All posts by h716a5.icu

This has been a promising start to Celtic’s season, with the Hoops moving through European qualification and sitting level on points with their fiercest rivals in the league.

The Hoops may not stand a chance of reaching the Champions League group stage this term but there is still plenty to be positive about since Ange Postecoglou walked through the door.

From an offensive point of view, the Bhoys have warmed Parkhead with some phenomenal displays. A return of 13 goals in their last three games tells the story of a team who have excelled with new signings Kyogo Furuashi and Liel Abada in their ranks.

However, with Odsonne Edouard still seeking an exit, they will need a replacement to fill his goal-laden boots.

Celtic have considered OH Leuven forward Thomas Henry, who racked up 21 goals last season, ranking him as the second-highest scorer in the Belgian top-flight.

He has netted 45 times for the club in total following two remarkable campaigns in front of goal and, as a result, he is now on the verge of a whopping £7m move.

A fresh challenge beckons for the Frenchman, and if he arrives at Parkhead, he could be the club’s new Chris Sutton, just with a bit of extra pace thrown in.

Sutton was a wonderful servant to the Glasgow club, finding the net on 63 occasions in the Premiership.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-celtic-transfer-news-larsson-lovric-thomas-henry-diego-costa-postecoglou” title=”Read the latest Celtic transfer news!”]

Many of those goals came with his ruthless heading ability, swatting opponents to one side as he bullied defenders with titanic physicality.

Writing in the Independent, journalist Ryan Baldi once said: “With a strong leap, well-developed neck muscles and precise timing, Sutton’s aerial abilities made him a constant threat in the opposition’s penalty area. And the remarkable range from which he could land powerful headers on target brought him solace in one of the most difficult periods of his career.”

That’s an area where Thomas is also adept. Although he possesses the ability to run in behind, it’s his immense physical power which makes him such a difficult player for opponents to handle.

The 26-year-old competes in 15.2 attacking duels per 90 minutes, winning 42% of them. That puts the French forward in the 96th percentile for that statistic among players in a similar league.

He also battles 7.3 aerial duels per 90, prevailing in 45%. Once again, that’s one of the best tallies out there, with Thomas ranking in the 95th percentile for duels off the ground.

Described as a player who can “cause havoc” by Lokeren manager Karel Fraeye, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that Henry could be exactly like Sutton at Celtic.

AND in other news, Forget Turnbull: “Majestic” £16k-p/w “ballet dancer” was Celtic’s true hero yesterday…

A round-up for the first day’s play of the third-round matches of the Ranji Trophy Plate League

Cricinfo staff17-Nov-2008Ganguly to play for BengalUse this class for non-bulleted text. Sourav Ganguly will play Bengal’s final league game against Vidharba in Nagpur starting December 12. Bengal were relegated to Plate this season and took a single point from their draw in the opening game. Arun Mitra, the joint-secretary of the Cricket Association of Bengal, confirmed Ganguly had agreed to play the Vidharba game.”We had requested him repeatedly to play for Bengal and, having seen the proceedings today with Bengal taking a huge lead, Ganguly said the team is playing very well. ‘I don’t think I should come in the very next match. Give me some time and I will turn up for Bengal from the Vidarbha match onwards,’ Ganguly told me today,” Mitra said.Jammu & Kashmir 22 for 4 (Malik 3-9) trail Himachal Pradesh 295 (Thakkar 122, Mannu 50, Beigh 6-94) by 273 runs
Scorecard
Group A leaders Himachal Pradesh slipped from 232 for 4 to 295 all out on the first day in Dharamsala, but a three-wicket burst from medium-pacer Vikramjeet Malik put them in firm command of the match against Jammu and Kashmir. Bhavin Thakkar scored 122 for the hosts but there was not much support from his team-mates, with Ajay Mannu the only other batsman to go past 30.Thakkar added 61 for the first wicket with Sangram Singh, before Samiullah Beigh had him caught by the wicketkeeper in the 13th over. HP were in a spot of bother at 104 for 4 before Mannu and Thakkar pushed the score to 232. Beigh then dismissed the duo and finished with 6 for 94. Pranav Mahajan, the left-arm medium-pacer, chipped in with 3 for 35 and HP lost their last six wickets for 63. In reply, J&K’s top four couldn’t last the remaining 12 overs of the day. Malik, the leading wicket-taker in the league, prised out the first three wickets and offspinner Sarandeep Singh had Manoj Joglekar trapped lbw.
Scorecard
At Fort Maidan in Palakkad, Kerala overcame a disastrous start to end the day at 214 for 6. Opener Sambasiva Sarma’s maiden first-class century anchored the innings, after Jitender Billa removed Sony Cheruvathur and VA Jagadeesh for ducks. Billa who took the next two wickets as well, and Sarma added useful stands of 45 and 78. The sixth-wicket partnership put on 65 as Karimuttathu Rakesh gave Sarma company for 25.3 overs with his 81-ball 24. Rakesh was run out in the 90th over, and Sarma will resume batting on 103.
Scorecard
Goa recovered from an abysmal start – they were down to 26 for 5 after choosing to bat – to finish the first day in Margao very much in the contest. Shadab Jakati top scored with 68 from No. 6 and Saurabh Bandekar made 49 down the order to help the hosts reach 190 in the first innings. Besides Jakati and Bandekar, only two other batsmen – No’s 7 and 9 – made it to double digits and extras, 21, were the third-highest contributors to their score. Medium-pacer Shankar Rao took 5 for 51 in 17.3 overs. Jharkhand, though, let Goa wriggle out of an embarrassing situation and themselves slipped to 36 for 3. They were at 77 for 4 at stumps.
Scorecard
A hat-trick in the last game sent Services crashing to an innings defeat and a similar result looms for them in their match against Bengal at Eden Gardens. Put in to bat, Services were shot out for 107, with medium-pacer Sourav Sarkar taking his second first-class five-for, and allrounder Laxmi Shukla grabbing 3 for 8 in nine overs. Services’ first innings lasted only 47.1 overs and their score was overhauled by Bengal’s openers in the 30.1 overs faced before stumps. Anustup Majumdar and Rohan Banerjee made unbeaten 40s, with Services conceding 19 extras in Bengal’s 109 for 0.
Scorecard
There was a five-wicket haul for Tripura left-arm spinner Tushar Saha in Agartala. However, Ranjit Paradkar’s unbeaten 56 guided Vidarbha to 188 for 6 at close on the first day. Vidarbha, put in to bat, had a steady 49-run start. Opener Faiz Fazal, who made an unbeaten 200 in the previous game, was the second to fall: he made 40 with the score at 74. Saha got his third wicket in the same over, Alind Naidu caught and bowled, and Tripura made it 75 for 4 when Saha caught Ravi Jangid off Jayanta Debnath’s offspin. Paradkar and Shalabh Shrivastava (34) took the visitors to 146. Saha added two more scalps and Vidarbha crawled at a run-rate of 2.06 in the 91 overs they faced in the day.

Allen Stanford, the Texan billionaire underwriting much of West Indies cricket, is reportedly set to pull the plug on his investment in the game

Cricinfo staff17-Dec-2008

The ECB has denied reports that Sir Allen Stanford is set to pull the plug on his investment in cricket © Getty Images
Allen Stanford, the Texan billionaire underwriting much of West Indies cricket, has denied reports that he is set to pull the plug on his investment in the game, although his future involvement with the Caribbean remains up in the air. As a consequence of the contractual disputes between the West Indies Cricket Board and its main sponsors, Digicel, that threatened to derail the recent Stanford 20/20 for 20 series in Antigua, Stanford has announced a full review of his 2008 programme in January, although that process began on Monday with the dissolution of his 12-man board of ‘Stanford Legends’.Back in October, Digicel won their case at the High Court in London after it was argued successfully that the “Stanford Superstars” who went on to win the US$20million jackpot on November 1 were a West Indies representative side in all but name, and therefore ought to have been bound by the same lucrative contract that had been signed between Digicel and the WICB. A last-minute compromise was reached between Stanford and Denis O’Brien, the head of Digicel, which involved – among other things – Digicel being given their prominent positioning on the team’s shirts. Initially they had demanded this for the full five-year term of the Stanford deal, though it was agreed as one-off measure to ensure the show went ahead.Stanford signed a five-year deal worth $100 million with the ECB last summer for the Stanford 20/20 for 20, an annual match where each member of the winning XI is guaranteed $1m. But according to a report in the Daily Mail, the inaugural tournament made a loss of more than US$40 million, and also failed to break into the lucrative US television market, which had been one of the core objectives of the enterprise. Should he now choose to walk away, the impact could be devastating for the ECB and in particular its chairman, Giles Clarke, and chief executive, David Collier, whose reputations now hinge on his continued involvement.However, a press release from Stanford 20/20 read: “Contrary to some recent negative press speculation, in relation to Stanford’s broader involvement with cricket and specifically the future of the Stanford 20/20 for 20, the Quadrangular Tournament at Lord’s and the English Premier League, Sir Allen reaffirmed his desire to continue to work with the England & Wales Cricket Board and discussions are currently ongoing between Stanford 20/20 LLC and the ECB.”On the other hand, the mood at the WICB will be less cheery, for Stanford’s continued involvement in the Caribbean has not yet been explicitly stated. “Stanford 20/20 and the efforts of its board have reinvigorated widespread interest in the game throughout the Caribbean and have enhanced the image of West Indies cricket globally,” said Stanford himself in a press release. “The board has been instrumental in developing a whole new fan base in the region.”Whether Stanford sees West Indies cricket as an ongoing concern remains to be seen, however, especially now that the more prominent ECB, facing the loss of their major sponsor, Vodafone, could provide him with a much more desirable entry-point into the world game. Most of the Caribbean’s islands have been boosted by Stanford’s investment – with Antigua, the venue for the Stanford Super Series, the largest beneficiary – and the cash-strapped WICB is increasingly reliant on his money to stay afloat. The dismissal of the 12-man board of legends, which includes Sir Viv Richards and Sir Garfield Sobers, may be seen by some as the writing on the wall.”The Stanford 20/20 Board was dissolved on Monday December 15th pending the review,” read a statement, “and Sir Allen Stanford personally thanked each of the legends of West Indies cricket for their involvement, guidance and counsel over the past three years. The Board has been integral to Stanford 20/20’s commitment to the development of West Indies cricket and the board members continue to play an important role in the review process.However, the former West Indies fast bowler, Colin Croft, said he would be surprised if Stanford pulled out of Caribbean cricket altogether. “The man has lived in Antigua and Barbados for about 20 years, he is as much a West Indian as many people,” Croft told the BBC. “It would be strange if he invested all of that money and then at the drop of a hat decided he is going to remove himself.”I would be surprised, I would be disappointed. West Indies cricket needs Sir Allen Stanford. He has contributed to each of the individual territories, giving as much as $200,000 each year for the last two or three years, so everybody is going to lose if he is removed from the equation.”However, the former England captain, Michael Atherton – a strident critic of the Stanford 20/20 for 20 – told The Times that he would not be surprised if Stanford cut his ties. “From the start he said he wasn’t a fan of Test cricket and so his involvement has always been a business decision, designed to exploit his brand,” said Atherton. “When business deals go bad, businessmen will just up sticks, there is no emotional attachment to the game, so in that sense I’m not surprised.”Stanford’s high-profile relationship with English cricket – he sealed the deal after landing at Lord’s in a helicopter, and with a trunk full of $20m in banknotes – hit a rocky patch in the first of the week-long Super Series – including the inaugural Stanford 20/20 for 20 – which was held in Antigua in October-November. He was caught on camera in the stands with several of the England players’ wives and girlfriends, which only heightened the off-field tensions. The ECB subsequently said it would be holding its own review of the Stanford Series but the process has been delayed by the complications over touring India.On Thursday, Matt Prior – whose wife, Emily, was one of those filmed with Stanford – was philosophical about the prospects of the deal falling through. “If it carries on then fantastic, but if not there’ll be other things,” Prior said in Mohali. “There’s a huge amount of money going into cricket at the moment, but maybe because I’ve been out of it and come back you realise it’s not just the cash, it’s the huge amount of pride you get from playing for your country.”

James Ward-Prowse would not turn down a move to Tottenham this summer, says former Southampton midfielder Carlton Palmer.

Ward-Prowse has been heavily linked with a transfer to Aston Villa, with Sky Sports reporting last month that the Midlands club had a £25m bid rejected for the player.

And now, according to The Telegraph, Tottenham are also interested in signing the 26-year-old before the transfer window slams shut.

Southampton have already lost key players in Danny Ings – to Villa ironically – and Jannik Vestergaard and Palmer believes Ward-Prowse could follow them out of the St Mary’s exit door if Tottenham make an acceptable offer.

“You wouldn’t say no to Tottenham if there was a bid made and accepted,” the ex-Southampton player said to TT in an exclusive interview. “A player of ambition, you’re looking at Southampton, they’re selling their best players and they’re not replacing them.

“If an offer comes in at £35m, he will be gone to either Tottenham or Aston Villa.”

It will be interesting to see how this one ends because Ward-Prowse has four years left on his contract, while manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has also told reporters that he expects the England international to remain at St Mary’s.

However, the Saints have often shown that none of their assets are untouchable if the right offer comes in.

Liverpool have received a boost in their pursuit of Lyon midfielder Houssem Aouar as manager Jurgen Klopp looks to bolster his engine room options.

What’s the story?

The Reds have been linked with a move for the technically gifted 23-year-old in recent weeks after Gini Wijnaldum’s departure left a substantial gap in the club’s first-team squad.

And now, according to Get French Football News (GFFN), Lyon are considering allowing Aouar to leave the Groupama Stadium on a loan deal with an obligation to buy after receiving less interest in the academy graduate this summer than 12 months ago.

It follows on from a report in RMC Sport (as relayed by GFFN) reported last week that claimed Lyon coach Peter Bosz and sporting director Juninho had included Aouar on a list of players available for transfers due to their “poor attitude” following a recent loss to Angers.

Jurgen Klopp would love him

Aouar has cultivated a reputation as one of Ligue 1’s most exciting young prospects in recent years, scoring 32 goals and providing 32 assists in 173 appearances for his boyhood club.

However, his underlying numbers are arguably just as impressive. As per WhoScored, Aouar recorded an average of 2.3 shots, 1.3 key passes and 1.5 dribbles per game last season, highlighting his outstanding ability with the ball at his feet.

The France international’s potential was first witnessed on English shores when Lyon took on Manchester City in the Champions League back in 2018, leading to Pep Guardiola showering the youngster in praise.

“Houssem Aouar is a very good player. He is incredible,” said the Spanish tactician. “We talk a lot about (Tanguy) Ndombele, but Aouar is also excellent. He’s always very calm with the ball at his feet, with an excellent technical quality.”

Therefore, Klopp would surely love to bring him to Anfield before the August 31 deadline, significantly strengthening his options in the middle of the pitch in the process.

Liverpool have been working with an extremely limited transfer budget over the summer and have had to watch their domestic rivals spend big money on several superstar additions.

But with Lyon now reportedly willing to let Aouar leave on an initial loan deal, bringing the creative talent to Merseyside could now be a realistic prospect and one that Michael Edwards should certainly explore.

And, in other news…Ian Doyle confirms ace is on Liverpool’s transfer watchlist, Klopp would love him 

Western Australia have suspended their batsman Luke Pomersbach for Thursday’s Twenty20 match against Queensland after he failed to show up for a club game on the weekend

Cricinfo staff12-Jan-2009
Luke Pomersbach won’t be part of Thursday’s Twenty20 match © Getty Images
Western Australia have suspended their batsman Luke Pomersbach for Thursday’s Twenty20 match against Queensland after he failed to show up for a club game on the weekend. Pomersbach will be fined his full Twenty20 match payment and has been ordered to seek counselling having missed Saturday’s match for Gosnells after attending the funeral of a close friend.Pomersbach was given leave from the final day of Western Australia’s Second XI match to go to the funeral. However, he said he did not know that he was expected to play for Gosnells the next day. The Western Australian Cricket Association completed an investigation into the incident on Monday.The WACA released a statement saying: “The WACA is understanding and sympathetic to the loss of Luke’s close friend and have taken the delicacy of this into consideration. However, the lack of communication between Luke, WACA management and club officials on Friday afternoon and all day Saturday has been deemed unacceptable. In addition to this, Luke has breached his contractual obligations with the WACA.”Pomersbach conceded he had made a mistake by failing to let the WACA know that he was not in the right frame of mind to play the day after his friend’s funeral. “I regret my actions over the past few days,” Pomersbach said.”Whilst I was not in the mental state to play cricket on Friday and Saturday, I should have discussed this before the game with my club and the WACA. I am very sorry to have put my Warriors team mates through this distraction as they prepare for a critical Big Bash game against Queensland this Thursday.”The past 14 months have been eventful for Pomersbach, who was suspended by his state in late 2007 after an alcohol-related incident. He then received a shock last-minute call-up to make his Twenty20 international debut for Australia and went on to win the Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year title in 2008.

Former Premier League footballer Carlton Palmer believes that Crystal Palace should look to sign Conor Gallagher permanently. 

Gallagher made the switch from Stamford Bridge to Selhurst Park this summer on a one-year loan deal and has started the season well for Crystal Palace, scoring two goals at the weekend against West Ham United and helping the Eagles to draw the game.

The 21-year-old spent last season out on loan with West Bromwich Albion, scoring two assists, and has had previous loan moves away from Chelsea with Charlton Athletic and Swansea City.

Palace manager Patrick Vieira has based his summer transfer business around younger players with Michael Olise, Jacob Montes, Marc Guehi, Joachim Anderson and Will Hughes all joining Gallagher at Selhurst Park.

Asked if the Eagles should be looking to make Gallagher’s switch a permanent one, Palmer told the Transfer Tavern: “Yeah, obviously he’s doing well, you know where Palace are. There’s no hiding about where Palace are, their recruitment has to be smart, they haven’t got the biggest budget in the world and so your basis has got to be around good young players.”

Palace have responded to an opening day defeat at the hands of Chelsea, with back-to-back draws against Brentford and West Ham, leaving them with two points from a possible nine so far.

Muttiah Muralitharan beat Pakistan fast bowler Wasim Akram’s haul of 502 wickets

Cricinfo staff05-Feb-2009
Muttiah Muralitharan becomes the first bowler since Kapil Dev to hold the record for most Test and ODI wickets simultaneously © AFP
Muttiah Muralitharan has become the highest wicket-taker in one-day internationals, going past Pakistan fast bowler Wasim Akram’s haul of 502 wickets, in the fourth ODI against India in Colombo. Murali started his 328th match level with Akram and dismissed Gautam Gambhir in his 10th over for the record.Murali, 36, is also the highest wicket-taker in Tests, with 769 wickets in 125 matches. The last person to simultaneously hold the record for most Test and ODI wickets was the former Indian captain Kapil Dev.The record came with his 17650th legal delivery. Murali floated the ball outside off stump to induce a thin edge from Gambhir. He turned around to look at his old team-mate Kumar Dharmasena, now an umpire, who raised his finger. Muralitharan then jogged towards the catcher Kumar Sangakkara, who patted him on his back before enveloping him with a hug. The rest of the Sri Lankans joined in the huddle but the celebration was muted.Murali dedicated the record to his family for their constant encouragement. “They are great supporters of mine, and have stood by me through the bad times and the good.” He also said the feat was a great achievement for Sri Lanka “because we are not a great cricket-playing nation, we are a smaller nation compared to others”.Akram, the man whose record was broken, led the tributes to Murali.” I noticed his progress in 2003 and realised he was the only man who could break my record,” he told . “At times I jokingly told him not to play one-day cricket, so that my record would remain intact, but he is relentless in taking wickets. I am happy that a bowler of his calibre has broken my record.”No matter what type of surface he has played on, no matter in which country, and against which team … he is simply great and more than a good bowler, he is a good human being.”

At a time when India’s international cricketers are increasingly feted, the plight of players in the domestic game doesn’t seem to have improved

Sriram Veera18-Feb-2009At a time when India’s international cricketers are increasingly feted, the plight of players in the domestic game doesn’t seem to have improved. Members of the Services team, currently playing the Vijay Hazare Trophy in Una district in Himachal Pradesh, have spoken to Cricinfo – on condition of anonymity – about the poor playing and staying conditions. While some of the problems are common to smalltown India, concerns over the playing conditions – which officials from the staging association concede to – should raise eyebrows given that this is the premier domestic one-day tournament.The problems for the Services squad began when they landed in Una on February 14 and found they had no place to stay – there was no hotel booked by the Una District Cricket Association (UDCA). “It was mismanagement,” Rajkumar, the general secretary, admitted. “We had asked for a hotel to be booked from February 13 but the hotel manager had booked it from February 15, so we had to shift the players to another hotel.”That, too, presented problems as the initial plan was to split up the squad into several hotels. Once the players refused, threatening to complain to the BCCI, they were put up in one hotel.”That hotel – where they are currently staying – is 15 km outside Una, and suffers frequent power cuts but doesn’t have a back-up generator. “The lights have gone out for the last two hours; it came in between and went again. And we have a game tomorrow,” one player said.At the ground, the Jawaharlal Navoday Vidhyalay Stadium, the outfield was bumpy, the make-shift sightscreen – made from tent material – collapsed during the first game against Himachal Pradesh, leading to a 20-minute disruption in play, and the dressing rooms too were tents, partitioned for the two teams. “It was horrible,” a Services player said. “It was like we had gone to some village to play cricket. We don’t feel that we are playing in a BCCI-sponsored tournament. Someone can get badly hurt on this ground.”The UDCA said it had to use this ground as the Amtar ground at Navdaung was not ready in time. Daljit Singh, head of the BCCI’s Ground and Pitches Committee, made two visits to Amtar before the tournament, and eventually asked the local association to shift the games. There are three grounds in the area and Singh said the tight schedule didn’t leave them with any other option but to include the Una ground on the schedule.”There were15 matches to be played in eight days,” Singh said. “So there was no other option but to play in Navoday Vidhyalay also. Five games in each of the three grounds. I made sure the pitch would be good for the game; we had the equipment shifted out of Dharamsala and it was done. Unfortunately, the outfield was poor and things couldn’t be changed overnight in this hilly area by the local authorities.”He said he would return to Una on Thursday to re-assess the conditions. “I had told them that since it was their problem and responsibility, the local team, Himachal Pradesh, should take the onus of playing more games on this ground.”Meanwhile, more trouble broke out in the ground. BCCI stipulates that every domestic game should be recorded on camera but they couldn’t do it in the first game. The administrators didn’t realise that they had to erect 15-feet structures around the ground for the cameras to be placed. “We didn’t know what exactly was required from the camera people,” Rajkumar said. “But we did it after the first game and the next game was recorded.”

Nir Bitton is one of the most enigmatic players to grace Celtic over the last few years.

Standing at a height of 6 foot 4, the centre-back has all of the tools to be a standout and dominant figure at Parkhead.

However, for one reason or another, the Israeli has often found himself coming off second best and ridiculed as a result.

He was shoddy at times last season but he didn’t start life under Ange Postecoglou very promisingly either.

Bitton was sent off against Midtjylland in the Champions League and was then at fault as Hearts beat Celtic on the opening weekend too.

The centre-back was beaten to the ball by John Souttar who found the back of the net with a late header.

Postecoglou quickly lost faith in the 29-year-old and after he was described as a “walking joke” by Bhoys Analytics, you can hardly blame him.

Carl Starfelt who was signed from Rubin Kazan has taken his place but they also landed Cameron Carter-Vickers on loan just minutes before the deadline last week.

The American is a composed defender who should add a great deal to the side, especially as he buys into Postecoglou’s passing methods. For instance, he completed 84% of his passes on loan at Bournemouth last term.

Yet, with Carter-Vickers walking through the door, it appears to have been a wake-up call for Bitton.

When he and fellow countryman Liel Abada headed off on their travels a week ago, few would have expected the former to stand out more.

However, in consecutive games for Israel, the centre-back has been imperious. During their 4-0 win over the Faroe Islands, Bitton registered 99 passes at a success rate of 90%, proving he’d suit Celtic’s current style of play.

On top of that, he had 116 touches, more than anybody else on the field of play.

Israel would concede two against Austria in their last game on Saturday but his country prevailed 5-2.

Bitton stood out again and this time it was his defensive attributes that stole the show. He won 100% of his duels, succeeding in three ground battles and two aerial battles.

Furthermore, he didn’t commit a single foul and came away with pass accuracy of 88%. On this evidence, the Israeli looked like a changed man. Long may it continue.

AND in other news, Celtic could find another Van Hooijdonk by signing colossal 10-goal monster…