Category Uncategorized

Leeds United fans would have been reasonably pleased with the summer business in through the door, as the Whites did leave it late in the transfer window, but have snapped up some potentially quality new additions.

Largie Ramazani is now off the mark for his new employers after costing £10m to get into the building from Almeria, with his goal last time out setting the Whites on their way to a confident 2-0 win over Cardiff City, whilst the likes of Manor Solomon, Ao Tanaka and Isaac Schmidt have also looked equally exciting when they have featured.

Away from these signings that managed to just about get over the line, Leeds have also been cursed many a time by deals going awry at the last minute, with the West Yorkshire giants once in the running to sign a top-class striker in the same year in which they ended up doing the dreaded Jean-Kevin Augustin deal…

Augustin's time with Leeds

Leeds must have wished they hadn’t bothered pursuing Augustin when all was said and done, with the French striker proving himself to be a hassle more than a plus for his side.

Joining initially on loan in January 2020, with an obligation to snap him up on a permanent deal for £18m if promotion was secured, the ex-RB Leipzig man ended up just looking largely out of his depth lining up for Marcelo Bielsa’s men, after so much hype had greeted his signing.

In the end, the 27-year-old flop would only make three first-team appearances in total during his brief but damaging stint in England, with zero goals picked up.

Augustin would just return to Leipzig after the initial loan move expired, therefore, despite Leeds stating that they would sign him permanently, as the German club then ended up ordering the Whites to cough up £24m last year after that alleged breach of contract.

Leeds never got to see these skills on display from Augustin at Elland Road, having also had to endure the frustration of missing out on what would have been a centre-forward upgrade later in 2020.

The man Leeds missed out on

Amazingly, Ollie Watkins could well have joined Leeds over Aston Villa during the summer after Augustin had joined on loan, having revealed this fact during a tell-all interview with Sky Sports in 2021:

“There were quite a few [interested],” he revealed. “Leeds were interested in me, but they signed Rodrigo.”

As Watkins stated, Leeds instead plumped for Rodrigo on a £26m deal that summer to bolster their centre-forward ranks, while Watkins moved on to Villa Park for £33m and has never looked back, with an England call-up even coming his way off the back of his outstanding goalscoring exploits in the Premier League.

Player

Season

Games

Goals

Watkins

23/24

37

19

Watkins

22/23

37

15

Watkins

21/22

35

11

Watkins

20/21

37

14

The £54m star – as per his transfer valuation on Transfermarkt – is now Villa’s top scorer in the Premier League four seasons on the trot, having amassed a mightily impressive 73 goals from 175 games for Unai Emery’s men to date, with three strikes already registered from six games in all competitions this campaign too.

One that got away

The transfers that nearly happened but never did. This article is part of Football FanCast's One That Got Away series.

Watkins was even a hero for his nation during the recent Euros tournament this summer, with this beautiful finish right at the death sending England through at the expense of the Netherlands in a finely poised semi-final match-up.

In another reality, Leeds could well have played a part in the “spectacular” – as he was labelled by football journalist Ryan Adsett this year – ace’s rise to stardom.

But, the pull of Villa, with Dean Smith as manager who took the 26-year-old under his wing at Brentford, swayed the move in that direction.

Ultimately, the Whites messed up, with the Augustin saga leaving a real sour taste in the mouth, even more so now with the development that Watkins could have been signed in the same year as that shambolic move.

Leeds will just pray they have learnt from their errors, with the signings of Ramazani and others this summer hopefully success stories, over going down as costly flops as well.

Sold for £7m: Leeds played a blinder with star who's now worth just £800k

The Whites seemingly cashed in on the centre-forward at the perfect time.

2 ByDan Emery Sep 26, 2024

Manchester City have monopolised football in recent seasons, buying some of Europe’s best talents as they have dominated the Premier League. It has certainly reaped the benefits.

The Citizens have won the Premier League in six out of the past seven years, with their four consecutive titles a new record. They also won their first Champions League back in 2022/23.

Pep Guardiola’s men have had some of Europe’s best players in that time. Arguably the best of the bunch is Kevin De Bruyne, who has played 388 games for the club, scoring 103 goals and registering 171 assists. In recent years, there has been another player who has arguably become even more important than De Bruyne, however.

Erling Haaland’s Manchester City record

The player in question here is City’s Norweigan striker Erling Haaland. The 24-year-old has been simply extraordinary since joining the club from Borussia Dortmund in 2022, and cannot stop scoring.

He has played 104 games for City so far and has scored an incredible 99 goals, grabbing 14 assists, too, which gives him more than one goal involvement per game. He has also scored 11 hat-tricks in all competitions in the sky blue of City.

In the Premier League, the Norway international has eight hatp-tricks and is now just four behind Sergio Aguero who currently has the most in Premier League history, with 12.

Player

Games

Hat-tricks

Sergio Aguero

275

12

Alan Shearer

441

11

Robbie Fowler

379

9

Erling Haaland

70

8

Theirry Henry

258

8

Harry Kane

320

8

Michael Owen

326

8

Haaland has won the Premier League Golden Boot in both of his completed top-flight seasons. In the 2022/23 campaign, he scored 36 goals in 35 games and scored 27 goals in 31 games last term.

City’s number nine is simply extraordinary and does not seem like stopping any time soon. Incredibly, the eight-time Premier League winners almost signed a player back in 2019 who is now arguably better than their star striker, Kylian Mbappe.

When Man City missed out on Kylian Mbappe

Yes, that is right, the Citizens wanted to sign the player many regard as the best in the world, back in 2018.

According to a report at the time from The Sun, Guardiola wanted the club to bid £200m for the Frenchman in January 2019, with his then-club Paris Saint-Germain potentially facing consequences for Financial Fair Play breaches.

The striker now plays at Real Madrid, after a long-awaited summer move from the French giants on a free transfer. He has already made a superb start to life at the Santiago Bernabeu, winning a trophy, the UEFA Super Cup, and scoring five goals in seven games.

His record at PSG was exemplary, and he became their all-time top goalscorer in March 2023. The France captain left the club having played 308 times, scoring a whopping 256 goals and grabbing 108 assists. As football statistician Statman Dave said, Mbappe is “inevitable”.

Had they signed the great forward in January 2019, the Citizens could have seen him eventually form a deadly partnership with that man Haaland.

The Real Madrid number nine enjoys playing on the left wing and with Haaland central, it could have proven to be a formidable duo, with fluid rotations, smart link-up play and lots of goals.

Nowadays, the pair have both been nominated for the 2024 Ballon d’Or. They are set to go up against current club teammates Vinicius Junior and Phil Foden for the esteemed prize, which neither have won at this stage of their career.

As City fans watch Haaland bang in the goals week in, week out, they might well sit there and think about what could have been if, four years ago, Guardiola had convinced the club’s ownership to break the world record transfer fee and sign Mbappe.

Worse than Savinho: 5/10 Man City star who lost 100% duels let Pep down

The Cityzens ace had a night to forget against Inter in the Champions League.

2 ByDan Emery Sep 19, 2024

da apostebet： An exciting Southampton youngster is expected to sign a new deal at St Mary’s amid interest from other top flight sides, according to a fresh update.

Southampton summer signings and form

da stake casino： The Saints brought in a whopping 18 new players after winning promotion back to the Premier League in the playoff final, however, those new additions so far haven’t had the desired effect on the pitch.

Southampton summer signings

From

Fee (Transfermarkt)

Taylor Harwood-Bellis

Man City

€23m

Aaron Ramsdale

Arsenal

€21.4m

Flynn Downes

West Ham

€17.85m

Cameron Archer

Aston Villa

€17.6m

Mateus Fernandes

Sporting CP

€15m

Ben Brereton Diaz

Villarreal

€8.3m

Yukinari Sugawara

AZ Alkmaar

€7m

Natan Wood

Swansea City

€3.5m

Ronnie Edwards

Peterborough

€3.5m

Welington

Sao Paulo

Free transfer

Charlie Taylor

Burnley

Free transfer

Adam Lallana

Brighton

Free transfer

Ryan Fraser

Newcastle

Free transfer

Rento Takaoka

Nissho Gakuen

Free transfer

Lesley Ugochukwu

Chelsea

Loan transfer

Maxwel Cornet

West Ham

Loan transfer

Juan

Sao Paulo

Unknown

Kuryu Matsuki

FC Tokyo

Unknown

Russell Martin’s side are yet to pick up a single top flight point, losing to Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest, Brentford and Manchester United. The Saints have only scored one league goal, however, they are into the Carabao Cup last 16 after a penalty shootout win over Everton.

Talking after that win, Martin said: “I saw so much character, spirit, fight and togetherness and the game looked how we wanted it to look, apart from a few moments where we wanted a bit more attacking intent.

“I was really pleased with a lot of the performances and the way we reacted to conceding. I’m delighted for the players – they were brave and aggressive. I’m so excited about what’s to come. We just need that first win [in the Premier League] and everyone will relax a bit. I’ve got no doubt they will continue to grow.”

Away from the pitch, it looks as if the club may soon have some positive contract news to shout about.

Southampton contract update – Tyler Dibling

Southampton youngster Tyler Dibling has recently caught the eye on the pitch, being dubbed the “next big thing” after his impressive displays off the bench so far this season.

Now, according to GiveMeSport, those cameo performances have been catching the eye of numerous clubs, with Manchester United, Newcastle, Crystal Palace and Stuttgart all eyeing moves for the 18-year-old.

Fortunately for Saints supporters, GMS have revealed that Dibling is expected to sign a new contract with Southampton. They claim that ‘Southampton have secured a significant boost in their attempts to tie Dibling down to an extended deal as he is increasingly likely to sign on the dotted line due to enjoying his football on the south coast, but all parties are not in a rush to thrash out negotiations because he is already healthily contracted’.

They look set to reward Dibling, who is enjoying working under Martin at St Mary’s, with a pay raise. Martin also appears to be enjoying working with the teenager, saying: “I think the biggest thing I can say is if he’s playing it tells you what we feel about him at 18 years old. The stuff that he can do that we trust him with. Tyler from now to looking back even three months ago is a very different person and the growth in him has been huge.”

Greetings Confectionery Stallers, and welcome to the first instalment of the Confectionery Stall’s Ashes result prediction blogs, which will pepper the year from now until the final over of the series

Andy Zaltzman25-Feb-2013Greetings Confectionery Stallers, and welcome to the first instalment of the Confectionery Stall’s Ashes result prediction blogs, which will pepper the year from now until the final over of the series.By the time the action begins in, of all places, Cardiff, I confidently predict that I will have confidently predicted all 21 possible series outcomes. I will therefore be able to march onto The Oval outfield in August as the teams shake hands for the final time, brandishing a print-out of one of these blogs, shouting “I told you so” through a loud-hailer, before being manhandled by over-zealous stewards for attempting to express my historical right to walk on the outfield at the end of a Test series (see sub-blog below).The last couple of months have given many pointers to what will happen in the Ashes. The difficulty is working out which of these are pointing in the right direction, and which are, like Italian road signs, completely and deliberately misleading. Are England plunging into turmoil, or plunging out of it, with Pietersen stung and invigorated and Strauss bringing wisdom and control? Are Australia really weaker than they have been for two decades, or already rebounding from their entertaining-for-the-neutral slump? Or both?ENGLANDAFP

My suspicion is that England’s messy but rapid bout of blood-letting will benefit the team in the short-to-medium term, which in an Ashes year is all that matters. All the evidence suggests that Strauss is a good captain, but he will need several of his players to break out of their current cycles of not-quite-bad-enough-to-be-dropped tolerability.He will also require greater consistency from his one world-class batsman – the deposed captain and victim of one of the oddest coups in cricket or any other walk of life. Pietersen has been hit or miss for some time. He has scored an outstanding 7 centuries in his last 18 Tests (since July 2007), but still averages only 47 in that period. He has been out for less than 20 in 13 of these 32 innings, and has no scores between 45 and 94. He has played great innings, but not great series. England will need one from him in the summer, and they may well get it. If he seriously wants to captain England again, he knows the only way he will do so is by (a) behaving himself, and (b) scoring brontosaurus-loads of runs. Perhaps Pietersen’s entire captaincy reign was an elaborate ruse by the ECB to ensure his continued dedication and a crushingly dominant resentment-fuelled Ashes.(As a possibly interesting statistical appendix to this, Pietersen has on occasion been compared to Viv Richards, and the Master Blaster himself was also not one for destroying his opposition with consistent, merciless unstoppability. After his annus mirabilis in 1976 – six centuries in 8 Tests – over the rest of his career he only once scored more than 400 in a series (446 v Australia in 1988-89), and only once hit more than one century in a series (two, against England in 1980-81). Brian Lara, by contrast, topped 400 in 11 series, and scored two or more hundreds on nine occasions.)On the bowling front, England’s attack may not be the most consistently threatening, but the Ashes is a home series and since 2005, every single England bowler has a better average at home than overseas (apart from Broad, marginally and unimpressively). Panesar and Anderson both have significantly better records in England, and Harmison, since his breakthrough tour of West Indies four years ago, has averaged 29 at home and 46 away.Furthermore, if Brett Lee fails to recover from his injury in time, it is probable that they will face a bowling attack with a grand total of zero Test wickets in England. If England can keep it that way for the duration of the series, they will probably win (barring some some overly cautious declarations, some overly jaunty declarations, an encyclopaedia of run outs, or a two-month monsoon) (although with Cook and Strauss opening, regular scores of 450-0 off 210 overs may not be enough to give the bowlers time to force a victory).AUSTRALIAPA Photos

Australia’s victory in the Sydney Test has enabled the baggy greens to perch a little less baggily atop the heads of Ponting and his men, and, less importantly, allowed them to retain their position as number-one-ranked cricket team in the world, despite having lost consecutive series to the two best cricket teams in the world.Cricket’s undisputed number-one-ranked sage, Sir Richie Benaud (his knighthood has been bestowed upon him unilaterally by The Confectionery Stall, in recognition of Sir Richie’s services to brightening my summers from 1981 to 2005), famously stated that “captaincy is 90 per cent luck and 10 per cent skill – but don’t try it without the 10 per cent”. Thus, in my book, cricket captaincy is statistically identical to scientific research, veterinary surgery, piloting an aircraft, and seduction. And it should be noted that Benaud had one of the biggest 10 per cents known to mathematics.From 1995 to 2007, Australian skippers were blessed with a healthy wodge of the 90 per cent luck portion of the captaincy cake, simply by being able to say to themselves: “I think I should probably put Warne and/or McGrath on now. Yes, Warne and/or McGrath it is. Yup. Lovely piece of captaincy there Mark/Mr Waugh/Ricky , even if I do say so myself.”Ponting, by contrast, now has Hauritz and MacDonald at his disposal. However much of the 10 per cent you believe Ponting possesses, and it is certainly not all 10, it should be remembered that even Michelangelo would have struggled in the Sistine Chapel if someone had snapped his paintbrush in half, and told him to work with a pair of chopsticks instead.However, with the retirement of Hayden and the injury to Lee, only Ponting remains of the golden era regulars. Perhaps this will help the new generation to play without constant comparisons to the players they are not. Batsmen are queuing up in state cricket, and Johnson and Siddle should be dangerous in English conditions. England may be playing Australia six months too late. After all, Michelangelo would eventually have adjusted to his chopsticks and come up with a half-decent ceiling if the Vatican Painting and Decorating Committee had been threatening to sack him if he didn’t.PREDICTIONThe Confectionery Stall’s first Ashes series prediction, then, is England 2 Australia 2. These are currently two reasonable sides, neither as good as they were in 2005. They should be evenly matched, with England perhaps slight favourites due to home advantage.As an England supporter raised in the 1980s, however, I am pessimistic by inclination, and see the cricketing glass as not merely half empty but also leaking all over my trousers. And thus I am aware that the last time an Ashes series began the sides apparently evenly matched and with England slight favourites, in 1989, England were on completely the wrong end of a seismic, era-defining 4-0 clattering from which it took the team and me 16 years to fully recover. But still, it’s going to be 2-2 this time. As long as the selectors don’t pick 29 different players. And as long as Terry Alderman stays in retirement. And Tim Curtis too.

Afghanistan will want to fix gaping holes in their batting

Mohammad Isam27-Feb-2022

Big picture

Bangladesh have an opportunity to keep their top position in the ICC ODI Super League. However, given two of their upcoming series against England and Ireland aren’t set in stone yet, it is best to grab points when they’re in form, like they are currently.Bangladesh will be buoyed by how their less-experienced players have stood up in the previous two games. First, Afif Hossain and Mehidy Hasan Miraz engineered a magnificent turnaround from the depths of 45 for 6 in a chase of 216. Then, Litton Das and Taskin Ahmed rose to the occasion to seal the series.That said, they have a few things left to do, like ensure captain Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan and Mahmudullah to get that one big score. As such, they’ve all been in form. Why just them? Newcomer Yasir Ali too needs a big knock too, to give him a head start.The visitors have a consistency problem with the batting. So far, neither Ibrahim Zadran nor Riaz Hassan have contributed significantly, while Rahmanullah Gurbaz has a knee niggle. Much of the work has been left to the middle order. They’ve all had starts, but no hair-raising contribution. Najibullah Zadran has two fifties, Rahmat Shah one. If allrounders Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan can chip in big, they will have ticked off a box.Bangladesh have negated their spin threat pretty well, with some assistance from the surface. Left-arm quick Fazalhaq Farooqi has been one of their standout performers. Having come off a four-for in the first game, the Bangladesh batters treaded with caution against him. Can he get some support from the others?

Form guide

Bangladesh WWWWW
Afghanistan LLWWW

In the spotlight

Najibullah Zadran’s two fifties has shown his importance in the middle order. He is the glue that holds the batting, especially when they falter. But now there’s a simple matter of moving on from the starts and converting them into big scores t have a greater impact.Taskin Ahmed bowled the most economical 10-over spell in his ODI career in the second ODI. Najibullah’s scalp at a vital time helped Bangladesh surge. Although he took just two wickets in the game, the performance underlined his growing improvement in skill and fitness in his second coming as a fast bowler.

Team news

Ebadot Hossain will be in line for an ODI debut if one of the regular pacers are rested. Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mahmudul Hasan Joy are the two batting options Bangladesh may consider if they want to make a change.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Litton Das, 2 Tamim Iqbal (capt), 3 Shakib Al Hasan, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 5 Yasir Ali, 6 Mahmudullah, 7 Afif Hossain, 8 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 9 Shoriful Islam, 10 Taskin Ahmed, 11 Mustafizur RahmanGurbaz is an injury concern. This would mean a forced change at the top. Among the ODI squad members, only the left-hander Shahid Kamal is the only one yet to get a go.Afghanistan (probable): 1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 2 Riaz Hassan, 3 Rahmat Shah, 4 Azmatullah Omarzai, 5 Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), 6 Najibullah Zadran, 7 Mohammad Nabi, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Mujeeb Ur Rahman, 10 Fareed Ahmed, 11 Fazalhaq Farooqi

Pitch and conditions

Expect another batting surface where the ball will skid on late in the evening because of dew. No rain is forecast.

Stats and trivia

• Litton’s 136 is the highest at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium. The 129* by Sean Williams in 2018 was the previous best. Soumya Sarkar’s 117 against Zimbabwe in the same ODI series was the previous best by a Bangladeshi here
• Bangladesh made 300 plus against Afghanistan for the first time two days ago. The 279 for 8 they made at the 2015 World Cup was their previous best.
  

At least one Yorkshire player admitted to regularly using the term ‘P**i’ when talking to Azeem Rafiq, according to the report into racism at the club. But he was cleared of wrongdoing on the basis that it was perceived as, what the report says was, friendly, good-natured “banter” between the two players.The player also admitted to telling other people “don’t talk to him [Rafiq], he’s a P**i”, asking “is that your uncle?” when they saw bearded Asian men and saying “does your dad own those?” in reference to corner shops.Despite admitting recalling that Rafiq broke down in tears at one point, the player insisted he had no idea he was causing offence and would have stopped if Rafiq had asked.The individual concerned, who ESPNcricinfo have chosen not to name, is a current senior player at the club.Related

• Colin Graves insists he witnessed no racism during his tenure at Yorkshire

• Yorkshire's Test status restored pending resolution of internal issues

• English cricket must 'clean up its act' on racism, concludes DCMS report

• Yorkshire suspended by ECB from hosting international cricket

• Gary Ballance admits to racial slur against 'closest friend' Azeem Rafiq

While the investigating team (the lawyers who were charged with gathering evidence for the report) found such comments to be “capable of creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment…” and accepted Rafiq’s “evidence that he was offended, degraded or humiliated and that this amounted to harassment under the Equality Act and the Club’s Equal Opportunities policy”, the panel (who were charged with making conclusions and recommendations and which included a non-executive member of the Yorkshire board) disagreed.Their conclusions state “The Panel does not accept that Azeem was offended by [the other player’s] comments, either at the time they were made or subsequently.”They go on to say that, in the context of “banter between friends” Rafiq might be “expected to take such comments in the spirit in which they were intended (i.e. good natured banter between friends)… [so] it was not reasonable for Azeem to have been offended by [the other player] directing equally offensive or derogatory comments back at him in the same spirit of friendly banter.”Indeed, the panel accuses Rafiq of using “offensive, racially derogatory comments” when referring to a player of Zimbabwean heritage as “Zimbo from Zimbabwe”. The panel viewed this as “a racist, derogatory term” and recommends that, were Rafiq still a Yorkshire player, he should face disciplinary action for using it.The revelation, which comes days after Yorkshire announced that none of their players, coaches or executives would face disciplinary action as a result of the investigation, may increase doubts over the process and the report that has produced. In particular, equating the terms ‘P**i’, which is a long-established derogatory term with a history of racist usage, and ‘Zimbo’, which is generally held to be an abbreviation akin to Aussie or Kiwi without pejorative association, is likely to raise eyebrows.The ECB, who have been sent Yorkshire’s report in recent days after several month’s delay, are currently reviewing the information.

أعرب رامي ربيعة مدافع منتخب مصر لكرة القدم، عن سعادته بعد الفوز على إثيوبيا بهدفين دون مقابل، وذلك خلال المباراة التي أقيمت مساء أمس الجمعة في تصفيات كأس العالم 2026.

منتخب مصر واجه إثيوبيا، على ملعب “العربي الزوالي” في الدار البيضاء بالمغرب، ضمن منافسات الجولة الخامسة من التصفيات الإفريقية المؤهلة إلى نهائيات كأس العالم.

وقال رامي ربيعة في تصريحات عبر قناة “أون سبورت”: “كنا مركزين في المباراة، لأن سيراليون فازت أمس، ونحن كنا نريد أن نريح أنفسنا، والحمد لله المباراة كانت في المغرب والأجواء جيدة”.

طالع أيضاً.. منتخب مصر يواصل انتصاراته في تصفيات كأس العالم 2026 بثنائية أمام إثيوبيا (فيديو)

وتابع: “هدفنا كان التأهل لأمم إفريقيا وهذا حدث، والآن نركز على كأس العالم، وهذا الجيل يستحق ذلك”.

واختتم: “أعمارنا متقاربة، وكلنا إخوة داخل وخارج الملعب منذ أن كنا صغار، وهذا أمر جيد بيننا كلاعبين، أن نكون كلنا متقاربين”.

On the win: ‘We had the belief that we could get them out in those 60 overs’
“Super proud of the whole team, the way we stuck to our plans in this Test match after being put in. Our performance with the bat was outstanding. The pitch didn’t offer much [to the bowlers] in the first three days to be honest. I think the first day was most challenging [for the batters], after that it was quite difficult for the bowlers to gain anything from the track but I think the way we played in the second innings, after being put under pressure this morning, Jasprit and Shami, was absolutely outstanding.”We thought 60 overs to go, we could have a crack at the result, and we had the belief that we could get them out in those 60 overs. I think the bowlers were just outstanding and what happened in our second innings, right at the end with the bowlers, a bit of tension on the field [and needle between the teams] really helped us and really motivated us to finish this game.”On lower order’s contribution with bat: ‘They have that desire in them to do the job’
Just to applaud what Jasprit and Shami did… It takes a lot of character and heart to play under those circumstances as bowlers who don’t get much to bat, and just putting their hand up for the team when we needed it most, it was something that we were really proud of and we want to let them know. They were charged up and both took the new ball and got us two breakthroughs as well, which were very crucial for us.”When we were our most successful in Test cricket for a year and a half, our lower order was contributing big time and that’s something that we went away from a little bit when we play away from home. So that was one of our focuses, the batting coach has really worked hard with the boys and they are putting in the hard work. Most importantly when they walk out to bat, they believe that they can stay there and give some runs for the team. I think that belief was missing [before]; we were practising but now they have that desire in them to do the job for the team and we know how priceless those runs are and that proved to be the case even today as well.”Comparing this victory to the 2014 Lord’s win: ‘What happened on the field really charged us up’
“I was part of the winning Test match last time when I was a player under MS [Dhoni]. That was pretty special as well, Ishant bowled an outstanding spell. In that game, we put them under pressure on day four itself.”But this one, to get a result in 60 overs, when we all thought let’s just have a crack at what we have in front of us… It’s quite special and especially when someone like Siraj is playing for the first time at Lord’s and bowling the way he did, [it] was outstanding. As I said, what happened on the field [the verbals] really charged us up and gave us that extra motivation to finish the game off.”On the timing of the declaration: ‘I thought anything under 55 doesn’t sound right’
“It was more a case of ‘what’s the number of overs we are comfortable with’. I thought anything under 55 doesn’t sound right, I don’t want to walk off the field later thinking ‘what if we had four or five more overs left with us’. We decided, okay, 60 is our mark, and we are going to have a crack at them in 60 overs but, as I said, the crucial breakthroughs with the ball were the right start for us and we carried on from there.”We have three more games to go, our aim is five Test matches. We are not going to sit on our laurels after this match and just take it easy. If at all, we going to get more intense and more precise in what we do in the next three games.”

BBC pundit and former Scotland international Alan Hutton has reacted to the news that Celtic have tabled a bid to seal a "smart signing" in the summer transfer window.

Celtic transfer news

The Hoops have been linked with various players ahead of what could be a busy summer in the transfer market, and Fenerbahce goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic has been mentioned as a possible option to come in.

Joe Hart has retired from football, bowing out on a high after winning both the Scottish Premiership and Scottish Cup, and Livakovic is seen as the potential man to fill the void between the sticks. Celtic have reportedly tabled a bid of £7.6m for his services, with "extensive talks" held over a deal.

Elsewhere, Brendan Rodgers is thought to be keen on Bournemouth 'keeper Mark Travers as an alternative to Livakovic, with the 25-year-old possibly eyeing more regular football moving forward, having been loaned out to Championship side Stoke City last season.

Fotis Ioannidis is another player who has been linked with a summer move to Celtic, being seen as a dream attacking teammate for Hoops star man Matt O'Riley. The Panathinaikos forward scored five times in as many starts in the Europa League last season, highlighting his pedigree as a footballer.

Pundit talks up Celtic completing Livakovic signing

Speaking to Football Insider, BBC pundit Hutton talked up the idea of Celtic completing what he feels would be a "smart signing" of Livakovic in the summer, calling the offered fee a "big number".

"If he kicks on and does what everybody expects him to do, it would be a smart signing. They could make a lot of money out of it. The Euros has normally got an impact on that, if he goes there and plays really well, his valuation could go through the roof as we’ve seen previously.

"It’ll be an interesting one to watch what happens. These are big numbers, but I think Celtic are a club that can pay that sort of money and fees, especially if they get money in. We’ll see how it develops, but Celtic have definitely got the scope to spend that kind of money."

Livakovic makes plenty of sense for Celtic, with the 29-year-old a hugely experienced player but also someone who still has plenty of years left in him at the top level.

The Fenerbahce man is currently representing Croatia at Euro 2024, starting both of his country's opening two matches at the tournament, and he has a total of 56 caps at international level, also playing an important role in his nation reaching the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup.

Celtic could sign "crazy" Idah alternative in biggest deal since Jota

The Hoops are reportedly interested in signing the talented young centre-forward.

1

By
Dan Emery

Jun 23, 2024

Livakovic jumps out as a brilliant choice to come in and do a strong job after Hart, although he will clearly have big shoes to fill, considering what an influential performer the Englishman was for Celtic for a sustained period. There is no reason why he couldn't be a superb successor, though, and possibly even an upgrade, given his age.

Leicestershire win by innings and five runs as visitors’ callow batting collapses in final overs

ECB Reporters' Network15-Sep-2021Leicestershire pulled off an extraordinary victory over Sussex in an LV=Insurance County Championship match that had looked set to bring the curtain down on the season at Grace Road with a tame draw.After Hassan Azad (152) and Lewis Hill (145) had turned their hundreds into career-best scores and there was a maiden half-century for Louis Kimber, a declaration at 492 for 4 gave Leicestershire a lead of 133, but with their leading wicket-taker Chris Wright absent through injury, bowling Sussex out in the 48 overs that remained looked a long shot, even with Fynn Hudson-Prentice unable to bat after breaking a hand in the first innings.Yet after reaching 117 for 3 – just 16 runs away from wiping out their arrears – an inexperienced Sussex side containing five teenagers lost their last six wickets for 11 runs, losing by an innings and five runs with 16 balls left.Callum Parkinson took 4 for 18 with his left-arm spin and seamer Ben Mike 4 for 34 as Leicestershire won by five runs.Wright, who was awarded his county cap along with Hill during the lunch interval, was not risked after feeling a hamstring after the first innings, when his 6 for 94 took his wickets tally for the season to 46.Sussex remain without a win since beating Glamorgan in the second match of the season and are bottom of Division Three, with only a final fixture against next-to-bottom Derbyshire at Hove next week to come as they seek to avoid a first Championship wooden spoon since 2000.Resuming at 291 for 2 following Tuesday’s washout after another hour of the game was lost because of a wet outfield, Leicestershire achieved their objective of securing maximum batting points.Related

• Tom Haines, Ben Brown lead with bat in hand as Sussex enjoy fruitful day

• Hassan Azad, Lewis Hill drive Leicestershire with brace of centuries

• James Sales seals thrilling draw for Northants with maiden first-class fifty

Two more came as Hill overtook his previous career best of 121, scored against Gloucestershire in April of this year, and Azad passed his of 144 not out against Surrey, also in April, as the pair extended their partnership to 248, a new mark for Leicestershire’s third wicket against Sussex. Hill’s runs took his tally for the season to 902.Both fell in consecutive Henry Crocombe overs, both caught on the boundary by substitute fielder, 17-year-old Bertie Foreman, whose grandfather was Denis Foreman, who played cricket for Sussex and football for Brighton and Hove Albion in the 1950s and 60s.Kimber (69 not out) and Harry Swindells (59 not out) claimed the fifth, adding 130 in just less than 19 overs before skipper Parkinson called them in.Leicestershire’s bowlers chipped away. Ali Orr was caught behind off Parkinson’s left-arm spin, first-innings centurion Ben Brown hit Mike straight to point, Tom Haines played across one from Ed Barnes and having closed to within 16 of clearing the arrears, Sussex unravelled.Rawlins edged behind, Parkinson bowled Tom Hinley, Oli Carter, who had faced 77 balls for his nine, pulled to leg gulley and Crocombe was leg before as Mike took two in two. Parkinson then trapped Jack Carson in front.Last wicket pair Sean Hunt and Joseph Sarro – both 19-year-olds – survived 30 balls to prolong the agony, but then Parkinson had the latter caught behind to spark wild celebrations.