Somerset implode despite flying start with the ball, to lose by 90 runs at Hove

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay21-Aug-2025Somerset produced an unlikely victory over Sussex in the Metro Bank One Day Cup at Hove, winning by 90 runs after being bowled out for a modest 243. It was their fourth victory in six matches.On a slow pitch that offered some sharp seam movement on occasions, but was far from unplayable, both sides were guilty of rash strokeplay, especially the Sussex Sharks when they lost four wicket for no runs in the course of eight deliveries.The Sharks were clear favourites at the halfway point of the match. And they reinforced their position when they reached 60 for one at the end of the first 10-over powerplay, almost twice as many as Somerset had scored (33 for 3) at the same stage of their innings. But then Sussex collapsed in a way that made their recent implosion against Lancashire, when they lost six wickets for 27 runs before winning a thrilling contest, look commonplace.From the start of the 11th over Charlie Tear flayed a wide delivery straight to cover. Next ball, Fynn Hudson-Prentice missed a straight one and was lbw. And three balls later captain John Simpson got one that cut back off the pitch and was also lbw. Tom Lammonby, who had made a three-ball duck when he had opened the Somerset innings, had bowled a three-wicket maiden.It got worse. Tom Clark, who had batted impressively, lobbed the second delivery of the 12th over to mid-on and Sussex were 60 for five. Jack Carson, heroic in the recent wins over Kent and Lancashire, hinted at another rescue act with a vigorous 35 before pulling to midwicket, and when Oli Carter was caught in the same area, to make it 128 for eight, it was realistically all over. Lammonby took five wickets for the first time in any competition.The Somerset total had looked insufficient, and they were happy to get there after being 82 for five in the 20th over. Their innings was revived by half-centuries from Josh Thomas and Finley Hill after the Rew brothers James and Thomas had both failed to build on promising starts.Somerset, who continued their rotation policy by bringing in Kian Roberts, Kasey Aldridge and Hill, made a frantic start to their innings. Archie Vaughan was caught down the leg-side first ball and Sussex missed two more chances in the first two overs. But they weren’t made to pay for their profligacy. In the third over Lammonby was caught at slip off Sean Hunt, coming back into the side in place of Bertie Foreman, and it was 21 for three in the sixth over when Lewis Goldsworthy, surprised by the bounce achieved by Hudson-Prentice, could only fend the ball off to Henry Crocombe at square-leg.Once again Somerset were looking to the Rews to pull them round. But captain James, attempting to turn Crocombe to leg, got a leading edge back to the bowler for just 29 and the same bowler jagged one back to bowl his younger brother through the gate for 30.At that stage significant recovery looked beyond an inexperienced Somerset side. But they were transformed by a sixth wicket stand of 59 between Thomas and Hill. Thomas, mixing bludgeoning blows with some sweetly timed drives – on a pitch where timing was difficult – was particularly impressive, stroking Crocombe square on the off-side to raise the hundred in the 24th over. He reached his fifty from 54 balls when he pulled Hunt for six but was caught behind in the same over. A seventh wicket stand of 67 between Hill and Roberts maintained the Somerset recovery.

By the end of last season, Leicester were one of the form teams in the Premier League. Up there with Manchester City who went on a fabulous run, but by then the title race was already over Leicester, on the other hand, did it when it mattered.

Then something strange happened. They sacked their manager. Now Nigel Pearson courted controversy all season, personally speaking I don’t think he seemed like the nicest of guys. But then I don’t know him personally – all I have to go on is the fact he called a journalist an ostrich and caught James McArthur in a choke hold. You can see why i’d jump to that conclusion.

Even so, his sacking was strange. There’s nothing wrong with changing your manager if you don’t like him. There may be some sort of legal or trade union problem with sacking people simply because you don’t like them, but in football managers are changed so often that any reason seems to go. How I wish Liverpool had simply sacked Luis Suarez – although that probably means I won’t ever be on the board of a successful club as sacking him would’ve cost the club somewhere in the region of £65-75m, depending on who you believe.

But the Leicester board sacked Pearson for reasons passing understanding. If they hated him before, they had plenty of opportunity so sack the man, so then sacking him because his son is an idiot – or a racist, or a sleaze, or whatever you want to call him – is simply mind-boggling. Many say the sins of the father should not be transferred to the son. I don’t even begin to understand how the sins of the son could transfer to the father.

Now Claudio Ranieri is Leicester manager. And a fine job he’s done in his opening game. Let’s not get carried away. It was one game against a Sunderland side who really weren’t up to much. Although Leicester still managed to concede two goals.

Two seasons ago, Hull started their first season back in the top flight brightly, and were basically safe by January. It was then that Steve Bruce decided to prioritise the FA Cup more than the league. That’s the kind of thing fans want to see, and it worked. Hull made their first FA Cup final, and made it into Europe too.

But then it backfired. Because end of season form is important too. It sets you up for the next season. If you’re on a bad run at the end of the season, it’s hard to get back on track. Bruce tried to add new faces to the side and kick on from their previous season. So a mix of players who couldn’t gel and off-form players already at the club meant a bad start to the season, and Hull could never get going.

Leicester have the opposite. They haven’t added too much to the side. After breaking their record transfer twice last season, they’ve been a little more quiet, but added some steel and flair to their side. And Ranieri hasn’t changed too much in terms of the setup. He knows that the team is on form and, ironically, he’s not going to tinker too much.

But let’s see what happens if things get tough. And they will get tough, this is football. You’ll always get a slump – you just have to hope that it’s not a long one.

It looks like Leicester have continuity, which was the worry after sacking Pearson. The worry was that Ranieri would come into the fold and change everything, and that it wouldn’t work. But if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. And Leicester are – admittedly after only one game – finding that the saying holds true. But it remains to be seen if Claudio Ranieri will stick to his – or Pearson’s – guns if things go downhill.

With transfer fees and wages seemingly rising ever higher as clubs desperately jostle for supremacy, the idea of player power is increasingly discussed in the modern game.

It is thought that the stars of the day now call all the shots, as even the biggest clubs are manipulated by them and their agents.

This summer however, a couple of much-discussed, high-profile transfers failed to materialise despite the subject willing them to go through.

Saido Berahino is one such man. Who now holds the strongest cards in the stand-off between the forward and his club West Bromwich Albion? Who is prime position to dictate the player’s future?

Berahino is seen as a rising star in the Premier League and ticks all the boxes which culminate in a high valuation.

[ffc-gal cat=”arsenal” no=”5″]

Young, English and a goalscorer, it is reported that Tottenham tabled numerous bids for his services, including a couple in the final hours of the window.

The money on offer though, was not deemed sufficient by Albion and the move floundered.The player responded by allowing his frustration to spill over on social media, where he openly criticised the club for their treatment of him and appeared to vow never to turn out again for the Baggies under chairman Jeremy Peace.

The result is that while West Brom have successfully fended off interest in their star forward, there have been consequences.

They are left with a player filled with both resentment and disappointment. The 22 year old has not featured in any of the last three games, with manager Tony Pulis viewing the effects of the transfer fiasco as disruptive.

It appears then, that in keeping the player against his wishes, Albion now find themselves in a position the same or potentially worse than if they had lost him.

The Burundi-born man is refusing to play, his relationship with the club’s board in tatters. Even if he was happy to take to the field, there is no guarantee that he would perform, given the psychological effects of the transfer saga.

The player’s value will also plummet as the end of his contract will be five months closer when the next opportunity to sell him arises. If he is excluded from playing, self imposed or otherwise, that will also see his price tag reduce.

Despite all of this, when the dust settles on the closure of the transfer window, the Baggies can be assured that they are in control of the situation.

Player power on this occasion has failed for a variety of reasons.

Firstly, the striker is under contract at the Hawthorns until 2017. That would be a long time for any player to commit himself to a footballing exile.

Berahino is young but a Premier League career is far too short to waste any of it trying to prove a point.

He has thrown his toys from the pram before by announcing that he wanted to play for a bigger club after contract talks stalled in light of poor conduct. Albion have successfully now refused to be bullied by both the player and more recently, Spurs.

Secondly, the striker’s actions have seen a swell of opinion, from not only Albion fans, but also the general football public, backing the club on their position regarding the situation.

Berahino has been labeled stroppy, greedy and immature. If there is to be reconciliation, it will almost certainly need to be the player that gets the ball rolling.

Furthermore the club put a contingency plan in place during the transfer window with Salomon Rondon arriving for £12 million.

The Venezuelan appeared initially to have been signed as a replacement for Berahino and is already off the mark in the league, but with Rondon already on board before Spurs late Berahino bids, Jeremy Peace stood firm on his asking price; a sign that the club do not desperately need the money they could raise by selling him.

Talks between player and club are scheduled with Berahino on extended leave until then.

Tony Pulis has put the blame on Spurs for unsettling his star and has suggested that he now has a repair job on hand in order to bring the player back into the fold.

Behind the scenes though, it may well be the forward who has most repairing to do.

He has already been fined for his online outburst and will need to realise, that on this occasion, he might need to swallow his pride and move on from his disappointment for the sake of his career.

[ad_pod id=’lockerdome’ align=’center’]

[ad_pod id=’eight’ align=’center’]

[ad_pod id=’ricco’ align=’center’]

Player turnover at Southampton has been higher than almost any other club in Europe in recent seasons and be prepared for more of it on Football Manager 2016.

A lot of your highest rated players will be bid for regularly by the bigger clubs and keeping hold of them will be an impossible task against the financial might of stronger sides.

To oppose this, you must reinvest any funds you have shrewdly and make sure you can rebuild a squad capable of finishing in the top half on a regular basis and eventually challenging for Europe.

You may not be able to bring back Luke Shaw, Nathaniel Clyne or Adam Lallana, but Southampton will be able to attract players who can improve their squad significantly from the very start.

Whether you think you can improve on Koeman’s work or not, here are FIVE bargain buys for the Southampton on FM16…

Kevin-Prince Boateng

Available for as low as £2million on some saves, the former Portsmouth and AC Milan midfield player is a highly experienced and versatile option for the Saints.

The powerful midfielder can be utilised as a central striker if absolutely necessary and possesses the stats to play a pretty all round game, regardless of the position you use him in.

Man management of Boateng can be a problem, but if you can keep him happy he will be a useful component to the squad and is always likely to offer goals from midfield.

Lucas Romero

Romero has been a typical signing on Football Manager for several seasons now and he is still a brilliant signing at only £3.5million in the first season.

The youngster is capable of operating from defensive or central midfield and, if trained correctly, can begin to offer a few goals later into his career.

By the age of 27, his marking, passing, first touch and tackling should all reach at least 15 and he becomes one of the most versatile midfielders around.

Luka Jovic

Jovic is the ideal striker to sign as a back-up for Graziano Pelle in your first season. Within five years, Jovic will be in his young 20s and one of the best strikers in the world.

Best as either an advanced forward or a poacher, the electric pace of Jovic is a threat to any side and would make runs that could be found with ease by Dusan Tadic or James Ward-Prowse.

Ashley Cole

This ex-Gunner’s best days may be a long way behind him, but experience can do a lot for your squad in Football Manager.

Ryan Bertrand may well still be first choice at Saints, but bringing in Cole for under a million would give some solid cover for Bertrand (who is likely to get injured) and protect Targett from facing too much first team football, as he is not necessarily up to the standard for the first season or two.

Signing Cole also gives you the option to play Bertrand further forward for some defensive stability and a leadership rating above 16 has a great impact on avoiding your side getting stuck in a rut of poor form.

Gareth Barry

Barry is firmly in the twilight of his career, but at 34 and probably a starter for Southampton, he would provide some crucial experience to a relatively young squad.

The ex-Villa man might be very slow, but he would be an ideal budget replacement if you are forced into the sale of Victor Wanyama.

His passing and teamwork stats are where you should focus and a low movement anchor man role should see Barry provide some cover for your centre-backs.

Some squads are teams and others are filled with disperse individual talent. Think of the Germany team that won the World Cup last season, with no obvious stand-out star but lots of top-quality players working together and you think ‘team’.

By contrast, almost any Real Madrid team of the last decade could be considered a group of talented individuals expensively thrown together.

They’re the two extremes of the same issue, and most teams fall between it. Most teams have a best player, one who stands out, but most are able to integrate him into some sort of team structure. Sunderland, however, don’t seem to have much of a team structure.

[ffc-gal cat=”sunderland” no=”5″]

You’d expect that’s the first thing that Sam Allardyce will want to change about Sunderland. It just seems so unlike a Big Sam team to have a collection of individuals who don’t mould together into a team.

But what’s even worse about Sunderland is that it’s not even a lack of team spirit or cohesion that’s the problem, it’s the fact that you can’t even discern the best system to fit all of these players into.

And so the answer isn’t simply a unifying figure in the dugout. It’s not like Big Sam can just come in, unite the dressing room and suddenly Sunderland will start playing. Allardyce will have to come into the side and actually find a way to fit all of these players into the same XI.

The problem is having so many managers over the last few seasons. Allardyce is Sunderland’s third manager since Martin O’Neill left in 2013, and each time, a new man has come into the Stadium of Light with new ideas, brought the club away from the relegation zone, bought new players to start an overhaul of the squad in the summer and then been sacked at some point in the new season with the club fighting relegation again.

Is Sunderland’s novel strategy for beating the drop simply a case of waiting until things are dire and then hoping for the lift that a new manager brings the team in order to climb out of the bottom three? Credit where credit’s due, it’s an inventive one.

But what’s so strange about Sunderland is that they don’t actually have a terrible team. Steven Fletcher is a man on fire for his country in terms of banging in the goals – alright, a hat trick against Gibraltar is nothing to write home about, but he’s the only Scottish player to score a hat trick for the national team since 1969, and he’s done it twice in this qualifying campaign.

But players like Fabio Borini and Adam Johnson, Jack Rodwell and Younes Kaboul are all players who found themselves at clubs in or around the Champions League and failed to make the grade. They’re players with points to prove and Sunderland should be able to take advantage of that.

But the newer signings, Yann M’Vila, Ola Toivonen, DeAndre Yedlin are all in on loan. Yedlin is a frighteningly quick full back, Toivonen a cultured number ten and M’Vila a combative defensive midfielder. Which is fine, except with Larsson, Johnson, Jordi Gomez and Jeremain Lens, you have a midfield that seems to be pulling in a different direction.

There are so many defensive midfielders who have been signed by various managers and so many strikers who have been signed by various managers, and they’ve all been signed for different purposes in mind.

On paper, the squad looks like it’s made up, more or less, of individuals of Premier League quality. But the challenge for Big Sam is whether he can fit them all into one team.

Yet an even bigger challenge is coming up in January. Does Allardyce then go off and try to overhaul the squad in January? Because he can’t get an entire squad sorted in one transfer window. It will take a few to get the right players in and ship the deadwood out. But what happens if he’s sacked in the meantime?

There’s something wrong at Sunderland, and this is it. They need to give Allardyce the time to build the squad properly and make sure that he has a team that all pulls in the same direction. He has a lot of good players at his disposal, he just now needs to find a way to make them into a ‘team’.

[ad_pod id=’writeforus’ align=’center’]

Tottenham’s manager Mauricio Pochettino has admitted that it would be an hour to be asked to coach the English national team in the future.

The Argentine trainer has made real strides in the Premier League over recent years, firstly building the structure for Southampton to maintain their top0flight status.

Since moving to White Hart Lane, Pochettino has trimmed his playing squad and amassed a young and ambitious unit that looks able to finish in the top four this season.

With the comer Espanyol boss being regarded as one of the most progressive in the Premier League, he was asked if he would consider managing the English national team in the future.

Pochettino reconfirmed his happiness at Tottenham but admitted that being asked to coach the Three Lions would be an honour.

“It is very difficult for me to answer, but you never know what will happen in the future,” The Daily Star quote Pochettino as saying.

“If someone had asked me three or four years ago whether I would work in England, I would have said: ‘Of course not, because I don’t speak English.’

“But then the owner of Southampton called me and said he wanted me to manage their team. Now I am here and speaking English.

“It would be an honour to be asked. But I am happy to keep on working at Tottenham on the project we have here and I am still very young.

“I am always open for the future. But I am very happy here at Tottenham. I enjoy it a lot. The club shares the same philosophy I do.

“We are building something we want to achieve and Tottenham are giving us the opportunity to build this thing.”

Pochettino will need to be careful what he wishes for, as speculation linking Harry Redknapp to the England job effectively ended his tenure as boss at White Hart Lane.

[ad_pod id=’europcar-blog’ align=’center’]

[ad_pod id=’writeforus’ align=’center’]

With neither Liverpool nor Manchester United producing anything that can be remotely considered top-half Premier League quality, we’ve somehow survived the first 45 minutes at Anfield without falling asleep or dying of boredom.

Indeed, although derby clashes are often more about full-blooded tackles and off-the-ball-fisticuffs than tiki-taka entertainment, today’s installment of the northwest rivalry is taking the biscuit, the cake and the six-pack of beer you left to cool in the fridge.

Liverpool have mustered up a few half chances – Adam Lallana’s attempt to lob David De Gea with a header on the edge of the box particularly coming to mind.

But considering the global reach of this fixture is rivaled by none other in the Premier League and both clubs spent a medium-sized fortune on new players last summer, the first 45 minutes at Anfield has been a huge disappointment.

Never ones to hide their frustrations, Liverpool and Manchester United fans have been having their say on social media. Here are 10 tweets that subbed up the Reds and the Red Devils’ drab first half:

[ad_pod id=’writeforus’ align=’center’]

[ad_pod id=’europcar-blog’ align=’center’]

Joel Matip has agreed a pre-contract deal with Liverpool and will join the club from Schalke at the end of the season.The Cameroon international has been aligned with the Reds for much of the past few months, with a Bosman switch having been mooted with his contract winding down.Although Schalke have in that time attempted to keep hold of their man, Matip’s summer move to Liverpool has now been confirmed.And the 24-year-old has revealed that the lure of a new challenge after many years in the Bundesliga was a major factor in his decision:”I have always said that I would only leave Schalke for one reason: to get to know something new,” he is quoted by the Liverpool Echo. “I never even considered a move within the Bundesliga.”Although my decision is definitely not easy, I am convinced that now is the right time to take this step.”Schalke 04 will remain a big family for me. I was always proud to play for this great club.”I will do everything in the next few months to get the most out of this season so I do not feel guilty.”Matip will be the first major addition of Jurgen Klopp’s Anfield reign, with teenage midfielder Marko Grujic and the emergency loan signing of Steven Caulker the only deals to have taken place since the German’s arrival.The Anfield tactician is sure to be aware of the defender’s skills and temperament after witnessing him first hand on a number of occasions when in charge of Dortmund.

[ad_pod id=’car-survey’ align=’center’]

[ad_pod id=’writeforus’ align=’center’]

Newcastle have given themselves a fighting chance of Premier League survival. Whether it turns out to be too little, too late, we don’t know, but under Rafael Benitez they’ve hauled themselves to within a point of safety – albeit their biggest rivals, Sunderland and Norwich, have one game in hand apiece.

Benitez’s reign didn’t start in a convincing manner, but their last three games have yielded a solid five points – made all the better by tough games with Manchester City and Liverpool. This three-match period has coincided with Papiss Cisse’s return to form, with the Senegalese hit-man now firmly above big money summer signing Aleksandar Mitrovic, which is s surprise given the Serbian’s reputation prior to his switch to the North East.

Cisse netted the first of the Tynesiders’ two goals at Anfield on Saturday, and although that was only his third effort of the season in league action, he may be peaking at just the right time… which is good news if you like pizza!

Yep, that’s right. To give you a little more information, goals = pizza with Papa John’s, who will give you 50% off your next order if you back Newcastle and they score two or more goals in any of their remaining games this term. All you have to do CLICK HERE, sign up for FREE and back Newcastle (or any other team you desire in any of England’s top four divisions or Scotland’s top two) and wait for the goals to flow.

Although Cisse offers much positivity, Newcastle have only managed to net two or more times on 10 occasions this term, but with relegation at steak, their form may pick up against Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and Spurs.

Daniel Sturridge may well be the most frustrating footballer in the history of the English game. Liverpool fans will know what we’re talking about, with the forward having left them in a perpetual state of anticipation for much of the past two years as he consistently bounces back from injury, before quickly sliding off to the treatment table.

In fact, Sturridge has basically been a ‘one in two’ player since joining the Reds from Chelsea in 2013, albeit not in a scoring sense, rather in terms of availability for games. But, therein lies the problem, when he can play, he’s lethal – arguably the best finisher English football has produced for some time. He has the best goals-to-games ratio of any Liverpool player in the modern era, his movement gets the best out of the likes of Philippe Coutinho and he’s a constant worry of opposing players.

So what to do now that Paris Saint-Germain are looking to make a £45m offer is a real conundrum.

There is a sense of logic in accepting the bid should it come, and if that is indeed the course of action the Merseyside giants take, here are FIVE options they could pursue to replace Sturridge…

Alexandre Lacazette

Arguably the hottest name on the European striking market last summer, Lacazette remains at Lyon, but the coming window could be the one in which he moves on. Reports over January revealed that Newcastle had an offer of around £22m accepted by the Ligue 1 club, only for the France international to rebuff a move, so there is genuine scope for the player to head away from the Parc Olympique Lyonnais.

With 41 goals in his last 60 league outings, there’s no doubting Lacazette’s goalscoring credentials, and the success of players moving across the Channel in recent seasons suggests that the void in terms of quality between the two nations’ top tiers is not as large as it once was. Lacazette himself is known for his pace and clever movement, making him a ‘Sturridge-lite’ option, without the horrendous injury record.

Michy Batshuayi

We’ll stay in Ligue 1 and look at Marseille’s main man, Batshuayi, now. The Belgian is the latest top striker to roll off his nation’s conveyer belt of talent, and has really broken through with l’OM this term after being made the main man on the Mediterranean coast following Andre-Pierre Gignac’s move to Tigres in Mexico. 13 goals in 30 league outings this season is not the most amazing of returns, but the 22-year-old has weighed in with nine assists, showing that his willing running and hold-up play make him the sort of player that could lead the line and bring other players into the action in a fluid attack – the sort Klopp seems to appreciate.

Gonzalo Higuain

Not a typical; ‘Klopp player’, Higuain isn’t likely to run the channels for 90 minutes and ‘put himself about’, but the Argentine is, arguably, the best finisher in European football right now. Only Cristiano Ronaldo (28) has netted more league goals than the Serie A hot-shot (27) this season, with the ex-River Plate star almost single-handedly keeping his Napoli side in the race for the Serie A title.

There have been reports that Liverpool are sniffing around Higuain, but one suspects it would be tricky to convince him to turn his back on Champions League football in Naples. However, money speaks in modern football.

Mauro Icardi

Not dissimilar to Luis Suarez, Icardi is a bundle of energy, tenacity and controversy. The Argentine’s all-action playing style has garnered 43 league goals in the last three seasons, which is some return for a player who is now just 23 and has been playing in one of the worst Inter Milan sides in living memory. His desire to press and hurry opponents from the front seems tailor-made for Klopp’s ‘gegenpressing’ philosophy, while he’s known as being a player with incredible natural fitness – unlike Sturridge.

Carlos Bacca

At 29, Bacca is by no means a long-term option, but for an instant hit of energy and goals, the Colombian fits the bill. The ex-Sevilla man only signed for AC Milan last summer, but with the Rossoneri staring at the prospect of being out of the Champions League once again, financial factors may come into play and force them to accept decent offers for their star forward.

The 5ft. 11” hit-man has netted 14 in 30 league matches this season, and has scored over 200 times in his senior career.