All posts by h716a5.icu

Many Arsenal fans have been left to slam the display of Hector Bellerin in their 0-0 home draw with Villarreal in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday night.

Mikel Arteta’s men crashed out of the one competition that gave them hope of European football for next season at the hands of their former manager Unai Emery, whose team ended up winning 2-1 on aggregate after an assured performance at the Emirates Stadium.

Several of the Gunners players failed to get out of second gear, none more so than Bellerin, who lost out on three of his duels and also failed to record a single dribble, interception, tackle or accurate long ball in the game (Sofascore).

The Spain international also lost possession of the ball on no fewer than on 15 different occasions in the match, the joint-fourth most out of any of his teammates to have set foot on the pitch (Sofascore).

Arsenal fans on Bellerin display

These Gooners slammed his performance on Twitter, with one AFC supporter even going as far as to claim that the 26-year-old was a ‘passenger’:

“Bellerin and Partey’s passing today was dreadful! #afc”

Credit: @Delcay078

“Bellerin has been absolutely pony so far. Pass % can’t be above 50. #afc”

Credit: @PaulTheFace_

“Saka and Bellerin have been poor. Pure average, I would say below average #Arsenal #AFC #UEL”

Credit: @TheAfcLAD

“Bellerin is finito. A passenger in the field. Partey .. I am still waiting for one good game from him. Such a timid little player. #AFC”

Credit: @19AJR

“Hector Bellerin is awful! He doesn’t prefer bathing going forward, he can’t defend and can’t pass #Bellerin #afc #ARSVIL”

Credit: @WilkoCoach

“Bellerin is so weak. Worst player on the pitch for us #AFC”Credit: @TheBimalIn other news, find out whose display was slammed in the first leg here!

The South African cricket team is on a high after winning the Test andOne-Day Series against the West Indies, but another high has bowledsome of them

Haydn Gill12-May-2001The South African cricket team is on a high after winning the Test andOne-Day Series against the West Indies, but another high has bowledsome of them.Six South Africans have been fined for smoking marijuana during thecurrent tour of the West Indies, the United Cricket Board of SouthAfrica (UCBSA) announced yesterday in Johannesburg.But team manager Goolam Rajah denied any knowledge of the UCBSAstatement and declared himself unavailable for comment.Whatever you are talking about, I am not aware of it, Rajah said whenpressed for comment by the Saturday Sun yesterday evening.I cannot make a comment on something that I haven’t seen or read.The UCBSA identified Herschelle Gibbs, Paul Adams, Roger Telemachus,Andre Nel, Justin Kemp and physiotherapist Craig Smith as the ones whowere found smoking the drug in a hotel room on April 10 followingSouth Africa’s capture of the Test series in Antigua.The accused all admitted their guilt and the Misconduct Committee(made up of team management and senior players) accepted that this wasa one-off incident, the statement said.The accused all expressed remorse, apologised and gave an assurancethat this would not happen again.Each individual was fined 10000 rand (BDS$2 500) and severelyreprimanded.In the case of Gibbs, it represents his third offence in just over ayear.In the middle of last year, he was banned for six months following hisinvolvement in the match-fixing scandal.Last May, he was also fined 15 000 rand (BDS$3 750) and given a threematch international suspension for unbecoming conduct related to anincident on the eve of a One-Day International against Australia onApril 14.Part of the fine and the three-match suspension were suspended for ayear.The suspended sentence imposed on Gibbs, however, may not be invokedby the on-tour Misconduct Committee of the South African cricket teamin the West Indies as it was not handed down by that committee, theUCBSA said.It was handed down by a Disciplinary Committee convened by the GeneralCouncil of the UCBSA and thus the tour Misconduct Committee does nothave the authority to invoke it.The Misconduct Committee held a second inquiry following an incidentbetween batsman Daryll Cullinan and Telemachus during a match inMontego Bay.The committee recommended that Telemachus be fined 1 000 rand forverbally abusing another player and another 1 000 rand because it washis second offence on the tour. He also apologised to Cullinan.Cullinan was fined 2000 rand for leaving the field of play during amatch without the consent of the captain. Both players were informedof their right to appeal the decision and the UCBSA accepted thecommittee’s recommendation.

Rangers have been linked with Young Boys winger Nicolas Moumi Ngamaleu recently and he could prove to be an ideal heir to Ryan Kent in Steven Gerrard’s side should he arrive at Ibrox this summer.

According to teamTALK, Rangers, along with a host of Premier League clubs including Everton, Leeds United, Leicester City and Brighton are all interested in signing the 26-year-old this summer.

If he were to arrive at Ibrox, he could prove to be a replacement for Kent, who is once again being heavily linked with a move to Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United ahead of the summer transfer window.

Whilst Gerrard may believe that he already has a long-term replacement for the former Liverpool youngster in his squad in the form of Scott Wright, Ngamaleu would arguably be a better heir to the 24-year-old.

Since joining from Aberdeen earlier this year, Wright has managed just 11 appearances in Gerrard’s side, scoring one goal and providing two assists.

Whilst it was always going to be difficult for the 23-year-old to oust the likes of Kent, Ianis Hagi and Joe Aribo from Rangers’ first-team, the majority of his appearances thus far have been late cameos from the bench.

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There have been some impressive displays against Cove Rangers and St Johnstone thrown in but he is yet to replicate the sort of displays Kent has been producing since his move to Ibrox.

Therefore, if he does end up leaving Rangers this summer, Gerrard and Ross Wilson might be best served by turning to Ngamaleu as his replacement.

The Cameroon international has contributed 33 goals and 35 assists in 168 games for Young Boys so far in his career, which includes goals in both the Europa League and the Champions League in the past.

[freshpress-quiz id=“593776″]

Kent has averaged 1.9 dribbles per game in the Premiership this season and Ngamaleu has averaged 2.3 dribbles per game in the Europa League, whereas Wright only mustered 1.5 dribbles per game with Aberdeen, so it could certainly be argued that the £3.42m-rated Cameroon international would be a better, and more natural heir to Kent at Rangers this summer.

And, in other news… Rangers outcast sent Gerrard a huge message with “sensational” weekend display

AC Muthiah, the BCCI president has clearly elucidated his views withregard to the contract system for Indian players

Staff and Agencies25-May-2001BCCI President favours a contract system for playersAC Muthiah, the BCCI president has clearly elucidated his views withregard to the contract system for Indian players. Muthiah welcomed therecommendations made by Sir Paul Condon in his report on match fixing.According to Sir Condon, an improvement in the pay packets ofcricketers and a contract system for players would help in instillingfinancial security that the players need badly.Muthiah said, “I personally feel it’s (increasing pay packets forcricketers) a good suggestion… and contract system is a betteranswer to regularise the income of the players,” talking to PTI on thephone from Lahore where he is attending a two-day meeting of the AsianCricket Council.Sir Condon was critical in his report partially blaming the currentsystem wherein cricketers were paid less compared to some of the othersportsmen which has been cited as one of the reasons for their beinglured into corrupt practices. Muthiah was of the opinion that thecontract system when put into practice would ensure a regular incometo the players even while they are injured. “We will work out aconsensus (in BCCI) and try to introduce such a system for Indianplayers,” he said.Muthiah also supported Condon’s idea that there should be an increasedlevel of involving players and their representative bodies in theadministration and overall management of the game. Muthiah said thatthough the report failed to mention any names, the recommendationscontained therein, would go a long way in reducing the corruption inthe game. He was quick to add, “We will try and implement some of therecommendations.”Lele puts speculations to restThe Asian Cricket Council meeting, which started in Lahore onThursday, had generated considerable interest with speculations thatBCCI president A C Muthiah and PCB chief Lt Gen Tauqir Zia may meet todiscuss the Indian government’s refusal to allow its cricket team toplay a bilateral series with Pakistan. However, talking to the PTI onphone, Board secretary Jaywant Lele said that the ACC meeting was an’informal get-together’ of the heads of the Cricket Boards of thecountries in the region and on the opening day it discussed matters ofmutual interest. “There is no meeting between Muthiah and Zia on thecards,” Lele said.The two-day Asian Cricket Council meeting in Lahore would only discussmatters relating to the development of cricket in the region,according to Lele. The meeting will decide on the proper utilisationof the $6.5 million provided by the International Cricket Council forthe development of the game in the region and finalise the schedulesfor the Asia Cup, to be played in Pakistan next year, and the AsianTest Championship.Zimbabwe will pose an exciting challenge: DravidFortified by the confidence gained from a spirited series win againstAustralia, a determined Indian team embarked on a 46-day tour ofZimbabwe early on Friday, raring to break a 15-year jinx of notwinning a Test series outside the subcontinent.The Indian team management spoke in detail about the importance of theTest series against Zimbabwe. Sourav Ganguly could not join themanager Chetan Chauhan, coach John Wright and vice-captain RahulDravid in briefing the media. Ganguly was held up in Kolkata owing topersonal reasons and joined the touring party later in the night tofly out to Zimbabwe.According to PTI, Chauhan told reporters in Mumbai on Thursday, “Theboys are aware that India has not won a series abroad in the past 15years and they are brimming with confidence to break the jinx”. Hesaid the performance in the recent home series against Australia hadgiven them “a much needed boost”.Coach John Wright echoed his views, saying that he does not have a’magic formula’ for the Indian cricket team to win a series abroad andbelieves the players have to work on their basics to get a positiveresult. “There is no magic formula in cricket. You have to do what isrequired at a particular time and play to potential”, said Wright.”Execution of genuine play, bowling a good line and length and justdoing the basic things right is all that is needed to win a match or aseries”, Wright added.Vice-captain Rahul Dravid said the important thing was for the team toput together a good performance and the rest would take care ofitself. Dravid said, “It is important to concentrate on the basicprocesses without getting unduly excited over the result. Our job isto play good cricket with a positive frame of mind and not to getpreoccupied with results. “Zimbabwe will pose an exciting challenge.They are a good side and played a good series in India last year. Theyare a good unit together”.On India’s failure to win a series on foreign soil for the last 15years, he said, “certainly the boys are aware of it but they don’tthink about it. This time we would like to win the series and turn anew page.” About the conditioning camp held in Bangalore, Dravid saidit was of good quality and added, “the guys put in a lot of hard workand surely there is an increase in their fitness level.”Asked which Zimbabwe players he considered a ‘threat’ to the Indianteam, Wright said “Andy Flower and Heath Streak might pose some threatas both are world class players. However, there is no question offearing anybody.” Commenting on the World Test Championships, bothDravid and Wright said it was a ‘good concept’ and gave a chance forevery team to play each other.

Daniel Farke’s Norwich City side should consider making a move for Billy Gilmour this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to former Canaries star ‘Jon Newsome, who, in an interview with This is Futbol, stated his belief that the Chelsea midfielder would be a “fantastic” signing for newly-promoted City.

The former defender’s remarks come following a report by The Athletic, who revealed that Thomas Tuchel’s side will be looking to loan the 19-year-old out this summer in order for him to gain first-team experience.

Newsome said: “What a fantastic signing he would be, and I think it’s good for Billy Gilmour. He needs to get out and play games; he needs football out on the grass. Is he going to break into the side at the moment? I can’t really see it happening. So, yes, he needs to get out and what better place to go than Norwich City?”

Webber must move

Having made his Chelsea debut under Frank Lampard back in 2019, Gilmour has so far gone on to make 22 appearances for the Blues in all competitions.

However, only five of these came in the Premier League last season, something that is not overly surprising when considering that Tuchel has the likes of Jorginho, N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic as options in the middle of the park.

And, with it being confirmed that Norwich have released both Alexander Tettey and Mario Vrancic this summer, in addition to Oliver Skipp returning to Tottenham Hotspur and Kenny McLean being ruled out for 12 weeks due to injury, central midfield certainly appears an area in which Daniel Farke needs to strengthen ahead of City’s Premier League campaign.

As such, Newsome’s suggestion of a move for Gilmour would indeed appear to suit both Chelsea and Norwich, as the Blues would be allowing the youngster to gain valuable Premier League experience, while Norwich would gain the services of a highly promising midfielder who was recently credited with bossing the Manchester City midfield in Chelsea’s 2-1 victory over Pep Guardiola’s side.

Indeed, picking up Gilmour would certainly go a long way in softening Farke’s blow of losing Skipp, meaning that we completely agree with the assessment of Newsome, and believe it would be highly advisable for Stuart Webber to do all he can to convince the £6.3m-rated 19-year-old of a move to Carrow Road this summer.

In other news: Major Norwich City development is revealed that’ll surely have fans buzzing – opinion

Lancashire completed their second consecutive Championship victory to climb to third in the First Division table and leave Leicestershire in the relegation zone

Andy Wilson09-Jun-2001Lancashire completed their second consecutive Championship victory to climb to third in the First Division table and leave Leicestershire in the relegation zone.They seemed in danger of being denied by the weather when there was no play before lunch. But Muttiah Muralitharan made short work of the Leicestershire tail when the visitors resumed on 208 for six, leaving Lancashire needing 162 off 46 overs.James Ormond quickly fired out Mark Chilton but Mike Atherton cruised to 39 including a top-edged six over the wicket keeper off Ormond.Then John Crawley and Andy Flintoff linked up in a third wicket stand of 67 in 15 overs.Both were out with Lancashire on the brink of victory, Crawley for 50 and Flintoff for 43, but Neil Fairbrother and Joe Scuderi steered the Red Rose side to victory with six wickets and five overs to spare.They took 17 points from the game, while Leicestershire claimed only three.Earlier Peter Martin had broken Leicestershire’s stubborn seventh wicket stand when he bowled Jon Dakin for 35 in the first over of the day.Muralitharan then had both Carl Crowe and Darren Maddy snapped up byAtherton at backward short leg, with Maddy furious with himself after grafting for 150 minutes for 40; following his unbeaten 57 in 202 minutes in the first innings.Muralitharan also picked up the last wicket of Ormond to end with six for 74 from 40 overs, his best figures of the season, while Martin was left with four for 64.

A new name has emerged in Tottenham Hotspur’s managerial search as they still look to find a viable successor to Jose Mourinho…

What’s the word?

According to Sport Bild, Spurs are actually one of several Premier League sides taking a keen look at Borussia Dortmund head coach Edin Terzic, who is set to leave the Signal Iduna Park at the end of the current campaign.

Both Newcastle United, if they move on from Steve Bruce, and Crystal Palace, who will let Roy Hodgson go this summer, are also said to also be interested in the 38-year-old.

Terzic, a former assistant to Slaven Bilic at West Ham, has already rejected the chance to take the reigns at Bundesliga outfit Frankfurt and he is set to be available this summer because BVB have opted for Gladbach guru Marco Rose in the long term.

Shades of Klopp

The German is certainly an interesting candidate for Daniel Levy to consider.

He temporarily took over from Lucien Favre in December and has steered the Black and Yellows to glory in the DFB-Pokal, as well as a top-four finish in the Bundesliga.

Terzic, unlike many of the other names mooted to the North London gig, will be without a club so that should instantly make him of more appeal.

The Sun believe it could take as much as £70m to lure Brendan Rodgers away from Leicester City, whilst the likes of Roberto Martinez, Graham Potter and Erik ten Hag are all still employed, despite being three of the four names on the shortlist, as per The Athletic.

The interim Dortmund boss’ inexperience shouldn’t put Levy off either as he’s not only proven he can develop players like Jadon Sancho and Erling Haaland but he has knowledge of the English top-flight already and has had major influence from Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp.

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Terzic worked under the Premier League winner for several years.

ESPN’s Derek Rae believes the young gem ‘brings a Klopp-like intensity’ to the dugout, whilst Bilic has previously suggested that he “has everything.”

Furthermore, head of recruitment Sven Mislintat waxed lyrical about Terzic to The Times, he said: “[He has a] strong personality, with top-class analytical qualities and tactical understanding, clear about what kind of football his teams are best suited to. By that I mean he is not narrow-minded. He’ll be brave. He’ll make the difficult decisions.”

Many of the Dortmund players have taken to the caretaker, too, after young winger Gio Reyna praised him as he “lets me be free as an attacker.”

Terzic has won 61.2% of matches since taking control halfway through the season, which is a substantial improvement to Mourinho, who was sacked with a 52% win record.

It would certainly be a major gamble to appoint the 38-year-old but given Levy was interested in 33-year-old Julian Nagelsmann as a top target, he should have no qualms about the emerging Dortmund man.

An attack-minded, young and progressive coach that knows the league sounds like the perfect blueprint, so the Spurs chairman must make a bold push for him if the interest is genuine.

AND in other news, Spurs can forget about keeping Kane if Levy hires “exceptional” 48 y/o lauded by Guardiola…

MANCHESTER, England – Fast bowler Nathan Bracken has been given the all-clear to remain on Australia’s cricket tour of England.

Will Swanton12-Jun-2001MANCHESTER, England – Fast bowler Nathan Bracken has been given theall-clear to remain on Australia’s cricket tour of England.Bracken received the results of an MRI scan on his left shoulder thismorning which revealed that fears about suspected torn ligaments wereunfounded.Bracken will not play for two weeks while he does strengthening work andphysiotherapy on his shoulder.”At the moment we are just taking it as it comes,” Bracken said atAustralian training at Old Trafford today.”It wasn’t actually that bad, the instability basically just caused a bit ofextra strain on the nerve.”It was just a concern because it was something I hadn’t felt before.”Bracken’s fellow fast bowlers Jason Gillespie (hamstring) and Damien Fleming(calf) trained strongly this morning after their recent injury problems andthey will be available for the one-day match against England here onThursday.However, Bracken will remain in cotton wool for the time being.There were fears yesterday that Bracken’s injury was worse than previouslythought.”Myself and (team physiotherapist) Pat Farhart were really the only two whoknew the extent of it,” said Bracken.”I could do pretty much everything – I could lift, I could move the armfreely and most of it was pretty much pain free.”I know there’s been a bit of speculation about what has gone wrong but Ididn’t want to put anything out there because I didn’t know.”But it is clear, it’s fine and it’s ready to go.”

The Somerset squad spent a hard day at the Royal Marine Commando Training Centre at Lympstone, near Exeter today

Richard Walsh27-Mar-2002The Somerset squad spent a hard day at the Royal Marine Commando Training Centre at Lympstone, near Exeter today.What they experienced during their time at the Commando Training Centre will no doubt remain in their memories for many years to come, and in a large number of cases the activities will have pushed them to the limit of their physical endurance.On arrival at the camp the players swapped their tracksuits and trainers for combat suits and regulation issue military boots, before going for a briefing where they were told that the day would centre around a series of team building activities.As soon as they made their way out towards the assault course it became clear that they were most certainly in for a gruelling day.The squad of 18, which included Darren Veness, Head of Injury Prevention, Club Physio Ross Dewar and Fitness Instructor Andy Hurry were divided into three teams and undertook a series of timed challenges which incorporated all or part of the assault course.After the assault course activities, which lasted almost ninety minutes the players moved down to the banks of the River Exe where they were issued with another team challenge, which concluded with an informal game of nine-a-side rugby.At the end of all of that the players were covered in thick black mud and all of them had to be hosed down, before changing for lunch and then moving on to the afternoon activities, which centred on the River Exe.The overwhelming response from all of the squad was the day had been a great success.Darren Veness told me: “It was an outstanding day and an amazing experience for everybody. It was hard work but well worth it. Certainly it made me realise just how fit the marines are when you think that they do the same exercises with a thirty two pound pack on their backs!”Steffan Jones told me: “It was good fun, and about what I expected. I was well impressed with the mud rugby, except you couldn’t see the try line!”All-rounder Pete Trego, who demonstrated considerable skill on the ropes and who was just about the muddiest at the end of the morning, said: “It was great fun, a top drawer activity. It was good to be able to get my own back on some of my mates in the mud rugby, but I expect I’ll pay for that later on in the season.”Rob Turner, who has just launched his benefit year, said: “It was hard work but good fun. Certainly I have never experienced anything like that before.”The day at Lympstone came about as a result of Fitness Instructor Andy Hurry making contact with the Commanding Officer at the camp, Lt. Colonel Andy Canning, who invited the Somerset squad down to use the facilities.He told me: “I’m a cricket fan and a member of Somerset County Cricket Club so I am delighted to be able to invite our local first-class team down to use our facilities. We have lots of sporting groups at Lympstone, including the England Rugby Union side, but Somerset are always welcome here.”Andy Hurry told me: “The day worked really well for us and was good fun. It was a team building exercise and what happened here will have helped us to gel even more as a team. What they don’t realise is just how hard that they have actually worked here. I’m pretty pleased with the way that everything has worked out, and it has brought back a lot of memories for me of the time that I spent down here as a P.T.I.”Royal Marine Fitness Instructor Paul Clark said: “It all went very well, and they worked hard. I was impressed with their level of fitness, especially as cricket is a girl’s game!”Without doubt the Somerset players will have learned a lot from the day, and will be the richer for their team building experiences at the Commando Training Centre at Lympstone.At the end Steffan Jones told me: “I reckon that when the season starts Somerset will be the fittest squad of players on the county circuit,” which is a tribute to all of the hard work that the players and everyone at the club have put in through the winter, and are building upon before the first championship match against Sussex which is exactly a month today.

If and when Eddie Howe finally becomes the new manager of Celtic Football Club, this weekend could well be seen as a landmark one in the Hoops’ chase.

It has been a tired and drawn-out saga full of twists and turns, but the Bhoys could finally be closing in on their man. Celtic have been without a permanent manager since Neil Lennon departed in February and the top brass at Parkhead have struggled to find a replacement.

They have been in negotiations with Howe for two months, but they could now be closer than ever to concluding a deal after a huge development on Saturday afternoon.

The Green Brigade will have been watching Bournemouth’s Championship play-off clash with bated breath yesterday. After all, if the Cherries tasted defeat, it would bring the Hoops within touching distance of Howe and his desired coaching staff.

One of the delays in announcing the 43-year-old has been down to the backroom team he wants to bring with him to Paradise. He has been hoping to convince Bournemouth coaches Simon Weatherstone and Steven Purches to make the move north as well, but they’ve had to wait for the Cherries to finish their season.

Fortunately for Celtic, Bournemouth’s campaign is now done and dusted. The south coast side took a lead to Brentford in the semi-final second leg clash and scored first in west London but still managed to crash out.

The Bees produced a tremendous fightback, with Thomas Frank’s side prevailing 3-1 in London on Saturday.

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One of the goalscorers happened to be a certain Ivan Toney, a striker who was so close to joining Celtic last summer. The 32-goal hitman had visited Paradise and a deal looked to be on the table. They ultimately had a bid rejected but the striker has now done the Hoops a massive favour.

With Bournemouth failing to reach the promised land of the Premier League, it may well be easier to lure some of their backroom staff to Lennoxtown. After all, promotion bonuses and salary increases are now no longer an option for the likes of Weatherstone and Purches.

Consequently, it should be plain sailing for Howe and his staff from here. A deal to name the Englishman as their next manager feels like it’s edging ever closer.

AND in other news, Celtic begin negotiations to sign 22-goal beast, he’d be a huge upgrade on Elyounoussi…