Tag Futebol

Graham Thorpe, the former England batsman, has been appointed the ECB national lead batting coach, replacing Dene Hills who will join Australia later this year

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Oct-2010Graham Thorpe, the former England batsman, has been appointed the ECB national lead batting coach, replacing Dene Hills who will join Australia later this year after two years in the role.Thorpe, 41, is one of England’s finest batsmen of recent times, scoring 6744 runs at 44.66 in 100 Tests during a 12-year career. When his Test career ended shortly before the 2005 Ashes, Thorpe moved to Sydney to work with New South Wales as a batting coach. He became their assistant coach in 2007-08 before returning to his former club, Surrey, in 2009 to take up the position of batting coach.In his new role as lead batting coach, Thorpe will work predominantly with the younger players and his first task will be with the England Performance Programme squad during their five-week training camp in Australia. Based at the National Cricket Performance Centre at Loughborough, Thorpe will be responsible for coaching players selected for England Lions and England Performance Programme squads, as well as overseeing the progress of batsmen within the England Development programme.David Parsons, ECB performance director, said Thorpe’s vast international experience will be crucial to the development of England’s young batting talent. “Graham has a wealth of experience both as a player and a coach and he will play a vital role working with some of the very best young batsmen in the game and ensuring they are able to excel when they make the step up to the full international side.”He was very impressive this winter when he worked with England Lions in the UAE earlier this year and both the players and management team held him in extremely high regard. We are very pleased to be welcoming him on a full-time basis.”Thorpe said he was sad to be leaving Surrey but the challenge of preparing England’s future international batsmen was too exciting to resist. “I am very grateful to Surrey for giving me the chance to develop my coaching career and wish Chris Adams and all the players the best of luck next season,” he said. “It will be hard to leave Surrey but this is a fantastic opportunity for me to help prepare the next generation of England batsmen by working with EPP, England Lions and England age group squads and I am really looking forward to the challenge.”

According to reliable football.london reporter Alasdair Gold, some Tottenham Hotspur transfer news has emerged involving Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembele.

The Lowdown: Spurs in for Dembele?

Separate reports Spain have come out of Spain in the last 24 hours concerning Spurs’ links to the 24-year-old, who could well be on his way out of the Camp Nou before 11pm tonight.

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Paris-Saint Germain have apparently been in contention for his signature alongside the Lilywhites, with Partidazo de COPE reporter Helena Condis Edo claiming that Fabio Paratici had made a ‘last-minute offer’ for Dembele.

Info Blaugrana even stated that Tottenham had entered a bidding war with Manchester United for the France international, but according to Gold, things aren’t quite as advanced as that.

The Latest: Spurs ‘offered’ Dembele…

Writing for football.london, the reliable Spurs source has instead claimed that Antonio Conte and the club have been ‘offered’ Dembele ‘in recent days’.

He cited that the winger’s injury record and sky-high salary are currently concerns for Spurs to take things further, but refused to rule out a U-turn ‘in the final hours’ of deadline day if they decide that the Barcelona player is worth pursuing.

The Verdict: Take the chance?

Depending on the conditions of a transfer, namely whether Spurs can secure a cut-price deal and reduce his wages, Dembele could potentially be worth considering going by his plaudits.

Once costing Barcelona a record-breaking initial fee of £97m, the 27-cap attacker has drawn comparisons to PSG superstar Kylian Mbappe, with former Liverpool defender Jose Enrique calling him ‘world class’.

His market value is estimated at around £27m (Transfermarkt), but given that the clock is ticking down on deadline day and he is set to leave for free later this year, Barca could be forced to accept a much lesser fee.

It will be interesting to see if the Lilywhites take this chance to sign Dembele.

In other news: ‘News just coming through to me as we speak’…Sky journalist shares live TV transfer news out of Tottenham, find out more here.

After a torrid time under Rafa Benitez’s guidance, Everton eventually got rid of the former Newcastle United and Liverpool head coach before giving Duncan Ferguson the role of caretaker boss while the club looks to appoint yet another permanent manager.

In terms of who the club could look at to take the role, one name has recently been suggested that could be seen as a big upgrade on Benitez.

What’s the latest? 

Speaking to Football Insider, former Leeds United and Manchester City player Danny Mills had this to say about the possibility of the Brighton & Hove Albion manager Graham Potter being appointed as Everton’s next permanent manager.

He said: “I think it would be a really good move for both. It’s a step up from Brighton but it’s not quite that leap where you would expect him to get into the top four.

“I think he’s the perfect candidate. Has he taken Brighton as far as they can go? Without investment, where are Brighton going to finish? Are they going to be big spenders? They play a good style of football, he makes players better, he’s a good coach, we’ve seen that.

“Jobs like Arsenal and Tottenham are maybe a little bit of a leap but Everton would be the perfect next step up the ladder. He improves players and knows the Premier League. If you could go out and get him and his staff I think that would be a really good appointment.

“There might be ups and downs but it’s an appointment you can stick with for two or three years at least.”

A big upgrade

Since taking the job at Brighton back in May 2019, Potter has taken charge of 110 games across all competitions with the Seagulls, winning 32, drawing 39 and losing 39 along the way.

While his overall record in charge of the south coast club may not be completely awe-inspiring, the 46-year-old has managed to take his Brighton side to ninth place in the Premier League table this season, scoring 22 goals and conceding 22, 12 goals fewer than Everton have conceded in this current campaign despite playing two more league games than the Toffees.

Immediately, that suggests that he could improve the Merseyside club’s defence if given the right tools.

As well as this, Potter and his men have received heavy praise from Pep Guardiola in the past, who knows a thing or two about managing quality teams and winning titles, regarding Potter’s management and how his team plays.

That suggests that he could work wonders with this Everton side given the time and backing to do so and as a result, he would be a better option than Benitez was despite not having the experience or trophies that the Spaniard has.

Whether the former Ostersunds boss would be willing to leave the Seagulls halfway through the season to take on another role in the Premier League is yet to be seen but Farhad Moshiri should definitely have the Englishman on his list of potential long-term candidates for the manager role at Goodison Park.

In other news: Offer made: Everton in talks with 48 y/o “gentleman”, Moshiri is taking a massive risk – opinion

West Ham United could be set to hand Darren Randolph a new contract at the London Stadium.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by Sami Mokbel, with the Daily Mail journalist revealing a post on Twitter that, following his link with a move to Aston Villa, David Moyes has no intention of sanctioning the departure of the 34-year-old this month, before going on to claim that the 58-year-old could even hand the Hammers third-choice shot-stopper a new deal in East London.

This comes following an earlier claim made by ExWHUemployee, with the club insider stating that West Ham are keen to move the goalkeeper on this winter – something that is largely down to the former Republic of Ireland international’s hefty weekly wage, which Moyes would rather spend on other areas of his squad.

However, in his tweet, Mokbel said: “Darren Randolph proposed move to Aston Villa unlikely to happen. David Moyes wants him to stay at West Ham and views him as a big part of the dressing room. Randolph could now be handed a new contract.”

Fans will be fuming

While Randolph is undoubtedly an extremely decent option as a third-choice goalkeeper, the fact remains that the goalkeeper is currently taking home a whopping £42k-per-week on his current deal, something that, considering his number of appearances this season, would indeed appear to be a waste of money – as ExWHUemployee suggests.

In the current campaign, the 34-year-old is yet to make a single appearance for the Hammers, with Lukasz Fabianski being Moyes’ first choice in the position, while Alphonse Areola has typically featured in both the Europa League and domestic cup competitions.

In fact, since the Irons resigned Randolph in a £4m deal two years ago this month, the ‘keeper has made a grand total of just nine appearances in all competitions, with only five of these outings coming in the Premier League.

Furthermore, in a recent poll ran on Football FanCast, the overwhelming majority of West Ham fans claimed that they would like to see the club allow Randolph to leave the London Stadium on a free transfer this month, as a result of the veteran shot-stopper’s lack of game time and hefty weekly wage.

As such, should the Irishman indeed be in line for a new deal in East London, as Mokbel suggests, it would undoubtedly leave fans of the Hammers fuming – and we have to say, we can understand why.

In other news: Sheth drops major WHU transfer update on “bombshell” signing, fans will be buzzing

Wolves winger Adama Traore is reportedly happy to stay put at Molineux until the summer before potentially returning to his former club Barcelona.

The Lowdown: Constant exit rumours

The 25-year-old has been continually linked with a move away from Wolves in the January transfer window, with Bruno Lage seemingly happy to see him leave.

The likes of Liverpool and Tottenham have both been tipped to sign Traore in the near future but nothing concrete has materialised yet.

Another update has now emerged regarding the winger’s future as the saga takes another twist.

The Latest: Summer move instead?

According to Sport, Traore sees returning to Barca as a ‘priority’ and is willing to wait until the end of the season for the move to come to fruition, with the report describing it as a ‘feasible’ transfer.

It is claimed that the Spanish giants see the Wolves winger as a possible replacement for Ousmane Dembele, should the Frenchman move on in the summer.

The Verdict: Matter of time

Traore has had huge praise down the years, with Jurgen Klopp once hailing him as ‘exceptional’, but it seems evident that Lage doesn’t see a long-term future for the Spain international at Wolves.

The speedy winger finally scored his first goal of the season in Saturday’s 3-1 win over Southampton but it is a damning indictment of his end product that it has taken 22 appearances for that to happen.

A summer exit feels best for all parties, ensuring that Wolves don’t lose a good squad player in the middle of the campaign while allowing them to receive a healthy fee which can go towards new signings for next season.

In other news, Tim Spiers claims Wolves are ‘set to sign’ one player. Find out who it is here.

Rangers continued their fantastic start to life under Gio van Bronckhorst as they won in their Scottish Cup outing on Friday night.

They beat Stirling Albion 4-0 and have now won nine of their 11 games under the Dutchman’s management and remain unbeaten in all competitions so far since his arrival after the 3-1 defeat to Hibernian in the League Cup.

One player who was handed a big chance to impress against the League Two outfit was former Manchester City forward Brandon Barker and he failed to grasp his opportunity.

Finally axe

Van Bronckhorst could finally axe Barker and sell him this window if he is able to secure a deal to sign Kiril Despodov from Ludogorets in the coming days.

The Gers are reportedly interested in a move for the Bulgaria international and his arrival could pave the way for the club to move on one of their current duds. He plays in the same position as Barker and that could allow the Dutch head coach and Ross Wilson to sanction an exit for the Englishman, who has not been good enough on the pitch.

Former Gers man Alex Rae criticised the attacker for his display against Stirling Albion and questioned his future at Ibrox, saying:

“I think you look at Brandon Barker, I thought Barker was really poor. I think he’s probably played his last game for the football club.

“You are looking at a guy who has hardly featured and on the performance last night, I don’t think he’s done enough.”

He also played ten times in the Premiership last term and lost a whopping 67% of his duels, whilst providing two goals and zero assists. This, along with his performance in the cup last week, shows that the lightweight is not up to the standard required to be a regular at Ibrox.

Despodov, meanwhile, has provided 15 goals and 25 assists in all competitions since the start of last season for Ludogorets. Whilst it is impossible to gauge the difference in qualities between the leagues, it does show that he is a player in form and full of confidence with the potential to come in and make a big impact in the final third for the Gers.

The £2.8m-rated playmaker could, therefore, come in to bolster the squad and open up room for Barker to be shipped out on a permanent basis. All parties involved must now work to complete these transfers before the window slams shut.

AND in other news, Gvb “interested” in sealing 3rd Rangers signing at Ibrox, he could be Patterson 2.0…

Valencia will have to pay €20million (£17m) to sign Leeds United winger Helder Costa permanently, according to a fresh transfer update on the Angola international.

The Lowdown: Costa unwanted at Leeds

The 27-year-old moved to the La Liga giants on loan during the summer transfer window, having been deemed surplus to requirements by Marcelo Bielsa.

Costa has made 11 appearances in the league since making the switch to Spain, and while he hasn’t scored or assisted yet, he seems to have made an impression.

Leeds are likely to jump at the chance of selling the one-time capped Portugal international, who has since switched allegiances to Angola, for good, and it seems that wish may be granted.

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The Latest: Valencia want permanent move

According to Superdeporte [via Sport Witness], Valencia know they will have to pay around £17million to sign Costa and they could ‘dig deep into their pockets’ to make the move happen.

They are set to ‘evaluate’ the situation, with no rush currently to get the deal done.

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The Verdict: Good for all parties

Costa has no future at Leeds – he scored just three times in 13 league starts last season – so the quicker a permanent exit can be sorted, the better it will be for everyone involved.

It will allow Leeds to receive a potentially healthy fee for the wide man and he can settle at a new club, as he aims to kick on in his career.

Costa has undoubted quality, with Nuno Espirito Santo once describing him as ‘immense’, but there are too many players ahead of him in the pecking order at Leeds and eight goals in 71 total appearances for the Whites is a disappointing return for an attacking player, leaving little wonder why Bielsa and co will be happy to get rid for good in 2022.

In other news, Leeds have suffered yet another injury blow. Find out who the player in question is here.

Ange Postecoglou’s first few months as Celtic manager have been a whirlwind affair at Parkhead.

It started with frustration as the Hoops boss was unable to land his transfer targets quickly and that resulted in the Bhoys being knocked out of Europe’s premier competition.

They are also behind their fierce rivals in the race for the Premiership crown but there have been a number of positives.

For instance, Celtic are in the League Cup final this weekend and they have achieved that primarily because of the signings Postecoglou did eventually get over the line.

Celtic will be without Jota for the final and his miss will be a devastating blow. After all, the diminutive Portuguese forward has racked up eight goals and six assists in his 18 outings for the club to date.

It’s worrying, therefore, that Celtic have not yet utilised the £6.5m option to buy they have in the terms of the 22-year-old’s loan contract in Scotland.

If they dally any further, it would not be a surprise if one of Europe’s more prestigious clubs snatched him away from Postecoglou’s jaws. He has already been touted to seal a move to one of the continent’s elite so eyes will surely be watching his performances closely.

If he does exit, it will be disastrous for Celtic but it certainly won’t be the end of the world.

They have been linked with a move for a man dubbed the ‘Iranian Neymar’ over the winter and he could move to Paradise in a cut-price deal.

That happens to be another pocket rocket in Mehdi Ghaedi. Reports from his homeland claim that Celtic are interested in a move and he’d certainly be an exciting addition.

Postecoglou has spoken before of targeting lesser-known leagues after the success of Kyogo Furuhashi and this deal could replicate that.

Ghaedi currently plies his trade for Shadab Dubai in the UAE and has registered four goal involvements in nine outings.

The 23-year-old is an incredibly tricky customer and like Jota, possesses an abundance of creativity, dazzling dribbling and potency in the final third.

Journalist, Navid Molaaghaei, once described the £1m-rated talent as a “magician” after a stunning goal back in 2019. Ghaedi appears to be used to popping up in big moments, being dubbed “extraordinary” after a late solo goal for his team back in September.

The forward waltzed past two defenders before burying an opportunity with remarkable confidence. It was a goal that typifies why he’s exactly like Jota and if the Benfica loanee does depart for good, Ghaedi would be a wonderful replacement at Celtic.

AND in other news, Forget Abada: Celtic gem who won 67% duels proved he’s now someone “Ange can’t ignore”…

The cash-strapped Pakistan Cricket Board is exploring the possibility of playing its ‘home’ series in India, if the BCCI and the Indian government approve of the notion. The PCB chairman Ijaz Butt has said that if the BCCI is willing to reschedule the tour of Pakistan, which was cancelled in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks last November, Pakistan won’t mind playing that series in India.”We are playing our ‘home’ Test series in New Zealand right now, we can plan a ‘home’ Test series in India as well, provided the Indians show interest,” Butt told PTI. “If India is willing to reschedule that series or part of that series in India, it is something we would like to discuss with them. We just need to find a window next year for such a series which would I am sure be a big draw.”The BCCI, however, has ruled out a resumption of bilateral matches with Pakistan in the near future because of India’s packed schedule for 2010. It added that it will take a call on the issue only late next year, provided the government gives the go-ahead. The PCB is looking for ways to recover the US$47 million loss from the cancelled series against India, and has already reached an agreement with the ECB to play a two-Test series against Australia in England next summer.”We are definitely keen on playing a bilateral series with India as soon as possible and it is something we have been discussing at all levels with our government, with their board officials and with the ICC,” Butt said.The PCB has been hit by several pull-outs over the last couple of years, due to security fears and the unstable political climate. It hit its biggest crisis back in March when the Sri Lankan team was caught in the middle of the Lahore attacks, an event which led to Pakistan being stripped of all its World Cup matches for 2011.Their players weren’t allowed to take part in the 2009 IPL and the uncertainty over their participation in 2010 continues. Non-contracted players are eligible for the auction, but those who had their contracts suspended by the franchises can play only if their owners decide to drop other foreign players to accommodate them.

Manchester United’s contact with former Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde may have just hampered their chances of landing Mauricio Pochettino on an immediate basis…

What’s the story?

According to a BBC Sport report by Simon Stone, the Red Devils’ hierarchy have been in touch with the 57-year-old Spanish manager regarding the role of interim manager until the end of the current campaign.

Yet, in a big twist to what had originally been reported, BBC followed that up with the following claim: “They [Man United] feel recruiting Paris St-Germain coach Mauricio Pochettino immediately may not be as straightforward as has been suggested.” Man Utd fans will be concerned

The Spanish tactician is a proven winner who boasts an impressive CV, including two La Liga titles and a Copa del Rey during his two-and-a-half-year spell at the Camp Nou, as well as three Greek titles and two Greek Cup victories with Olympiacos.

However, despite Valverde’s credentials, large sections of the United fanbase are likely to be concerned that the Glazers and co. are pressing ahead with their plans for an interim manager instead of chasing hard for a certain Pochettino who looks less likely to exit PSG now.

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By doing that, it may be seen as essentially writing a season off by many associated with the 20-time English champions, and with a squad as stacked with talent as theirs is, that is a bold call to make.

Previous reports indicated that Pochettino would be available after becoming unhappy with life in Paris, providing hope that the former Tottenham Hotspur boss would fill the Old Trafford hot seat at the second time of asking.

But now in a fresh twist, it seems as though United may have to wait until the summer to get their man, with the delay potentially causing their season to fall into disarray. Considering the Argentine’s expertise of getting into the top four with Spurs, not being able to prise him away from Paris is a significant blow to the rest of their chances this term.

It remains to be seen who replaces Solskjaer in both the short and long-term, but United fans will want a quick solution to what could easily become a rather messy and embarrassing situation. Sadly, this doesn’t look like the case.

And, in other news…Forget Sancho: Man United tank who won 100% duels already looks reborn under Carrick