All posts by h716a5.icu

Things just haven’t gone to plan for Steven Bergwijn since his £25m move to Tottenham Hotspur in January 2020.

The Dutch international got off to a dream start in North London, stunning Manchester City with an incredible volley to open the scoring on his Premier League debut.

Just after an hour, Bergwijn chested down a pass from Lucas Moura before rifling it home low into the bottom corner past a helpless Ederson. That would’ve given everyone an encouraging sign of what was to come.

However, since that moment, the 23-year-old has done very little and has quickly become a forgotten man down the pecking order. Big figures like Heung-min Son and Gareth Bale won’t have helped his cause but his form tailed off quite drastically.

In the five succeeding matches after the City win, Bergwijn found the net twice, in some massive games too, including a strike against Manchester United.

That was nearly a year ago.

Since then, he has added just the one goal in the Premier League, playing a total of 1,211 minutes.

The 5 foot 7 dynamo is one of several players who are facing uncertainty at the club right now, even more so without a manager – will the new man like him enough to start him more? or will he have other plans with his wing options?

Dele Alli is another who had faltered under Jose Mourinho.

One name linked to the Spurs vacancy is Ajax head coach Erik ten Hag and if he is successful in getting the job, then you’d imagine this would benefit Bergwijn more than most.

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According to The Athletic, the 51-year-old sits among a four-man shortlist for the role and is certainly not out of Daniel Levy’s reach despite recently signing a contract extension at the Eredivisie champions.

He fits the profile of the attack-minded coach that the Spurs chairman is dreaming of and is one that ticks another box, having developed many a young player into a first-team star.

A lot of his players have gone onto bigger and better things after being nurtured by the Dutchman, these include Matthijs de Ligt (Juventus) and Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona), whilst names like David Neres and Ryan Gravenberch are ones to keep an eye on.

Ten Hag’s potential arrival in North London should certainly have a player like Bergwijn excited about what could happen, especially given his success with his fellow countryman and in his home nation, where he has won 73.7% of matches.

Ajax have even been linked with a move for Bergwijn in recent weeks, which suggests that the Spurs managerial target likes what he sees with the winger.

In the past, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has dubbed the Ajax supremo “one of the most exciting coaching talents in world football,” whilst former Celtic and Forest striker Pierre van Hooijdonk said his ability to progress players was “remarkable.”

On the above evidence, ten Hag could be exactly what the £45m-rated Bergwijn needs to get his Spurs career back on track.

At 23, he still has so much to give and the Dutch manager could be the one to get the best out of him.

AND in other news, Fresh twist emerges on Harry Kane’s future at Spurs, it’ll leave Daniel Levy seething…

Somerset chief executive Peter Anderson was quick to defend county cricket in response to an article by former Lancashire and England player Michael Atherton that appeared in the Sunday Telegraph yesterday

Richard Walsh15-Apr-2002Somerset chief executive Peter Anderson was quick to defend county cricket in response to an article by former Lancashire and England player Michael Atherton that appeared in the Sunday Telegraph yesterday.As we sat looking out across the County Ground at Taunton this morning he told me: "I’m saddened but not surprised to read `Grumpy’ Atherton’s first effort as a professional journalist in the Sunday Telegraph yesterday. He was obviously struggling to think of anything intelligent to say so he reverted to the easy target of bashing the county game."His article is full of generalisations but specifically he was totally wrong in stating that all the money coming into cricket derives from the activities of the England team. In fact 60% of the turnover at Somerset comes from our own activities without which there would be no professional club at all. For that we should be praised not pilloried."Like so many players `Grumpy’ has no idea of the objectives laid out in the constitution of county clubs. Of course putting a competitive professional side into the field is the main objective but all county clubs are so much more these days. They are responsible for the development of talents and for the many grass roots initiatives currently being run to popularise the game with the young, all of which have staffing requirements.”If he is to be taken seriously as a cricket journalist then he needs to get to know his subject. He should ask himself what he did for county cricket for which he was paid a handsome salary and a £350,000 benefit, money derived from members and supporters, many of whom probably couldn’t afford it and are repaid by him in degenerative terms for the game they love. Of course he had large pockets in which to place the cash but as we all know there was very often something else in them."The success and popularity of sport does not rest solely upon who turns up to watch. If `Grumpy’ had done his homework he would know that there is a tremendous passive interest in cricket, as 84,000 hits on the Somerset website for March clearly shows."

According to a report by the Daily Mail, Tottenham Hotspur are keen on Manchester City forward Gabriel Jesus.

The Lowdown: Spurs and the Kane saga…

Sky Sports shared big news of star striker Harry Kane’s desire to leave Tottenham last month, leading to no shortage of transfer rumours.

Amid the coronavirus pandemic and financial uncertainty that comes with it, swap deals to lower prices have been touted through the media.

Among Kane’s plethora of admirers are Premier League champions Manchester City, but the Sky Blues would face a fight to sign him this summer.

Some reports even claim that Spurs chief Daniel Levy could demand close to £200 million (Eurosport).

The Latest: Spurs keen on Jesus…

Proposing players who could make way to north London in a possible exchange for Kane, the Mail say Levy and co are ‘keen’ admirers of striker Jesus.

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Indeed, one City player could head to Tottenham as part of a swap deal and the Brazilian is certainly a candidate.

It is believed that Jesus is ‘unimpressed’ with his lack of game time under manager Pep Guardiola, but whether he would entertain a move to Spurs is, for now, ‘unclear’.

City, however, will have to shift players out to fund expensive swoops for both Kane and Aston Villa star Jack Grealish.

The Verdict: Could do far worse…

Contrary to his perceived lack of game time, Jesus still managed to rack up 22 Premier League starts over 2020/2021 – scoring nine goals and assisting four others (WhoScored).

In all competitions, the attacker totalled 42 appearances whilst bagging 14 goals (Transfermarkt) – drawing praise for his tenacious and energetic playing style.

Guardiola, speaking to Manchester City’s official website back in March, hailed him as an unsung hero for the Sky Blues and described what he does for the team as ‘amazing’ and ‘brilliant’.

Brazilian footballing legend Dani Alves dropped a pretty big claim during the early rise of Jesus back in 2017, insisting to reporters back then he was ‘the new Ronaldo’ and will ‘get even better’ (The Daily Mail).

Having already scored 103 career goals in total across his spells at both City and Palmeiras, Spurs could do a lot worse than Jesus plus cash if Kane is certain to leave.

In other news: ‘Sad news’, ‘No no no no’ – Spurs fans worried by this claim, find out more here.

Test matches are supposed to be won on the sheer weight of player performances and not on the vagaries of pitches

10-May-2002Test matches are supposed to be won on the sheer weight of player performances and not on the vagaries of pitches.On the eve of the crucial fourth Cable & Wireless Test between West Indies and India, however, the strip at the Antigua Recreation Ground attracted as much attention as say, Brian Lara or Sachin Tendulkar.The surface at the ARG has not been used in a major cricket match since last July until three two-day Division 1 matches were played in recent weekends.And in the build-up to this key match with the series locked at 1-1, the pitch was watered on at least two occasions. About half-hour after the last instance, it was covered for the final time.It might be an unusual tactic, but even so, no one expects the strip to misbehave over the next five days."It should be a pretty hard surface, very good for batting and bowling as well," said Tony Merrick, the former Leeward Islands and West Indies "B" fast bowler who helped supervised the pitch preparations here."If I won the toss, I would bowl first. It (the pitch) is hard and compact. It will do a bit, especially on the first day."With the work we put in here and the amount of rolling and so on, there is going to be good, even bounce and a lot of carry."What’s for sure is the pitch has produced contrasting results as the years have gone by. It was a batting paradise in the 1980s and early 1990s, but in the last five Tests, all of which have produced outright results, there has been only one total of more than 350."I’ve never had any concerns about the Antiguan wicket," West Indies captain Carl Hooper said."We’ve always had good tracks here in Antigua. There have always been good for batting. I expect this one to be no different."The appearance of the pitch this morning might influence West Indies have named a squad of 12 which includes leg-spinner Dinanath Ramnarine.Even before that 12 was announced, Hooper was hinting at strengthening the batting to cover for a very weak tail that has produced next to nothing. It meant bringing in Ryan Hinds, but those thoughts have been put aside."Even though we won in Barbados, it would be folly of me to ignore the fact that we have not been having any contributions from the lower order," the West Indies captain said."Sooner or later it is going to get to us. Now that we are level 1-1, we’ve got to guard against all these weak areas."What we can do to strengthen it is lengthen the batting, but at the same time, it will probably weaken the bowling. We want to remain aggressive and positive."India, beaten badly by ten wickets at Kensington, have made their predicted change, swapping Harbjahan Singh for the world-class leg-spinner Anil Kumble.India were on top of the world after their 37-run victory in Port-of-Spain, but their recent defeat has again triggered many to question their ability to play away from home."We’ve played well abroad in the last year-and-a half. I am not a believer in the past," said captain Sourav Ganguly."What’s happened has happened. It’s always a new day, a new Test match. You’ve just got to play well those five days to win."Hooper is of the view that the psychological balance might have shifted slightly towards the West Indies after the Barbados Test."We might hold a slight edge. I suppose they can be forgiven in the first innings when the wicket had a bit of moisture and the ball seamed around and so on, but even in the second innings, I don’t think they batted so well," Hooper said."Having said that, one of their key players, Sachin Tendulkar, is probably not batting as well as he could. There is a thought there of maybe having the edge and maybe even wanting to insert them if we do win the toss and have four quicks go at them again."

Manchester United have been linked with a move for Atalanta defender Christian Romero as the summer transfer window approaches.

What’s the story?

According to Italian outlet Eco Di Bergamo (via Sport Witness), the Old Trafford outfit have already made a “super offer” worth €45 million (£38.5m) for the 23-year-old.

The aforementioned fee would make Romero Atalanta’s record sale, and the local paper claim it would be impossible for Gian Piero Gasperini’s side to turn down the offer.

Imagine him and Maguire

Centre-back has been a problem position for the Red Devils for a number of years now, with several expensive flops failing to have the desired effect upon the United backline.

While club captain Harry Maguire has slowly won over the majority of the club’s supporters, putting in consistently impressive displays for many months now, the England internationals string of partners have left a lot to be desired.

Victor Lindelof has shown glimpses of star quality, but those performances have been undermined by lapses in concentration, and his limited physical attributes are a constant source of problems for the 20-time English champions.

The likes of Eric Bailly, Axel Tuanzebe and Phil Jones have also done little to convince Solskjaer, or the fans, that they’re capable of being Maguire’s long-term partner at the heart of defence – either through a lack of form, injury issues, or both – and therefore a new centre-back is believed to be high up on United’s wish list this summer.

Romero could be the answer to the club’s defensive woes after impressing throughout the 2020/21 campaign. The Argentine beast made 31 league appearances, achieving a 7.14 WhoScored rating as Atalanta finished third in Serie A.

He combines the traditional, tough-tackling duties of a centre-back with the role’s modern responsibilities to perfection, often launching into tackles before picking himself up and playing a composed pass.

Although this style leads to frequent bookings – he picked up 15 in all competitions last season – it’s something which can be worked on, and the positives to Romero’s game certainly outweigh the negatives.

The South American’s pace, ability with the ball at his feet and love for a challenge would make him the perfect partner for Maguire and should see him adapt to the demands of the Premier League with ease.

It’s a move that Ed Woodward must sanction over the coming months if United want to challenge for major honours again and could prove to be the final piece in the jigsaw for Solskjaer’s side.

In other news…Man Utd must swoop for £18m-rated beast this summer, he has “outstanding quality” 

Andover’s bid to remain in the ECB Southern Electric Premier League leadership race has been hit by the absence of four key players against all-day specialists BAT Sports at London Road tomorrow, 11 o’clock

Mike Vimpany (as produced in the Southern Daily Echo)20-Jun-2002Andover’s bid to remain in the ECB Southern Electric Premier League leadership race has been hit by the absence of four key players against all-day specialists BAT Sports at London Road tomorrow, 11 o’clock.Jerry Hayward, all-rounder Ian Langdown and opening bowler Dean Woodhouse, along with fractured wrist victim Toby Radford, are absent against BAT, who have moved menacingly into second place behind Havant.Andover led the field for the first six weeks of the season, but crashed to a heavy defeat in their opening `time’ game at Portsmouth last week.Second XI captain Tim Keighley and teenager Rob James, who hit an unbeaten Hampshire League half-century last week, get the Andover call.BAT, all-conquering in all-day cricket since June last year, are unchanged, with left-arm paceman Dan Goldstraw eager to build upon his six-wicket return against Bashley (Rydal) last week.Leaders Havant are without Steve Snell, on Lord’s groundstaff duty at the Benson & Hedges Cup final, against lowly Burridge at Havant Park.Burridge, in need of a victory after playing only four games so far, surprisingly knocked Havant out of the SEC Cup in midweek.Also in need of a bonus are second-from-bottom Calmore Sports, who entertain Portsmouth at Loperwood Park. Teenager Doug Bellchamber, plagued with back problems, returns for Portsmouth, who otherwise field the side which trounced Andover last week.Bashley (Rydal) have slipped down the table after a series of inept batting performances. Fit-again Chris Sketchley returns from an ankle injury and John Whiting is back for the trip to South Wilts."Lower Bemerton is normally a road," said beleaguered skipper Neil Taylor. "So we have every reason to apply ourselves and get some runs on it."We’ve had one batting failure after another and the fact that Hampshire’s James Tomlinson is playing for Cardiff University tomorrow should boost our chances of getting some runs on the board."South Wilts are also without Tim Lamb, but have Russell Rowe anxious to improve on his 330-run tally for the season.Teenager Tom Webley faces an exhausting 400-mile tea-time trek from Blackpool to play for Bournemouth at Liphook & Ripsley.Webley has been in Blackpool this week playing for Somerset in a Second XI Championship match against Lancashire II."If the game goes the distance, I can’t see myself getting back to Bournemouth until the early hours of tomorrow (SAT) morning," Webley explained from his seaside hotel last night."And I’ve go to be at Chapel Gate for an 8.30am departure, so it looks as though I’ll be eating my cornflakes going along in the car !"Alex Allum, who hit a match-winning 67 not out for Bournemouth’s Hampshire League side at Basingstoke & North Hants last week, could be poised for a first team recall.David Kidner pulled up with a recurrence of a long standing back injury in last week’s drawn match with Calmore Sports and could miss the Liphook trip.

Lee Ryder has dropped some promising insight from those close to Amanda Staveley on the potential takeover of Newcastle United.

The Lowdown: Arbitration set

An arbitration case between the Premier League and the St. James’ Park faithful has been set for July over the failed deal between Mike Ashley and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) group.

Despite the top flight taking the original decision to fail the bid, there is still a chance that the takeover can be revived, if results of the arbitration hearing go in the way of the North East club.

The Latest: Takeover insight

In response to a fan of the Tyneside club in a Q&A session, which has since been transcribed by The Chronicle, football journalist Ryder has shared that those close to Amanda Staveley, who is a member of the original KSA consortium, are saying that they are still interested in a return back to the negotiating table if the top flight are forced to reverse things.

This decision could well be made as a result of the arbitration case, should it go in the favour of the Magpies.

The Verdict: Promising words

It is certainly promising to hear that Staveley and co would consider coming back to the table, as it shows that the deal is not dead in the water despite it originally being failed by the Premier League.

In light of this insight, a positive result for the Toon in the arbitration hearing could well bring the potential revival of the takeover a step closer, so long as the consortium are true to their words and do wish to come back into talks.

However, the top flight will be equally as confident that the results will go their way instead, and so nothing is guaranteed at this point.

Nonetheless, with the separate anti-competition claim launched by Ashley as well, NUFC are still very clearly pushing for this takeover to go through, with arbitration set to paint a clearer picture over the direction over which it is heading.

In other news, find out which transfer target would be open to a Newcastle move here!

Sri Lanka’s controversial decision to field an under-strength side in this ACL Cables Second Test against Bangladesh proved costly as the tourists produced their most disciplined performance of the series, restricting the hosts to 301 for eight at

Charlie Austin28-Jul-2002Sri Lanka’s controversial decision to field an under-strength side in this ACL Cables Second Test against Bangladesh proved costly as the tourists produced their most disciplined performance of the series, restricting the hosts to 301 for eight at the close.It’s too early to say whether Sri Lanka will be forced to rue their decision to rest nine established players for this game, but on the basis of Bangladesh’s efforts in the field today, they will think twice before making such wholesale changes in future.Certainly Sanath Jayasuriya, who had voiced his unhappiness with the controversial omission of key players last week, wants Bangladesh to be taken more seriously in the future."They showed us today that they cannot be taken lightly," he said after the close. "They bowled really well – both the fast bowlers who showed good direction and the spinners who did an excellent job in the afternoon."Nevertheless, Jayasuriya was not best pleased with the performance of his batsmen: "It was really disappointing that the batsmen got themselves out after getting well set. We can’t afford that – when someone gets settled they have to go on and play a long innings."At one stage, it looked like Sri Lanka would finish the day with control, but they lost four wickets in the last hour, gifting Bangladesh the moral advantage. Jayasuriya was annoyed: "We lost too many wickets in the later stages – we should have been 301 for five at the close."Sri Lanka had started the day well enough – albeit cautiously after being sent into bat on a pitch that’s notoriously lively (by sub-continental standards) during the first morning of a Test – losing only Jehan Mubarak (24), 21, one of three debutantes for the home side, before lunch.But immediately after the break they started to encounter more problems, as Bangladesh captain Khaled Mashud threw the ball to his spinners. The left-handed Naveed Nawaz, another winning his first cap, was caught behind for 21 two balls after the resumption whilst attempting a square cut.Michael Vandort, particularly impressive off the front foot, then added 41 with fellow left-hander Hashan Tillakaratne (18), reaching his first Test fifty in the process, before two wickets in two overs left Sri Lanka reeling on 133 for four.Vandort was trapped lbw for 61 by a leg-break from Alok Kapali that skidded onto his pads, whilst Tillakaratne, who had been rested in the first game, offered off-spinner Fahim Muntasir a simple return catch.Jayasuriya and Thilan Samaraweera, axed from the Test side in England despite averaging 87.17 in his first nine matches, were then forced to consolidate. Both Muntasir and Kapali bowled frugal spells and had Samaraweera been snapped up at mid-wicket when he had made just 10, Sri Lanka could have been in even deeper trouble.But, gradually, Jayasuriya started to assert his authority, using the tea interval as an opportunity to raise the tempo. After the break he scored at a run a ball, galloping past his fifty on towards his 11 Test century. However, with the Bangladesh fielding becoming increasingly ragged, left-armer Monjural Islam conjured up a perfect outswinger to end the 127 run partnership.Wicket-keeper Prasanna Jayawardene, anxious to prove that he can contribute with bat as well as with his deft glovework, feathered a catch behind in the same over.Samaraweera, displaying characteristic obduracy, inched pass his fifty, the fourth of his short career, as Upul Chandana (20) provided Bangladesh with further reason to cheer when he drove straight into the hands of extra cover.Then, just moments before the close, Islam, the pick of the Bangladeshi seamers, claiming three for 35 from 17 overs, induced a rare moment of indiscretion from Samaraweera, as the right-hander slashed into the hands of first slip.Bangladesh may well have lost their last five Tests by an innings, as well as 11 of the 12 that they have played, but the absence of Muttiah Muralitharan now means that they do now have an opportunity to press for their first Test victory.

Nottingham Forest have been dealt a huge blow in their bid to keep Joe Worrall at The City Ground this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Nottinghamshire Live, with Sarah Clapson claiming that Burnley are still interested in a move for the 24-year-old centre-back in the current transfer window, despite the Premier League side’s links with a move for Stoke City’s Nathan Collins.

According to Clapson, Sean Dyche is looking to add two new centre-backs to his options at Turf Moor this summer, and the expectation is that the Clarets will make a move for the £3.6m-rated Forest man in the coming months, regardless of what happened with Collins.

Hughton will be gutted

With it initially appearing as if Burnley’s summer interest in signing a centre-back was leaning solely towards the Stoke defender, the news that Worrall looks set to be targeted in addition to Collins is sure to leave Chris Hughton gutted.

Indeed, despite Forest’s below-par 17th place finish in the Championship last season, the former England U21 international nonetheless highly impressed for the Reds.

Over his 31 league appearances, the £10k-per-week centre-back helped his side keep 12 clean sheets, as well as making an average of 1.1 interceptions, 0.8 tackles, 4.2 clearances and winning 3.5 duels per game.

The Nottingham-born defender also posed a slight threat going forwards for the Garibaldi, scoring one goal, providing one assist and making an average of 0.3 key passes per game in the league last term.

These returns saw Worrall earn an impressive seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.94, ranking him as Forest’s fifth-best performer in the second tier of English football.

As such, it would very much appear as if the 24-year-old, whom Steven Gerrard previously dubbed an “outstanding” defender, would remain a key player for the 62-year-old Forest manager next season, as he looks to improve on his team’s disappointing campaign last time out.

However, with Burnley still thought to be sniffing around the centre-back, whether or not Worrall will be wearing the red of Nottingham Forest next time around looks very uncertain at present. Hughton will rightly be gutted if he loses his star defender this summer.

In other news: Forest dealt transfer blow over “outstanding” £5k-p/w flop that’ll have Hughton fuming

Hampshire have named a strong squad for the semi-final of the 2nd XI Trophy match at Stamford Bridge, near York when they will play Yorkshire on Monday (August 12th).

Richard Isaacs09-Aug-2002Hampshire have named a strong squad for the semi-final of the 2nd XI Trophy match at Stamford Bridge, near York when they will play Yorkshire on Monday (August 12th).Jason Laney, who was recalled to the first XI for the Championship clash at Old Trafford this week, returns to lead the seconds and takes John Francis, Alex Morris and James Tomlinson from the 12 in Manchester with him.Yorkshire, winners of the North group with four victories and one defeat (three games were abandoned) tackle the South West champions – four wins and two defeats being Hampshire’s record.Uxbridge hosts the other semi-final with Middlesex hosting Kent.Hampshire team: Jason Laney (capt), John Francis, Alex Morris, Lawrence Prittipaul, James Adams, Chris Benham, Iain Brunnschweiler (w-k), James Hamblin, Irfan Shah, James Tomlinson, James Schofield, Ian Hilsum (12th man).