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.
All eyes will be on Dwayne Bravo as he returns to the international field, after being named in the West Indies’ Twenty20 squad to take on England in the only match to be played in Port of Spain on Sunday
Cricinfo staff11-Mar-2009Dwayne Bravo has been named in the 13-man West Indies’ Twenty20 squad to take on England in Port of Spain on Sunday, marking his return to the international game after a six-month absence through injury. He had surgery on his ankle in New York in August last year after carrying the injury for two years.Bravo last played a Twenty20 international back in June 2008 against the visiting Australians and took his first steps back to a full return when he came on as a substitute fielder in the fifth and final Test against England in Trinidad.Andre Fletcher, Kieron Pollard and Darren Sammy, who have been impressing with their performances in the domestic regional four-day competition, are also among the inclusions in the side, to be led by Denesh Ramdin in the absence of the injured Chris Gayle.Daren Powell, Ryan Hinds and Brendan Nash are some of the others missing from the Test squad that won the five-match series 1-0.West Indies Twenty20 squad: Denesh Ramdin (capt & wk), Lionel Baker, Sulieman Benn, Dwayne Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Fidel Edwards, Andre Fletcher, Kieron Pollard, Darren Sammy, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Lendl Simmons, Devon Smith, Jerome Taylor
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.
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.
Express and Star journalist Luke Hatfield believes that Danny Ings could be one of the signings of the summer.
The 29-year-old made the switch to Aston Villa from Southampton in a deal worth £25m and put pen to paper on a three-year contract at Villa Park [BBC Sport].
Ings was in incredible form in front of goal at St Mary’s, scoring 46 goals for the Saints in 100 games. The striker opened his account on his debut for Aston Villa in the club’s 3-2 defeat at Watford before scoring a spectacular acrobatic goal against Newcastle United.
The transfer came out of the blue, as Ings had been linked with moves elsewhere but Hatfield believes he could be one of the signings of the summer, telling Football FanCast: “He’s probably one of the most clinical strikers in the league. When you consider other players in his position, you put Harry Kane ahead of him but other than that, who would you put really ahead of him in terms of a clinical striker in that 18-yard box?
“He’s been that good and if he can replicate that at Villa, then he could well be one of the signings of the summer.”
Villa have had a really good summer window, adding Leon Bailey, Axel Tuanzebe, Ashley Young, Emi Buendia and Danny Ings to their ranks and manager Dean Smith will be hoping that all his new signings gel as quickly as possible and Villa have another good season in the Premier League.
Donald Peters, the chief executive of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), has said that his board are not prepared to “take the risk” of ever playing at the Sir Viv Richards Stadium again, 24 hours after the second Test between West Indies and Engla
An update has emerged on Everton target Jesse Lingard, regarding Manchester United’s valuation of the midfielder.
What’s the talk?
According to The Express, Manchester United are now willing to accept offers in the region of £20m for Everton transfer target Jesse Lingard.
The report claims that West Ham are interested in snapping him up on a permanent deal following his loan spell with the club, whilst the Toffees have been linked with a swoop for him this summer.
New Tim Cahill
Everton have reportedly told James Rodriguez that he is free to find a new club between now and the end of the window, which means that Lingard could be brought in as a direct replacement for the ex-Real Madrid man. It could be time to wave bye-bye to James and say hi to the England international, especially given this latest update.
With Lingard available to buy for £20m, Rafa Benitez and Marcel Brands must act on their interest and submit an offer for him. They could run the risk of West Ham, or another club in England or abroad, swooping in to snap him up if they do not move with urgency, which is why they must prepare a bid immediately.
Benitez could unearth Tim Cahill 2.0 with a deal for the attacking midfielder, as he is someone who is capable of chipping in with goals from behind the striker. The retired Australian scored six or more Premier League goals in six separate seasons for the Toffees, regularly providing a goal threat from midfield for the club over the course of a number of years – in total, he finished with an impressive haul of 68 goals in 278 games for the Merseyside club.
With Lingard, Everton could finally find the heir to his goalscoring throne. The 28-year-old spent the second-half of last season on loan to West Ham and proved to be an instant hit, with a stunning nine goals and five assists in 16 league appearances.
In his last 30+ appearances season for Manchester United, Lingard managed eight goals and six assists in the Premier League. This suggests that he has the quality to score and assist goals on a regular basis if given the game time to make an impact.
Red Devils legend Rio Ferdinand once hailed Lingard as an ‘intelligent’ footballer and claimed that he could play in any team. Ferdinand said on Five:
“I’ve argued with pundit after pundit, on-air, and off-air. He could play in any top team because he’s an intelligent footballer. He can play off one touch or two touch.
“He gets judged on his antics on social media. Some people, it rubs them up the wrong way, and they don’t like him because of it and a lot of the youngster generation love it.
“But if you’re looking at him as just a cold footballer, anyone who knows football surely has to see the kid has a talent.”
This shows how highly Ferdinand rates the midfielder and is another reason why Benitez must sanction a deal for Lingard in the coming days.
Dubbed as “special” by Stuart Pearce, if Everton can bring the Englishman through the door then they could have their new Tim Cahill…
AND in other news, Everton could sign major Doucoure upgrade in “very complete” £55k-p/w powerhouse…
Wolverhampton Wanderers winger Adama Traore ‘remains of interest’ to Liverpool as the Reds seek to recruit another attacker, according to 90Min.
The lowdown
The Spain international didn’t register a Premier League goal or assist until April last season, eventually finishing the campaign with four direct goal contributions (via Transfermarkt). However, he led the division for successful dribbles per 90 minutes with 4.1, edging Newcastle United’s Allan Saint-Maximin (via WhoScored).
Traore played all 90 minutes as Bruno Lage’s Wolves tenure began with a 1-0 defeat at Leicester City on Saturday. He was guilty of missing what BBC Sport’s Phil Dawkes called a ‘golden chance’ at 0-0 after racing through on goal.
The latest
According to 90Min, Liverpool hope to ‘add at least one forward’ to their ranks before the end of the window, and Jurgen Klopp is a fan of Traore.
The Reds are ‘ready’ to facilitate the signing by offloading Xherdan Shaqiri, who’s ‘close’ to joining Lyon, and Divock Origi. Wolves’ stance is that the 25-year-old can leave for the right price, and that price happens to be £40m, but Liverpool are hopeful of negotiating a lower fee.
The Spaniard wants to leave Molineux this summer, having expressed a clear reluctance to sign a new deal.
The verdict
If Traore isn’t entertaining the idea of a contract extension, Wolves will soon come under pressure to sell. He still has two years left on his current deal, but they need to be mindful of the situation as his contract winds down.
£40m may seem an optimistic valuation for a player who struggled to make an impact for most of last season, but Traore showed in 2019/20 what he’s capable of producing when at his best.
He scored six goals and set up another 12 in all competitions that year, striking up a devastating partnership with Raul Jimenez. If he does stay at Molineux, the returning Mexican striker should bring the best out of him once again.
In other news, some Wolves fans slammed this man’s performance at the King Power Stadium.
Leeds United may look at their 1-1 draw with Preston North End in the Championship as two points dropped, despite their last-gasp equaliser.
They conceded a sloppy goal to go 1-0 down, as Pascal Struijk was easily beaten down the channel and Illan Meslier appeared to parry the ball into the corner of his own net.
Mateo Joseph helped to force a late own goal through Jack Whatmough but the result has now left the Whites three points behind Sheffield United in the table.
During the match, however, it was revealed that the West Yorkshire side have had an interest in one of the players from the opposition line-up.
Leeds United's interest in Preston star
Sky Sports commentator Gary Weaver was speaking during the first-half about Leeds’ search for a number ten to bolster their squad ahead of the January transfer window, and mentioned their interest in Gus Hamer, Emi Buendia, and James McAtee.
The Whites were linked with all three over the summer, including having a bid of £13m rejected for Sheffield United star Hamer, but a new attacking midfielder has been thrown into the mix.
Weaver claims that Leeds “have had a look at” Preston star Mads Frokjaer-Jensen in the past, with regards to their attempts to land a new playmaker.
There was no further mention of whether or not they remain keen on him or how much North End would want to allow one of their key players to depart from Deepdale next month.
Transfer Focus
Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.
Daniel Farke should, however, push to secure a deal for the Danish wizard in January because the German head coach could unearth his own version of Pablo Hernandez.
Why Frokjaer-Jensen could be Farke's Hernandez
Firstly, Frokjaer-Jensen is similar to the former Leeds star in the sense that he is a right-footed playmaker who can operate centrally or on the right flank.
Hernandez played 66 times for the Whites on the right flank, drifting inside into central areas to affect the play, and the Preston whiz started on the right wing on Saturday – creating one ‘big chance’ for his team.
Preston have averaged 47.1% possession in the Championship this season, which means that the Dane is in a team that does not create plenty of opportunities for him to thrive at the top end of the pitch. Whereas, Leeds average 62.1% possession and could provide him with more chances to showcase his quality.
Starts
29
13
Goals
3
2
Big chances created
4
3
xA
3.82
1.68
Assists
8
0
As you can see in the table above, the creative potential is there for Frokjaer-Jensen to improve his output in a team that has significantly more of the ball.
The 25-year-old star, who produced eight goals and three assists in 28 league games for Odense in the 2022/23 campaign, could operate as a right-footed playmaker on the right flank, or as a number ten, like Hernandez.
Former Leeds winger Pablo Hernandez.
Leeds’ former Spanish magician created 41 goals in 175 matches for the club, which shows that it would take a lot for the Preston man to emulate his success, but his creative quality in a low-possession Preston team suggests that Farke could unearth his own Hernandez by singing him in January.
Farke could drop Solomon in Leeds swoop for "incredible" 15-goal star
Leeds United have been linked with an interest in the impressive young attacker.