Category Uncategorized

Andrew Flintoff is to spend the next three months in Dubai to aid his recovery from the latest operation to his right knee and make a return to England’s one-day team as their star allrounder

Cricinfo staff08-Sep-2009Andrew Flintoff is to spend the next three months in Dubai to aid his recovery from the latest operation to his right knee and make a return to England’s one-day team as their star allrounder.”It’s always easier doing rehabilitation in warm weather and that’s the main reason why we’ve decided to go to Dubai,” Flintoff told his website. “Three years ago when I was recovering from my ankle, we all went to Florida as a family and it worked really well and I see this being a similar situation.”I can’t drive for at least another six weeks, so it will difficult getting from A to B and doing my rehabilitation without relying on someone else to drive if I stayed in England. Where we are staying in Dubai, all I have to do is press the right button in the lift to get from our apartment to the gym and everything I need is on the doorstep.”Flintoff, 31, retired from Test cricket at the end of England’s Ashes-winning summer, and 24 hours after helping them regain the urn he underwent arthroscopy to his injured right knee. He admitted in a newspaper interview last week that there’s a chance he may never play again, but his main ambition remains to play in another World Cup and has targetted England’s one-day leg of their tour of Bangladesh next February as a realistic date for a comeback.His latest bout of rehabilitation suffered a minor setback this week when it was revealed that he was afflicted by deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in his right calf, though the ECB was quick to release a statement describing it as “a common complication of surgery”.

Bruno Lage’s first few months in the dugout at Wolverhampton Wanderers have hardly been plain sailing.

The Old Gold have only won three of their opening seven matches in the Premier League and they struggled to land some of their primary targets in the summer.

On the chalkboard

The climax to Wolves’ transfer window bordered on calamitous.

Lage and Fosun had been patient about their business for the vast majority of the window, knowing they had little in the coffers to spend after such vast sums were spent in 2020.

They failed to land Renato Sanches on deadline day and then moves for Kieffer Moore and Sven Botman fell through.

A move for Sanches may well be revisited in January but it’s another midfielder who must now be at the height of their priorities.

One report claims that Wolves are interested in signing Championship star John Swift.

The midfielder has been sensational for Reading in recent years and has started the 2021/22 campaign in a rich vein of form.

New Doyle?

Wolves have an interesting association when it comes to Reading. There have been several players to pen terms with the Royals and at Molineux, ranging from the likes of Adam Le Fondre to Steven Hunt and Marcus Hahnemann.

However, one of the most successful acquisitions from Reading was definitely Kevin Doyle.

The Irishman signed for Wolves in a deal worth £6.5m. That was a hefty sum of money for a player who had only cost the Royals £78,000 from Cork City.

He was a valuable servant for the Old Gold, scoring 34 goals for them during a six-year period.

Doyle wasn’t the most lethal of forwards but he still played a crucial role during their venture into the Premier League 11 years ago.

Whether or not he was worth the price tag is a tricky question but a player who certainly would be is Swift.

Like Doyle, he’s had a hugely successful time in Berkshire and Wolves could replicate the success of that aforementioned deal in January.

The 26-year-old is now in the prime of his career and is becoming better as the weeks and months pass by.

He has scored 30 goals for Reading down the years and it’s in the last few terms where he’s really taken his game to the next level.

Dubbed “super talented” by Reading manager Veljko Paunovic, he scored six goals and registered 11 assists in the 2019/20 campaign.

Last season was one marred by injury but he’s bounced back excellently in 2021/22, netting seven times and claiming five assists in just 11 outings.

He has been doing that in the Championship but it proves why Wolves must move for him this winter. Swift doesn’t just beat the goalkeeper but he also knows how to defeat a defensive line with his immense creativity.

Doyle joined Wolves and had a relatively successful spell but Swift will be hoping to do that and more.

AND in other news, Wolves eye swoop for “exceptional” £43.2m-rated star, he’s like Pedro Neto…

Many Wolves fans have been left slamming the display of Joao Moutinho in their game away at Leeds United in the Premier League this afternoon.

The central midfield player got off to a bad start straight away, getting himself a yellow card within the first few minutes of the match, before Hwang Hee-Chan spared his blushes by grabbing an early goal for the visitors at Elland Road.

The Molineux faithful were particularly critical of Moutinho’s deliveries from set pieces, and his woeful pass accuracy of just 62 per cent is poor for a player of such tremendous technical ability.

Nonetheless, the Portugal international is an experienced player, and so he will now be looking to improve on this performance in the Midlands club’s next fixture, should Bruno Lage decide to throw him in the starting eleven again.

Wolves fans on Moutinho

These WWFC supporters were left slamming his performance on Twitter, with one even going as far as to claim that he was ‘woeful’:

“How the hell is Moutinho still on set pieces? Ridiculous”

Credit: @Jim96925627

“Moutinho is having a HOWLER”

Credit: @__Grav

“Donk and Moutinho cannot cope”

Credit: @mitchdavis_1

“Defending well winning the ball well, it’s the passing for me, we are constantly giving it away, Donk has been woeful as well as Joao. Leeds have so much space behind their full backs since the goal we have stopped looking to get the ball in behind”

Credit: @mark_spruce

“Moutinho booked inside first 5, told ya he’s too slow”

Credit: @Si999888999

“Why he has started with Moutinho and Dendoncker I will never know?”

Credit: @cpj93070

In other news, find out what transfer claim has Wanderers excited here!

Both Australia and South Africa have been told to ignore the possible distraction of the IPL and concentrate on their battle for the No. 1 one-day ranking. The rearranged Twenty20 tournament is preparing for its start and the international teams could run into some of the IPL franchises in Cape Town next week.However, Ricky Ponting, whose side took a 1-0 lead in the five-match series, said the moment any outside issues emerged they would be addressed. “I’d like to think that the guys have solely got their minds on what they need to have their minds on for the next couple of weeks,” Ponting told AAP. “The IPL will start up once our tournament is over. Whenever you are representing Australia, if you have a clouded mind on anything at all then you are not going to play your best cricket.”Ponting said he had not heard any talk within the team about the IPL. “We know that we’ve got a lot of guys coming out from Australia who will be arriving in South Africa very soon to start their preparations for the IPL,” he said. “The moment I hear any of that stuff creeping in, it will be addressed.”Australia are currently ranked No. 2 and will try to reclaim top spot in the one-day rankings over the next two weeks. “They will be the motivating factors for us, nothing to do with the IPL,” Ponting said. “All the money and contracts have been sorted anyway. Now it’s just a matter of representing your country the best way that you possibly can.”Graeme Smith’s men have a greater challenge to ignore the hype as the event is being staged in their backyard. “With the fact that it has come here to South Africa, it has impacted a lot more on the players at home,” Smith said. “They have had probably a lot more involvement in terms of information for the respective teams.”I know Rajasthan join in Cape Town in Monday. I have had an involvement in that. Our focus is now on South Africa for the next two weeks and making sure our performances are of top standard here. Ultimately South Africa comes first.”

Speaking to Football Insider, BBC Radio 5 Live pundit Alan Hutton has been left wowed by a Rangers transfer claim involving Millwall forward Jed Wallace.

The Lowdown: Gers eyeing Wallace…

As per Football League World, Rangers are one of plethora of clubs eyeing a move for the Championship attacker in January with the Ibrox club even facing competition from Celtic.

The 27-year-old is also attracting plenty of attention from south of the border with West Brom, Burnley, Newcastle United, Crystal Palace, West Ham United and Brentford all interested.

Now, Hutton has reacted, and it’s safe to say he’s impressed.

The Latest: Hutton wowed…

Speaking to FI, the former Scotland international has claimed Wallace is ‘one of the best’ in his division and believes the player could definitely add quality to Rangers.

He also adds that their interest makes ‘really good sense’.

“He’s always been a standout player at Millwall,” Hutton explained.

“He’s been one of the best players in the Championship this season.

“It makes really good sense – especially financially.

“Rangers will want to enhance their squad; they need players that can lighten the load for the current squad.

“The likes of Rangers and Celtic play a lot of games in a season, so they need a healthy squad.

“Bringing in players who can make the eleven even better will only help you.”

The Verdict: Get it done…

Millwall boss has also lauded Wallace as a ‘big game player’, something Rangers and Steven Gerrard arguably need to take this side to the next level – the lack of ‘big game’ players perhaps reared its ugly head on Thursday night against Lyon.

Able to play across attacking midfield and as a forward, his brilliant start of three goals and two assists in seven Championship outings perfectly sums up why the Gers now want him, bringing versatility and end product to an already dangerous array of attacking talent at Gerrard’s disposal.

In other news: ‘Worst performance I’ve seen’ – Many Gers fans blast ‘waste of a jersey’ vs Lyon, find out more here.

MatériaMais Notícias

Dorival Júnior é o novo técnico do São Paulo. O clube confirmou a contratação por meio das redes sociais do presidente Carlos Augusto de Barros e Silva, o Leco. O substituto de Rogério Ceni assinou até dezembro de 2018.

– Dorival Júnior é o novo técnico do São Paulo. Desejo a ele boas-vindas e sucesso – escreveu Leco em seu Twitter.

A apresentação do treinador será na semana que vem, provavelmente na segunda, e, por isso, Dorival não estará no banco de reservas contra o Santos, no domingo. A esposa do técnico tem um problema cardíaco e passará por exames, fazendo com que ele só inicie seu trabalho na próxima semana. O auxiliar Pintado comandará o time interinamente no clássico.

Chegam com Dorival Júnior ao Tricolor paulista oauxiliar Lucas Silvestre (seu filho), o analista de desempenho Léo Porto e o preparador físico Celso Rezende, que trabalharam com o técnico no Santos. Todos devem se apresentar com o treinador na segunda-feira.

O São Paulo ficou pouco mais de 48h sem um treinador. Demitiu Rogério Ceni no início da tarde de segunda-feira e logo se movimentou para acertar com Dorival Junior. Na terça-feira, o diretor executivo de futebol Vinicius Pinotti embarcou para Florianópolis, adiantou o acerto em reunião com o técnico e retornou a São Paulo. Teve o aval de Leco para concluir a negociação na tarde desta quarta-feira.

A missão de Dorival Júnior no São Paulo será de colocar o clube nas primeiras posições do Campeonato Brasileiro. Com Ceni, o time foi eliminado precocemente das Copas do Brasil e da Sul-Americana e caiu nas semifinais do Paulista diante do Corinthians. No Brasileiro, torneio que restou na temporada, está há seis rodadas sem vencer e ocupa a zona de rebaixamento, com 11 pontos em 11 jogos.

Leco nunca escondeu sua admiração por Dorival e pesa a favor dele o seu desempenho no Santos, não só por ter brigado por títulos nas duas últimas temporadas. O técnico assumiu a equipe litorânea no meio de 2015 na zona de rebaixamento, em situação bem similar à do Tricolor atualmente, e, ainda naquela temporada, foi finalista da Copa do Brasil com um futebol bastante elogiado. Na época, pegou o Santos na mesma 17ª colocação do Tricolor de agora e terminou em sétimo.

Dorival ganhou destaque no cenário nacional justamente no Peixe, em 2010. No comando da equipe que tinha Wesley, Ganso, Robinho e Neymar, foi campeão paulista e da Copa do Brasil com futebol muito ofensivo e vistoso. Deixou o clube naquele mesmo ano por conta de desavença com Neymar.

A última passagem dele pelo Santos acabou em 4 de junho, ao ser demitido pelo presidente Modesto Roma Jr. Desde então, estava desempregado e chegou a recusar convites de equipes de fora, de países periféricos. Animou-se com a procura do Tricolor e logo sinalizou que aceitaria a proposta. O São Paulo será o terceiro clube grande paulista de Dorival, que também teve passagem pelo Palmeiras, em 2014, quando assumiu para evitar o rebaixamento.

RelacionadasSão PauloBlog do Salata: ‘Dorival Júnior assume um São Paulo sem rumo’São Paulo05/07/2017São PauloDorival está acostumado a pegar equipes perto ou na zona da degolaSão Paulo05/07/2017São PauloPróximo do São Paulo, Aderlan chega a Valencia para definir seu futuroSão Paulo05/07/2017

Tim Sherwood has named the Premier League club that could benefit from poaching Ralph Hasenhuttl from Southampton.

What’s the talk?

Former Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood has suggested that Spurs should try to poach Hasenhuttl from Southampton to replace Nuno Santo.

The ex-Blackburn man has said that the Saints boss has proven that he can thrive under pressure and deploy a front-foot style of play.

Sherwood said on Sky Sports News (1:33pm, September 25, 2021):

“I think there’s Potter at Brighton, and the guy you mentioned earlier, Hasenhuttl.

“I think he deals with the pressure, he has been beaten 9-0 twice, he comes back from that, he still has the identity of how his team wants to play, on the front foot, give the fans what they want to see.”

There’d be fury

Southampton chief Martin Semmens must avoid a Southampton nightmare following these comments from Sherwood on Hasenhuttl. Supporters would be furious if the club allowed the manager to be poached midway, or even a quarter of the way, through the campaign as it would leave them in a precarious situation looking for a replacement whilst still playing important Premier League games.

Hasenhuttl now has a proven track record of keeping Southampton in the top-flight, after managing it in the 2018/19, 2019/20 and 2020/21 campaigns.

Therefore, supporters would be devastated to see him depart to join Tottenham at any point during the current campaign. It would leave Semmens in a nightmare scenario and could cause fans to panic about where the club is headed, depending on where they are in the Premier League table at the time.

However, this is pure speculation for now as Nuno Santo is still the manager at Tottenham and these comments from Sherwood are merely a suggestion. It is not time to hit the panic button yet, but it could be a situation that arises in the coming months and Semmens will need to avoid making a major blunder if it does.

AND in other news, Ralph masterstroke: Southampton flop has seen value plummet 64% since St. Mary’s exit…

أعلن أحمد دياب رئيس رابطة الأندية المصرية المحترفة عن توقيع اتفاقية مع رابطة الأندية الإماراتية خلال المؤتمر الصحفي الذي عقد عصر اليوم.

وكانت رابطة الأندية قد أعلنت انعقاد المؤتمر عصر اليوم بأحد فنادق وسط القاهرة، كما تم السماح لكافة وسائل الإعلام بالحضور لتغطية الحدث.

طالع | استعدادات خاصة لـ نهائي كأس الرابطة المصرية بين فيوتشر وغزل المحلة

ومن المقرر أن تلعب مباراة نهائي كأس الرابطة بين فريقي فيوتشر وغزل المحلة يوم الخميس المقبل، الموافق 7-7-2022 على ملعب استاد القاهرة الدولي.

وتم توقيع اتفاقية التعاون المشترك بين رابطة الأندية المصرية ورابطة أندية الإمارات.

تفاصيل المؤتمر:

قال أحمد دياب رئيس رابطة الأندية: “العلاقات بين مصر والإمارات تاريخية وسياسية والروح واحدة، وهناك بروتوكول التعاون بين الرابطتين المصرية والإماراتية شهدت بذل مجهود كبير”.

وتابع: “رابطة الأندية الإماراتية تعمل منذ 15 عامًا وسنفيد بعضنا البعض، وسيكون هناك فعاليات بين أندية مصر والإمارات والبروتوكول سيكون لمدة 4 سنوات”.

وأردف: “الاتفاقية لن تكون عبارة عن مباريات فقط، وسيكون هناك تنسيق وتعاون تكنولوجي وإداري”.

فيما قال عبد الله ناصر الجنيني رئيس الرابطة الإماراتية: “سيكون هناك أحداث مشتركة بين الأندية المصرية والإماراتية، والدوري المصري كبير ونتشرف بالتعاون مع الرابطة المصرية”.

Many Wolves fans have been left fuming as they learned who the officials will be for their home game against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday afternoon.

As shared by Talking Wolves on their Twitter page, Stuart Attwell has been appointed as the on-field referee for the match at Molineux, while Martin Atkinson is on VAR duty.

Some of Attwell’s controversial decisions in the past have gone against the Midlands club, as former manager Nuno Espirito Santo even called him out in his post-match interview after a loss to Chelsea back in July of last year (Birmingham Mail), while he has given more yellow cards and yellows leading to reds to the Wanderers over any other team in his career (Transfermarkt).

Atkinson has already been involved in controversy this season, awarding a questionable penalty to West Ham United in their 4-2 away win at Newcastle United on the opening weekend (The Daily Telegraph), and so it is understandable to see several WWFC supporters unhappy with the appointments.

Wolves fans on officials appointments

These Wanderers fumed as the news was shared on Twitter:

“Bed”

Credit: @wwfcglover

“Oh my days, I actually despise this guy so much”

Credit: @adenwwfc_

“That’s us losing already”

Credit: @Lazychris14

“Oh well that’s us 0/6 pts then by next Monday”

Credit: @grubby27

“If ever proof was needed that two wrongs do not make a right.”

Credit: @ezzalodge

“We need new referees in the Premier League”

Credit: @Wolvoryan04

In other news, find out who Wolves are now in talks to sign here!

كشفت تقارير صحفية إيطالية، أن نادي يوفنتوس توصل لاتفاق مع أنخيل دي ماريا بشأن التعاقد مع اللاعب الأرجنتيني خلال فترة الانتقالات الصيفية الجارية.

دي ماريا الذي انتهى عقده بعد 7 سنوات مع باريس سان جيرمان بنهاية الموسم الماضي، في مفاوضات مع يوفنتوس منذ عدة أشهر.

صاحب الـ34 عامًا، كان ينتظر برشلونة، لكن الأزمة المالية في البلوجرانا، وأهداف النادي الأساسية، أسقطت أحلام أنخيل في خلافة ميسي بالكامب نو، أرضًا.

طالع أيضًا.. دي ماريا: يوفنتوس أكبر نادٍ في إيطاليا ولست مهتمًا بـ روما

ورغم أن يوفنتوس أصيب بالإحباط كثيرًا، إلا أن صحيفة “لاجازيتا ديلو سبورت” الإيطالية، أكدت بأن النادي أخيرًا تلقى ردًا من دي ماريا، الذي قال نعم لعرض البيانكونيري.

وأشارت التقارير إلى أن النادي الإيطالي يعمل الآن مع وكيل دي ماريا على وضع التفاصيل النهائية للصفقة، ويمكن أن يكون اللاعب في تورينو خلال أيام لإجراء الفحوصات الطبية.

دي ماريا طلب التوقيع على عقد لمدة عام واحد مع خيار التمديد لعام إضافي، حتى يتمكن من العودة إلى الأرجنتين بعد بطولة كأس العالم 2022.

في موسمه الأخير مع باريس سان جيرمان، تمكن دي ماريا من تسجيل 5 أهداف وصناعة 9 في 31 مباراة بمختلف المسابقات.