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Rangers manager Gio van Bronckhorst will be unveiled at Ibrox for the first time on Thursday as he prepares for his first match in charge of the club.

The Gers are set to face Sparta Prague in their fifth group stage game in the Europa League. They lost 1-0 to them in the reverse fixture and a win would send them up into second place in the group.

Forget Roofe

FFC published an article explaining why Alfredo Morelos should be axed from the XI for this game. This would leave the number nine position vacant, with Kemar Roofe and Fashion Sakala competing to be named in the team from the start.

Van Bronckhorst should forget about the former Leeds United man, who is a minor injury doubt, for now and unleash Sakala against the Czech outfit tonight. He came off the bench against Hibernian and should now be given the chance to show what he can do from the start.

The 24-year-old is coming off the back of a sensational international break where he scored four goals in two games for Zambia. He has now scored seven times in his last six appearances for club and country, having also bagged a hat-trick for Rangers against Motherwell at the end of October.

This shows that the £8.3k-per-week gem has the ability to be a match-winner for van Bronckhorst as he has been consistently finding the back of the net of late. Goals win games and Sakala could potentially win the match for Rangers if he starts against Sparta, given his recent record.

Ex-Gers boss Steven Gerrard once hailed the forward as an ‘incredible’ person and praised his quality in training for the club. He said:

“He’s an incredible human being. The way he has come into the club, his smile and demeanour, his attitude and energy, has lifted the whole place. The signs are he is really starting to find his feet here at Rangers. He is a really exciting one for everyone to watch moving forward.

“There will be plenty of opportunities for Fashion, not just in Europe but domestically as well. We are really starting to see his strengths, his consistency from a training point of view.”

These comments suggest that he has the attitude and mentality to thrive at Rangers and is willing to put his head down and work hard for the team. This should be encouraging to van Bronckhorst as he will surely want his players to put the hard yards in against Sparta to impress him in his first game.

AND in other news, 129 appearances: Rangers secured dream deal with £0 gem who “embodies professionalism”…

Ireland wrapped up a comfortable series win, beating Kenya by 52 runs via the Duckworth-Lewis method, after dismissing the tourists for a below-par 175 in the second ODI in Dublin

Cricinfo staff11-Jul-2009
ScorecardGary Wilson and William Porterfield celebrate their hundred partnership•Barry Chambers

Ireland wrapped up a comfortable series win, beating Kenya by 52 runs via the Duckworth-Lewis method, after dismissing the tourists for a below-par 175 in the second ODI in Dublin.Boyd Rankin took 3 for 40 at the top, helping to reduce Kenya to a shaky 66 for 4, but Kenya’s Alex Obanda fought back for the visitors with a powerful 59 from 78. He put on 34 with Collins Obuya before he became Rankin’s third victim, caught by Regan West who himself went on to take 2 for 36 in a tidy spell of bowling.Kyle McCallan also impressed, picking up 2 for 30, as Kenya – in spite of an entertaining 48-ball 40 from Nehemia Odhiambo – were rolled for an unsatisfactory 175.William Porterfield, the Ireland captain, ensured his side got off to a flier with three bullet fours off one Thomas Odoya over, sharing in a superb opening stand of 102 with Gary Wilson, who excelled with 51 from 61. Wilson, strong on the drive, took Odoya for four through extra cover and, in the next over, lofted him over the top for four more. And when Porterfield took Odhiambo for four fours in one particularly wayward over, Ireland were well on course for a thumping victory.After smashing Steve Tikolo for six over his head, Porterfield fell the very next ball one short of a deserved fifty, and the rain then came tumbling down at the end of the over to halt proceedings. By now, however, Ireland were miles ahead in the eyes of Duckworth-Lewis, and after one hour and twenty minutes, the match and series were duly awarded to Porterfield’s side.The two sides meet again tomorrow for the third and final match.

A number of West Ham supporters have been showing their concern at an injury update provided by manager David Moyes, ahead of the clash with Everton.

The Hammers make a welcome return to Premier League action this weekend after the international break got in the way of domestic proceedings.

Moyes’ men make the trip to Everton on Sunday afternoon for what promises to be an interesting match-up between two sides with European aspirations.

It appears as though West Ham could be without some key figures for the game, however, if the manager’s latest comments are anything to go by.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference [via journalist Tom Clark on Twitter], Moyes admitted there are questions marks surrounding the fitness of several unspecified players, saying: ‘We might have some people not available.”

West Ham fans react to injury latest

These Hammers fans were not optimistic after hearing the update, taking to Twitter to provide their thoughts on what one supporter called ‘worrying’, while pondering whether the issue could be with Michail Antonio.

“Yep it’s doomed”

Credit: @tsss67

“And so it begins”

Credit: @central_louis

“Here comes the real test of our depth”

Credit: @USAWestHamUSA

“Oh no”

Credit: @JamieWHU__

“Oh dear oh dear oh dear”

Credit: @stephenlott

“This is worrying. What do we think? Antonio injured?”

Credit: @JamesStevenson_

In other news, Everton could recall three players for the meeting with West Ham. Read more here.

Tottenham club source John Wenham believes the atmosphere at Spurs will be even worse than after they lost to Arsenal if they lose their next two matches.

The Lowdown: Spurs struggling

As it stands, Tottenham are sixth in the Premier League table which, on the face of it, may not look too bad. However, they are already seven points off top of the table (Sky Sports), and have suffered some humiliating defeats to London rivals.

The 3-1 loss against Arsenal was particularly upsetting for the Lilywhites faithful, but Spurs now face Burnley in the League Cup before hosting Manchester United at the weekend, fixtures Wenham believes are must-win for Nuno Espirito Santo.

The Latest: Wenham predicts ‘huge’ pressure for Nuno

Speaking to Football Insider, THFC source Wenham suggested the atmosphere at the club could be even more toxic than it was after the Arsenal clash if they lose their next two games. He said:

“Were Tottenham to lose against Burnley and Manchester United, the pressure will be worse than it was after Arsenal.

“Whoever loses that game on Sunday is going to be under so much pressure.

“I can basically say to you, if we lose those to Burnley, the atmosphere inside the stadium against Man United will be toxic.

“A lot of the people who are still with Nuno and that good feeling will be gone.

“If we were to lose to Man United after going out of the cup through the week, it would be very toxic.

“I personally think we will beat Burnley but if we don’t, that pressure on Nuno will be huge.

“Jose Mourinho got lucky with not having fans in the stadium, Nuno doesn’t have that luxury.

“I’m very interested to hear what the atmosphere is like in any case next weekend.”

The Verdict: Huge pressure

There is no doubt the pressure currently on Nuno’s shoulders is huge. Spurs aspire to be playing Champions League football and competing for the Premier League title, but at the moment they look far from a team able to achieve such lofty goals.

The 1-0 defeat to West Ham shows where they are right now – the Hammers are actually, on form, a better side than the Lilywhites. The next two games are huge for the north London and, not only would the atmosphere be toxic should they fall to defeats, Nuno’s position may be untenable.

In other news, this man has been blamed for Spurs’ struggles.

Speaking to Football Insider, rival ‘insider’ John Wenham has dropped a claim on Jarrod Bowen – with David Moyes gifted a big West Ham United boost.

The Lowdown: Bowen a wanted man…

As per The Independent, Moyes may have to be wary of his biggest rivals swooping for Bowen as scouts from Tottenham, Liverpool and Leicester all keep tracking the winger.

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Amid his electric start to the season, it appears he is already attracting admirers and the last thing West Ham need is to lose a forward option without a recognised back-up striker.

However, in reaction to this news, a Spurs insider has appeared to alleviate fears that his side could make a move for Bowen.

The Latest: Insider drops possible Moyes boost…

As per Lilywhites ‘insider’ John Wenham, speaking to FI, it appears Moyes and West Ham may not have to worry about losing the forward to one of their biggest London rivals.

“Tottenham and West Ham don’t do business. There is no love lost between the two clubs at boardroom level,” he explained.

“I don’t see West Ham entertaining any bids for Bowen from Tottenham, that one is a non-starter.

“Tottenham may be interested in him but some clubs just don’t do business.

“I would categorically rule that one out now. Even if West Ham said he was available they would turn down an approach from Tottenham.

“From what I’ve heard from people I know in the industry, I just can’t see that one happening.”

The Verdict: Big boost for Moyes?

Moyes having to watch GSB sell to a rival like Spurs would have left a bitter taste, so this news comes as a breath of fresh air.

The 24-year-old has, arguably, been one of West Ham’s players of the season so far alongside star striker Michail Antonio.

No Irons man has averaged more completed dribbles (3) or key passes per 90 (2.4) in the Premier League according to WhoScored, and if he continues this streak he could be a very key player this year.

In other news: ‘What a bargain’…Sky pundit reacts as West Ham eye ‘great signing’ for Moyes, find out more here.

Liverpool fans believe Manchester City pair John Stones and Aymeric Laporte will end up being available for their Premier League clash next weekend, after reports ruled the pair out until the international break.

Jurgen Klopp’s side return to league action on Saturday, making the trip to Brentford after seeing off Norwich City in the Carabao Cup in midweek.

Liverpool may have one eye on their crucial meeting with City at Anfield on October 3rd, however, in what could be a key game in the title race.

[freshpress-quiz id=“359326”]

While the Reds suffered terrible luck with injuries to centre-backs last season, it’s now City who are struggling in that department.

According to The Daily Mail [via The Anfield Buzz on Twitter], both Stones and Laporte will miss the match through injury, meaning Nathan Ake may have to partner Ruben Dias in defence.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-liverpool-transfer-news-4/” title=”Latest Liverpool transfer news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Liverpool fans react to Man City injury news

Despite this, these Liverpool fans took to Twitter to claim that it is mind games from Pep Guardiola and the duo will be available.

“See you at Anfield boys!”

Credit: @st3v3npr35ton

“Watch them come back in time”

Credit: @dauntingdiogoal

“Pep mind games always start 2-3 weeks before matchday. Chill”

Credit: @Free_Ography

“Both in the lineup guaranteed”

Credit: @Juanachos_

“They just won’t though”

Credit: @greggislocallfc

“Yeah, of course they will”

Credit: @sazzam31

In other news, some Liverpool fans are excited by an important club announcement. Read more here.

Manchester United have received a triple selection boost ahead of their Premier League clash with Newcastle United this afternoon.

The Red Devils have made a solid start to the new season, picking up seven points from a possible nine in the opening weeks of the campaign, and they’ll be hoping to continue their good form when the Magpies visit Old Trafford.

What’s the word?

United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be confident of securing another three points after revealing that a selection of key first team players will be available for selection.

Despite Alex Telles and Scott McTominay remaining sidelined with injuries, goalkeeper Dean Henderson has now recovered from a viral infection, while summer signings Jadon Sancho and Cristiano Ronaldo are also fit enough to feature from the off.

“Dean has not got the after-effect and tiredness anymore; that’s very positive,” Solskjaer said in his press conference on Friday.

“Telles is not 100% yet, still a few weeks (away), and Scott has recovered very quickly from the operation. If he’s going to play or not, I’m not sure; but probably not, depending on who we’ve got available and who we can use.

“Jadon’s come back in with a minor knock, but he’s trained the last couple of days. Disappointed he couldn’t play for England but determined to be fit; he’s available; that’s a positive.

“Cristiano’s trained all week, internationals; we didn’t get anyone injured. Luke (Shaw), Harry (Maguire) and Victor (Lindelof) played late Wednesday night, so not a lot of recovery (time), but they will be available, I think,” the Norwegian concluded.

Solskjaer will be delighted

Having the likes of Henderson, Sancho and Ronaldo all available for selection will certainly leave Solskjaer feeling delighted ahead of today’s encounter against Newcastle.

Ronaldo’s greatness needs no elaboration, while the England winger is a proven scorer in a major European league and the goalkeeper has been hailed by former United boss Jose Mourinho for his “incredible development”.

Steve Bruce’s charges may not be the toughest opponent that the Red Devils will face this season, but securing another victory could be crucial to their title aspirations, and their chances of doing just that have received a substantial boost with the news that Solskjaer has a near-full squad at his disposal.

In other news… Report reveals MUFC make “excellent” £63m-rated gem top priority, Ole will be elated 

The most severe scars do not heal quickly and Australia’s dominance of South Africa’s batsmen over the past decade gave Ricky Ponting hope leading into this series that the old wounds could be reopened. For much of the second day in Perth it looked like the damage was being mended but Mitchell Johnson’s brutal late spell of 5 for 2 will add to the hurt.His efforts meant South Africa crashed from a strong position at 3 for 234 to a severely weakened one of 8 for 243 at stumps. They trail by 132 with two wickets in hand and Johnson’s 33 minutes of mayhem undid much of the good work done by Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers, all of whom entered the match with significantly lower Test averages against Australia than their overall marks.”It was frustrating,” Kallis said. “At 230 for 3 we were in a commanding position but that’s what happens when you play against the best side in the world. You’ve got to be on top of your game all the time. We’ve got some hard work ahead of us. We’ve been in positions like this before and come out of it.”It was a world-class spell and these things do happen. Hopefully we can have a couple of those throughout the series as well. We certainly don’t see the game as down and out. We’ll come back from it.”Smith looked impressively determined until he played on to Johnson for 48, de Villiers was generally fluent in his 63 and Kallis fought off a form slump to post 63. The 47 from Hashim Amla, a man unencumbered by any past meetings with Australia at international level, was the most attractive innings of the lot. None of the men went on to hurt Australia badly but Kallis said there was no hangover of past struggles against the world’s No. 1 team.”We’re a different side now, a lot of experience and a couple of young guys,” Kallis said. “You lose games of cricket throughout your career and you move on. You certainly don’t think about them all the time. We’ve moved on.”Still, the collapse was particularly annoying for a team that has chased Australia for so long. If they could pull of a 3-0 victory in Australia, South Africa would jump past their hosts to become the No. 1 Test team in the world. Johnson’s heroics have not made that task impossible but they have left the visitors with an uphill battle.On a day that finished on such a downer for South Africa it would be easy to overlook the fact that they could draw several positives from their efforts earlier in the day. Perhaps the most pleasing thing was the innings of Kallis, who made his second half-century since the tour of India in April.He survived a close call early when he inside-edged a dangerous Jason Krejza offspinner that flew past the stumps. It was Kallis’ fifth ball and after he saw off the threat of Krejza, who was pumped after turning one between Amla’s bat and pad, he settled into the accumulation mode that has been so typically Kallis over the past decade but has deserted him this year.”I’ve worked hard with Duncan Fletcher and our coach Mickey Arthur over the last couple of months and felt really good over the last month or two,” Kallis said. “It’s nice to start with a few runs up front on the tour, it makes life a little bit easier. But there’s a lot of work left ahead, 60s don’t win you games. All those batters know we’ve got to get some big hundreds.”The initial task is to bat for as long as possible on the third day and reduce Australia’s lead. To do that they will need to forget about the destruction caused by Johnson, who has a rare chance to finish with nine wickets in a Test innings. Johnson is banking on the late collapse weighing on the minds of the South Africans even after a good night’s sleep.”Hopefully mentally that gets into their head a bit and they start thinking about it a bit more,” Johnson said. “Obviously there’s been a lot of talk up about their pace attack and how strong their batsmen are and hopefully we’ve taken them down a notch.”

Aston Villa would not have paid £50m for James Ward-Prowse before he signed his new Southampton contract, says Express & Star journalist Luke Hatfield.

Manager Dean Smith was keen to bring Ward-Prowse to Villa, with Sky Sports reporting back in July that the Midlands club had made an unsuccessful £25m bid for the player.

Ward-Prowse has since put pen to paper on a new five-year deal, ending Villa’s pursuit for the summer.

However, prior, The Athletic reported that a sale was possible if the Villans offered half of the money they received for Jack Grealish, now of Manchester City.

According to Hatfield, though, Villa were never going to offer that kind of money. He told FFC:

“I don’t think Villa would’ve met the £50m asking price if I’m being brutally honest.

“Dean Smith’s always been after Premier League experience and players he thinks could help Villa. But at that price, it would’ve been very hard to see Villa splashing the cash and doing that one.”

From Southampton’s perspective, they will be relieved that they have managed to keep hold of Ward-Prowse.

The Saints have already lost Danny Ings and Jannik Vestergaard this summer, sanctioning sales to Villa and Leicester City respectively. To lose Ward-Prowse as well would have been a devastating blow.

Graeme Hick, the former England and Worcestershire batsman, has joined the unofficial Indian Cricket League

Cricinfo staff01-Nov-2008
Graeme Hick has signed to play for the Chandigarh Lions © Getty Images
Graeme Hick, the former England and Worcestershire batsman, has joined the Indian Cricket League. He will be a part of the Chandigarh Lions and will play their remaining matches this season.Hick had ended his 25-year county career two months ago at the end of the 2008 season. He is the second highest run-scorer in all cricket (first-class and limited-overs combined), with more than 64,000 runs, and his tally of 136 hundreds is eighth on the all-time list.”I am greatly honoured to be associated with the ICL and hope to do my best for them,” Hick said. He played 37 Twenty20 matches in his county career, and scored two hundreds and ten half-centuries.Chandigarh lost two of their key players earlier this week when their regular captain Chris Cairns and Dinesh Mongia were suspended on disciplinary grounds. Chandigarh are currently in fifth place with three matches to go in the round-robin phase.