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Having missed the play-offs in what is their first season back in the Championship, the Baggies will be underwhelmed over this season and apprehensive about their chances of escaping the division come next season.

What’s the latest?

Bruce has already stated that he intends to bolster the West Brom squad, having already signed Jayson Molumby from Brighton & Hove Albion.

Speaking to BirminghamLive, Bruce said: “I think we need as many as five or six [transfers] – a major overhaul is needed.

“The supporters need a new face or two who they can get right behind.”

On the chalkboard

One of those new faces could well be MK Dons’ 22-year-old forward Scott Twine, who has been linked in a report from TEAMtalk and has enjoyed a prosperous campaign.

It has seen him notch up a staggering 33 goal contributions in League One, totalling 20 goals and 13 assists in 44 appearances to help the Dons march into a play-off semi-final that saw them narrowly miss out on their Championship aspirations.

Being in the form that he is in, Twine may look to cut ties with Liam Manning’s side, in order to continue his development in the division above.

Considering his £3m-rated market value, age, and pondering his potential, West Brom would be right to rival the reported teams of Burnley, Norwich City and Middlesborough for his signature.

With his goal tally in mind from the third tier, Twine has outscored two of Bruce’s forward options in Robinson and Carroll, who have scored a combined total of 12 in the Championship this season.

With the Baggies set to lose the latter upon his contract expiry at the end of the season, Twine would represent an astute replacement who could form a formidable partnership with Karlan Grant and allow Bruce to axe Robinson, who despite being the Baggies’ second-highest goalscorer this season has tailed off towards the end.

The 27-year-old is far from the “pest” that Gabby Agbonlahor once described with the Irishman scoring just twice in his final 20 appearances.

Though his ability to play on the wings could make way for Daryl Dike’s inclusion in the squad – with Twine also demonstrating his creativity this season with 13 assists – the second-highest total in England’s third division.

Bruce looks to play a strike partnership up top – whether it be through the means of a 3-5-2 formation or 4-4-2 system. And with the opportunity to play on the wings or through the middle, Bruce could help to transition the form of the “difference maker”  – in the words of Sky Football – to the Championship.

In other news: Forget Grant: West Brom’s 104-touch star put on an impressive display against Barnsley 

ESPNcricinfo presents the Plays of the Day from the fourth day between Australia and England at the Gabba

Andrew Miller and Peter English at the Gabba28-Nov-2010Partnership of the day
Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook’s invaluable alliance was still in itsearly stages when, with the score on 23, they notched an unexpected markin the annals of English Test history. With a chancy snick through a gapat third slip, Cook carried the pairing to the highest aggregate by any England opening partnership,eclipsing the figure of 3249 amassed by none other than Jack Hobbs andHerbert Sutcliffe. In mitigation, those two legends racked up their runsin 38 innings rather than 82, and their average stand is more than double(87.81 to 42.68), but nevertheless, such a stat underlines the experiencethat they bring to England’s top order.Costly drop of the day, part one
Mitchell Johnson is a confidence player without much self-belief at themoment. After his 18-ball 0 on the third day, Johnson followed up with acrucial miss when Strauss was 69. Strauss tried to clear mid-off when hecharged at Xavier Doherty and the ball went hard and over the head ofJohnson, who looked like he had it under control but couldn’t hold it. Hishead went down and the Australians sighed.Costly drop of the day, part two
The problems for Australia continued after tea when Peter Siddle had adifficult diving chance, with Cook hooking Ben Hilfenhaus to fine-leg on103. That one went to ground too – and for four. Jonathan Trott, on 34,was the next to benefit when Michael Clarke leapt at point and lost hisgrasp of the ball as his left-hand bumped the ground. On day three it wasAustralia who enjoyed the good fortune, but the roles have reversed.Painful blow of the day
Simon Katich is the toughest player in the Australian side but thestrength of a Cook cut eventually forced him off the field. Katich was atbat-pad when Marcus North came on to aim at the footmarks in the middlesession, but a short one resulted in a fierce blow to Katich’s ankle.While Katich didn’t flinch or show any pain, he did start to limp shortlyafter and a couple of overs later left the field for treatment. Hereturned after tea in a little discomfort.Dive of the day
Katich’s absence provided a chance for an understudy to shine, and theQueensland veteran Lee Carseldine didn’t disappoint. At the age of 35, hishopes of a Test debut are slim to say the least, but he did his best togive the impression that he’s still a spring chicken with a desperatediving save on the deep cover boundary. With a full-frontal swallow-diveand a clatter of boundary-board, he clawed the ball back into play to cutoff a certain four. It wasn’t quite up there as a Gary Pratt moment, buthe did his bit to keep the team’s pecker up.Yelp of the day
With lunch approaching and England’s partnership going strong, any viewersback in Blighty who had been tempted into a quick power-nap foundthemselves being jolted violently back to reality by a piercing yelp fromthe Sky Sports commentary box. The yelpee was none other than the usuallyice-cool David Gower, whose mellifluous flow was painfully interruptedwhen his sidekick Nasser Hussain parked a chairleg squarely on his toe.

Celtic had one of their busier summer transfer windows last time out as Ange Postecoglou made a significant mark on the squad at Parkhead.

However, not every player that was brought in during that period has gone on to play a big part for the club in their latest SPFL campaign.

One player that fits into this category is defender Osaze Urhoghide, who made the move to Celtic Park from Sheffield Wednesday in a deal worth around £200k.

The 20-year-old made just one senior appearance for the Hoops which came during their 3-2 win over Real Betis in the Europa League before he joined Belgian club KV Oostende on loan in January.

In that game against Betis, the youngster managed to showcase the defensive talent he has whilst playing in the right-back position by racking up five tackles and three clearances as well as winning nine of the 15 duels he was involved in.

Since moving to Belgium, the £7k-per-week defender has played the full 90 minutes in each of Oostende’s six previous league games, all as a centre-back.

In the seven league games he’s played in, the Celtic loanee has won 12 tackles and made 22 interceptions, highlighting what he’s capable of when given the chance to play regularly.

In terms of his overall performances, Urhoghide has earned himself a rating of 6.81/10 from WhoScored, making him the second-highest rated player at the Belgian club, which emphasises the positive impact he’s had since joining.

Labelled as “great lad who puts his head in where it hurts,” by Neal Ardley as well as being a “brave” and “athletic” player that “will give you everything he’s got,” the defender could be an ideal option for Postecoglou at Celtic next season.

Taking all of this into account, it would definitely be worth giving the Englishman a real chance of showing what he can do to offer the team in the SPFL during their next campaign.

Also, with there being no guarantee as of yet that the Bhoys will be able to secure their current loan defender Cameron Carter-Vickers on a permanent deal from Tottenham Hotspur, having Urhoghide ready to be unleashed could end up saving Postecoglou and the club millions in potential transfer fees.

In other news: Sold for £2m, now worth £540k: Celtic struck gold on £17k-p/w dud who “had issues”

Australia will be on the lookout for a new fast-bowling coach after Troy Cooley was named as the new head coach at the Centre of Excellence in Brisbane

Brydon Coverdale27-Sep-2010Australia will be on the lookout for a new fast-bowling coach after Troy Cooley was named as the new head coach at the Centre of Excellence in Brisbane. But Cricket Australia insists the appointment will not affect the team’s Ashes and World Cup preparations, as Cooley will continue to work with the bowlers during those campaigns.He will replace the former Centre of Excellence mentor Greg Chappell, who has taken on a new role as Australia’s national talent manager. Cooley is set to juggle his two jobs for the next few months and Michael Brown, CA’s general manager of cricket, said the national team would not be left without a bowling coach during that period.”We have some very important cricket coming up,” Brown said, “and CA has developed a transition plan that will see Troy continue to support the Australian men’s team throughout the Vodafone Ashes Test series and ICC Cricket World Cup campaign.”Cooley, 44, made his name as England’s fast-bowling coach during the 2005 Ashes, when he was credited with helping Andrew Flintoff and his colleagues master reverse swing and confound the Australian batsmen. The following year, Cooley, a former Tasmania fast bowler, was snapped up by the Australian team.Although Australia’s fast men didn’t achieve the same results during the 2009 campaign, Cooley was regarded highly enough that he filled in for Tim Nielsen as the team’s head coach during the ODIs that followed. He will eventually have at his disposal a newly refurbished Centre of Excellence, after a A$26 million upgrade was announced earlier this year.”There is no doubting the importance of the Centre of Excellence in the cricketing pathway,” Cooley said. “When I first arrived at the Cricket Academy, as it was then called, in 2000, Rod Marsh was the head coach and helped to develop players such as Michael Clarke, Shane Watson, Mitchell Johnson and Nathan Hauritz.”These players are now playing an integral role in the Australian team hopefully securing the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in India, reclaiming the Ashes and defending the ICC Cricket World Cup. It is extremely exciting to lead the Centre of Excellence’s coaching team and to be working closely with the states, territories and Australian Institute of Sport as we look to continue our important role in providing support for the current and next generation of Australian cricketers.”Cricket Australia has not set a timeline to find Cooley’s replacement as fast-bowling coach, although there is no immediate hurry with Cooley staying on for the time being. During his playing career, Cooley took 54 wickets in 33 first-class appearances for Tasmania.

Leeds United moved five points clear of the relegation zone with a hard-fought point at Crystal Palace on Monday evening.

Jesse Marsch’s side were far from their best down at Selhurst Park but few teams have taken anything away from the Eagles on their own patch this season, including the likes of league leaders Manchester City (0-0), Arsenal (3-0 loss) and Spurs (3-0 loss).

It was a pretty disappointing display from the Yorkshire giants, making that point all the more valuable and not to mention the fact that Premier League safety is still firmly in their grasp.

The Whites mustered up only two shots on target, in comparison to Palace’s seven, also managing nine fewer shots inside the penalty area, so you could even argue that they were lucky to return north with a point.

Dan James, Jack Harrison and Raphinha all struggled to make their mark in the attack, though there was one shining light for the American head coach in skipper Liam Cooper, who was an absolute rock at the back.

As per SofaScore, he earned the highest rating of any outfield player for Leeds (7.6) and it’s easy to see why as he won absolutely everything up against their former transfer targets Jean-Philippe Mateta and Conor Gallagher, as well as Wilfried Zaha and co too.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-leeds-news-transfer-rumours-gossip-marsch-raphinha-dest-philhay” title=”Read the latest Leeds news!”]

The 6 foot 2 colossus, 30, won a whopping nine of his 11 duels (81%), both in their air and on the ground, and also registered a match-high seven clearances, two tackles, one interception and one block.

It seems no one was getting past the Scotland international on the day and without his leader-like presence in the backline, the Premier League’s second-worst defence may well have crumbled from the Eagles’ pressure, particularly in the second half where they managed a 56% share of the ball.

Elsewhere, Cooper was among the most active players, registering the third-highest number of touches (69), which was more than Kalvin Phillips and any of Leeds’ attack, whilst one of his 34 accurate passes resulted in a key chance created – the same as James and Rodrigo, and more than Raphinha.

Yorkshire Evening Post reporter Graham Smyth was certainly left impressed by the skipper’s display as he wrote in his post-match ratings column: ‘Solid with few mistakes, lots of full-blooded defending and aerial battles.’

Whilst young goalkeeper Illan Meslier will take plenty of the plaudits for keeping out Palace’s seven attempts on goal, it was the colossal captain in front of him that helped thwart the home side to stop there being way more chances on the night.

As such, the £35k-per-week Cooper was Marsch’s big shining light down in south-east London.

AND in other news, Victor Orta could finally replace Pablo Hernandez in summer swoop for “gorgeous” 24 G/A “top talent”…

England fast bowler Stuart Broad has been fined for throwing the ball at Pakistan batsman Zulqarnain Haider on the third day of the Edgbaston Test

Cricinfo staff09-Aug-2010England fast bowler Stuart Broad has been fined 50% of his match fee for throwing the ball at Pakistan batsman Zulqarnain Haider on the third day of the Edgbaston Test. Broad pleaded guilty to a Level 2 offence and was fined for breaching the section of the ICC Code of Conduct relating to “throwing the ball at or near a player, umpire or official in an inappropriate/and or dangerous manner”.The incident occurred during a defiant seventh-wicket stand between Haider, who made 88, and Mohammad Amir, whose gutsy 16 spanned 117 deliveries. Broad fielded a drive in his followthrough, and petulantly hurled the ball at Haider, striking the player on the shoulder in an incident reminiscent of Simon Jones’ misjudged shy at Matthew Hayden during the NatWest one-day series in 2005.”The actions of Stuart Broad were unacceptable,” Ranjan Madugalle, the match referee who imposed the fine, said. “I understand the frustrations of a bowler in the heat of the moment but as an international sportsman one needs to control these emotions whatever may be the situation and always respect the opponent. Stuart, by pleading guilty, realised his mistake and I’m sure he will not repeat the same again.”Apart from a reprimand for sporting excessive logos, Broad – whose father Chris is an ICC match referee – had not been found guilty of a breach of the Code of Conduct until now, despite numerous moments in his three-year Test career when he has sailed close to the wind.

Jacques Rudolph has been appointed as the captain of the Titans for the forthcoming season. He will replace Pierre Joubert who stepped down at the end of the 2009/10 season

Cricinfo staff11-Aug-2010Jacques Rudolph has been appointed as the captain of the Titans for the forthcoming season. He will replace Pierre Joubert who stepped down at the end of the 2009/10 season.Rudolph played 35 Tests and 45 ODIs for South Africa between 2003 and 2006. He is a prolific run-getter at the first-class level, having featured in 182 first-class fixtures, scoring 13065 runs at 45.36 inclusive of 37 centuries.”It is indeed a pleasure for me to congratulate Jacques as new captain of the Nashua Titans. He is a true product of Northerns, having represented the Province from Under-13s. I am quietly confident that he will be an astute captain and will lead the Titans with passion and courage,” Elise Lombard, the franchise CEO said.Vincent Sinovich, the board chairman echoed Lombard’s views. “Jacques is a quality player and we believe that he will lead the team successfully in the coming years,” he said.Jacques, who represents Yorkshire in the English domestic season, was pleased with the appointment. “It is an honour and privilege to be named as Titans captain for the forthcoming season. I see this as a new chapter in my career and a massive challenge as I am taking over the captaincy of a franchise which breeds success.”I aim to bring even more success to the franchise whilst nurturing and harnessing the exciting young talent coming through the system. I would also like extend a thank you to management for placing their faith in me. I can’t wait to get started,” he said.

Lots of Everton fans have been left buzzing over some injury news that has emerged ahead of their game away at Norwich City in the Premier League.

As per The Athletic journalist Patrick Boyland, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Richarlison and Yerry Mina are all now back in training for the Goodison Park faithful, meaning that they could all feature against the Canaries if deemed fit enough.

All three of them rank among the Merseyside club’s ten best players so far this season, according to WhoScored, with Calvert-Lewin number one.

The striker has scored three goals in the four matches that he has played in the Premier League this term, and having him back with Richarlison will certainly give Rafa Benitez’s team more of a goal threat, while Mina provides another solid option defensively.

Everton fans on injury news

These Toffees buzzed as the injury news was shared on Twitter, with one Blues supporter even going as far as to claim that it was a ‘huge boost’:

“Good news Boyland at the back post!!!”

Credit: @EFCMatt1

“Huge boost for weekend hopefully”

Credit: @GraemeMcV

“Yesssssss”

Credit: @Foxy0580

“Cracking news this”

Credit: @Byrdsman75

“Brilliant. Start all 3 on Saturday imo”

Credit: @CBobblers1878

“Things you love to see”

Credit: @JGreenway8

In other news, find out which EFC ace’s claim has fans speculating here!

James Harris claimed 4 for 82 to help Division Two leaders Glamorgan gain a first-innings lead going into the final day of their County Championship match against Surrey at Cardiff

31-May-2010
ScorecardJames Harris claimed 4 for 82 to help Division Two leaders Glamorgan gain a first-innings lead going into the final day of their County Championship match against Surrey at Cardiff. Twice Harris claimed two wickets in an over as Surrey declared their first innings on 303 for 9, 69 runs behind Glamorgan with Mark Ramprakash contributing 73 to pass 34,000 career first class runs.After surviving three overs at the end of the third day the Welsh county were seven without loss- an overall lead of 76. Glamorgan had resumed the third morning on 363 for 8 in their first innings but they only lasted another 34 balls with nine further runs added.Chris Tremlett wrapped up the innings with the wickets of David Harrison, who fended a lifting ball to Tim Linley at mid off, and Huw Waters, who was bowled with a yorker. Tremlett had displayed real venom from the Cathedral Road end with one bouncer flying over wicketkeeper Steve Davies for four byes.But any hope Glamorgan’s attack had of utilising the extra bounce was ruled out as Surrey’s left-handed openers Steven Davies and Arun Harinath made a positive reply. They raced to their 50 partnership inside nine overs. Davies, whose 50 came off only 51 balls, did enjoy an early slice of luck when home captain Jamie Dalrymple missed a chance at second slip in James Harris’ opening overAt the other end he tucked into Harrison, who he hit for three successive fours. The Glamorgan bowler was taken off after conceding 28 in his opening four overs. It was left to Waters and Jim Allenby to stem the flow of runs. And Dalrymple was forced to use six bowlers in the first 22 overs before lunch.He brought himself on just before the interval and was rewarded with the wicketof Harinath who he trapped leg before with his first ball. After lunch, which Surrey reached at 92 for 1, Davies and Ramprakash did a useful job of eating into Glamorgan’s score.But at 157 for 1 Surrey lost two wickets in a Harris over with no addition tothe score. Davies edged to wicketkeeper Mark Wallace and five balls later Younis Khan, on Surrey debut, was bowled shouldering arms to a ball which nipped back and hit his off stump.After getting to 19 Ramprakash reached 34,000 runs and also past 800 first-class runs for the season. But just when he looked well set for a century Harris dismissed him and Rory Hamilton-Brown in consecutive balls. Ramprakash edged a lifting ball behind from Harris, who then trapped Hamilton-Brown leg before stuck in his crease.Usman Afzaal was caught low down at second slip by Dalrymple as Surrey slipped from 280 for 5 to 290 for 9 in the space of six overs before declaring when they had their fourth batting point.

After a second successive substandard performance with the bat in the first innings of a Test, New Zealand coach Mike Hesson was let down equally by his team’s lack of application as he was by their lack of heart

Firdose Moonda at St George's Park12-Jan-2013New Zealand’s inability to deal with the heat is what worries their beleaguered coach Mike Hesson most. After a second successive substandard performance with the bat in the first innings of a Test match, Hesson was let down equally by his team’s lack of application as he was by their lack of heart but he does not seem to have a fix either.”It’s a very disappointing 24 overs,” Hesson said in his third fronting up to the media on this tour. “We prepared really well. We knew what we were going to be confronted with. The most disappointing thing was that when we were under pressure, we weren’t able to cope.”Notably, Hesson’s reason for his team’s under-performance was more deflecting than it was explanatory. He heaped praise on a strong South African XI who applied wave after wave of pressure on the vulnerable New Zealand line-up, so much so that they simply could not withstand.”We spent five and a half sessions out there, so we knew what to expect from the conditions. The pressure is sustained. Guys are under pressure in terms of pace and bounce and their techniques are getting exposed. I know the guys are working extremely hard and that why it’s disappointing.”We sustained pressure at times but they coped with it and that’s the thing we are struggling to do. When we get pressure enforced on us, we struggled to get through and the more you talk about it, the harder it gets.”South Africa is a very tough place to tour. They are the world No.1 side for a reason. They replaced Vernon Philander with Rory Kleinveldt – another high-class bowler. Once their bowlers smell a bit of blood, they are ruthless.”New Zealand held practice sessions every day after their first Test defeat and Hesson confirmed that the standards of practices remain high and the commitment from the players is unmatched. “The players are working extremely hard to get better. After the last Test, we could have put our feet up and gone oh well, tomorrow is another day,” he said. “The guys know that we are nowhere near where we need to be and we are putting the work in. The players are trying their very best but we are being outclassed.”An example of that is Martin Guptill, who has scored two runs in three innings and continues to look inept as a Test opener. Hesson said Guptill, just like the rest of the unit, has been putting in the hard yards but just cannot make them count. “Martin prepared well for this Test, he was in a good space and he will be very disappointed with the way he was dismissed,” he said. “When the ball swings at pace, you do tend to follow the ball. Sometimes you play and miss those…”But blame cannot be laid at Guptill’s door alone and Hesson and his troops are willing to take their chunk of it. “We all share the load. I can’t fault the work ethic. We’ve got a support staff who work extremely hard but this Test match and the last Test match, we just haven’t been up to it.. All of us start to think if we are challenged in whether we are doing the right things and whether we are challenging the players in the right way but I can’t fault the work ethic.”In questioning the methods and strategies, Hesson conceded that perhaps the management group could implement stricter controls on the group. “We train hard, we train bounce and swing, we ramp the machine up and work on that and maybe we’ve got to do that more. We are just touching the surface in that area,” he said. “Guys don’t like to be challenged too much but we are making training more difficult and that’s something we will look to continue.”As for the Taylor-shaped elephant in the room, Hesson addressed it candidly while being careful not to create the impression that the former captain alone would have been the difference. “I’ve said all along we’d be a far better side if Ross Taylor was here,” he said. “But we’ve also got some other fine batsmen, who haven’t quite been able to show it in those first three innings and they’ve got one more innings in this Test match. I’m sure they will be very determined to make a difference.” If sentiment in New Zealand is to be believed, Hesson’s job may hinge on that.