All posts by h716a5.icu

Many Wolves fans have been left bemoaning some injury news involving Pedro Neto.

Writing in his latest piece for The Athletic, Tim Spiers has shared that the winger is now set to miss the majority of the 2021/22 season after suffering a setback in his recovery from injury.

He will now be out until February at the earliest after it was hoped that he could be back by October.

Neto has proved time and time again just how important he is to the team, scoring five goals and making a further six assists in 31 games in the Premier League in the 2020/21 season (Transfermarkt), and so losing him is a big blow for the Midlands club.

They will now have to rely on Adama Traore, Daniel Podence and new loan signing Francisco Trincao in the wide areas as Bruno Lage looks to gel his squad together.

Wolves fans on Neto injury news

These members of the Molineux faithful bemoaned the injury news as it was shared on Twitter, with one WWFC supporter claiming that they were ‘gutted’ while another even went as far as to call it a ‘huge blow’:

“When’s the pain gonna end Tim?”

Credit: @oliviaashIey

“That’s a big blow, he must be gutted. I wonder what’s gone wrong? Was really looking forward to seeing him play in this new system with the shackles off, Our forward line with Neto in the team and everyone fit could do some serious damage to defences. Real shame for everyone.”

Credit: @inlandtaipan1

“Blimey. Haven’t been to a game yet and I’m already dreading this season.”

Credit: @jezmassey

“Huge blow for Neto and @Wolves. Reinforcements needed ASAP”

Credit: @fleethockey

“Gutted. Probably why we are linked to Guedes then.”

Credit: @spena2k10

“I could cry”

Credit: @ijosadebe22

In other news, find out what potential swap deal has Wanderers buzzing here!

Crystal Palace would take former Everton attacker Joshua King “all day long”, claims former Premier League striker Dean Windass.

Everton signed King on a short-term deal from Bournemouth at the beginning of February and had an option to extend it.

However, the Merseyside club have opted against doing so and he will now leave Goodison Park at the end of the month.

It leaves the 29-year-old now needing to find a new team, and Windass believes he would be welcomed warmly at a side like Crystal Palace.

Speaking exclusively to TT about the player’s future, the ex-Hull City star said:

“Crystal Palace would take him all day long, but he needs to be playing, he needs to be proving he’s a goalscorer.

“Listen, it’s hard when you’ve done ever so well for Bournemouth and you’re scoring goals, you get a move and you hardly play. And then people think you’re a bad player overnight.

“It doesn’t work like that. You need to be playing week in, week out to be scoring goals.”

Indeed, it was hard for King to get any sort of real rhythm last season at Everton, with the Norway international receiving limited minutes.

In contrast, during his time at Bournemouth, King did play when fit and delivered. While he was not at his best in the Cherries’ last Premier League season, he did manage to score 16 goals in the 2016/17 campaign before hitting double digits again in the 2018/19 campaign.

So, on a free transfer, perhaps it is something worth exploring for Palace’s new manager.

It looked like a tight affair for Dhaka Warriors towards the end but once again it was Alok Kapali who saw them through with eight balls to spare against the Mumbai Champs in what was a must-win game for the newest ICL entrants

Cricinfo staff27-Oct-2008Dhaka Warriors (Nafees 57, Kapali 48*) beat Mumbai Champs (Khirid 51*, Hossain 2-20) by six wickets
Scorecard

Alok Kapali delivered another Man-of-the-Match performance to guide the Dhaka Warriors to a six-wicket win over the Mumbai Champs © ICL
It looked like a tight affair for Dhaka Warriors towards the end but once again it was Alok Kapali who saw them through with eight balls to spare against the Mumbai Champs in what was a must-win game for the newest ICL entrants.Shahriar Nafees, with his best display of the tournament so far, looked to have sealed the match for Dhaka at the top of the innings. He set the tone by dispatching the first two balls of the innings from Suryash Burkul to the fence. Three boundaries off the sixth over by Ranjit Khirid clearly signaled his intent as Dhaka sped to 69 in the eighth over. His 40-ball 57 comprised nine fours and a six but once Shridhar Iyer trapped him leg-before while attempting a sweep, it was upto Kapali to take the lead role for the final assault.Full of confidence after a string of successive performances, he was instrumental in ensuring the points for Dhaka after a few jitters towards the end. He took a particular liking for Iyer, completely wrecking his figures as he took 23 off two overs. And even as his captain Habibul Bashar fell with the game on tenterhooks, it was Kapali’s cool customer attitude that took Dhaka home with an unbeaten 48 off 35 balls.Earlier, the Mumbai Champs were off to a promising start with Subhojit Paul and Dheeraj Jadhav putting on 24 in the fourth over but Tapash Baisya came back strongly in his second over, trapping Jadhav leg-before after coming in for some harsh treatment from Paul in his first over.Paul then followed holding out to Mohammad Rafique at mid-off off a fuller delivery from Mohammad Sharif. Taufeeq Umar, in particular, was looking good for Mumbai, but seemed to be fast running out of partners with Hasan Raza, Kiran Powar and Shreyas Khanolkar returning to the pavilion in quick succession, thanks to a magical 13th over by Mosharraf Hossain. Umar finally succumbed to a straighter one from Kapali after dispatching him for successive fours in his previous over.Enter Khirid. Back into the squad after sitting out the last two matches against the Royal Bengal Tigers and Lahore Badshahs, he provided the late charge for Mumbai coming down severely on Rafique and Sharif. While Rafique got off with just 15 with Khirid on strike, Sharif was hit for 18 in the last over of the innings. Khirid’s unbeaten 25-ball 51 was enough to propel Mumbai to 151, which seemed unlikely after their poor start.

West Bromwich Albion have agreed a deal to bring Adam Reach to The Hawthorns this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Football Insider, who claimed that Albion have made a breakthrough in talks with the former Sheffield Wednesday midfielder, with the club now finalising the 28-year-old’s contract ahead of his move to West Brom on a free transfer.

The report added that Blackburn Rovers were also interested in signing the former England under-20 international this summer, but it would now appear that Valerien Ismael’s side have beaten them to the player’s signature.

Ismael will be over the moon

With West Brom having been relatively quiet in the summer transfer window thus far, Ismael will undoubtedly be over the moon with glee if the Baggies have indeed managed to secure the signing of Reach ahead of their opening fixture of the Championship season next weekend.

With the Frenchman being short in options on the left-hand side of his Albion team, the addition of Reach – who is capable of playing in every position along the left – would very much appear to be an astute addition to the 45-year-old’s side.

Indeed, over his 44 Championship appearances for Sheffield Wednesday last season, the £2.52m-rated midfielder scored five goals, registered three assists and created five big chances for his teammates, taking 1.3 shots and making 0.8 key passes per game.

The £20k-per-week man also impressed in a defensive capacity, averaging 0.9 interceptions, one tackle and one clearance and winning 2.8 duels per match.

These metrics saw the man who Chey Dunkley dubbed a “leader” earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.82, ranking him as Darren Moore’s sixth-best performer in the second tier last time out.

As such, it would appear that Reach could quite easily be deployed at left wing-back, left midfield or even on the left-hand side of the West Brom front line next season, versatility which will be a huge boost for Ismael over what will be a challenging and tiring Championship campaign.

In other news: West Brom dealt major transfer blow over “athletic” 5ft 8 dynamo, fans will be fuming

MS Dhoni has said India are missing a bowling and fielding coach

Nagraj Gollapudi in Mumbai01-Jan-2010Indian captain MS Dhoni has admitted that the absence of a specialist bowling coach is hurting the team’s performance. Dhoni said it was “tough” for the bowlers and especially head coach Gary Kirsten to perform at optimum levels, and that ideally he would like the vacancy to be filled soon.”To some extent it does hurt not having a bowling coach. If you have a specialist coach he is always interacting with the bowlers and trying to get the best out of them,” Dhoni said on the eve of the Indian team’s departure to Bangladesh.Though India ended 2009 at the top of the ICC’s Test rankings, they have struggled to make a consistent progress in ODIs. After the early exit at the ICC World Twenty20, they were knocked out of the Champions Trophy in South Africa even before the tournament reached the second week. In a desperate move, the Indian board sacked Venkatesh Prasad and Robin Singh, the bowling and fielding coaches respectively. No explanation was given with the assumption being both coaches had been under the scanner after the World Twenty20 debacle.Dhoni said that decision had only increased the burden on Kirsten, who he felt was submerged under extra duties. “He [Kirsten] has to look after everything: he has to sit and talk to the batsmen, bowlers, fielders, build strategies and look after team building,” he said, adding that the BCCI could reduce the pressure simply by naming replacements who could closely work with the bowlers and fielders.The inconsistency in the fast bowling department has remained a concern for India right from the World Twenty20. In England, Zaheer Khan had aggravated the shoulder injury he picked during the IPL in South Africa. His inability to go full throttle exposed the younger lot like Ishant Sharma and Praveen Kumar, and though Ashish Nehra was around he was just finding his own feet, having made a return after a long time. Things did not improve during the Champions Trophy, and India’s problems were exacerbated during the home ODI series against Australia, which they lost 4-2. But things have started to improve after Zaheer’s return.Zaheer will lead the fast bowling department in Bangladesh which comprises Nehra, Sreesanth, and the rookie Sudeep Tyagi. During the recently concluded Sri Lanka series the Indian fast bowlers were lukewarm even if they improved on their death bowling. A good example could be the difference in their performances in Rajkot and Kolkata, for the second and fourth matches. In the first instance, after Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara’s blistering innings, India recovered admirably to clamp down the batsmen in the final ten overs. But in Kolkata, abetted by some shoddy fielding, the bowlers got distracted and allowed Upul Tharanga and Sangakkara to build a solid platform.Dhoni’s reaction to Mohammad Yousuf’s statement on Twenty20 hurting Pakistan

It is quite similar to the review system [UDRS]. If the decisions are in your favour you are OK with it but when they go against you don’t really feel it is working. It is the same case with Twenty20 format. I don’t think it would be great to blame the format. It is a mental approach that needs to change. The change of mindset is important. The basics remain the same.

Though Dhoni felt that a bowling coach would be able to discuss with the youngsters and build their confidence, he put faith in his squad. “It is a matter of time before they return to form. In Rajkot we bowled really well,” he said, “but we haven’t bowled consistently well in the death overs. It is a bit of a worry. But if we can do it in patches I don’t see why we can’t do it consistently.”A twin headache has been the fielding. Embarrassingly in the two Twenty20s and the first ODI of the Sri Lanka series, India dropped 12 catches. In the second ODI in Nagpur, when the match was still hanging in the balance, in the penultimate over Zaheer’s misfield cost them the match. By the time they reached Kolkata their ground fielding improved a lot but they still dropped Tharanga and Sangakkara when the batsmen were yet to get off the blocks. The pair built a valuable partnership of 171 runs. In the abandoned final game another simple catch went down.Dhoni was blunt in his appraisal once again. “We need to improve our fielding because in a close game avoiding the fielding errors can save us at least 15 runs,” he said. “We have a mix of safe fielders with some brilliant ones like Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.”He also praised Mike Young, the former Australian fielding coach, who spent time with the Indian team as a consultant during the limited-overs series. Though Young didn’t rush in with some innovative stuff, Dhoni said it had been “interesting” to spend time in his company. “He didn’t come with lots of ideas. He just wanted to see what was happening and where we are positioned. He worked really slow and came up with few basic techniques. It is important to take that forward.”Young will not travel with the squad to Bangladesh.

Rajat Bhatia continued his form from the first game, picking up three wickets and scoring an unbeaten half-century as India A beat the Israel Invitational XI by 90 runs in Ashdod

Cricinfo staff15-Jul-2008
Rajat Bhatia continued his form from the first game, picking up three wickets and scoring an unbeaten half-century as India A beat the Israel Invitational XI by 90 runs in Ashdod. M Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara added 126 together as India set Israel an imposing target of 314.But unlike the first game, where they were bowled out for 52, Israel put up a good show, with half-centuries from Adam Bacher and Jason Molins. R Vinay Kumar and Bhatia shared seven wickets between them as Israel were bowled out for 223 in 46 overs.Bacher and Molins held out for a while with a 115-run partnership but Israel’s poor start – 56 for 3 in 17 overs – meant the two batsmen were fighting in vain. The hosts also suffered a setback when Jonty Rhodes, batting with a runner because of injury, was dismissed for 3.

Usman Khawaja and Michael Hill were among the runs again as the Australian Institute of Sport crushed the Bangladeshis by nine wickets

Cricinfo staff25-Aug-2008
Scorecard
The in-form batsmen Usman Khawaja and Michael Hill were among the runs again as the Australian Institute of Sport crushed the Bangladeshis by nine wickets in the fourth warm-up match. The win was set up by fast bowlers Grant Sullivan and Trent Kelly, who scythed through the Bangladeshi top order to limit the visitors to 229.Sullivan had the openers, Tamim Iqbal and Mehrab Hossain jnr, out cheaply while Kelly sent back the dangerous pair of Mohammad Ashraful and Shakib Al Hasan. With none of their top five passing 14, the tourists were floundering at 5 for 95 before Alok Kapali made a battling 62 and the lower order chipped in to provide some respectability to the total. Sullivan finished with impressive figures of 4 for 30 from his 10 overs while Kelly took 3 for 41.Australia’s chase never looked in trouble as their openers provided a solid platform with a 74-run stand before Theo Doropoulos was dismissed. The other opener Khawaja and No. 3 Hill were then involved in an unbroken 154-run association to secure their third win in four matches. Khawaja, who made 94 in the previous match, didn’t miss out on a century this time, collecting a 101 that featured five sixes. Hill continued his good showing in the tournament, finishing on 87 off 91 balls.Bangladesh have one more warm-up match, against a Northern Territory Chief Minister’s XI, on Wednesday before their three-ODI series starts on Saturday.

West Ham’s chances of bringing Jesse Lingard back to the London Stadium appear to be diminishing with each passing day…

What’s the word?

According to the ever-reliable ExWHUemployee, there are several factors going against the Irons and their attempts to secure the 28-year-old playmaker on a permanent basis.

Speaking on his ‘The West Ham Way’ podcast this week, the anonymous source dropped a big claim, saying things aren’t looking as promising on that front as they did at the end of June:

“We are after Lingard for midfield, although things don’t seem as promising as they did a couple of weeks ago.

“I think it’s going to be interesting what the manager says to Lingard because the way he’d be looking at it is that [Jadon] Sancho is more of a winger whereas Lingard’s more of an attacking midfielder.

“I think Sancho going to them is helpful for us. But it’s just whether Lingard is prepared to give up the ghost and come to West Ham or whether he’s going to fight for his place. And also how realistic Manchester United are going to be for a transfer.

“We’re obviously desperate to sign Lingard but there’s a couple of factors counting against that move a little bit.”

Bad news?

Indeed, many in East London are clearly eager to see Lingard in the claret and blue next season after he provided nine goals and five assists following his arrival on loan in January.

Speaking after their final game of the season – a win over Southampton that secured their place in Europe – Hammers boss David Moyes made his intentions very clear. He told reporters, via the Evening Standard:

“I hope Jesse’s here, we’d like to keep him, he’s done an exceptional job for us but there’s no guarantees, he’s not our player. But I hope Jesse realises we’ve been good for him as well, and that he joined a club on the up.”Lingard’s recent appearance in the England squad (prior to Euro 2020) ramped up excitement amongst the West Ham fanbase as he arrived with an Irons-branded bag, leaving many thinking he wanted to return.However, Ex now states that any move does not look as promising as it once did and even though Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has made a big-money splash for Jadon Sancho, it appears that Lingard could be the back-up to Bruno Fernandes through the middle, rather than an option out wide.The £19.8m-rated dynamo has been at Old Trafford for two decades now, so it’s understandable that he may want to stay but he’s certainly not going to get as much game time as he would back at the Hammers, where he would be the main star of the squad.Other reports have suggested that the Manchester giants are even prepared to offer Lingard a contract extension and even though this could be to protect his transfer value as he enters the final year of his current deal, it’ll almost certainly mean Moyes will have to stump up more funds to secure him.All in all, this latest development should come as disappointing news for the fans, the manager and many more associated with the Hammers.

AND in other news, Moyes could secure West Ham their perfect Noble successor in 34-cap “special talent”…

West Brom are not interested in signing Aston Villa midfielder Conor Hourihane this summer, according to Joseph Masi.

The Lowdown: West Brom keen on Hourihane move

Valerien Ismael will be looking to make new signings ahead of his first season at The Hawthorns, as the Baggies look to return to the Premier League.

One player who has been linked with a summer move to West Brom is Hourihane, who found game-time hard to come by at Villa last season. The 26-cap Republic of Ireland international only appeared four times in the top flight and was loaned out to Swansea City in January.

The Latest: Journalist plays down rumour

Despite the Baggies’ apparent interest in the £42,000-a-week midfielder, Express & Star journalist Masi played down the rumour on Twitter on Sunday.

Responding to a question from a West Brom fan, he stated: “From what I am hearing Albion aren’t interested in him.”

The Verdict: Strong squad option

Hourihane could be an ideal signing for West Brom, so it is disappointing to hear that their interest seemingly isn’t genuine.

At 30, he may not represent a long-term addition, but he has international experience and has played 31 times in the Premier League. He also showed some good form in the latter half of last season, scoring five times during his loan spell at Swansea as they made it to the play-off final.

Ismael could benefit from having more seasoned individuals in his squad who know how to earn promotion from the Championship, as Hourihane did with Villa back in 2018/19.

In other news, West Brom have suffered a potential blow in their quest to sign one player this summer. Find out who it is here.

Ravi Bopara has warned the England selectors that he could yet join the Indian Premier League if his county form for Essex is not rewarded with a recall

Andrew Miller21-May-2008
Thanks, but no thanks: Ravi Bopara has his sights trained firmly on England © Getty Images
Ravi Bopara believes that he will return to international cricket a stronger player after the trials and tribulations of his first year of England action, but he has warned the England selectors that he could yet join the Indian Premier League if his county form for Essex is not rewarded with a recall.Bopara endured a chastising run of Test form during his maiden series in Sri Lanka last winter, scoring 42 runs in three matches including ducks in each of his last three innings in Colombo and Galle. He was not required for the tour of New Zealand that followed, but has launched himself back into the reckoning with 416 runs at 104 in three first-class matches for Essex this season.”The series in Sri Lanka didn’t go how I wanted it to go, I’m the first to admit,” said Bopara. “But that’s made me a better player now. I went back home and worked on some things I knew I had to work on, and I can see the changes already. I’m glad it’s happened and happened this early in my career.”One man in the Essex set-up who could sympathise with Bopara was his batting mentor, Graham Gooch, who famously made a pair on debut against Australia in 1975, before going on to become England’s leading runscorer in Test cricket, with 8900 runs in a 20-year career. “I spoke to Graham, and he said if you go through your bad times now you become a better cricketer at a younger age,” said Bopara. “I agree fully with him.”And yet, Bopara’s loss of form did not affect his reputation as a player with bags of potential. Last month, he hit the headlines with his decision to turn down a six-figure IPL contract – a decision that was welcomed by the England & Wales Cricket Board. And yet, should a similar offer arise next year, Bopara might not dismiss it out of hand.”The decision I made this time around was just based on what I wanted to do this season,” he said. “I understood that the team was going to pick itself for the beginning of the summer, unless there were injuries, because we won in New Zealand and the batters did well. To get back in that team I had to play four-day cricket for Essex and I didn’t want to miss any games. The decision was a gut feeling and it wasn’t too hard to make really.”Next year, however, it might be a different story. “I don’t know what my decisions will be in the future, and I think it’s too early to look at it now,” he said. “I look only at today or tomorrow, and I’ve been busy with my own stuff, but the tournament looks good fun. The pitches are tiny, so people are half-hitting the ball for six!”Bopara’s first target this summer is a recall to the England one-day squad for the series against New Zealand in June, and to that end he has been working hard on his bowling, in particular his armoury of slower balls. “I’ll never have the pace to outpace any batters, so I have to be more skilful,” he said. “I am optimistic, because I’ve had a good start to one-day cricket so far, but I’m not looking too far ahead.”I’m very hungry, very thirsty for runs,” he said. “I want to get back into that England side and I’d do anything to do that. But for the moment, I’m just concentrating on what we can do with Essex. We want to win a one-day trophy, and we want to get promotion in four-day cricket. That’s all that I am aiming for.”Bopara was speaking at the Royal Exchange in the City of London, at the launch of the Big Run Chase, a fundraising scheme for the Chance to Shine project, which is helping regenerate cricket in state schools across the country. “It’s nice to be outside in the summer, with the kids running around,” said Bopara. “Cricket taught me to be who I am, and it’s good for kids, especially around London, to have something to focus on.”