All posts by h716a5.icu

Many Everton fans have been left to fume over a manager update involving Marco Silva.

As per Sky Sports, the former Toffees boss has been discussed as an option to replace Carlo Ancelotti at Goodison Park, following his departure to Real Madrid.

In his only full season with the Merseyside club, Silva failed to guide the Blues into the European qualification spots, finishing in a measly eighth place in the Premier League table in 2018/19, while he left them in the relegation zone the following campaign (Transfermarkt).

He also never managed to get EFC past the quarter-final stage of either the FA Cup or Carabao Cup (Transfermarkt), and thus the Goodison faithful never really took to him.

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Nonetheless, it is a bit of a shock to hear that Everton are considering hiring Silva once again, and it is no surprise to see so many Toffees against the idea.

Everton fans on Silva manager update

These Blues fumed as the manager update was shared on Twitter:

“Got to be a wind up this”

Credit: @LiamTownson

“No, no, no”

Credit: @ckukone

“Hate this finished club”

Credit: @JstinR7

“This has to be a joke”

Credit: @James_Mulville

“This is just silly now”

Credit: @ste50efc

“Why is this club only interested in going backwards?!”

Credit: @isobellebarrett

In other news, find out what manager update has left Toffees buzzing here!

The Somerset Board Eleven endured the frustrations of the English weather yesterday, when they travelled to Exmouth only to be greeted by a downpour that led to their 38 County match against Devon being abandoned without a ball being bowled

Richard Walsh27-May-2002The Somerset Board Eleven endured the frustrations of the English weather yesterday, when they travelled to Exmouth only to be greeted by a downpour that led to their 38 County match against Devon being abandoned without a ball being bowled.The game had originally been scheduled to take place at Taunton, but in the light of the heavy rain that had fallen at the County Ground, on Friday it was switched to Exmouth because the south coast seemed to have missed out on the storms.In the end the Somerset Board players had a wasted journey, and they had to settle for a point from the washed out game.Somerset Board Eleven manager Peter Robinson told me this morning: "We were disappointed not to play, especially as we had strengthened our team with Joe Tucker and Pete Trego, and we would have been playing against a number of former Somerset players, including Ian Bishop, Gareth Townsend and of course Peter Roebuck."`Robbo’ continued: "Now it all depends on our last two games against Dorset at Dean Park on June 9th and then against Cornwall at North Perrott a week later. We need to win both of those games to give ourselves a chance of going through."

Mauricio Pochettino will reportedly not be the next Tottenham Hotspur manager unless anything drastically changes in the near future…

What’s the word?

That’s according to the Telegraph’s chief football correspondent Jason Burt, who has delivered a series of updates on Twitter this week.

“Having spoken to Paris Saint-Germain, they are adamant that Mauricio Pochettino has not told them or club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi that he wants to leave,” he said, before adding: “Pochettino’s contract at PSG also now has two years left to run. It all points to him staying.”

Burt then concluded: “Unless something very dramatic and unexpected happens Pochettino is staying at PSG.”

The Athletic’s Jack Pitt-Brooke first broke the news that Spurs and Pochettino had held talks over a sensational return to the club, some 18 months after he was sacked by Daniel Levy but now that does not appear to be possible.

Frustrating news

This won’t sit well with Levy or the Spurs fanbase as it seems both were desperate to see the 49-year-old back in North London this summer.

It’s believed that the Lilywhites chairman has privately admitted to those around him that sacking the Argentine boss was the worst mistake of his career, since holding a position at the club, as per The Sun.

The fact that he’s admitting this is quite unusual, considering it took him only a few months after Champions League final heartache to pull the trigger.

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It also suggests that he’s willing to show it was a massive blunder in public as he’s spoken to Pochettino and tried to lure him back.

When the news first broke that talks had happened, much of the Spurs faithful were elated, with many struggling to contain their excitement. For example, via This is Futbol, one member of the fanbase claimed he was “going to pass out” whilst another suggested it was “like Christmas Eve.”

A small sample size but not many wouldn’t want arguably their greatest modern era manager back in the dugout. After all, he led them to three successive top-three finishes and a Champions League final – since then, it’s all gone a bit downhill for Spurs.

Last season’s sixth-place earned the North Londoners a spot in the Europa League, where they were embarrassingly knocked out by Dinamo Zagreb.

Interim boss Ryan Mason then scraped seventh place, which means Spurs will be in the newly-formed Conference League, whilst teams like West Ham and Leicester City finished above them.

Burt’s latest claim only piles further misery onto Spurs and their quest to find a viable successor to Jose Mourinho and Levy won’t be happy that he is unlikely to get the chance to rectify his error.

AND in other news, Spurs can wave bye to Harry Kane if 48 y/o with 52% win rate is hired…

A major update has emerged about Southampton central midfielder James Ward-Prowse, with Aston Villa eyeing the England international.

What’s the talk?

According to The Guardian, Aston Villa are preparing to make an offer for Southampton captain James Ward-Prowse. The Premier League side want to improve their midfield options and have targetted Ward-Prowse because of his impressive set-piece ability, with Villa now seemingly set to open the bidding.

Villa are on the verge of completing a deal to sign midfielder Emi Buendia from Norwich for a club-record fee of in excess of £30m. However, the report does not state how much they are willing to pay for Ward-Prowse or how much Southampton would demand for their star man.

Ralph Hasenhuttl lauded the “fantastic” right foot of Ward-Prowse in 2020 and admitted that he is on his way to becoming the full package as a midfielder. He told the Daily Echo:

“I think it was the biggest change in his game since I’m here.

“He was always a good player and had a fantastic right foot but never nobody saw him defending or winning balls like he does at the moment.

“This is maybe something he had to learn, and he had to show me, he did it.

“After a few weeks when I was here, I could see this transformation in his game was there and in the end, in modern football, every player has to have everything, also the strikers have to work against the ball, and the centre-backs or the full-backs must be a number 10 when they have the ball.

“This is in modern football necessary, you cannot have any weakness and Prowsey is on the way to getting a full package.”

Frustration for Saints fans

This news will surely lead to frustration and anger from Southampton supporters. They have become accustomed to seeing their best players walk out of the door over the past five or six years, with the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Sadio Mane, Luke Shaw and Adam Lallana just a few of the many players who have left to join top-six sides in the Premier League.

However, this would not be the case with Ward-Prowse and Villa as the clubs are considerably closer in the standings. Villa finished 12th in the Premier League in the 2020/21 campaign, whilst Southampton finished just three places lower in 15th.

Therefore, Southampton would not be selling to a top club battling in Europe and would, instead, be allowing one of their key players to join a close rival in terms of the final standings.

The £35k-per-week Saints captain was crowned the club’s Player of the Season last month after enjoying a sublime campaign in midfield. Ward-Prowse averaged a WhoScored rating of 7.07 in the Premier League and was the only Saints player to achieve a score of higher than 7.00, with Oriol Romeu (6.93) in second place.

This suggests that he is Southampton’s best player and they cannot afford to lose him this summer, let alone to a team who could be a direct rival, which is why fans could be forgiven for being extremely angered by this story.

AND in other news, Hasenhuttl heading for disaster with “fast” £4.9k-p/w flop, Saints fans would hate it…

Ces Dacre was a pioneer in New Zealand cricket, the first professional to make his mark after playing for New Zealand, he qualified for the Gloucestershire club in 1930

Lynn McConnell28-Jun-2002The Ces Dacre Files: Part ThreeCes Dacre was a pioneer in New Zealand cricket, the first professional to make his mark after playing for New Zealand, he qualified for the Gloucestershire club in 1930. Upon his return to New Zealand, he wrote a series of articles on his career for the long defunct New Zealand Observer. CricInfo New Zealand editor Lynn McConnell has used these articles as the basis of this feature series on one of the legends of the New Zealand game.

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The case of Bill Cunningham’s treatment on the 1927 tour of England remains one of the more intriguing aspects of New Zealand’s early cricket history.Cunningham, a fast-medium bowler from Canterbury, was regarded as one of the best bowlers in New Zealand. But in England he suffered a case of what now would be called, in golfing terms, the yips, that delicate state where players can no longer sink their putts.It is a little like left-arm slow bowlers losing their action, the most notable recent example of which afflicted Mark Richardson who had to remodel his career as an opening batsman.Ces Dacre was a close friend of Cunningham’s, a relationship that developed on the 1925/26 tour of Australia.Initially, after leaving New Zealand and before suffering his bowling problems in England, Dacre said Cunningham was the wag of the party. Another factor in his decline was also the problems suffered in his relationship with the aristrocratic captain of the side Tom Lowry.A member of a prominent Hawke’s Bay run-holding family, Lowry had studied at Cambridge University, and had played for the MCC and Somerset, so was well known in English cricket circles. His background was significantly different to that of the working-class Cunningham and problems developed between the two which were not helped by Cunningham’s loss of form.Lowry was described by the tour’s correspondent O S Hintz as “a man of complex personality.”Cunningham later claimed: “We [he and Lowry] were the best of friends in Australia, but he turned against me. To my mind, he was prejudiced against anyone from the working class. I was involved in the union movement … Besides, my father came from Ireland, and that did not seem to please Tom.”At one stage of the England tour, Dacre was required to take Cunningham to Lord’s for him to work with Patsy Hendren to see what was happening with Cunningham’s action.”Cunningham was a little upset when I informed him about going to Lord’s for practice, and promptly went back to the hotel and sat down for the rest of the morning. After some persuasion I got a taxi, and off we went to Lord’s to see the famous Patsy Hendren and his cure for our best bowler; but it was no good. Poor Bill was hopeless. He got that bad one could not bat in the nets against him.”We tried him with a shorter run, but without effect. Patsy experimented with all kinds of ideas. What a blow to a side when they lose their stock bowler! We were relying on Cunningham to do big things. In New Zealand he was one of the best natural bowlers I have ever played against; but when I look at his performances and see that he took five wickets for 265 at a cost of 53 apiece, it shows you were up against it with only 14 players.”It was not only the bowlers, but the batsmen also, who could not strike true form.”On a lighter note, Dacre also recalled the match against the Navy where the New Zealanders were housed in the officers’ barracks. After one night at dinner he recalled, “… the last I saw of one well-known New Zealand player that night was when one or two lieutenants were folding him up in a big carpet square and rolling him up and down the floor.”On another match of the tour, against Yorkshire, Dacre, who did not regard himself as a serious bowler, was to taste the uncanny ability that Lowry had of making bowling changes of immense perception.”I remember this match well as it was awful weather and the pitch a real dead one – what we would term in cricket language ‘as dead as mutton,’ and the ball taking what seemed to be about half an hour before reaching the batsman.”Yorkshire in 1927 had a marvellous side – players like [Percy] Holmes, [Herbert] Sutcliffe, [Maurice] Leyland, [Edgar] Oldroyd, [Wilfred] Rhodes, and the late Roy Kilner. When I went on to bowl, the batsmen were well on top of all our bowlers, Percy Holmes getting 175 not out and Leyland 118. Then Tom Lowry came up to me and asked me to put my arm over. I laughed at the thought of me bowling against such good players as the Yorkshire side had. I was hoping the Yorkshire committee had got in a good stock of balls as I expected to receive the same treatment as my mates had good – ‘stick oh’ – but it was not to be. I found I could turn the ball fully a foot. One ball must have pitched fully six inches outside the off stump, and George Macaulay laid his ears back to give it a mighty swipe, but instead it knocked his off hob down.”That day I got the wickets of Leyland, Kilner (for a duck), Rhodes, Macaulay, and their skipper, Major [Arthur] Lupton. My arm must have been a little higher than in those days than what it is today, otherwise the Yorkshire players might have complained to the umpire about my arm being somewhere under the sight-screen.”His figures of five for 35 remained the best of his 39-wicket first-class career.Another statistical oddity of the tour was that in the last match, against HDG Leveson-Gower’s XI at Scarborough, six of the New Zealand batsmen achieved their 1000 runs on the tour.The trip home to New Zealand was marred by an accident as the team was leaving Sydney Harbour on the way home. Their ship, the Tahiti, ran into a ferry, the Greycliffe, cutting it in half. The ferry was known locally as the ‘school boat’ because it carried many schoolchildren at that time of day from central Sydney to their homes at Watson’s Bay. Of the 125 passengers and crew, 50 were taken to hospital where 40 died, including many schoolchildren.The Tahiti swept through the wreckage as one half of the ferry sank almost immediately. Many of the victims were dragged along by the bigger vessel and several were maimed.The incident became a controversial one as the Tahiti was blamed for the collision by a marine court of enquiry, but two years later another court reversed the decision.”It all happened so suddenly and right under our very noses,” he said.Almost immediately after landing back in New Zealand Dacre returned to England because Gloucestershire wanted him to achieve his two-year qualification as quickly as possible. He was required to play club cricket in that time, and appeared occasionally against touring teams and for the Players against the Gentlemen.”These games I enjoyed very much, as the games were never taken very seriously and I had a chance of seeing some of the finest cricketers in England in action.”Dacre nominated Frank Woolley as his favourite batsman of the time he played.”He flourishes that bat like a sledge-hammer, but what ease and timing the Kent man has.”Dacre was invited to tour the West Indies with a side picked by Lord Tennyson. And he recalled the Test match played at Kingston, the first of the series, where George Headley scored 356 against the side to better the 326 Andy Sandham had scored on an earlier tour.”This innings to me was one of the finest I ever wish to see. He never lifted a ball off the ground until he was caught by Lord Tennyson at mid-off.”Dacre returned to New Zealand in 1937.He died in Auckland on November 2, 1975.

Sunderland striker Charlie Wyke has multiple contract offers from elsewhere as he ponders his next move, as reported by the Sunderland Echo.

The Lowdown: Black Cats set for fourth consecutive League One campaign

Sunderland face an uphill rebuilding task, as they prepare to enter their fourth consecutive season in Sky Bet League One [BBC].

Though the Black Cats have not yet braved the summer transfer market, they have been linked with making a permanent swoop for Wolverhampton Wanderers defender Dion Sanderson following his loan spell at the Stadium of Light in 2020/21 [Football Insider].

However, outgoings may well prove to be their first concern moving into the new campaign – a successful clear out could lead to a more productive quest for incoming signings.

The Latest: Celtic, Nottingham Forest and Middlesbrough all keen on the 28-year-old

Presently, Wyke is allegedly being courted by Scottish giants Celtic, Nottingham Forest and former club Middlesbrough [Sunderland Echo], but the report claims he could now have even more offers.

Contractually, he is free to negotiate with other clubs and will become a free agent at the end of this month unless he pens a new deal with the North East side [Transfermarkt].

The report states the 28-year-old has had an offer of a contract extension with Sunderland.

Celtic, who will participate in the Champions League qualifying stages soon, have a long-standing interest in his services dating back to April [Glasgow Live], so perhaps they will emerge as an early front runner.

The Verdict: Sunderland cannot afford to lose Wyke just yet

Without doubt, Sunderland cannot afford to lose Wyke this window. Scoring an incredible 30 goals in 53 appearances in 2020/21, his efforts were instrumental in the Wearside outfit’s promotion push [Transfermarkt], regardless of some poor moments which frustrated fans.

Not only that, Wyke’s ability to occupy opposition backlines with his physical presence has also been an important element of the Black Cats’ play, successfully winning around 4.8 aerial duels every 90 minutes across last campaign [WhoScored].

Labelled as ‘brilliant’ by assistant Sunderland coach Jamie McAllister [Chronicle], it is not hard to see that his departure would leave a huge void that needs to be filled – finding a 30-goal striker is not exactly easy.

In other news, a former Sunderland striker is now a free agent.

LONDON, Aug 1 AFP – Somerset’s Australian captain Jamie Cox admitted he thought his cricket team’s defence of the one-day Trophy tournament was about to end today during the course of a thrilling semi-final against Kent at Taunton.

AFP01-Aug-2002LONDON, Aug 1 AFP – Somerset’s Australian captain Jamie Cox admitted he thought his cricket team’s defence of the one-day Trophy tournament was about to end today during the course of a thrilling semi-final against Kent at Taunton.Kent somehow failed to score the nine runs they needed for victory from 15 balls despite having four wickets in hand.And their finish was all the more disappointing because for much of the innings, Kent looked on course to reach what would have been a domestic record score of 345 for victory.Instead the visitors’ challenge ended when former England all-rounder Mark Ealham was caught off the first ball of the final over, with Somerset winning by five runs.”The game was lost there for a while – I still can’t believe that we won,” said Cox, the 32-year-old Tasmanian.“But some magnificent bowling and fielding meant we managed to get it back.”We believe we can win from any situation and that was shown today when we came through in that fashion.”We have a very proud history in my time at the club in this competition and it will be special going back to Lord’s.”Earlier Ian Blackwell’s quickfire 86 off 53 balls took Somerset to their huge total.And he followed that up by dismissing Kent’s hard-hitting Queensland batsman Andrew Symonds for 55 and taking a fine midwicket catch to get rid of Matthew Walker.But it was substitute fielder Simon Francis who swung the game Somerset’s way.In the penultimate over he produced a magnificent piece of fielding to stop James Golding’s off-drive and then threw down the stumps to run him out at the bowler’s end while lying prone on the outfield.The Trophy final takes place at Lord’s on Saturday, August 31.But Somerset’s opponents are still unknown after the semi-final between Surrey and Yorkshire at Headingley was completely washed out for a second successive day.If no play is possible tomorrow, then a bowl-out will decide who the other finalists are in England’s senior one-day competition.

Somerset Under 19’s scored a comfortable victory over Essex at Uxbridge in the semi final of the ECB two day competition today

Richard Walsh28-Aug-2002Somerset Under 19’s scored a comfortable victory over Essex at Uxbridge in the semi final of the ECB two day competition today.Batting first Somerset scored 383 for 9 yesterday in their allotted 100 overs. Luke Stokes top scored with 63, wicket-keeper Alistair Garnsworthy made an unbeaten 51 and Richard Timms made 43.Today Essex were bowled out for 164 to give Somerset victory by 219 runs and a place in the Under 19’s final where they will play against Hampshire at Nevil Road in Bristol starting on Sunday.Somerset player James Hildreth was clearly delighted with the result and told me: “It’s a real thrill to get to the final, and everybody is very pleased with the result, and looking forward to playing against Hampshire on Sunday.”

West Brom have approached Barnsley boss Valerien Ismael over the vacant manager’s job at the Hawthorns, according to John Percy.

The Lowdown: Manager search goes on

The Baggies were unable to stay in the Premier League last season, suffering relegation back to the Championship, following a forgettable campaign.

Sam Allardyce left his role as manager after the final day and West Brom have been on the lookout for a new boss ever since, with a host of names linked, including Chris Wilder.

The Latest: Percy provides major update

According to the Telegraph’s Percy on Twitter, the Baggies have ‘moved’ for Ismael, with ‘talks ongoing’ and the club prepared to pay Barnsley the seven-figure fee to bring him to the Hawthorns.

“WBA have moved for Valérien Ismaël and want him as their new head coach. Talks ongoing with Barnsley. West Brom are prepared to pay the £2m buyout,” Percy revealed on Friday morning.

The 45-year-old took charge at Oakwell last October, guiding the Tykes into the Championship playoffs at the first attempt.

The Verdict: Ideal candidate?

Ismael looks an exciting potential appointment for West Brom, considering the strides he made in the space of just one year with Barnsley.

The Frenchman has become renowned for playing a rich brand of high-energy, direct football, which could appeal to Baggies supporters.

Ismael looks a bold appointment, should it happen, rather than going for another ageing British manager in the mould of Allardyce.

In other news, West Brom have been linked with a move for a forward this summer. Find out who it is here.  

Nottinghamshire batsman Kevin Pietersen is likely to miss the rest of the English season after fracturing a shin bone

CricInfo Staff28-Aug-2002Nottinghamshire batsman Kevin Pietersen is likely to miss the rest of the English season after fracturing a shin bone.Pietersen, 22, has been in dominant form prior to the injury, scoring 639 runs in a 10-day spell, with four consecutive centuries and a career-best 254 not out.Notts’ cricket manager Mick Newell says it is “very unlikely” that Pietersen will play again this summer.”Kevin picked up the injury diving on the square when he was fielding against Glamorgan at Colwyn Bay on Monday,” Newell said. “Initially we thought the injury was muscular, but he went for an x-ray at the local hospital and they discovered a fracture in his left fibula.”