All posts by h716a5.icu

West Brom have a “sticky situation” on their hands with goalkeeper Sam Johnstone, says Express & Star journalist Luke Hatfield.

New West Brom boss Valerien Ismael recently admitted that he expects to lose both Johnstone and Matheus Pereira before the transfer window closes.

The 28-year-old shot-stopper has been linked with a host of Premier League clubs following the Baggies’ relegation to the Championship, with Tottenham and West Ham two sides who are said to be interested.

Johnstone has one year remaining on his contract, which has left West Brom in a difficult predicament, according to Hatfield.

“15 to 20 million [offer], maybe they’ll consider it,” the West Brom journalist told FFC as he discussed Johnstone’s future. “Albion may rate him higher than that, but with one year left on your contract, you’re in a sticky situation.”

Johnstone is a top ‘keeper; he proved it last season with the amount of saves he made.

In the Premier League, the England international managed to make 166 saves – the highest in the top flight.

With his contract set to expire next year, though, West Brom, of course, risk losing him for free. Considering that, maybe it is best for the Midlands club to sell their asset this summer.

Baqai Dolphins marched into the final of the 17th Karachi Gymkhana Callmate Festival, handing out a 50-run defeat to KESC in the second semifinal played on Wednesday

Sports Reporter05-Dec-2002Baqai Dolphins marched into the final of the 17th Karachi Gymkhana Callmate Festival, handing out a 50-run defeat to KESC in the second semifinal played on Wednesday.Put into bat after losing the toss, Baqai Dolphins were bowled out for 159 runs in 24.1 overs due to some splendid spin bowling by Tahir Khan, who picked up five wickets for only 10 runs.Cruising along at 116 for two with Hasan Raza (56) and Shadab Kabir (29) among the runs, Dolphins lost their last eight wickets for the addition of only 43 runs, with Tahir running amock. Left-arm spinners Asif Ghouri two for 30 and Jaffer Qureshi two for 40, lent Tahir admirable support.Former champions KESC never really got off the ground and were skittled out out for 109 in 23 overs.Left-arm Adnan Malik was the pick of the Dolphins attack, claiming four wickets for 23 runs. He was ably assisted by the other left-arm spinner Qaiser Abbas two for 29.Thursday’s fixture: Tapal CC vs Baqai Dolphins 1.00 p.m. (Final)Aamir, Afsar Shine Match winning unbeaten knocks by Aamir Iqbal and Afsar Nawaz, paved the way for Mohammad Hussain CC to pick up the Seventh Danish Trophy, trouncing KGA Gymkhana by eight wickets on Wednesday. Electing to bat first after winning the toss KGA after a slow start managed to pick up the tempo through Hilary Rodrigues (48) and Rajesh Ramesh (21). With Freddie Decruze contributing 33, KGA scored 152 for seven in 20 overs.Skipper Amir Iqbal (69 n.o.) and Mohammad Zafar (35), added 61 runs for the first wicket with 153 runs needed for victory.Mohammad Hussain CC were home and dry after 17 overs in reaching 154 for two. Aamir slammed seven boundaries and Afsar clobbered two fours and two sixes in his unbeaten knock of 41 runs.Amin Merchant, vice-chairman KCCA Zone III, was the chief guest on the occasion and presented the trophies to the winners and runners-up.UBL A win A.O. Academy moved ahead in the Baqai Inter-Academies Ramazan Festival tournament, brushing aside Customs by 75 runs at the UBL A ground Wednesday.A.O. Academy batting first scored 175 for seven wickets in 25 overs through Rizwan Khan (49), Asadullah (42), Khurram Khan (23) and Babar Agha (22). Off-spinners Waqas three for 29 and Faizan Hussain two for 38, bagged the wickets for the fielding side.Customs in reply were restricted to 105 for nine wickets. Talha Khan was top scorer with 32 runs. Adnan Ali three for 18, and Samiullah two for 18, grabbed the wickets for the winners.In another match played in the afternoon session, UBL A routed their junior string by eight wickets.UBL B winning the toss and deciding to bat first, managed 123 for eight wickets in the 22 restricted overs. Ehsanullah (34) and Salman Hussain (31) batted well.Openers Kamran Ahsan (50) and Usman Farhat (45) steered their team to victory with a blazing stand of 99. UBL A finally went on to win scoring 124 for two wickets in 19.4 overs.AOCC lift trophy Hosts A.O. CC won the A.O. Super Cup after handing out a five-wicket defeat to Dewan Mushtaq Sugar Mills under floodlights on Tuesday night.Dewan Mushtaq opting to bat first after winning the toss, were restricted to 135 runs for eight wickets in 20 overs. Fahadullah was the top scorer for his side with 40 runs, with two boundaries being his principal strokes. Farhan Adil chipped in with (27).Off-spinner Shoaib Malik bagged two wickets for 13 runs.A.O. CC needing 136 runs for victory, scraped home with three deliveries to spare, thanks to Test discards Shadab Kabir (49),Kamran Hussain who had earlier scored 201 runs in the tournament, was declared the best batsman and Dr. M.A. Shah with his left-arm floaters, the best bowler after capturing 11 wickets.

Website regular Phil Hogarth was a very happy man when he called in at the County Ground to collect the items that he had successfully bid for in the recent Junior Sabres website auction

SOMERSET09-Dec-2002Website regular Phil Hogarth was a very happy man when he called in at the County Ground to collect the items that he had successfully bid for in the recent Junior Sabres website auction.Phil, who lives at Hinton Blewitt in North Somerset bid for several items in the auction and was successful with his bids for Peter Bowler’s bat and Keith Dutch’s batting gloves.When he was collecting his items he told me: "I am really delighted to have got Peter Bowler’s bat and Keith Dutch’s batting gloves. The website auction was a great idea because it’s not very often you get the chance to own genuine items like this."Phil told me that he is a Somerset member and his son James, who would be rather envious of his dad when he appeared with his `new toys’, is a Junior Sabre so would benefit from the money that was raised by the auction.The items that he purchased will not however be kept in a show cabinet. Phil is a right handed batsman who plays for Harptree in the Bristol League and has every intention of using his new pieces of cricketing equipment.He told me: "The bat seems to have a good middle on it and feels just right for me. I shall be using next season and if it scores as many runs for me in the rest of my playing days as it did for Peter Bowler last season then I shall be more than happy!"Meanwhile the club has just taken delivery of the new 2003 Club Diary, which is a mine of information and a must for all Cidermen fans.The diary is available from the club office (01823 272946) in the Colin Atkinson Pavilion and is priced £7.50.

Somerset ended the first day of their championship relegation battle against Hampshire at the Rose Bowl just about in front, after a day in which they were once again indebted to their middle order batsmen

Richard Walsh14-Aug-2002Somerset ended the first day of their championship relegation battle against Hampshire at the Rose Bowl just about in front, after a day in which they were once again indebted to their middle order batsmen.In the Somerset side Piran Holloway replaced Peter Bowler who is unwell, and quick bowler Simon Francis was given the opportunity to play against his former county when he was preferred to Keith Dutch after it was decided that the wicket would favour the quicker bowlers.After winning the toss and slipping to 105 for 5, the Cidermen were rescued by a sixth wicket stand of 99 between Keith Parsons(51) and Rob Turner (57).Later in the innings Turner was involved in another partnership with Richard Johnson, who smashed his way to being the highest scorer for Somerset, making 61 from 37 balls, before they were all out for 278, just before the end of the day.The Hampshire opening pair survived the last five overs and had taken the score onto 15 without loss at the close of play.At the end of the day Somerset coach Kevin Shine told me: “It’s been a good day for us and I have been very pleased with the way that things have gone. After losing five wickets for just over a hundred things didn’t look so good, but Keith Parsons and Rob Turner, and then a great knock from `Johnno’ rescued us.”He continued: “The wicket has done a little bit all day and at the end we bowled well in the last five overs.In the morning we will be looking to get amongst them and take some early wickets.”

Former Crystal Palace striker Marcus Bent has told The Transfer Tavern in an exclusive interview that joining the Eagles would be a good move for Jack Wilshere.

Wilshere is without a club after being released by Bournemouth, where he spent the second half of the 2020/21 season.

His injury record will be a concern for clubs who weigh up whether to offer him a contract or not, though he managed to stay fit during his time on the south coast.

If one of those clubs end up being an outfit like Palace and they do decide to take a punt on him, Bent believes it could be a very good move for the English midfielder.

“I think Palace would be a good move for him,” the ex-Premier League forward exclusively told TT. “Playing in London, being in London. His injuries have set him back massively, but what a talent.”

It remains to be seen what kind of transfer budget Palace’s new manager will get. But given the south London club are not renowned for splashing the cash, you would have to imagine that there is not going to be too much to spend.

Considering that, perhaps free agents like Wilshere will be looked at this transfer window.

Havant went into their penultimate ECB Southern Electric Premier League match at Burridge knowing that their appeal to the league’s administrators about not getting 21 points from last week’s thrilling last ball win at South Wilts had been rejected

Mike Vimpany (as published in Daily Echo 'Pink')23-Aug-2002Havant went into their penultimate ECB Southern Electric Premier League match at Burridge knowing that their appeal to the league’s administrators about not getting 21 points from last week’s thrilling last ball win at South Wilts had been rejected.The recently defeated ECB Club Championship quarter-finalists clung on to win by one run after South Wilts scored 253-9, in reply to Havant’s 254-7.Jubilant Havant left the field thinking they had picked up 21 points from the victory, but then found they had been penalised for exceeding the SPL’s stipulated 2 hour 55 minute period, in which they captured seven of the nine South Wilts wickets that fell.In the closing overs of a Bemerton thriller and as South Wilts edged ever close to the target, Havant took two more wickets to peg Russell Rowe’s side to 253-9.But clock-watching umpires Dave Kirk and Phil Ratcliffe didn’t give them an extra point for their efforts – and the Premier League has upheld their decision.Havant claimed that the problem was caused by injured South Wilts opener Paul Draper having to engage a runner for 30 overs of the Salisbury club’s innings.”It takes a fair while for the batsman and runner to interchange for that length of the time, and our over-rate obviously suffered, through no fault of ours” explained former Havant skipper Paul Gover.”Draper, who got 56, batted for 90 minutes or so with the aid of a runner and we didn’t think the umpires compensated by allowing us additional time in which to get our overs bowled.”We wrote on the official result sheet that we would be lodging an appeal – for 21 points, as opposed to the 20 we were given.The SEPL’s decision meant that Havant went into the penultimate round of matches a solitary point ahead of BAT Sports, last year’s champions.Their single-run win at South Wilts last week put them marginally top from BAT Sports, who sank to a 27-run defeat at Bashley-Rydal.BAT, who hosted Andover today, play their final match at Calmore next week, with Havant finishing their programme against fourth-placed Bournemouth at Havant Park.

Leeds United could have up to an extra £35million to spend on signings in the summer transfer window, according to expert Kieran Maguire.

The Lowdown: Key summer at Leeds

The Whites enjoyed a triumphant return to the Premier League last season, finishing ninth in the table and arguably playing some of the most attractive football in the division.

It is vital that Marcelo Bielsa doesn’t rest on his laurels, however, strengthening his squad this summer and looking for an even better finish next time around.

The Latest: Expert provides big update

Leeds look to set to have receive a major boost, in that respect, with a hefty amount of funds seemingly set to be available for Bielsa in the next few months.

Speaking to Football Insider, football finance expert Maguire outlined precisely why this will be the case, with as much as £35million extra to spend mooted:

“Leeds can certainly afford to spend more. They have had substantial financial developments. They finished 9th and probably budgeted to finish something like 16th.

“So realistically, they’ve got an extra £15-20m from that particular [prize money] pot. They were also chosen as the first picks for matches to be broadcast live on TV 24 times, so that’s an extra £14m.

“That’s because the first 10 picks are considered part of the overall deal and anything above that is an additional £1m per match.

“So we’ve automatically got around about £35m in the budget that they hadn’t originally budgeted for.”The sponsors are very keen to get into bed with them too, so you’d imagine that Leeds will have a pretty good budget to work with this summer.”

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The Verdict: Time to go up another level

Leeds are in the best position they have been in for many years and this update is a major positive for them in their quest to push towards a European finish next season.

Bielsa doesn’t need to make huge changes to his squad, but bringing in a few top class players could improve his starting lineup and make the squad depth even more formidable.

It is a crucial summer in which Leeds have to get their business right – if they do, they should aim big in 2021/22.

In other news, Leeds have been linked with an incredible move for one player this summer. Find out who it is here. 

Following their convincing win over Hampshire yesterday, Somerset look forward to another big match tomorrow when they entertain Sri Lanka at the County Ground in the Patron’s Salver Challenge match

Richard Walsh20-Jun-2002Following their convincing win over Hampshire yesterday, Somerset look forward to another big match tomorrow when they entertain Sri Lanka at the County Ground in the Patron’s Salver Challenge match.The 50 over match, that gets underway at 10.45 am, is being sponsored by the club’s patron Christopher Ondaatje, who was born in Sri Lanka.Mr Ondaatje is presenting a silver salver, and three Queens Golden Jubilee goblets to the winners, and the losers will also be presented with a replica set to mark this special occasion.Somerset boss Peter Anderson said: "This is a prestigious 1 day match against a top international side and we are hoping that a large number of supporters will come along to watch the match. With this in mind members have free entry, paying spectators will be charged £10, but youngsters up to the age of 16 will be admitted free."Mr Anderson continued: "As well as funding the magnificent salver,our patron is picking up the bill for staging the match which is very generous gesture on his part. Mr Ondaatje is very interested in the affairs of the club and is continually analysing what we have to do to remain on our present site."Mr Ondaajte told me: "I think that this is a fantastic privilege for me to host this match against Sri Lanka, the country of my birth. I am more than pleased to do it, especially in the Queens Golden Jubilee year."Mr Anderson concluded: " Mr Ondaajte is our patron and is a very keen supporter of England and of Somerset County Cricket Club and the County Ground, but when we entertain Sri Lanka on Friday, I’m looking forward to seeing where his loyalties are!

Fabrizio Romano has dropped a major update on Leeds United’s pursuit of Club Brugge starlet Noa Lang in this summer transfer window.

What’s the story?

According to recent reports from The Telegraph, Marcelo Bielsa’s side have been been watching the 21-year-old, although they are set to face intense competition to try and land him.

Romano has now revealed via his official Twitter account that Leeds are indeed interested in the £19.8m-rated Lang, adding that while the Belgian champions will continue trying to offer him a new deal, the Whites want to commence transfer talks.

The journalist declared: “Leeds are interested in signing Noa Lang from Club Brugge – the Belgian club will try to keep him offering a new contract but Leeds want to open talks.”

Exciting talent for Bielsa

Called a “phenomenon” by Belgian journalist Peter Vandenbempt, the winger made history when he became the first player in 60 years to mark his debut with a hat-trick for Ajax, a feat which prompted manager Erik ten Hag to rave about him after that game.

The 51-year-old said: “He showed (his talent) today and I am very happy with that. Noa shows (his ability) it during training and during the reserve matches. And today he has also clearly shown it at the highest level too.”

Able to play anywhere across the frontline, Lang has shown he has a real eye for goal in his loan spell at Brugge last season (he is due to become their player outright on 1 July), scoring 17 goals and providing a further 11 assists in just 37 games, including netting in the Champions League against Zenit St Petersburg.

Just like Raphinha, Lang is an excitingly direct dribbler, averaging 1.4 dribbles per game in the Belgian top flight, a figure which ranks him just outside the top ten in the entire division.

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Given that he is only 21, Lang could be the kind of long-term project who thrives under Bielsa and proves to become a real superstar at Elland Road as the years progress.

With the volume of goals and assists that Lang delivered last season, and with him still being very much in the infancy of his career, a move for the youngster would surely have Leeds fans buzzing at the thought of him shining at Elland Road if they can land his signature.

Meanwhile, Fabrizio Romano has dropped a major Leeds United update…

After losing the services of three former international players between them during the past week, Western Australia and Victoria appear to be facing a fight to retain several more of their best cricketers.

John Polack23-May-2002After losing the services of three former international players between them during the past week, Western Australia and Victoria appear to be facing a fight to retain several more of their best cricketers.Simon Katich provided one of the biggest recruiting stories of the past decade at interstate level when he agreed late last week to switch from Western Australia to New South Wales. But it may not be the end of the bad news for the Warriors with at least three other players still being targeted by other states.Matthew Nicholson put an end to speculation about his immediate future by confirming yesterday that he has rejected approaches from New South Wales and South Australia and is remaining in Perth. The Warriors are likely to receive further good news when another high-profile fast bowler signs on with the team in forthcoming days, and there is also growing speculation that Damien Fleming may ultimately be headed west.But opening batsman Mike Hussey’s name continues to be linked with a possible shift to South Australia, and middle order batsmen Murray Goodwin and Rob Baker have also been eyed closely by other states.The Western Australian Cricket Association moved yesterday to quash rumours about possible departures by Hussey and Goodwin, but their names are not yet rated as certainties to be among the list of 2002-03 Warriors’ contract holders when it is released early next month.The Warriors also appear to have been thwarted in their bid to lure Queensland seam bowler Adam Dale away from Brisbane.Victoria’s desire to cultivate a more youthful playing list meanwhile looks to be under threat on at least two fronts.The Victorians’ shock decision this week to prune Fleming and Colin Miller from their playing list will deprive the Bushrangers of two of their best-credentialled cricketers of the last decade. But at least two other talented members of the state’s playing staff – an all-rounder and a pace bowler who were each contracted last summer – have already sparked interest elsewhere.In a rare piece of good news for the embattled Vics, speculation earlier this year that captain Matthew Elliott may have been keen to move elsewhere appears to have been off the mark.South Australia also remains a key player as one of the most flurried off-seasons in interstate history continues.Hussey and Nicholson are believed to have headed a shortlist of potential recruits along with Zimbabwean star Andy Flower, while experienced fast bowlers Paul Wilson and Brett Swain and young opening batsman Luke Williams are all considering the possibility of a move interstate.Complementing Tasmanian interest in Baker, the names of Swain and Williams have each come up at a series of selection meetings in Hobart this week.New South Wales’ cards are being played closer to the chest, with few clues available as to how the Blues’ list may be rounded out. Their selectors are, however, unlikely to make any more major additions to an already imposing batting line-up. Attention may instead need to be devoted to encouraging promising strokeplayers like Phil Jaques from pursuing greater opportunities elsewhere.Queensland’s position appears the most settled of all the states, with only changes at the margins expected when its contract list is unveiled. The likelihood that Dale will stay, and Ashley Noffke’s recent loss of his ACB contract, have meant that there is less room to work in adding extra fast bowlers to the Bulls’ core group of players. Former Test paceman Scott Muller may be among the relatively small number of casualties.Each of the six state associations has until 7 June to finalise its initial list of between 14 and 20 contract holders for the 2002-03 season.