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Three Tottenham Hotspur players are set to be fined by the club for going away on international duty after the red list countries agreement was put into place, according to Alasdair Gold for football.london.

The Lowdown: Premier League agreement

Towards the end of August, it was announced that Premier League clubs would refuse to release players who play for red list countries during the current international break.

It was thought that the agreement would impact between 50 and 60 players. The agreement was put into place amid the concerns of players’ risk to injury or being forced in a hotel for 10 days, whilst there were also concerns over the suitability of food available to players when quarantining in hotels.

Any players who went on international duty would be banned from playing for their clubs for the international window, which is until September 9 plus another five days, duly excluding them from next weekend’s games.

The Latest: Spurs fuming with trio

According to Gold for football.london, Argentina internationals Cristian Romero and Giovani Lo Celso are due to be fined when they return to Tottenham, with club bosses reportedly angry with the pair for travelling in the first place.

Davinson Sanchez is also set to be fined for his decision to go against club wishes, with the Colombia defender playing in both 1-1 draws with Bolivia and Paraguay in the World Cup qualifying stage in recent fays.

Gold said that there is confusion over the return of Romero and Lo Celso, especially after Sunday evening’s dramatic events between Argentina and Brazil, where ANVISA claimed that four Premier League players had entered the latter country without declaring that they had arrived from the UK.

The Verdict: Troubling situation

With Premier League clubs’ decision to not release players for international matches, the players who didn’t follow their employer’s demands can justifiably face punishment.

The drama in the Brazil and Argentina contest could spread further concerns regarding future international breaks, the next of which comes in October.

For Spurs, who are now set to be without three players for their London derby with Crystal Palace on Saturday lunchtime due to quarantine, manager Nuno Espirito Santo won’t be happy with the conduct of the trio, who will hopefully learn from their reckless actions.

In other news, Fabio Paratici has been full of praise for ‘most talented in Europe’ starlet. Find out more here.

South Australia’s brave push to stay in contention for the Sheffield Shield final may be futile despite their outclassing of Western Australia

Cricinfo staff28-Feb-2009Western Australia 243 and 5 for 149 (Robinson 46) trail South Australia 9 for 457 dec (Harris 124, Manou 85, O’Brien 55, Voges 4-97) by 65 runs
Scorecard
Points table

Graham Manou’s batting has improved to the point where he narrowly missed three centuries in consecutive games © Getty Images
South Australia’s brave push to stay in contention for the Sheffield Shield final may be futile despite their outclassing of the fourth-placed Western Australia. If Queensland or Tasmania win in the other matches, the Redbacks’ chances will be over for another year, but once again they will be able to point to strong form at the end of the season.Graham Manou’s 85 and 55 for Aaron O’Brien continued the strong work of the South Australia batsmen as they declared at 9 for 457. Manou narrowly missed reaching three hundreds in as many games when he fell to the part-time spin of Adam Voges. Voges chipped in with 4 for 97 while Brett Dorey was next on the list with 2 for 86.Carrying an advantage of 214, the visitors quickly strengthened their position with the wickets of the openers Luke Towers (0) and Liam Davis (24). David Bandy and Voges followed, leaving the Warriors at 4 for 64, and they also lost Wes Robinson for 46 before stumps. Luke Pomersbach was 43 as they finished the day at 5 for 149, needing 65 runs to make South Australia bat again.

The legspinner Bryce McGain retains hope of making the Ashes tour and says he still has confidence in his bowling despite his mauling on debut

Cricinfo staff25-Mar-2009
Times were tough for Bryce McGain in Cape Town © Getty Images
The legspinner Bryce McGain retains hope of making the Ashes tour and says he still has confidence in his bowling despite his mauling on debut in South Africa. McGain, who was 37 on Wednesday, returned 0 for 149 in 18 overs at Cape Town, but said after landing in Australia he hadn’t lost his ability to bowl.”Sometimes that’s the way it is, you get thrown into the fire,” he told the Herald Sun. “It was a bit of a challenge. They had nothing to lose. They were 2 for 200 or whatever and they just went after it.”The night before I slid a few past the bat, and if I’d taken an edge similar to what [Paul] Harris did to get [Phillip] Hughes, suddenly their mindset is going to be very different, but it wasn’t. There wasn’t much more I could do. The ball was drifting, it was turning, and they were coming down and just whacking it.”Despite his struggles, McGain said wearing the baggy green was “the most uplifting feeling I’ve ever experienced”. “I was thinking about the whole journey when I was being presented with my cap,” he said. “I certainly don’t intend it to be over after just one game.”Support for McGain has come from Shane Warne, who also struggled in his opening Test before going on to a record-breaking career. “[Warne] sent me a text message to let me know he went for 150 on debut,” McGain said.”Obviously I would have liked to have performed a bit better, to have tied things down a bit better. But it was a couple of days of bowling, that’s all. It doesn’t mean I can’t bowl. As disappointing as it was, I haven’t lost my confidence.”Warne tormented England, who traditionally struggle with legspinners, and McGain is now forced into more waiting. “It’s out of my hands whether I get picked or not [for the Ashes],” he said. “There is a bit of time between now and then. It depends on the selectors deciding what type of spinner they want to send.”

Alan Hutton has commented on the injury sustained by Rangers’ Nathan Patterson on international duty.

What’s the latest?

The former Ibrox full-back has claimed that the 19-year-old’s injury whilst away with Scotland is a strange situation.

Scotland manager Steve Clarke refused to go into detail regarding the injury and Hutton believes it is a frustrating, and surprising, blow for the defender.

He told Football Insider: “It will be frustrating, especially after such a good performance.

“Everybody, rightly so, has been talking him up. He’s the future of Scotland so far Steve Clarke to be missing him for this game is a big blow.

“The circumstances, we don’t really know what knock it is. Nothing’s really come out. It didn’t look like he was carrying anything while he was playing it. He was energetic up and down the line so it’s a bit of a strange one.

“Hopefully it’s not too bad because obviously, going back to Rangers, he is looking to push Tavernier all the way this season.

“He’ll want to keep fit and build on the momentum that he’s got through this Scotland camp.”

Concern

Steven Gerrard will be concerned by Patterson’s situation as it remains unclear exactly what has happened to him, making it a worrying update. He will presumably be heading back to Glasgow for tests with Rangers’ medical staff so they can assess the knock and determine how serious it is, but as it stands its mysterious nature could be a cause for concern for the Gers boss.

As Hutton said, it is also a frustrating blow for Gerrard and Patterson. The 19-year-old played the full 90 minutes as Scotland beat Moldova 1-0, recording a solid WhoScored rating of 6.76. He made one tackle and three interceptions whilst playing as a right midfielder, instead of his regular right-back position, as he displayed his defensive nous.

Patterson averaged WhoScored ratings of 6.78 and 6.94 in the Scottish Premiership and Europa League respectively last term, playing nine games between the two competitions. This suggests that he has the quality to come in and provide a respectable standard of performance when called upon by Gerrard, which is why his absence with a potentially long-term injury would be a blow for Gers.

Whilst James Tavernier is the first-choice right-back at Ibrox, Gerrard could need to turn to Patterson if the former Newcastle man is missing through injury or suspension himself, which is why he will be frustrated by this ‘strange’ situation.

Patterson could also be seen as the long-term successor to Tavernier, who turns 30 next month, which means that the Gers boss may want to slowly ease him into playing more regularly to make the transition easier for him further down the line.

AND in other news, 93 touches: Rangers powerhouse stole the show for his country with 96% pass accuracy…

How do Everton replace Dominic Calvert-Lewin? The answer is an easy one; they probably can’t.

The Toffees have found that out the hard way in the last couple of weeks with Richarlison and now Salomon Rondon struggling to replicate the Englishman’s game.

Richarlison starred up front for Brazil at the Tokyo Olympics with his five goals leading them to a famous gold medal.

Yet, despite Everton beating Burnley 3-1 last weekend, he was poor in the final third. During the course of the match, he completed just 64% of his passes in a difficult display.

The Brazilian wasn’t in the squad for their trip to Aston Villa on Saturday evening as Rondon was rewarded with his first start in Everton colours. He has been a loyal servant to Rafa Benitez throughout his career and is now playing for the Spaniard at his third club.

However, he did little to prove why the manger brought him to Goodison Park on transfer deadline day as they suffered a torrid 3-0 defeat.

Everton didn’t trouble Emi Martinez much in the Villa goal, with Rondon having little impact in the final third. He did receive a chance at the near post in the first half but prodded wide in what was his most promising moment of the entire encounter.

The Venezuelan was taken off just after the hour mark having endured a nightmare display at the first real opportunity he’s had to impress Toffees supporters.

During the course of his time on the field, Rondon completed just five of his 13 passes, leading to a success rate of only 38%. That was comfortably the worst tally of any player to start the clash from either side.

Furthermore, he gave away possession 11 times from 18 touches, which means that for every 1.6 touches he had of the ball, Rondon was losing it to the opposition. On top of that, the powerful striker also failed to show much in terms of his physicality, winning only five of the 20 duels that he contested.

The forward will hopefully improve in due course but at the moment he has an ideal opportunity to actually play ahead of the injured Calvert-Lewin.

It’s unlikely that it will happen again this season, so Rondon simply has to take advantage of the game-time that he’s set to earn. This was not a good start.

AND in other news, Everton may have their new Godfrey in rarely-seen 17 y/o who Unsworth dubbed “superb”…

The 2009 season of the IPL could have been held in India had the tournament’s organisers listened to suggestions and not put pressure on the government, India’s home minister P Chidambaram has said

Cricinfo staff10-Apr-2009The 2009 season of the IPL could have been held in India had the tournament’s organisers listened to suggestions and not put pressure on the government, India’s home minister P Chidambaram has said. The Twenty20 tournament was shifted to South Africa after the Indian government said it could not guarantee adequate security because of a clash of dates with the country’s general elections.”We could have done it [held the tournament in India], but only if they [IPL officials] had reflected on the concerns of the police and not tried to pressurise the [state] chief ministers,” Chidambaram told the news channel CNN-IBN. “I am not letting out any secret by that. If they had only listened to the concerns of the police, this tournament could have been played in two parts. First the league part and then give a break for the critical three or four week period and then the knock-out part.””But they were trying to be too clever by putting the pressure on chief ministers and ultimately the police told the chief ministers that ‘sorry, we cannot provide security’.”However, the IPL organisers had said that it was not possible to play the tournament in two parts because of a clash with the World Twenty20 in England in June and a packed international schedule thereafter. The IPL was initially scheduled to be held in India between April 10 and May 24; it will now start in South Africa on April 18.

Tottenham Hotspur remain interested in Nicolo Zaniolo, according to reports in Italy…

What’s the word?

Calciomercato claim that AS Roma are keen on tying down the 22-year-old attacking midfielder to a new contract at the Stadio Olimpico, as he current deal expires in 2024.

It’s thought that the Italian playmaker is keen to sign but Spurs are in the market to land him, having been linked to him in summer 2020. Corriere dello Sport (via Sport Witness) even suggested that the north Londoners had a bid knocked back.

Zaniolo is currently valued at £36m by Transfermarkt.

Desperate need

Spurs must do all in their power to try and secure a move for the Roma star this January.

Nuno Santo’s side have been clearly lacking a creative influence since the start of the season – a Christian Eriksen-type player who can provide goals and assists in the final third.

Indeed, as per The Athletic, Spurs have recorded the lowest expected goals (4.42 xG) of any team in the Premier League, even those in the relegation zone. They have also only created two big chances and are second-bottom for total shots (46).

Only three teams have actually scored fewer goals than the Lilywhites, who possess a lethal frontline involving Harry Kane and Heung-min Son.

It’s an alarming issue which needs to be fixed in the transfer market and there won’t be many better candidates than Zaniolo.

Once described as a “modern mezzala” by former Inter Milan coach Stefano Vecchi, the young Italy international has been likened to Premier League greats Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard, which bodes well for his potential fit in England, as well as the fact that they were both lethal in and around the opposition’s penalty box.

A serious injury ruled him out of featuring in 2020/21 but, during the previous campaign, the 22-year-old emerged as one of Roma’s attacking gems. He scored eight goals and provided four assists across Serie A and the Europa League, whilst also averaging 2.9 dribbles and 1.2 key passes per game, via WhoScored.

Zaniolo’s talent has also caught the eye of Roma’s record appearance maker, highest goalscorer and club legend Francesco Totti, who believes that the emerging talent “plays like a veteran” and “has explosive strength and technique, and everything it takes to become a truly great player.”

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Harry Winks and Oliver Skipp offer very little in the final third, whilst the likes of Tanguy Ndombele, Dele Alli and Giovani Lo Celso have struggled to step up in the past season or so.

It would make the world of sense for Spurs sporting director Fabio Paratici to launch a move for Zaniolo at the turn of the year. He can play out wide or through the middle and is clearly someone who could solve Nuno’s creative problems.

Whatever the price, the Premier League outfit must pay it.

AND in other news, “They will..”: Romano reveals what Paratici is planning at Spurs, fans will be buzzing…

A round-up of matches from the Super Eights of the World Cup Qualifiers tournament in South Africa

Cricinfo staff15-Apr-2009Ireland booked their place in the 2011 World Cup after a clinical six-wicket victory over Netherlands in Pretoria. After opting to field, Ireland’s seamers struck regularly to prevent any of the partnerships between Netherlands’ batsmen from reaching threatening proportions. Opener Alexei Kervezee anchored the innings with a patient 77, and Netherlands had a solid platform to take off from as they progressed to 163 for 4. Kervezee was then stumped, but quick 20s from Peter Borren and Tom de Grooth lifted them to 222. Ireland were never in trouble during their chase after their openers provided a steady beginning. The stand ended on 60 when Gary Wilson was caught behind, but 70s from William Porterfield and Eoin Morgan put them on track for a comfortable victory, which was acheived in the 45th over.”We are obviously delighted to have achieved our primary objective which was to qualify for the World Cup,” Ireland manager Roy Torrens told AFP. “Now we must maintain the momentum and win the final on Sunday. We loved every minute of the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies and everyone has worked so hard to reach the finals again.”Our batting and fielding have been outstanding throughout this tournament and our bowlers have always given us fair targets to chase like today against the Dutch. Captain William Porterfield has set a wonderful example in the field. I rate him among the best in the world and his exploits rub off on the rest of the squad.”UAE kept their chances of making the semi-finals of the World Cup Qualifiers alive by beating Canada by five wickets and 112 balls to spare in Krugersdorp. The win also gave them a chance of finishing in the top six in the Super Eight, which will give them ODI status for the next four years. Canada made a sound start after choosing to bat, reaching 95 for 1 in the 20th over before they collapsed. Sandeep Jyoti was their top-scorer with 43 as they folded for 194. Saqib Ali was UAE’s best bowler with 3 for 20. Canada were given a powerful start by opener Amjad Javed who smashed 40 off 23 balls. The middle-order batsmen made useful contributions and Khurram Khan scored an unbeaten half-century to lead his team to victory in the 32nd over.Kenya slumped to a humiliating 201-run defeat against Namibia, who started the day at the bottom of the table, in Johannesburg. Kenya never recovered from the punishing start Namibia got from their openers, Raymond van Schoor and Jan-Berrie Berger. The pair put on 191 in 31 overs before Berger was dismissed for a whirlwind 125. van Schoor fell soon after for a more measured 61, and Kenya managed to pull things back to an extent by bowling out Namibia for 305. Kenya made a bright start, racing to 27 after 3.1 overs, but a slew of strikes from Namibia’s new-ball bowlers, Gerry Synman and Louis Klazinga, reduced them to 51 for 5 after 10 overs. That effectively ended their chances, and they barely managed to get the total to triple-digits before folding in the 30th over.Click here for Will Luke’s bulletin for the match between Afghanistan and Scotland in Benoni.

Super Eight Team Mat Won Lost Tied N/R Pts Net RR For Against

Ireland 6 5 1 00 10 +0.860 1226/245.5 1238/300.0Canada 6 4 2 0 08 +0.855 1438/283.0 1151/272.2 Kenya 6 3 3 0 0 6+0.006 1072/262.2 1146/280.5 Netherlands 63 3 0 0 6 -0.0191395/289.5 1419/293.4 U.A.E. 6 33 0 0 6 -0.813 1168/277.51204/240.0 Namibia 6 2 40 0 4 -0.022 1428/300.0 1397/292.1 Afghanistan 6 2 4 00 4 -0.316 1392/300.0 1448/292.1Scotland 6 2 4 0 04 -0.576 1210/300.0 1326/287.4

Nigel Jemson, the former Nottingham Forest striker, has questioned whether John Terry would be ready to take over at the club if he was approached.

Forest are attempting to find a replacement for Chris Hughton after the club made the decision to sack the manager in midweek after their 2-0 defeat to Middlesbrough.

That result meant that, under Hughton’s management, Forest did not win a game this season, drawing against Derby County and losing the other six fixtures in the Championship.

Terry is on the lookout for his first managerial job after leaving his role as Aston Villa assistant, and he has been linked with a potential move to the City Ground.

The former Chelsea captain spent a total of three years as the assistant to Dean Smith and Jemson believes that the job may be too big a task for him to take on as his first out-and-out role in management.

He said: “People talk about John Terry. Is it too big a challenge for his first job? He’s got to start somewhere, obviously.

“I know he’s distanced himself from it when Chris was in charge but now Chris has gone, whether that would be an attractive offer for John is the question.”

The ECB chief executive, David Collier, has defended the decision to stage a low-key two-Test series against West Indies so early in the English season, saying that the board had no choice but to go through with the fixtures because of contractual obligat

Cricinfo staff15-May-2009The ECB chief executive, David Collier, has defended the decision to stage a low-key two-Test series against West Indies so early in the English season, saying that the board had no choice but to go through with the fixtures because of contractual obligations with the host broadcaster, Sky.The ECB signed a new four-year deal with Sky television last summer, which obliges them to stage seven Tests and 10 one-day internationals each summer. “We had broadcasting contracts in place anyway that we would either have to re-negotiate or breach in some way, shape or form,” said Collier.After a first Test at Lord’s that finished before the weekend, the second Test at Durham has been marred by poor spectator turn-out and bad weather, with the first day attracting only 3000 advance sales and the second day being washed out entirely.But Collier insisted the ECB were right to go ahead with the series, which falls outside the Future Tours Programme having originally been allocated to Zimbabwe. He claimed that in an Ashes year, the need for the Test side to hone their skills in home conditions was paramount, especially with the ICC World Twenty20 taking up valuable practice time in June.”We believe Test cricket is very much the pinnacle, and we believe very, very strongly that an Ashes summer is a major summer for us,” said Collier. “I think we would have been criticised had we not had any preparation for the England team, particularly at a time where a number of young players are starting to establish themselves in the side.””From a playing point of view we desperately wanted a Test match or two Test matches, which is the minimum for an official ICC Test series. I think from a cricket point of view it is important we play Test-match cricket. From a cricketing point of view it was the right thing to do.”