All posts by h716a5.icu

Trent Alexander-Arnold could miss Liverpool’s Premier League clash with Manchester City through injury.

The Lowdown: Huge game awaits

The Reds face a potentially season-defining game on Sunday afternoon, with City heading to Anfield for a top-of-the-table meeting.

Liverpool are one point clear of Pep Guardiola’s side going into the game, but already without Thiago due to a calf problem, and they have now been hit by more troubling news.

[freshpress-quiz id=“359326”]

The Latest: Trent could miss out

Alexander-Arnold missed the Champions League clash with Porto on Tuesday evening, and according to Doyle, who took to Twitter late on Monday night, the right-back could also be ‘a doubt for City’.

It remains to be seen if he will be fit in time, but Jurgen Klopp has admitted ‘it doesn’t look great’ for the weekend.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-liverpool-transfer-news-5/” title=”Latest Liverpool transfer news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Massive potential blow

Alexander-Arnold’s vast influence at Liverpool is undeniable, so the thought of him not facing City on Sunday doesn’t bear thinking about as far as Reds fans are concerned.

His attacking quality from right-back is arguably unrivalled in Europe – he has registered 47 assists for the Reds – and it could be James Milner who has to fill in, which is far from ideal.

Granted, Milner did superbly against Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha earlier this month, but he may find it far more difficult against a City attack that interchanges and could feature the likes of Jack Grealish, Phil Foden and Gabriel Jesus.

In other news, some Liverpool fans are excited by a transfer story that has emerged. Read more here.

Gloucestershire’s home quarter-final tie in the Friends Provident Trophy will have to be pushed back from its original date because the County Ground at Bristol won’t be available

Cricinfo staff18-May-2009Gloucestershire’s home quarter-final tie in the Friends Provident Trophy will have to be pushed back from its original date because the County Ground at Bristol won’t be available as the one-day international between England and West Indies takes place the following day.The quarter-finals are pencilled in for May 23 and Gloucestershire have already secured home advantage after their abandoned match against Sussex on Friday ensured they would top the table, but England and West Indies will already be in residence at Bristol for the ODI on May 24.”Our first choice would be to move the match so we can keep the game at Bristol,” a Gloucestershire spokeswoman told Cricinfo. “The semi-finals aren’t until July 5 so we have time to rearrange, but nothing has been confirmed yet and won’t be until the opposition are known.”The final round of qualifying matches takes place on May 20.

Some Everton fans have been left slamming the display of Andros Townsend in their away game at Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday afternoon.

The new signing missed a good chance in the first half that he really should have tucked away when the score was still 0-0, before his fellow winger Demarai Gray showed him how to finish by slotting nicely under goalkeeper Robert Sanchez after a neat run into the box to give them a 1-0 lead at half-time.

Townsend was also guilty of losing out on a fair few of his individual battles throughout the match, and was unsuccessful with some of his dribbles and crosses, while he also lost possession of the ball on several occasions (Sofascore).

Nonetheless, it was not his greatest performance, and the former Crystal Palace man will certainly want to improve after the international break.

Everton fans on Townsend display

These members of the Goodison Park faithful slammed his performance on Twitter:

“Leave Townsend in Brighton”

Credit: @Gigantalous

“Not really just Richarlison and Townsend decision making is really really bad so far. Richarlison is selfish and no one ever talks about it. Even in the last match shares the ball too late”

Credit: @gersonselema

“Townsend is so bad mate”

Credit: @BT_1878

“Can Townsend stop thinking he’s Robben for a bit and actually pass the ball?”

Credit: @3andcaptain

“Townsend just doesn’t do it for me”

Credit: @efc_luke

“Townsend needs to get off the pitch”

Credit: @CorinxYZ

In other news, find out what transfer update has been lauded by Toffees here!

Tottenham Hotspur defender Eric Dier has been blasted by former West Ham United striker Frank McAvennie.

The Lowdown: Time out for Dier

Dier had started his season in impressive form, starting all four of Spurs’ opening top flight games as they earned triple 1-0 victories to jump to the top of the Premier League table.

But on Saturday, Dier and Nuno Espirito Santo’s side were handed their first blow of the season as they fell to a 3-0 defeat at London rivals Crystal Palace, with the England international forced off with an injury after just 12 minutes.

It is unknown how long the 27-year-old is set to miss, but he has received criticism from McAvennie following the defeat to Patrick Viera’s men.

The Latest: McAvennie blasts Dier

Speaking to Football Insider, McAvennie has claimed that Spurs shouldn’t reintroduce the former Sporting Lisbon man to the XI when he recovers from injury.

The former Celtic and Hammers forward has insisted that the £19.8million-rated man never possessed the qualities required to play at centre-back anyway.

He said: “Eric Dier has never been a centre half.

“When you watch him you can see that he just hasn’t got it.

“They have tried to make a space for him in the team.

“They don’t need him in the midfield, and he doesn’t do it at the back. He never has been a defender and never will be.”

The Verdict: Harsh but true

The harsh reality is that Dier’s previous backs McAvennie’s point up. When Nuno has all his regular defenders back, with Davinson Sanchez and Cristian Romero missing the game, Dier is likely to drop to the bench or move to midfield.

Dier, who has been labelled ‘sensational’ in the past by former Lilywhite Jermaine Jenas, will now miss at least Thursday’s UEFA Conference League trip to Rennes and maybe Sunday’s vital game with Chelsea.

Falling to defeat at Palace wasn’t Dier’s fault as he was off for over 75 minutes, but if his injury is a lengthy one, it may prove difficult to force his way back in once Romero has settled.

In other news, Spurs have set their sights on teenage Championship sensation. Find out more here.

Ricky Ponting was the man who asked for the reviews that preceded Mark Benson’s exit from the Adelaide Test

Brydon Coverdale at Adelaide Oval08-Dec-2009Ricky Ponting was the man who asked for the reviews that preceded Mark Benson’s exit from the Adelaide Test, and after the match finished he said he would ask the remaining officials for their thoughts on the system. Benson was expected to announce his retirement on Tuesday after returning to England, having officiated for only the first day of the Test.The ICC has denied that his departure was directly caused by his decisions being queried, including one caught-behind appeal that Ponting was convinced was out and was overturned by the third umpire Asad Rauf. Ponting said he still supported the review system and was keen to speak to Rauf and Ian Gould following the controversy.”The thing I want to do is to have a chat with the umpires and see what their views and opinions are on the whole system,” Ponting said. “That’s the important thing. Sometimes important people can be overlooked in some of these rule-changing decisions that are brought in. I’m going to speak to the umpires who were officiating in this game tonight and get their opinions on it all.”That’s what I want to find out from them. I want to see how they are going with it all. It’s one thing for the players to accept these changes and technology, but it’s another thing from the umpires. I want to get the overall feeling from them as to how they think it’s going.”Despite wasting both his reviews early in West Indies’ second innings and being left to rue his hastiness later on, Ponting said the system could still have a positive effect on Test cricket. However, he said it would take some time to get used to reviewing on-field decisions, just as it had been an ongoing learning process dealing with one-day changes like Powerplays.”Ideally with a lot of those rule changes and things that we’ve brought into 50-over cricket over the last couple of years you’d like to have trialled them elsewhere,” he said. “I think there’s still some refinement that can be done with the technology that’s used [in reviews].”That’s the big thing with it all. If you’re going to go into something like this you’ve got to go in 100% and use whatever you can to make the system work its best. We’re all still coming to terms with it and the more we play with it and learn about it and experience it the more we’ll probably appreciate it.”One man who doesn’t appreciate the system is the West Indies captain Chris Gayle. He was scathing of the review process after the Gabba Test, and remained unconvinced following the Adelaide draw. “I still stand firm,” Gayle said. “It’s just complicated.”

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.

Ciaran Dickson appears to have completed a move to Celtic after turning out for the Hoops’ B team against Morton on Saturday, as per The Scottish Sun.

The Lowdown: Dickson was pictured with a Celtic shirt recently

Dickson, who was described as ‘terrific’ by Steven Gerrard last season, was a surprise release at Ibrox in the summer.

The 19-year-old only signed a new deal with Rangers back in January but was let go at the end of the 2020/21 campaign.

The midfielder was pictured holding up a Celtic shirt last week, leading to rumours of a cross-Glasgow switch materialising.

The Latest: Debut goal for Dickson

Dickson actually turned out for Celtic against Morton in the SPFL Trust Trophy on Saturday, as reported by The Scottish Sun.

Wearing the number 10 jersey, he scored on his debut after 30 minutes to halve a 2-0 deficit for his team.

Celtic went on to lose 3-1, but it seems as if Dominic McKay may have sealed an under-the-radar addition to the club’s youth ranks in Dickson, with a tweet from the club’s B team account labelling the 19-year-old as a new signing.

The Verdict: Shrewd move?

Dickson is a player who clearly caught the eye of Gerrard last season and was of interest to Premier League side Burnley, so a cut-price move to Celtic Park seems to be a smart piece of business from McKay.

The Hoops appears to be building for the future with the signings of youngsters Liel Abada, Liam Shaw, Liam Scales, Osaze Urhoghide and Joey Dawson, and it looks as if Dickson can now be added to that list judging by his B team appearances over the weekend.

In other news: McKay eyes record-breaking ace for Celtic and Ange; could be available for cut-price fee.

Joey Carew, the former West Indies chief selector, has criticised the appointment of Denesh Ramdin as vice-captain for the New Zealand ODIs

Cricinfo staff07-Dec-2008
Joey Carew feels Denesh Ramdin needs to focus on his career instead of being given added responsibility © AFP
Joey Carew, the former West Indies chief selector, has criticised the appointment of Denesh Ramdin as vice-captain for the New Zealand ODIs. Carew, who served on the WICB, on and off, for roughly 20 years, said Ramdin was better off focusing on his cricket at this stage of this career.”Three years ago, Sir Vivian Richards had advocated that Denesh Ramdin would be a good choice to lead the West Indies team,” Carew told the . “With the greatest respect for Sir Viv, I could not agree with him. Now three years later, maybe his words will come to past, and once again we are given a surprise decision by the West Indies cricket administrators.”Ramdin was elevated to be Chris Gayle’s deputy for the remainder of West Indies’ tour after Ramnaresh Sarwan stepped down from the post on the eve of the team’s opening tour match against Auckland. “In my opinion, Ramdin needs to concentrate more on his cricket now and I would not think of side-tracking him with the responsibilities of the leadership,” said Carew.Ramdin, 23, was not part of the team that lost 3-0 to Pakistan in Abu Dhabi last month or the three-nation ODI series in Canada, involving the hosts and Bermuda, before that.Former Trinidad & Tobago and West Indies offspinner Rangy Nanan felt Ramdin could benefit from the added responsibility of leadership. “I am elated for Denesh. He has always shown that he has the potential to lead, being a former West Indies Under-19 captain,” said Nanan. “I hope this responsibility will benefit his career and work to the advantage of the team.”

Hot on the heels of Mushtaq Ahmed’s retirement from county cricket, Sussex have swooped to sign another Pakistani, Mohammad Sami

Cricinfo staff31-Aug-2008
Mohammad Sami adds sheer pace to Sussex’s Championship ambitions © Getty Images
Hot on the heels of Mushtaq Ahmed’s retirement from county cricket, Sussex have swooped to sign another Pakistani, Mohammad Sami.Mushtaq, who has suffered from persistent knee trouble, hung up his boots four days ago, and has been instrumental in helping Sussex secure Sami’s services.”Mushtaq helped massively with the signing of Mohammad – spending ten days, almost non-stop, on the phone making sure that everything went smoothly,” Mark Robinson, the club’s cricket manager, said. “We had originally hoped that Mohammad would be here in time for last week’s match with Nottinghamshire. However, his arrival late last night will give everybody a boost for what is increasingly looking like an extremely important game at Scarborough on Wednesday.”Gus Mackay, the club’s chief executive, commented: “Mohammad’s arrival comes just in time for an intense finish to the domestic season. It will be an exciting month and his experience and ability should prove vital in our search for more silverware.”Sussex, the Championship title holders, are placed sixth in Division One, yet only 16 points separate them and the leaders, Nottinghamshire, in another frantic finish to the season’s premier competition.

Glamorgan are stamping down on ticket touts ahead of next year’s Ashes after cancelling six tickets discovered on an internet auction site

Cricinfo staff13-Nov-2008Glamorgan are stamping down on ticket touts ahead of next year’s Ashes Test after cancelling six tickets discovered on an internet auction site.The club have blacklisted the individual from buying any international tickets for matches at the ground for five years. A batch of 6000 tickets for the opening Test went on sale last week and were snapped up within hours, but were soon appearing for resale online which breaks the terms and conditions.”Glamorgan Cricket, in conjunction with the ECB, has been proactive in taking measures to reduce the opportunity for ticket touts to profit from the secondary sales of tickets for next year’s Ashes Test Series,” the club said. “Glamorgan Cricket limited the number of tickets per order when they went on general sale earlier this month to reduce ‘bulk buying’ by ticket touts.”Operations director Simon Lee added: “We believe by setting the standard of a ‘zero tolerance’ to individuals breaking the terms and conditions and selling of their tickets, we will help squeeze ticket touts out of business and protect the genuine fans wishing to come to the game.”