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It’s all well and good that Liverpool are dominating the Premier League’s possession charts this season, but a distinct absence of creativity and fluency has soured the mood on Merseyside.

Liverpool are nine games unbeaten in all competitions, and only left Craven Cottage without the spoils after substitute Harrison Reed’s frankly ridiculous last-gasp Howitzer.

But this is almost immaterial for the legions of Liverpool supporters, who cannot discern an identity about Arne Slot’s squad, so slow and laboured and uninteresting.

Premier League 25/26 – Possession Leaders

Team

Position

Av. Possession (%)

Liverpool

4th

61.2

Man City

2nd

58.6

Arsenal

1st

58.3

Chelsea

5th

58.0

Man United

6th

53.3

Data via FBref

Changes are needed, and as FSG are sure to persist with their struggling manager, it may be worth making an improvement in the transfer market, with the midfield in desperate need of fresh inspiration.

Liverpool targeting Premier League midfielder

Liverpool are struggling. To have gone nine games unbeaten and failed to shake the malaise and instead aggravated it says something of Slot’s tactical problems.

It’s not fair to say the Reds aren’t creating big chances – with 41, they are third in that Premier League micro table – but stats can be misleading, and clear-cut, sharp opportunities are not being fashioned with regularity or expected endeavour.

Alexis Mac Allister has fallen by the wayside, and Ryan Gravenberch does not boast the level of incisive surgical passing to create channels for the forwards. It’s all a bit tricky.

But FSG are aware of this, and they are firmly in the race for Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton, though Spanish sources have revealed that Real Madrid have joined the race.

Palace are determined not to sell this winter, but Wharton’s long-term future surely sits with a European superpower, though the Eagles are determined to cash in for a base fee of €70m (converting to about £61m), with Wharton awarded a significant salary to boot.

What Wharton would bring to Anfield

There is a reason Real Madrid want to bring Wharton to the Santiago Bernabeu. He has flair and resourcefulness. Should he fulfil his potential, he would not look out of place in one of the Spanish superpowers of old.

Hailed as a “cheat code” by analyst Ben Mattinson for his range of passing, Wharton could even emerge as Liverpool’s new version of Xabi Alonso, who starred in Istanbul way back when and enjoyed a glittering career for a number of Europe’s top clubs – leaving Liverpool for Real Madrid in 2009.

Could lightning strike twice? Were Liverpool to prevail in their bid for Palace’s central star, he would go from strength to strength, and Los Blancos’ interest would not disappear.

This is a top talent. As per data-driven platform FBref, the 21-year-old ranks among the top 7% of Premier League midfielders this season for shot-creating actions and the top 13% for through balls completed per 90, underscoring his Alonso-esque skill on the ball that is now being propped up by improvements in the defensive department.

Wharton is showing sharp progress. Last season, though Oliver Glasner’s side were on the up, the young England international left something to be desired. He’s made headway this year, looking more like the all-encompassing midfield star that Alonso was at the height of his playing days.

Adam Wharton’s Premier League Form

Match Stats (* per game)

24/25

25/26

Matches (starts)

20 (16)

18 (18)

Goals + Assists

0 + 2

0 + 2

Touches*

45.7

52.8

Accurate passes*

26.7 (79%)

30.2 (79%)

Big chances created

5

7

Key passes*

1.3

1.3

Ball recoveries*

5.1

5.2

Succ. dribbles*

0.1

0.5

Tackles + interceptions*

2.7

3.2

Duels (won)*

3.2 (46%)

4.6 (55%)

Data via Sofascore

Creativity and on the ball, Wharton is enjoying a continuation of his most notable quality, but his combative approach to defending, and his mobility and skill in carrying the ball forward, have both intensified.

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Described as “the best U21 player in the Prem” by one analyst, Wharton is still younger than Alonso was when he moved from Real Sociedad to Liverpool in 2004, going on to become one of the maestros of his generation.

He has the sparkle about his skillset to make a real difference at Liverpool, charging Slot’s depleted midfield batteries and adding a central talisman of a likeness to Alonso, once one of the best midfielders in the world.

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Posts ByAngus Sinclair

There were plenty of significant outgoings at Manchester United in the summer, but one of the most notable departures was Marcus Rashford.

He moved to Barcelona on loan with an option to buy him at the end of the summer, essentially calling time on his wonderful Old Trafford career.

The Wythenshawe-born superstar made 426 appearances for his boyhood club since breaking through as a teenager, scoring 138 goals and assisting 79 times.

He was sensational for a decade or so, helping to guide United to two Carabao Cup wins, the Europa League and two FA Cup titles.

Now, with Rashford having essentially left the club, United are looking to bring in a new left-winger.

Man Utd targeting new teenage winger

Rashford was not the only left-winger to leave Old Trafford in the summer. His fellow academy graduate, Alejandro Garnacho, also left for Chelsea, leaving the Red Devils depleted in that area of the pitch.

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Thus, it might not be a surprise to learn that United are in the market for a new left-sided attacker.

The Daily Mail are reporting that Ruben Amorim’s side ‘are now asking about’ terms to sign RB Leipzig star Yan Diomande in the coming weeks.

However, this is not going to be an easy deal to do. The Ivorian international is a player in demand, with Bundesliga side Bayern Munich and Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur having also enquired about the deal.

In terms of the fee, United’s owners INEOS, and indeed other interested parties, could be looking at upwards of £61m to sign the winger.

What Diomande can bring to United

Signing Diomande would certainly be a huge statement for the Red Devils. He is arguably one of the most highly rated young attackers on the planet and has already become a key player for Leipzig in his first season at the club.

So far, the 19-year-old, who is a full international with Cote d’Ivoire, has made 16 appearances for the Bundesliga side this term.

In that time, he’s scored seven times and assisted four, averaging a goal involvement every 94 minutes, which is certainly an impressive return.

One of the most striking things when you watch Diomande is how deadly a dribbler he is.

Described as an “explosive” winger by football scout Antonio Mango, he thrives in one-vs-one situations, isolating a defender before looking to drive at them with his power and quick feet.

It is interesting to consider the similarities between Diomande now and Rashford as a teenager. Funnily enough, 1999 treble winner and fellow academy graduate Nicky Butt said the now-Barca winger was an “explosive” player in his younger days, too.

Like the Ivorian, he played with fearlessness, really looking to get at defenders on the front foot.

Indeed, the former United number ten played a lot more first-team football as a teenager than Diomande has. Rashford hasd notched up 87 appearances by his 20th birthday, scoring 26 times.

Strikes like this against West Ham United highlight that explosive nature Butt mentioned.

It is easy to see the similarities between a teenage Rashford and Leipzig’s own young talent, and the stats further highlight this.

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For example, in 2016/17, a campaign the Englishman began as a teenager, he averaged 4.08 progressive carries and created 1.09 chances per 90 minutes. In comparison, Diomande averages 6.26 progressive carries and 1.41 key passes each game.

Diomande vs Rashford

Stat (per 90)

Diomande (25/26)

Rashford (16/17)

Goals & assists

0.81

0.6

Goals per shot on target

0.46

0.35

Key passes

1.41

1.09

Passes into penalty area

1.41

1.19

Progressive passes

6.26

4.08

Stats from FBref

When he first broke through at Old Trafford, Rashford was a dynamic attacking option who continued to thrive for years in his 20s.

Now he’s departed, there isn’t really anyone of that profile at the club, be it an established player or someone breaking through.

Well, signing Diomande could solve that. He has certainly got similar attributes to Rashford, with that previously acknowledged explosive nature and a threat in the final third.

£61m is a fair value for such a talent in the current market, and he could add a new dimension to Amorim’s side.

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For the second successive home game, MICT were asked to complete the highest successful chase in the SA20 and for the second time, they were unable to do so. The defending champions remain winless from three matches and at the bottom of the table, swapping places with Pretoria Capitals. The Highveld team registered their first win of the competition, in their third match, thanks largely to an explosive batting performance.They were in early trouble on 38 for 3 in the fifth over before an 88-run fourth-wicket partnership between Shai Hope and Wihan Lubbe took them to 126 for 4 in the 15th. Both Hope and Lubbe dismissed before the death overs, but that only allowed Capitals’ finishers to shine. Dewald Brevis and Sherfane Rutherford shared a stunning stand of 84 off just 27 balls, which included 72 runs in the last three overs, to push Capitals to 220.As they did in the tournament opener, when they were chasing 233, MICT made a fist of it but only for the first half. They were ahead of the asking rate on 100 for 2 in the ninth over but lost 7 for 35 to deny their home crowd early celebrations on the last day of 2025. They didn’t even have the joy of avoiding conceding a bonus point, with Capitals scooping all five points on offer. Rutherford followed his death-hitting with 4 for 24.

Rabada roars back but then gets taken apart

It’s a day short of ten weeks since Kagiso Rabada last played a match, in the Rawalpindi Test, and concerns over his readiness for a T20 World Cup that is just five weeks away were growing. They shouldn’t have been. Rabada came back with a trademark back-of-a-length ball that beat Bryce Parsons as he tried to glance it fine and then followed up with a fuller ball that shaped away from Parsons’ attempted drive and nicked him off. The rest of Rabada’s over was near-perfect as he varied his lengths, surprised Will Smeed with a bouncer, and ended up conceding only two runs. In his second over, Hope hit a slower ball for a huge six but Rabada pulled it back well as his first two overs cost 12.He was brought back in the 16th over, once the Hope-Lubbe stand was broken and with Lubbe keen to up the ante. He top-edged Rabada over slip but then tried to swipe across the line and top-edged over mid-on. Rabada charged back to try and take the catch but stood down when seeing Reeza Hendricks, who charged in from long-on, was in better position. He could have a had a fourth and a fifth but Corbin Bosch put Brevis down – a difficult, swirling chance – and Nicholas Pooran dropped Rutherford in the final over. Rabada finished with figures of 2 for 48,

Brevis and Rutherford unload six-shooters

After returns of 6 and 12 in his first two matches, Brevis had done very little to justify the R16.5 million (approx US$980,000) Pretoria Capitals paid for him but he started to earn some of his money here. His first boundary was the signature no-look six, this time off a Trent Boult slower ball, and his next two were also sixes. He sent a Bosch full toss over long-off and then sliced a short ball over third to rack up 24 runs off the first nine balls he faced.But it was not all Brevis. At the start of the next over, the penultimate one, Sherfane Rutherford made sure his power-hitting stole the spotlight. He sent a wide Dwaine Pretorius offcutter over long-off, a slower-ball bouncer over square leg, a full toss over deep cover and then got inside the line of a length ball to hit it over long-off. Pretorius pulled out of his run-up for the fifth ball and broke Rutherford’s momentum with a yorker but the damage had been done.

Rickelton rides his luck until he doesn’t

After being dropped twice on his way to 113 in the opening game, Ryan Rickelton was put down twice more as the rub of the green continued for him at Newlands. He was on 13 when he skied Lizaad Williams toward mid-on. Rurtherford had an age to get under it and did but the ball slipped out of his hands to give Rickelton a life. In the next over, he was on 23 when he miscued a Lungi Ngidi slower ball to third. Williams was running in and seemed to have it covered only for Brevis to come into view, charging towards the ball from deep backward point. In the end, the ball fell between them as they tumbled to the ground, almost colliding.Rickelton kept hitting but his fortune ran out when he pulled Williams to deep backward square where Parsons took the catch, diving forward. The opening stand was broken on 60, and Brevis redeemed himself when he took the catch that removed Rassie van der Dussen, two overs later.

Maharaj makes NYE his own

Things started out tough for Keshav Maharaj at his new franchise but he took control with a statement performance on the last day of 2025. Maharaj brought himself on after the powerplay, with MICT on 63 for 1, and quietened things down in an opening over that cost just five. His second over started with a wide, and then he was hit for back-to-back sixes by Pooran but Maharaj had the last laugh. Pooran slog swept but didn’t get enough on it and was caught at deep backward square. Maharaj’s third over was the charm as he got turn and bounce and beat Jason Smith’s outside edge to bowl him. MICT were 113 for 5 at that stage and in the middle of a huge collapse that saw them fall 85 runs short. The chase was over in the 15th over with 34 balls to spare.

Robin Uthappa is gung-ho ahead of the fourth ODI in Gwalior © AFP

Listen to Robin Uthappa at a press conference on the eve of a match and you could be forgiven for thinking that he, and sometimes the team, is bullet proof. Everything about him is gung-ho, the morale is perennially high and the future’s always bright.Much like his approach to batting, he attacks as a mode of defence. When somebody questioned Zaheer Khan’s effectiveness as the leader of the bowling attack, Uthappa shot back saying Zaheer had bowled magnificently in Kanpur, conceding just 25 off seven overs and that it was unfair to ask such questions.He wanted to “fight fire with fire” against Australia and although India went down 4-2, Uthappa said the intensity with which the games were contested was good preparation for the series against Pakistan.”Against Australia the pressure brought the best out of us and made us ready for this series,” Uthappa said on the eve of the fourth one-dayer in Gwalior. “There is pressure in this series as well, as it still can go either way. But we are confident of doing well, as we are on top of our game.”The Indian batting line-up is indeed on top of their game. They chased down 240 with ease in Guwahati, scored 321 in Mohali, and 294 in Kanpur. The top and middle order coming good in each game has meant that Uthappa, batting at No. 6 or No. 7, hasn’t had much of an opportunity against Pakistan. He came in with India at the doorstep of victory in the first ODI, got a poor lbw decision early on in the second, and scored a brisk 19 off 17 balls after coming in during the 44th over in the third.Has the lack of opportunity flustered him considering that he broke into the one-day team as an opener who scored 83 against England in Indore – the highest score by an Indian on debut?”As long as I am contributing to the team’s cause, it does not matter to me whether I am batting,” Uthappa said. “I can bat anywhere.” When pressed for a preferred batting position, he refused to budge, saying that he would bat “wherever the team wants”.Ironically, it is his success at the position the team wanted – No. 6 or No. 7 – that has cemented Uthappa’s spot in the one-day side. After his sparkling debut, Uthappa was unable to secure a place for himself at the top of the order after a disastrous World Cup, in which he scored 30 runs, meant that Uthappa struggled to get a game during the tour of England in 2007. It didn’t help either that most of the Indian top-order slots were non-negotiables.A cool 47, batting at No 7, to win a tense game against England at The Oval sowed the seeds of Uthappa’s finishing career after which he has batted primarily in the lower-middle order. It’s a difficult position to bat in for you are expected to consolidate if the top-order fails, accelerate if you enter during the final overs, and farm strike when batting with the tail. Though Uthappa hasn’t been needed to play significant innings in the series so far, he’s prepared to “play it tough on the field” should the situation arise as India attempt to clinch the series.

Martyn Ball was a great servant of Gloucestershire cricket © Getty Images

Martyn Ball has shocked Gloucestershire by announcing his retirement from professional cricket after 19 years with the club. Despite signing a new one-year deal last summer he as opted to take up a role with the US-based property development company Ginn Europe.Ball, 36, admits it was a huge decision to leave the sport behind but felt the time was right. “I’ve had 19 fantastic years playing first-class cricket and Gloucestershire has become a major part of my life,” he told .”But this marvellous opportunity has come along and I have had to make a decision. There has been a lot of soul searching but, in my mind, I know this is the right time for me to announce my retirement.”I’ve seen people stay too long and end their careers full of bitterness and resentment and I didn’t want that for myself. This way, I’m going out on my own terms and with my reputation intact.”Tom Richardson, the chief executive, praised Ball’s efforts with the club. “He has made a significant contribution, especially during the past eight seasons when our team has collected nine trophies.”His efforts in these one-day competitions cannot be underestimated although the statistics will not always show the depth of Martyn’s contribution.”Ball is also set to leave his position as Professional Cricketers’ Association chairman but still hopes to put something back into the game. “I want to be able to come back in the future and help out Gloucestershire in any way I can.”In a career spanning 193 first-class matches he took 389 wickets at 37.74 and scored 4633 runs at 19.22. However, it was in the one-day game where he really shone and his 288 wickets came at 30.47 while he was a brilliant slip fielder. He’d also adapted well to Twenty20, playing 29 matches and taking 27 scalps at 24.48.His highest honour came when he was called up to England’s tour of India in 2001-02 after Robert Croft’s withdrawal from the trip following the 9/11 attacks. He didn’t make the Test team, but did line-up in a warm-up fixture and came as a sub in the second Test, at Ahmedabad, catching Sourav Ganguly off Andrew Flintoff.

As former Barbados and West Indies player Vasbert Drakes prepares for his second stint as coach of Trinidad and Tobago’s Queen’s Park Cricket Club, he has called for better facilities throughout the region and for the players to develop their game.The tall allrounder, who played 12 Tests and 34 ODIs, leaves his native Barbados today to resume duties in Port of Spain.”I am excited about what is happening at Queen’s Park and the good work that is being done there. We have excellent facilities and a quality programme,” said Drakes, who played his last match for the West Indies in January 2004. “It is something I would like to see spread across the Caribbean. One of the difficulties across the region is facilities. At Queen’s Park we have better facilities than even some of the teams competing in the Carib Beer Series. West Indies cricket is struggling, we know that. One way to lift the team and see it compete at the highest level again is to start at the club level. The roots must be strong.”In a first-class career which spanned 15 years, 36-year-old Drakes played for four teams in the English County Championship – Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Sussex and Warwickshire – and was Player of the Year twice with Border in the South African SuperSports League. He also represented Scotland last year. Late last year he served as player/coach for the Pickwick Club which he led to their first domestic Division One title in Barbados since 1958.Drakes said the Stanford Twenty20 Tournament, which is due to start in Antigua in August, could be a saviour for West Indies cricket. “In the Caribbean we don’t have the money to pay our players as top professionals so we have to look at programmes where we can get assistance,” Drakes pointed out. “The Stanford Twenty20 has come along and looks capable of bringing a change and bringing back a professional approach to the game. We should embrace it.”

Bob Woolmer: Hits back at Miandad© Getty Images

Bob Woolmer has expressed his disapproval over Javed Miandad’s scathing criticism and termed it as “very disappointing”. Miandad had questioned Woolmer’s coaching methods and said that nothing much had changed since he took over as coach.Speaking to the media on the eve of the first Test, Woolmer was blunt with his reaction. “It’s very disappointing that a senior, very respected cricketer and past coach of the Pakistan cricket team comes out and criticises the team, the coach and everyone involved,” he said. “I find that rather disappointing coming from someone of his caliber.”Woolmer, who was blamed for experimenting too much with the side, found the remark even more confounding because Miandad had been in charge right before he took over. “[They were] harsh words from someone who had the team before I took over. It’s like … criticising yourself. He’s not working with me, he’s not in the dressing-room, he doesn’t understand what I’m doing or what I’m trying to do, so he’s really saying things from outside.”Woolmer then spoke about working together and, refreshingly, didn’t limit it to cricket. “Quite frankly, if Pakistan were to get together and unite the forces and harness all the forces they had, it would be a much better country for it.”

In the wake of Sunil Gavaskar’s statement that sportsmanship has gone out of the modern game, James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia (CA) chief executive, today revealed that they were deluged with 15 days of complaints from the public, along with a backlash from sponsors, after Glenn McGrath’s verbal tirade in the West Indies.Speaking at a business lunch, Sutherland said that CA were inundated with phone calls and e-mails following McGrath’s vein-popping rant at Ramnaresh Sarwan during the fourth Test in Antigua. McGrath later apologised to Sarwan and publicly expressed regret at his behaviour, but it has left significant ramifications for the game in Australia.Sutherland continued: “The damage that that caused Australian cricket and arguably our brand could never be measured, but judging by the reaction we got from the media and the public there was no doubt there was a diminution as a result of that unfortunate incident.”People were saying that the Australian team were poor role models anddon’t want (their) kids playing cricket and the captain needs to take controlof the team.”Sutherland, who at the time demanded Steve Waugh curb in his team’sbehaviour, also said sponsors had contacted him to say their brands weresuffering because of the backlash.However, he insisted Cricket Australia had learned much from the incident. While not condoning McGrath’s actions, he also believed that the Australian team had in some ways been a victim of their own success: “When you are successful in this day and age people do like to pick out the bad things and look for things that aren’t that great.”No action was taken by either the umpires or match referee, Mike Procter,against McGrath over the incident, but he was rebuked by Sutherland,who believed it was up to the umpires to clamp down and enforcecricket’s code of conduct to make sure such incidents were promptly dealt with.Sutherland said: "What we need to see is the umpires having the strength of their convictions to act and report players when they cross that line. We need to clarify it and the umpires need to back it up and perhaps stop trying to be everyone’s mate and actually take the hard line and nail players who cross the line.”

Sri Lanka will now play Pakistan in the first game of the CBFS triangulartournament next week (October 26) following a last minute change to theitinerary.According to the previous itinerary, Sri Lanka were to face Zimbabwe in thefirst encounter.Friday is a holiday throughout the Middle East and traditionally attractsthe best crowds in Sharjah, most of whom are keen Pakistani fans. They willbe delighted with the change.The Zimbabwe-Sri Lanka match has been shifted to the following day.Originally, Pakistan were to play Sri Lanka on Saturday.However, there’s been no change to the rest of the matches.All the matches will be day-night encounters and will commence at 4:30 pmlocal time and end at 12:15 midnight.The Sri Lankan side will be leaving to Sharjah on Sunday.Fri 26 Oct – Pakistan v Sri Lanka
Sat 27 Oct – Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe
Sun 28 Oct – Pakistan v Zimbabwe
Tue 30 Oct – Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe
Wed 31 Oct – Pakistan v Zimbabwe
Fri 02 Nov – Pakistan vs Sri Lanka
Sun 04 Nov – Final

ScorecardMoeen Ali collected three wickets against Pakistan A to boost his confidence ahead of what will be a vital role he has to play in the Test series, but England were given a taste of what could loom over the next month as they toiled during a wicketless afternoon session in Sharjah and were reminded of how crucial it will be to take every chance that comes to hand.A productive morning for England, in which Moeen struck twice to add to Mark Wood’s opening wicket, gave way to a more sobering middle session after Alastair Cook had spilled Iftikhar Ahmed on 11 at a wide slip off Stuart Broad’s first ball of his second spell. Iftikhar went on to finish unbeaten on 92 as Pakistan A reached 216 for 5.It took England 44 overs to break the second-wicket stand of 112 between Iftikhar and Fawad Alam, who is part of Pakistan’s Test squad. Moeen added his third by having Fawad, who had offered a caught-and-bowled chance to the same bowler on 50, taken at mid-on.However, the purpose of these matches are to acclimatise to the testing conditions, so while missed chances were certainly not the order of the day a lengthy stint in the field, with miles in the legs, could serve England well.England’s quicks were all managed in short spells on another energy-sapping day where cold towels were frequently used to bring some relief and James Anderson’s opening five overs with the new ball was the longest stint for any of the seamers. It was first-change Wood, the pick of England’s pacemen throughout the day, who made the initial incision when Sami Aslam pulled to square leg where Broad pulled off a brilliant, one-handed catch.By then, Moeen was already into his first spell and was soon among the wickets. Khurram Manzoor edged gently to slip and Ali Asad was trapped on the back foot by a quicker delivery as Moeen ended his first stint with 7-2-9-2.His likely Test partner, Adil Rashid, had also settled into an economical pre-lunch spell and though managing just one maiden he maintained an economy rate of under three during the day, which will have been encouraging for Cook although a line-up of Azhar Ali, Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq will pose far greater challenges. Misbah, who appeared for this match on the first day having not been in the original squad, opted not to have a bat.After Iftikhar received his let-off, he and Fawad made steady progress through the afternoon as Cook used seven bowlers including Joe Root. Iftikhar struck the two sixes of the innings, both off Moeen, and passed fifty from 125 balls while Fawad took 132 deliveries to reach his.Late in the day, Anderson struck in the first over with the second new ball when Usman Salahuddin tickled a catch down the leg side but another chance went begging when Adnan Akmal edged between Jos Buttler and Cook at slip, neither of who moved. Akmal finished on a lively 26 off 27 balls.The second of the two-day matches begins on Thursday and is likely to be a chance for Alex Hales and James Taylor to stake a claim for batting spots, although after Jonny Bairstow’s runs in this game and Moeen’s all-round capabilities are taken into account it is looking increasingly likely that the Test top order will be those that played here.