All posts by h716a5.icu

Many Wolves fans have been left fuming over some news on their game away to Manchester United in the Premier League on Monday evening.

As confirmed by the official website of the top flight, Mike Dean will now referee the match at Old Trafford, with Andre Marriner on VAR duty.

Incidentally, the 53-year-old has given far more penalty kicks to the Red Devils (21) than any other team over the course of his career, while he also gave them a controversial goal at Molineux earlier on this season to give them a 1-0 win, and that has not been the first time his decisions against the Midlands club have been questioned.

Nonetheless, it is not a surprise at all to see so many WWFC supporters raging over the decision to appoint him for their upcoming fixture.

Wolves fans on Dean appointment

These Wanderers fumed as the news of Dean’s appointment was shared on Twitter, with one even going as far as to claim that it was a ‘joke’:

“Here we go again”

Credit: @moor_george

“You are kidding???”

Credit: @AlisonW91221347

“Hope it gets called off..”

Credit: @LondonishWolves

“May as well give them the points now”

Credit: @TheDowg

“God help us.”

Credit: @JohnGill27

“This has to be some joke!!!”

Credit: @ezzalodge

In other news, find out which ‘standout’ Wanderer has now been backed to join a Premier League club here!

Monty Panesar is the notable omission from the ECB’s 27-man England Performance Squad (EPS) that was announced on Tuesday ahead of the 2010 summer international season

Cricinfo staff20-Apr-2010Monty Panesar is the notable omission from the ECB’s 27-man England Performance Squad (EPS) that was announced on Tuesday ahead of the 2010 summer international season.The EPS, which has been chosen by the England selectors, consists of 11 players currently on 12-month ECB central contracts, plus seven on increment contracts. Hampshire’s Michael Lumb, who is a member of England’s World Twenty20 squad, is the only player not capped at international level.Four spinners have been named in the squad – with the recent Test pairing of Graeme Swann and James Tredwell joined by the legspinner Adil Rashid and the slow left-armer Michael Yardy – but Panesar’s omission leaves him with ever more ground to make up if he hopes to be selected for a second Ashes tour at the end of the year.However, there are no major surprises in the squad, which includes all the players who toured with the senior team this winter, with the exception of the reserve wicketkeeper Steven Davies, who has been pushed down the pecking order following the emergence of Craig Kieswetter.”The England Performance Squad is designed to allow the selectors to monitor the development of international players and better prepare them for the demands of the international game,” said Geoff Miller, the national selector.””The selectors can name up to 30 players in the EPS, but we have decided to keep three places vacant at present in order to give ourselves greater flexibility and we will reserve the right to add further players to the squad if their performances in domestic cricket merit it.”We were delighted with the progress made by several younger players such as Craig Kieswetter, Steven Finn and Ajmal Shazad over the winter with either the England team or the England Lions squad and their selections in the EPS reflect this.”James Tredwell and Michael Carberry have previously experienced the England set-up after making an impact at international level during the winter and similarly Joe Denly and Liam Plunkett firmly remain in our plans over the course of the summer. From a limited overs perspective Michael Lumb and Michael Yardy have already been included in England’s ICC World T20 squad for the forthcoming tournament in the Caribbean.”Full contract James Anderson (Lancashire), Ian Bell (Warwickshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Paul Collingwood (Durham), Alastair Cook (Essex), Graham Onions (Durham), Kevin Pietersen (Hampshire), Matthew Prior (Sussex), Andrew Strauss (Middlesex), Ryan Sidebottom (Nottinghamshire), Graeme Swann (Nottinghamshire)Increment contract Ravi Bopara (Essex), Tim Bresnan (Yorkshire), Eoin Morgan (Middlesex), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Owais Shah (Middlesex), Jonathan Trott (Warwickshire), Luke Wright (Sussex)Uncontracted Michael Carberry (Hampshire), Joe Denly (Kent), Steven Finn (Middlesex), Craig Kieswetter (Somerset), Michael Lumb (Hampshire), Liam Plunkett (Durham), Ajmal Shazad (Yorkshire), James Tredwell (Kent), Michael Yardy (Sussex)

Phil Hay has dropped an update on the recent injury picked up by Leeds United forward Tyler Roberts.

What’s the latest?

In a recent post on Twitter, The Athletic journalist stated his belief that the 22-year-old, who went down unopposed with what appeared to be a calf injury midway through the second half of the Whites’ 3-1 win over Burnley on Sunday, looks as if he will need a considerable amount of time to recover from his knock.

In his tweet, Hay said: “Roberts looked like he’ll need time to recover from that injury.”

Fans will be fuming

Considering the sheer amount of injuries a number of Marcelo Bielsa’s side have sustained so far this season, the news that Leeds could be without Roberts for a substantial period of time as a result of yet another injury is sure to have left the Elland Road faithful fuming.

Indeed, Patrick Bamford, Kalvin Phillips, Liam Cooper and Pascal Struijk all also missed the fixture against Burnley as a result of various knocks, with Bielsa suggesting prior to kick-off on Sunday that Bamford could still be some way off a return to first-team football.

Should this be the case, the Argentine manager may well be left with 19-year-old Joe Gelhardt as his only option at centre-forward for the Whites’ trip to West Ham in the FA Cup on Sunday, something that, despite the youngster’s undoubted potential, would appear to significantly reduce United’s chances of securing a victory in the clash.

As such, should Roberts indeed be ruled out of action for a number of weeks, as Hay has suggested, it will certainly come as a major blow to Bielsa and his side, as the Whites are already incredibly thin on the ground.

In other news: 10 defensive actions: £53k-p/w Leeds beast who had 70 touches stole the show v Burnley

The counties who met Lalit Modi in India in March have rubbished the allegations that they were involved in secret talks to set up a parallel IPL in which the existing franchises could bid for nine domestic teams in the UK

Cricinfo staff07-May-2010The counties who met Lalit Modi in India in March have rubbished the allegations that they were involved in secret talks to set up a parallel IPL in which the existing franchises could bid for nine domestic teams in the UK. In a formal complaint to the BCCI, Giles Clarke, the ECB chairman, alleged that Modi was trying to induce the counties into activities that could prove “detrimental to Indian cricket, English cricket and world cricket at large.”Clarke’s accusations forced the BCCI to slap a second show-cause notice notice on Modi in two weeks, after the board suspended him from all BCCI positions including that as the chairman of the IPL and pressed five specific charges ranging from financial impropriety to “behavioral pattern.””This is totally overblown,” Colin Graves, the Yorkshire chairman, told the on the accusation that Modi’s plans had the potential to “hijack” the game. “It was a fact-finding mission. Lalit Modi did not put a proposition on the table. There were no secret proposals, no secret agenda, nothing underhand,” Graves said.Though Graves was not in Delhi at the meeting, Yorkshire’s chief executive Stewart Regan met Modi, along with representatives from two other counties: Colin Povey, the Warwickshire chief executive and the Lancashire committee member David Hodgkiss.”We attended that meeting in an educational capacity, as we wished to learn more about how the IPL has gone from nowhere to being one of the biggest sporting businesses in the world inside two years,” Yorkshire’s chief executive, Stewart Regan, told Cricinfo immediately after the BCCI made public the accusations against Modi. “The success of the IPL proves that cricket is a product that people want to buy and that sponsors want to get involved with, and those were the key learning areas that we were interested in. It would not be appropriate to comment any further.”Graves concurred with Regan on the success of the IPL model, pointing out the ECB could definitely learn a lot from that. He also stressed that the ECB were kept in the loop about the discussions and he had personally sent Clarke the notes of the meeting. “IPL has been extraordinarily successful and we can learn a lot from it. There was a proper business discussion about how things might develop in the future, the sort of discussions that can benefit the whole of English cricket. Stewart Regan took notes of the meeting and forwarded them to all the Test grounds. I then passed those notes to Giles Clarke. Lalit Modi invited all representatives of the Test grounds to be his personal guests at the IPL final. We turned the invitation down as we were not in a position to discuss anything in detail.”According to Clarke, Modi had presented the counties with a commercial proposition wherein if they supported his idea, the IPL would guarantee each county a minimum of $3-5 million per annum plus a staging fee of $1.5 million. “We have not been guaranteed anything, but if anybody puts anything on the table we will discuss it. We have nine Test grounds and only seven Tests a year. We have to find ways to fill these grounds outside the England team. The nine Test grounds are united in the belief we cannot allow the status quo to continue. There is no future in us creating another Twenty20 competition for all 18 counties. It is not attractive enough to fill the Test grounds. We have to create something new and exciting, a tournament with the appeal of IPL, a British version. We will continue to put these ideas to Giles,” Graves said.

Ian Bell, who has been recalled to the one-day squad, knew he had to expand his game otherwise he would be left behind

Andrew McGlashan16-Jun-2010One of the key improvements in England’s recent rise as a one-day side has been their ability to hit sixes and it is clear that power is now a pre-requisite to get into the team. This has led to a number of batsmen reinventing themselves and Ian Bell, who has been recalled to the one-day squad, knew he had to follow suit or get left behind.Bell last played an ODI in November 2008 and his one-dimensional style of batting, perfectly suited to Test cricket, meant he was struggling to find a place in the increasingly forceful limited-overs game. His priority became saving a Test career that looked like falling by the wayside in South Africa last winter, but following a successful tour he was given hope of a future in one-day cricket when he toured UAE with the Lions and now he is back in the limited-overs set up.”I’ve certainly tried to be stronger in terms of hitting over the top but I think it’s about recognising situations when I need to do that and also when to knock it around,” he said. “Going on the Lions trip to Dubai I found a method to my game that worked quite nicely in Twenty20 with a lot of advice from Graham Thorpe.”It’s just a matter of moving that to England. If you are going to bat at the top in the modern game you have to be able to have a mixed game in terms of hitting over the top and being assertive at certain times in the game. I’ve tried to do that with Warwickshire and hopefully I can carry it forward.”His one-day county form certainly suggests that the changes Bell has made are working. He has been making runs at an eye-catching strike-rate of 145.13 in the Friends Provident t20, alongside scoring at better than a run-a-ball in the Clydesdale Bank 40 while maintaining an average over 50 in both. He was under instructions to become more commanding at the crease and take charge of situations, rather than playing in his own bubble.”It’s something Andy [Flower] has spoken to me about,” he said. “It’s something he wants to see more of, he’s seen glimpses of it but more consistently. A few things were asked of me in one-day cricket which I needed to go away and work on with Gilo [Ashley Giles, Warwickshire’s director of cricket] and hopefully the way I have played for Warwickshire is the way England have wanted me to play.”Modern one-day cricket has moved on from guys who play normal shots. You can’t be one dimensional. No one has told me to change as a person but one-day cricket has moved on from what it was 10 or even five years ago. Playing on the subcontinent, and anywhere around the world, you have to have different strengths to your game.”It’s not going to be every game you are going to be required to play like that but I’ve got to show I don’t just have the touch game but the other side as well. It’s trying to get two parts of my game working together.”Bell will hope for a chance to show off his new expansive repertoire in the next two weeks, beginning with the one-off match against Scotland and followed by five against Australia. Plenty can change between now and the start of the Ashes on November 25, but that doesn’t dampen the enthusiasm for some early sparring.”It’s a great time to see where both teams are,” said Bell. “The World Twenty20 final was a great momentum booster for us and I’m sure the Australians will be desperate to do well in the series. It’s a good chance for us to go out and show we are improving.”

West Ham are battling Newcastle United in the race to sign Udinese’s Antonin Barak.

What’s the story?

According to reports over the summer from Corriere di Verona (print edition, 06/2021, page 14), Hammers boss David Moyes was weighing up a potential swoop for the midfielder.

Gazzetta dello Sport have now claimed (via Sport Witness) that the Irons remain in the mix for Barak and that they continue to follow him closely.

The report added that Serie A duo Inter and AC Milan are also in the race, although Udinese are not keen on letting him go this month.

Imagine him and Rice

While Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek have become the cornerstones of West Ham’s midfield, Moyes could look to partner Barak with the Englishman.

The Udinese ace has already earned some rave reviews for his performances, not least with Czech Republic legend Pavel Nedved, who said: “If we talk about Czech talents, we do not have to try a lot. Udinese has Barak and Jankto, two I like. They are doing well, but I think they can play at a higher level.”

Meanwhile, a player profile done by Dalian Wanda said of him: “Towering at 1.90m, Antonin Barak is a central midfielder who is great in air, also comfortable enough to put the ball on the floor and play, not afraid to let fly from distance either! He’s the engine room for this Czech team.”

Barak also achieved history a couple of seasons ago by becoming only the second foreign player to score three goals in the first seven games in Serie A for Hellas Verona, after Preben Elkjær Larsen in 1987/88.

The Czech ace has scored more goals and provided more assists than Soucek this season, while he also boasts far more shots, key passes and dribbles per game – a real indication of the greater attacking threat that he brings to the table in comparison to his fellow countryman at the London Stadium.

The 6 foot 3 beast could be another player to establish a formidable partnership with Rice in the engine room for West Ham.

Meanwhile, Moyes is now keen on signing this Premier League star…

Ciaran Kelly spotted what Allan Saint-Maximin did right before he scored for Newcastle United in their game at home to Watford in the Premier League.

The Lowdown: Great finish

The opening goal in the 1-1 draw against the Hornets was typical of Saint-Maximin with his outrageous ability on the ball.

The Frenchman cut inside from the wing, beating two players before rifling an unstoppable effort into the bottom corner of the net past Ben Foster.

It put the North East club in the driving seat at St. James’ Park, although Joao Pedro levelled things up with a smart finish.

The Latest: Kelly reacts

Writing on Twitter, The Chronicle journalist Kelly spotted the hard work that Saint-Maximin did before he got his goal:

“Will go a little unnoticed but that all stemmed from Allan Saint-Maximin not giving up the ghost.

“Chased and harried Ngakia in build-up, forcing him into a mistake, before cutting inside and rifling the ball past Foster. Great finish. Deafening noise inside St James’ Park.”

The Verdict: All-rounder

Everyone knows that Saint-Maximin is an elite dribbler – he currently averages the second-most amount of dribbles per game in the top flight, only behind Wolves ace Adama Traore.

However, as Kelly points out, his work off the ball sometimes goes unnoticed, and his effort in trying to win it back off of Jeremy Ngakia before going on to score was such an important moment in the match.

Nonetheless, the 24-year-old will no doubt be a key player for the Tyneside outfit if they are to avoid relegation down to the Championship at the end of the campaign.

In other news, find out who NUFC are now in ‘advanced talks’ to sign here!

Matt Prior is determined to prove he still has a one-day future despite the emergence of Craig Kieswetter

Andrew McGlashan23-Jun-2010From being England’s wicketkeeper in all three formats, Matt Prior nowonly has his Test place after watching Craig Kieswetter hot-foot itinto the limited-overs set up with considerable early success. Butrather than bemoan his lot, Prior is determined to use his recentomission as an incentive to improve and is adamant he has a one-dayfuture with his country.The England selectors made no secret of the fact they were monitoringKieswetter’s development closely, but the speed of his promotion tothe full side meant that in a matter of two weeks Prior was lookingover his shoulder. Both played in the first two ODIs in Bangladeshearlier this year, with Prior retaining the gloves, but the writingwas on the wall when Kieswetter was given the role for the final matchin Chittagong.He responded with a maiden hundred and was duly included the WorldTwenty20 squad, when he hit a Man-of-the-Match 63 in the final againstAustralia. Such was Kieswetter’s impact that it was no surprise whenPrior was overlooked for the current one-day squad, yet he has barelyput a foot wrong over the last 12 months.”Competition for places is very healthy and certainly all the timeI’ve been in the England team there’s been pressure with peoplewatching your every move,” Prior told Cricinfo. “Whoever has the roleat any given time will be under pressure. That’s international sport,but the nice thing for me is I know I’ve dealt with it before, handledit and come back stronger. I’m fine with the competition andpressure.”Prior, though, wouldn’t be human if he wasn’t feeling frustrated bythe current situation. His ability with the bat has rarely beendoubted, but in the earlier phases of his international career hisglovework raised plenty of questions and drove some team-mates,notably Ryan Sidebottom on the 2007-08 tour of Sri Lanka, todistraction. Now he has made himself a high-quality keeper, but hasbeen left out because his batting doesn’t fit England’s one-day model and couldn’t even find a place in the Lions squad to face India A and West Indies A.”It’s a frustration because you want to be there but they’ve gone fora different balance with the wicketkeeper opening the batting and atthe time I wasn’t opening,” he said. “That’s fair enough and anyoneknows that if you want two allrounders in the middle you can’t havetwo keepers, that’s pretty simple. Now it’s down to me. I’m backopening in one-day cricket for Sussex, which I enjoy and it’s the mostnatural spot for me, and I have a lot belief in my ability. Now I’vegot to score a lot of runs and keep knocking on the door.”Prior knows that it is vital he maintains his run-scoring form both incounty cricket and when he resumes his England place for the Testseries against Pakistan. He is using his international break to spendtime on his batting, which took a back seat as the keeping improved,and to rest a damaged right hand. Prior isn’t currently behind thestumps for Sussex – who also have Brendon McCullum and Andy Hodd inthe Twenty20 team – but won’t consider the thought of becoming aspecialist one-day batsman. “Certainly not, I’m a batsman-keeper andthat’s my role,” he said.He takes immense pride in the development of his glovework which owesa huge amount to the tireless efforts of Bruce French, England’swicketkeeping coach, who can often be seen spending hours on theoutfield with Prior especially on overseas tours. Ironically, onemoment that showed how proficient Prior has become came in his lastTwenty20 international, when he pulled off an outstanding leg-sidestumping to remove Shoaib Malik in Dubai.”When I first started working with Frenchy our goal was to be morethan a regular keeper who catches the ball, actually to be someone whocan make chances out of nothing,” said Prior. “When things like thathappen it feels good because of all the work. It doesn’t mean I’m thefinished article, I need to keep getting better, but I’m really happywith where by keeping is at.”He admits that being a wicketkeeper can be a lonely role with no oneelse to share the burden, but sees every challenge as a motivation topush himself harder. “It can be, there’s only one keeper and you haveto be one to understand what it’s like,” he said. “I think that’s whyI’ve enjoyed having Brendon McCullum at Sussex because we can have aproper whinge about how it’s the toughest job in cricket. It probablyisn’t, but we like to think it is.”But I’ve known that if I want to be the England keeper I have to bethe best out there, and if someone comes in a does better I have toraise my game.”Matt Prior is a Chance to Shine ambassador and was taking partin “Brit Insurance National Cricket Day”, a day of cricket-themedactivity in hundreds of schools across the country. Find out more atchancetoshine.org

The BCCI’s disciplinary committee has pushed its decision on Lalit Modi’s demand for the removal of Chirayu Amin and Arun Jaitley from the committee to August 1

Cricinfo staff27-Jul-2010The BCCI’s disciplinary committee has pushed to August 1 a decision on suspended IPL chairman Lalit Modi’s request for the removal of interim IPL chairman Chirayu Amin and BCCI vice-president Arun Jaitley from the committee. However, a BCCI statement said the committee did agree to provide Modi with several documents sought by his counsel.”The core issue of recusal of two members from the panel was debated,” Modi’s lawyer Mehmood Abdi said after the hearing in Delhi that lasted three and a half hours. “Our lawyers argued the case. The BCCI will be allowed to come out with a rejoinder.”Abdi was adamant that a neutral judge should be part of the panel. “A retired Supreme Court judge must be there in the committee. We have grave concern about the BCCI’s stance,” he said. “If they have already decided then what’s the point in all their meetings? Whosoever is doing this is hurting BCCI’s cause more.”The board agreed to hand over copies of the minutes from the special general body meeting held earlier this month at which the charges against Modi were ratified, and relevant extracts of two IPL governing council meetings (April 26 and June 25). Modi’s lawyers were also given a copy of the amended agreement between the BCCI and Sony-MSM on condition of the strictest confidentiality. Abdi had asked for these documents three days ago, saying they were “crucial to the proceedings”.The decisions were taken at the committee’s second hearing, which Modi skipped citing security concerns. “In the last meeting we had given reason to the BCCI about his (Modi) absence and the Board has accepted that,” Abdi said. “We feel his absence won’t affect the proceedings because I am here to represent him. It will be decided if he can come later depending on the situation.”A day ahead of the hearing Modi had denied that he was hindering the enquiry. “Rumours of non-cooperation from me are planted and irresponsible,” he tweeted. “If this is not a witch hunt, what is! Have always agreed to cooperate provided there is no witch hunt. Those concerned should be guardians of justice and the sport.”Modi has repeatedly demanded the removal of Amin from the panel, claiming he holds a grudge because Modi revealed he was part of a failed bid for one of the two new IPL franchises. Modi’s lawyers have also argued Jaitley should not be on the panel either because he had voted to ratify the charges against Modi at the board’s special general body meeting.The BCCI suspended Modi immediately following the conclusion of IPL 3 in April and charged him with financial irregularities relating to the bidding process for IPL franchises, the mid-over ad sales and the sale of theatrical rights. He was also charged with colluding to set up a rebel league in England.

Luis Enrique is one of the names in the frame to take over at Manchester United, according to The Athletic’s David Ornstein. 

Ornstein wrote that the appointment process will begin in earnest in the coming weeks, with the Red Devils keen to hire a manager with experience at a top European club.

A brief lowdown on United target Enrique

During his time with Barcelona between 2014 and 2017, Enrique won nine major honours, most notably the 2014/15 UEFA Champions League. He was named the World’s Best Club Coach that season, having also led his side to glory in La Liga and the Copa Del Rey.

Enrique is currently in charge of the Spanish national team and will be preparing for the World Cup in Qatar at the end of the year.

Also in contention to succeed Ralf Rangnick permanently are Paris Saint-Germain boss Mauricio Pochettino, Ajax’s Erik ten Hag and Enrique’s compatriot Julen Lopetegui, who is currently at Sevilla.

Ornstein relayed his news on Twitter, and here’s what these United fans made of it.

These United fans would love Enrique

“Luis Enrique would be a great match”

Credit: @Josh_Somwaru

“Enrique anytime”

Credit: @adi4utd

“I’d really love Enrique”

Credit: @StanleyMawu

“ENRIQUE, OMG I’M ON MY KNEES”

Credit: @youxufiftikhxr

“Omggg ENRIQUEEEEEE”

Credit: @aaron_utd

“Ten Hag or Enrique would bang”

Credit: @Rangnick_Era

In other news, lots of United fans flock to this January exit report