All posts by h716a5.icu

Manchester United have been linked with a move for West Ham midfielder Declan Rice ahead of the upcoming transfer window.

What’s the story?

According to the Evening Standard, the Red Devils are keen to “test West Ham’s resolve” over the 22-year-old this summer after an impressive season with the east London club.

Hammers boss David Moyes has previously claimed that Rice is worth in excess of £100m amid interest in his prized asset, so any move is likely to be an expensive one.

Manchester United must swoop

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer stated his intention to bring in “two or three players to strengthen the starting XI” after United’s disappointing defeat to Villarreal in the Europa League final on Wednesday night, and a new defensive midfielder is thought to be high up on the Norwegian’s wish list.

Scott McTominay has often been deployed at the base of United’s midfield in recent years, sometimes alongside Brazil international Fred, but the 24-year-old is naturally more of a box-to-box player.

Although McTominay was arguably United’s standout performer in midweek, the need for a new, more orthodox defensive midfielder has been apparent for quite some time now, with Fred often proving an unreliable figure.

While the Old Trafford outfit have had to select a double-pivot in their biggest games for added insurance for the last two seasons, Rice has gone from strength to strength at the London Stadium, playing a crucial part in West Ham’s sixth-placed finish in 2020/21.

The £58.5m-rated ace (Transfermarkt) enjoyed a stellar season with the east London outfit, making 32 league appearances as they recorded their highest Premier League points haul; and when delving into his underlying numbers, it’s clear that Rice would offer an upgrade on Manchester United’s current options.

In possession, Rice recorded an average of 47.7 passes per game, compared to McTominay’s 40.6; and despite playing more passes, the England international found a teammate more regularly, with an accuracy of 88% compared to the Scotsman’s 87%.

It’s not just with the ball at his feet where Rice excels, either. The youngster made 1.8 tackles and 1.8 interceptions per game throughout 2020/21, bettering McTominay’s match averages of 1.6 tackles and 0.9 interceptions.

United need to close the 12-point gap to champions Manchester City next term to continue their progress under Solskjaer, and picking up Rice – once dubbed the “future England captain” by The Times journalist Henry Winter – would be a solid start to that task.

In other news…Man Utd could find their own Van Dijk by signing £51.5m-rated “leader” 

The English county system takes in four major competitions during the course of the northern domestic summer

John Polack12-Apr-2002The English county system takes in four major competitions during the course of the northern domestic summer. The oldest and most famous of these is the first-class competition, known this year as the Frizzell County Championship. The other three – the Benson & Hedges Cup, the Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy, and the Norwich Union League – are all one-day competitions but each assumes a different format.Frizzell County Championship – this is England’s major first-class competition and consists of a series of four-day matches. The 18 county teams are split into two groups – Division One and Division Two – on the basis of their finishing positions the previous season.The top nine counties from last year are joined in battle in Division One; the bottom nine are grouped to form Division Two, as follows:Division One: Kent, Hampshire, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Somerset, Surrey, Sussex, Warwickshire and Yorkshire.Division Two: Derbyshire, Durham, Essex, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Middlesex, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire and Worcestershire.The side which finishes at the top of the Division One standings at the end of the season is the winner of the competition.There is also a promotion and relegation component.The three sides which finish at the bottom of Division One are relegated to Division Two for 2003. Conversely, the three sides which end at the top of the Division Two standings are promoted to Division One for 2003.Benson & Hedges Cup – a limited-overs competition which incorporates two separate phases. The county teams are initially divided into three groups of six (as shown below) and take part in a round-robin series of matches against opponents from within those groups.North: Derbyshire, Durham, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire.Midland/Wales/West: Glamorgan, Northamptonshire, Somerset, Worcestershire and Warwickshire.South: Essex, Hampshire, Kent, Middlesex, Surrey and Sussex.At the end of these matches, the top two teams from each pool go forward to the quarter-finals. Joining them are the two teams which finish third in their groups and attain more points than the other third-placed finisher.The quarter-finals and semi-finals are knockout affairs and precede a Final at Lord’s on 22 June.All of the matches are scheduled as 50-overs-per-side.The 2002 season is scheduled to be the last in which the Benson & Hedges Cup is played. Under a series of recommendations recently adopted by the England and Wales Cricket Board, it is due to be replaced by a 20-over competition at the start of 2003.Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy – sponsored by a major financial services company, this is a straight knockout competition which pits the 18 counties against minor county teams and county board sides, many of which are purely amateur teams. Each of the 18 major county teams receives a bye through to the third round of a competition that could loosely be depicted as cricket’s version of the FA Cup. Like the Benson and Hedges Cup, the matches are played over a total of 100 overs and the Final is contested at Lord’s, although this decider comes far later in the season – on 31 August.Norwich Union League – this is the most time-intensive of all three of the one-day competitions in that its programme lasts from 12 May until 22 September.Complete with coloured clothing, floodlit matches and nicknames for all of the teams, the competition shares a number of traits with many of the world’s major domestic one-day series. Where it differs is in the notion that the matches are 45-over-per-side contests.Like the County Championship, the competition is split into two divisions and promotion and relegation is a feature.Based on the teams’ finishing positions at the end of last summer, the divisions have been configured as follows for 2002:Division One: Durham Dynamos, Glamorgan Dragons, Kent Spitfires, Leicestershire Foxes, Nottinghamshire Outlaws, Somerset Sabres, Warwickshire Bears, Worcestershire Royals and Yorkshire Phoenix.Division Two: Derbyshire Scorpions, Essex Eagles, Gloucestershire Gladiators, Hampshire Hawks, Lancashire Lightning, Middlesex Crusaders, Northamptonshire Steelbacks, Surrey Lions, Sussex Sharks.Again, the champion team is the one that ends the season at the head of the Division One standings.The 2002 English domestic season commences on 13 April and will conclude on 22 September.

Leeds United splashed the cash last summer and look set to do so once again as they look to improve on this season’s top half finish, and someone like Matheus Cunha would have to start at Elland Road if they could afford to attract the Brazillian, according to former Whites striker Brian Deane.

Cunha was part of the Hertha Berlin side that were almost relegated from the Bundesliga before a late revival saw them lose just once in their last nine games, albeit it was a meaningless final game of the season against Hoffenheim.

The Brazillian can play as either a winger or a striker but injuries have hampered him this season, however he’s still managed to return seven goals and six assists in 27 games for Hertha and despite this, he’s being linked with a £40 million move away.

With Marcelo Bielsa set to extend his stay with Leeds beyond this summer, signing someone like Cunha for such a large fee could be on the cards but Deane believes that he would have to start most games for Leeds to be worth that much money, as he explained exclusively to Football FanCast:

“Yeah, he would have to start because you don’t bring in a player for that kind of money and not expect to play him but you look at Rodrigo and he hasn’t really pulled up any trees, from a goal-scoring point of view.

“It’s always going to be difficult coming in, but I think there’s enough at Leeds to help support somebody new arriving at the club, as long as they are the right type of character as well.”

Cunha was only signed in January 2020 from RB Leipzig for a fee of around £16 million and during the second half of the season his five goals in 11 games helped Hertha put together a late, but unsuccessful push for the Europa League.

Leeds are certainly well stocked in attack with Raphinha, Patrick Bamford, Rodrigo and Jack Harrison all likely to be at the club next season, so another wide player may not be at the top of the club’s priority list.

Marcus Trescothick has an unenviable record of finishing on the losing sidewhenever he has scored a century in international cricket

Ralph Dellor31-May-2002Marcus Trescothick has an unenviable record of finishing on the losing sidewhenever he has scored a century in international cricket. Even with a dramatic intervention from Muttiah Muralitharan after tea on day two of the second npower Test at Edgbaston, it will be a major upset if Trescothick has the gloss taken off his latest effort. At the close of play, England had a lead of 239 with five wickets in hand and a good forecast for Saturday in both the meteorological and cricketing senses.The day began with Trescothick and Michael Vaughan extending their openingpartnership to 92 with attractive strokeplay from both batsmen. Trescothick was perhaps fortunate to survive a convincing lbw shout by Charitha Buddika, but otherwise the batsmen were taking advantage of a quicker outfield, a benign pitch and an unthreatening attack.It was something of a surprise when Vaughan lost his wicket, even if the bowler concerned is never far from springing a shock. Muralitharan was still feeling his way when Vaughan went to sweep, got a top edge and was caught by Sanath Jayasuriya at backward square leg. He was out for 46 and could only look on from the pavilion as Trescothick and Mark Butcher built a record stand for England against Sri Lanka.Butcher was a little diffident against Muralitharan at the outset, but inspired, no doubt, by the assured authority of Trescothick at the other end, he blossomed so that he contributed fully to the partnership. Trescothick was in imperious mood, taking two fours in an over off Jayasuriya before helping himself to a brace of straight sixes.He helped himself to another off Aravinda de Silva to bring up his 150, and it was difficult to see how he might get out. However, he was on the stroke of tea when he clipped a ball from Chaminda Vaas off his legs to short mid-wicket. His masterful innings of 161 had come from 232 balls in a stay of nearly five hours, during which he hit 23 fours and those three sixes.Muralitharan has the ability to turn the ball on any sort of surface, but hesuddenly found a couple that could yet have an impact on the match andcertainly on the series. The first accounted for Butcher just six runs short of a century. It pitched a good foot outside leg stump and clipped the top of off, which was quite a ball even allowing for a wide angle of delivery.Next up was Nasser Hussain. The right-hander got one that was wide of off stump, went to kick it away while stretching right forward, but it brushed the pad as it turned between his legs to take leg stump.The England lead at that point was 179, so it hardly represented a crisis inthe course of the innings. Nevertheless, there was a need for Alec Stewart and Graham Thorpe to consolidate in the closing hour of the extended day. Stewart had never really looked at ease, and it was not entirely unexpected when Muralitharan produced a ball that leapt off his pad and brushed his glove on the way to short leg.Andrew Flintoff just had time to unfurl some murderous strokes while Thorpesome equally attractive if less powerful shots to deny Muralitharan any further glory – at least during an absorbing second day’s play.

At the end of four days of fascinating cricket at Bath, Somerset had to settle for a draw from their championship match against Hampshire

Richard Walsh15-Jun-2002At the end of four days of fascinating cricket at Bath, Somerset had to settle for a draw from their championship match against Hampshire.Chasing a total of 190 to win off a minimum of 61 overs, the Somerset ninth wicket pair of Keith Dutch(15) and Matt Bulbeck (13) batted out the last seven overs to see the Cidermen hold out for a draw.Earlier in the day Hampshire had been bowled out for 98 runs with Richard Johnson having a dream return by taking 7 for 43 to set up an intriguing target for Somerset to chase.With the score on 118 for 4 after 40 overs the target looked achievable, but when three quick wickets fell shortly afterwards the situation changed and in the end they batted out for the draw and 7 points from the match.After the close of play Kevin Shine told me: "It certainly has been a very interesting day today and a draw was a fair outcome. We fought our way back into the game and were pushing hard for a result all the way, but once Rob Turner was out we decided to shut up shop, which `Dutchy’ and `Bully’ did well for us."He continued: "`Johnno’ bowled really well for us, and it’s just a shame that we couldn’t force the result, but the team spirit is high and we are all looking forward to tomorrows NUL game against Leicestershire."

Writing on Twitter, reliable journalist Fabrizio Romano has dropped an update involving Antonio Conte after Tottenham’s talks with the Italian manager broke down on Friday evening. 

The Lowdown: Spurs manager hunt…

Many names have come in and out of the fray since chairman Daniel Levy opted to sack former boss Jose Mourinho. The likes of Julian Nagelsmann and Brendan Rodgers were once touted as favourites, but the club has since turned to other targets following repeated blows.

More recently, former Spurs favourite Mauricio Pochettino entered contention after The Athletic broke news of his talks for the job, but Paris-Saint Germain will not let him go easily.

This prompted Tottenham to turn to Conte, but differences over backroom staff, the management of young players and overall ambition saw talks eventually collapse (The Telegraph).

The Latest: Romano makes Conte claim…

After the fallout of those failed discussions with Conte, Romano has shared an update on the 51-year-old and his stance on potentially returning to the table.

Dropping a claim on Twitter, the journalist said that the Premier League title-winning boss hasn’t changed his mind about the Spurs job and not even Fabio Paratici’s imminent appointment as sporting director will convince him otherwise.

“Antonio Conte has not changed his mind about Tottenham in the last 24 hours after Spurs were trying to find a solution to appoint him also yesterday afternoon,” Romano explained on Twitter.

“Not even Fabio Paratici’s imminent agreement to become new Tottenham director of football convinced Conte.”

The Verdict: Blow for Spurs fans…

Some Spurs fans may have liked to see a manager of Conte’s trophy-winning pedigree come through the door at N17. Taking that into account, it’s safe to say this update comes as a blow for those who felt that way.

Spurs legend Graham Roberts recently branded Conte an ‘exceptional coach’ and his numbers definitely back that statement. Over his managerial career, the former Chelsea gaffer has won eight major trophies whilst averaging a hugely impressive 2.01 points per match and more than 300 victories (Transfermarkt).

Time is running out for Levy to appoint a credible candidate and the options are growing thin.

In other news: Alasdair Gold has now shared ‘good news’ coming out of Tottenham, find out more here.

Paulo Fonseca made some “strange decisions” during his time as AS Roma boss, says Forza Italian Football editor-in-chief Conor Clancy.

Fonseca is in line to become Tottenham’s next manager following the collapse in talks with Antonio Conte, with BBC Sport reporting that the two parties are currently holding discussions.

The 48-year-old is a free agent after leaving Roma at the conclusion of the 2020/21 season and has since been replaced by Jose Mourinho, the man he could now succeed at Spurs.

Fonseca guided the Giallorossi to seventh in Serie A, securing a place in the Europa Conference League, but not without making some strange decisions along the way, according to Clancy.

“He got a lot out of players, but he did make some strange decisions like playing Bryan Cristante, who’s like an attacking midfielder, at centre-back in a back three,” the Forza Italian Football editor-in-chief said. “It was a bit bizarre and people poke fun at him for that.”

It will be interesting to see if he does anything as crazy as that at Tottenham. Whatever the case, Spurs fans will surely just be happy to have a new manager.

The club sacked Mourinho back in April and since then, it feels like there has been a lot of sagas involving the likes of Brendan Rodgers, Erik ten Hag and Conte.

Same venue, different day, almost the same depressing result

Haydn Gill06-Jun-2002Same venue, different day, almost the same depressing result.The rain that severely affected Jamaica for ten successive days and completely washed out two Cable & Wireless One-Day Internationals a week-and-a-half ago returned to Sabina Park yesterday.This time around, half-a-match was played before the predicted afternoon showers, accompanied by roaring thunder and occasional flashes of lightning, made enough impact for an hour to force the abandonment of the first of five ODIs between West Indies and New Zealand.West Indies did not even have the chance to pursue their winning target of 177 from 50 overs when the clouds that had been hovering over Sabina during the entire lunch break burst and dumped a considerable amount of rain on the ground.During the lunch break, about eight policemen stood around the pitch protecting it like if it was hallowed turf. As soon as they made their way off and the umpires and the New Zealand players came onto the field, the showers started, at 1:50 p.m.The rain stopped about an hour later and although groundstaff made feverish attempts to have Sabina ready, match officials abandoned the game at 3:30 p.m., ten minutes before a resumption was needed to facilitate 25 overs, the minimum number required to constitute a match.It was a disappointment to those spectators in the half-filled stands who had stayed on in hope of a resumption.While the rain pelted down, scores of spectators in the Mound started their own impromptu game that generated excitement and entertainment.Sunshine returned to Sabina by 5 p.m., but West Indies captain Carl Hooper stopped short of saying if he felt the conditions were good enough to continue.Then, around 5:15 p.m., some New Zealand fans took to the field and had an impromptu game of their own.I don’t think I am in a position to say. The umpires are the ones who dictate whether we play or not. In their opinion it was wet, Hooper said.We had some very, very heavy showers and it was unfortunate. We obviously were in the better position. At the end of the day, there was still of lot of cricket to be played.We can’t complain. I suppose the weather intervened and there is nothing you can do about it but look forward to the next game.New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming admitted it was a hard call for umpires Asoka deSilva and Billy Doctrove.I sympathise with the umpires. It was a tough decision because you can’t add on any more time at the end of the day. The clock was ticking by.We probably would have played a 20-over game, but the rules don’t permit that, he said.It’s just one of those unfortunate situations where another half-hour, 45 minutes, maybe an hour, you could have played cricket, but by that time it was too late.New Zealand, seemingly affected by inadequate preparations, never batted with certainty and they required Craig McMillan’s 69 to add respectability to their eventual total.West Indies’ faster bowlers duly used a helpful pitch in the early stages, but their part-time spinners also assisted in the effort by sharing five wickets.Three of those went to Chris Gayle’s flat off-spin after Hooper entrusted him with the ball after 13 overs and two went to Hinds’ left-arm spin.One of Hinds’ victims was the important wicket of McMillan at a stage when he appeared to be in control and threatened to get a century and raise New Zealand’s total past 200.Brought on after 38 overs to make up the quota allocated to the fifth bowler, Hinds, playing in preference to pacer Corey Collymore, removed McMillan with his fourth ball, which was lifted into the waiting hands of Gayle at long-on.McMillan, adventurous at times, but generally selective in his strokeplay, did a fair job in getting New Zealand to their total after the terrible start.The pitch had been under covers for ten days because of the recent torrential rainfall, and it took many by surprise that the Black Caps batted first on winning the toss.There was early pace and bounce in the surface and the visitors were unable to negotiate it with any degree of certainty, limping to 37 for four before McMillan engineered a recovery.Birthday boy Mervyn Dillon despatched New Zealand’s two most experienced batsmen, combining to form an opening pair at this level for the first time.Nathan Astle, well remembered for his pugnacious hundreds in the Barbados and Antigua Test six seasons ago, attracted a ball which bounced and moved way to clip his outside edge on the way to a slip catch.Astle went for a fourth-ball duck and Fleming followed him in Dillon’s next over when he tumbled over on his backside in pulling a catch to square-leg.There might have been a hint of misbehaviour in the pitch when Chris Nevin found a delivery from Cameron Cuffy leaping from a good length and heading for his throat. Self-preservation led him to stab at the ball, which spliced off the top of the bat for a catch to gully.

Lincolnshire captain Mark Fell signalled his return to the county team with an innings of 42 in the latest Minor Counties Championship match at Bedford

Lincolnshire CCC28-Jul-2002Lincolnshire captain Mark Fell signalled his return to the county team with an innings of 42 in the latest Minor Counties Championship match at Bedford. Fell, who missed the last two matches because of his new born son’s illness, had won the toss, but then saw his side reduced to 33 for two.But Richard Howitt and Jon Trower hit 61 and 62 respectively and with the score on 211 for nine, Cleethorpes team mates Stuart Airey and Jonathan Davies shared a partnership of 46 before Davies was bowled for 37 to end the innings on 257.Bedfordshire captain and slow bowler Andy Roberts took seven for 85 off 40 overs, and with 19 left in the day’s play, the Lincs bowlers were also among the wickets.Martyn Dobson bowled six overs to claim two for 13, while David Pipes took one for 13 off seven to leave the home side on 33 for three.

Nottingham Forest have been handed a boost to their hopes of bringing Emiliano Marcondes to The City Ground this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Football Insider, who claim that Nottingham Forest and Barnsley lead the race to sign the Brentford attacking midfielder, who it was recently announced will be leaving the west London side at the end of his current contract with the club in the coming weeks.

It is reported that both sides intend on offering the 26-year-old a contract shortly, in a bid to secure his services ahead of the upcoming Championship season.

Fans will be buzzing

With Chris Hughton undoubtedly looking to build a Nottingham Forest side capable of achieving a much more respectable finish than their 17th place standing last season next time around, the potential addition of Marcondes would certainly appear to be a huge step towards achieving this feat.

Indeed, over his 31 league appearances for Thomas Frank’s side last term, only 12 of which came as starts, the £2.52m-rated midfielder scored one goal, provided two assists and created three big chances for his teammates, in addition to taking an average of 0.8 shots and making 0.7 key passes per game.

And, when factoring in that the 26-year-old only featured for an average of 44 minutes per appearance, his metrics are quite impressive, with this being represented in the £12k-per-week man’s seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.75.

Marcondes also played a huge part in Brentford’s play-off final victory against Swansea City, scoring the second goal of the game that all but ensured the Bees will be plying their trade in the Premier League for the first time in their history as of next season.

As such, should the man whom Frank dubbed a “fantastic” player indeed go on to join Forest this summer, it would certainly appear to be a fantastic piece of transfer business for Hughton to get over the line, particularly as he would cost the club nothing in transfer fees, as well as being a signing that is sure to leave fans of the club buzzing.

In other news: Forget Garner: Hughton must sanction Forest swoop for “quality” £2.25m-rated dynamo