All posts by h716a5.icu

Steven Bergwijn could leave Tottenham Hotspur this January…

What’s the word?

That’s according to reliable Sky Sports reporter Michael Bridge, who recently dropped an intriguing claim about the Dutch winger to GIVEMESPORT.

“I know he’s maybe going to Ajax in January, I don’t know, has someone said something? Very good sources in Holland are saying that Ajax will look to get him in January or does Conte genuinely see something in him?” he said.

It comes after reports emerged earlier this week linking the 24-year-old, who cost Spurs around £25m from Ajax’s rivals PSV Eindhoven in January 2020, to the Eredivisie champions.

Out of favour

It’s no secret that Bergwijn is heavily out of favour under manager Antonio Conte, having played only 13 minutes since the Italian’s arrival at Tottenham last month.

There were even claims at one stage that the 52-year-old had barely spoken to the £19.8m-rated winger, suggesting that he just isn’t the man for the new Lilywhites boss.

“That interest in Bergwijn has been made known. Conte does not see it in him at all,” claimed journalist Mike Verweij on De Telegraaf’s football podcast (via Sport Witness). “Conte is also the one who opposed Bergwijn’s transfer from PSV to Italy. Inter were an interested club at the time, but Conte did not need him. “Conte has only said two words to Bergwijn in two weeks at Tottenham Hotspur.”

If Ajax do hold a genuine interest, then Conte could be buzzing as he would be able to offload a player that he simply does not want, and at the same time help boost the club’s finances to bring in his own targets.

Truth be told, it has never gone to plan for Bergwijn in north London – across 62 appearances, he has only scored four goals and provided nine assists, meaning he averages a direct contribution once every 244 minutes, via Transfermarkt. That isn’t great.

Only last month, club insider John Wenham blasted the Netherlands international for being “terrible all season”, whilst his introduction from the bench against Manchester United even drew boos from the Spurs faithful.

If Bridge’s claim is true, then Conte and many around N17 will surely be delighted.

AND in other news, Bye-bye Ndombele: Conte eyes “devastating” £25m-rated beast, won’t cost Spurs a penny…

News of Andrew Flintoff’s knee injury has been met with little sympathy from the Australian camp

Alex Brown13-Jul-2009News of Andrew Flintoff’s knee injury has been met with little sympathy from the Australian camp. Michael Hussey spoke of the team’s delight in grinding the injury-prone allrounder into the Cardiff dust throughout the first Test, while Simon Katich highlighted the disturbance Flintoff’s absence could create within the England team for the Lord’s Test.Having dealt with numerous injury concerns of their own in recent months, the Australians appeared happy to indulge in a touch of schadenfreude upon learning of Flintoff’s knee complaint on Tuesday. “It’s obviously a big loss for them if he’s out,” Katich told Cricinfo. “It’s not just his bowling, you have to throw in his batting as well, and he did bat well in both innings of the first Test, so they lose a bit of their flexibility if he’s out injured, definitely.”Hussey was even less sentimental when discussing Flintoff’s injury and its potential impact on the England team. “It would be a huge blow for England because he’s such a key player,” Hussey said. “He adds a lot of balance to the team with his batting and his overs. It would be a big blow. It was nice to make him do a lot of work in the first Test and it would be nice in the coming Test matches, if he’s fit, to make him work pretty hard again.”Both Katich and Hussey were wary of making bold statements in relation to Steve Harmison’s call-up to England’s expanded 14-man squad for Lord’s. Acutely aware of the danger his height and bounce represent, the senior Australian batsmen spoke reverentially of Durham’s in-form fast bowler.”If you’re bringing someone like Harmison in, who has been bowling very well for Durham and also against us at Worcester the other day, he presents probably just as many problems [as Flintoff],” Katich said.Stuart Broad was similarly confident Harmison could fill the bowling void created by Flintoff’s absence. “It would be very disappointing; I think every side in the world would want him in their team,” Broad told Cricinfo. “But we’ve got the players who can come in for him. Obviously Harmison’s been bowling well for Durham and Ian Bell’s been scoring really good runs for Warwichshire. We’d have to look at the positives if Fred wasn’t available. Hopefully he’ll come up and fine and be walking out with us at Lord’s on Thursday.”

The Birmingham Mail’s Ashley Preece has revealed what new Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard has “transformed” at Bodymoor Heath.

What’s the story?

Gerrard was appointed as the club’s new boss following Dean Smith’s exit from Villa Park, and now, Preece has claimed that the former Liverpool captain has already had a major impact on things at the training ground.

He said: “Gerrard splits his coaching staff into units; he’ll oversee everything, Beale will have the defence, McAllister will have the midfielders and Danks, for example, will have the strikers. There’s a few brilliant Michael Beale podcasts floating around, fascinating listens.

“They’re like lieutenants, lots going on. Training has been completely transformed at Bodymoor, earlier starts. But to answer your questions, the coaching setup will stay the same, Austin MacPhee has been away with Scotland so he’ll be back today.”

Villa fans will be excited

Given the incredibly disappointing start to the Premier League campaign Villa have endured thus far, news that Gerrard is shaking things up behind-the-scenes is sure to excite Villa fans heading into the busy festive schedule.

The ‘new manager bounce’ is something Villa may look to ride the wave of, but if Gerrard can maintain the high standards in training that he already appears to be instilling, then the Midlands club will be in good hands for the longer-term too.

The former Rangers boss looks to have surrounded himself with good personnel, and Preece’s description of them as “lieutenants” makes them seem very demanding and high on discipline.

Whether players were beginning to just go through the motions under Smith, or simply taking it too easy, it looks like Gerrard will be onto them very quickly for any falling standards.

Consequently, Preece’s behind-the-scenes news is sure to have Villa fans buzzing as they bid to improve their shoddy form this term.

Meanwhile, Gerrard must unleash this star vs Brighton…

An update has emerged regarding interest from a Premier League club in Rangers midfielder Joe Aribo.

What’s the talk?

According to Football Insider, Crystal Palace are keeping tabs on the Nigeria international ahead of the January transfer window.

The report claims that the Eagles will be closely following the midfielder’s progress in the coming months as they consider a swoop for him.

Nightmare

Rangers chief Ross Wilson must avoid a January nightmare with Aribo following this update on Palace’s interest in his services.

The 25-year-old has been instrumental in the club’s early-season form, starting all of their league games as they sit top of the Premiership, and Steven Gerrard would surely be left fuming if one of his key players departs midway through the campaign. Losing an instrumental part of the team could disrupt the 41-year-old’s plans and cause issues in midfield during the second half of the season.

Aribo has averaged an excellent SofaScore rating of 7.05 in the Premiership this season, which is higher than Steven Davis, John Lundstram and Glen Kamara have managed. He has averaged 1.8 chances created, 1.3 tackles and 1.6 shots per game, scoring twice and providing one assist.

His former Charlton teammate Ezri Konsa once compared the Gers beast with Manchester City legend Yaya Toure, saying: “Having Gerrard as his manager at Rangers, that has made him go up another level.

“Joe’s style is unique. When I was with him at Charlton he did remind me for a while of a left-footed Yaya Toure. But you don’t get a lot of midfielders like Joe, there aren’t many around.

“Like Toure, for a tall guy he’s got such great feet. But that languid style he’s got is actually fairly unique in the game.”

This is high praise from Konsa and his statistics in the Premiership this term suggest that he deserves the applause, which could be why Palace are now looking at him. It also highlights why Wilson must avoid selling him in January as he has been a terrific performer in midfield and his sale would be a major blow for the Gers, potentially handing Celtic a boost in the title race as the champions would lose a key member of their squad.

Wilson must avoid a nightmare in January in agreeing to listen to offers in the summer, if indeed Aribo is interested in leaving. He must make sure that the Nigerian is at Ibrox for the remainder of the 2021/22 campaign, with next summer offering Rangers plenty of time to find a replacement ahead of the following season.

AND in other news,  Rangers gem has seen value soar 233% since 2018, he’s a Wilson masterclass…

Surrey have released Pedro Collins and Alex Tudor and handed out eight new contracts

Cricinfo staff29-Oct-2009Surrey have released Pedro Collins and Alex Tudor and handed out eight new contracts.”Both Alex and Pedro are fine players in their own right but the time had come for them to take on a new challenge,” Surrey’s professional cricket manager Chris Adams told the county’s website. “I wish them both the best of luck with their future plans and thank them for their contribution to Surrey County Cricket Club.”Surrey signed Collins, the former West Indies fast bowler, on a two-year Kolpak deal. Collins, 33, played 32 Tests and 30 ODIs, but as a Kolpak signing is unable to play for West Indies again without immediately becoming an overseas player.Tudor is famed for his 99 not out for England, batting as a nightwatchman against New Zealand in the 1999 Test at Edgbaston. He began his career at The Oval and was there between 1995 and 2004 before being released after several seasons where he was more often injured than available. He moved to Essex, initially on a pay-as-you-play basis, before establishing himself as a regular in the first team, although he did not regain the form which saw him win ten Test caps as well as the 1999 Young Cricketer of the Year award. He returned to Surrey in August 2008.Players to have signed new deals until the end of the 2011 season are the batsmen Stewart Walters, Matthew Spriegel, Arun Harinath and Michael Brown; bowlers Stuart Meaker and Simon King; and wicket keeper Gary Wilson. The seam bowler Tim Linley has signed a one-year deal.”When I first joined Surrey I knew it would not be possible to provide immediate solutions to the club’s problems,” said Adams. “With this in mind, we have developed a long term structure to return to the position of the leading side in the English game. One of the key factors I have identified to help us do that is continuity. No sports team has ever benefitted from a constantly high turnover of players and I am very happy the vast majority of our squad are now able to plan for two or more solid years at Surrey.”All the players that have recently agreed new deals have yet to reach their potential for this club and I look forward to exciting times ahead when they are all consistently performing at the height of their ability.”

Leeds United’s poor form in 2021/22 continued on Sunday afternoon as they were narrowly beaten by Tottenham Hotspur.

It means Marcelo Bielsa’s side still occupy the one spot above the relegation zone and are just two points adrift after another disappointing result amid their worrying injury problems.

The Whites largely dominated the first half and by full-time, they still led the possession and attempts on goal statistics but they just couldn’t get going again in the final 45 minutes.

Jack Harrison found his wide companion Daniel James one minute before the break with a low-driven cross after beating home defender Emerson Royal all ends up with a nutmeg.

However, it was Kalvin Phillips, who surprisingly dropped into the backline that was Bielsa’s one silver lining down in north London.

As per SofaScore, he recorded the most touches of anyone on the pitch (113) and that goes to show his influence on the side, as well as the game – everything ran through him as he was like an American quarterback – that’ll please the 49ers’ group if they were watching.

Similarly, no player managed more passes either (76), in which a whopping seven were successful long balls as he sprayed it all over the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Elsewhere, he was an absolute rock in his unfamiliar central defensive role, recording four tackles, three interceptions and three blocks, on top of winning six ground duels, via SofaScore.

The Daily Star’s Paul Brown was left impressed by the England international, too, having described him as an “absolute Rolls-Royce” before suggesting that he “ran the show” in north London.

Meanwhile, LeedsLive’s Beren Cross also spoke glowingly about the £36m-rated powerhouse in his post-game ratings column.

‘Immense in the first half when he was given a man-marking job on Harry Kane. Took the match by the scruff of the neck. Not as central after the break when he went into midfield. Cut a frustrated figure at times,’ he wrote.

Phillips was absolutely class against Spurs and arguably deserved something from the game as a result of his performance. If there are any small positives for Bielsa to take, then he’s certainly one.

AND in other news, Forget Firpo: £60k-p/w Leeds lightweight who lost possession 24x badly let Bielsa down…

A round-up from the latest action in the County Championship…

Cricinfo staff06-Sep-2009Division OneA strong second-innings performance from Yorkshire’s batsmen ensured a stalemate against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge, leaving the hosts 27 points behind Division One leaders Durham, who also have a game in hand. Yorkshire began the final day on 269 for 2, leading by 173 runs, and their middle and lower order built on that strong position. Jonathan Bairstow made 82 off 155 balls, Ajmal Shahzad contributed 45, while Rich Pyrah remained unbeaten on 50 off 96 deliveries. The efforts of the Yorkshire batsman against unthreatening part-time bowling stretched the total to 519 for 8 before both captains agreed to end the match in a draw. Paul Franks, who finished with 3 for 71, had the best figures for Nottinghamshire. Yorkshire ended the match on 136 points, above Sussex, Hampshire and Worcestershire in Division One.

Durham 13 7 00 6 0 195 Nottinghamshire 14 3 1 0 10 0168 Somerset 14 3 10 10 0 162 Warwickshire 14 2 2 0 10 0151 Lancashire 14 3 20 9 0 146 Yorkshire 14 1 2 0 11 0136 Sussex 13 2 30 8 0 128 Hampshire 13 2 3 0 8 0127 Worcestershire 13 0 90 4 0 70

Australia will consider employing four fast bowlers at Headingley in the hope of blasting out England in the fourth Test and leveling the Ashes series

Alex Brown and Peter English06-Aug-2009Australia have taken a sizeable gamble by naming four fast bowlers for the fourth Test at Headingley. Stuart Clark will make his first appearance of the series at the expense of Nathan Hauritz as Australia attempt claw their way back into the series.The tourists’ move is both aggressive and risky, with the dry Headingley pitch appearing suited to spin. But heavy overnight rain has convinced Australia to punt on an all-pace attack of Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle, Ben Hilfenhaus and Clark in their quest for 20 wickets – a feat they have not achieved in the series to date.Despite declaring his fitness after Wednesday’s training session, Brett Lee has been overlooked for the fourth Test. Ricky Ponting, speaking at his pre-match press conference, echoed the concerns of Shane Watson the previous day by questioning whether Lee has enough miles in his legs to be considered for the potentially decisive fourth Test.A frustrated Lee terrorised Australia’s batsmen throughout Wednesday’s net session, then fronted the media immediately afterwards to declare himself 100 percent fit. That training run came one month and one day after his last fully fledged hit-out against the England Lions at Worcester, prompting concerns over his readiness to withstand the rigours of a full Test match.The Australians have twice paid the price for gambling on Lee’s health in the past year. Selectors persisted with their senior pacemen throughout the 2008 tour of India, despite him arriving on tour underdone and later battling the effects of Giardia. He claimed eight wickets at 61.62 in four Tests. Lee was also selected to play the Boxing Day Test against South Africa with a sore foot that would later require surgery. He was unable to take the field for the entire third day’s play, having managed just 1 wicket for 249 runs in the series to that point.”Brett ran in as hard as he had for a long time yesterday in the nets,” Ponting said. “Most of us batters were on the receiving end of a few short ones. He bowled with some good pace. I’m sure what the selectors will be thinking about right at the moment is if he has done enough bowling at full speed to warrant selection in a Test match. As we know it’s not just one day of bowling, it could be two or three days of successive bowling at 100 percent. That’s what they’ll be tossing up this afternoon.”The actual injury probably went on a little longer than what Brett would have liked and what we would have liked. I think he’s only had a few days of bowling at 100 percent. That’s where we have to listen to what he has to say about how he’s feeling, but more importantly the selectors have to weigh everything up about where we’re at in the series and if we can go in with a guy who has only bowled a couple of days at full pace.”Ponting gave a telling insight into Australia’s selection strategy ahead of the Test when, on Tuesday, he was asked whether Headingley was the place where he would feel most comfortable choosing four pacemen . “It probably is,” he said. “This is a venue that’s actually had a lot of results and when it’s like this and a bit cloudy, the ball tends to swing around quite a lot. So we’ve got to take those things into consideration, one with our selections and two with the guys to play the game. Historically the spinners have found it pretty difficult here.”The forecast doesn’t look great again either so there’s the prospect of a shorter game. The possibility of playing another bowler knowing we can take 20 wickets in a shortened game is something we’ve been discussing.”The case for selection put forth by Clark was a compelling one. The right-armer has bowled with accuracy and consistency in three tour matches – taking nine wickets at 25.00 from 73 overs – and would provide Australia with a containment and pressure-building option they have not possessed all series.Clark is desperate to add to his 90 wickets in 22 Tests and now has the chance to do so after convincing Jamie Cox, the on-duty selector, he was a superior option to Hauritz.”There was a big decision made right before the first Test which way we went with our quick bowlers, and definitely his name is in the running for this week,” Ponting said of Clark.Both Siddle and Johnson are averaging more than 40 for their 10 wickets in three games and have given away around four runs an over. Hilfenhaus has been the most impressive operator on tour but needs some tight support if Australia are going to overcome England.Ponting, meanwhile, noted fragility in England’s batting order, which is now without both Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff.”With Kevin Pietersen out you just read down their list and it looks like a different batting line-up,” Ponting said. “If anything, right through the series, we’ve been just searching a little bit too much for wickets with our quicks. We haven’t been able to build sustained periods of pressure on them. If we can do that I’m sure with their middle order the way it is, we can create a lot of chances. That’s what we’ll be hoping to do this week.”

Peter Willey fears that the referral system, to be introduced full-time into Tests from October, will harm umpires more than it aids them, increasing their reliance on technology instead of their own judgement

Cricinfo staff03-Sep-2009Peter Willey, the former Test umpire and chairman of the first-class umpires’ association in England, fears that the referral system will harm umpires more than it aids them, increasing their reliance on technology instead of their own judgement. The system, so long used on a trial basis, will be introduced full-time into Tests from October,”Umpires who have done Tests for five or six years have lost the art of giving out run-outs and stumpings – they just refer everything,” Willey wrote in the October issue of . “If you have all the technology for a number of years you are going to lose the art of giving out caught-behinds, lbws and everything else because the third umpire is doing everything for you.”The umpire will end up hardly having to make a decision. Then he stops doing Tests and goes back into first-class cricket and he has to start learning again. It could be dangerous for an umpire’s career.”Willey also said there would be a need to employ ‘neutral’ television technicians to operate the camera and systems. “I am not suggesting that anybody would be corrupted but if a country’s top batsman has a decision pending and there is a ‘technical problem’ (“Sorry we’ve lost the pictures…”) you will have to have neutral technicians. People think this is rubbish but at one stage nobody believed in match-fixing in cricket. How far do you go?”He suggested that umpires stand for one Test per series to reduce the pressure on them, especially if they have a poor game. “I would increase the amount of Test officials and let them only stand in one Test of a series; if an umpire has a poor first Test he is under pressure in the next game – I don’t care how strong you are you’ll be thinking about having a bad Test. Change the umpires for every Test match so they are fresh with no baggage from Test to Test. When I umpired in Tests I’d do one Test abroad might make a few bad decisions, come home and it is forgotten. You have five or six weeks off then you go somewhere else.”

Weather concerns could prompt the International Cricket Council to move the Champions Trophy away from Sri Lanka. The tournament, scheduled to be played in October, may be shifted to Australia, South Africa or the United Arab Emirates, according to the In

Cricinfo staff02-Mar-2009Weather concerns could prompt the ICC to move the Champions Trophy away from Sri Lanka. The tournament, scheduled to be played in October, may be shifted to Australia, South Africa or the United Arab Emirates, according to the ICC’s general manager, Dave Richardson.The seventh Champions Trophy was due to be held in Pakistan last year, but was postponed due to security concerns. The eight-team tournament has since been shrouded in uncertainty, with questions raised as to whether it could be accommodated in an already crowded international schedule and doubts over the suitability of Sri Lanka as a venue. Some critics have called for the Champions Trophy to be scrapped entirely, arguing that it now trails the World Cup and World Twenty20 in terms of prestige and holds little appeal for competing teams.Speaking at a press conference in Lahore, Richardson admitted seasonal concerns – October is one of the wettest months in Colombo – had prompted the ICC to consider relocating the tournament to a drier venue. Richardson added that the 2009 Champions Trophy could be condensed to 12-days, and played in a region where two or more grounds are lin close proximity, thereby reducing travelling time between matches.”Some doubts have been raised as far as Sri Lanka is concerned mainly from the weather prospective,” Richardson said. “Questions have been raised whether it’s wise to hold a tournament where rain is often affecting in October.”If it’s not Sri Lanka, the board has decided that we want to hold the tournament over 12 days, which means that we have to have two venues in virtually the same city. Certainly there can’t be any question of international travel being involved. That itself narrows the options down considerably. Perhaps Perth, Johannesburg-Pretoria, Dubai-Abu Dhabi might be an option.”There are couple of options which need to be considered and (those venues) would be in frame when the decision is made.”