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Crystal Palace have been hit with a huge triple injury blow ahead of their game against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday evening. It has been a difficult 2024/25 campaign for the Eagles so far, as they sit at the bottom end of the Premier League table. But an impressive 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur last Sunday eased pressure on Oliver Glasner, and that continued as they got past Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night.

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Palace went into the last-16 game against Villa as underdogs, but Glasner’s side managed to pull off an upset and booked their spot in the last eight with a 2-1 win. The Palace manager labelled it as a “great team performance” and will be delighted that it is now back-to-back wins for his team.

These last two results may start to ease the pressure on the Austrian, as it was reported earlier this month that replacements were being considered. The Eagles were linked with an ambitious move for former England manager Gareth Southgate.

Former West Ham United boss David Moyes was also said to be open to the idea of replacing Glasner at Selhurst Park, but the Premier League side have remained patient, and this could be the start of a turnaround in results and performances.

Palace can now look forward to a tricky quarterfinal tie against Arsenal, but before that they face some important league games, starting with Wolves on Saturday.

Crystal Palace hit huge triple injury before Wolves clash

As reported by South London reporter Edmund Brack, Glasner has revealed that Palace have suffered injury blows to Eberechi Eze, Adam Wharton, and Jefferson Lerma. Eze has been an important player for the Eagles all season, but he had to leave the game against Villa with a hamstring injury, while Wharton was forced off with a groin problem. Lerma, who was injured before the midweek encounter, now isn’t expected back until after the international break.

The three players, who cost a combined £10.6 million a year in wages, have started a combined 29 games already this season, and they will be big misses for Glasner if they are unavailable for their game against Wolves.

After the win over Villa, Glasner spoke to the media and revealed the injury news, but wasn’t sure how serious they were: “(Eze) is a problem with the hamstring; we don’t know how serious it is. But the muscle [injury] is not always the best information you can get. Ebs is too early to tell.

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3

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9

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0

“He wanted to come off; he signalled to come off. He said it was not possible to carry on. I hope it is not too serious, but I don’t know. It’s not the best information I got today that Ebs had to leave the pitch.

“Adam is a more positive one because it is nothing new. We spoke about it many times; he has had groin problems for many months. We thought he needed a break today, but he gave the thumbs up and said he was fine. But the pain got worse during the game, so we had to make a second sub. Especially with the circumstances, I am very proud of the performance.”

Former Yorkshire player claims his own disciplinary issues were dealt with more harshly

Andrew Miller16-Nov-2021Azeem Rafiq’s allegations of institutional racism at Yorkshire include the claim that the club were prepared to cover up a failed drugs test by their former captain and England batter, Gary Ballance – the player who last week admitted to using the racial slur “P**i” to address his former team-mate – but were unwilling to offer Rafiq any support when he was sanctioned by the ECB during an Under-19 series in 2010.In an emotional testimony to the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee in Westminster on Tuesday, Rafiq spoke of the “inhuman” treatment he had received during his two spells at the club, which included Asian players being described as “elephant-washers” and told to “sit by the toilets” in the dressing-room, as well as an incident at the age of 15, when he had wine poured down his throat by a group of older players.However, some of his most damning testimony centred around Ballance, a current player at the club, who had last week spoken of a deep and lasting friendship with Rafiq after being implicated in the Yorkshire report. Rafiq, however, said that their relationship had turned “toxic”, adding that his use of the derogatory term “Kevin” to describe non-white players had become so commonplace that Alex Hales, his former England team-mate, even used it as the name for his dog.However, in addition to his hour-and-a-half session before the DCMS committee, Rafiq’s specific complaints against Yorkshire’s players have also been revealed in a 57-page witness statement, compiled ahead of the player’s employment tribunal against the club, which was finally resolved last week in one of the first acts of the incoming chairman, Lord Kamlesh Patel.The document, which had been supplied to the DCMS committee ahead of Tuesday’s hearing, was subsequently released by the chair, Julian Knight MP, although he declined to do likewise with the full report into Rafiq’s allegations of institutional racism, stating that this was “Yorkshire’s mess” and it was their duty to do the right thing without the protection of parliamentary privilege.In his statement, Rafiq asserts that Ballance “really ran with” the nickname of “Raffa the Kaffir”, a term that the former England bowler Matthew Hoggard had first coined – and for which Hoggard subsequently apologised after Rafiq had spoken about it in the media. However, Ballance’s “humiliating, racist comments” included digs such as “don’t talk to him, he’s a P**i”, “he is not a Sheikh, he has no oil” and “is that your uncle there?” when driving past Asian men with beards while on the team bus.Related

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Lord Patel welcomes DCMS committee hearing into 'flawed' Yorkshire racism report

In his specific allegations of institutional racism, Rafiq claims that he received “unduly harsh and unfair punishment” in disciplinary matters – most notably compared to Ballance, whom he claims the club protected from a possible playing ban when he was struggling with recreational drug use.”Over the years, YCCC protected Gary Ballance with respect to his drug and alcohol issues, allowing him to miss drug hair sample tests to avoid sanctions,” Rafiq claimed. “When he failed a recreational drug test and was forced to miss some games, the club informed the public he was missing games because he was struggling with anxiety and mental health issues.”Rafiq compared this treatment with the club’s reaction in 2010, when Rafiq was sent home from the England Under-19 squad following an incident in the team hotel involving his team-mate Atif Sheikh, and subsequently banned for a month by club and country after an ill-advised outburst against the team management on Twitter.”I had been out with the whole team one night,” Rafiq said. “The next day, John Abraham and Andy Burril, the coach and manager, sent me home without any investigation into the incident. I was completely innocent, but the club did nothing to defend me or look into the matter, and just presumed that I was in the wrong.”Out of anger over the injustice of the situation, I sent a tweet, which I accept with hindsight was not the right thing to do. As a consequence, I was disciplined and fined by the ECB and banned from playing cricket for a month. YCCC also suspended me for a month. During my suspension, I was not prohibited from attending training sessions or watching matches at the ground. However, when I did attend, John Blaine (Yorkshire 2nd Team Coach), humiliated me by shouting at me in front of everyone and telling the umpire, ‘get him off the ground now’.”Rafiq also contrasted his treatment with that of Andrew Gale, the former captain, now head coach, whom the club defended in spite of an ECB ban for using racial language in an altercation with Lancashire’s South African player, Ashwell Prince, and Tom Kohler-Cadmore, against whom the club took no further action when he was stood down from an England Lions tour following his implication in a former team-mate’s rape trial. He also claimed that a third player had taken an escort into his room during a pre-season tour, but received no sanction.”Each of these incidents were more serious than the case in which I faced sanction and suspension, but I faced more serious sanction. What I learned over the years was that incidents with white players are covered up and a positive media spin is put out to protect them, yet in the case of Pakistani players, we are criticised unfairly and everything is put on show for the media to attack us with no protection afforded by YCCC.”Rafiq’s witness statement also includes his recollections of an incident in 2008, as a 17-year-old in his first full season with the club, when Yorkshire were forced to forfeit their Twenty20 Cup quarter-final against Durham due to his incorrect registration as a Pakistan-born player.”I had always been up front and honest about the fact that I had been born in Pakistan and that my family had been applying for British residency,” Rafiq stated. “It hadn’t affected my ability to play under 15s for England: If I had been registered, I would have received a special dispensation from the ECB to participate.”The quarter final match was called off and abandoned just hours before it was due to begin – and it looked like I was to blame because I was Pakistani, not British born.”I was absolutely devastated. As the youngest player in the team, it was really hard. It wasn’t my fault, but I felt like everyone’s anger and frustration was directed at me – and the club didn’t protect me or support me.”YCCC put out a statement saying that my inclusion in the squad had been a last-minute decision. This was not true: I had been in the squad for three weeks prior and had they done the paperwork, I would have been eligible to play. Rather than admitting their responsibility for the error, YCCC let everyone think that I had let the side down by turning up to play at the T20 without disclosing my nationality.”

Chelsea have seen £52 million ($65m) forward Christopher Nkunku branded a “total waste of money” following their “pedestrian” FA Cup exit.

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French star moved to England in 2023Starting berths have proved hard to come byQuestions being asked of players & coachesFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

France international Nkunku moved to England from RB Leipzig in the summer of 2023. He had hit 58 goals across his last two seasons in Germany, but has managed only 16 for the Blues – with only five of those coming in the Premier League.

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Nkunku has started just three top-flight fixtures this season, but was given a rare opportunity to impress against Brighton in the FA Cup fourth round as Nicolas Jackson and Marc Guiu were ruled out through injury. The 27-year-old fluffed his lines in a 2-1 defeat at the Amex Stadium.

WHAT CRAIG BURLEY SAID

Ex-Chelsea midfielder Craig Burley told : “There was no cutting edge to the game. [Cole] Palmer has stopped influencing games like he was. Nkunku up front, I mean what a total waste of money he’s been. And on top of that they are looking a bit fragile at the back.”

Burley added on Chelsea’s 2024-25 campaign: "The discussion earlier in the season was whether they could stay in the title race. We kind of expected them to slip but they’ve slipped back into this Graham Potter, Mauricio Pochettino, Thomas Tuchel pedestrian passing game. 57 per cent possession – way more than Brighton – but what did they do with it? Absolutely nothing."

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Chelsea remain a work in progress, as they seek to unlock potential in a young squad, but Burnley said in a warning for head coach Enzo Maresca: “We know this ownership and club can make random and rash decisions. Now they must have been very pleased from what they saw from summer to Christmas. But if these performances continue and they slide down the table and they start heading out of Europe, Enzo Maresca is at a club where they will make snap decisions. They won’t give you two or three years like Arsenal did with [Mikel] Arteta through the bad spells.”

The relationship between Phil Parkinson and Paul Mullin is 'not right' after a 'crazy' omission of the striker, according to a former Wrexham star.

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Mullin hasn't featured since JanuaryCan't even make the benchFormer star claims it's 'crazy'Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Club hero Mullin has not featured for the Red Dragons since January 28, not even making the bench for five consecutive matches. The striker has scored 110 goals in 171 matches for the club on their rise from non-league to League One, and former midfielder Waynne Phillips is not impressed by Parkinson's decision to repeatedly leave him out.

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Wrexham signed two strikers in January as they attempt to hunt down Wycombe and win automatic promotion from League One this season. Jay Rodriguez arrived from Burnley and Sam Smith came in from Reading, while Steven Fletcher and Jack Marriott are being preferred to Mullin on the substitutes' bench.

WHAT PHILLIPS SAID

Phillips, who played for Wrexham in two spells between 1989-98 and 1999-2003, said: "For me there's something not right – to not have Paul Mullin in and around the squad seems a little bit crazy. But Phil Parkinson is the manager. He has done particularly well for Wrexham over the last two or three seasons and you have to accept that he is the man who picks the side."

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Getty Images NewsWHAT NEXT FOR WREXHAM?

Mullin has been Wrexham's superhero under the ownership of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney but it appears they are aiming to win promotion without him. Parkinson's side head to Mansfield on Saturday sitting five points behind Wycombe, with leaders Birmingham likely uncatchable.

Glasgow Rangers head coach Philippe Clement was under fairly intense pressure ahead of the club’s League Cup semi-final clash last weekend.

Football Insider reported that the Belgian boss was one game away from being sacked by the board, who are said to be surprised by how poor the start to the season has been.

The outlet claimed that there would be no way back for the former Monaco boss if his side lost to Motherwell at Hampden Park in the cup clash on Sunday.

Thankfully, the Light Blues avoided a defeat and secured their place in the final of the League Cup, where they will face off against Celtic at the national stadium next month.

However, Motherwell did find themselves 1-0 up at half-time and supporters may have already been preparing their list of ideal replacements for Clement in their head, given the report prior to kick-off.

But goals from Cyriel Dessers and Nedim Bajrami in the second half completed the turnaround and ensured that the former Pro League champions remains in post for now.

Nedim Bajrami's form this season

The scorer of the winning goal against Motherwell, Bajrami, has been one of the success stories of Clement and Nils Koppen’s recruitment, since his move to the club during the summer transfer window.

He was brought in from Italian side Sassuolo and has hit the ground running in Glasgow, even if his goal contributions do not suggest as much, as the winger has only produced two goals and one assist in ten matches.

The Albania international has been hugely let down by his teammates in the final third, as they have failed to make the most of his impressive creativity, both domestically and in Europe.

Of course, you could argue that his return of two goals in ten games is not ideal and that is an area for improvement, but Bajrami deserves to be on more than one assist.

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3

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1

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8

9

Big chances created

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4

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0

As you can see in the table above, the 25-year-old magician has created a whopping seven ‘big chances’ in just nine appearances across the Premiership and Europa League this term.

However, his teammates have missed all seven of those ‘big chances’ and that is why the attacking midfielder is only on one assist in ten games, when it could quite easily be eight assists.

At the time of writing (06/11/24), Football Transfers has his current Expected Transfer Value at just €4.8m (£4m) but it is unclear as to whether or not his valuation would be higher if his teammates had helped his assist tally to be significantly higher than it is.

There is one former Rangers forward, though, who is currently worth even more than Bajrami, whilst playing in similar positions, and the Scottish giants may look back on their handling of his situation with regret.

How much Rangers sold Sam Lammers for

In the summer transfer window, Clement and Koppen opted to sanction a permanent exit for Sam Lammers after his loan spell with FC Utrecht during the second half of last season.

The Ibrox side cashed in for a reported fee of £2.5m and that represented a slight loss, in initial figures, on the £3m that the club had paid to snap him up from Atalanta in the summer of 2023.

Lammers arrived from the Serie A side under Michael Beale’s management at the start of the 2023/24 campaign and struggled to find his best form in Glasgow.

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0.3

As you can see in the table above, the left-footed attacker was given plenty of chances to impress by Beale, and Clement in the short time he worked under the Belgian boss.

In those 17 appearances and ten starts, Lammers, quite simply, did not do enough in the final third, with less than one key pass every other game on average.

Market Movers

Football FanCast's Market Movers series explores the changing landscape of the modern transfer market. How much is your club's star player or biggest flop worth today?

The forward was then sent out on loan to Utrecht for the second half of the season before being sold to Twente for £2.5m in the summer, and that has turned out to be a howler of a decision from the Gers.

Why selling Sam Lammers was a howler

There is no hiding away from the fact that Lammers struggled in the first six months of his career in Scotland but it was his first time in the country and he may have needed time to adapt to the division and to life at Ibrox.

His form in the Eredivisie throughout 2024 suggests that Rangers may have cashed in on him too quickly, whilst his current market value indicates that they did not get good value from their summer sale.

At the time of writing (06/11/2024), Football Transfers has his current Expected Transfer Value at €6.2m (£5.1m) and this means that he is currently worth more than Bajrami.

Lammers caught the eye with his performances on loan with Utretch during the second half of last term, with a staggering return of ten goals and three assists in 18 Eredivisie appearances.

His superb form was not enough to convince Clement that he had the quality to be a part of his squad, though, and the attacker was sold to FC Twente.

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xG

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Big chances created

2

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1

As you can see in the table above, Lammers has enjoyed a strong start to the current campaign with his new club, with seven goals and ‘big chances’ created combined in 11 outings.

Meanwhile, no Rangers player has managed more than four goals in the Premiership and only three players have found the back of the net more than two times.

The Dutchman’s market value and his impressive statistics for both Utrecht and Twente suggest that Clement messed up by selling him, particularly for £2.5m, and that the Gers should have been more patient with him after his early struggles.

As well as Tavernier: Rangers star is costing Clement his job big time

The Rangers attacker has been one of the reasons why the Gers have struggled this season.

ByDan Emery Nov 5, 2024

BCCI president Ganguly had said the board asked Virat Kohli to reconsider stepping down as T20I captain, before Kohli said it was not so

Edited PTI copy16-Dec-2021Sunil Gavaskar feels BCCI president Sourav Ganguly is the best person to clear the air on Virat Kohli’s statement that he was not asked by the Indian board to reconsider his decision to quit the T20I captaincy. Ganguly, though, refused to make any comment. “No statement, no press conference,” he told TV reporters later in the day. “We will deal with it. Leave it to BCCI.”Days after Kohli had stepped down as captain, Ganguly had said the BCCI had asked him to reconsider the decision. Kohli contradicted Ganguly’s statement during his press conference on Wednesday, ahead of the team’s departure for South Africa.Related

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“I think it [Kohli’s comment] actually doesn’t bring the BCCI into the picture. I think it’s the individual who has to be asked where he got the impression he had conveyed such a message to Kohli. So, that’s the only thing,” Gavaskar, the former India captain, told .”Yes, he [Ganguly] is the BCCI president and surely he should be asked why there is this discrepancy. He is probably the best person to ask about the discrepancy in what you seem to have to say and what the Indian captain has said.”Virat Kohli walks out of Johannesburg airport•AFP/Getty ImagesFollowing his announcement on the T20I captaincy, Kohli was also removed as ODI captain earlier this month. Kohli said during his press conference that his removal from ODI captaincy happened 90 minutes before the team’s selection for the South Africa tour. Gavaskar felt there was nothing wrong on the part of selection committee chairman Chetan Sharma on that count.”What is the controversy here. As long as the chairman of selectors had told him clearly that we are not considering you for ODI captaincy now, that’s perfectly fine. It is the selectors who have complete authority in selection committee meetings. The captain is just a co-opted non-voting member,” Gavaskar said. “As long as it’s not something that he [Kohli] has not found out from the media or as it happened in the past that the commander of a passenger flight announced it. I think he has been told by the chairman of the selection committee that he is not going to be the captain, I think that is absolutely okay.

“What is the controversy here. As long as the chairman of selectors had told him clearly that we are not considering you for ODI captaincy now, that’s perfectly fine”Gavaskar on Kohli being told he was being removed from the ODI captaincy 90 minutes before a selection meeting

“I don’t know what these people wanted to do. As long as there has been communication between the chairman of selection committee and him, it’s the decent thing to do.”Gavaskar said that the BCCI needed to communicate more clearly – and publicly – on big selection decisions in future, to avoid such issues. “Yes, it always helps to have a clear line of communication so that there is no speculation. So from now, from what has happened, there should be a clear line of communication and the chairman of the selection committee can come down and say why [someone] has been picked and why [someone] has not been picked.”Sometimes, even if that is not needed, a press release is also good enough. A good press release giving all the reasons makes life a lot easier.”‘It is not good to point fingers’ – Kapil Dev
Former India captain Kapil Dev, meanwhile, said the current Test captain and board president contradicting each other in public was “not a good thing”. Instead, he said, the focus should be on big tour of South Africa that is coming up. “It is not good to point fingers on anybody at this point in time. The South Africa tour is coming and please pay attention to the tour,” Kapil told when asked about Kohli’s remarks.”I would say board president is board president but yes the Indian cricket team captain is also a big thing. But talking badly about each other in public, I don’t think it is a good thing, whether it is Sourav or Kohli.”

We are only 11 games into the Premier League season, yet much has already changed for Manchester United.

The Red Devils endured their worst start to a campaign for the second year in a row, which was enough to see Erik ten Hag get the sack, and now Ruben Amorim is set to lead the club into a new era.

The exciting manager has an impressive track record from his time with Sporting CP, and so there is an element of optimism about what he could achieve at Old Trafford in the coming years.

However, the first thing he’ll need to do is get the squad back to their best, especially Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee, who are meant to be the future of his attack but are both being outscored by a player sold by Ten Hag in the summer.

Hojlund & Zirkzee's form

In a bid to bring more goals to the team, United opted to spend around £36.5m on Bologna’s up-and-coming centre-forward, Zirkzee, in the summer.

While that’s not a small fee by any means, it felt like good value at the time, as in 37 appearances for the Italian side, the Dutchman scored 12 goals and provided seven assists.

This reasonably impressive level of output equated to an average of a goal involvement once every 1.94 games, and as he’s still only 23 years old, there was a hope and expectation that he’d only further improve at the Theatre of Dreams.

Unfortunately, despite scoring the winner against Fulham on his debut, the Schiedam-born poacher has since failed to score again in his 16 subsequent appearances, adding just two assists to his tally.

Things haven’t been much better for Hojlund either, as following his return from a hamstring injury early in the campaign, he’s found the back of the net just twice in 12 appearances and hasn’t looked anywhere near the promising player he did last season.

Overall, Amorim has his work cut out with his two young strikers this season, and we’re sure he wishes the club didn’t sell a player in the summer who is currently outscoring them and loving life with his new team.

The former United star currently outscoring Hojlund and Zirkzee

So, there were a fair few players that United sold over the summer, from Aaron Wan-Bissaka to Donny van de Beek, but the one we’re talking about is Scott McTominay.

The Scottish international made 255 appearances for the Red Devils since his first-team debut in the 16/17 season.

While he primarily played in midfield, he racked up a reasonably impressive haul of 29 goals and eight assists in those games.

However, he finally left the Red Devils in August after an offer of £25m from Italian giants Napoli was accepted, and while fans wished him well, there was undoubtedly a feeling that the fee they got for him was a good one.

In reality, the Scotsman’s performances so far this season suggests that they should have asked for more, as in just ten appearances for Antonio Conte’s outfit, the “absolute monster”, as dubbed by one notable content creator, has scored three goals and provided two assists, equating to an average of a goal involvement once every other game.

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17

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749′

639′

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3

2

1

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2

0

2

Goal Involvements per Match

0.50

0.16

0.17

Minutes per Goal Involvement

149.8′

319.5′

233′

Moreover, the Lancaster-born machine is already an incredibly popular figure among the passionate Neapolitan fanbase, and understandably so, as one of his goals was an equaliser away to Inter Milan last week that kept his side on top of the table.

Ultimately, while he earned the club a healthy payday over the summer, McTominay’s incredible form in Italy and United’s misfiring forwards certainly raises questions about the decision to sell him.

However, with the club still outside the top four, there are more pressing matters to attend to for new boss Amorim.

Time's up: Amorim must sell Man Utd flop who earns far more than Garnacho

Ruben Amorim desperately needs to offload the Manchester United flop.

ByEthan Lamb Nov 14, 2024

Moeen hits seven sixes then takes two key wickets to keep West Indies at bay

Matt Roller29-Jan-2022Moeen Ali set up a Sunday-night decider in England’s series against West Indies at the Kensington Oval, leading from the front as stand-in captain with 63 off 28 balls and two key wickets in the run chase.With Eoin Morgan ruled out of the series after injuring his quadriceps in the warm-ups on Wednesday, Moeen struck seven sixes – four of them off consecutive balls in Jason Holder’s 18th over – as England surged to 193, building on the platform set by Jason Roy’s scratchy 52.West Indies started brightly in pursuit, reaching 56 for 0 after the powerplay with Kyle Mayers making a sprightly 40 on his return to the side, replacing Shai Hope at the top of the order. But England’s spinners put the squeeze on: Moeen removed both openers, and Adil Rashid and Liam Livingstone both made breakthroughs on a dry pitch.Holder and Kieron Pollard kept the run chase alive, but a middle-overs slowdown meant the task was beyond them. The result set up a deciding final match on Sunday night, with the series squared at 2-2.Roy’s late arrivalAsked to bat by Pollard for the third time in the series, England struggled to adapt to the pace of the pitch – the same one used in their one-run win last Sunday night – early on, with Tom Banton plinking a pull to mid-on to give Holder a wicket in his first over. Roy, who was given a life when Holder put down a return catch, looked particularly out of form, creeping to 11 off 19 balls and swearing in frustration over the stump mic after failing to beat the infield yet again.But 15 balls later he had brought up a half-century, clicking into gear by clubbing Sheldon Cottrell 101 metres over midwicket, and England raced to 80 for 1 after nine overs with James Vince also hitting his straps at No. 3.Pollard put the brakes on with another canny spell of slow-medium cutters, exchanging words with Roy after angling the ball into his pads to defend the short off-side boundary. He conceded only one run (plus a leg bye) off the seven balls he bowled to Roy, roaring in celebration when Nicholas Pooran gobbled up a thick outside edge from a legcutter.Moeen cuts looseWhen Vince miscued a wide offbreak from Akeal Hosein to short third, England had lost their two set batters in the space of seven balls and the innings threatened to fall away. Moeen and Livingstone traded sixes – Livingstone’s, a 91-metre pull over midwicket, was the only boundary Pollard conceded – but a canny 17th over from Cottrell left them 134 for 3 with three overs left.Related

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Simmons rubbishes 'victimisation' claims after Powell-Smith swap

Resilient Powell serves up lethal cocktail to leave England punch-drunk

What followed was a masterclass in death-overs hitting from Moeen. Holder, whose first two overs cost just three runs, leaked 28 off the 18th, including four consecutive sixes from Moeen: a drag over long-on, a dead-straight hit into the press-box window, a languid swing over extra cover and a wristy pick-up over square leg.Shepherd had Livingstone caught off a steepler with the first ball of the 19th but then suffered some rough treatment himself. Moeen clipped two into the leg side to bring up a 23-ball half-century – his fastest for England – before hitting two more sixes, including a sumptuous chip over extra cover with the full face of the bat.He miscued Holder to long-on at the start of the final over, and Phil Salt – down at No. 7 – skied his first ball into the covers, but Sam Billings, recalled in place of Harry Brook after missing Wednesday night’s game through illness, clubbed the last two balls for six. England added 59 in the last three overs, and Holder’s final two cost 41 runs.Moeen Ali scored a quick-fire fifty•Getty ImagesSpin strangleMayers impressed at the top of the order, hitting Moeen for two sixes over the leg side and thumping Tymal Mills’ first three balls for four, six and six, but West Indies’ chase faded badly against spin in the middle overs. Moeen made the first breakthroughs, having Mayers and Brandon King caught at long-off and long-on respectively, while Rashid maintained the pressure from the other end.Rovman Powell had played Rashid out during his hundred on Wednesday night, milking him for 11 off 11 balls, but his notorious weakness against wristspin was enough for Billings to bark over the stump mic: “Still love this match-up!” Three balls later, he ripped a googly through the gate which crashed into middle-and-off stump.56 for 0 after the powerplay became 84 for 3 off 13, and after Pooran hit Livingstone for consecutive sixes, he holed out to long-on looking for three in a row. Holder’s 36 off 24 – his highest T20I score – kept West Indies’ hopes alive, but Reece Topley and Chris Jordan kept their composure to close things out at the death.

Manchester United have been advised to sign Paul Pogba again, with Dwight Yorke saying “give him a contract” as he is better than current options.

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Free agent following release by JuventusLinked with clubs around the worldRed Devils urged to step in and do a dealFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱GettyWHAT HAPPENED?

The World Cup-winning Frenchman is a product of the Red Devils’ fabled academy system. He returned to Old Trafford from a stint at Juventus in 2016 as the most expensive player in world football. Unfortunately, the all-action midfielder struggled to live up to his £89 million ($113m) price tag.

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He departed again in 2022 but, after another spell in Turin, is currently a free agent after seeing his contract in Italy terminated while serving a doping ban. Pogba has been linked with teams around the world, including MLS outfit Inter Miami – who have Lionel Messi on their books – and Ligue 1 giants Marseille.

Getty ImagesWHAT DWIGHT YORKE SAID

Yorke believes United should be exploring the option of bringing Pogba back to Manchester, with the 1999 Treble winner telling : “It's an interesting take. I would give Paul Pogba a third chance, definitely, because of what United currently have and because of what we know he is capable of producing.

“Obviously, with two months left, I would say, let's have a look. Give him a contract. You've got time here to prove yourself. You can come and play and help us out with the situation I’m sure Pogba would be very keen. Maybe he might want a long-term deal because of the security.

“I can see why his name has been mentioned because United have struggled, and Pogba is a damn good player. Even though he’s 31, I think he's far better than what we have now. And if you're going to get a player for free, who's far better than all our players in midfield, then you do it.”

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WHAT NEXT?

United have been struggling for creativity and goal threat under Ruben Amorim, with it clear that something needs to be done in order to reverse that trend and deliver an upturn in collective fortunes. Pogba may be the man to help provide a spark in familiar surroundings.

Mitch Perry and Todd Murphy added an unbroken 47 after Tasmania threatened to turn the game

AAP18-Mar-2022Victoria have one foot in the Sheffield Shield final after a tense and potentially pivotal two-wicket win over Tasmania in Melbourne.A see-sawing final day at Junction Oval ended in Victoria’s favour thanks to a 47-run unbeaten tail-end partnership between 21-year-old Mitchell Perry and second-game rookie Todd Murphy.The pair displayed maturity beyond their years to bat for an hour and get the home side over the line with 8.2 overs to spare.Perry ended on 32 not out – three short of his highest first-class score in 14 matches – while Murphy hit the winning runs to finish unbeaten on 24.With both teams seeking to become the only state with three wins, the result pushes Victoria top of the standings going into next week’s final round.Earlier, Victoria had seemed well in control in pursuit of 231 to win from 82 overs. Travis Dean piled on a boundary-laden 47 at just over a run a ball as Victoria quickly reached 74 for the first wicket.However, a middle-order collapse – they lost 5 for 40 – changed the momentum completely. Tom Andrews picked up the key wickets of Nic Maddinson and wicketkeeper Sam Harper, while debutant fellow spinner Ben Manenti returned 3 for 89.Earlier, Tasmania advanced from their overnight 7 for 170 to be all out for 209 as Perry finished with 4 for 31. Peter Handscomb claimed nine catches for the match, the second most by an outfielder in first-class history, his last a fantastic diving take at midwicket.Tasmania can still reach the season decider with victory at home against Queensland, while Victoria will shore up hosting rights if they win in Perth.