All posts by h716a5.icu

It’s been a tricky tranfer window for Liverpool Football Club with only one major addition bolster Jurgen Klopp’s ranks, and the Reds could be set for further frustration following a recent update.

What’s the story?

The Anfield outfit need to offload a selection of their unwanted fringe players in the remaining weeks of the summer before they can afford to splash the cash, with Divock Origi and Xherdan Shaqiri available for sale.

Switzerland international Shaqiri has already agreed personal terms with Ligue 1 outfit Lyon but is still waiting for the two clubs to agree on a transfer fee.

Liverpool and Peter Bosz’s charges remain someway apart in their valuation of the 29-year-old creative talent, and they’re currently unwilling to meet the Anfield outfit’s demands.

Transfer expert and well-known journalist Fabrizio Romano provided an update on the situation on his Here We Go Podcast, saying: “Liverpool need to sell players before signing new players, Jurgen Klopp has been so clear.

“For Shaqiri and Lyon, they have been in negotiations, but there is still no agreement. Shaqiri has an agreement with Lyon, but there is still no agreement with the clubs. So let’s see what happens with the negotiations.”

Liverpool fans will be worried

News that Lyon are no closer to matching Liverpool’s asking price for Shaqiri will surely leave a large section of the club’s supporters worried.

The usually dependable duo of Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino struggled for form last season as the Anfield outfit limped to a third-place finish in the Premier League standings, and Klopp is believed to be in the market for a new forward as a result.

However, the German tactician won’t have the required finances to bring his transfer target to Merseyside unless the likes of Shaqiri move in the opposite direction.

With their top-flight rivals such as Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United all spending big money on top-class attacking this summer, Liverpool’s fans may be fearful of being left behind by their domestic foes.

Klopp will still be hopeful of resolving the situation before the August 31 deadline, but time is running out for the 19-time English champions to provide Mohamed Salah with the support he needs.

Romano’s update that it’s Liverpool and Lyon who are causing delays over Shaqiri’s exit will concern fans, especially with the Swiss ace seemingly all happy to leave Anfield this summer.

A move breaking down because the Reds refused to blink in these negotiations would surely have Shaqiri, and more importantly Klopp and the supporters, fuming.

And, in other news…LFC receive boost in pursuit of “incredible” £37.8m-rated gem, Klopp will be buzzing

Aston Villa have the perfect chance to finally sign Juventus star Weston McKennie amid a recent transfer update.

What’s the story?

The Athletic claimed last summer that the midfielder was on the radar for Villa, with the Premier League club among a number of teams interested in luring him away before his move to Juventus – reports even suggested that the midfielder had specifically asked about Dean Smith’s side and was hoping for a serious offer from them.

Gianluca Di Marzio has now claimed that, despite only being with the Bianconeri for the one season, the Turin club could already look to move him on as they aim to raise funds.

Major upgrade on Douglas Luiz

When you compare McKennie to Douglas Luiz, the USA international fares considerably better, especially as someone who is a real box-to-box player with the dynamism to cover the ground well and put his foot on the ball too.

As per WhoScored, the American scored five goals and provided two assists in Serie A last season, considerably more than what Luiz managed (no goals and just two assists). McKennie also averaged more shots and key passes per game in the league compared to his Brazilian counterpart, while his average match rating was higher than Luiz’s too.

He’s got a big fan in Andrea Pirlo, his former boss in Turin, who hailed him as a “rock” and said: “He’s young and can improve a lot. In my opinion, he’s a midfielder who can play as a No 8 in a three in midfield, right or left. He gets in the box and scores goals but he’s also very good at winning the ball back. His role is in a three in midfield as one of the two players on either side of the regista. Last year we played in a different system, so he had to adapt.”

Hailed as an “outstanding talent”, the £22.5m-rated McKennie is clearly a big upgrade on Luiz; and with Juventus now open to letting him go, Villa should make good on a second chance to sign him.

Meanwhile, Aston Villa have been handed a major transfer boost over this star…

Mohammad Ashaduddin, son of former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin, has been selected for the trials camp of Kolkata Knight Riders on January 6-7 at the Eden Gardens

Cricinfo staff31-Dec-2008
Seventeen-year-old Mohammad Ashaduddin is yet to play representative cricket © Cricinfo Ltd.
Mohammad Ashaduddin, son of former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin, has been selected for the trials camp of Kolkata Knight Riders on January 6-7 at the Eden Gardens.”He will be part of the bunch of 30 or 40-odd talent pool that would be groomed for the future,” Joy Bhattacharya, the IPL team’s director, told Cricinfo.Ashaduddin, 17, is yet to play representative cricket. “You don’t need to play at the first-class level to play here [IPL] but he is part of our long-term objective where we want to develop talent just like the farm system in baseball,” the Kolkata official said.Ashaduddin, popularly known as Abbas, is a left-hand opener and plays for East Marredpally CC in the Hyderabad’s A division league (two-day format). This year he has made four fifties in six innings.R Sridhar, head coach at St John’s Academy – incidentally the same club that VVS Laxman learned his basics – said Ashaduddin had put in a lot of effort especially in the last one year under the watchful eye of Azhar.”Azhar has been coming regularly with Abbas and has worked keenly along with me, especially in the last three weeks,” Sridhar said. “We even changed his batting grip recently which has proved to be effective as Abbas’ team-mates say they feel assured when he walks in to bat.”This is the first time Ashaduddin has come into the spotlight, and his selection ahead of younger brother Aiyazuddin has come as a surprise. In fact, it was Aiyazuddin who made news earlier because his style of batting is uncannily similar to Azhar’s.

Lord Marlard has stepped up his campaign to oust Giles Clarke as ECB chairman by claiming the current board has left the game in a “shambles”

Cricinfo staff25-Jan-2009
Lord Marland has been highly critical of the ECB under Giles Clarke © Getty Images
Lord Marlard has stepped up his campaign to oust Giles Clarke as ECB chairman by claiming the current board has left the game in a “shambles” and completely mismanaged a range of issues from Stanford to TV rights to the relationship with India.Marlard is the only contender taking on Clarke in next month’s election and has promised to bring a huge influx of money to the counties – as much as £100 million – after claiming that under Clarke the game in England has drifted aimlessly since the 2005 Ashes victory.”The problems facing the ECB are there for all to see. They have become very obvious in the last few weeks,” Lord Marland told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Sportsweek. “The ECB have created them through their own injudicious decisions, which are avoidable and have been avoidable over the last two or three years.”Things have got to change. There are so many burned bridges by the ECB that it needs serious restoration.”Top of his list of criticisms is how the ECB shunned the Champions League when they had the chance to join as one of the founding partners. Instead India, Australia and South Africa formed the event – the first edition of which was postponed after the Mumbai attacks – and currently England have just one team in the tournament.”They have missed out on the finances of the IPL and a seat at the top table with India, Australia and South Africa,” Marland said. “They have missed out on $160 million from the Champions League deal. It is a shambles.”They were asked to negotiate with them but they put two fingers up and said ‘we will go our own way’. They felt they could do it differently .The whole thing needs a thorough and complete review.”The ECB opted to form a partnership with Allen Stanford and the Stanford Super Series concept was born with a prize of US$20 million for the winners of the November 1 contest. England were humiliated, bowled out for 99 and the All Stars won by 10 wickets. It is meant to be a five-year deal, but rumours persist that Stanford will pull the plug on the event and Marlard wouldn’t be sorry to see it go.”I think he [Stanford] will jump before he is pushed,” he said. “I think it has brought the game into total disrepute in this country. It is a total embarrassment.”

Sheffield United have been dealt a blow in their bid to bring Robin Olsen to Bramall Lane this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Italian media outlet Calciomercato, who claim that the AS Roma goalkeeper is stalling over a potential move to the Blades, in the hope that a Premier League side firm up their interest in his services.

It had previously been reported that Slavisa Jokanovic’s side had identified the 31-year-old shot-stopper as their number one candidate to replace the recently departed Aaron Ramsdale, and were locked in discussions with the Sweden international – whom Jose Mourinho is believed to be open to parting with this summer.

Jokanovic will be livid

With it being all well and good that Oslen is stalling over his potential move to Bramall Lane due to his desire to play Premier League football, the goalkeeper’s indecision will nevertheless have left Jokanovic livid.

Indeed, with time running out for the 53-year-old to bring in a new first-choice ‘keeper in the summer transfer window, should a top-flight side indeed chose to make a move for the Roma man in the coming days, it would leave the Serbian with very little time to source another player in the position.

Furthermore, Olsen would very much appear to be a fantastic signing for a Championship club to make, as the 31-year-old highly impressed for both Everton and Sweden last season.

Indeed, over his seven Premier League appearances for the Toffees last term, the £2.7m-rated man kept two clean sheets, as well as conceding an average of just 1.3 goals and making three saves per game.

These returns saw the player Alexander Isak dubbed an “incredible” talent earn an average SofaScore match rating of 6.87, ranking him as the Toffees’ 12th-best performer in the league.

This fine form continued while on international duty, with the £14k-per-week shot-stopper conceding just four goals and keeping two clean sheets over his four appearances at Euro 2020 – with these metrics seeing the ‘keeper earn a highly impressive average SofaScore match rating of 7.05.

As such, while losing Ramsalde will have undoubtedly come as a blow for Jokanovic, if the Blades boss were to replace the youngster with Olsen this summer, it would certainly soften the hit – although, whether or not the Roma man ends up in Sheffield appears rather uncertain at present.

In other news: Jokanovic heading for his biggest SUFC transfer mistake to date, fans will be livid

Joseph Yovich and Graeme Aldridge helped table-toppers Northern Districts to their fifth State Shield title in 14 years – their first since 2004-05

Cricinfo staff31-Jan-2009
Scorecard
Joseph Yovich’s unbeaten 76 powered Northern Districts to 238 for 9, a total which Otago failed to challenge © Getty Images
Joseph Yovich and Graeme Aldridge led table-toppers Northern Districts to their fifth State Shield title in 14 years – their first since 2004-05. A splendid all-round effort from former New Zealand medium-pacer Ian Butler failed to avoid defeat for defending champions Otago, who fell 49 short replying to Northern Districts’ 238 for 9.Put in on a sluggish Seddon Park pitch, Northern Districts lost wickets regularly, and had lost half their side for 95 in 25.4 overs. BJ Watling’s 28 was the highest score among the top six batsmen. Yovich’s aggression, though, bailed his team out. He smashed six fours and three sixes in an unbeaten 76-ball 78 and ensured Northern Districts played out 50 overs. Aldridge contributed a 39-ball 36 to a 64-run stand for the eighth wicket with Yovich. Butler took 5 for 55 off his ten overs.Otago, who were without captain Craig Cumming, Brendon McCullum and Neil Broom, all away on national duty, never seemed in the hunt during their chase. Aldridge struck twice to reduce Otago to 31 for 3, and although they recovered to 123 for 5 thanks to contributions from Aaron Redmond, Sean Eathorne and Nathan McCullum, the asking-rate continued to escalate. That was mainly due to an uncharacteristic 70-ball 17 from Dimitri Mascarenhas. The scoring was choked by economical ten-over spells from Bruce Martin and Kane Williamson, both of whom conceded only 23 runs.Aldridge then struck thrice in eight deliveries to reduce Otago to 132 for 8. Butler replied with a brisk 44 off 23 balls but was dismissed soon before the innings folded for 189 in 45.4 overs. Aldridge finished with 5 for 39 in nine overs and his all-round display made him the Player of the Match.

This has the potential to be an extremely busy transfer deadline day for Wolves, with the Old Gold trying to wrap up a few deals.

Renato Sanches could join the Molineux outfit on loan, but perhaps the biggest news comes courtesy of potential outgoings.

What’s the word?

For the entire transfer window, Ruben Neves and Adama Traore have been linked with moves away from Molineux.

Neves had attracted the interest of Arsenal earlier in the window until they decided to hand the divisive Granit Xhaka a new contract.

Traore, meanwhile, had been a target for Tottenham, with the Lilywhites eyeing up a possible loan move plus a future fee. However, according to David Ornstein, it looks as though the Spain winger will be staying in the Midlands.

Taking to Twitter on Deadline Day, the journalist said: “Traore not expected to leave today – would take a massive offer (about £50m) from Tottenham or anyone else to get the 25yo winger.”

Tim Spiers followed that up by suggesting that Neves wouldn’t go anywhere either, tweeting: “To add to what David Ornstein has said, as things stand not anticipating Ruben Neves or Adama Traore leaving today.”

Fans buzzing

If Wolves can keep two of their best players at the club before the deadline shuts, then supporters will have every right to be delighted. After all, without the duo in the side, they’d look significantly worse.

Although Bruno Lage’s team are yet to score a goal in the Premier League this term, Traore has been the beating heart of their offensive play.

He has spurned some tremendous opportunities to score, mainly a one-on-one against Tottenham, but his wing play is simply devastating.

The Spaniard has completed a league-high of 9.3 dribbles per game while amassing four shots and three key passes per match.

As for Neves, he has also started the new campaign in golden touch. After a career-best five goals last season, the Portugal international looks to be improving all the time.

He ran the show in that defeat to Spurs, winning six tackles, producing five key passes and completing 16 of his 19 long balls.

Therefore, to lose two players like that would leave a huge dent in the side. That’s why Wolves supporters must be elated to see them staying put.

AND in other news, Tim Spiers delivers four-word Wolves transfer update, fans should be fuming…

Danny Cowley has provided an update on Portsmouth’s transfer business regarding the possibility of free agent signings.

What’s the talk?

The Pompey manager has confirmed that the club will not be dipping into the free agent market following the end of the summer transfer window.

The f0rmer Huddersfield boss reportedly failed in his efforts to land a striker and centre-back cover before the window slammed shut, but he has revealed that there is no money left to make any further additions.

He told The News: “There is nothing left in the budget, so they’ll be no free agents.

“We are where we are. We’re coming out of a pandemic, we’ve bought the training ground and spent all that money on Fratton Park. We’ve got good owners, haven’t we. Come on.” Frustration

This update from Cowley will frustrate supporters for a number of reasons, despite it being an understandable situation for the club. First and foremost, it is difficult for anyone to be angry at the owners as they should not be risking the financial future of the club to bolster the team.

They are operating within a budget and have purchased the training ground, whilst also improving Fratton Park, which then has an impact on the transfer business as it takes money away to other sectors. In that sense, supporters should be delighted that their club is being run responsibly as they know better than most what can happen when football teams are mismanaged financially.

However, that might not allay the frustration from fans over the squad now being short in a couple of positions. Portsmouth only have three natural senior centre-backs, which has left Cowley with limited options in his back four. They are also now vulnerable if injuries hit Clark Robertson and Sean Raggett, as it could leave a youth team player being chucked in or someone else coming in out of position, which could then impact their League One form.

In terms of strikers, Cowley has John Marquis, Ellis Harrison and George Hirst as his over-21 options. The News revealed that he wanted to bring in a new centre-forward to improve the quality of the squad –  Marquis has scored once in five League One matches, with none of the other strikers at the club on the scoresheet as of yet.

This could be why the head coach wanted another number nine, with the team seemingly lacking an in-form goalscorer. Therefore, Pompey fans may well be frustrated that he was unable to bring in the striker Cowley wanted, as the lack of a consistent frontman could dampen their chances of pushing up the League One table and chasing promotion – goals win games!

Younis Khan has appealed to cricket’s administrators to save the game in Pakistan, or risk pushing future generations into the clutches of terrorists

Alex Brown04-Mar-2009
Younis Khan has warned that, without cricket, extremism in Pakistan will grow © AFP
Younis Khan has appealed to cricket’s administrators to save the game in Pakistan, or risk pushing future generations into the clutches of terrorists. The Pakistan captain fears that an extended boycott by touring teams could lead to a dramatic decline in interest and participation in cricket among the nation’s youth. That, in turn, could invite corrupting influences to fill the void that might otherwise have been occupied by sport, Younis argued.”Our future as a nation is in our youngsters’ hands,” Younis told Cricinfo. “Sport helps to make good human beings. If the sport is not there, the children can do silly things. We have to be very careful about that. Nobody wants to see children going down a bad path and finding themselves involved with bombs and things like that. We all must do something to stop that happening.”Maybe in the future we will be alone [as a cricketing nation] and that would be very sad, especially for the youngsters. When I was a boy, I loved watching Imran Khan, Javed Miandad and Wasim Akram playing against great teams from overseas. It is because of them – seeing them play – that I also played the game. But what if no one comes to Pakistan? How will the youngsters know about the game? What will they do?”I appeal for all the bosses and the ICC not let cricket die here. They must think about all the factors, including what will become of the youngsters of Pakistan. It would be very easy right now for the ICC and the bosses to say there will be no cricket in Pakistan. But the future will not be good if cricket is taken away from my country.”Younis, and his entire team, remain shocked and saddened at the attack on the Sri Lankan team and ICC officials in the shadows of the Gaddafi Stadium. He was just six days removed from completing a career-best innings of 313 – the third-highest total recorded by a Pakistani batsman in the team’s 57-year history – and had been buoyant at the prospect of again locking horns with Sri Lanka on a more sporting Lahore pitch.But in 30 terrifying minutes on Tuesday, everything changed. The attack on the Sri Lankan and ICC buses, which left eight security and transportation personnel dead, will almost certainly ensure a blanket boycott by touring teams for the foreseeable future, and force the Pakistani team into a nomadic existence.Our future as a nation is in our youngsters’ hands. Sport helps to make good human beings. If the sport is not there, the children can do silly things – Younis Khan issues a warning about Pakistan’s futureYounis expressed concern that, should Pakistan be denied the opportunity of hosting matches in the long-term, players could abandon the national team in search of career opportunities in Indian Twenty20 leagues or county cricket.”I have seen a lot in my career,” he said. “At the last World Cup, Bob Woolmer died and that was a terrible thing. Then, just after I had been made the captain, we have this shocking attack. This is a very bad time in Pakistan. It feels that every day we go backwards, not forwards. We have not experienced anything like this before.”If something is not done quickly, maybe everyone goes to the IPL, ICL or county cricket. I hope that does not happen. It is up to the ICC and the bosses from around the world to make sure that cricket is not lost in Pakistan because of a couple of mad people. It is not the sportsmen’s fault.”I met with the Sri Lankan team before they flew home and had dinner with them. They were very sad about what was happening to cricket. Cricket is suffering. Sport is one of the only things that brings countries closer and now, because of a few idiots – people who use guns and bombs are not human – no one might come here and we could be all alone.”Younis pledged his loyalty to the Pakistan team for the entirety of his career, but admitted to sadness at the prospect of leading his country in neutral venues – possibly England, which has emerged as a potential host on account of a large ex-pat Pakistani community.”I will stand by this team,” he said. “I love my team and my nation. I have played the last ten years for Pakistan, and I probably have another three or four to go. I want to give those years to the Pakistan team.”I would love to play Australia in Pakistan, but that is difficult. It will be a new experience for me as captain leading my team in a home game against Australia in England. I will look at it two ways – I will be sad because my home series is in England, but also excited to play on the good pitches of England against a very good Australian team.”The Pakistani nation loves sports, and especially cricket. The crowds are big everywhere. They love coming to see all the great teams from England, Australia, India, Sri Lanka. The problem had already started with Australia and India not playing here, but now it is much worse, and we don’t know if anyone will come here to play us.”

Albian Ajeti’s first-half display against Ross County has angered loads of Celtic fans. 

Celtic were looking to return to winning ways after falling to defeat away at arch-rivals Rangers prior to the international break.

Visitors Ross County, meanwhile, were aiming to pull off an upset in Glasgow and land their first victory of the 2021/22 season.

Ajeti led the line for Celtic, with Liel Abada to his right and new signing Jota to his left.

He’d only played seven Scottish Premiership minutes before this fixture, having come on as a substitute in the 6-0 rout of St Mirren.

Ajeti had a chance to put Celtic in front midway through the half after being set through on goal, but he could only direct his shot straight at the goalkeeper.

The Swiss striker actually recorded fewer touches than Hoops ‘keeper Joe Hart and his SofaScore rating of 6.4 is the second-lowest in the team after the opening 45 minutes.

Here’s what fans had to say.

These Celtic fans rip into Ajeti

“Ajeti needs to do better in every aspect of his game.. offering nothing at the moment”

Credit: @steo_kelly89

“We are missing Kyogo’s movement big time… Ajeti like a statue”

Credit: @grimbobaggins1

“Ajeti positioning is criminal at times”

Credit: @dalehayward1

“Be nice if Ajeti tried a leg today”

Credit: @michaelmcp

“Long way to go but Ajeti just offers absolutely nothing when we want to play like this. So static.”

Credit: @CalMcl

“Ajeti couldn’t finish his tea”

Credit: @o_sneddon

In other news, Chris Sutton has floated this intriguing CEO idea.