All posts by h716a5.icu

Lalit Modi, the Champions League Twenty20 commissioner, has asked the ECB to make “minor adjustments” to its county schedule to enable English participation in the 2010 tournament

Nagraj Gollapudi11-Feb-2010Lalit Modi, the Champions League Twenty20 commissioner, has asked the ECB to make “minor adjustments” to its county schedule to enable English participation in the 2010 tournament. Modi’s comments came a day after he announced the tournament schedule, which clashes with the last fortnight of the English domestic season and almost rules out county teams from taking part as they did last year.The tournament is scheduled to be played between September 10-26; the dates, Modi said, were dictated by the countries’ pre-committed series in the ICC’s existing FTP.Although there is only one international bilateral series scheduled at that time – the ODI series between England and Pakistan, ending on September 22 – the ECB’s main grouse is that the dates coincide with the final two rounds of the County Championship as well as the semi-finals and final of a new 40-over league.”We hope the ECB will be able to prepone their domestic tournament and be able to participate by making this minor adjustment to their schedule,” Modi told Cricinfo. Doing that, he said, would provide an opportunity to the top two English domestic Twenty20 winners to participate in the world club championships, where US$6 million is up for grabs, with US$2.5 million going to the winners.However, the ECB chairman Giles Clarke, who is currently in Dubai for ICC meetings, is understood to have ruled out, at this stage, the possibility of making any alterations to England’s domestic schedule, not least because of the impact such a move would have on the ECB’s existing sponsorship agreements.”The climax of the English county season is of critical importance to the ECB,” a spokesman told Cricinfo. “We would be very reluctant to change a schedule that was agreed between the ECB, broadcasters and the counties themselves.”Modi also denied an ECB statement that it was not consulted over the dates. “[This is] not true,” Modi said, adding that Dean Kino, a member of the Champions League governing council, “is and has been in touch with [David] Collier [the ECB chief executive] on a regular basis since December [2009].”The Champions League Twenty20 is run by the boards of India, Australia and South Africa and its governing council comprises representatives from each board. Other countries participate in the tournament by invitation.Modi said the scheduling is always complicated due to the fact that the Champions League timings are adjusted according to the international schedules in an existing FTP. “Given that Australia’s tour to India begins on October 2 and other countries also have pre-committed FTP games it was the only window available this year,” Modi explained.”We will always endeavour to accommodate all countries as far as possible, and the governing council looked at all possibilities and decided that these were the only dates.”

Speaking on a football.london Q&A, reliable correspondent Alasdair Gold has come out with a Tottenham Hotspur claim involving Nuno Espirito Santo, Fabio Paratici and Wolves star Adama Traore.

The Lowdown: Spurs wanted Traore?

During the latter stages of the summer transfer window, Tottenham became heavily linked with a move for Traore and reports even suggest they lodged a failed £30 million bid on deadline day.

The 25-year-old was the subject of exit debate and Nuno’s new club were, of course, mentioned in the fray alongside other interested parties.

When asked about Spurs and Traore on deadline day, Gold confirmed their interest whilst hinting they could potentially revisit.

The Latest: Gold explains Traore interest…

As per the reliable Spurs correspondent, both Nuno and Paratici ‘love’ the Molineux winger and despite nothing happening on deadline day, it could perhaps be one to look at again in the future.

“Wolves are standing firm at the moment,” Gold said (via football.london).

“Spurs aren’t currently hopeful of anything happening for him today.

“Perhaps it’s one to look at again in the future as Nuno and Paratici do love him.”

The Verdict: Get it done…

While the summer transfer window has literally just shut, it’s never too early to start thinking about possible additions for the next one.

Traore’s price tag has dropped considerably since last year, with his former €100 million (£85.9m) valuation now halving to around £50m.

A 50 per cent discount of this magnitude is arguably too good of an opportunity to miss for a player described as ‘undefendable’ by Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp.

In other news: ‘Finished article’ – Sky pundit in awe of Spurs starlet who’s an ‘improved version of Ndombele’…find out more here.

With Steven Gerrard preparing for his first fixture in charge of Aston Villa this weekend, there will undoubtedly be a number of positions in the 41-year-old’s first-team squad that he is not entirely sure which player is his best option.

Indeed, with the former Liverpool captain preferring to set his team up in a 4-3-3 formation, Gerrard must pick from the options of Jacob Ramsey, Carney Chukwuemeka, Morgan Sanson and John McGinn in the middle of the park – with both Marvelous Nakamba and Douglas Luiz appearing injury doubts for Saturday.

He will also pick from the likes of Danny Ings, Ollie Watkins, Leon Bailey, Bertrand Traore, Anwar El Ghazi and Emi Buendia to make up his three-man attack.

And, while £33m summer signing Buendia had somewhat struggled to nail down a starting spot under the leadership of Dean Smith this season, Gerrard simply must unleash the 24-year-old against Brighton & Hove Albion, as the winger undoubtedly has the ability to terrify the Seagulls.

Gerrard must unleash Buendia

Indeed, over his nine Premier League appearances so far for Villa – seven of which have come as starts – the £31.5m-rated man has already scored one goal, registered one assist and created two big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 0.9 shots and making 1.7 key passes per game.

These returns have seen the player who Daniel Farke dubbed an “outstanding” talent average a SofaScore match rating of 6.92, ranking him as Villa’s fifth-best performer in the league thus far.

However, while it is undeniable that Villa fans are yet to see the best of the Argentina international – something that is extremely exciting considering his already impressive metrics – the £80k-per-week winger proved his ability at the top level during his last Premier League campaign with Norwich City.

Indeed, over his 36 top-flight appearances back in 2019/20, Buendia scored one goal, provided seven assists and created nine big chances for his teammates, in addition to taking an average of 1.1 shots and making a whopping 2.3 key passes per game – the fourth-highest number in the league that season, behind only Kevin De Bruyne, James Maddison and Jack Grealish.

These metrics saw the 24-year-old earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.99, ranking him as the Canaries’ second-best performer in the Premier League.

As such, considering the huge upgrade in talent Buendia is now surrounded by at Aston Villa, Gerrard simply must afford him the game time to refind his previous form in the top flight, as, when up and running, the Argentine can terrify any defence in the league – starting with Brighton on Saturday.

In other news: Grealish 2.0: Gerrard could save AVFC millions with 18 y/o sensation dubbed “the best”

James Anderson has said the players never really clicked as a team in the one-day series but they felt the 6-0 scoreline flattered Australia

Cricinfo staff19-Sep-2009James Anderson, the England fast bowler, has said the players never really clicked as a team in the one-day series but they felt the 6-0 scoreline flattered Australia. The two sides will meet for the final match on Sunday and England will try to avoid the embarrassment of an unprecedented 7-0 whitewash.”Throughout the series it seems as though we have tried to make it look as complicated as possible. You would think, after playing cricket for most of our lives, we would be able to do it – after all, it’s not the most difficult of skills.”But to be good at one-day cricket, you need to be good at running between the wickets and that’s an area where we need to improve. Obviously we don’t want to lose 7-0 so there’s going to be a lot of pride at stake on Sunday. We are very disappointed with the way we have played in the series.”We have never really clicked as a team, but the vast majority of us in the dressing room believe we can beat Australia and think 6-0 flatters them a bit.”Anderson took six wickets at 33.16 from four matches, including 4 for 55 in the sixth ODI.England captain Andrew Strauss, who was booed by the crowd in Trent Bridge following their sixth consecutive defeat, called the losses a “horror show” and said the team’s confidence was frail ahead of the Champions Trophy.

Lots of Everton fans have been left raging over an update that emerged on Lucas Digne.

As shared by the official Twitter page of the Goodison Park faithful, the left-back has been called up to the France national team for their upcoming FIFA World Cup qualifying games.

This is in spite of Rafa Benitez being unsure over whether he can play against Tottenham Hotspur at home in the Premier League over the weekend, as he continues to recover from his injury.

Of course, being the only senior left-back currently in the Merseyside club’s squad at the moment, he is so important to the team, and so he should not be rushed back.

However, playing for France risks a reoccurrence of the injury, and so it is understandable why so many Toffees supporters would rather that he did not go away and instead focus on his recovery.

Everton fans on Digne news

These Blues raged as the news was shared on Twitter, with one EFC fan even going as far as to claim that it was ‘ridiculous’:

“He’s just returned from injury, pull him out”

Credit: @Montycora81

“Why?”

Credit: @kr12t1an_R0j

“Better stay home”

Credit: @Jesudian15

“Ridiculous”

Credit: @rob290513

“Do me a favour”

Credit: @daniel4davidson

“Injury bingo”

Credit: @JakeC98__

In other news, find out what new partnership has Evertonians gushing here!

John Buchanan held discussions with Andy Flower as part of a week-long fact-finding mission

Alex Brown in Birmingham29-Jun-2009Buchanan with the urn that Australia regained in the last Ashes. Will he commit to England this summer?•Getty ImagesJohn Buchanan has arrived in England and held discussions with national coach Andy Flower as part of a week-long fact-finding mission he hopes will result in a broader role within the ECB. Buchanan, who led Australia to a 5-0 series victory in the last Ashes series, met with Flower in Birmingham on Monday to share his thoughts on Ricky Ponting’s current squad and England’s recent visit to the battlefields of Flanders, a trip similar to Australia’s tour of the Somme prior to the 2005 Ashes series.The former Australia coach will travel across England over the next week, meeting with coaches from England’s elite programmes, as well as county mentors Chris Adams (Surrey), Peter Moores (Lancashire) and Mick Newell (Nottinghamshire). He will also spend time with England Lions before their tour match against Australia at Worcester, before presenting a proposal to David Parsons, director of England’s National Performance centre in Loughborough, regarding a future role within the England set-up.As wide-ranging as Buchanan’s brief in England is this week, most attention will focus on his dealings with the national team barely a week out from the first Test in Cardiff. The very notion of Buchanan passing on insights into Ricky Ponting’s team has raised the ire of many in Australia, and prompted curt responses from the touring players.”I provided [Flower] with some of my thoughts,” Buchanan told Cricinfo. “I’ve been keeping a bit of a gaze on the Ashes build-up from afar, and passed on a few things I’ve picked up as an observer now removed from the team.”We also talked about England’s trip to Belgium, which was something I took a fair bit of interest in. It was good to catch up with him briefly, and was just one of quite a few things I am looking to accomplish on this trip.”Buchanan has taken a keen interest in Australia’s preparations for this summer’s Ashes series, and believes selectors will lean towards fielding an all-pace attack in Cardiff. Nathan Hauritz’s figures of 1 for 158 in last week’s tour match against Sussex did not inspire confidence, leaving Buchanan to predict that part-timers Marcus North, Simon Katich and Michael Clarke will share Australia’s spin-bowling duties for the majority of the Ashes series.”I guess the salient point here is what strategy do the Australians want to take?” Buchanan said. “Do they want to utilise their fast men as the main thrust to their attack, and use (Marcus) North, (Simon) Katich and (Michael) Clarke for their spin, or do they want to take a less hostile approach and take a spinner that would allow them to adapt to more than one kind of strategy or surface?”I suspect they will be leaning towards the former. They will have to be confident in North, not only as a spinning option but also his batting. From what I have been reading, North struggled a bit with the bat in Hove, but he has a lot of experience in English conditions. If Watson returns from injury that could give the selectors a little more to think about, but unless [North] has a woeful game against the Lions, I think he would be pretty close.”Buchanan is hopeful his week in England will pave the way for a more regular role with the ECB. “I will speak to David Parsons before I leave but I am not sure yet as to what specifically a role would entail,” he said. “It could mean checking in every now and then with Andy Flower and the national team to exchange ideas, working with the high performance centre in Loughborough or spending time with touring teams.”I think we all will have a better idea after this week, but I don’t think (a full-time position) would be the best way to utilise my time or knowledge.”

Stuart Dallas, Adam Forshaw and Dan James all put in poor performances during Leeds United’s League Cup defeat to Arsenal, as we analyse the numbers behind the defeat. 

The Gunners beat the Whites 2-0 thanks to goals from Callum Chambers and Eddie Nketiah as the Elland Road outfit crashed out of the competition.

Here, we take a look at Leeds’ three worst players statistically on the night (via SofaScore), who lost possession a combined 22 times and lost a huge 80 per cent of their duels.

Stuart Dallas: 6.3/10

Dallas has been one of Marcelo Bielsa’s best players since Leeds were promoted to the Premier League, but he did not put in his best showing at the Emirates Stadium. The Northern Ireland international won just three of his ten duels and lost possession on 14 occasions, resulting in a 6.3 match rating.

The injuries which have forced the Northern Ireland star back into defence have been hugely detrimental this season, and the sooner Marcelo Bielsa can get Dallas further up the pitch again the better.

Adam Forshaw: 6.4/10

Injuries have prevented Forshaw from having as big an impact as he would have like in the past few years, but he did little to convince his boss he deserves to feature on a regular basis now he is fit.

He lost all of his three duels and conceded possession five times in the 45 minutes he played before he was hooked off at half-time.

Dan James: 6.3/10

James made the move to Elland Road during the summer transfer window from Manchester United. However, he has not yet made an impact for his new employers, failing to provide a goal or an assist in eight outings (Transfermarkt), one of which was against Arsenal.

The Wales international prevailed in just one of his seven duels and, although he only lost possession three times, he did not do nearly enough.

In other news, this man has been suggested as an eventual replacement for Bielsa.

The fast bowler feels that athletes around the world have a problem with disclosing their whereabouts

Cricinfo staff11-Aug-2009Zaheer Khan has said that Indian cricketers were not the only sportsmen to oppose the ‘whereabouts’ clause in the WADA code.”I’m sure athletes all over the world have problems with the clause. It is high time someone took the initiative and we are happy that we did it,” he said.Zaheer said that drug testing would be good for the game. He also said that Indian cricketers were willing to undergo tests and had concerns only over the clause which required players to disclose their whereabouts three months in advance.”We absolutely have no objection to be tested,” he said. “We know it’s important for the game that the players are tested, it’s undoubtedly for the betterment of the game we play. It’s only a particular clause that we don’t agree to.”The fast bowler said that while the players had the support of the BCCI, they would adhere to the decision of the board.Zaheer, who suffered a major shoulder injury last month and has been ruled out of the Champions Trophy, said he had taken it in his stride. “We just can’t wish away injuries. They are part and parcel of the sport, and one just has to be patient. As far as I am concerned, it’s certainly not a setback for me; I am actually viewing it as an opportunity to come back stronger and fitter.”

After securing a 1-0 win over Bolton Wanderers last weekend, Sheffield Wednesday’s latest League One clash was 2-2 draw away at AFC Wimbledon on Saturday.

Despite being 2-0 up in the second half thanks to goals from Lee Gregory, Darren Moore’s side failed to take all three points from the game after two Wimbledon goals snatched a draw for the home side.

One player that was involved in the match for Wednesday that we feel didn’t impress on the day was Jaden Brown.

During the match, he played the full 90 minutes but was extremely poor in possession of the ball. Brown only managed to rack up a passing accuracy percentage of 50%, with just 14 of his 28 passes being accurate ones.

In addition to this, Brown failed to make one accurate cross, only found a player with three of the ten long balls he attempted and lost possession on 24 occasions. The 22-year-old was also feeble from a defensive point of view, winning only four of the ten duels he was involved in.

This ultimately led to Brown being given a rather underwhelming overall match rating of 5.8/10, comfortably making him the lowest-rated Wednesday player that started the match according to SofaScore, which would surely be disappointing for Moore.

Wednesday signed Brown back in the previous summer window on a free transfer from Huddersfield Town. Since then, the 22-year-old, who is currently valued at £450k according to Transfermarkt, has made seven appearances for the Owls across all competitions, playing as a left-midfielder even though he is predominantly a left-back.

Even though he only joined the club on a free transfer, we feel that Brown has not had the best of starts to his spell at Wednesday, especially with WhoScored giving him an overall season rating of 6.3/10, making him the lowest-rated Wednesday player to start more than two league games.

However, given his age and the short time he’s been at the club, he still has enough time to get his season on track and progress with the team.

Moving forward, with Wednesday in League One action once again on Tuesday with a trip to Cambridge United, we feel as though Moore should seriously consider dropping Brown from the team or at least playing him in his natural position at left-back.

In other news: Moore must unleash £1.35m-rated SWFC ace this weekend, he was instrumental vs Bolton – opinion

Some Liverpool supporters have reacted negatively to fresh links to Bayern Munich winger Kingsley Coman.

It was a quiet summer on the transfer front at Anfield, with Ibrahima Konate the lone arrival, causing frustration among many fans.

While Jurgen Klopp still has a strong-looking squad at his disposal, a few injuries could immediately change that situation, as last season showed.

[freshpress-quiz id=“359326”]

Liverpool are already looking a little light in attack, with Roberto Firmino and Takumi Minamino both ruled out of Sunday’s trip to Leeds United.

According to Le10 Sport [via Anfield Edition on Twitter], the Reds are eyeing up a move for Coman next summer, with the £58.5million-rated Frenchman keen on moving to the Premier League.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-liverpool-transfer-news-2/” title=”Latest Liverpool transfer news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=“none”]

Liverpool fans react to Coman rumour

Although the winger scored the only goal in the 2020 Champions League final and has won 34 caps for France, these Liverpool fans took to Twitter to react negatively to the news – according to Transfermarkt, Coman has suffered a remarkable 25 injuries in his career thus far (not including illness or lack of match fitness).

“His injury record is the worst”

Credit: @FactsUWontLike2

“Rubbish news again”

Credit: @1staz_Br0him

“I’d rather go for Leroy Sane or Gnabry”

Credit: @MojackThePoet

“No ta”

Credit: @louroll89ffs

“We don’t want him”

Credit: @onlyfarouk12

“Nonsense”

Credit: @Cooler_King70

In other news, some Liverpool fans are delighted with one transfer claim. Read more here.