All posts by h716a5.icu

A number of West Brom supporters are fuming after it was confirmed that Daryl Dike will miss eight weeks of action with a hamstring injury.

The Baggies secured the signing of the American attacker from Orlando City earlier this month, bringing him in for an undisclosed fee.

It was seen as an exciting piece of business by West Brom, with Dike seen as someone who could spearhead their possible return to the Premier League between now and May.

The 21-year-old has only made one start to date for Valerien Ismael’s side, and just as he was starting life at The Hawthorns, he has been struck down by the injury curse.

Taking to Twitter on Tuesday, journalist Joe Chapman confirmed that Dike could be out for around two months, potentially missing 11 matches in the process.

West Brom fans fume at Dike injury news

It is a huge blow for the Baggies, and these supporters bemoaned the “terrible” news on Twitter.

“If ever there’s a tweet that describes my football club, this is the tweet”

Credit: @craigcoburn3

“Albion doing Albion things”

Credit: @JoshHaskey

“Peak Albion that”

Credit: @DalBiioN_

“I’m actually going to cry”

Credit: @Nichola60335296

“Ooft. Rotten luck for all. Terrible”

Credit: @chrislepkowski

“Could not write it, life of a Baggies fan”

Credit: @amyplimmer98

Kumar Sangakkara believes New Zealand are tough opponents because of their discipline, which he said was an attribute other teams should pick up from Ross Taylor’s side

Siddarth Ravindran in Dambulla12-Aug-2010Kumar Sangakkara believes New Zealand are tough opponents because of their discipline, which he said was an attribute other teams should pick up from Ross Taylor’s side. New Zealand lack the big names of the other two teams in the tournament but started off with a crushing victory over India, serving notice to anyone under-estimating them.”The great thing about New Zealand is they are very competitive,” Sangakkara said before the start of his team’s practice session under lights. “They play very orthodox, very structured cricket. Strategies are set and they always try to execute those strategies. That’s the discipline that I think we can all learn from New Zealand.”It’s very important in Twenty20 and one-day cricket now that you have applied executable strategies out in the middle that everyone understands and everyone can execute according to their own abilities. New Zealand does that probably the best in the world, so that makes them a very tough side.”The discipline and strategy are particularly important when batting second in the challenging conditions in Dambulla, where the team batting first has had a distinct advantage in recent matches. “It’s not mostly skill, it’s about being mentally attuned to what’s happening there and being ready with not just one but two or three plans,” he said.The tournament is seen as a part of the team’s fine-tuning ahead of the World Cup but the pitches in Dambulla aren’t the traditional subcontinental flat tracks. “Playing in conditions like this is very good for us because when it is a challenge, you got to relish it,” Sangakkara said. “The harder the things you have to do out in the middle, the improvement becomes faster. For us, that is how we are going to look at this tournament.”One aspect of Sri Lanka’s cricket which will be closely watched is the spin bowling. With no Muttiah Muralitharan around, it’s a chance for any of Suraj Randiv, Ajantha Mendis and Rangana Herath to establish themselves in the side. “It depends on the opposition we are playing,” Sangakkara said when asked about the first-choice spinner. “Depending on that, we will pick one or the other [Randiv or Mendis]. We got Rangana Herath in the wings as well. So each time we will make sure that we play the right combination for the opposition unless there is a huge difference in form between the bowlers.”New Zealand had gone in without a spinner in the first match, but that could change in case Jacob Oram fails to recover from his hamstring problem. “We have a little bit of a niggle with Jacob Oram, just a tight hamstring, hopefully he can recover well tonight, we’ll see how he goes tomorrow,” the captain Ross Taylor said. “He’s an outstanding bowler for us, top-10 in the one-day rankings, if we were to lose him, it will be a huge loss but it will be an opportunity for whoever comes in.”A win on Friday will virtually put New Zealand in the final, but Taylor was not looking that far ahead. “I don’t want to get carried away, it was one victory and the team played well. Sri Lanka are a difficult opponent in their home conditions and we have to come out with the same attitude and the same intent in the next game, we know if we do that we give ourselves a good chance.”

Young Northamptonshire batsman Rob Newton struck his maiden first-class century on a weather-affected first day of the County Championship Division Two match against Leicestershire at Wantage Road

13-Sep-2010
ScorecardYoung Northamptonshire batsman Rob Newton struck his maiden first-class century on a weather-affected first day of the County Championship Division Two match against Leicestershire at Wantage Road.The 20-year-old smashed 102 off just 116 balls as Northamptonshire recovered from an awful start to post 186 for 6 at the close of play, with stand-in captain Stephen Peters contributing 55.Former England seamer and Leicestershire skipper Matthew Hoggard took 3 for 39 for the visitors, who realistically need a freak set of results to get promoted. The hosts won the toss and chose to bat, with opener Peters captaining them in the absence of the injured Andrew Hall.His opening partner, Mal Loye, was caught behind on his first ball by Leicestershire wicketkeeper Tom New off the bowling of Hoggard with the fourth delivery of the match. Alex Wakely (nine) then threw his wicket away by smashing Nathan Buck straight to James Taylor at point. David Sales (five) also went cheaply by driving Hoggard to Greg Smith at gully to leave the hosts struggling on 23 for three in the ninth over.That brought Newton to the crease in his sixth first-class match and he and Peters together managed to stabilise the Northamptonshire innings with the latter completing his half-century off 114 balls as they reached lunch on 115 for threeIt did not take Newton long to get to 50 – he hit his 54th ball through mid-wicket for four off Jigar Naik. Hoggard then claimed his third victim when he forced Peters to edge to Jacques du Toit at slip to break a fourth-wicket partnership of 99.Rain then stopped play after the ninth over of the afternoon and the delay meant that the teams took an early tea at 1440 and that 15 overs were lost. With the first ball of the fourth over after the restart, Naik trapped James Middlebrook (three) lbw but Newton went on to pass his previous best score of 82, which he made at Derbyshire last month.He completed his magnificent hundred off 111 balls by blasting his 14th four, but he was to add just two more runs before finally departing. In the first ball of Claude Henderson’s spell in the 57th over, he was superbly caught by Taylor diving forward from short leg.Only one more over was possible before play was halted for bad light with 23 overs remaining and the seventh-wicket pairing of David Murphy and David Lucas will resume tomorrow on five and three respectively.

Phil Kirkbride has been left lauding the display of Anthony Gordon as Everton won 4-1 at home to Brentford in the FA Cup on Saturday afternoon.

The Lowdown: Perfect start

Frank Lampard got off to the perfect start as the new man in the dugout at Goodison Park as he saw his team run out winners in front of the home fans and book themselves a place in the next round.

Yerry Mina, Richarlison, Mason Holgate and Andros Townsend ensured that the Merseyside club went through in style, after Ivan Toney gave them a bit of a scare from the penalty spot.

The Latest: Kirkbride lauds Gordon

Taking to Twitter, The Liverpool Echo journalist Kirkbride has been left lauding the performance of Gordon in particular for the home side:

“Frank Lampard must be over the moon to have inherited a player of Anthony Gordon’s potential.

“But excellent again today, as he has been for most of the season.”

The Verdict: What a performance

Despite being just 20 years of age, Gordon was really a standout performer for the Toffees against fellow Premier League side Brentford.

He won five of his duels in total, the joint-fifth most out of his teammates, and was also successful in all three of his dribble attempts (SofaScore).

Gordon made one key pass and accurate cross, and achieved an impressive 89% overall pass accuracy, again ranking highly among the Blues squad (SofaScore).

Nonetheless, Lampard will no doubt be licking his lips at the prospect of working with the talented English midfielder.

In other news, find out which super-quick left-back EFC are now in the race to sign here!

Tottenham Hotspur are interested in a deal to bring Matthias Ginter to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the summer transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Sky Sports News (via the Daily Mail), who claim that Fabio Paratici is set to battle it out with Juventus, West Ham United and Aston Villa for the signing of the Borussia Monchengladbach centre-back – who is set to become a free agent upon the expiry of his contract at Borussia-Park at the end of the season.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-spurs-news-transfer-rumours-gossip-martinez-dybala-spence-conte-2” title= “Read the latest Spurs news!”]

Conte can axe Sanchez with Ginter

While Antonio Conte and Paratici have reportedly made a left-sided centre-half their priority target this summer, considering just how impressive the right-sided Ginter has been for Gladbach this season, in addition to the fact that Davinson Sanchez does not look to have much of a future in north London under the 52-year-old manager, it is easy to see why Spurs would be interested in a move for the 28-year-old.

Indeed, over his 25 Bundesliga appearances in the current campaign, the £21.6m-rated defender has been imperious in the heart of Adi Hutter’s backline, helping his side keep four clean sheets, as well as making an average of 1.3 interceptions, 1.4 tackles, three clearances and winning 5.6 duels – at a success rate of 67% – per game.

The Germany international has also impressed in an attacking capacity, scoring one goal and creating four big chances for his teammates, in addition to making 56.2 passes, 3.2 long balls and taking 1.2 shots per fixture.

These returns have seen the £50k-per-week player who Joachim Low dubbed “underrated” average an extremely impressive SofaScore match rating of 6.98, ranking him as Gladbach’s best defender and fourth-best player overall in the German top flight this season.

The 46-time capped World Cup winner has also earned praise from legendary German centre-back Lothar Matthaus, who went as far as to compare the Ginter to Paris Saint-German defender and former Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos.

Matthaus said: “Ginter has become a leader at the back, similar to Ramos at Real. He doesn’t just give instructions to his teammates, but leads them as well. That’s what Ginter is doing really well at the moment. He reminds me of Ramos.”

As such, considering the fact that the £42m Sanchez has not featured in seven of Tottenham’s last eight Premier League fixtures, as well as the £67k-per-week centre-back who Paul Robinson dubbed “inexcusable” having been linked with a move away from north London in the January transfer window, it would indeed appear as if the Colombia international could be on his way out of the club this summer.

And, if Sanchez does depart, signing Ginter on a free to replace the 25-year-old would undoubtedly be a fantastic piece of business for Paratici to get over the line – as the German would be a huge upgrade upon the former Ajax starlet.

AND in other news: “I wouldn’t be surprised…”: Gold drops teasing Spurs claim that supporters will love

A round-up of the first day of the opening round of matches in Division 1 of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Oct-2010Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited dominated the first day against Rawalpindi at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium and have taken control of the game. Left-arm seamer Sohail Tanvir and Inftikhar Anjum – both have played for Pakistan – ran through Rawalpindi to skittle them out for 115. Tanvir grabbed 6 for 41 – his tenth haul of five or more wickets in first-class games – while Iftikhar backed him up with three. The top scorer for Rawalpindi was wicketkeeper Jamal Anwar with 29 but his team capitulated, losing their last six wickets for 15 runs. In response, ZTBL overcame a poor start to finish the day on 119 for 2, a lead of four runs, with Shahid Yousuf and captain Imran Nazir going strong with unbeaten half-centuries.Ahmad Raza’s five wicket haul ensured Multan shared the honours with Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited after opener Ali Waqas made his second first-class century at the Multan Cricket Stadium. Waqas put on 93 with fellow opener Naeemuddin, who made 56, before adding 90 with Raza Ali Dar to put Northern Gas in a commanding position at 183 for 1. That’s when Raza got into the act, taking five of the next six wickets to fall, including Waqas for 105, as Multan clawed their way back in to the match. Waqas’ century took 222 balls and contained 13 fours. Northern Gas ended the day at 282 for 7, with Raza taking 5 for 96.Habib Bank claimed the honours on the first day of their Division 1 clash against Faisalabad at the Iqbal Stadium. Pakistan legspinner Danish Kaneria’s 62nd five-wicket haul spun Faisalabad to 172 all out after fast bowler Sarmad Anwar had taken two early wickets to put them on the back foot. Faisalabad had slumped to 114 for 7 but No. 9 Hasan Mahmood’s fighting 39 lifted them to a modest score. The Habib Bank openers knocked off 40 runs by stumps, with Ahmed Shehzad hitting five fours in his unbeaten 27.Islamabad plodded to 240 for 7 against National Bank of Pakistan at the Diamond Club Ground, pushed along by forties from Imad Wasim and Ameer Khan. Whenever Islamabad built up a decent partnership, one of National Bank’s bowlers would strike, and then Islamabad would rebuild slowly all over again. This trend was repeated throughout the day, and Islamabad had seven partnerships between 20 and 40. Ameer took 193 deliveries for his 43, and Imad’s unbeaten 48 came off 118. Islamabad were also helped by the 43 extras that National Bank conceded, including 23 no-balls. Five of the six bowlers used were among the wickets.Thirteen wickets fell on the first day of the encounter between Sialkot and Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) at the Jinnah Stadium. Left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar, with 3 for 23, led WAPDA’s bowlers as they scythed through Sialkot, who folded up for 126. Majid Jehangir was the only batsman to offer resistance with his 55 that included nine fours. Opener Kamran Younis made 24 before he was run out. Fast bowlers Sarfraz Ahmed and Naved-ul-Hasan took two wickets apiece. Prince Abbas’ twin strikes hurt WAPDA, but opener Adil Nisar’s patient unbeaten 33 took them to 74 for 3 at stumps.

Allrounder Dwayne Bravo, who turned down a one-year central contract offered by the West Indies Cricket Board last month, has reiterated his commitment to West Indies cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Oct-2010Allrounder Dwayne Bravo, who turned down a one-year central contract offered by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) last month, has reiterated his commitment to West Indies cricket. Bravo was one of the three players – allrounder Kieron Pollard and captain Chris Gayle were the others – to reject the offer of a contract for the 2010-11 season.”I know my recent decision to not sign the retainer contract has caused discomfort to many in our cricketing fraternity,” Bravo said in a press release. “I have communicated to the WICB my absolute commitment to West Indies cricket. However, I needed some clarity on some items within the contract and unfortunately we could not make that happen in the time frame for signing, even with the extension provided by the WICB.”The contracts require the players to make themselves available for the West Indies team at all times, something the three players – all of whom have forged prominent careers in domestic Twenty20 competitions including the IPL – were reluctant to do.Besides West Indies, Bravo also played for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL (for an undisclosed amount), and he was signed by English county Essex just to play on finals day of the Friends Provident t20 this season. He has also turned out for Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean T20, where he made 116 runs in three innings and took six wickets with an economy rate under six.Bravo hoped he could resolve the issues surrounding the contract with the West Indies board. “I hope when we (the WICB and Bravo) get the opportunity to discuss my concerns that my small input adds value to the progress of future arrangements. I am pleased by the WICB communication on this matter and the willingness to discuss the same.”The WICB had offered contracts to 25 players on August 31 – ten of them were development contracts worth $25,000 – and gave the players until September 10 to accept them. According to the , 22 players finally accepted and three Jamaicans — Carlton Baugh, Dave Bernard Jr and Andre Russell — replaced Bravo, Pollard and Gayle.

Tottenham Hotspur are interested in a deal to bring both Gleison Bremer and Wilfried Singo to north London in the summer transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Turin-based publication Tuttosport (via Sport Witness), who claim that Fabio Paratici is in talks with Torino regarding the signing of both the centre-back and right wing-back this summer.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-spurs-news-transfer-rumours-gossip-martinez-dybala-spence-conte-2” title= “Read the latest Spurs news!”]

The report goes on to state that the Tottenham managing director is pushing strongly for the duo on the demand of Antonio Conte, and is willing to offer cash for both players – with Tuttosport claiming that each target will cost €25m (£21m), although further reports place Bremer’s asking price at €50m (£41.5m).

Kulusevski and Bentancur 2.0

Considering how impressive both Bremer and Singo have been for Torino this season, it is not difficult to see why Conte would be interested in a move for the pair this summer.

Indeed, over his 30 Serie A appearances in the current campaign, the £27m-rated Bremer has been a revelation in the heart of the Granata defence, helping his side keep eight clean sheets, as well as making an average of 3.4 interceptions, 1.4 tackles, four clearances and winning 6.6 duels per game.

These returns have seen the £53k-per-week centre-back average a quite remarkable SofaScore match rating of 7.18, ranking him as the fourth-best defender in the Italian top flight.

Meanwhile, over his own 31 Serie A outings this term, the £25m-rated Singo has also been in fantastic form for Torino, scoring three goals, providing four assists and creating four big chances for his teammates, as well as making an average of 0.6 interceptions, 1.7 tackles, 0.7 key passes, completing 1.1 dribbles and winning 5.7 duels per fixture.

These returns have seen the £5.4k-per-week wing-back average a highly impressive SofaScore match rating of 6.97, ranking him as Ivan Juric’s seventh-best performer in the league.

As such, it is clear to see that both players would make exceptional additions to Conte’s backline at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium ahead of the club’s 2022/23 campaign.

And, considering Paratici’s penchant for double signings – as evidenced by his dual swoop for Juventus’ Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur in the January transfer window – we would not be surprised to see Italian get a £62.5m deal over the line for Bremer and Singo this summer.

AND in other news: Paratici can land his next De Ligt as Spurs plot £50m bid for “extraordinary” talent

Sky Sports have relayed news live on TV regarding Manchester United midfielder Nemanja Matic and his decision to leave the club at the end of the season.

The Lowdown: Matic’s Old Trafford career

Matic made the move to United back in 2017 from Chelsea in a deal worth over £40m. Since then, the holding midfielder has gone on to make more than 180 appearances for the Red Devils, with 27 of those coming this season.

His current contract still has over 12 months left to run, however, Matic has now announced that he will leave the club over the coming months.

The Latest: Sky Sports relay on-air news

United shared the news on their official website, with Sky Sports News sharing the update live on TV.

They labelled it as ‘significant if you support Man Utd’, describing the midfielder as ‘the first out of the door’ at Old Trafford.

The Verdict: First of many?

Erik ten Hag looks set to come in to replace Ralf Rangnick in the summer and may well have plenty of key decisions to make on a number of players.

United have five players who will be out of contract at the end of June, including Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard, while Cristiano Ronaldo’s future is also in doubt.

Matic’s departure could prove to be the first of many in a major Old Trafford shake-up under Ten Hag, and a new defensive midfielder could now be a priority heading into the summer.

In other news: ‘Expected’ – Fabrizio Romano drops first blow for Ten Hag at Man Utd with appointment ‘imminent’. 

Vaughn van Jaarsveld has had his provisional suspension by Cricket South Africa (CSA) lifted

Firdose Moonda18-Nov-2010Vaughn van Jaarsveld, the Dolphins batsman who has played two one-dayers and three Twenty20 internationals for South Africa, has had his provisional suspension by Cricket South Africa (CSA) lifted. Van Jaarsveld, 25, had been suspended after he tested positive for banned stimulant sibutramine, a substance commonly found in diet pills. The tests were conducted by the South African Institute for Drug Free Sport (SAIDS) while van Jaarsveld was still with the Lions franchise.It is believed that van Jaarsveld ingested the substance accidently, as it was part of prescription medication that was issued to him. “It would be appear that he is not at fault so he has been cleared to play,” Dolphins chief executive Jesse Chellan told ESPNcricinfo.Van Jaarsveld was provisionally suspended on Wednesday but the South African Cricketers Association (SACA) believed that he was innocent and at the time asked for SAIDS to be understanding. “We don’t believe it is his fault, but we have to go through the process and we have waived his right to have the B-sample tested. In the circumstances, we hope the SAIDS will be pretty lenient.”The Lions distanced themselves from the situation, issuing a statement on Thursday saying that the prescription was not given by team doctor Jon Patricios and that van Jaarsveld went against team policy by obtaining a prescription from another practitioner.”All medications issued to Gauteng Cricket Board and Lions players by our medical team are checked against the WADA list of banned substances,” said Patricios in the statement. “Moreover players are warned against taking medications prescribed by doctors outside of the GCB medical team without first cross-checking the drug’s status on the prohibited list.”Players are also educated about the risk of contaminated supplements. Players who take medications or supplements without first clearing these with the team doctor do so at their own risk and against team protocol.”Dolphins coach Graham Ford said his player was attended to by a “very well respected medical practitioner”, adding: “Failing a test is not something to be condoned but in these circumstances the issue is very different.”SACA chief executive Tony Irish indicated that SACA has reason to believe van Jaarsveld will be cleared completely. “Usually when SAIDS don’t consider the player to have done anything wrong, the interim suspension is lifted,” he said.Van Jaarsveld will play for his for his franchise this weekend and will face a CSA Anti-Doping tribunal next week. SACA will represent Van Jaarsveld at the hearing.