All posts by h716a5.icu

Many Wolves fans have been left flocking to some transfer news involving Sven Botman.

L’Equipe (via Sport Witness) have now hinted that the Midlands club could return for the Lille central defender in the January transfer window, after being linked with a move for him in the summer.

Lille do not currently have plans to sell him, although the ‘courtiers have not disappeared’ with regards to attempts to secure his signature, which seemingly indicates that WWFC are still interested.

Having been a key part of Lille’s Ligue 1 title-winning side last season over PSG, only missing twice in the UEFA Champions League this campaign.

At just 21 years of age, the Dutchman is such a hot prospect, and so the Wanderers would do very well to secure his services.

Wolves fans on Botman transfer news

These Wolves fans flocked to the transfer news as it was shared on Twitter, as most seemed desperate to sign him, while others think that he is too unrealistic a target given the level that he is playing at:

“PLEASE”

Credit: @wwfcglover

“He would improve our starting line-up massively. Just pay the fee @Wolves please”

Credit: @Dang93_

“PLEASE”

Credit: @Brokeboi2000

“Well if we are interested pay them the money because if we don’t someone else will”

Credit: @mark_spruce

“Not getting my hopes up.”

Credit: @YasWWFC

“We won’t get him I’ll be very surprised if we do and I definitely think we’ve missed the boat when it comes to Renato too”

Credit: @Neilhomer14

In other news, find out what official club post Wanderers loved here!

West Ham fans no longer have to fear the worst after one of the most reliable sources around the London Stadium delivered an update on manager David Moyes and those links to Manchester United…

What’s the word?

Reports emerged over the weekend suggesting that the Red Devils hierarchy had asked Irons co-owner David Sullivan for permission to speak to the Scotsman after they axed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer following their 4-1 defeat at Watford on Saturday.

However, trustworthy insider ExWHUemployee has poured cold water on such claims in a recent post on ‘The West Ham Way’ Patreon website.

“There are reports emerging today that David Sullivan has turned down an approach from Manchester United to talk to David Moyes about the vacant manager post at Old Trafford. I can confirm that this is rubbish and no such approach has been made to the club.”

Going nowhere

It is easy to see why United would be keen on their former manager, even despite his disappointing spell at Old Trafford during the 2013/14 season, but he has arguably been the main man behind the Irons’ incredible transformation in recent times.

He was handed some of the severest pressure a manager could ever imagine in replacing Sir Alex Ferguson in the dugout for the very first time. You’d think that had that not happened, then he would surely be a front-runner for the vacancy right now.

[snack-amp-story url = “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-west-ham-news-transfer-updates-gsb-kretinsky-moyes” title=”Read the latest West Ham news, transfer updates and much, much more!”]

Not to mention his transformation of Jesse Lingard last season – he’s gone from nine goals and five assists in 16 appearances to warming the bench once more.

And the fact that he signed a length contract extension in the summer.

Despite, arguably, their worst performance of the season against Wolves this weekend, the Hammers still find themselves in the running for a top-four finish, having secured Europa League qualification last term – a competition they have since made the knockout stages in.

It was only around 18 months ago that they avoided relegation with one game to spare, so that shows you how much the 58-year-old has changed their fortunes in such a short space of time.

Losing Moyes would certainly be a devastating blow to their ever-improving fortunes. That said, it’s hard to envisage him wanting to leave considering he’s on a club rising on an upward trajectory, whereas United have gone from the most-feared team in the division to one that relegation favourites Watford can beat on their day.

All in all, these promising claim from Ex is sure to leave everyone around east London absolutely delighted, though it could be a matter of time before other teams come calling, given his impressive recent track record.

AND in other news, ExWHUemployee delivers major Jesse Lingard update that’ll leave West Ham fans buzzing…

West Indies batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan has withdrawn from Guyana’s squad for the Regional Four Day Competition after suffering a back injury

Cricinfo staff11-Jan-2010West Indies batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan has withdrawn from Guyana’s squad for the Regional Four Day Competition after suffering a back injury. Sarwan, who was expected to captain the squad, has been replaced by Rajendrika Chandrika, with left-hander Sewnarine Chattergoon expected to lead the side.Sarwan’s withdrawal is the second blow to Guyana after Shivnarine Chanderpaul withdrew earlier this week with a finger injury. The duo are Guyana’s two most experienced batsmen with 206 Tests and nearly 15,000 Test runs between them. Worryingly, for West Indies, both are expected to travel to Australia later this month for a limited-overs tour.Their absences have not only depleted the Guyana side ahead of their opening match of the tournament against Trinidad & Tobago in Antigua, but have put severe pressure on the likes of Travis Dowlin, Narsingh Deonarine and Chattergoon, as they look to improve on their last-placed finish the previous season.The 13-man squad will leave for Antigua on Tuesday ahead of the historic day-night match at the Vivian Richards Stadium starting Friday. Guyana drew a bye for the first round of matches currently being played in Jamaica.

Yorkshire’s Andrew Gale starred against his own countrymen with a hard-earned 96, but ultimately he was powerless to prevent the England Performance Squad from sweeping to a comprehensive nine-wicket win

Cricinfo staff03-Dec-2009
ScorecardYorkshire’s Andrew Gale starred against his own countrymen with a hard-earned 96, but ultimately he was powerless to prevent the England Performance Squad from sweeping to a comprehensive nine-wicket win on the final day of their four-day fixture against Gauteng in Pretoria.Gale batted at No. 3 for Gauteng after being loaned to the team from the Performance Squad, and faced 242 deliveries after coming to the crease after nine balls of the second innings. He was eventually the ninth wicket to fall, unluckily run out as he sought to keep the strike with only the tail for company and his century within sight.Instead, it was another Yorkshireman, David Wainwright, who stole the limelight with his left-arm spin, returning outstanding figures of 5 for 28 in 15 overs. His first act was to break a burgeoning third-wicket stand of 82 between Gale and Dane Vilas, whom he trapped lbw for 52, and at 155 for 3, the spine of the innings had been broken.Wainwright followed up with the first-ball wicket of the captain, Shane Burger, and added four more in a seven-over spell, before his fellow Yorkshire spinner Adil Rashid swept up the tail. Left with a meagre target of 58, the EPP raced to victory in 10.2 overs, with Alastair Cook adding 46 for the first wicket with Stephen Moore, before Ian Bell claimed the winning runs.

The USA Cricket Association has again stated its desire to stage international matches

Cricinfo staff07-Nov-2009The USA Cricket Association has again stated its desire to stage international matches in the wake of comments from an Indian government official that the US could be an ideal place to stage India against Pakistan games.”We are keen to have both the top teams of the subcontinent and we welcome India’s proposal in this regard,” said Nabeel Ahmad, USACA’s senior vice-president, told AAP. “It’s a very good proposal because everyone related to cricket wants Pakistan and India to resume their cricket as such events are always thrilling and entertaining.”Critics have claimed that USACA needs to walk before it can run, adding that it has no experience of hosting major cricket. “We have an 8,000-capacity ICC-approved stadium in Florida which can accommodate nearly 25,000 spectators with makeshift arrangements by erecting extra stands,” Ahmed countered.”Cricket is gaining rapid popularity in the US, specially Twenty20 cricket, and the youth is taking keen interest in it,” he said. “More and more players are joining the game and we see a bright cricket future in the US because [the] market is full of sponsors. We plan to build more international cricket stadiums with the passage of time in other parts of the US.”We are capable of hosting a full-fledged series. If Abu Dhabi or Dubai can host successive matches, why can’t we?”

Gary Kirsten has said he was not involved in the preparing the controversial document which encouraged cricketers to have sex before games

Cricinfo staff25-Sep-2009Gary Kirsten, India’s coach, has said he was not involved in the preparing a controversial document that encouraged cricketers to have sex before matches.He said it was drafted by the mental conditioning coach, Paddy Upton, and that he first read about it only two days ago when a newspaper published parts of it. Kirsten also said the document was not a part of team strategy, nor aimed at encouraging sexual activity, but was about providing information to the players.”My family and I have been deeply offended and hurt by the many allegations that I encouraged the Indian players to engage in sexual activity before a match,” Kirsten read out from a prepared statement at a press conference in Centurion. “I would like to state that I have never, and I repeat, never encouraged or told the team or any player to engage in any form of sexual activity. These allegations are absolutely not true and completely against my religious and moral beliefs.”The leaked article was compiled by Paddy Upton and provided information for the players on relationship between sexual activity and sports performance. I never wrote the article and read it for the first time two days ago. It has never been and never will be part of team strategy,” Kirsten said. “I have been deeply disturbed by these false allegations and wish to focus my attention on helping Team India have a successful Champions Trophy.”The Indian players had been handed a four-part document which looked at the country’s history, the cricketers’ diet, besides analysing the relation between sex and performance on the field.

Stuart Law has been appointed Sri Lanka’s assistant coach and will assist Trevor Bayliss, the head coach, during the team’s tour of India next month

Ajay S Shankar23-Oct-2009Stuart Law has been appointed Sri Lanka’s assistant coach and will assist Trevor Bayliss, the head coach, during the team’s tour of India in November. Somachanda de Silva, the president of Sri Lanka Cricket’s interim committee, told Cricinfo that the decision to appoint Law, the former Australia batsman, in place of Paul Farbrace – who has joined Kent as head coach – was taken at a meeting today.de Silva revealed that Venkatesh Prasad, the former India bowling coach released from that post last week, was also a contender for the post and had submitted “a strong application” but the SLC decided in favour of Law as he suited their requirements better.”We felt that Law, who has a good knowledge of cricket and conditions around the world, was more suited for the job,” de Silva told Cricinfo. “But I must admit that Prasad was a strong contender too. Moving ahead, we would like Law to be there till the 2011 World Cup but we are yet to formalise a contract. First we will have him assist Bayliss on the India tour, take a call, and move forward from there.”Sri Lanka, under Kumar Sangakkara, are scheduled to visit India next month for a full-fledged series comprising three Tests, five ODIs and two Twenty20s.Law played one Test, against Sri Lanka in Perth in 1995, and was a regular in the one-day side for much of the 1990s. He last represented Australia in 1999 and has since acquired British citizenship.Born in Brisbane, he played for Queensland from 1988 to 2004 and captained them to a series of successes. He remains the most successful captain in Australian domestic cricket, captaining Queensland to four Pura Cup titles and two one-day trophies – and is Queensland’s second leading run-scorer in first-class cricket.He joined Lancashire from Essex in 2002 as the club’s overseas player. In 2003, he was named Lancashire Player of the Year, and in 2008 took over the captaincy after Mark Chilton stood down to focus on his own game. During his time with Lancashire, he scored almost 12,000 runs in all competitions.He was Lancashire captain until he was released from the county for his ICL links last year.

Noel Whelan says the prospect of Jesse Lingard signing for Everton is ‘mouthwatering’. 

The former Leeds United forward was discussing the future of the Manchester United ace with Football Insider.

The lowdown

The publication reported on Saturday that, should United agree to let Lingard leave in January, Everton would be at the front of the queue.

West Ham, who had him on loan for the latter half of the 2020/21 campaign, and Newcastle United are also said to be keeping tabs on his situation.

However, Everton have a key advantage in that Lingard would prefer to remain in the north-west of England.

Lingard netted nine goals in 16 appearances for the Hammers but has been limited to 55 minutes of Premier League action this season (via WhoScored).

Significantly, the Englishman’s contract is up in the summer, meaning United could be tempted to cash-in at the mid-point of the season.

The latest

Whelan says that Lingard could represent a belated replacement for James Rodriguez, who left in September.

He reckons that the 28-year-old would elevate Everton’s entire frontline.

“I think Everton are missing that number 10, absolutely,” he said to FI. “Now that [James] Rodriguez has gone, you’re missing that X factor, that one player that can produce, that can open up the doors.

“Think about the players on either side of what he could have as well, Calvert-Lewin, Richarlison. It’s a mouthwatering prospect thinking about the front four they could have.

“Jesse Lingard could be that missing piece of the puzzle. He could bring the best out of that front three. There’s no doubt in my mind if he did go to Everton, West Ham, wherever, he would be a success.”

The verdict

It was a little surprising if Lingard didn’t wind up at West Ham, because it seemed like a move that made sense for all parties.

Geography played its part, but surely he would have also expected to feature more prominently for the Red Devils?

It’s hard to see him committing his peak years to United given his current squad role. Everton could well be wise to pounce.

In other news, could this midfielder go the other way?

Two rapturous celebrations by Harbhajan Singh told the story this evening. The first was when he bowled Thilina Kandamby, the second when he sealed India’s first finals win in Sri Lanka this decade

Jamie Alter at the Premadasa Stadium14-Sep-2009Two rapturous celebrations by Harbhajan Singh told the story this evening. The first was when he bowled Thilina Kandamby, the second when he sealed India’s first finals win in Sri Lanka this decade.Even with seven wickets down, and the required rate touching 10 an over, India were not taking victory for granted until Sri Lanka’s latest version of the Ice Man was dismissed. Sri Lanka were under the gun when Kandamby walked in and once he got going in that beguiling manner – composed yet adventurous – and India’s fielding fell to pieces, a home victory seemed a distinct possibility.In the 44th over, India were put out of their frustration when Harbhajan struck in the first over of the batting Powerplay. Thirteen deliveries later, he took out Ajantha Mendis, cueing hysterical scenes from the Indian team as fireworks lit up the night sky. It was his first five-wicket haul since March 2006, and his best performance in a tournament final.In the end, India’s victory over Sri Lanka was a surprisingly tense one, considering that they would have rated their chances very highly after Sachin Tendulkar’s 44th one-day century carried them to 319. A sloppy fielding performance in which two sitters were dropped, a slew of run-out opportunities went begging and another excellent innings from Kandamby, combined to give India a mighty scare.The fielding was utterly disappointing. Virat Kohli put down Sanath Jayasuriya at point, and the muffed chance against Kandamby – a dolly that Yusuf Pathan made a meal of when the batsman was on 36 – followed. MS Dhoni had a poor time behind the stumps, twice returning stray throws when Kandamby was struggling. Sides aspiring to be No. 1 can ill-afford such appalling displays, as Dhoni reminded.”You’ve got to learn from your mistakes. We made quite a few today and as a team we didn’t field well,” he said. “Thanks to characters in the side, we ended up on the winning side. It’s very special to us. We are winning here after a long time. If you are the second best team, you can’t make these kind of mistakes.”This match nearly slipped out of India’s hands, but Harbhajan struck at crucial junctures. Sri Lanka began their innings needing to score at 6.40 runs per over to win. Tillakaratne Dilshan and Jayasuriya responded strongly and scored at a fast clip. The two kept the foot firmly down on the accelerator and the runs came in a torrent. The bowling change brought a wicket, and it was Harbhajan who benefited when Dilshan went after one that skidded on and took the inside edge. A red-faced Harbhajan let loose a war cry, pumped that he had come on and immediately limited Dilshan’s demolition to a 29-ball 42. From 64 for no loss in 7.4 overs, Sri Lanka slumped to 85 for 3 in 11.Harbhajan has been India’s best spinner for as long as one can remember in limited-overs cricket, but mostly through drying up runs. His economy-rate has generally been good but wickets haven’t always been forthcoming. Tonight he got wickets when it mattered. It was a long overdue performance. Tonight he combined some refreshing air on the ball with an understanding of Sri Lankan pitches. He got Dilshan with a slider, scrambled seam being the key, and Mahela Jayawardene with a doosra. Then he delivered the killer blow, bowling Kandamby and getting Lasith Malinga first ball.India owed much to Suresh Raina too, who had a superb outing. A tidy offspinner with a classical round-arm action, Raina churned out a clever mix of slower balls and cutters. His slow loopy bowling confused the batsmen – Kumar Sangakkara should have been stumped on 21 but Dhoni fumbled – but he also got enough turn to keep them guessing. In his first six overs he gave only 18 runs and bowled 19 dot balls, 16 of them to Kandamby. When he came back for the 41st over, Sri Lanka needed 80 from 60 balls, and Raina gave three singles and a leg bye. Then he struck in the 43rd over, as Chamara Kapugedera edged a quicker one.Sangakkara pinpointed that dismissal as the turning point. “We were in it until Kapugedera got out,” he said. “Kandamby and Kapugedera showed a lot of character in the middle order to get us close, but it was disappointing to lose, given the way those two were chasing.”Raina’s bowling from around the stumps – which he perfected in South Africa during the IPL this year – has proved useful and he has given the team an extra dimension. In between overs 40 and 44, India allowed Sri Lanka 18 runs and took a wicket. That was a crucial passage.Harbhajan, and several others, would have had vivid memories of this venue four years ago when they lost another final to Sri Lanka. This wasn’t any ordinary win; this was India’s first tournament success in Sri Lanka since 1998. India had been thumped in Saturday’s dress rehearsal, their top order had been shaky, and they were up against history. This was retribution, at some level, for years of struggle in finals against this opposition. Points in the bag, yes, but there’s still plenty of room for improvement and higher gears to be reached if they are to challenge teams in the Champions Trophy.

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou has revealed he is already sounding out targets to bring to Parkhead in the January transfer window.

What’s been said?

In recent comments cited by the Daily Record, the 56-year-old manager claimed that he is already targeting a number of players in the Japanese market ahead of the winter window, following the success of summer signing Kyogo Furuhashi.

However, the Bhoys boss went on to claim that it’s not just the J-League he will be tapping up for new additions to his squad, as well as suggesting that the club have started talks with a number of targets in an effort to complete deals more efficiently in the window.

Speaking about his plans for January, Postecoglou said: “It’s no secret we still need to add to the squad. We were never going to do it in one transfer window, especially when you look at the significant exits we had.

“It was always going to be a two or three window process so we’re looking at January at the moment. We know the areas we need to bolster. It’s about getting more players that I believe can play the type of football we want to play. That’s what we’re trying to target. We will definitely be adding something to the squad.

“Japan is one of the markets we’ll be looking at. Obviously, I know it really well and they will get to the end of their season, which is a good time if there’s anyone who will fit into our set-up. We will be looking everywhere. The last window was frantic. This time we want to be planning well in advance.

“We’ve identified targets and begun discussions before we get to January so that we can conclude deals a lot quicker than we did in the previous window.”

Fans will be buzzing

While Celtic’s win at Aberdeen on Sunday saw the Bhoys end their unwanted record of having failed to secure a win away from Parkhead this season, the club’s results so far in the current campaign are clear evidence that Postecoglou needs further reinforcements in order to progress the Hoops’ transition under the Greek-Australian manager.

Indeed, at present, Celtic find themselves languishing down in sixth place in the Scottish Premiership table, having already suffered three defeats in the league.

The picture does not look much better in Europe, with the Bhoys having conceded eight goals and recorded two losses over their two Europa League fixtures this term – leaving the club rooted to the foot of the Group G standings, and looking highly unlikely to make it to the knockout stages of the competition.

As such, the news that Postecoglou and Celtic have already begun their planning for the January transfer window is sure to have fans buzzing, as it is clear that following a number of high profile departures this summer, the current Celtic squad is some way short of being at the standard required.

In other news: Forget Bitton: £16k-p/w Celtic “problem” who made just 1 pass failed Ange vs Aberdeen