All posts by h716a5.icu

Wolves manager Bruno Lage has revealed the latest in his side’s plans for the January transfer window, with Premier League clubs having just nine days left to do business.

What’s the story?

As reported by The Athletic, Lage has confirmed that Wolves’ priority position to strengthen is the defence but admitted that it will be difficult to sign a centre-back, saying: “We have that idea [to buy a defender] but the market is very hard in January.

“That’s why we prepare Fernando Marcal and Leander Dendoncker to play there and we bring Dion [Sanderson] and Toti [Gomes] back. Hopefully Saiss back in a couple of weeks, for now, we’re going to stay like that.

“You never know. If we have a chance to bring any player who can fit our team, not just for this season but for the future, it’s good for us. If not, I won’t say to Jeff [Shi, the chairman] or Scott [Sellars, the technical director] to bring me a player just for four months.”

The Old Gold have already added promising Portuguese winger Chiquinho to their ranks whilst also recalling defenders Toti Gomes (Grasshoppers) and Dion Sanderson (Birmingham City) from loan spells.

However, despite Gomes and Sanderson returning, Wolves still find themselves relatively light at the back, with Willy Boly injured and Romain Saiss on Africa Cup of Nations duty with Morocco.

Wolves fans will be seething

With Lage is adamant that Wolves play with a back-three, the Molineux faithful will be desperate to see more quality added to their team’s defensive ranks. The Old Gold have prided themselves on their defence since the Portuguese manager took charge, with only Manchester City conceding fewer than Wolves’ 16 goals so far in the Premier League this season.

The preferred trio of Saiss, Conor Coady and Max Kilman have been excellent together, whilst goalkeeper José Sá has been a revelation. However, this combination isn’t necessarily sustainable, as shown with Saiss’ departure for international duty.

Should one of those three be absent, Wolves are suddenly left with a lack of high-quality, reliable options. They were lucky that Toti Gomes handled his Premier League debut against Southampton well, given that the 23-year-old had been playing in the Swiss Super League beforehand.

Moreover, Sanderson’s only experience of first-team football is a season in League One with Sunderland and half a campaign in the Championship with Birmingham. It would therefore be a risk to throw the 22-year-old in at the deep end immediately.

Adding high-quality personnel at the back should ease Wolves fans’ nerves and ensure that, if another of the favoured three defenders is sidelined, Lage won’t have a dilemma and will confidently call upon the designated back-up.

If that doesn’t happen, though, the Molineux faithful may well be seething over the failure to add some much-needed alternatives at centre-back this month.

In other news: Lage offers update on the future of 25-y/o gem, Wolves fans will be delighted

Mohnish Parmar’s fine allround performance saw Gujarat Cricket Association Xi send hosts Kenya their second successive defeat in the tri-series tournament

Cricinfo staff01-Aug-2010
Scorecard
Mohnish Parmar took three wickets and Pratharesh Parmar scored a half-century as Gujarat Cricket Association Xi sent hosts Kenya their second successive defeat in the tri-series tournament, this one by seven wickets.Gujarat won the toss and chose to field. Kenya were in trouble straight away, losing Alex Obanda for a golden duck with just two runs on the board. Wickets tumbled at regular intervals after that, with only two Kenya batsmen passing 20. Maurice Ouma topscored with a patient 43, while Thomas Odoyo made 41 as Kenya were bowled out for 169. Mohnish and Siddharth Trivedi were the pick of the bowlers, taking 3 for 22 and 3 for 25 respectively.Gujarat stumbled at the start, with Piyank Panchal departing without troubling the scorers. But Pratharesh steadied the ship with a solid half-century before Bhavik Takhar and Bhargav Merai saw Gujarat home with 100 balls to spare.

Many Glasgow Rangers fans criticised the performance of Scott Wright in their 1-0 win against Livingston in the Premiership on Wednesday night.

It was a game in which the hosts were certainly not at their best at Ibrox but managed to scrape all three points courtesy of a late goal from Scott Arfield.

There were a few disappointing performances for Rangers, but Wright stood out among a bad pack.

The former Aberdeen winger lost out on five of his duels in total and failed to record a single successful dribble, also being unsuccessful with three of his four crosses (SofaScore).

Wright also lost possession of the ball 13 times, the joint-sixth most out of his teammates, and he was hauled off for Ryan Jack shortly after the goal was scored.

Rangers fans slam Wright

These Rangers fans slammed the 24-year-old’s display on Twitter, with one Light Blues supporter going as far as to claim that he was ‘shocking’ last night:

“Woke up still raging at Scott Wright”

Credit: @Converyg1

“Scott Wright another Glenn Middleton nowhere near good enough”

Credit: @RossThomson12

“Scott Wright horrendous”

Credit: @GregThomson72

“Add Scott Wright in, hopeless out on the right.”

Credit: @AndyFirthRSC

“Scott Wright is so far off of what we need. Shocking player”

Credit: @jamie__rangers

“Scott Wright. Hide and seek champion.”

Credit: @VaticanRSC

In other news, find out what team news was lauded by these Gers fans

A fighting 121-run stand for the ninth wicket, a probing opening spell and a late run-out helped Canada dominate much of the third day in a game in which the advantage has swung from one side to the other.

Cricinfo staff03-Sep-2010
ScorecardA fighting 121-run stand for the ninth wicket between Ashish Bagai and Khurram Chohan, a probing opening spell from Henry Osinde and a late run-out helped Canada dominate much of the third day in a game in which the advantage has swung from one side to the other. Set a tricky target of 176, Ireland were in control at 117 for 3 but Andre Botha’s dismissal for 61 brought Canada back into the game.The day started with Canada 49 runs ahead and only Osinde to come, and Ireland would have hoped to chase a target below 100. But Bagai and Chohan had other ideas. The duo played patiently during the highest partnership of the match, adding 121 runs in 46.2 overs. Both scored 59 runs today and hit seven fours each.Chohan was given out caught and bowled off Kevin O’Brien after making 59 off 177 deliveries. The innings ended a couple of overs later with Bagai mis-timing a pull off O’Brien to mid-on. He was unlucky to miss out on a hundred, scoring 90 off 157.O’Brien finished with 5 for 39 in 17.5 overs, responding brilliantly after first-innings hero Trent Johnston was unable to take the field, having retired hurt on the second day after being hit by an Osinde bouncer.Osinde troubled Ireland further, getting Rory McCann to edge behind in his first over and luring Paul Stirling into the bouncer trap in his fifth. Osinde’s figures at that moment read 5-2-13-2.Botha counter-attacked, hitting nine fours in his 61 off 84 deliveries. Though Rizwan Cheema trapped O’Brien leg-before, Botha’s presence gave Ireland hope. However, with 59 runs still needed, Botha was run out off Cheema’s bowling. Rain intervened thereafter and no further play was possible. The game is evenly poised with Ireland requiring another 52 runs with six wickets intact.

Celtic are ‘trying’ to ‘bring in one more’ player before tonight’s deadline, according to Celtic Underground.

The Lowdown: Busy month

The Hoops have already been hugely proactive during the winter window, securing deals for five new players.

Ange Postecoglou has bolstered his midfield and attacking ranks with players from Japan, Ireland and England, but it seems as if he may have one more trick up his sleeve.

Celtic signed three players on deadline day in the summer, and one more could be on the cards today.

The Latest: Rumours

Celtic Underground took to Twitter on Sunday to make a deadline day claim.

They tweeted: “Rumours we are trying to bring in one more tomorrow.”

The Verdict: Nicholson needs to act fast

Should that prove to be the case, Michael Nicholson will be a busy man in what is his first transfer window as Celtic CEO.

Multiple players could end up leaving Parkhead, including Albian Ajeti, Vasilis Barkas and Boli Bolingloli, so it’ll be interesting to see who could arrive.

Of course, this is only speculation, but two players who have been linked with a move to Glasgow in recent weeks are Algerian midfielder Ahmed Kendouci and young Irish forward Michael Harris. Perhaps one of them could be pictured holding up a hooped shirt at Parkhead at some stage today.

In other news: ‘It’s understood’ – Anthony Joseph reveals Celtic have received late offer for £9k-p/w colossus

The common theme as Australia and India prepare for the Test has been niggles and minor discomforts that have made both the sides take precautionary measures

Sidharth Monga in Chandigarh27-Sep-2010The buzz around the series is slowly building up in Chandigarh. The Indian team, sans the Champions League and Board President’s XI players, have been training hard for two days at the PCA Stadium in Mohali, and the Australians have had a fruitful three days of cricket at the Sector 16 Stadium. The common theme has been niggles and minor discomforts that have made both the sides take precautionary measures.Gautam Gambhir, Sreesanth, Simon Katich and Marcus North have all experienced some sort of discomfort over the last three days. Sreesanth cramped up while bowling and took some time off before coming back to bowl. Gambhir was hit on the right hand by a rising delivery from Ben Hilfenhaus on the second day of the match. He played no part in the remainder of the game, sitting out while the BP XI team fielded on day three and choosing to not bat in the second innings. It has been learnt that this was just to ensure he did not aggravate the problem ahead of the series.North, who made a much-needed good start to his tour with a fluent century, experienced some back trouble too, and took the Gambhir route, staying out of action on day three. Katich had a bruised thumb, and he didn’t bat in the Australians’ second innings. He however came on the field after the Australians’ declaration, which is a good sign for the visitors.Meanwhile, over at the PCA Stadium in the outskirts of the city, key members of the Indian team got through a full practice session. Wearing the new team practice kit, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and VVS Laxman had a nice hit in the nets. Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Harbhajan Singh and Amit Mishra were the bowlers present. There had been reports that Sehwag was hit on the right knee by an Ishant delivery yesterday, but he seemed in no discomfort while batting in the nets.Apart from the team’s bowling coach Eric Simons, Harbhajan had his childhood coach, Devender Arora, work with him during the session.

Victor Orta’s record at Leeds United has always divided opinion, especially in recent windows where recruitment has been lacklustre, to say the least.

Despite an injury-ravaged season, the Yorkshire giants failed to bolster Marcelo Bielsa’s playing squad with any additions in January and one damaging theme can be seen in the fact that they haven’t signed a central midfielder for eight successive windows now.

If your ambition is to remain competitive in the Premier League, then that sort of activity is far from good enough.

However, there is plenty to like about what he has done in recent years.

Raphinha is one shining example – having cost only £17m from Stade Rennes in 2020, he has emerged as a standout in the final third, particularly without the injured Patrick Bamford.

His worth is now thought to be in the region of £36m, so Leeds will make a substantial profit on him in the coming years.

And the Spanish supremo hasn’t only hit the jackpot with incomings as he has often made a shrewd decision when it comes to player sales, too, with Jack Clarke the perfect reminder.

Orta played quite the transfer masterclass there, albeit in hindsight.

In July 2019, the young winger joined Premier League outfit Tottenham Hotspur for around £10m plus add-ons, as per the BBC, and as part of the deal he remained at Elland Road on loan for the 2019/20 campaign.

By December, though, that temporary return was cut short due to a lack of game time. He was then sent out to then-Championship rivals Queens Park Rangers, where he also failed to make his mark.

His fortunes took a turn for the worse during another loan stint, this time at Stoke City. His season was ended abruptly due to an Achilles injury, whilst this season, he’s ended up in League One with northeast giants Sunderland.

In five appearances so far, two of which being starts, he has failed to deliver a single goal contribution, as per Transfermarkt, who now value him at a lowly £4.5m – a decrease in value of 55% since Orta sanctioned his departure nearly three years ago.

“He has got a great ability to glide past players. I don’t think I’ve seen a winger really as talented as that, where it looks effortless, just to take somebody on and he really does get you on the edge of your seat, he’s one of those exciting players,” once claimed Whites legend Noel Whelan back when Clarke came through the academy system at Thorp Arch.

Meanwhile, former Leeds assistant Carlos Corberan – now in charge of Huddersfield Town – once deemed the 21-year-old to be a “huge talent.”

His fall from grace as a one-time promising talent is certainly disappointing to see but from a business and financial standpoint, it was an absolute masterstroke from Orta and co.

For all of his failings at Elland Road, it’s moves like this that should keep the fans onside, that’s for sure.

AND in other news, Orta could make “huge statement” at Leeds by hiring 37 y/o “leader” to replace Bielsa…

Refreshed after a long break, the Australia captain says that retirement is the furthest thing from his mind at the moment

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Sep-2010These are uncertain times for Australian cricket. After more than a decade of dominance, the No. 1 ranking has been surrendered, and the passing of a golden generation has seen losses to India and England, and an unprecedented home defeat against South Africa. Ricky Ponting’s own form has been patchy, and the gap between him and Sachin Tendulkar, both in terms of runs and centuries, has widened dramatically over the past year. After a long break following the series against Pakistan in England, Ponting is hoping both he and the team will emerge stronger.”It’s my responsibility to make sure that the Australian cricket team is the highest-ranked team that we can possibly make it,” he said. “None of the guys in our team at the moment are proud of the fact that we’re the No.4-ranked team in the world. We’ve got better personnel in our side at the moment to make that ranking climb higher over the next 12 to 18 months.”As far as me chasing Sachin … I was actually expecting that he might have retired before now [smiles]. He’s 37 and obviously still playing very well. There’s inspiration for everyone around the world to take from what he’s done over the last 12 months. Batting doesn’t get any easier, but to see someone like that have the 12-month period that he’s had … it doesn’t matter if you’re 35 like I am, or 25 like some of the other guys in our side, it certainly gives you something to aim for.”For the man himself, the next fortnight presents an opportunity to improve a decidedly modest record on Indian soil. “It’s a place that I’ve never mastered,” he said candidly. “I’ve never mastered batting in these conditions. I felt that in the last series over here, I took some really big strides in becoming a better player on the subcontinent. My first hundred in Bangalore at the start of the last series was satisfying and I made 80-odd in Delhi. There were some positive signs for me last time and learning a bit more about the conditions and the Indian bowlers gives me a chance to hopefully have a good series.”There’s still some uncertainty over whether Harbhajan Singh, his chief tormentor in these conditions, will play the first Test, but Ponting was expecting nothing less. “I’m not sure if he’s doubtful,” he said with a grin. “I understand that he’s hurt his ankle, but the day he apparently did that was the day our game finished at Chandigarh. He was down bowling centre wicket that afternoon. He trained today, so it might just be a bit of a smokescreen. They might just be trying to sneak one past us there. I’d expect him to play. But if he doesn’t, then they’ve got a couple of very good spinners, [Amit] Mishra and [Pragyan] Ojha, who will come in and do a good job for their side.”When it was suggested to him that some felt he was over the hill, he responded with laughter. “I’m not sure if I’ve heard it put that way just yet. The fact is that I’m 35 and I know there’s been a bit in the papers over the past couple of days about maybe being a little bit past my best. We’ll see what this series holds, and what the Ashes hold. I know that I’m feeling better about myself and about my game than I have in a long time. Having a long break before we came gave me an opportunity to sit back and really think about the things I needed to work hard on to become a better player. That’s all I can control. I can control how I train, how I prepare and how well I play. That’s in my hands.”

Retirement for me is the furthest thing from my mind at the moment. It’s about becoming a better player than I was last year and I certainly feel on the way to doing that. The finish line for me is not even in sight yet

There’s every likelihood that this will be Ponting’s last Test tour of India, but he was adamant that such thoughts were far from his mind in the build-up to this series. “I don’t really know what the FTP [Future Tours Programme] is at the moment,” he said. “It changes quite quickly, doesn’t it? I guess in the last 10 years we’ve played, we’ve made a tour to India most years.”I honestly don’t know if this will be my last tour or not. I haven’t thought about it. Retirement for me is the furthest thing from my mind at the moment. It’s about becoming a better player than I was last year and I certainly feel on the way to doing that. The finish line for me is not even in sight yet.”I’ve got some much exciting cricket to play over the next six to eight months, with this tour, the Ashes back in Australia and then a World Cup soon after. As an experienced player, it doesn’t get any better or any bigger than that. I’m as excited as I’ve ever been in my cricket career about what lies ahead. If I happen to get through the next six or eight months playing very good cricket, then who knows? I might be back here again for one more go.”

Leeds United target Brenden Aaronson will be ‘up for grabs’ during the summer transfer window, according to reliable journalist Phil Hay.

The Lowdown: Primary transfer target

The Whites seemingly spent most of January trying to lure the 21-year-old to Elland Road but RB Salzburg managed to keep hold of him.

Endless transfer rumours linked Leeds with a move for the USA international, who has scored five goals in 18 caps for his country and is seen as someone spearheading their golden generation.

Indeed, Victor Orta and Andrea Radrizzani submitted bids of £15m and £20m, per The Athletic, and even considered sending a third offer before the deadline. The bids were reportedly turned down because the Austrian champions wanted the American to play a part in their Champions League knockout tie with Bayern Munich.

Aaronson may well leave Salzburg at the end of the season then, and a new update suggests there could be quite the tussle for his signature.

[freshpress-quiz id=“383507″]

The Latest: Hay makes fresh claim

Taking to Twitter on Friday, Hay made it clear that the young midfielder will be a wanted man in the summer, adding that Leeds are still ‘so keen’:

“Everyone thinks Aaronson will be up for grabs in the next window.”

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-news-33/” title=”Latest Leeds United news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Perfect summer signing

It seems clear that Aaronson is a major target for Leeds and he ticks so many boxes when it comes to looking for ideal summer signings.

At 21, he is at an age where he should improve immeasurably in the coming years, but he has already made 51 appearances for Salzburg and started all six of their Champions League games so far this season, highlighting the experience he has a the top level.

Leeds are lacking a genuine No.10 in their team – somewhere who can link the midfield and attack in central areas – and Aaronson, with 23 career assists, could be that man, giving the Whites an extra attacking dimension in the process.

In other news, Leeds are still thought to be monitoring one player. Find out who it is here.

The man behind the technology at the heart of the UDRS, soon to be used for the first time in an Ashes series, believes that players and umpires need to spend time understanding and questioning its workings

Sharda Ugra27-Oct-2010The man behind the technology at the heart of the Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS), soon to be used for the first time in an Ashes series, believes that players and umpires need to spend time understanding and questioning its workings so that the system’s tools can be improved and their efficiency increased.Ian Taylor, CEO of Virtual Eye, which will provide the ball tracker for the UDRS in the upcoming Australian summer, told EPSNcricinfo, “We need to be sharing technology with people whom it will affect. We need to spend time with umpires and players, captains of teams, so that we can open up the entire Pandora’s box of the technology. I think people are right to question the technology; that is how we make it better.”Taylor said, “The people whom the technology will impact through the DRS could well be those who will give us feedback that can surprise us. They could tell us to take into account factors we may not even have thought of. This is one way to move forward”. He said Virtual Eye hoped to bring in the umpires to have a look at the Ball Tracker. “We would love to see people open to the technology”, Taylor said, adding that technology would never replace the role of the umpire. “We want to work the umpires”.The UDRS system in use for the Ashes will be significant as the ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat will travel to Australia with officials from the BCCI. This visit is meant to formally serve as a test run for the use of UDRS in the 2011 World Cup, but it is hoped the Ashes inspection will finally convince the BCCI to accept the technology for India’s home games in the future.”We are happy for anyone to come and see what we are doing, for players and umpires to understand the technology,” Taylor said. “If broadcasters are happy with it, if they believe it enhances the viewers’ experience, it will be a part of the coverage regardless. If it doesn’t happen officially, it will happen anyway.”Virtual Eye will be used by the Australian broadcasters Channel 9 for the first time, starting with the Twenty20 international between Australia and Sri Lanka on October 31. Taylor said that VE’s ball-tracker was only one of several features being offered to Channel 9 this season, but it was in “disproportionate focus” because of the debate over the UDRS.Under the ICC’s current regulations, the mandatory requirements for the UDRS system are the ball-tracking technology, Super Slo-Mo and a ‘clear’ stump mike. It is the ball tracker that is the most contentious, its ‘disproportionate focus’ is centred around leg before wicket appeals even though the ball-tracker’s other functions, to create wagon wheels, pitch map and the ‘bee-hive’, (which indicates where the ball has passed the batsman), feature more often during the course of a daily broadcast.”We want to tell stories of all kinds to the viewer – why are particular fields set, what are fielders doing during a course of a day but the irony is that the emphasis of any tracker discussion is around the lbw appeal,” Taylor said. “How often will that be used in a day? Half a dozen times?”This is the first time Channel 9 is using the Dunedin-based Virtual Eye package over Hawk-Eye.Brad McNamara, executive producer of cricket for Channel 9, told ESPNcricinfo that the decision to go with Virtual Eye was “both commercial and editorial”. McNamara said, “Legally, the commercial reasons must remain confidential, however, editorially, we believed VE could enhance our broadcast with other new technologies apart from ball-tracking that they could make available to us.” McNamara would not go into detail about the ‘enhancements’, but said that both technologies were similar in cost as well as accuracy. “The ICC have tested both Hawk-Eye and Virtual Eye and there was little or no difference in accuracy. We hope and expect that to be the case this summer”, McNamara said.Taylor denied that companies like Virtual Eye or Hawk-Eye supported the use of technology in the umpire’s decision-making because of any commercial benefit to the graphics providers. “That is not true. We don’t get paid any extra for the UDRS technologies, all the extra work that is done is not funded by anyone but us and we are prepared to do this stuff if it does make a difference.”McNamara said the ICC should contribute to the costs of putting the UDRS into place. “If the ICC wants to use technology we have developed over the years and currently pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for each year to satisfy their DRS requirements, then they should contribute to any costs associated with getting that technology to air.”It was, however, important for cricket to arrive at a consensus because Taylor said “the broadcasters know what it is they want from us and what they are prepared to pay for. I have to say not a lot of it has to do with the DRS.” The sooner cricketing nations could agree, he said, “one way or the other about the role of the DRS, how it is to be used, where it is to be used and how it is to be funded if used, the sooner we can all focus our attention entirely on what needs to be done to make sure that everyone is happy with what is provided.”Taylor said he would like to see a situation where an umpire could overrule the ball-tracker technology “if he felt uncomfortable with a particular result we gave him. The challenge for us then becomes one where we try to make that an extremely rare occurrence.”Virtual Eye’s progress in its earliest venture as sports animation & graphics provider illustrates the impact of technological innovation in sport. From 1992 to 2000, Virtual Eye’s America’s Cup yacht-racing coverage was produced, Taylor said, from “a computer the size of a small fridge” which cost half a million dollars. In 2003, that same computer cost $1500 and had shrunk to the size of a shoe-box. From 2003-04, Virtual Eye was, “delivering on a cellphone.” The example, he believed, contained its own message. “We need to look forward and not back at the changes made all across all sport. Technology is happening.”