All posts by h716a5.icu

Former Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa should be fondly remembered by the supporters at Elland Road due to the excellent work he did during his time at the club.

The former Marseille head coach, who is the current national team manager of Uruguay, enjoyed a terrific spell in Yorkshire as he joined them in the Championship and left with the side competing as a Premier League outfit.

Ex-sporting director Victor Orta and the 68-year-old boss worked together to secure promotion to the top flight within his first two seasons at the helm, which was followed by a ninth-placed finish in the top division.

Whilst some may look back at the signings Bielsa made, with the most expensive highlighted below, and how successful they were, the experienced tactician also struck gold with his decisions on who to cash in on.

Rodrigo

£25.9m

Dan James

£25.1m

Jean-Kevin Augustin

£18.2m

Diego Llorente

£17.3m

Raphinha

£16.1m

One sale the Argentine boss hit the jackpot with was centre-forward Kemar Roofe's move to Belgian side Anderlecht in the summer of 2019.

Former Whites owner Andrea Radrizzani revealed that the club needed to bring in money through sales that year in order to avoid a points deduction from the league due to their financial situation.

This means that Bielsa's hand was somewhat forced with Roofe but there were other assets at Elland Road and his decision to cash in on the Jamaica international turned out to be an excellent one.

How many goals did Kemar Roofe score for Leeds?

The energetic attacker spent three full seasons with the Yorkshire-based outfit and plundered 33 goals in 122 appearances across all competitions in total.

He arrived at Leeds off the back of an outstanding 2015/16 campaign with Oxford United in League Two as the talented ace produced an eye-catching 25 goals and 12 assists in 49 matches, which included 17 goals and ten assists in 40 league outings.

However, the English-born star struggled for form at the top end of the pitch during his debut season with Leeds. Roofe scored four goals and provided seven assists in 49 games throughout the 2016/17 term.

The former West Brom academy prospect was then able to find his feet the following campaign with a record of 14 goals and five assists in 39 clashes, which included 11 goals in 36 Championship outings.

His final season with Leeds came in the 2018/19 campaign, which was Bielsa's first year at Elland Road and ended in a play-off semi-final defeat to Derby County. He contributed with 15 goals and two assists in 34 matches in total, which included 15 league goals in 33 appearances.

Roofe was Leeds' top-scorer in the Championship with his 15 league strikes, which was six more than the nine that Patrick Bamford managed after his move from Middlesbrough during the 2018 summer transfer window.

How much did Leeds sell Roofe for?

Bielsa and Leeds reportedly cashed in on the reliable number nine for a significant fee of £7m as Vincent Kompany's Anderlecht secured his services.

He only had one year left to run on his contract at Elland Road and was offered an attractive wage hike by the Pro League side, while the Whites were well compensated for a Championship club selling a player who would have been a free agent the following summer.

His departure left a hole to fill at the top end of the pitch for Bielsa but it also presented Bamford with the opportunity to stake a claim for his place in the side, which is exactly what he did.

The former Chelsea prodigy went on to score 16 goals in 45 Championship appearances, which was seven more than any of his teammates, as Leeds won the title and earned promotion to the Premier League.

Where is Roofe now?

Roofe is currently playing for Scottish giants Rangers at the age of 30, having joined the Light Blues from Anderlecht in the summer of 2020.

The striker scored seven goals in 16 appearances in all competitions for the Belgian outfit before his switch to Scotland after just one season with Kompany.

He has been a fairly prolific scorer for the Gers throughout his three-and-a-bit years in Glasgow to date, with 37 goals in 86 matches to date.

However, his fitness record has been a huge issue over the course of his stay in Scotland. Roofe has suffered seven separate injury problems and missed a staggering 84 competitive games since the start of the 2020/21 campaign.

This means that the former Leeds forward has almost been absent for as many matches as he has played for Rangers over the last three years, which shows that the 30-year-old attacker has been a liability with his lack of consistent availability.

How much is Roofe worth now?

At the time of writing, FootballTransfers have placed Roofe's Expected Transfer Value (xTV) at £850k (€1m), showing that his market value has plummeted since his departure from Elland Road.

The experienced finisher's xTV of £850k is 88% less than the £7m that Leeds raked in for his services in the summer of 2019.

Roofe, who was described as a "Duracell bunny" by former Rangers boss Steven Gerrard, has been a fine goalscorer for the Scottish giants but his injury issues have caused too many problems for him to be worth anywhere near as much as the Whites received for him four years ago.

His team are not able to rely on him to play regular football as he has not played more than 21 league games in a single season since the 2018/19 campaign with Leeds.

Therefore, Bielsa hit the jackpot with his move to sell the ex-Oxford United star in 2019 as his injury issues have caught up with him and his market value has deteriorated drastically, which suggests that the English outfit cashed in on him at the perfect time.

Roofe's exit also allowed Bamford to thrive in the final third, as aforementioned, and fire the Yorkshire side to the Premier League, which suggests that they did not miss the Jamaican marksman's talents on the pitch.

Arsenal’s hard-fought win over Leicester City on the weekend just about kept them in the Premier League title race for another week.

However, while two late goals are always great for morale, Mikel Arteta’s side remain comfortably behind Liverpool in first place.

Moreover, with a thread-bare attack, it certainly feels like it would take a minor miracle for the North Londoners to finally get their hands on the trophy this season.

Worse yet, an attacker they sold back in 2017 has just returned to the Premier League and is now worth millions more than what they sold him for.

Arsenal's notable 2017 transfers

Before getting to the player in question, it’s worth looking back at a couple of signings made by Arsenal in 2017, starting with Sead Kolašinac, who joined on a free from FC Schalke in June that year.

He may have been moving to the Gunners for nothing, but there was a level of excitement over his arrival, as in the season prior, he scored three goals and provided nine assists for the Bundesliga side in just 36 games.

Unfortunately, despite producing nine goal involvements in his first season with the club, the Bosnian international never truly got to grips with English football, being labelled “naive” and “irresponsible” by Gary Neville in his very first game for the club, and after a few more mediocre seasons, he was sent back to Schalke on loan for the latter half of 20/21 and then released by mutual consent in summer 2022.

A more successful signing made in 2017 was that of Alexandre Lacazette, as while he probably didn’t score quite as many goals as fans would’ve liked for his then-club record fee of £46.5m, he was a useful member of the first team throughout his five-year stay in North London.

In all, the French centre-forward made 206 appearances for the Gunners, in which he won an FA Cup, scored 76 goals and provided 32 assists, which comes out to an average of a goal involvement every other game, which is just the sort of attacker the club could do with at the moment.

Likewise, the player the club sold for pennies on the dollar that same summer is also someone Arteta could do with today, especially as he’s now worth millions more.

The Arsenal star sold too soon

There were a few notable sales from the first team in the summer of 2017, such as Wojciech Szczęsny and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, but in this instance, the player was sold from the academy side.

Donyell Malen joined Arsenal as a child and had a reasonable record of 18 goals and nine assists in 57 games for the various youth sides, but was ultimately sold to PSV Eindhoven for around £200k in 2017.

Back in the Netherlands, the Wieringen-born star went from strength to strength and eventually ended up with a record of 55 goals and 24 assists in 116 first-team games for the club, which was enough to secure a £27m move to Borussia Dortmund in July 2021.

He was less prolific in front of goal in Germany but still effective.

Over the next three and a half seasons, the “sizzling” Dutchman, as dubbed by U23 scout Antonio Mango, would still rack up a respectable haul of 39 goals and 20 assists in 132 games, which was once again enough to earn him another move to a top five league, only this time it was the Premier League.

Appearances

38

35

38

21

Minutes

2312′

2193′

2378′

957′

Goals

9

10

15

5

Assists

6

8

5

1

Goal Involvements per Match

0.39

0.51

0.52

0.28

Minutes per Goal Involvement

154.1′

121.8′

118.9′

159.5′

Aston Villa were on the lookout for attacking reinforcements last month and set their sights on the former Hale Ender, who they eventually secured for around £21.5m, which is a massive £20.8m increase on the price the Gunners sold him for six and a half years ago.

In fact, the price paid by the Villans represents an incredible 10650% increase on the fee Arsenal received when they sold the attacker to PSV.

Ultimately, hindsight is a wonderful thing, but once he was out of the capital, it didn’t take long for Malen to show his stuff, and while he might not have been a regular starter for the Gunners, we reckon his presence in the team would make their current injury crisis a lot more manageable.

Arsenal struck gold on "beast" whose valued has soared by 1488% this season

The incredible talent has a bright future with Arsenal.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Feb 19, 2025

New Zealand seamer Matt Henry is taking Division Two by storm as another three wickets at Canterbury made clear

ECB Reporters Network11-May-20181:50

Nick Gubbins again advertised his England credentials

ScorecardKent’s New Zealand strike bowler Matt Henry continued his stunning, early-season form by taking 3 for 24 to leave second-placed Sussex struggling on 69 for 4 as 14 wickets fell on the opening day of this Specsavers County Championship Division Two clash in Canterbury.Henry, the Kiwi firebrand with nine Test caps, spent most of the winter carrying the drinks as the Black Caps entertained Joe Root’s England. However, the 26-year-old has fired on all cylinders since joining Kent last month and, in only his fourth game for the club, leads the national bowling averages with 30 championship wickets at a miserly average of 8.56.Sussex lost both openers within 14 balls of starting their reply. Phil Salt departed first, following a Harry Podmore away swinger to feather one through to keeper Adam Rouse, who tumbled to his left four balls later to snaffle an edge from Luke Wells off the bowling of Henry.The slippery paceman was soon celebrating again after having Harry Finch caught throat-high at slip by Sean Dickson and then Stiaan van Zyl played outside a full inswinger to have his furniture rearranged, again by Henry.Ben Brown (20*) and Luke Wright (28*) counter-attacked thereafter, riding their luck to take the visitors through to the second day still trailing Kent by 146 runs.Kent top-scorer Heino Kuhn was delighted by the character Kent showed throughout the day. He said: “I found the conditions pretty decent and, if you applied yourself, there were enough bad balls around to score from. I managed to keep the good balls out for a couple of hours, I inside edged a couple for four, which I’ll away take. But we went from 125 for two to 134 for six, which was a little disappointing, but at least the last couple took us to 215.”I’m happy for Grant [Stewart] and Calum [Haggett] for getting us past 200 and the bowlers with Matt to the fore did really well. Matt is international class and I told the guys in slips today that I’m happy to playing with him, rather than against him, because he bowled a few unplayable balls today.”As for Sussex head coach Jason Gillespie, he was delighted by his side’s mid-session comeback with the ball. “Losing four wickets at the end of the day wasn’t ideal, but the opposition are allowed to bowl well too. I thought we were a little bit slow into our work at the start of the day.”It took us a little longer to get our lines and lengths right and we bowled well after lunch. David Wiese bowled really well, he was slow to get cracking and get the motor running, but when he did he was a real handful. The first hour tomorrow will be pretty crucial. We need ‘Browny’ and ‘Wrighty’ to develop this partnership for sure.”Earlier on in the opening day, Kent had posted their first batting bonus point of the season yet still underperformed with the bat after succumbing for 215 inside 75 overs.Batting first after an uncontested toss on a sunny morning at the Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence, Joe Denly’s third-placed side lost eight wickets for 51 runs in the mid-session but went on to reach 200 in spectacular style when tail-ender Grant Stewart hammered a brace of sixes in taking 17 off an over from Ollie Robinson.In only his fourth first-class game Stewart, who had been out of action for three weeks with a hamstring strain, became his side’s joint second top-scorer with a career-best 31 before becoming last man out when chopping on against Ishant Sharma.Sharma, the Indian paceman who was capped by Sussex ahead of the match, finished with three 62 and Robinson bagged three for 51 against his former county, but it was South Africa paceman David Wiese who stood out with four for 53 – including the prized scalps of Denly and Heino Kuhn, who had added 75 for the third wicket.Kent lost openers Daniel Bell-Drummond and Dickson in the first session of the match but were in the process of rebuilding until Wiese caused havoc after lunch.The 32-year-old right-armer from Roodepoort had Denly caught behind on the hook, then top-scorer Kuhn, after hitting 11 fours in a fluent 60, pushed inside the line of a leg-cutter to edge to Sussex gloveman Ben Brown.Adam Rouse fenced outside off to steer a low catch to Finch at second slip then Zak Crawley gloved a third successive bouncer from Robinson through to the keeper.Sharma replaced Wiese at the Nackington Road End and came to the party with two more Kentish wickets. Podmore pushed down the wrong line to have off stump pegged back, then Henry tamely chipped one to mid-on with Kent still 37 runs short of reaching a batting point.Left-hander Calum Haggett dug in for over 100 minutes for a crucial 31 with three fours before being bowled through the gate by Robinson, leaving Stewart to clinch Kent’s sole batting point with some belligerent, late-order hitting.

Nat Watkins’ 86 ended in vain as Denmark chased down a revised target of 114 from 23 overs, with seven wickets and seven balls to spare

The Report by Peter Della Penna in Kuala Lumpur30-Apr-2018
Peter Della PennaAfter a sterling bowling effort at the death and a two-and-a-half hour delay in a revised chase of 114 from 23 overs, Denmark finished off Jersey with seven wickets and seven balls to spare via Duckworth-Lewis method at Royal Selangor Club.Opener Nat Watkins was named Man of the Match after top-scoring for Jersey with 86 off 111 balls in a losing cause. But after reaching his fifty off 79 balls in the 30th over, he struggled to accelerate in the stifling heat and humidity of Kuala Lumpur.Appearing energy-sapped, Watkins went 14 overs without a boundary until striking one off left-arm spinner Bashir Shah in the 42nd over. Another four and six came off Bashir’s next over before Watkins was bowled charging Bashir to leave Jersey at 194 for 4.Denmark’s bowlers were brilliant at tying down the Jersey middle order with changes of pace. Jersey’s last five overs netted only 33 runs, and just 100 runs came off the last 15 despite being at 138 for 1 in 35 overs on a flat pitch that gave the bowlers little to work with. Denmark’s attack, however was incredibly disciplined throughout as they conceded just two extras, both of them leg byes.A day after scoring a century in a win over Bermuda on the same pitch, Freddie Klokker steered the chase, helping Denmark to 55 for 0 in 13 overs, 24 ahead of the D/L par score, when a massive thunderstorm swept across the ground. The field became flooded within an hour but Royal Selangor’s solid drainage system allowed play to eventually resume once the rain subsided. The target was revised to 114 in 23 overs, leaving Denmark needing 59 off 60 balls.Denmark fell slightly behind in the first three overs after play resumed before Zameer Khan struck Watkins for four in a 10-run 17th over to put Denmark ahead again. Klokker and Zameer fell in the next two overs, but Denmark continued to speed away as 11 was taken off Stevens in the 20th over. A head-high no-ball from Watkins clinched the winning runs for Denmark.

West Bromwich Albion supporters will be hoping for a return to winning ways this coming weekend in the Championship when second-tier underdogs Oxford United travel to the Hawthorns.

Whilst a new appointment for the U’s has worked visible wonders – with Gary Rowett catapulting Oxford up to 16th since taking over on Boxing Day – Tony Mowbray’s appointment towards the start of 2025 hasn’t quite been as smooth with just one league victory picked up in February.

The 61-year-old is already testing the Baggies masses, with their grip on a final playoff spot suddenly looking weaker, but he does have the firepower of Adam Armstrong to now fall back on to try and put together a positive patch of form.

Armstrong's EFL heroics

The deadline day pick up of Armstrong on loan from Southampton was arguably the most jaw-dropping deal that took place in the second tier at the death, considering the 28-year-old’s previous explosive form in the EFL’s elite league.

After all, without the former Blackburn Rovers striker’s heroics last campaign, the Saints might well have come up short in the promotion race, with Armstrong firing home a potent 24 strikes to play a huge part in his parent side leaping back up to the Premier League.

Alongside these glittering numbers on the South Coast, Armstrong and Mowbray have also worked together to devastating effect in the past at Ewood Park, with all of the slick attacker’s 64 strikes for the Riversiders coming when he was positioned at the helm.

Therefore, it would have been a no-brainer decision to get him in through the door, as Armstrong already has one goal next to his name from three Baggies appearances, although a couple of blanks fired across West Brom’s recent dip in form will worry some.

Still, there will be an expectation that the 28-year-old can conjure up his Blackburn best in time, with the once £15m forward licking his lips at the prospect of working alongside this assist king in the West Midlands, who is now worth more than his past price-tag.

The West Brom star who's worth more than Armstrong

Mowbray would have been glad he had this star at his immediate disposal when arriving back onto the scene, considering 12-goal ace Josh Maja remains sidelined through injury.

Luckily, even as transfer rumours kicked into gear on deadline day, homegrown winger Tom Fellows remained at the Hawthorns, with the 21-year-old potentially the perfect player to complement Armstrong’s deadliness.

Stat – per 90 mins*

Fellows

Games played

32

Games started

27

Goals scored

2

Assists

11

Touches*

27.7

Big chances missed

6

Big chances created

10

Looking at the table above, it’s clear to see why a number of Premier League outfits were keeping a close eye on the Solihull-born winger during the winter window, with a hefty total of 11 assists coming his way from 32 Championship contests, despite only averaging a low 27.7 touches per match.

When he was still fit, Maja was in dreamland working alongside the Solihull-born sensation, knowing that Fellows only needed a moment’s notice to fashion him a chance that was then regularly put away.

Therefore, he could be an ideal partner for Armstrong to recapture his goalscoring mojo, with the Baggies breathing a big sigh of relief that their £20m-rated man didn’t up and leave for Everton. Equally, that £20m valuation places him ahead of Armstrong, who is deemed to be worth £13m, according to Transfermarkt.

They will likely have to fend off more interest coming their way, especially if Fellows’ ongoing goals and assists see promotion become a reality, but in the short-term, the Toffees target and Armstrong could really spark up an exciting connection.

Having cost the club nothing after coming through the Baggies academy, Fellows’ rise will be even more of a joy to behold for supporters at the Hawthorns, with a hope the “unbelievable” ace – as he has been labelled by fellow teammate Karlan Grant – can guide Mowbray’s men up a division despite their sometimes inconsistent displays.

Forget Armstrong: West Brom could ease Maja blow by unleashing 18y/o star

West Bromwich Albion could soon be boosted in attack by this exciting starlet.

1 ByKelan Sarson Feb 19, 2025

Dinesh Karthik, hero of the Nidahas Trophy final, said he has been working on using the crease – how to use it, where to stand and what is the right position – to make maximum use of the ball

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Mar-20183:37

‘Karthik has changed perceptions about his batting’ – Nayar

It has been two days since Dinesh Karthik pulled off a heist to snatch victory in the final of the Nidahas Trophy. His unbeaten 29 off eight balls has also breathed a new lease of life into a start-stop career over nearly a decade and a half. Karthik believes the last-ball six off Soumya Sarkar to clinch the game was probably just dessert for all the hard yards and “good things” he has done over the years.”It is probably karma I guess,” he said at a press conference in Chennai. “For all the good things I have done all through my years and cricketing career… it probably helped me hit that six. If it had been a four, it would have been a Super Over and it would have been a different scenario. That two mm extra it went, was a great thing for me. Probably all the good things you do over the years come to fruition.”I am happy to play the sport. It just feels good, that suddenly after so many years there is lot of attention on me which is different to what it is when you are playing domestic cricket. It is a hard grind out there. But at the same time you want it to be start of something special. Not be something you get too carried away with. From here on I want to do things like that consistently.”When Karthik came in to bat at No. 7, India needed 34 runs off the last two overs. He stood outside the crease and began by tonking Rubel Hossain for two sixes and a four off his first three deliveries. Karthik completed the over with another four, only this time there was more deft touch than brawn: a scoop over short fine leg for four. The defining feature of his batting has been the use of crease. Karthik credited batting coach Sanjay Bangar and his friend and mentor Abhishek Nayar, the Mumbai batsman for helping him out in this regard.AFP”That is one thing Sanjay Bangar has been talking about,” Karthik said. “Use of the crease – that was one of the things I worked with Nayar also. How to use it and where to stand so as to get a feel what the bowler will be doing and what is the right position for you to be in the crease to make maximum use of the ball. And it paid off.”Karthik’s composure was evident as much in his subdued celebration after hitting the six as his mentoring of Vijay Shankar, who was struggling to connect with the ball. Shankar had played out four dot balls off Mustafizur Rahman in the 18th over, and despite scoring a boundary in the last over got out off the penultimate delivery, leaving Karthik with five runs to score off the last ball.Karthik, however, defended Shankar, who hadn’t batted before in the tournament. “The good thing about him is he is very calm. Everyone thought he was flustered, he had a lot of thoughts,” Karthik said of Shankar. “He was looking to hit the ball. The only thing I told him was the outfield was fast..look to hit a four and not a six. The only idea behind it was sometimes you look to hit a six, you end up losing head positions. When you want to hit a four, you will have good base and look to time the ball. I wanted him to time the ball and he was just trying to do that.”Every cricketer goes through some days that things don’t connect and it was first time he batted for India. But the beautiful thing is even in that pressure situation he hit a boundary which was crucial. He has the skill. He has done really well. He is probably someone who is seen more as a batting allrounder but for him to take the pressure as a bowler and deliver consistently is fabulous and I can see a really good time for him in the future. If I’m right, I think they are impressed with him. He has got great attitude off the field, his work ethics are beautiful.”Karthik was quick to avoid comparisons with the finishing role that MS Dhoni has owned. “When it comes to Dhoni, I am studying in the university in which he is the topper,” he said. “So, it is unfair for me to be compared with him. I have started my journey. With time lets see how I go. His journey has been totally different. I am happy with where I am.””I have always enjoyed playing as a batsman. I think fielding comes naturally to me and i enjoy doing it. Whenever I get a chance to field, I get excited. With keeping you are standing at one place and moving.”

Ange Postecoglou and his Tottenham coaching staff have been left "impressed" by one Spurs starlet who is yet to make his senior debut.

Who have Tottenham signed in 2023?

Goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, young centre-back Ashley Phillips, defender Micky van de Ven, midfielder James Maddison, winger Manor Solomon, exciting striker Alejo Veliz and forward Brennan Johnson all joined Spurs before deadline day in the summer 2023 summer transfer window.

Spurs, to balance the books at N17, let go of star striker Harry Kane, Sergio Reguilon, Joe Rodon, Djed Spence, Harry Winks, Alfie Devine, Troy Parrott, Dane Scarlett, Davinson Sanchez and Tanguy Ndombele – who all moved elsewhere either on temporary deals or permanently.

So far, Postecoglou and Lilywhites chairman Daniel Levy's business has been totally justified, as they head into their crunch north London derby clash tomorrow in very good stead. Winning four out of their opening five Premier League matches whilst remaining unbeaten, there is a really positive feeling around the club at this present moment.

In that time, Tottenham have scored 13 league goals and stand out as one of the division's most potent goalscoring sides. Postecoglou, commenting on his side's excellent run of form lately, said that supporters need to enjoy the hot streak and not temper their expectations.

"No, no, no, let them go, let them go and enjoy it," said Postecoglou after their 2-1 victory over Sheffield United last weekend.

"My role is not to burst people's bubbles. Let them get excited, let them get ahead of themselves. That's the beauty of being a supporter. They go through enough pain, mate, you want to let them enjoy it. If they think we're going to be world-beaters, then, great, that's up to us to match that expectation. Our supporters deserve to have some happiness and enjoy it any way they want to."

Spurs academy players

One player who was brought in over the summer, both to bolster their academy and eventually the first team, is promising South American forward Veliz.

The 20-year-old is yet to make his first-team debut but has been tipped by members of the media to do so before this season finishes.

Reporter Dean Jones claimed to GiveMeSport this week that Veliz could be "unleashed" by Postecoglou at some point during the 2023/2024 season.

"He has been scouted by clubs including Brighton and Rangers and while they stuttered over committing to him, Spurs took him on as they see him as a player that can make his mark on the Premier League," wrote Jones for GMS.

"This first season is important for bedding him and helping him to understand exactly how he is going to do that. We will see him sparingly before Christmas but by the end of this campaign he could be fully unleashed."

Veliz is apparently not doing his chances any harm, with reliable Tottenham correspondent Alasdair Gold suggesting on X that he is blowing Postecoglou's coaching staff away in training.

Indeed, he has apparently been "impressing" Spurs coaches with a canny shooting ability.

"Asked Postecoglou about Alejo Veliz," wrote Gold.

"He seemed to suggest he may get some earlier chances to be involved. I know coaching staff have been impressed by his finishing in training. He came with an injury so hadn't played before Tuesday in almost two months."

Usually, the eliminator and the second qualifier are held at the home venue of the runner-up in the previous season. But with Rising Pune Supergiant no longer part of the IPL, other venues are lobbying to host the play-offs

Nagraj Gollapudi12-Feb-2018The absence of Rising Pune Supergiant, the runner-up in the last IPL, has given rise to an interesting challenge for the tournament organsiers, who have not yet announced the final schedule for the 2018 edition. The IPL has only said that the tournament will commence on April 7 in Mumbai, which will also host the final on May 27.Usually, the eliminator and the second qualifier are held at the home venue of the runner-up in the previous season. By that token, Pune should be the automatic choice. However, ESPNcricinfo understands that some of the other state associations are lobbying to host those two play-off matches. Lucknow and Kolkata are two venues that have been pushed as potential favourites to replace Pune.In a move to eliminate rival states from staking claim, the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) president Abhay Apte sent an e-mail to the IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla on Monday, requesting that the eliminator and the second qualifier be staged in Pune as per norm.In the two-page letter, Apte noted the MCA request was only valid because the IPL had been following an “unwritten rule” of allotting the tournament opener, the Qualifier 1 and the final to the home venue of the defending champions. “For past several years we are observing a practice, which has become an unwritten rule of playing the first (tournament opener), and Qualifier 1 as well as the final match at the venue of last year’s champions and playing the Eliminator and Qualifier 2 matches at the venue of the runners up team,” Apte said in the e-mail. “Pune IPL team (Supergiant) was the runner-up during the last year’s IPL and of course the home venue was Pune. As such, the venue of the last year’s runners-up of IPL team i.e. MCA’s Gahunje, Pune should be the logical choice to stage the Eliminator and Qualifier 2 matches.”Apte pointed out that “history” could not be changed just because the Supergiant team no longer exists.Pune is also the second choice home venue for the Rajasthan Royals, who are awaiting a final verdict from the Rajasthan High Court on whether matches can be staged at the Sawai Mansingh stadium in Jaipur.

Tottenham Hotspur youngster and summer signing Ashley Phillips is seemingly loving life at Spurs as journalist Michael Bridge shares news on the defender.

Who did Spurs sign this summer?

Ange Postecoglou watched his side become bolstered with a plethora of new additions during the latest transfer window, with the north Londoners sealing deals for goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, Phillips, defender Micky van de Ven, playmaker James Maddison, winger Manor Solomon, striker Alejo Veliz and Brennan Johnson signing for the club.

The Lilywhites head coach, following these arrivals, has overseen an excellent start to the 2022/2023 Premier League season. Spurs currently sit second behind last season's treble-winners Man City; winning three out of their opening four league matches.

Their latest victory, an imperious 5-2 win over Burnley at Turf Moor just prior to the international break, showcased Postecoglou's new-look, attack-minded brand of football to it's full devastation.

New signing Maddison impressed – getting on the scoresheet with a sumptuous right-footed curler from outside the area – while Cristian Romero's screamer and Son Heung-min's hat-trick displayed just how excited supporters can be about their side's upcoming season.

Tottenham have also rid themselves of deadwood recently, as defender Davinson Sanchez and high-earning midfielder Tanguy Ndombele both completed moves to Galatasaray this week.

Excitement and anticipation has returned to north London following a very disappointing 2022/2023 season under a trio of coaches in Antonio Conte, Cristian Stellini and Ryan Mason.

It will be very interesting to see how Postecoglou continues his efforts to transform Spurs and shape them into a serial-winning side, and it is now believed he sees something special in young defender Phillips.

The 18-year-old, who put pen to paper on a move from Blackburn Rovers over the summer, is now set for an immediate first team promotion after impressing Tottenham's head coach.

That is according to Sky Sports journalist Michael Bridge, who took to X with news on Monday.

He says that Phillips will be a permanent member of the first team squad following the permanentdeparture of Sanchez to Turkey.

"Tanguy Ndombele to join Galatasaray on loan with an option to make the deal permanent," wrote Bridge.

"Galatasaray are also in talks to sign Davinson Sanchez on a permanent deal. Additionally, Ashley Phillips has impressed AP & will be a permanent member of the first team."

How good is Ashley Phillips?

The colossal teenage defender has been praised for his rise in recent seasons, having impressed for Blackburn in their academy right the way through to the first team.

“He’s an amazing footballer and he is going to be a mega footballer I’m pretty sure, but he’s a very young boy," exclaimed Tony Mowbray in 2021.

“He’s a 6’3, 6’4 magnificent cut of a guy, fast as lightning, composed with the ball, aggressive. I think this football club have a footballer on their hands, and we have to manage his introduction into our team as best we can. I just brought him to give him some experience.”

The England Under-19 international comes to Spurs with plenty of promise, and the fact Postecoglou has promoted him so soon after arriving speaks volumes.

England’s vice-captain said it “doesn’t feel like a completely disastrous series” but conceded the team had not responded well in pressure situations

George Dobell in Sydney08-Jan-20182:17

Australia handled pressure situations better – Anderson

James Anderson admitted England have “not done themselves justice” in the Ashes but feels that, despite the result, plans for a “big upheaval” should be resisted.England were thrashed by an innings and 123 runs in Sydney – their second innings defeat of the series to go with a 10-wicket drubbing in Brisbane – as Australia won the five-match series 4-0.But while he admitted England had “not dealt with pressure situations” as well as Australia, Anderson insisted the team had progressed over the last 18-months and it didn’t feel as if it had been “a completely disastrous series.”So while the last unsuccessful Ashes tour ended the England careers of several long-serving players and coaches – notably Kevin Pietersen, Graeme Swann and Andy Flower – Anderson feels such reactions would be unhelpful on this occasion. And while he has been mildly critical of the backroom staff at some stages of this tour his parting words suggested they had been “brilliant”, “fantastic and “can’t do enough” for the players.”We’ve not been blown away in every game,” Anderson said. “It doesn’t feel like a completely disastrous series. It doesn’t feel like a series where there should be a big upheaval like other series which have been absolutely disastrous. It doesn’t feel like that.”I do think it’s been closer than 4-0. We’ve been on top in some games, if not all the games at some stage.”We are hurting and we know we’ve got to improve in a lot of areas. I’m sure everyone will be looking at themselves in the mirror over the next few weeks.Anderson on…

Steve Smith
“It’s an odd technique but it works brilliantly for him. The talent and mental toughness he has is a really good combination. He’s going from strength to strength. He’s very difficult to bowl at and his confidence is sky high. Hopefully with a bit more movement through the air in England, we’ll have a bit more success against him.”
Ben Stokes
“It’s no secret that he’s one of the best all-rounders in the world, and on his day as good as anyone with bat and ball. Obviously we miss a player like that. I hope he’s back very soon. But from our point of view, it’s not affected the way we’ve gone about our business.”
Australia’s celebrations
“It hurts. We came over here desperate to win the Ashes and three Tests in we’d lost the series. We’re bitterly disappointed. I hope that the guys in the dressing room are watching these guys celebrate and I hope it’s hurting them as much as it is me. Hopefully that will drive them on for the next 18 months.”

“But yes, I think we do have the right group in charge. And I think we have improved in the last 18 months. We’ve definitely made strides in the right direction.””I think the support we’ve had from the backroom staff has been brilliant. They can’t do enough for us. They’re just tirelessly working behind the scenes to try to get us ready for games, and I think they’ve done a fantastic job.”Key to the result, Anderson believed, was England’s inability to handle key moments. In particular, he felt England’s batsmen had failed to score the match-defining totals that were required and the bowlers had failed to “create enough pressure.””We’ve not done ourselves justice throughout the series,” Anderson said. “We’ve played well in patches, but when you play quality opposition like Australia in the tough environment that Australia is, you can’t perform in little bits and pieces. You have to be consistent. They have won those crucial moments that the match pivots upon.”Getting 60 or 70 with the bat is not good enough. You’ve got to on and get big hundreds as they have. And with the ball, it’s all very well bowling well individually for 15 overs or 20 overs. But the period between 25 and 30 overs can be the key overs for a bowler. You’ve got to try to stay at your best in those periods and I don’t think we’ve done that.”The pitches have not really suited our bowling. They’ve been slow and we’ve come up against a batting line-up that is patient and mentally tough. We don’t have an X-factor bowler like Pat Cummins or Mitchell Starc. We don’t have that sort of pace. We’ve not bowled well enough for long periods of time – and I include myself in that – to create pressure. We’ve bowled well at times, but we’ve not done it for five days and this is the price you pay.”There were stages of each game that we were on top. But we’ve not managed to kick on and actually be really ruthless in those situations. And then they’ve managed to get back in the game and when the pressure has been put back on us we’ve not coped with it very well.”Man-for-man, we’ve got the skill and the ability to beat Australia, but it’s about trying to perform in those pressurised situations, which we’ve not done well.”While Anderson, now aged 35, knows the decision might be taken out of his control – either by injury or by selectors – he remains determined this Ashes series should not be his last. Standing in at the post-match captain’s press conference after Joe Root was indisposed by illness, he reiterated his desire to feature in the 2019 series in England.”I’ll do everything I can to be available for that series,” he said. “I’ve loved bowling in this series. It’s not been my most fruitful in terms of wickets, but I’ve given it everything and my body has coped. My speeds have been good on the whole.”Obviously I don’t pick the team. I can’t say I’m definitely going to be there. But I’m absolutely determined. I’m still as hungry as ever.”