All posts by h716a5.icu

A number of Aston Villa fans have been reacting to Ezri Konsa’s Sunday social media post about teammate Tyrone Mings.

Mings started for England in their European Championships opener against Croatia on the weekend, impressing in a 1-0 win at Wembley.

The 28-year-old, who missed just two games under Dean Smith last season, was England’s third-best performer behind Raheem Sterling and Kalvin Phillips, as per WhoScored, recording a match rating of 7.15/10.

He completed 56 passes, made four interceptions, three clearances and committed zero fouls, with Villa sharing the stats from Mings’ display on Twitter shortly after the full-time whistle in London.

Konsa, on £32,000-a-week in the Midlands, clearly liked what he saw from his club partner and replied to Villa’s official tweet on Mings, simply saying:

“My boy”

Villa fans react

This is what these Villa fans had to say in reply to Konsa’s post on Mings, with many believing he should be with the Three Lions squad alongside his Villa teammate for the current major tournament.

“It’s robbery you’re not in the squad”Credit: @warrenavfc”You should’ve been there Ezri”Credit: @alfaromeo1957″How you’re not there with him is baffling! Get ready for 2022.”Credit: @7hinton”You should have been next to him”Credit: @AVFCFaithful_”You’ll get your chance soon”Credit: @catrinedwards18″Job done. Quality UTV”Credit: @RichardNokes2

In other news: Villa interested in Fulham ace, find out who it is here. 

It is the cricketing equivalent of the soccer World Cup’s Group of Death

Anand Vasu13-Sep-2002It is the cricketing equivalent of the soccer World Cup’s Group of Death. Pool Two sees India, Zimbabwe and England slog it out for a semi-final berth, and the action heats up for this group on Saturday as India and Zimbabwe attempt to set the turf on fire at the Premadasa stadium.On the opening day of the ICC Champions Trophy, Pakistan succumbed to Sri Lanka’s all-round show, and a confident India would not want to suffer a similar fate. Zimbabwe, with all the turmoil back home, could probably also do with the therapy a win affords. Heath Streak, a beleaguered skipper if there ever was one, has said more than once that he just wanted to focus on the game. Whether Zimbabwe can be clear-headed, let alone reach that elusive “zone” sportsmen constantly refer to in the heat of battle, remains to be seen.The Zimbabwe-India encounter, however, is clearly one where the form book means little. The men from Africa have the talent – the Flower brothers, Streak, Travis Friend and Ray Price with the ball – to shock the best in the world on their day. It goes without saying that India is the sort of team that can completely lose the plot from time to time, and Zimbabwe would do well to remember that their opponents have even lost to Kenya in their one-day past.On his part, Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly refused to underestimate Zimbabwe. “They are no pushovers. They are a very good one-day side, and we’ll have to play well to beat them,” said the skipper.Interestingly enough, these two teams have seen plenty of each other in recent times; in fact, for one particular stretch, they played each other in three Test series over the course of little more than a year. Zimbabwe did fare handily enough in a recent one-day series in India, leading 2-1 before losing 3-2. Ganguly explained that away saying, “We were a much-depleted side when we last played Zimbabwe at home. We had four or five of our players injured. We’re a full-strength side now.”For India, the past year has been an extremely successful one in the shorter version of the game. As Ganguly reminded gathered press personnel at Colombo, “We’re a much improved side. Over the last one and a half years, we’ve played really good cricket. We’re still so close and yet so far from winning a Test series overseas, but our one-day performances have been very good. We’ve won 80 percent of our one-day tournaments in the last year or so.”India’s recent successes have been made possible largely by virtue of some clever team composition. Whether it was coach John Wright or Ganguly who decided that Rahul Dravid must keep wicket in order to let the think-tank pick an extra batsman, we don’t know. But it has worked, and Dravid has fitted the role of a one-day cricketer more since he donned the gloves.Some say the fact that Dravid contributes behinds the stumps reduces the pressure when he bats. Others argue that the sheer mental and physical strain of doing both jobs is too much for Dravid. But if you ask the man himself, he sits somewhere between the two extremes.”As long as doing both can produce results, it’s fine,” said Dravid. “Initially I felt a bit worried about whether I’d be able to do the job or not, but as the results came in it got easier. We’ve won a lot of games where I’ve kept, and the confidence has come from that. It makes you feel good when you win the game. The debate will go on for a long time about whether it is the right move or not, but that’s not important. If the results are good, you don’t have to worry about what sort of combination you have.”That is of course true. In Indian cricket, everyone loves a winner, and you can get away with murder as long as you are winning. But one must view this ploy with a touch of skepticism if India have even stopped looking for a specialist keeper for the long run. Dravid is a keen student of the game and will do his best, one can be sure of that. “I admit it’s going to be a challenge keeping to the spinners in these conditions. I don’t claim to be a regular wicket-keeper who can do amazing things. All I can say is that I’m going out and giving it my best and working pretty hard at it too. Keeping the World Cup in mind, it will be a learning curve for me.”India may be looking to the World Cup already, but their opponents train their eyes on matters close at hand. “We are underdogs against both sides as per usual. England are playing well at the moment and still have the basis of a good side, despite their injuries, and India are a formidable side and a really difficult proposition,” said Andy Flower. The man who has made runs by the bucketful against India also warned that Zimbabwe’s bowling attack – medium-pace, as well as the spin of Grant Flower, Douglas Marillier and Ray Price – could be a handful in these conditions.The wicket at the Premadasa stadium is slow and has enough in it for the spinners, so few will be surprised if there is little of the slam-bang sort of cricket the subcontinent is so famous for. It might be a case where, to borrow one of Nasser Hussain’s favourite phrases, “turgid cricket” rules.

Wolves may be restricted to what they can spend in the ongoing transfer window but that hasn’t deterred new manager Bruno Lage from getting active.

They’ve already submitted a bid for Brazilian wonderkid Kaio Jorge but they’re now chasing someone a little more known to an English audience.

What’s the word?

One area Wolves are looking to strengthen this summer is defensively. They will need to improve on their left-back options with Marcal and Jonny out injured but centre-back is also an issue for Lage to fix.

With that in mind, the Old Gold are targeting a move for James Tarkowski.

That’s according to The Telegraph who suggest that Wolves have joined a queue alongside West Ham to sign the defender.

Burnley could entertain offers over the next few months with Tarkowski entering the final year of his contract at Turf Moor.

The Clarets rejected a bid of £30m from the Hammers 12 months ago but he will almost definitely be cheaper on this occasion.

Fixing a big problem

With finances running rather dry at Molineux, this signing would be absolutely ideal for Lage and Wolves.

Not only would they be landing a proven Premier League player at cut-price, but they’d be acquiring someone who would be an instant upgrade on their current options.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-wolves-transfer-news-alena-dike-neves-barisic” title=”Real the latest Wolves transfer news!”]

The Old Gold endured a wretched campaign from a defensive point of view last term, shipping 52 goals in the league. That was one fewer than relegated Fulham and six more than Brighton who finished in 16th.

Their clean sheet record was also incredibly poor. During a period from October to January, Nuno Santo watched his side concede goals at will, maintaining a shutout in just two matches during a 14-game run.

Thus, Tarkowski’s arrival at the heart of the defence would be vital. The £22.5m-rated colossus has been described as “exceptional” by his peers and it’s easy to see why.

The 28-year-old, who is now in the prime of his career, is a giant when it comes to aerial battles.

During 2020/21, the centre-back won 4.6 aerial duels per game. For context, that usurps every player in the Wolves squad by quite some distance.

Willy Boly was their best player in that department last term, prevailing in 2.7 aerial situations per match.

Tarkowski is also a prolific tackler of the ball, registering 1.8 successful challenges per outing during the course of last season. That number tops every centre-half at Wolves, suggesting he would be an immediate improvement.

On top of that, he applies more successful pressures on the ball (41.3%) than Boly, Conor Coady and Romain Saiss who are all south of 35%.

The Burnley star has often fallen short of earning more England caps but his inclusion in a plethora of Three Lions camps dictates he is on the periphery of a bigger move. Wolves must make sure it’s them who are claiming his services.

AND in other news, Wolves submit bid to sign “lethal” 15-goal gem, he’s an upgrade on Fabio Silva…

BRISBANE, Oct 27 AAP – Queensland all-rounder James Hopes continued his impressive one-day record as the Bulls reined in Tasmania’s batsmen in the ING Cup cricket clash at the Gabba today.

AAP27-Oct-2002BRISBANE, Oct 27 AAP – Queensland all-rounder James Hopes continued his impressive one-day record as the Bulls reined in Tasmania’s batsmen in the ING Cup cricket clash at the Gabba today.Tasmania was bowled out for 174 in the 46th over, with Hopes claiming three wickets from his final five deliveries to finish with 4-34 from 8.5 overs.Hopes was on a hat-trick after dismissing Damien Wright (four) and Xavier Doherty with successive balls and he bowled Adam Griffith for a duck three balls later.The 24-year-old has been a handy addition to the Bulls’ one-day team, taking 16 wickets in last season’s competition.Zimbabwe-raised quick Scott Brant (3-35) started the rot for Tasmania when he claimed the key wicket of Australian all-rounder Shane Watson (eight), who was brilliantly caught by wicketkeeper Wade Seccombe.With opening batsman Michael DiVenuto (five) also failing, the Tigers lacked the top-order spark they needed after being sent in to bat in overcast conditions.Captain Jamie Cox revived the Tigers with an efficient knock of 78 from 91 balls, joining Sean Clingeleffer (24 from 51) in a 66-run stand for the seventh wicket.But Cox’s dismissal to Hopes, swatting a running catch for Nathan Hauritz at long off, left the Tigers in trouble.”We have a history of falling about 20 runs short so, with five guys in the shed and 10 overs left, we decided to have a go,” Cox said.”We did fight pretty hard but, with the lights on and the white ball to face, conditions were pretty difficult.”Off-spinner Hauritz (1-33 from seven overs) made a sound return in his first match in almost two months.Hauritz had been away with the Australian Test and one-day squads in Kenya, Sri Lanka and Sharjah and only returned to Brisbane on Friday morning.

Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa is now being wanted by Fiorentina to take over the reins at the Serie A club.

What’s the story?

Reports in recent weeks have suggested that the Argentine is expected to put pen to paper on a new contract at Elland Road, with Fabrizio Romano claiming that this should be done “soon”.

However, RAI journalist Sara Meini has revealed that Fiorentina are plotting a move to lure Bielsa away from Yorkshire, adding that he figures among the contenders to take over the manager’s job there.

Nightmare for Andrea Radrizzani

Make no mistake about it, losing Bielsa this summer would be the kind of seismic blow from which Leeds would find it extremely difficult to recover.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, Brian Deane said of the Argentine: “He’s brought a massive change to the club and I don’t know what the figures are, but he’s delivered. He’s over-delivered.

“I think their target was to finish fourth bottom and look where they are in the table, so he’s doing something good. And I’m sure these guys have factored into any budget that they’re going to offer the manager.”

Touching on what Bielsa has managed to do at Leeds, former Wigan manager Paul Jewell told FFC: “What I like about Bielsa is, and I think he can speak English but he’s pulling our legs, so fair play to him, but what I like about him is that he doesn’t make excuses.

“The difference he’s made to those Leeds players like Dallas, Cooper and Ayling, the list is endless. They were Championship players, and not great ones, but he’s turned them into Premier League players.

“He deserves unbelievable credit and he won’t have a trophy at the end of the season, but what a manager he is.”

As Jewell says, Bielsa has turned essentially lower-division players into fully-fledged Premier League stars, and even internationals in the case of England hero Kalvin Phillips.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/leeds-united-marcelo-bielsa-transfer-gossip-rumours-news-elland-road-rodrigo-de-paul” title=”Read the latest Leeds transfer rumours and news!”]

It would be a massive nightmare for Radrizzani to lose Bielsa to Fiorentina, and it’s exactly why he must be proactive in trying to get the Argentine to put pen to paper on a new deal at Leeds as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, Leeds are eyeing this Copa America star…

Many Sunderland fans are desperate for the club to sign Giorgi Aburjania after the Black Cats were linked with a move for the Georgia international.

We are coming cloeer to the start of the 2021/22 campaign, yet the Wearsiders do not appear to be in the best position for the August kick-off. They have lost several players lately, including Josh Scowen, Grant Leadbitter and Max Power (The Northern Echo), while Charlie Wyke appears to be closing in on a move to Celtic (Football Insider). Not only that, they are yet to make a single summer signing as Lee Johnson’s side attempt to earn promotion to the Championship.

However, it does seem that they at least have some targets in mind. As per Spanish outlet Sport Cartagena, Sunderland are interested in signing 26-year-old midfielder Aburjania this summer. He has 22 caps for his country and currently plays in the Spanish second tier with Cartagena.

The news has been doing the rounds on Twitter and has attracted plenty of attention from Black Cats supporters. These fans took to the social media platform to share their thoughts on the links with the Georgian midfielder.

Let’s see what these fans had to say about the Aburjania rumour

“From these clips he looks solid defensively and can clearly pick out a pass. Looks very comfortable on the ball, doesn’t panic when pressured and can beat a few players also. This new scouting team may have found a gem here like.”

Credit: @Adamdoran97

“Random Georgian international I’ve never heard of…..this is exactly the sort of signing I love!”

Credit: @Hendo1980

“A central midfielder who runs towards the opposition’s goal at pace using skill and technique coming to Sunderland, what type of witchcraft is this. This has to be fake news. I will believe it when he’s holding the strip!”

Credit: @Lordanthony1978

“After watching clips he’s the midfielder we have lacked for years, someone who can dribble and run with the ball with power and speed. Bring him in with that United lad and Embleton we will be solid.”

Credit: @allinson_terry

“The only issue is a work permit and how long it would take to sort one with the new rules. Hopefully the club have all this in place”

Credit: @paulthomase

“Sounds very good and I think he will be a star player in League One. Looks the player we were lacking many years.”

Credit: @hautsi99

In other news, Sunderland want this Manchester United youngster.

Australian fast bowler Jason Gillespie is confident of playing in tomorrow’s second cricket Test against England at the Adelaide Oval despite his troublesome calf injury

AAP20-Nov-2002Australian fast bowler Jason Gillespie is confident of playing in tomorrow’s second cricket Test against England at the Adelaide Oval despite his troublesome calf injury.Gillespie will be given until tomorrow morning to prove his fitness but the South Australian was pleased with how he bowled during Australia’s final net session today.Gillespie said he awoke today with no stiffness in the injured area, which initially caused him problems during the first Test in Brisbane.Captain Steve Waugh said any decision on 12th man would be delayed until Gillespie’s condition is decided.England was holding its final training session at the Adelaide Oval, with young Yorkshire off-spinner Richard Dawson likely to replace Ashley Giles, who broke his wrist yesterday.

Sri Lanka coach Dav Whatmore refused to panic after his side’s crushing innings defeat at the hands of South Africa on Sunday

Charlie Austin10-Nov-2002Sri Lanka coach Dav Whatmore refused to panic after his side’s crushing innings defeat at the hands of South Africa on Sunday.Sri Lanka lost by an innings and 64 runs inside three days, their seventh defeat in 12 matches against the South Africans.But Whatmore tried his hardest to look on the bright side: "There is no point in getting too emotional about this defeat. There were some real positives and we have to put South Africa under more pressure next time.""We bowled them out for 386 despite all the extras and Ruchira (Perera) being forced out of the attack. With a little bit more effort in the batting department in the first innings, we could have been in a position to put pressure on them in the second innings – batting got harder and harder as the match progressed."Sanath Jayasuriya defended his brave decision to bat first on a lively pitchthat offered the South African seamers plenty of movement on day one."I have no regrets," said Jayasuriya. "I thought we had a good opportunity when we won the toss but we failed to score the runs that we had expected."He couldn’t hide his frustration with his wayward bowlers: "The bowling was very disappointing. We bowled on both sides of the wicket. All the South African bowlers bowled in the right areas."South Africa skipper Shaun Pollock was delighted with his team’s performance, their fourth consecutive Test victory."We got on top very early and kept up the momentum," said Pollock. "We had alittle bit of a hiccup in the middle of the order, with a few loose shots,but Jacques (Kallis) came through for us.""They were always on the back foot after we got that lead and wickets often fall quickly when a side is under pressure like that."Our bowling was very good, especially on the day when we kept up the pressure after being a little bit unlucky in the morning. You have to be disciplined in the bowling department to win Test matches and that was an area we had identified for improvement."Pollock said he would have bowled first if he had won the toss: "We were always going to bowl first after we picked five fast bowlers – that was our game plan. There was some assistance on the first day."Man of the match Jacques Kallis, who took three crucial middle order wickets on the first afternoon and then scored a painstaking five-hour 75, believed his partnerships with Mark Boucher and Pollock were crucial."It wasn’t one of my prettiest innings but it was one of those days that we had to graft. The partnerships with Bouch and Polly were crucial, taking the game away from them – we didn’t want to bat last on that wicket."

Fulham manager Scott Parker has left his position at Craven Cottage.

What’s the latest?

That’s according to a report by Sky Sports, who confirmed late on Monday evening that the 40-year-old had left his role as manager of the Cottagers by mutual consent, with Parker being installed as the new AFC Bournemouth boss shortly after his departure from west London.

The former England international’s exit brings an end to what had looked to be turning into something of a messy break-up between the two parties, with The Sun reporting that Shahid Khan was reluctant to pay Parker the £2m compensation fee the coach was owed for the remainder of his two-year contract at Craven Cottage.

However, with his departure now confirmed, it would appear as if Khan and the 40-year-old eventually reached an amicable agreement regarding this settlement, with Fulham now being able to fully turn their attention towards appointing Parker’s successor at the club.

Khan will be buzzing

With reports of something of a fallout between the Fulham hierarchy and Parker, as well as the issue of his compensation fee, the fact that the 40-year-old is no longer tied to the club is sure to have left Khan buzzing.

Indeed, with the coach departing well before pre-season at the club is scheduled to begin, as well as plenty of time remaining in the summer transfer window, the Fulham owner now finds himself with the luxury of being able to consider each candidate for the role carefully and methodically rather than being rushed into making a decision due to time constraints.

Having said that, it would be advisable for Khan to not let the search drag on too long, and, considering it is reported that he has already drawn up a list of potential targets for the position, it would seem as if the sports tycoon has his eye firmly on the ball.

In any case, with Parker’s exit now confirmed, both Khan and Fulham supporters can look forward to a new chapter in their club’s history, one that hopefully brings with it a great amount of success.

In other news: Khan must ruthlessly axe “unbelievable” £21k-p/w flop, he’s let Fulham down for years

England cricket fans are an unlucky bunch

Sean Beynon03-Dec-2002England cricket fans are an unlucky bunch. For the past 15 years, the team has been struggling to transcend mediocrity, stumbling through the deepest troughs. Contrary to popular belief, the loss of the Ashes, and the spectacular style in which Australia routed their visitors, is not a cause to be too gloomy.The unluckiest England fans are those approaching 20. I have no memory whatsoever of England’s last Ashes victory, in Australia in 1986/87. While the 1990/91 series is similarly blurred, I do recall wondering why Graham Gooch kept letting Terry Alderman trap him leg-before in 1989.Things had not got much better by 1993, when a young, bleached-blond was set to take England by storm. At one of my first Test matches, I saw Shane Warne’s “ball of the century”. What was most amusing was the equal mixture of bemusement and terror in the eyes of the England fans. They looked as puzzled as Gatting, with the more knowing spectators realising that this man was going to be a torment.And what torment. Warne, along with the Waugh brothers, Mark Taylor and later Glenn McGrath, would dominate the Ashes Tests of my youth. But England did at least compete. They won two Tests in 1997, and still had a slim chance of squaring the rubber going into the last day of the 1998/99 series.None of those previous England teams have as much potential as that 2002. None of the Australians could possibly match the superb team they have now. This is not just a good side: at least five (Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist, Warne and McGrath) would walk into a World XI, with Jason Gillespie not far behind. They dominate Test cricket with swaggering ease, and are quite possibly invincible at home.What then, could England have done to prevent such a crushing defeat? It is a familiar complaint, but the injury list was a huge factor. Australia were able to select their best eleven, while Hussain’s side was a badly-botched DIY job. Missing Graham Thorpe, Andrew Flintoff, Ashley Giles, Andrew Caddick and Simon Jones deprived England of six definite starters. John Crawley is more than a fringe player, while Michael Vaughan and Mark Butcher played without being fully fit. Australia would have won the Ashes even if England had been able to select their best side, but they would not have kept the urn with such ease.It is encouraging that Richard Dawson and Robert Key stood up and battled hard. Steve Harmison – in spite of his run-up jitters – also looked dangerous. Whether they will become genuine Test players remains to be seen, but they have survived the toughest possible induction into the game. Alex Tudor lacked zip, and will surely be affected by the sickening blow inflicted on him by Brett Lee. A word to commend the paceman is necessary, for he was helping Tudor with genuine concern within seconds. He blotted his copy-book by bouncing Harmison subsequently, but this was a tame effort, surely not intended to hit the batsman.So forget the nonsense about the game dying in England (just look at the crowds when South Africa tour next year) and look forward to the one-day series. It is a tough assignment, but a young England team might just be able to spring a few surprises. The Barmy Army certainly deserve a change in luck.