Phil Hay gave his verdict on Leeds United goalkeeper Illan Meslier’s performance against Hull City, during a Q&A on The Athletic.

What did he say?

Kiko Casilla has been banned for eight games, after being charged for racism towards Jonathan Leko, as reported by BBC Sport.

With the Spaniard unavailable due to this, 19-year-old stopper Meslier went between the sticks for Leeds’ 4-0 win against Hull, making his first league appearance for the club.

Following the game, Hay was asked what he thought of the Frenchman’s performance, to which he replied: “A little bit anxious in brief periods but good handling in the air, brave enough with his passing and didn’t look nervous in the main. It was a good game to make your first league start in. Not a lot coming his way.”

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Judgement yet to be made

It was a good game for the youngster to make his first league start in as Hull lacked any real threat, with Meslier keeping a clean sheet after making two saves.

Hay mentioned his passing during the game, and while Meslier was off with some of them, which meant he gave away some cheap throw-ins, he did finish up with a pass success rate of 73%.

The willingness he showed to pick out his teammates was an integral part of Leeds’ build-up play at times, as he helped Kalvin Phillips get onto the ball.

Can you get full marks on the Ultimate Leeds Quiz? Test your knowledge below…

He also looked assured in his handling, dealing with one specific ball into the box from deep well – appearing composed and in complete control when plucking it out of the air.

Overall, it was a performance that Marcelo Bielsa will likely be satisfied with, as a clean sheet is always a good way for any goalkeeper to start.

However, there will probably be far bigger tests for him to face during his time in the Leeds goal than this one.

Meanwhile, one Leeds man was hailed by Phil Hay.

Leeds United’s month just keeps getting better and better as Luke Ayling has picked up February’s PFA Player of the Month award this week.

The Whites defender won with 51% of the votes as revealed by LUFC’s official Twitter account on Wednesday afternoon.

Marcelo Bielsa’s side have picked up five straight victories in the league which has seen them overtake West Brom into sole possession of the Championship lead whilst also opening up a gap of seven points to the playoff positions.

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Ayling has played a major part in that, regularly featuring as the Argentine’s first-choice right-back.

Here’s how fans have been lauding him on social media…

There was a shout from one supporter that the 28-year-old should be the team’s captain whilst he’s also been described as “immense” and as a “top class performer.”

His month has been pretty solid so this award could well be fully deserved, and that’s something fans have acknowledged below.

Per WhoScored, Ayling recorded 20 tackles, 14 interceptions and four key passes from seven matches – of which, Leeds only lost twice.

The Bielsa favourite was brandished as an “absolute baller” having contributed four goals and four assists in 28 league appearances this season, per Transfermarkt.

This level of form has led to one shout for Ayling to be the Player of the Season as he’s been in “awesome” nick.

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And in other news, Phil Hay plays down Leeds chance of a permanent move for loanee…

According to reports emerging from Italy over the weekend, Everton are eyeing up a move for Torino centre-back Nicolas Nkoulou this summer, but it would be a disaster move from director of football Marcel Brands.

Torino misfit

The 29-year-old sparked controversy at the start of the season after trying to force an exit from the club, so his manager Walter Mazzarri forced him to apologise to his teammates for his behaviour and dropped him for five matches, per Calciomercato.

He’s gone on to play 26 times this campaign, but his form in 2020 has been a major issue for the Serie A outfit – they have lost six straight in the division, including massive defeats of 7-0 and 4-0 in back-to-back games.

Everton may have to compete with Wolves and West Ham for his signature this summer.

Toffees transfer flops

The Toffees have long had a history with making poor moves in the transfer market, and this sort of deal wreaks of another Cuco Martina- like flop.

He joined on a free transfer from Southampton in July 2017 and has only gone on to play 28 times for the club whilst he hasn’t featured in a single match this campaign.

The 30-year-old has been out on loan twice and is now perishing with the U23 squad as he seems increasingly unlikely to ever feature for Carlo Ancelotti.

Fans have seemingly lost patience with club-record signing Gylfi Sigurdsson too with some blasting him for being a “liability” in recent weeks.

At £45m, just two goals and two assists from 29 appearances simply isn’t good enough.

More recently, Moise Kean and Alex Iwobi have hardly hit the ground running while the blows of losing Idrissa Gueye and Kurt Zouma still must ring in the minds of some at Goodison Park.

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Verdict

Therefore, Brands still has a lot to prove in his role and plumping for Nkoulou to solve their defensive problems isn’t going to help his reputation much.

Last time out, Everton were thumped 4-0 by a Chelsea side that only had one striker at their disposal – there’s nothing to suggest that the Torino man would come in and help, but rather make things worse.

It would be wise to steer well clear of this one; otherwise, it’s another catastrophe at the hands of their chief transfer operator.

Did he really play for us?! No Everton fan has managed to name all of these obscure Toffees players….

And in other news, Everton snubbed sensational Erling Haaland move in 2018…

According to The Sun, Aston Villa are hopeful that they could sign two-time Premier League winner Joe Hart on a free transfer in the summer, as it is revealed he is expected to leave Burnley.

Despite the fact he’s yet to play this season, it could be argued that a move makes sense for Villa. Indeed, with Tom Heaton is currently injured, January loan signing Pepe Reina has proven somewhat unreliable.

While a vastly experienced Wolrd Cup winner has been a good shot-stopper, making 23 saves in six appearances, via Premier League, he has not been at his best in other aspects of his game. Furthermore, his mistake against Leicester in the side’s 4-0 loss, per Birmingham Mail, and was duly criticised by Dean Smith and Sven Goran-Eriksson.

He is, of course, only on loan too and it’s not clear what a potential relegation would do to his chances of extending his stay in the Midlands.

Whilst Joe Hart has done little lately to suggest he is worthy of starting in the Premier League, the experience that he has gained at both Manchester City and England could be huge for the club. In terms of a back-up to the likes of Heaton or Orjan Nyland, Hart does look a reasonably safe option in either division, with Reina himself doing little to wholly convince.

Missing football!? There’s still plenty of Villa discussion going on in the Vital Villa Forum! Click here to get involved!

Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti appears to be already gearing up for next season if reports emerging over the weekend are to be believed.

According to the Mirror [March 29th, page 77], winger Theo Walcott has been made available for transfer after failing to impress the 60-year-old ever since he took the reins back in December.

It’s claimed that the club will try to move the 31-year-old on should any reasonable offer come in for him this summer. He’s currently valued at £13.5m by Transfermarkt and is on a healthy pay packet of £100k-per-week with his contract not set to expire until 2021.

And fans have been discussing his future on social media, here’s what has been said so far…

There were those fully behind the ploy, claiming it was “finally good news” with one supporter even blasting the Englishman for being a “mercenary”.

Walcott has made 25 appearances this term, but has only managed to find the net once whilst three assists in all competitions is hardly inspiring either.

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As a winger, his numbers are just as dire, averaging a mere 0.4 crosses, 0.6 key passes and 1.6 unsuccessful touches per game in the Premier League, per WhoScored.

However, there were some fans who would rather see other names out the exit door before the veteran wide man, most notably Gylfi Sigurdsson – a further member of the Toffees faithful said he’d accept as little as £5m for the Icelandic playmaker as he’s been the “biggest waste of money” in the club’s history.

Other names listed included Sandro Ramirez, Yannick Bolasie and Cuco Martina while others had their doubts over whether they could actually rid Goodison Park of Walcott.

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AND in other news, Everton must be ruthless with this 26 y/o in the summer…

Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentaryTim Paine smashed four sixes in his 71 off 57 balls•Getty Images

Tasmania has started its Twenty20 Big Bash campaign in emphatic style, crushing Western Australia by 63 runs at the WACA.George Bailey won the toss for the Tigers and had no hesitation batting first on a picture-perfect WACA deck. Opener and man-of-the-match Tim Paine anchored the innings with a level-headed 71 off 57 balls and was well supported by the brutal Travis Birt, who hit four sixes on his way to a 22-ball 43.The pair shared an 86-run partnership and combined for eight of the Tigers’ 11 sixes – hitting five of them in a ten-ball burst between overs 9.4 and 11.1.Seamer Mick Lewis – who at 36 came out of retirement to play for the Warriors in the Big Bash – did his best for the hosts with three wickets, but his four overs were costly, going for 46 runs.Fast bowler Nathan Coulter-Nile’s third over looked to have swung the momentum back towards the Warriors, taking the crucial wicket of Birt and conceding just three runs, but cameos from Bailey (20 off 13) and Dutch international Ryan ten Doeschate (12 off 9) lifted the Tigers to an imposing total of 189 from their 20 overs.The Warriors appeared to have the firepower capable of chasing down the target, but they got off to a horror start when Shaun Marsh was trapped in front for a duck by offspinner Jason Krejza on the third ball of the innings. Pinch-hitter Luke Ronchi soon followed, chipping a drive to Birt at cover, and the Warriors chase went from bad to worse when ten Doeschate picked up the wickets of Chris Gayle and Luke Pomersbach in his only over.From there, the hosts never looked likely to win, limping to a disappointing 126 all out with an over to spare. The spin of Krejza (2 for 24) and Doherty (2 for 22) worked a treat for the Tigers, who had gambled playing two spinners on the bouncy WACA pitch, while the Warriors had left out their only recognised spinner in Aaron Heal – a move which proved costly.Tasmania has an eight-day break before it travels to the Gabba to play the Bulls, while Western Australia will face New South Wales in Sydney on January 9.

For the first time since the end of the Second World War, we’re seeing no football being played, no Saturday rituals, no acca busting results, no turnstiles turning, no chants, no Gilette Soccer Saturday or Sports Report on the Radio.

Now to get this clear from the start, having no football at this moment in time is absolutely the right thing to do. There are quite rightly more important matters at hand in the world than football right now.

However, it makes it no less disconcerting to have that constant many of us have each week taken away from us. At least in those summer months when there’s no International tournament, we can all read about the exciting transfer rumours or even watch other sports.

If I’m cooking the dinner in the kitchen at home or venturing out in the car or with my headphones walking somewhere, I’m either listening to football or listening to experts talk about football. The latest big match coming up or managerial sacking or new signing, it’s what I’ve grown up with.  

Football has been a constant in my life for nearly 30 years now, ever since going to Upton Park with my Mother and Granddad at the age of seven, being handed a programme by the local programme seller who would stand outside his house in East Ham. I regrettably lost that programme but have since bought another copy on eBay.

That was the day I fell in love with football. August 1991, West Ham United v Notts County in the First Division. Rather fittingly, we lost the game 2-0, but I didn’t care – I was fascinated.

A love affair with football had begun that would result in more bad times than good down the years, but I’m sure that’s the case for most of those reading. At the end of it all I’m sure we would all admit that if our team won every week, it would get boring. As I told my son recently, the good times wouldn’t be as good without the bad ones.

Like many of us,  I’m having to satisfy my need for football by watching classic matches replayed online (last night it was Germany 1-5 England) or watching excellent documentaries like the recent BT Sport Jimmy Greaves film. Podcasts are also great for this, I’ve long been a Podcast fan and football is obviously a big part of this.

A personal favourite is ‘Quickly Kevin Will He Score?’ with the last leg’s Josh Widdecombe and his friend Chris Skull, who is part of the West Ham media team. It’s dedicated to all things 90’s Football, which for me, of course, is my favourite era of football due to those being my formative years as a fan.

One of the episodes includes Matt Le Tissier discussing the time Ali Dia blagged a seat on the Southampton bench for a Premier League match by claiming to be George Weah’s cousin. He was introduced during the match, only to be taken off again by an embarrassed Graeme Souness when it became obvious that his claims to be the Ballon d’Or winner’s cousin didn’t mean he was a good player (with the claim later being found to be false).

There’s also an episode featuring Paul Merson discussing his time at Middlesbrough, telling the boys how the club also paid his brother to live with him so he could keep him company on his long drives up from his home in St Albans and in the hotel at the weekend.

Back to now; it’s been great to see the Premier League club captains reportedly coming together to form the #playerstogether fund to raise money for the NHS. Plus, there’s also been suggestions that the Premier League will also share much-needed funds with the EFL clubs to try to ensure they stay afloat, without the crucial income gate receipts give them each week. Hopefully this will be the beginning of a change in outlook from those at the top of the game to those further down.

 Surely the Premier League know that without those clubs lower down in the pyramid, football in this country will lose much of its romance. In April 2018, I went with my boss to watch AFC Wimbledon draw 2-2 with Oldham Athletic in a relegation scrap. He was brought up as a Chelsea fan but fell out of love with the club around the time the Abramovich era began, not liking the direction football was heading and the negativity coming from the fans every week despite the success. AFC Wimbledon’s phoenix-like rise from the very lowest leagues, plus the fact they were on his doorstep, offered a purer and more enjoyable experience for him.

Standing on the terraces reminded me then of how some of the magic of going to football has been lost in the current days of the Premier League’s safe seating, modern luxury and the often-unrealistic expectation it brings. That smell of burgers, onions and stale beer that adds to the positive atmosphere of, ‘even if we lose, we’re just happy to have a football club to watch’ was truly enlightening.

One thinks of those poor Bury supporters now without a club and the possibility of them being joined by others, thanks to the dire consequences of no football that the Coronavirus has given us in a time when many clubs were already battling for their existence as it was.

Anyway, what this time of reflection has reminded us all is not to take football for granted when it does eventually come back. Whether it be watching the Champions League or Premier League from the comfort of our armchairs or watching a League Two or National League midweek match from the terraces in the pouring rain, these days remind us that absence certainly does make the heart grow fonder.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsJames Anderson can only look on as Ryan Harris celebrates Paul Collingwood’s last-ball dismissal•Getty Images

Australia are closing in on a series-levelling victory at the WACA after ripping out five England wickets during the final session to back up Michael Hussey’s 116 which continued his phenomenal series. Mitchell Johnson and Ryan Harris both struck in the final five minutes of play to finish with two apiece while other scalp, the key one of Kevin Pietersen for 3, went to the hardworking Ben Hilfenhaus as England lurched to stumps on 5 for 81.Those final few moments did huge damage to England who were already struggling. Jonathan Trott had played well for 31 before fencing at Johnson and, in a sign of how fortunes have changed, Ricky Ponting parried the ball at second slip only for Brad Haddin to snap up the chance. Ponting immediately left the field for treatment on a finger so missed the final-ball drama when the out-of-form Paul Collingwood edge Harris to third slip, the ball after nightwatchman James Anderson declined a single to take the strike off Collingwood.Hussey and Shane Watson, who fell five runs short of his hundred, were chiefly responsible for building Australia’s strong position as they extended their fourth-wicket stand to 113. After that, England staged a fightback with Chris Tremlett claiming his maiden five-wicket haul as the last six wickets fell for 55 but, despite the positive talk of a repeat of South Africa’s 414-run chase in 2008-09, history was always unlikely to repeat itself.Australia were mightily pumped up for the final session, knowing the quick bowlers could go full throttle. Ponting wasn’t afraid to switch the bowlers around and it was a change of ends for Harris that brought the first breakthrough when Alastair Cook was struck on the back leg. Cook asked Andrew Strauss if it was worth a review, but wasn’t supported by his captain. The ball would have clipped the bails.

Smart Stats

• Shane Watson’s 95 was the fourth time he has fallen in the nineties in his career. He has two centuries and 14 fifties.

• Michael Hussey’s century was his second of the series and the 13th of his career. He averages almost 61 in home Tests but just over 39 in away Tests.

• The 113 run partnership between Hussey and Watson was the third century stand for the fourth wicket for Australia against England in Test matches at Perth.

• In 11 innings since June 2010, Kevin Pietersen has scored 477 runs with one century and two fifties. He has scored less than 10 in five of these innings.

• Of the ten previous occasions that Australia have set a target over 300 at Perth, they have gone on to win on seven occasions and drawn twice. The only loss came against South Africa in 2008.

Johnson had been brought on in the sixth over and offered a couple of boundary balls, then tightened up to off stump and found Strauss’s edge which flew comfortably to Ponting at second slip. Whereas Hussey had given a lesson in what to leave, England’s batsmen were far less certain.Pietersen also chased a wide delivery that he poked to first slip to give Hilfenhaus his first wicket since the third ball of the series. Pietersen had escaped a pair with a pull to fine leg but hadn’t settled when he hung his bat out, although it was nothing less than Hilfenhaus deserved for a probing spell. For Pietersen it was his lowest contribution when he has batted twice in a Test. Like his team, it’s been quite a comedown from Adelaide.Throughout the match it has been tough for batsmen when they first come in, which emphasises the importance of the lone hundred so far from Hussey. His latest masterclass made him the first batsman to hit six consecutive fifty-plus scores in a Ashes Tests, a run dating back to his futile hundred at The Oval in 2009. He also became the leading run-scorer in the series, overtaking Cook, and made this the most prolific series of his career. Not bad for a player who nearly lost his place before it all started in Brisbane.He brought up his hundred with a crunching pull, the manner in which many of his boundaries arrived as England maintained the plan of feeding his strength. He was barely troubled by any of the short-pitched offerings, which although working against some of his team-mates were a futile and wasted effort to Hussey.Hussey has an impressive conversion rate of fifties to hundreds, but the same can’t yet be said of Watson. He’d barely put a foot wrong during his innings, unfurling some thumping drives against Steven Finn as he moved carefully to 95 and within sight of his third Test century. Tremlett then got one to hold its line on middle which Watson missed, but the batsman called for a review thinking he’d hit the ball.It was a small window for England, which looked to have become a little bigger when Steven Smith was given caught at slip off an inside edge by Billy Doctrove, but this time the UDRS worked in Australia’s favour when no nick was detected and the ball was also heading over the stumps. It was a skittish innings from Smith, who could also have been run out, before Tremlett’s move to round the wicket worked as Smith gloved down the leg sideHaddin began with a sweep for six over midwicket against Swann, who only bowled five overs in the day and struggled, but got an inside edge into the stumps to give Tremlett a fourth. The lower order couldn’t offer Hussey much support as Johnson drove to cover, Harris pulled to deep midwicket and Siddle edged to third to slip to hand Anderson his 200th Test wicket.Hussey finally departed to the pull, when he picked out deep square-leg to give Tremlett a deserved five-wicket haul, but his innings had set up victory that will arrive on Sunday. And from the position Australia were in on the first afternoon, that’s an astonishing turnaround.

Loads of Liverpool fans have reacted to Jamie Carragher’s damning response to the Reds’ decision to place some staff on the government’s furlough scheme, and it appears the Anfield faithful are in full agreement with their former stalwart.The club announced on Saturday that many of its non-playing staff would be placed on furlough, meaning they receive 80 per cent of their usual salaries from the government’s job retention scheme.

The Greatest Bargains in Premier League history – How much did they cost?

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And while the Reds are topping up the final 20 per cent to ensure their employees are not placed at a financial disadvantage, the statement still left a sour taste in the mouths of many.

Carragher was quick to condemn the decision on Twitter, saying that all the respect and goodwill earned by Jurgen Klopp and the players has now been lost.

You can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below, where one supporter labelled the club’s decision as “disgustingâ€â€¦

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsJames Franklin held his nerves in the last over to ensure a New Zealand win•Associated Press

A solitary Twenty20 it was, but it featured multiple narratives, an emotional return for Yuvraj Singh and his fans, an anti-climax for India and an incredible comeback from New Zealand. After Brendon McCullum had punched a furious 91, Virat Kohli counter-punched with a majestic 70, leaving India with 49 to get off 42 deliveries with seven wickets remaining.That is when the Chennai pitch started to behave more like a typical Chennai pitch; the ball had come on nicely till then. MS Dhoni and Yuvraj struggled to get the ball off the square, James Franklin and Jacob Oram took all pace off the ball to make it harder, and the asking-rate surged suddenly. Dhoni, having promoted himself ahead of Manoj Tiwary and Rohit Sharma, ended unbeaten on a perplexing 22 off 23 deliveries, failing to find any timing on his swipes and slogs and reduced to nudging singles on the leg side.With 20 needed off the last eight deliveries, Yuvraj managed to heave Oram over deep midwicket for six. With 12 needed off the last five, Dhoni managed to pull Franklin to deep square leg for four. With six needed off three, Yuvraj heaved and was bowled for 34 off 26.There was still time for one final narrative. Enter Rohit, under pressure for his lack of form, with six still needed. He tried gamely, swinging both the remaining deliveries for a couple of runs each, but India had to pay for tapering off after Kohli’s dismissal in the 14th over.

Smart stats

• New Zealand’s win is the seventh by a margin of one run in Twenty20 internationals. New Zealand had beaten Pakistan in Barbados in 2010 by the same margin.

• New Zealand have won the most Twenty20 matches against India (4). They are also the only top team never to lose a single match against India.

• Brendon McCullum’s 91 is the second-highest score in an Twenty20 international against India. The previous record for a New Zealand batsman (69) was also held by McCullum. McCullum has three fifties in four innings against India.

• McCullum, who is the highest run-getter in Twenty20 matches, also holds the record for the most fifty-plus scores (10).

• India’s score of 166 is their third-highest in a losing cause (in chases). The highest is 186 against Sri Lanka in Nagpur in 2009.

• The number of wickets lost by India (4) is the fewest in an unsuccessful chase (minimum 15 overs in the innings).

• MS Dhoni has three20-plus innings at a strike rate less than 100. Two of those are against New Zealand. On each of these occasions, India have gone on to lose the game.

India’s defeat was the last thing on the Chennai crowd’s mind when Kohli, opening in place of the injured Virender Sehwag, was raining boundaries on New Zealand during his 15th fifty-plus international score this year. Wide deliveries were swatted away with disdain, length deliveries were willed into gaps with confident pushes, spinners were lofted inside-out over extra cover, fast bowlers were charged at and hammered down the ground.Kohli’s assault and his 60-run second-wicket stand with Suresh Raina allowed Yuvraj to ease into his comeback knock. The crowd erupted when Yuvraj thick-edged Adam Milne past slip for his first boundary and swung Daniel Vettori over deep midwicket for his first six. In between, he was let-off when McCullum and Kyle Mills collided trying to take a top-edged pull off Milne.It was Franklin who began the turnaround when he had Kohli lofting his second delivery to wide long-off. New Zealand also had McCullum to thank, for lifting them from 2 for 2 with a calculated 91 that highlighted his importance to his side, especially in Twenty20s. McCullum had support from Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor, but he was almost single-handedly responsible for New Zealand reaching a competitive score with a knock that began watchfully, and then exploded into a frenzy of powerful hits over extra cover, down the ground and over midwicket.McCullum often begins a Test innings with a charge down the track and it was probably the two early wickets that made him play with some caution initially. Rob Nicol and Martin Guptill came out swinging but were bowled by incoming deliveries from Zaheer Khan and Irfan Pathan.McCullum broke free in the fifth over, flicking and cutting Zaheer for boundaries. L Balaji, making his T20I debut and playing his first game for India since February 2009, was inside-edged past short fine leg and sliced over point for boundaries in the next over.Williamson, a calm man under pressure usually, ensured he gave the strike to McCullum, who was now in control enough to ward off his usual self-destructing tendencies.Sweeps, reverse-sweeps and scoops were kept away. The one time he tried a reverse-sweep, on 38, he got away with a close lbw shout against R Ashwin, with the umpire ruling there was an inside edge when replays indicated there wasn’t any. McCullum’s one good innings during the Test series against India was ended when the umpire did not spot an inside edge. It was his turn to benefit today.McCullum went after Ashwin, lofting him over extra cover for boundaries and down the ground for sixes. Ashwin, the lone spinner playing ahead of the recalled Harbhajan Singh, went for 34 in three overs.McCullum was only nine short of what would have been his second T20I hundred when he was eventually bowled after missing a sweep off a slow cutter from Irfan in the 17th over. Taylor and Oram were around to take New Zealand to a respectable score.India rode on Kohli’s brilliance in the chase, bottled up for a while after he fell, and when they tried to catch up, it was too late.