All posts by h716a5.icu

Aston Villa could be ready to get rid of some deadwood in their squad as Steven Gerrard approaches his first summer transfer window with the Premier League side.

What’s the word?

That’s according to journalist Pete O’Rourke who claimed to GIVEMESPORT that Steven Gerrard will be “looking to strengthen” his options out wide ahead of his first full season in charge of Villa.

He said: “Villa are probably going to lose a couple of wingers in the summer with El Ghazi out on loan at Everton and Trezeguet out on loan in Turkey.

“So, that’s two wingers who the club will most likely look to move on. So, it’s going to be an area that Steven Gerrard will be looking to strengthen as well.”

Gerrard needs to bolster attacking options

El Ghazi and Trezeguet have both been out on loan at Everton and Istanbul Basaksehir FK respectively for the second half of the campaign with contrasting success.

Trezeguet has scored five times in just nine appearances for the Turkish side whilst El Ghazi has only played twice for Everton in what is an underwhelming loan spell, to say the least.

With both players making a combined three appearances under Steven Gerrard, then fans will be ecstatic to hear of the news that they could both depart at the end of the campaign.

Gerrard will undeniably want to bring in his own players, with Philippe Coutinho and Lucas Digne arriving in January, he is stamping his authority on this Villa squad.

Results have been mixed, however, with some bright periods intersected by poor spells and this has largely been the nature of their season.

Villa have been linked to attacking options such as Ryan Kent, via the Daily Mail and Foot Mercato reported on their interest in Bayer Leverkusen winger Moussa Diaby last summer, then there seem to be plenty of options out there for Gerrard to ponder.

The summer transfer window will be a key one for Villa, and if they have a bad start next season, then Gerrard will surely be feeling the pressure so recruitment must be excellent.

AND in other news, Gerrard now plotting AVFC bid for £46k-p/w “phenomenon”, he’s better than Phillips

Aston Villa target Joe Gomez is ‘staying at Liverpool’, Pete O’Rourke has told Give Me Sport.

The lowdown

The Athletic’s Gregg Evans wrote earlier this month that Gomez is a player Villa ‘like’.

The Englishman has found game time hard to come by at Anfield this season, with just 11 appearances (four starts) under his belt.

Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip and Ibrahima Konate all appear to be ahead of him in the pecking order.

Gomez is valued at £22.5million by Transfermarkt and his £75,000-per-week contract still has two and a half years to run.

The latest

O’Rourke has learned that Liverpool have absolutely no plans to offload Gomez at this stage.

“From what I’ve been told, Joe Gomez is staying at Liverpool, he won’t be going anywhere,” he told GMS when asked about the possibility of a deal by Johan Lange.

The verdict

Gomez would have been an excellent signing for Villa. In the words of Jurgen Klopp, he’s a ‘sensational’ player with ‘outstanding speed’.

He’s still only 24, so while he’s struggled for minutes this season, the Reds may well view him as part of their long-term plans. And, unless Liverpool’s stance changes, Villa need to move onto other targets.

After Axel Tuanzebe’s loan was cut short, they’ve been left with Tyrone Mings, Ezri Konsa and Kortney Hause as their only senior centre-backs.

And Konsa’s recent injury shows how perilous that situation is. All of a sudden, Steven Gerrard may find himself with no experienced back-up.

In other news, fans react to links with this forward.

Tottenham Hotspur have been dealt a further setback ahead of their Premier League meeting with Liverpool tonight.

What’s the latest?

Speaking in his pre-match press conference (via Evening Standard), Jurgen Klopp revealed that he has a fully fit squad at his disposal for the meeting with Spurs, with the 54-year-old hinting that Roberto Firmino will be available for selection should he feel that the centre-forward is required.

When asked whether the Brazil international will be fit to feature against Spurs, the German said: “I don’t know, but he is back in training, so now we have to make a decision about that. But let’s see. Yesterday he was in training, was great.”

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-spurs-news-transfer-rumours-gossip-and-much-more” title= “Read the latest Spurs news!”]

When asked whether the remainder of his squad will be available for selection, Klopp added: “Yes. I don’t have my smartphone here, because I get messages pretty late, but when I checked it last time, yes.”

Conte will be gutted

Considering just how important tonight’s fixture is for Tottenham’s hopes of securing a top-four finish this season, the news that Firmino looks as if he will be available and that the rest of the Liverpool squad are fit, coupled with Spurs’ earlier loss of Sergio Reguilon to injury, is sure to have left Antonio Conte gutted.

Indeed, the Reds have been in exceptional form across all competitions this season, having already lifted the Carabao Cup, secured a place in the final of both the Champions League and the FA Cup.

In addition, they are just one point behind Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table, with Klopp being in with a fantastic chance of securing an unprecedented quadruple.

As such, when taking into account just how talented the current crop of Liverpool players quite clearly is, the news that the Reds have no injury concerns ahead of the Tottenham game is sure to come as a huge blow to Spurs’ chances of picking up a positive result at Anfield, with Conte in desperate need of the three points if he is to give his side the best possible shot at securing Champions League football next season.

AND in other news: Conte starts “really special” talent & drops “awful” £82k-p/w flop: Spurs predicted XI

Leeds United right-back Cody Drameh is attracting increasing interest ahead of the summer transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Wales Online, who claim that AFC Bournemouth have made an enquiry regarding the signing of the Whites right-back ahead of the upcoming transfer market.

The report goes on to state that the Premier League side will likely assess the position of the 20-year-old in pre-season before determining whether or not they believe his future lies at Elland Road.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-leeds-news-transfer-rumours-gossip-marsch-raphinha-dest-philhay” title=”Read the latest Leeds news!”]

Finally, it is also claimed that, should regular first-team football not be realistic at Leeds next season, the England U21 international would be more than happy to spend next season on loan with Cardiff City once again.

Drameh can save Leeds millions

Considering just how impressive Drameh has been during his loan spell in South Wales, it is undeniable that permanently losing the services of the young defender this summer would be something of a disaster for Jesse Marsch and his side.

Indeed, over his 18 Championship appearances since linking up with the Bluebirds in January, the £900k-rated full-back has been a revelation on the right of Steve Morison’s backline, registering three assists and creating four big chances for his teammates, as well as making an average of 0.7 key passes and 1.3 dribbles per game.

The £4.4k-per-week defender has also impressed in metrics more typical of his position, helping his side keep five clean sheets, in addition to making an average of one interception, four tackles – the most of any player in the league – 1.9 clearances and winning 7.6 duels – at a success rate of 56% – per fixture.

These returns have seen the player who Morison claimed is “like a Duracell Bunny” average an extremely impressive SofaScore match rating of 6.97, ranking him as Cardiff’s fourth-best player in the English second tier.

As such, considering his tender age, it is clear to see the sheer amount of potential Drameh possesses, something which leads us to believe that Marsch must not only retain the 20-year-old this summer but also give him a shot in the first team.

Indeed, with Luke Ayling turning 31 later this year, as well as the £3.6m-rated defender having something of a season to forget in 2021/22, Leeds have been linked with moves for a number of right-backs in the summer transfer window in a bid to strengthen the position ahead of 2022/23.

However, following Drameh’s sensational campaign with Cardiff, the player who Glen Williams dubbed “such an exciting prospect” would appear more than worth a chance in the first-team – while also being a talent who could well save Andrea Radrizzani and Leeds millions of pounds in transfer fees.

AND in other news: Leeds handed big injury boost as Thorp Arch image emerges, Marsch will be buzzing

The ICC have extended the deadlines for naming World Twenty20 squads, although the chances of Kevin Pietersen being included for England remain very slim

Andrew McGlashan16-Aug-2012The ICC has extended the deadline for naming the World Twenty20 squads, although the chances of Kevin Pietersen being included for England remain very slim.The original deadline was Saturday but boards have now been given until August 24 to submit their 15-man lists for the tournament which begins on September 18, after the ICC received requests “from several of its members”.It is understood that the ECB was one of the boards who asked about the possibility of an extension with the ICC but that was to avoid a clash with the final Test against South Africa which starts on Thursday. The ECB was also believed to be happy to abide by the Saturday deadline if required.Sri Lanka, who are currently in the midst of the SLPL, are another country who requested an extension as their domestic Twenty20 tournament will help determine selection for the World Twenty20.It is now expected that England will name their squad on Tuesday, following the conclusion of the Test series, although the party, it is believed, was decided during a selection meeting at Edgbaston last week.Although Pietersen offered an apology to the ECB on Tuesday night for what he termed ‘provocative’ text messages to South African players it was met by a cool response from the management and Andrew Strauss. His apology followed the YouTube video on Saturday night when he made himself available for all international cricket having previously retired from limited-overs cricket which led to him being unavailable for Twenty20.”The truth is a lot has happened over the last seven days,” Strauss said. “The England team has been in the news for the wrong reasons. We all want to move forward but there are some underlying issues on trust and respect that don’t get dealt with over night and it’s going to take quite a long time to overcome those.”Hugh Morris, the managing director of England cricket, said lots of negotiations remained. “We are in receipt of Kevin’s apology, but further discussions need to take place to establish whether it is possible to regain the trust and mutual respect required to ensure all parties are able to focus on playing cricket and to maintain the unity of purpose that has served us so well in recent years.”Five countries – Australia, India, New Zealand, South Africa and Bangladesh – have already named their squads for the World Twenty20.

Leicestershire batsman Greg Smith struck his second century in consecutive County Championship innings on the second day of the match against Northamptonshire at Wantage Road

14-Sep-2010
ScorecardLeicestershire batsman Greg Smith struck his second century in consecutive County Championship innings on the second day of the match against Northamptonshire at Wantage Road.Leicestershire captain Matthew Hoggard took his third five-wicket haul of the season, claiming figures of 5 for 48 as Northants added 64 to their overnight score before being bowled out for 250. The 21-year-old Smith then blasted an unbeaten 100 off 164 balls including 16 fours as a partnership of 101 unbroken between him and James Taylor (32 not out) guided the visitors to 159 for 2 at the close.Northants started the day on 186 for 6, with their wicketkeeper David Murphy and David Lucas resuming on five and three respectively. But Murphy was unable to add to his overnight total before he was pinned lbw by Hoggard with the fifth ball of the morning.And Hoggard completed his 25th five-for in first-class cricket when he bowled Jack Brooks (nine) as the visitors looked to quickly finish off the Northants tail. But Lucas and Lee Daggett frustrated their attack by adding 46 for the ninth wicket, with Lucas making a respectable 31 before he strode down the pitch and missed Jigar Naik’s straight delivery with the ball going on to hit his middle stump.Two balls later, Naik ended the innings by trapping Northants debutant David Burton lbw for a second-ball duck, leaving Daggett unbeaten on 22. Leicestershire lost Matthew Boyce (four) cheaply on the final ball before lunch when he tamely struck Lucas to Burton at mid-on.They suffered another soft dismissal in the ninth over of the afternoon when Jacques du Toit (14) was caught and bowled by James Middlebrook. But Smith, who smashed 158 not out in the second innings against Gloucestershire last week, went on to reach 50 off 65 balls with his ninth four.He and fellow youngster Taylor then made the Northants bowlers toil for the rest of the session, comfortably guiding their side to 145 for 2 at tea. Rain then began to fall during the interval, meaning a delay to the start of the evening session and the loss of two overs.In the second over after play restarted, Smith reached his century off 145 balls and he and Taylor were to complete their century partnership before their progress was soon halted by the weather. Torrential rain started to fall just seven overs after the last stoppage, with it soon becoming apparent no more play was possible and the umpires unsurprisingly called a halt to proceedings.

Everton host Premier League leaders Manchester City with new Toffees manager Frank Lampard experiencing a mixed start to proceedings at Goodison Park.

The 43-year-old has experienced two wins and two defeats since taking over on the blue side of Merseyside, with both victories coming at home and the losses away.

Next up is a major test for the Toffees who will look to unstick themselves from the bottom end of the table as soon as possible, with Lampard’s side 16th and two points clear of the drop zone.

But who will start for the Merseyside outfit as they host Pep Guardiola’s side in the late Saturday kick-off?

Football FanCast predicts that Lampard will continue with the 4-4-2 formation that he has used in the last two matches against Leeds United and Southampton.

First-choice goalkeeper Jordan Pickford remains in between the sticks with no changes in the defence either, with the two changes coming in the midfield.

With an important FA Cup tie against Boreham Wood to contest on Thursday, there could be an argument for adjustments to the starting lineup as Lampard looks to manage his squad.

Winger Alex Iwobi put in a well below par performance against Southampton last weekend, with the 25-year-old Nigeria international without a goal contribution in the Premier League for almost four months.

The wide man has come under plenty of scrutinies for his lack of involvement in the final third, with TalkSPORT’s Adrian Durham saying earlier this season: “Listen, for a player that cost £36m, and my understanding is he’s on a fair wedge, he’s got to put chances like that away.

“When you get the chance to start for Everton Football Club and you’re presented with opportunities like that and you’re producing an air shot, you’ve got to focus and concentrate harder and make sure you get a contact on the ball, and at least force the goalkeeper to make a save.”

In his place comes Andros Townsend who appears to now be back to full fitness having endured a spell on the sidelines over the festive period and has exceeded expectations since joining last summer.

The £48k-per-week winger, labelled as “tireless” whilst at Crystal Palace, has scored seven goals in all competitions so far this campaign.

Centrally, Donny van de Beek has had a slow start to his temporary tenure at Goodison Park, with the Dutchman on loan from Manchester United for the remainder of the campaign. Although it’s very early days, Lampard may be tempted to tinker with a busy schedule to come and opt for Andre Gomes alongside Allan in the middle.

This would arguably provide more cover against a ruthless opposition, with both midfielders defensively minded. Moreover, Gomes was the Englishman’s preferred option to replace Allan at St.Mary’s last weekend when the Brazilian was on a yellow card and needed to be withdrawn.

In terms of the frontline, Everton fans will be desperate to see Dominic Calvert-Lewin find the back of the net again, with the Englishman struggling for form since his lengthy absence due to injury.

The striker was out of action for three months, having scored in each of his first three league appearances of the season, with a fractured toe but hasn’t scored since returning to the side almost two months ago.

It’ll be a tall task for Frank Lampard’s side to take a result from the league leaders who can’t afford another slip up after their 3-2 defeat to Tottenham last weekend with Liverpool breathing down their necks. Although, stranger things have happened than Everton getting a result against Manchester City.

In other news: Moshiri suffered an Everton howler over £27m-rated “monster”, Lampard will be gutted – opinion

Several of Zimbabwe’s displays in the past had centered around one player with the rest failing to contribute but Taylor said the victory today marked a break from that trend

Cricinfo staff28-May-2010Man of the Match Brendan Taylor has put down Zimbabwe’s six-wicket win over India to a combined effort that was unlike many of his team’s performances in the past. “This was a thoroughly good all-round performance on a flat wicket, and it’s nice to see the guys chipping in,” Taylor, who top scored for his team with 81, said. “We’ve always struggled in the past when one guy chips in and everyone struggles.”Taylor, during his 103-ball stay, was involved in two major partnerships that set up Zimbabwe’s successful chase of a seemingly formidable 285. He added 88 in 13 overs with opener Hamilton Masakadza, and followed it up with a further 63 with Greg Lamb. The second stand consumed 16.3 overs, and when Taylor fell with the score on 176, Zimbabwe’s required rate had crept to more than seven-an-over. The flat wicket and the presence of some power-players down the order, however, meant Zimbabwe had to preserve their wickets for a good part of the chase, Taylor said.”The plan was to basically just keep knocking the ball around. We know we have Andy Blignaut and Elton [Chigumbura] at the bottom there and Charles [Coventry] coming in too. So we’ve got the firepower to catch up in the end with the batting Powerplay. There wasn’t really too much risk to be taken.”We were trying to bat the way they [India] sort of started; construct the innings pretty well. It was a nice wicket to bat on, [the strategy was to] not lose too many wickets and back yourself to really have a go.”Chigumbura, leading Zimbabwe for the first time, was off the mark with the ball, conceding 26 in an over which included 14 wides and a no-ball, but chipped in during the chase, combining with debutant Craig Ervine in an unbeaten 58-run stand to steer his team home. “It wasn’t easy for me,” he said of his first match as captain. “I thought I let the team down in the first half but some of the guys played well. We had a good partnership first up which gave us a good foundation to win the game.”The plan was for the seamers to get one or two wickets to make it easy for the spinners, but it went the other way – only one seamer bowled well. I thought the rest of the spinners bowled well.”It’s a good start for Craig Ervine to score a half-century on debut. The main focus now is to be consistent as a team.”Suresh Raina, unlike his Zimbabwean counterpart, had a poor start to his captaincy, as his bowlers, particularly the inexperienced seamers, failed to measure up in a determined chase by the hosts. The batting Powerplay available to Zimbabwe at the death, with Chigumbura and Ervine cashing in, cost India the game, he said. “It [the target] was defendable. Amit Mishra bowled really well, [Ravindra] Jadeja also. But they still had a Powerplay left at the end, and a couple of their players batted really well. That’s what cost the game for us.”The highlight of India’s performance was a maiden ODI century from Rohit Sharma, who helped them recover from 67 for 3. The bowling, though, according to Raina, needed improvement if India were to challenge Sri Lanka in their next fixture. “The way Rohit was hitting the ball was remarkable,” Raina said. “We need to work on our bowling. A couple of players are playing for the first time, but hopefully they will learn from this mistake.”India take on Sri Lanka in the next game of the series on May 30 in Bulawayo.

At 35 Michael Hussey, his sideburns flecked with grey, has to convince himself to be free and focused, which aren’t always complementary aims

Peter English in Brisbane23-Nov-2010Word has filtered through to Michael Hussey that he must get runs in Thursday’s first Test. He hasn’t read the papers or watched the television, but he has been sledged by the Victorians and listened to more talk than usual. A check of his stats will show he hasn’t scored a century in his past six Tests and in those matches has averaged 26.Outside the team everyone is asking him if he’s playing for his place, directly and in roundabout ways. Even before a 17-man squad was picked early last week to let the senior guys know that it was time to perform or perish. Hussey is always a gentleman, almost always talking positive, but there is pain in his smiles.”In my mind I still have the belief that I’m good enough to be in the team,” he said as the team prepared in Brisbane. “But there’s been a lot of speculation … Certainly some has filtered through. It’s not nice when you hear negative things or people saying you shouldn’t be in the team or they seem to have lost faith in you.”Re-confirming your worth to the detractors is a common theme for the aging player. At first, runs were all that mattered, but as things wind down it’s a fight to hold on to everything: the spot, the goodwill, the reputation.”Certainly for me that’s a motivating thing, trying to prove them wrong,” he said. “I had to do that last year. Shane Warne was pretty outspoken in wanting me out of the team. At the end of the summer he came out and said, you’ve proved me wrong.” Centuries used to create the most satisfying feelings.At 35 Hussey, his sideburns flecked with grey, has to convince himself to be free and focused, which aren’t always complementary aims. Throughout his career the latter has been easier to achieve. His single-mindedness turned a decade in the first-class ranks into one of the most stunning entries, a Test run which included an average of 80 more than two years after his debut.The fun came from accumulating, but a bad Test at the Gabba could end the ride. Or the final stop might be Adelaide, or back home in Perth. It is not a series for guarantees.He is relieved that he made the squad on the back of a second-innings century for Western Australia last week. During that display, which followed an 18-ball duck, the negative comments from the fielders “were driving me on further and further”. With the batch of young players gaining interest from the national selectors, Hussey is playing for next week and beyond.”I want to enjoy it, enjoy that pressure,” he said. “I don’t want to walk away at the end of my career, thinking, ‘geez, I absolutely hated playing for Australia’. I want to go away knowing that I played the way I wanted to play and that I gave myself the best chance of performing well and I enjoyed every minute of it. Go away a happy man rather than having regrets.”He will not change his approach and does not think his problems are technical. If he’s tentative he will struggle early, if he’s positive he can live with the consequences. The last time he was under similar heat was at The Oval in 2009, when he had gone 15 Tests without a hundred. His 121 saved his spot, but not the game, with his dismissal ending the series and changing the owners of the urn.He is a meticulous planner and is an expert at hanging on with a well-timed exertion. Does he prepare differently for a pressure innings? “No, you try not to,” he said. But do you? “No, I try not to.” He smiles as he repeats the answer, at the same time trying to convince himself he’s right.”I try to block out as much as I can and know what worked in the past. Stick to my game plans. Half the challenge is to block out all the external distractions that go on. It’s definitely been a lot tougher [this time].”While England have experienced a flawless preparation for the Ashes, Australia’s travels have been as bumpy as a landing on a rural airstrip. The hosts lost seven matches in a row in all forms of the game before succeeding in a dead ODI against Sri Lanka in Brisbane at the start of the month. England have skipped across the country, getting all their men in some form, at the same time as their stuttering opponents have picked up injuries and stinging criticism.”It’s been perceivably up and down,” Hussey said of Australia’s recent results. “But I actually think we’ve been going really well. Even in India, we played some fantastic Test cricket … It’s more been external stuff causing conjecture. Within the team our plans are really specific.”When there’s a lot of pressure, a lot of speculation and tension, that sometimes brings out the best in players, and you know if you can stick together tight as a team, you can always turn in a positive direction.” Keep the faith, retain your spot, win the Ashes. That’s the theory.

A fact-finding committee set-up by the PCB to look into the flight of Zulqarnain Haider to the UK from Dubai has failed to find any clear motives behind his actions

Osman Samiuddin24-Dec-2010A fact-finding committee set-up by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to look into the flight of Zulqarnain Haider to the UK from Dubai has failed to find any clear motives behind his actions.The three-member committee of Subhan Ahmed (COO, PCB), manager Intikhab Alam and security manager Khawaja Najam has ultimately recommended that the board “should write to Haider seeking complete written details of the entire episode and in light of those details [if received], may decide on whether to proceed with taking disciplinary action against him”.The board has already suspended the now retired wicketkeeper’s central contract.The committee’s report, seen by ESPNcricinfo, is based on conversations the three members had with Haider and others from the squad. “It is difficult to say with complete confidence at this stage as to what were the motives [behind the departure],” it concludes. But one of its observations seemingly offers a hint: “Some close associates of Haider, when contacted in UK, advised that during his last visit to UK with Pakistan team this summer, he had made enquiries on settling down in UK.”Further light is also shed on events leading to his departure after claiming he was threatened by bookies during Pakistan’s one-day series against South Africa last month.For example, the night before he left, seamer Wahab Riaz had been in Haider’s room till midnight. “His view was that Haider was normal and did not look worried,” the report says. “He did not discuss anything with Wahab with whom he was quite friendly.”The report also confirms that Haider asked the team management for his passport on the pretext of buying a mobile SIM card on the eve of the fourth ODI, a game in which he subsequently played a late, key role in securing a win.The last members of the squad to see Haider before his flight were the assistant manager Shahid Aslam and Younis Khan, who saw him walking out of his hotel room with a backpack on the morning of the fifth ODI. He told them he was going to visit relatives in the city.According to the report, Haider told the committee that he received the first threat two days before the fourth ODI. “When he was walking in the parking area of the hotel, he met a person who said to him he must do what he is told to do in cricket else he and his family would be killed.”He didn’t recognize the person who had met him 2 days before the fourth ODI. He didn’t see the person or hear from him afterwards.”What appears to have been the tipping point in convincing him to leave, however, came after that. “Later (he did not mention the date) he saw a note in his room which was on the hotel notepad on which some amounts and female names were mentioned.” He has since handed over the note to Scotland Yard.Though the investigation was mostly an exercise in fact-finding, certain questions are raised, echoing earlier concerns by the PCB. “It [his departure] was quite strange because Dubai is as safe a place as UK (perhaps safer), but Haider decided to travel to the UK rather than staying in Dubai or travelling to homeland Pakistan.”It is also quite strange that in the presence of a full-time security manager of the team and the other PCB officials, Haider deemed it appropriate to approach the media rather than the PCB which is his employer.”Several ex-players and officials questioned Haider’s state of mind immediately after he fled, a point the report touches on. “It may be noted that the views of some of the support staff about Haider were that he is a complex personality. He is a person who is easily convinced into believing whatever is said to him. He is also stated to be a weak nerves person.”Haider is still in the UK and is due to appear for another interview with asylum authorities on January 5, before reporting to the police on January 10th.