Category Uncategorized

Wolves are having a good start to their Premier League season so far, currently sitting eighth in the table and hoping to take three points today from West Ham which could see them moving above Manchester United.

Bruno Lage has many attacking options at Molineux, all with individual qualities which have helped the team to take five wins from their first 11 games of the season. However with the sheer amount of attackers at his disposal, it’s impossible to play everyone at once.

Adama Traore is one player who has taken a hit when it comes to game-time in Lage’s side, benched for four of the last six fixtures. The 25-year-old winger has had to share his place with Francisco Trincao and Daniel Podence this season.

The £27m-rated Spain international spoke out this week after he was ranked the number one dribbler in Europe in a study by CIES Football Observatory. He said: “I’m proud of that. If I’m the number one dribbler in Europe, it’s because I’m having chances too. I have to be the best that I can be, and if I take the chances I have, I can be the player I want to be in the future.

“This is my mentality, fulfilling that. If you see last season, I was not having the chances that I’ve had this season. But this is my mentality, to grow as a player each day, and then this season now, I’m having more chances close to the goalie and I hope, soon, the ball is going to be hitting the net.”

Lage must unleash the winger, who was once dubbed “unplayable” by Jurgen Klopp, against West Ham today as he would terrify their defenders with not only his proven dribbling abilities, but his forceful and direct attacking approach which sets him apart from many wingers in the Premier League.

These attacking qualities are obviously the reason that many top clubs have taken an interest in the winger, including Liverpool and Barcelona. Lage will need to give Traore game-time and convince him that he is in the 45-year-old’s plans to hold onto him next season.

Wolves will host an impressive and in-form West Ham side at Molineux today and it could be the perfect challenge for Traore to make an impact and try to secure a regular starting place in the team.

In other news: Here is our predicted XI for the West Ham clash

Moments after England started celebrating their Ashes success, it was confirmed that Andrew Flintoff will undergo exploratory arthroscopic surgery on his injured right knee on Monday

Cricinfo staff23-Aug-2009Moments after England started celebrating their Ashes success, it was confirmed that Andrew Flintoff will undergo exploratory arthroscopic surgery on his injured right knee on Monday. He has been withdrawn from the England one-day and Twenty20 squads for the matches against Ireland and Australia during the summer as well as the Champions Trophy in South Africa.Flintoff was severely hampered by his injured knee during the Ashes after he first damaged it at the IPL, before further aggravating it at Cardiff during the first Test. He managed to play at Lord’s and Edgbaston, but was forced to miss the fourth Test at Headingley after Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower decided he wouldn’t make it through the game despite Flintoff insisting he was fit. He returned for a triumphant finale at The Oval but was below full pace with the ball.The ECB haven’t revealed any further information on the procedure. “A further update on the outcome of the operation and the likely timescale for rehabilitation will be released in due course,” the statement said.Andrew Strauss, however, was confident that there would be “some great times” in Flintoff’s career in the future. “Obviously he won’t be playing Test cricket for us again, which is a very sad thing, but clearly his body can’t take it anymore and I think we all understand that,” Strauss said after regaining the Ashes. “He’ll be desperate to contribute to England in any way he can going forward, whether it be 50-over cricket or 20-over cricket, but the most important thing is that he gets his body in good shape again which means taking whatever steps he needs to do that.””At least he knows what he’s going to go through, but it must be soul-destroying to have to go through that. But when you are there on the field when you win an Ashes series it makes it all worthwhile and there will be some great times in his career going forward I’m sure.”Earlier this week it was reported that Flintoff would undergo the same micro-fracture procedure that Michael Vaughan had in 2006 after his knee gave way on the tour of India. It took Vaughan more than a year to recover and the expectation is that Flintoff could be out of action for as long as nine months.”My future now is Twenty20 and one-day internationals. I want to be the best one-day international player in the world and not playing Test cricket will let me concentrate on that,” Flintoff told Sky Sports before The Oval Test. “I still want to play two more World Cups and there is still plenty for me to go on. I have got lots of ambition and want to play for England as much as I can in the short form of the game.”

The Birmingham Mail’s Ashley Preece has confirmed a major Aston Villa boost over Leon Bailey.

What’s the story?

The Jamaica international has had an injury-disrupted start to life at Villa Park, playing just 85 minutes of football in the Premier League.

His latest issue saw him forced off in the second-half against Everton, and Dean Smith would later reveal that he wouldn’t be back until after the international break.

And now, Preece has delivered an update on where things stand with the winger.

Writing on Twitter, he said: “Just the 9 outfield first-team players in at Bodymoor this week, with Morgan Sanson, Leon Bailey, Trezeguet & Keinan Davis still on the treatment tables. #avfc expect Bailey to be in contention vs Wolves in 9 days’ time, though, with Sanson set to be eased back later this month.”

Fans will be buzzing

Even in just 85 minutes of top-flight football, Bailey has shown just why Villa fans should be excited about their summer signing.

After coming off the bench to great effect against Watford on the opening day – he marked his Premier League debut for the club by setting up John McGinn’s goal and almost sparking a late comeback – the Jamaican flier showed just what he can bring to the table when he delivered another barn-storming cameo against Everton.

Having come on as a substitute once again, Bailey whipped in the corner that was turned in by Lucas Digne, before firing in a superb strike to seal an impressive 3-0 win for Villa.

Speaking before the Midlands club officially confirmed the deal to sign the winger, Alan Hutton threw his backing behind a move for the Jamaica international.

He said: “I’m so excited to see this one. I’ve heard a lot about him over the past two or three seasons. He’s obviously still very young but he’s electric, he gets people off their seats. That’s what you want in a player.

“But what’s more impressive, 15 goals and 11 assists from wide areas in the German league. That’s unbelievable. It’s the kind of consistency you want from your wingers.”

Former Ajax youth coach Ronald de Boer once said of the Jamaican: “He’s so fast it’s not normal. His speed, combined with his technique, is very rare. Exceptional. He has no weak points.”

Given that ability and the early impression he has already made at Villa Park, fans will be rightly buzzing with Preece’s latest injury update.

Meanwhile, Villa are interested in signing this Premier League striker…

New Zealand made it to the second World Cup final in three months with an emphatic win against India

The Bulletin by Nishi Narayanan18-Jun-2009
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Aimee Watkins’ innings was in contrast to the Indian innings and was the perfect appetiser to the main event of the day•Getty ImagesNew Zealand made it to their second World Cup final in three months with an emphatic win against India, who struggled while chasing an imposing target at Trent Bridge. Aimee Watkins, the New Zealand captain, played the innings of the tournament – an unbeaten 89 off 58 balls – and made the job easier for her bowlers.Not that they appeared to need much help. The seamers were frugal and conceded only seven boundaries in the entire innings, five less than what Watkins hit herself. India started off slow and lost their first wicket in the second over when Poonam Raut edged an inswinger from Sian Ruck to square leg. But that brought out Mithali Raj, India’s most successful batsman, to the crease, to join their most experienced batsman, Anjum Chopra. Their partnership would have been the key but they hit only two boundaries in their 23-run stand – the highest for India.Watkins’ innings was in contrast to the Indian innings and was the perfect appetiser to today’s main event – the men’s semi-final between Pakistan and South Africa. She slogged and cut with ease but also had luck on her side. An edge was missed by the keeper and went for four to third man and she was also beaten at times. Despite that it was an entertaining Twenty20 innings and Watkins was clearly enjoying herself, smiling after every boundary. The best of those was a square drive off Harmanpreet Kaur in an over that cost 14 runs. When she hit the first six of the match in the 17th over, slogging it over square leg, Watkins equalled Claire Taylor’s 75 – then the highest score of the tournament. She hit a second six off the last ball of the innings to take New Zealand past 140.India were virtually out of the game by the start of the eighth over of their innings when they lost two wickets in two balls. Chopra mistimed a pull from Kate Pulford and Suzie Bates came running in from midwicket to take a diving catch. Ruck came on to bowl her final over on the trot, pitched the first ball on middle and flattened the legstump to send Kaur back first-ball. Ruck, New Zealand’s leading wicket-taker in the tournament, repeatedly got the ball to swing in to the right-handers and though she gave away three fours, there were no doubles or triples in her spell.When Kaur had departed, India had collapsed to 30 for 3 and the occasional boundaries just weren’t enough. They even failed to dispatch the short and wide deliveries for fours.Though, to be fair, there were hardly any to exploit. New Zealand’s seamers were very disciplined, bowling full, yorker-length deliveries and giving no room to slog. Reema Malhotra was run out after Raj refused a single in an over that yielded just one run. Amy Satterthwaite got Raj in her next over when she tried to hit over the field and was caught by Sara McGlashan. The required run-rate had climbed to more than 11 an over and with their main batsmen gone, it was just a question of whether India would last 20 overs.The only six of the innings came too late – in the 16th over – and India will wonder whether they should have brought Amita Sharma in earlier than No. 6. The only time they looked to be on par with New Zealand was in the first ten overs of the match when Sharma and Rumeli Dhar picked up three wickets.As a curtain-raiser, the match wasn’t the best advertisement of women’s cricket. But New Zealand certainly were.

West Bromwich Albion have potentially been dealt a blow regarding the fitness of Alex Mowatt ahead of their upcoming Championship fixture.

What’s the latest?

In recent comments made on the Baggies Broadcast podcast (via This Is Futbol), the Express & Star journalist Joesph Masi revealed that West Brom are yet to reveal the extent of the attacking midfielder’s injury – which he sustained in Albion’s 1-0 defeat against Stoke City shortly before the international break.

In his comments, Masi said: “So I asked [on Tuesday], I’m told that they’re still waiting to discover the extent of the injury. I’ve asked a couple of times during the international break, no one wants to know more than me, simply because I’m struggling for stories, so it’d be great to get an update on Mowatt.

“[Valerien] Ismael, we think, is holding his press conference for [the Birmingham City fixture] on Thursday. So hopefully, we get an answer before then, but if not, it’s probably going to be Thursday when we find out the latest.”

Ismael surely gutted

Considering just how impressive Mowatt has been since making the move from Barnsley to West Brom this summer, should the midfielder be unavailable for the visit of Birmingham on Friday evening, it would undoubtedly leave Ismael gutted.

Indeed, over his 11 Championship appearances this season, the £6.3m-rated man has scored three goals, registered one assist and created two big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 1.1 shots and making 1.5 key passes per game.

These returns have seen the 26-year-old who Steve Evans dubbed a “special” player earn an average SofaScore match rating of 7.21, not only ranking him as Albion’s second-best performer in the league but also as the joint 22nd-best in the entirety of the division.

As such, the absence of the £6.5k-per-week midfielder would undoubtedly dent West Brom’s chances of picking up a positive result against Lee Bowyer’s men on Friday evening – something Ismael will be desperate for following his side’s first loss of the season against Stoke last time out.

In other news: “In talks” – Journo drops fresh West Brom claim on £30k-p/w beast, Ismael must act

MatériaMais Notícias

Um evento realizado nesta segunda-feira, às 18h30, em Botafogo, no Rio de Janeiro, discutirá a gestão das categorias de base no futebol brasileiro. O Footlink contará com as presenças de Marcelo Teixeira, diretor do Fluminense, Manoel Renha, coordenador das categorias de base do Botafogo, Eduardo Freeland, gestor das categorias de base do Cruzeiro, e Felipe Ximenes, diretor executivo com passagens pela dupla Fla-Flu, mas atualmente sem clube.

Paulo Angioni, executivo de futebol responsável pelo encontro, falou sobre a expectativa e a importância de se debater o tema.

– A gestão em Categorias de base é um dos temas mais interessantes e importantes para discutirmos. Isso porque o futebol brasileiro tem muitos altos e baixos. Durante muitos anos o trabalho nas divisões de base era muito significativo para nós, mas em um dado momento, com a saída de bons jogadores brasileiros para o exterior, houve uma ideia de que nós estávamos precisando de jogadores renomados, de grandes craques consagrados. Com isso, houve um aumento substancial nas receitas do futebol para a vinda desses jogadores brasileiros do exterior para cá.

Segundo Paulo, a vinda de jogadores sul-americanos para o Brasil tem sido um dos fatores que atrapalham o desenvolvimento de jovens promissores.

– Todas essas coisas deixaram o trabalho na base para trás, culminando agora mais recentemente com a entrada no futebol brasileiro de jogadores de países que não tinham tanto conceito no Brasil. Mas como os clubes precisavam contratar em determinadas posições, passou-se a recorrer a estes mercados, deixando mais uma vez as divisões de base de lado. Mas hoje retomamos este caminho – disse.

Essa será a 22ª edição do Footlink, que conta com presenças de profissionais renomados de várias áreas do esporte. Em média, o evento tem a participação de 150 pessoas.

South Africa started brightly, with three wickets in swing-friendly conditions, but Australia made stirring riposte led by Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke

The Bulletin by Dileep Premachandran26-Feb-2009Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Dale Steyn’s early strikes put South Africa in pole position … © Getty Images
Australia have dominated this rivalry in recent times, but this has been a season of change with South Africa triumphant Down Under for the first time in their history. Their endeavour to replicate that feat on home soil started brightly, with three wickets in swing-friendly conditions after Australia had decided to bat, but a stirring riposte from Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke set the stage for more bold counter-attacking strokeplay in the final session. When bad light halted play with 22 overs still to be bowled in the day, Marcus North, one of the three debutants in baggy green, and Brad Haddin had added 72 runs in rapid time, with a frustrated Graeme Smith forced to bowl his slow bowlers to try and speed up a dismal over-rate.The key moment of the day’s play had also involved Smith, and it came just before lunch with Australia stuttering at 67 for 3. Ponting, then on 40, edged Steyn, and there was embarrassed silence in the slip cordon as the simple chance was put down. The torrid struggle of the first session soon gave way to free-stroking batsmanship as South Africa lost some intensityafter lunch. Clarke led the way with a glorious straight drive and a clip to square leg off Steyn, and a succession of drives through cover and point accelerated the run-rate in the first hour after the interval.Steyn was again the pick of the bowlers with three wickets, but the loss of Jacques Kallis to a mild back strain significantly reduced Smith’s bowling options. With Clarke so positive, Ponting too opened up. He flicked Makhaya Ntini through midwicket to reach his half-century from 87 balls, and then pummelled a pull to bring up the hundred of the innings. It was a rousing counterattack and the crowd was eerily quiet when he played a peach of a square-drive off Morne Morkel. Soon after, South Africa squandered one of their two referrals, with replays showing that a Morkel delivery had brushed Ponting’s trouser pocket rather than his bat.The strokeplay continued after drinks, with Clarke square-driving Morkel and lofting Paul Harris back over his head. He reached his 50 from just 61 balls, but the momentum was halted by a bizarre error of judgement from Ponting. With Ntini delivering from well wide of the crease as usual, he shouldered arms to a ball that darted back in to brush the pad before thudding into the stumps.North was greeted with a rapid Steyn bouncer but a skidding pull off Morkel suggested that he wouldn’t easily be bullied. But the dressing room’s sense of well-being was disturbed in the penultimate over before tea, as Clarke chased a fairly wide delivery from Steyn. Mark Boucher wasn’t as generous as Smith had been earlier.
… but Australia sprung back to finish the day on an even keel © Getty Images
But if South Africa scented a quick Highveld kill at tea, those notions were swiftly disabused. North got away with a streaky stroke or two, but he also launched into a couple of imperious drives though cover as the bowlers started to lose accuracy. Haddin was ruthless too, swatting away a couple of pulls and then easing one majestically through the covers. As a Gorky-Park darkness prompted the umpires to reach for their light meters, Paul Harris and JP Duminy were bowling in tandem, and the momentum had shifted inexorably.The morning had been all about South Africa seizing the early initiativein a series they need to win to confirm their status as the best team in the world. That quest couldn’t have had a better start. Phillip Hughes is 20 and the youngest Australian debutant since Craig McDermott, but the Bullring can be an intimidating venue even for old hands. He lasted just four balls before an uncoordinated attempt to bunt Steyn over the slip cordon ended up in Boucher’s gloves.With Matthew Hayden having walked into the Queensland sunset, Simon Katich needed to set the tone at the start of the innings. But with Steyn and Ntini cramping him for room, scoring opportunities were markedly few. He had crawled to 3 from 25 balls when he had a dart at one that Steyn had angled across him. When Neil McKenzie dived to his right from gully, taking the ball horizontal to the ground, there were gasps from team-mates and fans alike. Delirium quickly followed.It could have been much worse but for Ponting’s inherently positive approach. An imperious pull off Ntini got him going, and he laced a sweet cover-drive too as the bowlers continued to probe away. Morkel was superbly clipped through midwicket, but once he started to angle the ball in from short of a length, Ponting was tested as he had been by Ishant Sharma last year. One delivery struck him below the elbow, and his grimace became a near-growl when Morkel slanted a beautiful delivery across Michael Hussey’s bat. Kallis made no mistake at second slip.South Africa were unchanged from the side that lost the Sydney Test early in the new year, while Ben Hilfenhaus joined North and Hughes in making a debut. Andrew McDonald also played, and the decision not to include a specialist spinner, which Mickey Arthur described as “high-risk”, was looking rather dubious with Harris getting some turn as soon as he came onto bowl. Ultimately though, it was pace that did all the damage, until Australia rediscovered some of the steel that had deserted them on home turf.

Mohammad Ashraful and Mushfiqur Rahim of Bangladesh have been fined for excessive appealing during the third day of the second Test against Sri Lanka in Chittagong which finished on Tuesday

Cricinfo staff07-Jan-2009
Mushfiqur Rahim and Mohammad Ashraful in happier times © AFP
Mohammad Ashraful and Mushfiqur Rahim of Bangladesh have been fined for excessive appealing during the third day of the second Test against Sri Lanka in Chittagong which finished on Tuesday. The incident took place during the 78th over of Sri Lanka’s second innings when an appeal for a caught behind was turned down by umpire Nigel Llong.Mushfiqur, the wicketkeeper, had appealed confidently believing Tillakaratne Dilshan had edged the ball off the bowling of Mehrab Hossain jnr. He ran towards the umpire while appealing before stopping about six metres in front of the batsman. Ashraful, the captain, too joined the appeal from his position at midwicket and stood near the pitch after the appeal was rejected. Replays showed the bat hitting Dilshan’s body but no conclusive evidence of an edge.Ashraful was guilty of breaching Level 1.5 of the Code of Conduct and was fined 15% of his match fee. Jeff Crowe, the ICC match referee, had spoken to Ashraful following similar actions in the first Test in Mirpur. Mushfiqur copped a heavier fine and was docked 50% of his match fee for violating Level 2.5 of the code which deals with “charging or advancing towards the umpire in an aggressive manner when appealing”.Dilshan, on 51at that time, went on to score 143, his second century of the match. Sri Lanka won the Test by 465 runs and swept the series 2-0.

Chandigarh Lions needed a big win to boost their semi-final hopes, but once they conceded 197 runs against Ahmedabad Rockets, their campaign was all but over

Cricinfo staff09-Nov-2008ScorecardChandigarh Lions needed a big win to boost their semi-final hopes, but once they conceded 197 runs against Ahmedabad Rockets, their campaign was all but over. Their top order crumbled in the chase, and had it not been for a few handy lower-order contributions, the margin of defeat would have been much higher.Ahmedabad’s openers have been the engine of their batting line-up, and they revved it up in their final game. Ryan Campbell hit five fours and a six in his 12-ball 28, putting on 44 with Murray Goodwin in 2.5 overs. Goodwin and Damien Martyn build on that early momentum, and Ahmedabad went along at more than ten an over. Martyn played second-fiddle to Goodwin, who was bowled by Rajesh Sharma for a 31-ball 61. The middle- and lower-orders, however, failed to carry on with the momentum, and though Chandigarh added 79 in 8.5 overs after Goodwin fell, they were bowled out for 197. Love Ablish grabbed three wickets in the 20th over, finishing with figures of 4 for 35.Chandigarh had a disastrous start – by the third over they were reduced to 12 for 3. Jason Gillespie took two wickets and later strikes from left-arm spinners Sumit Kalia and S Sriram reduced them to 37 for 5. Captain Andrew Hall was left to rebuild the innings; he could manage only 22 and was the sixth wicket to fall with the score on 58. Karanveer Singh and Amit Uniyal revived the innings with brisk 40s, scoring seven fours and seven sixes in total, but it came too late to force a win.

Renato Sanches’ proposed move to Liverpool was ‘cancelled’ after the player suffered an injury, Portuguese journalist Pedro Almeida has claimed. 

The Portugal midfielder played the full 90 minutes in Lille’s Ligue 1 opener against Metz, but hasn’t featured since after sustaining a meniscal injury. It has been reported that the 24-year-old faces being sidelined for a ‘sizeable chunk of the first half of the season’.

That was one of the reasons why Wolverhampton Wanderers called off a loan move for Sanches, although the financial demands involved in the deal also played a part (via Tim Spiers).

Why might Liverpool have wanted Sanches?

Sanches caught the eye with his performances at the European Championship in the summer even as Portugal’s title defence ended in the Round of 16. He was hailed as ‘terrific’ by Jermaine Jenas as he shone in a 2-2 group stage draw with France.

Signing the £27m-rated Sanches could have bolstered Liverpool’s midfield ranks in the wake of Georginio Wijnaldum’s departure, but it transpired that the Reds’ only summer signing was the £36m move for centre-back Ibrahima Konate.

Liverpool fans weigh in on Sanches claim

In light of Almeida’s claim, which hinted that Sanches may have been close to signing for Liverpool, plenty of Kopites gave their reactions via Twitter. One of them drew comparisons with Nabil Fekir, who looked set to move to Anfield in 2018 before the move collapsed, with reports of a failed medical amid a lingering knee injury (talkSPORT).

“Fekir 2.0”

Credit: @KallzLFC

“Of course this had to come up”

Credit: @mosaeed_LFC

“January it is then”

Credit: @KevinJDaly1969

“We will be claiming all the dead deals now. PR spin.”

Credit: @stevieGjeff

“Typical”

Credit: @ItIsWhatItIsra

“Big cap!!! FSG PR machine is unreal loool”

Credit: @NeinRole

In other news, Liverpool are in the frame for a massive transfer.