All posts by h716a5.icu

Former Everton star Michael Ball believes a move to sign Sander Berge could be a shrewd one for the Toffees.

The club have been linked with a potential swoop to sign the defensive midfielder after the Blades were relegated to the Championship.

Berge enjoyed a breakthrough season in the Premier League when Sheffield United finished ninth, impressing in his 14 appearances.

He has struggled with injuries, however, and missed a large chunk of the 2020/21 season as the Blades finished rock-bottom.

Since their return to the Championship, Berge has played twice, and Ball believes he was quite simply the best player on the pitch when they took on Birmingham City, even though they lost the game 1-0.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, Ball made the claim that he is too good for the second-tier, saying: “It always seems to be the same clubs linked to the same players, I think Arsenal are interested in him again and also Everton but I watched his game last week and he was head and shoulders the best player on the pitch.

“He probably is too good for the Championship.”

Berge has made a total of 34 appearances for the Blades and has also won 24 caps for Norway. He is valued at £16.2m by Transfermarkt.

With under 24 hours until the fate of England’s tour of India is decided, Peter Moores has admitted that both Andrew Flintoff and Steve Harmison remain concerned about returning to the subcontinent for the two-Test series which begins on Thursday

Cricinfo staff06-Dec-2008
Steve Harmison and Andrew Flintoff, best friends, are far from certain about travelling back to India © Getty Images
With less than 24 hours before the fate of England’s tour of India is decided, Peter Moores has admitted that both Andrew Flintoff and Steve Harmison remain concerned about returning to the subcontinent for the two-Test series which begins on Thursday.England flew back from India after the Mumbai terrorists struck several high-profile establishments. Ever since, the tour’s future has been in doubt. But in flying to the halfway-house of Abu Dhabi on Friday, and with their security consultant Reg Dickason assessing the venues in Chennai and Mohali, it is still hoped that the series will go ahead. A final decision will be made once Hugh Morris, managing director of England Cricket, and Sean Morris, chief executive of the Professional Cricketers’ Association, return to the players’ camp in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.England have been cautiously optimistic about returning to India ever since the attacks, but remain insistent that they will only make their decision on the security advice they are given. Yet with only five days to go until the first Test, Moores admitted that certain players were “in different places” – in other words, uncertain or undecided – and those included Flintoff and Harmison, two of his key weapons. “I’m fairly confident everybody will go if the security report is okay,” Moores told at a press conference this afternoon. “But it is a difficult situation and everybody sees things differently. Individuals have different views. The worry is that if somebody makes their choice one way or the other they get marginalised for it.”Players are in different places. There are players I’ve spoken to more than others. Some make a decision quite quickly. For others it takes a bit longer. Fred has had issues and it’s fair to say Steve Harmison has as well. The important message from me is that we respect people and allow them to have their views. That’s okay – they are human beings,” Moores said. “What I do know about those two guys is that they are massively proud to play for their country and both have missed out on Test match cricket and are both desperate to play again.”Worryingly for England, with only five days to go until the Chennai Test, their practice session today was hampered by rain in a city more used to sandstorms than showers. Should Flintoff, Harmison or any other player make himself unavailable, England will dip into the Performance Programme squad whose numbers swell the party to 38 (24 players).Flintoff, inevitably, remains England’s key player but Moores refuses to place any pressure on him or other players whose minds are not yet made up. “The more you get to know Freddie you understand that he is a highly articulate man, he’s been round the block and knows international sport and knows what he wants. That’s his strength as a person,” Moores said. “In this instance, he quite rightly wants to take all the information in and make his call. If he thinks it’s right he will go and represent his country.”If he thinks he can’t, that will be a tough decision for him, and it will be his decision. You have to want to go. If you force people to go that can have an equally damaging effect. They have to go for the right reasons. I want us to go proud as an England team and put on an entertaining spectacle for the whole of cricket – English fans, Indian fans – and put security to the back of the mind and get on with the game.”

Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful was left ruing what could have been, after he hosts looked to be on course to pick up their first tri-series trophy, only to be pipped at the post by Sri Lanka who held on for a two-wicket victory in the final in Mirpu

Cricinfo staff16-Jan-2009
Shakib Al Hasan: “We were excited and also a touch nervous probably because we have not been in a situation like this before” © Getty Images
Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful was left ruing what could have been, after the hosts looked to be on course to pick up their first tri-series trophy, only to be pipped at the post by Sri Lanka who held on for a two-wicket victory in the final in Mirpur.”It is a sinking feeling,” he said. “Defending 152 is very tough but when Shakib ran Sanath Jayasuriya out first ball then we all felt that it could be our day. We believed in ourselves and we knew that the the Sri Lankan top-order was not in the best of form. Our plan was to bowl straight and to be at our best in the field.”Sri Lanka had delayed taking their Powerplay and Muttiah Muralitharan, with a batting average of 6.01 coming into this game, picked the perfect time to make his highest ODI score with Sri Lanka reeling at 114 for 8.He took apart Rubel Hossain, hitting him for three fours and a six in the 46th over, but Ashraful’s move to persist with Rubel for the last power play as well, horribly backfired as Murali clouted another four and a six to level the scores with two overs to spare.”The same bowler had been outstanding in the same situation in the last match,” said Ashraful. “We had planned on giving him the ball in the Powerplay because he has the extra pace and he can bowl the bouncer and the yorker effectively. With Muralitharan on strike, I backed him to get a wicket but he couldn’t pitch it in the spots he wanted. In the end it was an unbelievable innings from Murali.”Batsman Shakib Al Hasan admitted that nerves did play a part during the final but Bangladesh would still take heart from their strong showing. “We were excited and also a touch nervous probably because we have not been in a situation like this before,” he said. “I thought we brought out our best in the field. I thought this final was fantastic education for us and we will benefit from this. We have improved a lot, we the players feel it and we are getting better and stronger all the time. I think it is showing.”

One of the key Watford transfer sagas of the summer looks to be finally over, with reports suggesting that Will Hughes will join Crystal Palace in the coming days.

What’s the word?

Despite playing a key role in Watford’s promotion from the Championship last season, the Hornets were unable to agree to a new contract with the former Derby County man, which meant that an exit from Vicarage Road was always likely to be on the cards.

The Athletic suggested last month that Watford offered the 26-year-old a new five-year contract with the club but that it was rejected, and a decision was made to relegate him to the U23s as a result.

He failed to feature in any of Watford’s pre-season fixtures and has been absent for both of their Premier League games thus far, whilst the club have worked quickly to bring in replacements for the Englishman, with Imran Louza, Peter Etebo and Juraj Kucka all joining the club as midfield options this summer.

However, it now seems as if he has agreed a move away from Vicarage Road, with journalist Alan Nixon claiming that Palace are set to sign him in a £10m deal.

Is losing Hughes a blow for Watford?

Considering Hughes’ excellent performances last season, Watford fans will no doubt be disappointed that he won’t remain a Hornets player this season, especially as he is joining potential relegation battling rivals in Crystal Palace.

Last season saw the £6.3m-rated midfielder make 30 appearances in the second tier, in which he contributed two goals and averaged an impressive 6.85 rating from WhoScored for his performances.

Although Etebo and Kucka both impressed on their debuts against Aston Villa in the opening fixture, the latter has picked up an injury, and Watford could seriously miss Hughes’ calmness on the ball in the top-flight this season, as evidenced by the second goal they conceded at Brighton last time out.

However, it is good news that the transfer saga looks to be finally over, as it will allow Xisco Munoz to move on from this and potentially put the funds received towards a new signing of his own.

And, in other news… 100% duels lost: £4.05m-rated Watford dud let Xisco down vs Brighton

According to Jordan Campbell, Nikola Katic is on the verge of sealing a loan move to Hajduk Split from Glasgow Rangers.

The Lowdown: Katic needs game time

As the Gers won the Premiership for the first time in 10 years last term, Katic unfortunately did not play a single minute (Transfermarkt) – a bad injury in pre-season kept him out of the whole campaign (BBC).

He now needs game-time, and a solution appears to have been found.

The Latest: Katic to make loan move

As per The Athletic reporter Campbell on Twitter, £1.44m-valued Katic (Transfermarkt) is set to move out on loan.

He tweeted: “Understand that Nikola Katic is heading on loan to a Croatian club. Rangers have built up his fitness this summer but he needs to play football after such a long time out. Expect that there will be a recall clause in the deal, as is common when a player is being monitored.”

The Verdict: Perfect

It is quite obvious that Katic needs to play. After not featuring at all last season, he has not been picked by Steven Gerrard so far this term either. With Connor Goldson, Filip Helander, Jack Simpson and Leon Balogun to choose from in terms of centre-backs, Gerrard has plenty of options in that role.

This loan deal for Katic is not yet complete, but all involved should hope it gets completed before the window slams shut later today so that the Croatian can enjoy a fresh start elsewhere and make up for lost time.

With the clever decision to add in a recall clause, this feels like a win-win for all parties involved.

In other news, this former Gers ace could complete a shock move across the city.

Steve Tikolo, the Kenya captain, has said the team will have to pull up their socks before the ICC World Cup Qualifier in South Africa in April

Cricinfo staff10-Feb-2009
Steve Tikolo, 37, has played at four World Cups for Kenya © AFP
Steve Tikolo, the Kenya captain, has said the team will have to pull up their socks before the ICC World Cup Qualifier in South Africa in April. Kenya will be among 12 teams battling it out for a place at the 2011 World Cup in the subcontinent, with the top four progressing.”There was very little improvement on our side,” Tikolo told the after the team’s recent 5-0 ODI loss to Zimbabwe. “We have to work hard on all the departments of the game: batting, bowling and fielding.”Zimbabwe won all the games by convincing margins, barring the third ODI when the visitors were reduced to 103 for 5 chasing 235. “To cut the flow of runs you must take wickets and to get runs one has to stay long enough at the crease and we are not doing that, ” Tikolo said.He felt the team had to score at least 250 to have a chance against Zimbabwe – the best they managed was 234 in the third match in Nairobi. Alex Obanda’s unbeaten 96 in the fourth ODI was the best score in the series but Kenya still managed only 219 – the second-best score was 29. Peter Kirsten, brother of Kenya coach Andy, has been working as a batting coach with the team.Kenya will train in Benoni, South Africa for ten days as part of its preparation for the qualifiers which will be held in the same country. Cricket Kenya chief executive Tom Tikolo said the trip was courtesy Cassim Suleman, Africa Cricket Association’s chief executive, who came forward to help the team after a training camp in Cape Town, organised by coach Andy, was shelved due to financial constraints.”The team will come back for a week after which they will return to South Africa where they will spend two weeks at the High Performance Centre in Pretoria,” Tom Tikolo said. “The squad will remain there for the qualifier.”Kenya have been drawn in Group B along with Netherlands, Bermuda, UAE, Denmark and Afghanistan. They kick off their campaign with a match against Netherlands on April 1, the opening day. The top four from each group makes it to the Super Eight stage.Kenya have made it to the last four World Cups and were surprise semi-finalists in the 2003 event.

A week ago Ravi Bopara was in the sleepy city of Christchurch, but the world is a small place these days. Now he is England’s Test No. 6 and is going to take some shifting

Andrew McGlashan in Barbados27-Feb-2009
‘I didn’t expect to play, I just came here thinking I’d be the spare batter and I never thought I’d get in’ © Getty Images
A week ago Ravi Bopara was in the sleepy city of Christchurch, but the world is a small place these days. Now he is England’s Test No. 6 and is going to take some shifting. A 41-hour journey through six time zones culminated in his maiden Test hundred as England declared on 600 for 6. It has all been worth it now.The calm acknowledgement of his century was not someone feeling huge amounts of pressure and he was even relaxed enough to unveil a Usain Bolt celebration. He was also able to shake of a nasty blow from Fidel Edwards, who struck him on the grill during a rapid burst that was enthralling to watch. It was a proper Test match initiation.”I felt as though I was a little early on it and it went straight into the grill, jarring it into the cheek,” Bopara said, while sporting a pair of sunglasses to hide the growing black eye. “I wouldn’t say it affected me, I think it’s one of those things you accept as a batter.”You are going to get hit now and then especially in Test cricket when you have someone bowling around 90mph,” he added. “I think [you] have to expect it. I felt as if they were going to come at me hard, they were chirping and all sorts of things but that’s part of Test cricket and it is good fun. That was one of quickest spells I’ve faced.”When he walked off with 104 to his name the contrast couldn’t have been starker from the last time left a Test field. It was the third Test against Sri Lanka, at Galle, in December 2007 and he had just been run out from slip by Mahela Jayawardene to complete a depressing pair and a miserable first series. He had actually collected three consecutive ducks and ended with 42 runs in five innings. In hindsight it was a promotion that came too early but, in similar circumstances to his recall here, England were trying to fill the hole left by Andrew Flintoff being injured.This time he passed that series tally in 60 balls and reached his hundred off 140 deliveries with an ease that suggested he done it many times before. “There were all those feelings you have as a youngster growing up about what it would feel like,” he said. “As a kid you dream of doing it at Lord’s, but I’ll take it any time.”Caveats do apply; West Indies’ bowling (Edwards apart) verged on awful at times, the fielding was slack and the pitch very flat. England face a huge task to take 20 wickets. He was also offered a life on 4 when Jerome Taylor spilled a chance at deep square-leg. But all Bopara could do was grasp his reprieve and make hay in the sunshine. He proceeded to show the sort of stroke play that lit up county cricket last season.Bopara was becoming a slightly tricky cricketer to work out. The abundant talent was clear right from his World Cup innings against Sri Lanka when he almost led England to victory, but it had yet to be translated into significant results. At times he’d looked a confused player, not surprising when you consider that in one-day cricket he has been tried in nearly every batting position.But anyone who can score a double hundred in 50-over cricket was always going toreturn, although his chance has come a little sooner than expected. That could have been a helping hand for Bopara. Coming in as a replacement can often mean expectations are lower.”I didn’t expect to play, I just came here thinking I’d be the spare batter and I never thought I’d get in,” he said. “I’ve tried to be patient first and not thought that I what to get back prove everyone wrong. I told myself to be patient, earn your chance by scoring runs for Essex and when you get it take it, but don’t worry about it too much and build it up too much before you get there.”This was another innings that showed how much luck and how much judgement goes into selecting a side. If England had a full strength squad out here neither Bopara or Tim Ambrose, who together added a rollicking 113 in 21 overs for the sixth wicket, would have played. Instead Flintoff is ruled out of the rest of the series and Matt Prior is already back on home soil visiting his new baby. If Prior was watching the sixth-wicket stand rather than being knee-deep in nappies he may have been sitting a little uneasily.As Flintoff boards his plane home tonight he may think that a few of Bopara’s runs are his. But Bopara looked classier in this one innings than Flintoff has managed in years. There was an elegance, touch and timing that Flintoff has never managed. Flintoff has always believed he is a Test number six, yet apart from one glorious 18 months he has never convinced. These are still early days for Bopara, but it was only a matter of when, and not if, he would show his class. What a difference a week makes.

A number of Liverpool supporters have shown their frustration at the Reds reportedly missing out on the signing of midfielder Marcel Sabitzer.

It’s fair to say that it was a disappointing summer at Anfield, with very little transfer business being done.

Ibrahima Konate arrived from RB Leipzig early in the transfer window, but he ended up being the only addition to Jurgen Klopp’s squad.

[freshpress-quiz id=“359326”]

Many were left frustrated with the lack of business, especially with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Romelu Lukaku and Jack Grealish joining their biggest Premier League title rivals.

It has now emerged that Liverpool missed out on signing Sabitzer, with the Austrian instead moving from Leipzig to Bayern Munich.

According to Goal‘s Neil Jones [via LFC Transfer Room on Twitter], the Reds looked into the idea of bringing the midfielder to Anfield, but it never materialised.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-liverpool-transfer-news-2/” title=”Latest Liverpool transfer news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=“none”]

Liverpool fans unhappy at Sabitzer rumour

These Liverpool fans took to Twitter to show their frustration.

“Just give us a break”

Credit: @Oteng_18

“‘Had a look’ oh that’s cool”

Credit: @MattyLewis01

“Interested fc…not surprised anymore”

Credit: @MarkAnthonyOloo

“A joke. We still don’t know how serious Firmino’s injury is”

Credit: @DavidBomehin

“We are a joke”

Credit: @bjorge_erik

“Would have been a great signing FSG are a joke”

Credit: @jasonbehan1

In other news, some Liverpool fans have been reacting to rumoured interest in one player. Find out who it is here.

Rangers were rocked by the news recently that Nathan Patterson had withdrawn from Scotland duty due to injury, which is a huge blow to Steven Gerrard at Ibrox.

What’s the word?

The right-back picked up a knock in the 1-0 win against Moldova at the weekend and has been forced to withdraw from the squad as a result, which suggests that he could be a doubt for Rangers’ next game, which sees them take on St Johnstone away from home this weekend.

Gerrard’s side are still recovering from their own injury and covid issues, with James Tavernier one of those who has been missing in recent fixtures after being forced to self-isolate, so it is unfortunate timing for the Gers that Patterson may not be available.

A big blow for Gerrard?

Although Leon Balogun impressed at right-back in the Old Firm derby win, it is not ideal for Gerrard to have Patterson potentially missing for upcoming games, especially considering the Gers’ busy schedule.

Hopefully, those who were out due to isolation in recent games weren’t too badly affected by their illness and will be close to full fitness by the time they travel to McDiarmid Park on Saturday, otherwise Rangers’ squad may end up looking very thin.

[freshpress-quiz id=“593776”]

Patterson has established himself as a key part of Gerrard’s squad over the past 12 months or so, initially breaking into the first-team when Tavernier was out injured last season and impressing so much that there were some calls for him to start ahead of the captain at right-back.

Alan Hutton and Shaun Maloney lauded Patterson’s “outstanding attributes” last season and his energy down the right-hand side has quickly helped to establish him as a fans favourite at Ibrox.

The 19-year-old was the subject of interest from Everton in the summer transfer window and looks set for a very bright future in the game, so Rangers fans will no doubt be gutted if he is set for a spell on the sidelines, as it increases the pressure on Tavernier to play nearly every game.

Therefore, it is undoubtedly a blow for Gerrard that Patterson could be unavailable for upcoming games after injuring himself on international duty.

And, in other news… 3 key passes: “Outstanding” Rangers ace emphasised his class with superb international display

Cricket South Africa (CSA) has decided to allow the current South African Test squad to turn out for their domestic teams between the second and third Tests against Australia

Cricinfo staff08-Mar-2009Cricket South Africa (CSA) has decided to allow the current South African Test squad to turn out for their domestic teams between the second and third Tests against Australia. Apart from Graeme Smith and Lonwabo Tsotsobe (injured) and Dale Steyn (rested), the entire 12-man squad will be released for the next round of SuperSport Series matches from next Thursday.Jacques Kallis, who copped a nasty blow on the chin from Mitchell Johnson on day two of the ongoing Test in Durban, will play as a batsman only.The next round of matches includes the Titans playing the Warriors at SuperSport Park, the Highveld Lions up against the Eagles at the Wanderers, and the Dolphins at home to the Cobras.”The suggestion was made to us by national coach Mickey Arthur and national captain Graeme Smith and we, as the selectors, thought it was an excellent idea,” said the selection convener Mike Procter.CSA will announce the squad for the third and final Test against Australia as well as the squad for the two Twenty20 internationals at the end of the Durban affair.