All posts by h716a5.icu

Celtic have now been without a manager for three months but it feels like this arduous saga is finally beginning to come to an end for everyone associated with the Hoops at Parkhead.

That’s because the Bhoys are on the verge of welcoming Eddie Howe to Paradise in time for the summer transfer window.

Howe still needs to sort out what backroom staff will join him but a deal feels closer than ever.

What’s the word?

Despite a move being on the verge of conclusion, Celtic have made sure they’ve had other irons in the fire.

Last week, it was revealed they were still interested in former Chelsea boss Frank Lampard but they’ve directly held talks with another coach.

According to one Italian reporter, the Hoops have been in discussions with Enzo Maresca over the last few weeks.

The claim states that he’s also fielding interest from Girona and Sampdoria in Serie A but a fresh update on Tuesday morning from Fabrizio Romano reveals he’s now in advanced negotiations with Parma.

The 41-year-old is currently an understudy to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City so is evidently held in high esteem.

Perfect for Celtic

Maresca is currently Man City’s U23 manager where he’s enjoyed a wonderful campaign in the north of England.

The club’s first team came away with the Premier League title but Maresca’s academy side were also victorious in Premier League 2.

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He’s played a key part in preparing City’s next-generation for first-team life, being hailed by Guardiola for his efforts along the way.

Speaking only a few days ago, the decorated Spaniard said: “It doesn’t help the young boys to go to the media, it can be more confusing than positive. We are delighted with what Maresca has done. He’ll be an extraordinary manager in the future – like I felt it with Arteta.

“He’s developed many young players that will help us. It will depend on how many stay and how many leave. Who we sign.”

This would be vitally important for Celtic because the academy and reserve side is an area of the club that’s felt neglected.

One of their brightest prospects in Cameron Harper recently left for New York Red Bulls while Karamoko Dembele doesn’t have long left on his contract.

His terms at Paradise expire in the summer of 2022 and he’s not been given much of a sign that Celtic is the place to develop.

The 18-year-old began to make more of a senior breakthrough towards the end of the season but after scoring his first goal for the club against St Johnstone, wasn’t afforded a chance from the off on the final day versus Hibernian.

With Maresca in charge, the fortunes of those coming through the ranks at Lennoxtown could begin to change.

The developing young coach knows a clever talent when he sees one and as City’s success at academy level tells you, he knows how to progress their games.

This wouldn’t only be huge for Dembele but it could make a massive impact on the likes of Adam Montgomery and Luca Connell too.

That’s before you even consider the incoming Liam Shaw and a player like Leo Hjelde, someone compared to Virgil van Dijk.

Howe still looks like he’s the first choice but Maresca would have been a very solid alternative for Dominic McKay before his move to Parma.

AND in other news, Imagine him under Howe: Celtic must sign 6ft3 “freak”, he’s the spitting image of Ajer…

The second and final cricket Test between Pakistan and New Zealand begins at the National Stadium from tomorrow (Wednesday) with only one thing uncertain – whether the match will last the scheduled five days

Samiul Hasan08-May-2002The second and final cricket Test between Pakistan and New Zealand begins at the National Stadium from tomorrow (Wednesday) with only one thing uncertain – whether the match will last the scheduled five days.Pakistan have already destroyed the New Zealanders mentally and physically by winning the three one-dayers and the first Test by a record an innings and 324 runs. And all indications are that the home side will also clinch first home series in four years.Paceman Shoaib Akhtar has left terror in New Zealand minds with career-best six for 11 while Inzamam-ul-Haq made them sweat and toil under the tough hot Lahore conditions on way to scoring a magnificent 329 – the 10th highest individual score in the history of the game.The top order, that showed flashes of brilliance against the hapless Kiwis, will be further strengthened by the return of the classy opener Saeed Anwar who will replace Shahid Afridi. And besides Shoaib, the new spin duo of Saqlain Mushtaq and Danish Kaneria have created all sorts of problems while sharing 10 wickets in the match between them.However, all indications are that Danish will sit out and his place will be taken over by 104-Test veteran Wasim Akram. He has been included to exploit the morning and evening sessions which are ideal for swing bowling. Besides, it will also help Pakistan to take advantage of New Zealand’s vulnerability against quality fast bowling.The most satifsying aspect seen about Pakistan team has been the unity, understanding and harmony that has often lacked and led to the tag of under-achievers.Skipper Waqar Younis has succeeded in infusing in the minds of his teammates that they were the best, evident from the fact that they now believe in their abilities.Not to doubt the fighting abilities of the visitors, accustomed to playing without frontline players, they have Mount Everest to climb. But realistically speaking, the tourists’ can only hope for a miracle and pray that Pakistan succumb to their unpredictability and inconsistency.The Black Caps, whose injury list has grown even before the tour began, Tuesday knew that leg-spinner Brooke Walker was also out of the game because of a dislocated finger. They had arrived without Chris Cairns, Shane Bond, Shayne O’Connor and Dion Nash while Nathan Astle and Andre Adams suffered injuries that cut short their tour.The attitude of New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming summmed up the mood of the camp when he refused to host a traditional pre-Test press conference.”There is nothing to say. You guys know everything. The only latest thing is that Brooke Walker is out because of a dislocated finger in left hand,” Fleming said in a brief statement while reflecting that his team was down and out.For New Zealand, the winless tour may not be a matter of concern in the backdrop of the situation and condition in which the series was being played.Nevertheless, for Pakistan, a clean sweep can serve the required tonic needed to raise the confidence of the players and bring stability in the team ahead of a back-breaking international season that will lead up to next year’s World Cup in South Africa.”The good performance in this series will help us a long way in terms of stability and confidence. The more we will win, the more we will start believing in ourselves,” skipper Waqar Younis told reporters.He added: “A victory in this series will make us a formidable unit that can challenge the supremacy of Australia. Then we have the tour to South Africa and these are the two series’ I like to win desperately.”Pakistan are to host Australia for three Tests between Oct 1 and 24 while the tour to South Africa will run from Dec 1 to Jan 6. But Waqar was concentrating on the job in hand. “At the moment, the immediate assignment is to win the second Test and end the four-year defeat drought. “It is nice to be coming back to our happy hunting ground though the nightmare of the last Test here is still fresh in our memories.” Pakistan lost their only Test here in 44 games in December 2000 when England won.For West Indian Steve Bucknor it will be a special day tomorrow. as he will become the umpire to supervize the highest number of Tests – 67. “It is going to be another Test for me. I am still enjoying the sport,” he said, adding: “My most memorable Test was in 1998 at Melbourne where England won on a day on which there was more than eight hours of play because we had to cover for the time lost on the first day and then for the slow over-rate on that day.”Squads:Pakistan (likely) – Saeed Anwar, Imran Nazir, Younis Khan, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Yousuf Youhana, Abdul Razzaq, Rashid Latif, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis (captain), Saqlain Mushtaq, Shoaib Akhtar. Reserves: Shoaib Malik, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi, Danish Kaneria, Mohammad Sami.New Zealand (likely) – Matthew Horne, Mark Richardson, Lou Vincent, Stephen Fleming (captain), Chris Harris, Craig McMillan, Roobie Hart, Daniel Vettori, Daryl Tuffey, Chris Martin, Scott Styris. Reserves: Matthew Sinclair, Brooke Walker, Ian Butler.Umpires – Steve Bucknor (West Indies), Rudi Koertzen (South Africa).TV Umpire – Nadeem Ghauri (Pakistan).Match referee – Mike Procter (South Africa).

Former Everton star Michael Ball insists that Ross Barkley would love a return to Goodison Park this summer.

The Chelsea midfielder has spent the season on loan at Aston Villa after falling out of favour at Stamford Bridge.

Barkley made 21 appearances for the Blues last season, but just 13 of those were starts.

In his time at Villa, he has played 24 times, scoring three goals, and it remains to be seen where his future will lie in this coming transfer window.

Barkley made a total of 179 appearances for Everton during his time on Merseyside, becoming a star before his £15m move to Chelsea.

Ball believes that the Toffees should make an attempt to acquire his signature this summer if they can, and he thinks that the playmaker would like to make the switch.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, he said: “So if there’s an opportunity for Ross to come back I feel he’d probably like it and get an opportunity to prove [himself] to everyone.

“Yeah hands up, he had an opportunity to go to Chelsea, it didn’t work out for him, so if we can get him at the right price and wages, I think he’d be a good addition to the squad.”

Barkley has not had an opportunity to work under Thomas Tuchel yet but that could change this summer when he reports back for pre-season.

So far this has been a good match for the Somerset contingent in the Englandside

Ralph Dellor31-May-2002So far this has been a good match for the Somerset contingent in the Englandside. After Andrew Caddick’s bowling on the first day, Marcus Trescothick stole the headlines today with an innings of 161. He feels he has been playing well, so this did not come as too big a surprise to him.”I’ve enjoyed the day immensely,” he said. “I’ve been playing pretty well in practice and preparation and I was waiting for the big one like today.”Every time Trescothick has scored a century for England in the past, he hasfinished on the losing side. He is aware of the fact and hopes to change it.”Michael Vaughan and I have joked about that. Hopefully that can be changedhere as we’re in a great situation to get a victory.”But we’ve got a big day ahead tomorrow and that should give us the platform we need for the rest of the game. The wicket has been pretty good and flat. It’s got consistent pace and bounce, but we’ll have to see – it may change.”Asked about the possibility of an England declaration, Trescothick was guarded. “If we can see it through to lunch we can have a look then.” When it comes, or when England are bowled out, then his county colleague will have to get to work to make sure that this century will not be in vain.

The funeral of former Press cricket writer R T ‘Dick’ Brittenden was held in Christchurch today with a large crowd over-flowing to outside the funeral home

Lynn McConnell14-Jun-2002The funeral of former Press cricket writer R T ‘Dick’ Brittenden was held in Christchurch today with a large crowd over-flowing to outside the funeral home.Brittenden, who was widely regarded as the finest cricket journalist New Zealand has produced, died earlier this week.Cricket administrators, players and supporters were joined by family and members of the newspaper and golfing fraternity.Brittenden had a long-standing love of golf and was a former member of the Waitikiri Golf Club where, it was humorously related during the service, part of the course was still named after him from the occasion of a hole-in-one he achieved.Playing a shot on the club’s 130-metre 17th hole, Brittenden hit a low shot which passed between two bunkers in front of the green, only six metres apart, rolled up the green, hit the pin and dropped into the hole.The approach is commonly referred to still as the “Brittenden by-pass”.However, it was for his contribution to cricket in Christchurch, Canterbury and New Zealand that he was remembered and former New Zealand representative Brian Hastings spoke on behalf of cricketers when he said Brittenden would be remembered as a man of warmth, kindness and a lovely sense of humour who had great loyalty towards his staff.”He was a good boss, kind and generous.”He was a wonderful tourist and players had the utmost respect for him. He knew when to keep his distance and he was regarded as an unofficial team manager.”He was an intergral part and most popular member of touring sides,” he said.Hastings related the incident at Hyderabad in 1969 when New Zealand was playing the third Test of a series against India. The team was staying at the ground and at the end of the first day New Zealand were 181/9.On the second day it rained, and the third day was a rest day. During the rest day Brittenden happened to notice the groundsman going out to mow the pitch only to be stopped doing so by the umpires.This concerned Brittenden who informed the New Zealand team management, and when the groundsman went out to mow the pitch on the fourth day, the New Zealanders complained to the umpires, because the laws stated that the pitch could only be mown on every other day and the rest day was to be included.Under the laws, the pitch should have been mown on the rest day, and the New Zealanders said it should not be mown on the fourth day. The secretary of the Board of Control in India was drawn into the debate and he eventually ruled in New Zealand’s favour.And on that fourth day, India at one stage were 49/9, before the last pair added 40 more runs.New Zealand then declared their second innings closed at 175/8, leaving India a target of 268 to win. When they were 76/7 it started to rain and despite the best efforts of the New Zealanders the game was abandoned.But Hastings said New Zealand were provided with a chance of winning what would have been their first series by the eagle eye of Dick Brittenden.Hastings also recalled that much later, when he was serving as president of Canterbury Cricket, he had the pleasure of making a presentation to Brittenden marking his 60 years of covering club cricket which Hastings described as a “remarkable achievement.”

Tottenham Hotspur legend Graham Roberts insists that Mauricio Pochettino must be backed in the transfer market if he does return to the club.

The Athletic previously reported that the two parties were in talks over the Argentine making a sensational comeback to north London, and it remains to be seen if they will go back to him after talks with frontrunner Antonio Conte stalled.

Football.London’s Spurs correspondent, Alasdair Gold, has reported that Pochettino has told PSG that he wants to move back to Spurs, though the deal remains a complicated one for chairman Daniel Levy to pull off.

Pochettino spent five years in total at Spurs before his sacking in November 2019, guiding the club to two Premier League title challenges and the Champions League final.

He never managed to win a trophy at the club but Roberts believes that the only thing that stopped the club getting over the line was a lack of investment.

Indeed, under Pochettino, Spurs went an entire summer without signing a first-team player.

And Roberts says that the club need to give him a significant amount of backing if they are to thrive under Pochettino’s management.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, he was asked if he were the ideal target and replied: “He is for Tottenham fans. They’ve seen what he’s done. Now the club have to back him and I know I’m saying it again, but it’s a four or five-year plan again.

“It took him five years to get us to the Champions League final but the thing about it was, he played away from the stadium for two, three years.

“You can’t do that, you have to give him the ammunition and the club have to back him now.

“If they’re going to bring him back, they have to back him and they have to make sure it’s the players that he wants, we need a lot of energy in the team so I’m sure he’ll be working on that side of it.”

Essex Eagles, one-day high flyers for much of this season, were brought unexpectedly down to earth by bottom-of-the-table Middlesex Crusaders, who crafted a 41-run victory in their Second Division clash in the Norwich Union League

Stephen Lamb22-Jul-2002Essex Eagles, one-day high flyers for much of this season, were brought unexpectedly down to earth by bottom-of-the-table Middlesex Crusaders, who crafted a 41-run victory in their Second Division clash in the Norwich Union League. Set 210 to win, the Eagles lost wickets regularly and never had clear sight of a moderate target on a worn Chelmsford pitch.Although there were flashes of style about the Eagles’ reply, the Crusaders kept up a knack of breaking through when it mattered. Darren Robinson was first to go, bowled by Aaron Laraman for seven. Jon Dakin, after a promising start, was unsettled when wicket-keeper David Nash came up to the stumps, and duly caught behind cutting at Simon Cook.Of the key middle-order wickets, Andy Flower, having taken consecutive boundaries through cover, was caught at backward point off Cook attempting another. Graham Napier, after hitting Cook for six over long-on, was caught at mid-off off the same bowler. Aftab Habib was lbw to an Abdur Razzaq in-swinger, and crucially Ronnie Irani then swept Jamie Dalrymple to backward square leg, where Cook held a fine, one-handed catch above his head.Jamie Foster, after two attractive boundaries through extra cover, was held at mid-wicket, and Ashley Cowan, over-ambitious after a sensible knock, was caught at deep backward square leg off Paul Weekes. Although John Stephenson showed his experience, he ran out of partners with Essex well short of the required total.Earlier the Crusaders’ innings had ebbed and flowed. Half centuries from Andy Strauss and Owais Shah were followed by a middle-order collapse, before a partnership between Nash and Dalrymple salvaged respectability.Middlesex chose to bat on winning the toss, only to find Irani, remarkably, bowling four maidens in his first five overs. It was he who made the first breakthrough, having Laraman caught behind by Foster as he edged a drive. Irani’s accuracy may well have contributed to Sven Koenig’s downfall, courtesy of a direct hit by Tim Phillips at cover as he sought his first run.Enter Shah, guns blazing in the form of an array of cover boundaries and two consecutive sixes off Phillips. But shortly after completing a run-a-ball fifty Shah succumbed, caught by Robinson off the off-spinner James Middlebrook, who was later to account for the Middlesex captain. Before that Phillips bowled Ed Joyce for nine, and had the dangerous Razzaq caught behind without scoring. When Weekes fell to Middlebrook, also for a duck, Middlesex were 150 for seven.That they eventually managed to pass 200 was down to a steely partnership of 57 between Nash (24*) and Dalrymple, who managed three boundaries in his 34 before being well caught by Stephenson at long-off in the final over, trying to hit Cowan over the top. Middlesex were relieved by the recovery, which was ultimately crucial to their success.

Keith Downie has dropped a big update on Newcastle United’s arbitration case against the Premier League over the failed takeover.

The Lowdown: Arbitration reportedly in July

There have been various reports that the arbitration hearing between the St. James’ Park faithful and the English top flight over the failed deal between Mike Ashley and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) group is set to take place in July.

The timing is not ideal given that the summer transfer window has officially opened and that the date is close to the start of the new 2021/22 season, but a positive result for the North East club could accelerate a potential revival of the original bid.

The Latest: Arbitration update

Downie, who is a North-East based football journalist for Sky Sports, has since given an update on the date set for the arbitration proceedings, claiming: ‘We expect the independent arbitration to begin at the end of the month’.

Given that previous reports had stated that arbitration was set to take place in July, it now appears it could be brought forward by a week or so to the end of June, news which will boost the club’s transfer plans.

The Verdict: Positive if arbitration pushed forward

It can only be seen as a positive if the arbitration case has been pushed forward from July to June, regardless of how small the change is.

If the results of the hearing go in the way of the Tyneside club, then in theory it could pave a path for the takeover to be quickly completed, as the separate anti-competition claim made against the division would no longer be needed, and the Magpies could then start to work with the PL over a solution.

In a dream scenario, if the takeover were able to be completed shortly after the proceedings are finished, then it would give the new owners more time to work on transfers and thus prepare themselves a lot better for the new campaign.

Nonetheless, the results of arbitration will no doubt be key to see the direction in where the deal is heading, and the sooner it is done the sooner the Magpies can begin their summer transfer activity, rather than be left in limbo.

In other news, find out what big claim Ben Jacobs has dropped on the potential takeover after Premier League news emerged here!

If you had doubts over the Everton hierarchy following the departure of Carlo Ancelotti then those have likely now been elevated.

That’s because the Toffees are moving closer to the appointment of Rafa Benitez, a man synonymous with the red side of Merseyside and hated by the blue stretch.

Benitez once dubbed Everton a “small club” but that’s seemingly not been an issue for the senior officials at Goodison Park who want him to be the new manager.

If the Spaniard takes over then he could be well backed in the transfer market. The 61-year-old struggled with the financial constraints at Newcastle but should have no such issues on his return to Merseyside.

With that in mind, how could Everton shape up next season under Benitez?

Here’s our prediction of how things could look if the Spaniard arrives this summer…

We’re tipping much of the side to remain the same but with four new additions to their ranks.

One of the most high profile deals could be at left-back where Real Madrid legend Marcelo has been linked with a move to the Premier League and Everton.

Benitez knows him well from his time at Madrid and could axe Lucas Digne in order to get the £5m defender into his side on a regular basis. It would be harsh on Digne to lose his place, but Benitez may want at least one star player in the side who knows his methods well.

Next to him, in the heart of the defence, is England international Conor Coady.

The Wolves centre-back has been linked with a move to Goodison and despite Nuno Santo no longer in the frame for the job, we reckon Everton should target Coady for his leadership skills anyway. He is currently valued at £22.5m.

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Following Andre Gomes’ poor end to last season, Benitez could do with a bit of extra muscle in midfield so that sees Yves Bissouma arrive from Brighton.

The tough-tackling midfielder is valued at £40m and is a player that Everton made an enquiry for last month.

The final acquisition is on the right of midfield. The Toffees have been touted with a move for Wilfried Zaha but following a war of words between him and Benitez back in 2018 about referees, they may focus their efforts elsewhere.

As a result, he could favour Bayer Leverkusen’s Moussa Diaby. As revealed by Football FanCast, Everton are in the market for a right-winger this summer and that should not change with the arrival of a new manager.

Diaby is valued at €40m (£34.2m) and with 13 goals to his name this term, would be a brilliant addition to their forward line.

Overall, that could take Marcel Brands’ spending in the first window under Benitez to a grand total of £101.7m.

It’s important to stress that this is merely our prediction and isn’t indicative of what will definitely play out at Goodison this summer.

AND in other news, Everton must complete swoop for “phenomenal” 28 y/o, he thinks Nuno Santo is “amazing”…

James Foster’s second misfortune with injury this season has ruled him out of the remainder of England’s Test series against India

Stephen Lamb25-Jul-2002James Foster’s second misfortune with injury this season has ruled him out of the remainder of England’s Test series against India.The 22-year-old Essex wicket-keeper broke his left thumb while keeping wicket to John Stephenson in the current Frizzell County Championship match against Glamorgan at Chelmsford. He is expected to be out of action for between four and six weeks.Foster said: “This is a huge blow for me coming so soon after breaking my arm earlier in the season. The early indications are that I could be out for a while, but we will have a clearer idea once I have seen the specialist tomorrow.”Foster, who was given a central contract by England in the spring, was playing in only his third game for Essex this season, after breaking his arm in the nets in April.The injury forced him to miss England’s Test series against Sri Lanka, as well as the recent NatWest triangular series, allowing Surrey’s Alec Stewart to return to England colours. Stewart today made his 119th Test appearance, breaking Graham Gooch’s record as England’s most-capped player.Foster’s latest setback means he will have precious little cricket before England announce their squads for the ICC Champions’ trophy and the Ashes tour of Australia that follows.Foster was the guest on CricInfo’s Norwich Union League live chat feature onTuesday, when he was asked how his arm was feeling. He replied: “It’s prettymuch recovered. In the last championship and one-day game the arm was a bitsore. It’s good enough to play and it’s not ‘end of the world’ pain. I don’talways feel it, and it comes on just through tiredness or weakness in the arm.”It was obviously a huge disappointment breaking it, and it couldn’t have come at a worse time. I missed out on all the good Essex matches like the B&H final, and I missed the chance of playing with England at start of the season. It’s been a tough ten weeks out of action, but now I’m raring to go.”Asked if he felt he was close to getting back into the England set-up for the tour to Australia this winter, he said: “At the moment I’m just trying to do well for Essex and I can’t afford to look too far ahead into the future. If I do well for Essex I hope that people will take notice and I can get back into contention for England again.”Obviously an Ashes tour would be marvellous but I can’t be wrapped up in that – I’ve just got to concentrate on each performance now rather than letting that cloud the issue.”