All posts by h716a5.icu

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 

A round-up of the seventh round of Ranji Trophy’s Group A matches on December 17, 2012

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Dec-2012
Scorecard
Bengal overcame early and late wobbles in their chase of 181 to seal victory over Hyderabad by four wickets at Eden Gardens. Bengal were 47 for 3 at one stage, before opener Rohan Banerjee and wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha revived the innings. Hyderabad kept chipping away, though. Anwar Ahmed had Banerjee caught behind and bowled Laxmi Shukla to reduce Bengal to 167 for 6, but Saha was around to guide them to victory. Bengal nearly doubled their points tally from seven to 13, and had to thank the fast bowler Shami Ahmed for that. After taking four wickets in the Hyderabad first innings, Shami grabbed six more in the second innings as the visitors could add only nine runs to their overnight 172 for 7 this morning. It was 22-year old Shami’s second ten-wicket haul in 15 first-class games.
ScorecardYuvraj Singh, back to the domestic grind after being left out of the Test squad, and Jiwanjot Singh, the in-form opener, hit centuries as Punjab fought back in their follow-on innings in Gwalior. Jiwanjot hit his fourth hundred of his debut season, while Yuvraj smashed 15 fours and four sixes on his way to 131 off 150 deliveries. The duo knocked off the deficit of 175, and had started to build a lead when Jiwanjot fell to Gaurav Yadav, playing his second first-class game. Yadav removed the Punjab captain Mandeep Singh and Uday Kaul cheaply next. When Anand Rajan had Yuvraj caught, Punjab were 277 for 6, a lead of 102. Amitoze Singh hit a breezy fifty and ensured Punjab had a decent lead of 179 by stumps.
Scorecard
Railways medium-pacer Anureet Singh took a five-for as Rajasthan were blown away for 135 in their first innings in reply to Railways’ 405 in Bhubaneshwar. The highest any Rajasthan batsman managed was 27, by Ashok Menaria. Ranjitkumar Mali picked up 3 for 42, including the big wickets of Menaria and Rashmi Parida. Railways, with only seven points from five games and in search of an outright win, enforced the follow-on. Rajasthan batted much better the second time, opener Sourabh Chouhan leading the way with a fifty. Robin Bist and Menaria had put on an unbroken 44 for the third wicket by stumps, but Rajasthan still needed another 117 to avoid an innings defeat.
Scorecard
Mumbai were set to take a huge first-innings lead on a slow day in Rajkot as Saurashtra lost eight wickets in pursuit of the visitors’ mammoth total. Ajit Agarkar, Dhawal Kulkarni, Javed Khan and Iqbal Abdulla took two wickets each. The home captain Jaydev Shah made 60 and there were a couple of thirties but the major contribution was from Aarpit Vasavada, who was unbeaten on 83 off 231 deliveries. But unfortunately for Saurashtra, there is little support left for him at the other end.

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”

As next-door neighbours and useful sparring partners, Zimbabwe are regular opponents in the early stages of South Africa’s international season, with 20 of their previous 36 encounters taking place between late August and early November

Andrew Miller and Sahil Dutta07-Oct-2010Match FactsFriday, October 8, Bloemfontein
Start time 6:00pm (1600 GMT)All eyes will be on Grant Flower to see if he can reproduce his Essex form on the international stage, six years after last playing for Zimbabwe•PA PhotosThe Big PictureAs next-door neighbours and useful sparring partners, Zimbabwe are regular opponents in the early stages of South Africa’s international season, with 20 of their previous 36 encounters taking place between late August and early November. On paper, therefore, this short series would appear to be just another unequal struggle, especially given that Zimbabwe have only ever won two encounters against the regional heavyweights, none of which have come in the past decade.Unusually, however, the true focus of this tour is Zimbabwe’s resurgence, rather than South Africa’s search for early-season fluency, and the first match in Bloemfontein – which will also be the first time the two teams have met in a Twenty20 international – will be a significant indicator as to the extent of the country’s redevelopment. Everything about the team, from the return of Grant Flower at the age of 39 to the announcement that Reebok will be their new kit suppliers, suggests that the traumas of the recent past are dissipating, and a bright new dawn is in the offing.Whether the dawn is bright enough for them to pull off a surprise victory in the coming weeks remains to be seen, but with Graeme Smith having stepped down from his Twenty20 role in favour of the spinner Johan Botha, there’s a hint of inexperience upon which they’ll hope to capitalise. Besides, in the shortest form of the game, there’s a much greater scope for upsets, as Zimbabwe proved in beating Australia at the 2007 World Twenty20.Elton Chigumbura, Zimbabwe’s captain, has promised his team will come out with a new aggressive approach, having talked his tactics through with a brains trust that includes Alan Butcher, the former head coach at Surrey, as well as several stars of Zimbabwe’s brief golden era of the late 1990s, most notably Flower, Heath Streak the bowling coach and Alistair Campbell, the chief selector. With the 2011 World Cup fast approaching, this brief encounter could prove more instructive than past history would suggest.Form guideSouth Africa WWLLW
Zimbabwe LLLLWWatch out for…Grant Flower’s return to the fray after a six-year absence has been the biggest talking point of the tour. Despite a visa glitch that left him stranded at Harare Airport while the rest of the team set off for Johannesburg, he has now caught up with the squad and is ready to resume an international career that already encompasses 67 Tests and 219 ODIs. Assuming he’s fit and ready to take part in his first Twenty20 international, Zimbabwe will hope he can rediscover the form he displayed for Essex in the 2010 English summer, in which he was especially effective in the CB40 competition with 511 runs at 73.00 in 10 innings.David Miller had already created a stir by the time he made his international debut – age 20 – earlier this year against West Indies. He didn’t disappoint – making 33 from 26 balls down the order to help revive a flagging total and set up a narrow win. His blend of power and dexterity, alongside a clear-headed confidence makes him an ideal finisher who could prove the catalyst to South Africa’s improvement in the way Eoin Morgan has done for England.Team newsSouth Africa may have followed their lethargic showing in the World Twenty20 with a pair of wins over West Indies but suspicion remains they are still groping for a combination capable of challenging the best teams in this format. They have a new-look team for this series with Dale Steyn and Jacques Kallis resting and AB de Villiers out with injury. The exciting prospect Colin Ingram will make his debut and Heino Kuhn gets another chance behind the stumps in place of de Villiers. Wayne Parnell’s return from injury gives the home side a boost while Ryan McLaren, who was surprisingly overlooked for the original squad, comes in for Albie Morkel, who picked up a side strain while playing for Chennai Super Kings in the Champions League.South Africa (possible) 1 Graeme Smith, 2 Loots Bosman, 3 Colin Ingram, 4 JP Duminy, 5 Heino Kuhn (wk), 6 David Miller, 7 Johan Botha (capt), 8 Ryan McLaren, 9 Morne Morkel, 10 Wayne Parnell, 11 Lonwabo Tsotsobe.Grant Flower’s presence in the top order dominates the team news while Ed Rainsford should get his chance after a strong showing in the ODI series against Ireland where he picked up 10 wickets in the three matches.Zimbabwe (possible) 1 Brendan Taylor, 2 Hamilton Masakadza, 3 Grant Flower, 4 Tatenda Taibu (wk), 5 Charles Coventry, 6 Chamu Chibhabha, 7 Elton Chigumbura (capt), 8 Prosper Utseya, 9 Shingirai Masakadza, 10 Ed Rainsford, 11 Chris Mpofu.Pitch and conditionsThere has not been an international match played at Bloemfontein since South Africa eased to an innings victory over Bangladesh almost two years ago. Back then there were runs aplenty for the home side before Bangladesh’s batsmen struggled. Twenty20 conditions should be benign and with the forecast set fair runs should be on offer.Stats and trivia 39 may not seem the normal age for newcomers but Grant Flower will make his Twenty20 International debut at Bloemfontein. Flower can at least claim to have some good form behind him. In his last international game, six years ago, he took 3 for 36 before top-scoring with 59 to help Zimbabwe edge to victory over Bangladesh. Since clubbing 94 from 45 balls against England at Centurion Loots Bosman has made 8, 0, 7, and 0 in Twenty20 Internationals.Quotes”Pro20 cricket is about who is the better team on the day, the uncertainty of this format is what makes it so exciting.”
“When I have a bat in my hand and when I am hitting the ball, I feel in my element.”

The fall-out after Yorkshire’s disastrous season, in which they were relegated to the second division for only the second time since championship was split into two divisions 11 years ago, has begun

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Sep-2011The fall-out after Yorkshire’s disastrous season, in which they were relegated to the second division for only the second time since championship was split into two divisions 11 years ago, has begun. The club has released bowler Ben Sanderson and allrounder Lee Hodgson and spinner David Wainwright has exercised the clause in his contract which means he can request to be released if he isn’t playing regular first-team cricket.Sanderson has struggled to force his way into the first XI since his first-class debut in 2008, and wasn’t part of Yorkshire’s championship team this summer. Hodgson has also been languishing in the second XI, while Wainwright has had limited opportunities in first-class cricket.The re-shuffling also includes a slew of new contracts and extensions as the county looks to move on from a disastrous season and build for the future. Former England Under-19 offspinner Azeem Rafiq, 20, and Zimbabwe-born batsman Gary Ballance, 21, have both committed their futures to Yorkshire by signing two-year extensions to their contracts. Seamer Moin Ashraf, 19, and batsman Joe Root, 20, have been offered similar deals and it is hoped both will sign soon.Ballance has been one of Yorkshire’s better players during a summer which has seen several dire batting performances, with 717 runs at 42.17 in the championship and 331 runs at 55.16 in the Clydesdale Bank 40. Root has also enjoyed some first-class success, with 937 runs including a century and four fifties.Rafiq’s contributions this year have been made mainly in Twenty20 cricket, in which he took eight wickets at an economy of 7.32, while Ashraf is still feeling his way into the first XI, but managed 10 wickets in six championship matches.”We are delighted to offer contract extensions to these very talented youngsters who have shown such promise in an otherwise disappointing season,” said Director of Cricket, Martyn Moxon. “As is the nature of the game, we have also made the very difficult decision to release three other professionals and we wish Lee, Ben and David all the very best for the future.”Junior pro contracts have also been awarded to teenagers Alex Lees, a left-hand batsman, and James Wainman, a left-arm seamer, while summer contracts had been issued to Callum Geldart, Alex Lilley, and wicketkeeper/batsman Dan Hodgson.

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.

West Ham United are interested in a deal to bring Divock Origi to the London Stadium in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by ExWHUemployee, who revealed in a recent post on The West Ham Way that David Moyes is very interested in the possibility of bringing a new centre-forward to the club this month, with Liverpool’s Origi being a particular interest of the West Ham board and the club’s head of recruitment, Rob Newman.

However, the Hammers insider went on to state that Moyes is believed to have reservations about the 26-year-old, and may require some persuading in order to launch an offer for the Reds forward, despite the fact the Belgium international is available for a decent fee in the current transfer window.

In his post, Ex said: “We are also keen on a forward. Origi of Liverpool is available for a decent fee and will certainly tempt us. The chairmen have always been keen on the player but Moyes has had reservations. Could Rob Newman persuade Moyes if he is a fan? This is worth keeping an eye on although no offer has been made as yet from us.”

Fans will be buzzing

While it is true that Origi has struggled to ever really cement his place in Jurgen Klopp’s starting XI since his £11.37m move from LOSC Lille back in 2014, it is undeniable that the centre-forward would nevertheless make a fantastic addition to Moyes’ current attacking options at the London Stadium.

Indeed, over his three Premier League appearances so far this season – all of which have come from the bench – the £10.8m-rated man has scored two goals – at an average of one strike every 19 minutes of football played – and taken an average of 1.7 shots per game, with these returns seeing the 26-year-old average a SofaScore match rating of 7.5.

The £82k-per-week forward has also impressed over his five Champions League appearances in the current campaign, scoring one goal, providing one assist and creating one big chance for his teammates, as well as averaging a SofaScore match rating of 7.00.

Furthermore, the player who Klopp dubbed an “incredible finisher” has also bagged a further two goals and one assist over his two appearances in the Carabao Cup, taking his total this season to five goals and two assists over just 393 minutes of action – meaning the Belgian has directly contributed to a goal every 56 minutes of football played so far this season.

As such, it is easy to see why West Ham would be interested in a move for Origi – who has been reported to be available for as little as £7m this month – as well as why ExWHUemployee’s latest update regarding the striker is sure to have left the London Stadium faithful buzzing.

In other news: Moyes could land the next Mane as West Ham plot Jan offer for “explosive” £12.5m beast

The January transfer window is just days away from being over and Rangers have completed three signings so far this month.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst has brought in James Sands and Amad Diallo on loan from New York City FC and Manchester United respectively, whilst John Souttar has been signed on a pre-contract agreement and will officially arrive in the summer.

It remains to be seen whether or not they will make further additions to the squad before Monday’s deadline, but one player with whom they have been linked this month is Peterborough forward Siriki Dembele.

Reignition

Rangers must now reignite their interest in the attacker, who could come in and be a replacement for underperforming winger Scott Wright.

The ex-Aberdeen man has so far failed to make his mark at Ibrox, and his latest performance for the club was extremely worrying. He started on the right wing in the 1-0 win over Livingston in midweek and delivered a frustrating display, as he completed 0% of his attempted dribbles and just 25% of his crosses and lost possession of the ball 13 times in 76 minutes, as per SofaScore.

Wright has two goals and zero assists in 14 Premiership outings this season, and the arrival of Dembele could allow Van Bronckhorst to axe him from the team.

Dembele has five goals and two assists in 24 games for a struggling Peterborough side in the Championship, having managed 11 goals and 14 assists in League One the previous campaign. He is a constant threat to opposition defenders with his ability to score and create goals, and he could be an exciting option for Van Bronckhorst to call upon.

This suggests that he could be a far better player than Wright, as he is able to regularly deliver quality in the final third, instead of failing to make a sizeable impact for the team.

He could also get the fans excited, with Peterborough chief Barry Fry previously lauding his ability on the ball. The 76-year-old told Football FanCast: “Siriki can get the ball in his own half and with dazzling dribbling ability, he can beat four or five players and score a wonder goal or cross it for somebody else to score.

“He’s very, very exciting. He’s got the best stats outside the [English] Premier League, I think. We’ll try to keep hold of him if we go up, and we’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse! So watch this space.”

The 25-year-old is out of contract in the summer and Rangers could either snap him up on a pre-contract ahead of next season or look to secure a cut-price deal to bring him in immediately. Either way, Van Bronckhorst could land a big upgrade on Wright by sanctioning this move, and he must reignite his interest in the Peterborough winger in the coming days.

AND in other news, “Monitoring”: Journalist delivers key Rangers transfer update which Van Bronckhorst will love…

Tottenham Hotspur could be about to end deadline day with a bang…

What’s the word?

According to Sky Sports reporter Aden-Jay Wood, Spurs are keen to sign Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembele before 11pm tonight, though any deal won’t be easy.

“Hearing Tottenham are interested in a deadline day move for Ousmane Dembele, not an easy deal to complete but Barcelona want him gone. Dele Alli to Everton almost completed,” he tweeted.

Late coup

This would certainly be a statement of intent from the north London outfit as they look to round off a busy day of activity.

Earlier this afternoon, the club announced the arrivals of Juventus duo Roman Bentancur, who has signed permanently in an initial £15.9m deal, and Dejan Kulusevski, who arrives on loan for £8.3m fee with an option to buy for £29.2m, via the BBC.

The Frenchman has been hindered by persistent injury problems during his time at the Nou Camp but whenever he has featured, he has been impressive.

Dembele has directly contributed towards 54 goals from 129 appearances (31 goals); a goal or assist every 139 minutes. By comparison, Heung-min Son’s record for Spurs sits at one direct contribution every 110 minutes. Not hugely different, all things considered.

The £27m-rated wide man has earned plenty of praise during his time in Spain, even despite not playing as many minutes as he’d probably like. Ex-teammate Lionel Messi dubbed him a “phenomenon”, whilst former club president Josep Maria Bartomeu once claimed “he is better than Neymar.”

Having let Bryan Gil depart on loan to Valencia to get some game time, there is certainly space in the squad for a versatile forward capable of playing up front and on both flanks, so Dembele would be a very nice signing indeed.

It remains to be seen if there’s enough time to get this one over the line but if it can happen, then it’s an exciting one. The Barca man could thrive under a manager like Conte.

AND in other news, Alasdair Gold offers Spurs update ahead of deadline…

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”…