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Following the completion of day three of its match against Tasmania here at the Adelaide Oval, South Australia appears almost certain to achieve its opening outrightwin of the Pura Cup season

Leith Forrest03-Dec-2000Following the completion of day three of its match against Tasmania here at the Adelaide Oval, South Australia appears almost certain to achieve its opening outrightwin of the Pura Cup season. The Redbacks will head into the final day with the Tigers already five second innings wickets down and still requiring another 268 runs toachieve what would shape as a near-miraculous win.The Tigers had opened the final session requiring the nowhere-near-unrealistic total of 337 runs to win. The makeshift opening pairing of Jamie Cox (10) and AndrewDykes (14) started off in positive style, but things soon went awry. Possibly unsettled by the loss of close confidant, Dene Hills (who was still feeling the effects ofbeing struck on the helmet by a Graham Manou pull shot earlier in the afternoon), Cox (10) was the first to go, departing to what appeared to be a bat-pad decision, when a catch flew high to gully off the bowling of Brett Swain (1/15).Swain was in the midst of a wonderful spell from the Bradman Stand End by this stage. He was proving a constant handful for the batsmen, and had a number of lbwand caught behind appeals turned down.In the over following the one which brought about the demise of Cox, Mick Miller (2/20) joined the party by snaring Dykes with an lbw decision. Much as it had donein the first innings, Tasmania’s upper order was already displaying an air of shakiness.Michael DiVenuto (9) fared little better than his two fallen teammates. He never really looked settled, found it difficult to break a tightly set field and, in the end, lostpatience. He drove loosely at Miller and lobbed an easy catch to David Fitzgerald at point. By this stage, the Tigers had slumped to 3/35.Following something of a contextual drought between the fall of Tasmanian wickets, Redbacks captain Darren Lehmann tried to unsettle the stubborn pairing of ShaunYoung (10) and Daniel Marsh (14) by bringing leg spinner Peter McIntyre (2/15) into the attack. It proved a masterstroke. Like he had done yesterday, the veterandropped on to a fine line and length from the outset and his reward came when Young edged a leg break through to Manou behind the stumps.Scott Kremerskothen (6*) joined Marsh and simply tried to last until stumps. Marsh had endured a bad day with the bat yesterday; he was involved in the disastrousrun out of DiVenuto and later played a wild shot at McIntyre to be bowled. And, unfortunately, matters didn’t improve much for him today. His dismissal was possiblythe most cruel of the match; he leaned forward to defend a ball from McIntyre but had the ball roll back between his legs and tilt back a stump before he had thechance to retrieve the situation.So dire had affairs become by this point that the injured Hills (4*) was forced to come to the crease. He at least made it through the day unscathed but not withoutsurviving one chance; Shane Deitz dropping a reasonably difficult catch close in to the bat from McIntyre’s bowling.

According to The Sunday Mirror (via Shields Gazette), Mike Ashley has lined up Sean Dyche to replace Steve Bruce if the latter is sacked as Newcastle manager.

The Lowdown: Bruce future uncertain

The Magpies have lost just one game in their last seven (Sky Sports) and have beaten the likes of Arsenal, Leicester and West Ham, but that still leaves them 16th in the Premier League table.

Bruce is not the most popular man on Tyneside (Chronicle Live), and his future at St James’ Park remains uncertain.

The Latest: Dyche in the frame

As such, if Ashley does decide to relieve Bruce of his duties, the Newcastle owner will reportedly target Dyche as his replacement.

The Burnley boss has just over 12 months left on his contract at Turf Moor, although he is in talks with Clarets over a potential extension to that deal. Crystal Palace, Everton and Aston Villa are also said to be keen on the 49-year-old.

The Verdict: Much change?

Dyche has done a magnificent job with Burnley. Despite having one of the lowest wage bills in the Premier League (Spotrac), he has been able to keep them in the top flight since 2016, having twice led them to promotion.

He is actually the longest-serving boss in the top tier, having taken over the role at Turf Moor in 2012 (sportskeeda.com), and fellow Premier League manager Graham Potter has acclaimed the “amazing job” the Kettering native has done at Burnley (Lancashire Telegraph).

However, whether he is the right man for Newcastle is uncertain – the biggest criticism directed at Bruce has been the stale football his side has played (The Mirror). Burnley only average 43.3% possession compared to the Magpies’ 41.3%, while Dyche’s men have averaged even fewer shots per game (WhoScored).

Granted, Burnley’s squad is perhaps not as good on paper as what Bruce has, but the statistics do not indicate that Dyche would be able to given Newcastle fans the entertaining football they crave.

In other news, Newcastle are interested in signing this Premier League forward.

Leeds United star Raphinha has been named in Paul Merson’s Premier League Team of the Season following an ‘outstanding’ campaign.

The Lowdown: Superb season for Leeds

The Brazilian arrived from Rennes in last summer’s transfer window and has been one of the Whites’ star men in 2020/21, scoring six goals and registering nine assists in the league.

Raphinha has caught the eye with his silky dribbling, creativity and end product on the right wing, playing a big role in Leeds ending the campaign ninth in the table.

The Latest: Merson hails Raphinha

Merson has been left hugely impressed by the 24-year-old and the Sky Sports pundit outlined [via MOT Leeds News] why he picked the Brazilian in his Team of the Season, saying:

“Raphinha has been an absolute sensation for Leeds this season.

“To go into Leeds as a Brazilian player, and you have to be a certain type of player to play the Leeds way, and he has taken to it like a duck to water and has been absolutely outstanding.”

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The Verdict: More to come

The hope is that this is only the start for Raphinha, with next season seeing him go up another gear and taking Marcelo Bielsa’s side to new heights.

It could be argued that the winger’s influence waned slightly as the campaign went on, with just one goal in his final 10 games, but with a good rest this summer, there is no reason why he won’t be even better next time around.

It is essential that Leeds keep hold of Raphinha should offers come in for him, with the South American arguably the most gifted player at Elland Road currently and, according to WhoScored, their best performer from a successful season. Merson’s recognition of him is a deserved testament to how well the 24-year-old has done upon moving to the Premier League.

In other news, a pundit has urged Leeds to sign a current England international this summer. Find out who it is here.

Where do you begin to trace the root of Celtic’s diabolical season?

The Hoops have been plagued with issues throughout 2020/21 and when you dig deep enough, you’ll realise that there are problems far greater than Scott Brown’s dwindling performances or Odsonne Edouard’s questionable mindset.

It stems far deeper than Jonjoe Kenny’s inability to concentrate or Diego Laxalt’s hopeless defending. It also runs further back than last summer’s shambolic recruitment.

Vasilis Barkas and Albian Ajeti have been a huge waste of money, setting the club back a sum of £9.5m. The former has barely played after being usurped in the pecking order by Scott Bain while Ajeti has only six goals to his name.

Coincidentally, that significant financial investment nearly equates to the amount of money Celtic received for Brendan Rodgers.

Back in February 2019, Leicester City managed to prise the Northern Irishman away from Paradise in a deal that goes down as one of the most expensive manager transfers of all time.

The Foxes paid a compensation fee of around £10m two years ago but that money has rather evaporated.

Rodgers engineered a tremendous amount of success in Glasgow, winning seven trophies in total but they failed to replace him sufficiently when he headed south of the border.

That decision was taken by the much-maligned Peter Lawwell. The CEO is set to retire at the end of the season and be replaced by Dominic McKay but it’s his lack of ambition back in 2019 that is the root cause of Celtic’s current downfall.

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With that in mind,  you can hardly blame the numerous protests that have occurred outside Parkhead this season.

Speaking on ACSOM after Celtic were drubbed 4-1 by Rangers last Sunday, presenter Paul John Dykes said: “So we make around £10m when he [Rodgers] goes to Leicester and what do we do with it? We bring in Neil Lennon. Now, that is on Peter Lawwell and that performance today if you really want to track it back is on Lawwell.”

Dykes continued: “The suggestion that Peter Lawwell will still be at the club in some capacity going forward, Celtic fans should be frightened about that. He is the reason we have fallen so disparagingly short this season.”

It’s particularly hard to disagree with that assessment. Lawwell had £10m to spend on a top-quality manager but instead looked towards the past.

Lennon returned for a second bite of the cherry and despite winning the treble last term, everything has disastrously fallen apart in 2020/21.

His management left a lot to be desired and the fact he was still using Rodgers’ training methods at Lennoxtown says it all.

£10m is a lot of money for a club like Celtic but it was thrown down the drain with their shoddy recruitment in the transfer window summing things up.

That £9.5m last summer would have been better sitting in the bank, especially after the way Lawwell refused to spend it on an able replacement over two years ago now.

With Celtic in such a dominant period in their history, attracting a manager shouldn’t have been a particularly arduous task.

At the time, they were linked with Slaven Bilic, David Moyes, Steve Clarke and Roberto Martinez. Any of those coaches will have been more inspirational than someone who had already taken on the job once.

As the hierarchy are proving now, it’s difficult to find a new head coach when the future of the football club is so unclear.

Their search has gone on for ten weeks and is still devoid of a solution. All of this is on Lawwell; he has a lot to answer for. The fans should be particularly enraged right now.

AND in other news, Forget Howe: Desmond can transform Celtic by hiring “brave” 48 y/o who wowed Guardiola…

مع تبقي ساعات قليلة على مباراة باريس سان جيرمان وريال مدريد، في دوري أبطال أوروبا، اليوم الثلاثاء، لا تتوقف الأنباء حول مستقبل الدولي الفرنسي كيليان مبابي جناح النادي الباريسي، واقترابه من الانتقال إلى النادي الملكي.

ويحل ريال مدريد ضيفًا على باريس سان جيرمان، مساء اليوم الثلاثاء، في تمام الساعة العاشرة مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة، على ملعب “حديقة الأمراء”، ضمن لقاءات ذهاب دور الـ16 من دوري أبطال أوروبا.

وليس سرًا أن مبابي يرغب في الانتقال إلى ريال مدريد، حيث يُعد نادي أحلامه وصرّح برغبته في الانتقال إلى الملكي في أكثر من مناسبة.

اقرأ أيضًا.. آس: الخليفي وبيريز يجتمعان على مائدة غداء مليئة بـ”التوتر” قبل مباراة اليوم في دوري أبطال أوروبا

وحسب صحيفة “ذا أثلتيك” في تقرير حصري لها، فإن مبابي رفض خلال الساعات القليلة الماضية، عرضين على الأقل من إدارة النادي الباريسي من أجل التوقيع على عقد جديد.

وينتهي عقد مبابي مع باريس سان جيرمان بنهاية الموسم الجاري، في 30 يونيو 2022، ويبدو أن الفرنسي عازم على الرحيل.

وأكدت الصحيفة أن مبابي يرغب في الرحيل، ولا يرى نفسه إلا بقميص ريال مدريد في الموسم القادم.

وقالت الصحيفة إنه بعد رفض العرضين الأخيرين من قبل مبابي، أصبح ريال مدريد أكثر ثقة أنه سيضم صاحب الـ”22″ عامًا، مؤكدة أن وصيف فرنسا بات يائسًا للاحتفاظ باللاعب.

يُذكر أن مبابي هذا الموسم يُقدم أداء أكثر من رائع مع النادي الباريسي، والنجم الفرنسي شارك في 31 مباراة بمُختلف المسابقات، وتمكن من إحراز 21 هدفًا وقدم 16 تمريرة حاسمة.

Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk has been urged to forget about the upcoming European Championship due to his injury woes.

Having suffered a serious knee injury against Everton back in October, the defender was expected to be ruled out for the rest of the club campaign, as well as this summer’s tournament.

However, Netherlands coach Frank de Boer has suggested that the 29-year-old could potentially “contribute” to the national side this summer, having returned to training with the Anfield club.

However, former Dutch international Khalid Boularhrouz has suggested that he “wouldn’t be thinking” about the Euros if he were Van Dijk.

Whilst missing out on the chance to appear for his country at the Euros would be a huge blow for the Reds’ centre-back, it would be a considerable positive for Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool.

Missing out on the tournament would of course give Van Dijk more time to recover from the serious knee injury he sustained six months ago, allowing him to get back to top form and fitness.

Of course, the Dutchman not taking to the pitch should also eliminate any possibility of him aggravating the problem once again, hopefully leaving him fully-fit going into the 2021/22 campaign.

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Should he play at the tournament and get injured, then Liverpool would certainly feel his absence once again. With Van Dijk in the backline during 2019/20, the Reds lifted the Premier League title, only conceding 33 goals – just 0.86 per game – en route to their iconic triumph.

Their drop-off without the £63m-rated defender this season has been dramatic. In the league matches he has missed this campaign, Jurgen Klopp’s troops have conceded 0.92 goals per game, leaving them languishing sixth in the table.

With the 29-year-old back, though, he could certainly help Liverpool to get back to their best. Whilst Van Dijk missing the Euros could be a personal blow for the player, it could also be a huge boost to Liverpool.

AND in more news, read why Liverpool must break the bank for this Serie A starlet…

Glasgow Rangers’ last five games of the season have been revealed as they attempt to go the term unbeaten.

Rangers find out remaining schedule

Of course, the Scottish Premiership’s peculiar format means the league will split into the top six and the bottom six, with the teams in each group playing each other once to take the grand total for the campaign to 38 games played per side.

The Gers’ final five games of the league season have now been confirmed (via The Glasgow Times). They are as follows:

Sunday 11th April – Rangers vs Hibernian

Wednesday 21st April – St Johnstone vs Rangers

Sunday 2nd May – Rangers vs Celtic

Wednesday 12th May – Livingston vs Rangers

Saturday 15th May – Rangers vs Aberdeen

Glory awaits

After 33 matches, the Gers are in the fantastic position of still being unbeaten (BBC) – that means they have a realistic opportunity of going the campaign without defeat in the league. However, there is no doubt they will face some difficult challenges if they are to do so.

Obviously, the fourth Old Firm derby of the season jumps off the page – Steven Gerrard will be happy that game will be played at Ibrox. A third visit of the term to Livingston and their artificial pitch is unlikely to be an easy game either. All eyes, though, will be on the final fixture. They will face Aberdeen, and it is on that day that they are likely to finally receive the Premiership trophy. Given the rivalry they share with the Dons (The Guardian), it will be an occasion the Gers will particularly enjoy.

In other news, this man has been tipped to be Rangers’ Player of the Year.

علّق رالف رانجنيك المدير الفني لفريق مانشستر يونايتد على غضب النجم كريستيانور رونالدو بسبب استبداله في مباراة الأمس أمام برينتفورد، في بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

وتلاقى الفريقان في مباراة مؤجلة من الجولة السابعة عشر من الدوري الإنجليزي، حيث فاز مانشستر يونايتد بثلاثة أهداف مقابل هدف.

وقرر رانجنيك استبدال رونالدو في الدقيقة 70 من عمر المباراة، مما تسبب في إثارة غضب النجم البرتغالي الذي ظل يتمتم بكلمات أثناء خروجه.

وقال رانجنيك في تصريحات نشرتها شبكة “بي بي سي” العالمية: “رونالدو مهاجم ومن الطبيعي أنه يريد تسجيل الأهداف، ولكنه كان قد عاد للتو من الإصابة، ولدينا مباراة أخرى مقبلة”.

وأضاف: “تقدمنا بنتيجة 2-0 وهي نفس النتيجة التي حققناها في فيلا بارك، وأردت أن نكون أكثر صلابة هذه المرة”.

وكان مانشستر يونايتد متقدمًا بهدفين دون رد على أستون فيلا يوم السبت الماضي في الجولة الثانية والعشرين من الدوري الإنجليزي، قبل أن ينجح الخصم في تسجيل هدفين وتحقيق التعادل.

واختتم: “كان القرار الصحيح أن نغير الخطة بحيث يصبح هناك خمسة لاعبين في الخلف، وعندما فشلنا في الحفاظ على نظافة شباكنا واستقبلنا هدفًا، كان علينا التأكد من عدم حدوث شيء آخر”.

Swansea will be looking to move into the automatic promotion spots when they take on Luton Town in Saturday’s early kick-off in the Championship.

Steve Cooper’s side were held to a 1-1 draw against Blackburn Rovers in midweek, with Andre Ayew finding the net from the penalty spot once again, with the Swans having struggled to score from open play in recent fixtures.

Swansea are currently level on points with second-placed Watford in the table, although they have a game in hand on the Hornets.

With Norwich City running away with it at the top of the league, it is imperative that Cooper’s side pick up three points against a Luton side who are well in the bottom half of the Championship.

Here’s how Football FanCast expects Cooper to set his side up against Luton on Saturday, with three changes from the team which started against Blackburn…

Despite the lack of clean sheets in recent fixtures, Freddie Woodman keeps his place in goal, and he should perhaps be confident of a shut-out against a side who have just 28 goals in the Championship so far this season.

There are two changes in defence, as after returning to the bench in recent fixtures, Ryan Bennett comes back into the side in place of Ben Cabango, with Cooper perhaps taking the opportunity for rotation amid the glut of fixtures.

Meanwhile, Ryan Manning comes in for Jake Bidwell at left wing-back, having impressed there in the 2-1 win against Stoke City recently.

There is one change in midfield as Korey Smith replaces Jay Fulton, whose ineffective display against Blackburn was characterised by a team-low 14 passes, and he features alongside the more attack-minded Matt Grimes and Conor Hourihane.

Ayew keeps his place up front but the Swans will have to start sharing the goals around more if they want to go up automatically, so Jamal Lowe will be hoping to end his rotten streak with a goal against the Hatters.

أعلن مدرب فريق تشيلسي توماس توخيل إصابة الثنائي نجولو كانتي وتياجو سيلفا بفيروس كورونا “كوفيد 19”.

وجاءت تصريحات توخيل قبل انطلاق مباراة تشيلسي وتوتنهام اليوم في بطولة كأس رابطة الأندية الإنجليزية.

ويستضيف ملعب ستامفورد بريدج مباراة الفريقين في إطار منافسات ذهاب نصف نهائي كاراباو.

اقرأ أيضًا.. مباشر بالفيديو | مباراة تشيلسي وتوتنهام في كأس كاراباو

وشهدت قائمة تشيلسي لمباراة الليلة غياب نجولو كانتي وتياجو سيلفا، حيث لم يتواجدا في التشكيل الأساسي أو دكة البدلاء.

وأوضح توخيل في تصريحات نشرتها شبكة “فوتبول لندن” الإنجليزية: “لسوء الحظ، ثبتت إصابة تياجو سيلفا وكانتي بفيروس كورونا”.

وأضاف: “لم يتغير الوضع منذ أسابيع، ولكن هذا ليس الوقت المناسب لتكرار آرائي باستمرار”.