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After being knocked out of the Champions League qualifiers by FC Midtjylland on Wednesday night, Celtic will be hoping to end the week on a high with a win on the opening day of the Scottish Premiership season against Hearts.

The Hoops were taken to extra time by the Danish side after taking the lead in the game and eventually lost 3-2 on aggregate. Ange Postecoglou’s team will now turn their attention to domestic football this weekend as they prepare to try and reclaim Scottish superiority, beginning their campaign by traveling to Tynecastle.

Whilst the defeat to Midtjylland was borne out of several underperforming players on the pitch, Ismaila Soro produced a particularly alarming display in midfield. The Ivorian struggled to compete technically and physically on Wednesday as he failed to grasp his opportunity to make a positive impression on the Australian head coach.

As per SofaScore, Soro lost 10 of the 14 duels in which he was involved on the pitch. He came out on top in just 20% of his ground duels and 50% of his aerial duels, winning two of each. This earned him a dreadful match score of 6.1, the lowest of any player on the pitch for either team on the night.

Tom Rogic replaced him in the 98th minute and managed to score a 6.5 in 22 minutes, which hints that he did more in his 22-minute cameo than Soro produced in more than 90 minutes.

The Scottish Sun’s David Friel gave Soro a player rating of five in his report on the game, critiquing his ability on the ball. He wrote: “Snapped into challenges and was unlucky with a few soft calls from the ref but needs to be more composed on the ball. The Ivorian is far too slack.”

Therefore, it could be time for Postecoglou to ruthlessly axe the £11k-per-week lightweight against Hearts and give another player a chance to catch the eye. Celtic will surely want to start the season on a high note and their chances of doing so could be hindered by starting Soro, with his recent poor performances suggesting that he could be a liability in midfield.

For example, Rogic could come into the side to take the Ivorian’s place, as he was able to provide a better showing than the 23-year-old during his time off the bench against Midtjylland. The Hoops boss will surely need to find a solution to the midfield problem against Hearts if he opts against picking Rogic, as Soro’s performance on Wednesday was far from the standard required for a club like Celtic.

Meanwhile, Celtic stance on beast once compared to George Best revealed, Ange will be frustrated…

Yorkshire’s chief executive Stewart Regan has taken responsibility for Monday night’s farce where their Twenty20 quarter-final with Durham at Chester-le-Street was postponed just minutes from the scheduled start

Cricinfo staff08-Jul-2008
Azeem Rafiq does not own a British passport and his participation in Yorkshire’s team has forced the postponement of their match against Durham © Yorkshire CCC
Yorkshire’s chief executive Stewart Regan has taken responsibility for Monday night’s farce where their Twenty20 quarter-final with Durham at Chester-le-Street was postponed just minutes from the scheduled start. The ECB called off the match when it was discovered Yorkshire had fielded the ineligible Azeem Rafiq, their 17-year-old spinner.”Ultimately, the buck stops with me. I’m responsible for running the club,” Regan told BBC Radio Five Live.He said he first became aware of problems surrounding Rafiq’s eligibility when the ECB contacted the club on Friday, a week after the player had turned out against Nottinghamshire in a match which took them through to the quarter-finals.”We carried out some investigations internally and it transpired that whilst we notified the ECB that the player was on an academy contract, we hadn’t completed the correct paperwork for him to be registered to play in the first team. The ECB said they would try and register him retrospectively.”He added: “The club has got to put its hands up and say we didn’t register the player correctly and we didn’t look into the player’s personal circumstances as a first-team cricketer. The situation was compounded because he was pulled straight from the academy at very short notice to play for the first team when we had a couple of other players unavailable. It was that speed of selection, coupled with the fact that he hadn’t been registered last October, which led to the situation we found ourselves in yesterday.”But he said it was not Yorkshire’s fault that the decision to postpone the game came so late. “We provided everything we could to the ECB over the weekend. It’s a very unfortunate set of circumstances. In an ideal world, the match would have been called off a lot sooner.”He added that the issue was compounded by the fact that this year the Twenty20 Cup carried added significance because of the chance to play in the Champions’ League. The finalists of the domestic competition will compete for a $5million prize.Yorkshire will attend an ECB disciplinary hearing on Thursday when they will be told of their fate.

Aston Villa have had an opening £25m bid for Bayer Leverkusen winger Leon Bailey turned down, according to The Daily Mail.

And, as to be expected, a number of Villa supporters have been giving their thoughts to the links on social media.

The Daily Mail claim that Bailey is open to a move to the Premier League, however, the Bundesliga side value the Jamaican more than the £25m fee offered by Villa.

The same outlet previously reported that Villa view Bailey as an attainable target, but it appears as if they will have to up their bid considerably to have any chance of bringing the 23-year-old to the Midlands.

Bailey, who was involved in 26 goals in his 40 appearances last season, is currently away on international duty.

Villa fans react

Well-known Villa account @villareport shared the news on the club’s Bailey bid on Twitter.

This is what these Villa fans had to say in reply, with one describing the offer as ‘strange’.

“Classic Villa 1st – £25m offer 2nd – £30m offer 3rd – “He’s not our 1st choice anyway” Rinse and repeat”

Credit: @TheAsgardian

“For us to be offering on this player shows our owner’s ambition”

Credit: @Rich0364

“Seems strange we haven’t agreed the fee before lodging the bid, normally the formal bid comes after the behind the scenes negotiations”

Credit: @JohnCha00458074

“Up it. We go again.”

Credit: @ThorstenJensen1

“Just a matter of time now if true. Just testing the water with the £25m”

Credit: @TJAdams1976

“Why did we offer £25m thinking they would accept?”

Credit: @HappyGrealish

In other news: ‘Not ready for this’ – Many AVFC fans react as ‘tragic’ exit link emerges. 

David Norris has tipped teenage goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu to have a bright future after joining Portsmouth on a season-long loan from Manchester City.

Bazunu has made another temporary move away from the Premier League champions after impressing between the sticks for Rochdale last term.

Despite being just 19, the Republic of Ireland international has already set his sights on dislodging Ederson and becoming Manchester City’s first-choice goalkeeper.

Pompey boss Danny Cowley has also claimed Bazunu is one of the best young goalkeepers in Europe.

Cowley is looking to challenge for promotion to the Championship during his first full season at the Fratton Park helm, having succeeded Kenny Jackett in March.

After seeing a string of players depart the League One club, Cowley has strengthened his side with the additions of Bazunu, Ryan Tunnicliffe, Shaun Williams and Clark Robertson.

But Norris, who enjoyed a spell on the south coast with Portsmouth, is particularly keen to see how Bazunu fairs at Fratton Park.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, he said: “Saying he is one of the best young goalkeepers in Europe is massive.

“They’re earmarking him as having a massive future and, at only 19, if he can get some games under his belt and do a job, it looks like he has a good future ahead of him.

“Coming from City, you would expect him to have a decent pedigree and play with his feet, which fits in with the way the Cowley brothers want to play. There were a few Championship clubs in for him as well, so I think it will be a good signing.”

It’s absolutely necessary to give positive support for the players in the Piton Malta Herman Griffith Primary Schools cricket competition.It is vital at this stage, I think, to create the correct psyche in players so young because the environment in which they learn their trade is crucial in their overall development.After all, what’s learnt in the cradle lasts forever. An incident I saw at the Lumber Company ground last week has convinced me even more that youngsters do indeed need the right kind of guidance to help them to blossom.I couldn’t imagine in my wildest dreams that a teacher would pull his players off the field, thereby causing the game to end prematurely.It happened at approximately 12:05 p.m., much to the dismay of supporters of both Holy Innocents and Lawrence T. Gay.At that stage the Lawrence T. Gay batsmen were beating the stuffings out of their opponents attack . . . 156/3 was the clearest indication that they were the superior team.With 20.4 overs bowled, lo and behold the teacher called his players off the field, engaged in heated discussion with the groundsman and Lawrence T. Gay officials. Soon after, the team bus arrived and took the players away. It left a sour taste in everyone’s mouth.The problem? Would you believe that after allowing so many overs to be bowled the teacher apparently suddenly realised that the pitch was too long?Admittedly, they were playing on a full-length pitch when in fact it should’ve been 18 yards according to competition regulations instead of the conventional 22 yards.The adjustment was made taking into account the age and size of the players.If the teacher raised the question about the length of the pitch as an issue, he was certainly within his rights, but the question remains: why didn’t he identify the discrepancy from the start or even well before the 20.4 overs were delivered?What made matters even worse was the crude way in which the issue was handled. You just can’t instruct 11 youngsters to leave the field just like that.In any event, if the game had been played to its logical conclusion, it means that neither side would have been disadvantaged because they would have played under the same conditions.Not only that, it would have been in order to play the game and then send in a letter of protest to the National Sports Council who would in turn make a ruling on the outcome.It was to the credit of the L. T. Gay management that they tried their very best to have the matter resolved in a civil way but the other side would have none of it.And we wonder "how the youth get so"? I know that we know.

New West Brom manager Valerien Ismael getting a four-year contract at The Hawthorns is a surprise, says journalist Luke Hatfield.

Ismael was appointed as Sam Allardyce’s successor at the end of last month after leaving Barnsley, with the Midlands club confirming that the 45-year-old has signed a four-year deal.

He was not West Brom’s first choice, however, with it being well-documented that the Baggies eyed up the likes of Chris Wilder and David Wagner prior, only for things to break down at the very end.

For Hatfield, it makes the decision to hand Ismael a four-year contract a surprise, though he sees it as a positive development, as it shows a long-term plan.

“It was a little bit of a surprise,” the Express & Star journalist told FFC. “It’s certainly a bold move by Albion in terms of they’re really showing a sign for the future here.

“I think Albion fans were getting a bit frustrated in that, you know, the likes of Big Sam came in and it did seem very short-termist. This seems the exact opposite, a four-year deal for Valerien Ismael.”

Certainly, it did look like Allardyce was just brought in to put out the fire at West Brom given his record when it comes to keeping teams in the Premier League, something he was unable to do this time round.

With Ismael, having been given that four-year deal, the Frenchman will surely be expected to get West Brom promoted and build something at The Hawthorns.

Speaking of crucial moments, India came good everytime there was a crisis

Partab Ramchand08-Sep-2002With two countries scheduled to tour India early in the 1986-87season, the Board of Control for Cricket in India had no optionbut to send the Indian team on its 1986 trip to England in thefirst half, even though they had toured in the first half on theprevious tour, four years before.This meant that the Indians would have to again play in the cold,rain-affected half of the English season. But unlike on the twoprevious tours of England in 1979 and 1982, this time the bowlingwas strong enough to bowl out the home side. Also, the attack wasbuilt on seam, so very ideal for the prevailing conditions. Thebatting remained good enough and the result was an emphatictriumph in the three-match series.India won their first ever Test at Lord’s, followed it up withanother victory at Leeds and there were times in the third Testat Edgbaston when the tourists seemed set for a clean sweepbefore rain halted play and the match was left drawn.The 1986 Indian team to England has to be among the most balancedin 70 years of Test cricket. Unlike previous teams with apositive record, the strength of the bowling was not based onspin. Kapil Dev, Roger Binny, Chetan Sharma and Manoj Prabhakarwere the medium pacers and the first three did their job inexemplary fashion in the Tests. Madan Lal, called up from theLancashire league, filled in admirably for the injured ChetanSharma at Leeds.However, while the main thrust of the attack centered round seambowling, the two spinners Maninder Singh and Ravi Shastri alsohad a role to play. The former particularly dealt severe blowsand in fact headed the Test averages.But bowlers can accomplish their job if only the batsmen givethem a total sizeable enough to defend. And in this regard, theteam was well served by the presence of Sunil Gavaskar, KSrikkanth, Mohammad Azharuddin, Dilip Vengsarkar and MohinderAmarnath, all-rounders Shastri, Kapil and Binny and the newwicketkeeper Kiran More. Except for Vengsarkar, no one was inreally rip-roaring form but the batting jelled together at vitaltimes.Speaking of crucial moments, India came good every time there wasa crisis. In the first Test, for example, after England had ledoff with 294, India were 264 for eight when More, in his firstTest joined Vengsarkar who was on 81. The stage seemed set for anengrossing duel for the first innings lead that would be a greatpsychological boost. More (25) helped Vengsarkar add 39 runs andthe lead was taken.But Vengsarkar was on 95 when joined by Maninder. The No 11batsman held on to make six runs, saw Vengsarkar reach hiscentury and the two were finally associated in a partnership of38 runs. It was the tall Bombay batsman’s third successivehundred against England at Lord’s, a unique achievement for avisiting batsman.A lead of 47 runs meant that the game had reached a vital stagebut early on the fourth morning, Kapil irrevocably swung thematch India’s way with an inspired spell that removed GrahamGooch, Tim Robinson and David Gower even before the arrears hadbeen wiped off. Midway through the following day, India werecelebrating their first victory at Lord’s in 11 Tests. Kapilhastened the five-wicket victory by hitting Edmonds for 18 runsin an over – three fours and the six over mid-wicket with whichthe game was won. Incidentally, it was also Kapil’s first victoryin 21 Tests as Indian captain.A second – a much more emphatic victory by 279 runs – came twoweeks later. Here the dominance of Indians was complete. Theytook a stranglehold on the game at the end of the first inningsand thereafter only the margin and when that victory would comeabout were being discussed.Vengsarkar top scored with 61 in India’s first innings total of272. Then Madan Lal, preferred in place of Prabhakar who wasalready in the squad, and Binny got among the wickets quickly andEngland were dismissed for 102. In bowler-friendly conditions,Vengsarkar, then in the midst of his Bradmanesque run, broughtall his class, skill and experience into play.Coming in at nine for two, he steadied the innings and in thecompany of the later order batsman and the tail he serenelyprogressed to another hundred, which he reached again in thecompany of last man Maninder. This time he remained unbeaten with102 in a total of 237. England’s victory target was an improbable408 and they succumbed meekly for 128, some 75 minutes afterresumption of play on the fourth morning.With the rubber in their pocket, it only remained to be seenwhether the Indians could make it a clean sweep. And when Englandlost their first two wickets without a run on the board on thefirst morning of the third Test, hopes were high. A captain’sknock by Mike Gatting (183 not out) however helped England get to390.Consistent batting down the order saw India post the same total,only the fourth time this had happened in 1048 Tests since 1877.Chetan Sharma, with a bag of six for 58 that saw him become thefirst Indian bowler to take ten wickets in a Test in England,bowled out the home team for 235 early on the final morning. Avictory target of 236 was on the cards, considering the strengthand form of the Indian batsmen. But from 101 for one, theyslumped to 105 for five.Rain, however, took a hand with India 126 for five at tea and onresumption, Azharuddin and More took the final score to 174 forfive at final draw of stumps.Away from the Tests too, the Indians had a successful tour. Thetwo match one-day international series was shared while thevisitors became the first Indian team not to lose even a singlematch on a tour of England. Out of 11 first-class matches, threewere won and eight drawn.Vengsarkar predictably headed both the Test and tour averages andwas deservedly named among Wisden’s five cricketers of the year.Amarnath and Azharuddin performed well enough to cover up for thecomparatively lean form of Gavaskar, Shastri, Sandip Patil andSrikkanth. And this time the bowling figures for the tour andTests matched the batting, symbolised by Maninder heading theTest figures with 12 wickets at just 15.58 apiece.For England, there was little to rejoice and only Gatting’s formwith the bat, Pringle’s all-round capabilities and Edmonds’ spellon the final day of the third Test providing some sources ofcomfort. England in fact changed captains in mid-stream, Gattingtaking over from Gower after the first Test but this did notresult in any change in England’s fortunes.

MatériaMais Notícias

Rogério Ceni nunca escondeu sua admiração por Juan Carlos Osorio, técnico que comandou o São Paulo em 2015 e hoje dirige a seleção do México. E neste sábado, diante do Novorizontino, o técnico do Tricolor deu uma mostra da influência que o colombiano tem em sua empreitada fora das quatro linhas.

No segundo tempo da partida em Novo Horizonte, quando o São Paulo vencia por 2 a 0, Ceni lançou o atacante Luiz Araújo e com ele ressuscitou um gesto que é marca registrada de Osorio. O técnico entregou um bilhete ao garoto, com instruções para outro atleta. Essa forma de comunicação era defendida pelo técnico colombiano, que escrevia com canetas azuis e vermelhas: azul para algo bom que estava sendo feito, vermelha para uma espécie de alerta.

Ceni já disse que conviver com Osorio, mesmo que por apenas cinco meses no São Paulo, mudou sua forma de pensar futebol. Ele se sentia pronto para ser treinador, mas depois que acompanhou os métodos do treinador, se deu conta de que precisava estudar mais, conhecer mais. Não à toa, trouxe da Inglaterra, onde Osorio teve sua formação no esporte, seu assistente técnico: Michael Beale, com passagens pelas categorias de base do Chelsea e do Liverpool.

A admiração de Ceni o levou a ter um período de estágio com Osorio no ano passado, quando ainda se preparava para ser técnico. Ele acompanhou treinos do México durante uma semana, a convite do treinador colombiano. As aulas se refletem no futebol aplicado pelo técnico do São Paulo.

Assim como o Profe, apelido de Osorio, Ceni prima por um jogo ofensivo, com velocidade na recuperação da bola, linhas altas e forte jogo pelas pontas. O esquema de preferência de ambos é o 3-4-3, muito usado por Jorge Sampaoli. No Tricolor, no entanto, o ex-goleiro ainda não consolidou o sistema. Porém, pela inspiração que tem no colombiano, não será surpresa se isso acontecer ao longo do ano.

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Crystal Palace and Leeds United are interested in signing Celta Vigo midfielder Okay Yokuslu, according to El Desmarque, cited by Sports Witness.

The Lowdown: Yokuslu profiled

Yokuslu is currently at Euro 2020 with Turkey and started in the tournament opener against Italy.

The 27-year-old is primarily a defensive midfielder but can play as a centre-back or central midfielder when required.

He spent the second half of the 2020/21 campaign on loan at West Brom, making 16 appearances for the Baggies.

West Brom teammate Kyle Bartley described Yokuslu as ‘tenacious’, whereas former Baggies boss Sam Allardyce even compared him to Fernando Hierro.

The Latest: Palace and Leeds links

Reports abroad suggest that Celta Vigo are looking to sell Yokuslu this summer, with Palace and Leeds in the picture.

There’s also interest from a Turkish club, however, the player’s agent insisted there is no desire to move to the Super Lig this summer, seemingly giving the Eagles a boost in their attempts to sign the holding midfielder, should they firm up their interest.

The Verdict: A smart McCarthy replacement?

Palace have the likes of Luka Milivojevic, Jairo Riedewald and James McArthur on the books at Selhurst Park, however, James McCarthy appears to be on the way out of the club, with his deal expiring at the end of the month.

Yokuslu could be a shrewd replacement for the Irishman, which will then give the new Eagles manager four solid central midfield options.

He recorded a Premier League match rating average of 6.96 in his 16 appearances for West Brom, as per WhoScored, a higher score than all four Palace midfielders mentioned, so he could be an upgrade ahead of the 2021/22 campaign.

In other news: Many Palace fans buzz at ‘great appointment’, find out more here. 

Many new faces are expected to arrive at Celtic this summer as the Glasgow giants aim to rebuild their squad, and one of the first names through the door could be Newcastle United goalkeeper Freddie Woodman.

What’s the story?

According to The Chronicle, the 24-year-old is set to leave St James’ Park after finding his route to the first team blocked following a successful 12-month spell at Swansea City.

The report claims another loan move away from Woodman’s parent club is likely to occur, with Premier League outfit Southampton also keen on the former England Under-21 international’s signature.

Fans will be buzzing

Celtic surrendered their Scottish Premiership title without a fight in 2020/21, finishing a huge 25 points behind their fiercest rivals Rangers.

A key reason behind their disappointing collapse was their poor defensive record compared to Steven Gerrard’s men.

The Hoops leaked 16 more goals than the newly-crowned champions, largely down to poor performances between the sticks from shot-stoppers Vasilis Barkas and Scott Bain and getting a new goalkeeper needs to be high on Dominic McKay’s list of priorities.

Therefore, news that the highly-rated Woodman has been linked with a move to Parkhead will surely have the club’s supporters buzzing.

After keeping 20 clean sheets in 45 Championship appearances for Swansea throughout the recently concluded campaign, interest is high in the £8.1 million rated keeper (as per Transfermarkt), and he remains open-minded about his next move.

“I hope this isn’t the last game I play in a Swansea shirt,” Woodman revealed after the Swans were defeated in the play-off final.

“The main thing is to sort out my next step; if that’s in a Swansea shirt, then brilliant, but if it’s not, I have to crack on, and that’s football.

“I’m a Swansea City fan now; I’ll be looking out for their results straight away, but football’s a funny game, and anything can happen. We’ll see what happens.”

With Martin Dubravka and Karl Darlow both enjoying solid seasons at Newcastle and with both seemingly ahead of Woodman in Steve Bruce’s pecking order, the youngster may have to leave boyhood club once again in search of regular game time.

He has experience of playing north of the border before, though, having enjoyed a six-month stint with Aberdeen back in 2018, and the 6 ft 1 gem could be the ideal signing to get Celtic back on track. Celtic fans will surely be buzzing if they get themselves a new goalkeeper for the season, as they were let down too often last year by both Barkas and Bain.

And, in other news…Postecoglou set for huge Celtic blow before he’s even arrived, fans should be fuming