offer” from the German side, as they look to bolster their current defensive options.

The Verdict: Time to move on

In truth, this might be the right time for Borner to move on, allowing Moore to build his own team and bringing in younger alternatives.

At 30, the defender doesn’t represent the long-term future at Hillsborough and it is important that the club now plan well into the future, rather than looking at quick fixes.

Borner should be remembered as someone who gave his all for the Owls, but ultimately, his performances weren’t always convincing and a move away makes perfect sense given his age and the club’s current situation.

In other news, one Sheff Wed player has been linked with a summer move to a Championship club. Find out who it is here.