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تحدث رئيس باريس سان جيرمان، ناصر الخليفي، عن نجاح فريقه في إقصاء ليفربول من منافسات بطولة دوري أبطال أوروبا.

وتغلب باريس سان جيرمان على ليفربول بركلات الترجيح، وحسم تأهله إلى دور الـ 8 بدوري أبطال أوروبا.

وفي مقابلة مع شبكة “سي بي إس سبورتس”، أشاد ناصر الخليفي بالشخصية التي أظهرها لاعبو باريس سان جيرمان أمام ليفربول.

وقال الخليفي: “ليفربول هو أفضل نادٍ في أوروبا حاليًا، وقد احتل المركز الأول في مرحلة الدوري، وهو متصدر الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز”.

وأضاف: “نحن فخورون جدًا، بصراحة، مع كل الاحترام لليفربول، الفوز عليهم في آنفيلد أمرٌ مذهل، أظهر اللاعبون شخصيتهم المميزة”.

اقرأ أيضًا | أليسون بعد توديع دوري أبطال أوروبا: كنا بحاجة للحظ.. وليس لدينا وقت للشكوى

واستطرد: “لدينا واحد من أكثر الفرق الشابة، إن لم يكن أكثرها شبابًا، في أوروبا، لذا فإن بناء فريق قوي هنا وإظهار هذه الشخصية أمرٌ مذهل”.

وواصل: “اليوم وفي العامين الماضيين، وخاصةً هذا الموسم، لأكون صادقًا، النجم هو الفريق، الجميع يُكرر ذلك؛ المدرب واللاعبون مذهلون، إذا سألتني من هو أفضل لاعب أمام ليفربول، فأنا لا أعرف، سأقول جميعهم”.

وشدد: “صدقني، حتى لو خسرنا هذه المباراة، فسيكون كلامي هو نفسه، نحن في ربع النهائي، ولن نقول إننا سنفوز بدوري أبطال أوروبا اليوم، لكن مباراةً تلو الأخرى، نبني شيئًا للمستقبل، هذا هو الأهم”.

وأتم الخليفي: “انتقدنا الجميع في بداية الموسم، قائلين إننا لن نتأهل، لكن عقلية اللاعبين والمدرب هي أننا سنفوز أينما ذهبنا، نريد أن نلعب بطريقة هجومية، ونريد أن نلعب بأسلوبنا ضد أي فريق”.

The summer transfer window officially opened for business on Friday and Glasgow Rangers have already been hard at work to improve their playing squad.

Head of recruitment Nils Koppen has brought in Oscar Cortes on loan from Lens, Jefte from Fluminense on a permanent deal, and Clinton Nsiala is set to arrive at Ibrox from AC Milan at the start of next month after his contract with the Italian giants expires.

The Light Blues are also reportedly in pole position to sign winger Yusuf Kabadayi from Bayern Munich on a permanent deal to add to their collection of new recruits.

They have strengthened their defensive options with Nsiala and Jefte and look set to add to the wide areas with Cortes and Kabadayi, but they could also add more firepower by bringing in a new centre-forward.

Cyriel Dessers was the main number nine for Rangers during the 2023/24 campaign and the former Cremonese attacker failed to make the most of the chances that were created for him.

His 16 goals in the Scottish Premiership came from an xG tally of 21.59, an underperformance of 5.59, and no other player in the Gers squad underperformed their xG by more than the 29-year-old dud.

Koppen could, therefore, dip into the market to land a more clinical forward for Philippe Clement to work with, and he already reportedly has at least a couple of names on his list.

Rangers targeting SPFL marksman

According to Football Insider, the Light Blues are eyeing up Hearts centre-forward Lawrence Shankland for a possible move to Ibrox this summer.

The report claims that the Scotland international, who came on as a substitute for his country against Germany in the opening game of the European Championship on Friday, is a target for Clement and Koppen.

It states that the Premiership team would struggle to turn down a 'big' offer for his services, although it stops short of revealing what sort of figure would represent a big bid, as he has one year left to run on his current contract.

Football Insider adds that Rangers are also interested in signing Rapid Bucharest marksman Albion Rrahmani in a deal that could be worth up to £5m.

However, it does not reveal whether or not the Scottish giants would like to sign the Kosovo international as well as the Hearts skipper this summer.

The outlet does, though, state that Shankland would be up for a move to Ibrox if the two clubs can thrash out an agreement, which suggests that personal terms would not be an issue as the player is keen to make the switch to Glasgow.

If Koppen does decide to go ahead with a deal, the Scottish ace could come in and be lethal alongside Todd Cantwell at the top end of the pitch for the club next term.

Why Todd Cantwell is a striker's dream

The former Norwich City star is a dream attacking midfielder for a centre-forward because of his busy style of play, which sees him constantly buzzing about the field to link up play and create chances.

He averaged 51.6 touches per game in the Premiership this season, compared to Tom Lawrence's 35.3 per match as his alternative in the ten role, which illustrates how often the English whiz looked to get on the ball to make things happen.

This means that the lone striker for Rangers is rarely left isolated as Cantwell is always around them to provide a link between the midfield/wide players and the number nine.

The 26-year-old wizard also has the quality to be lethal in the final third as both a scorer and a creator of goals to form an exciting partnership with whichever forward is picked to play in front of him.

As you can see in the table above, the former Premier League ace produced 12 direct goal contributions in 24 starts – one every other start on average.

The fact he only registered five assists from seven 'big chances' created and 51 key passes, though, suggests that the Light Blues need a better finisher up front to make the most of Cantwell's creativity, and that is what they could get by signing Shankland this summer.

Why Lawrence Shankland would thrive with Todd Cantwell

Firstly, the Hearts star is a proven Premiership performer who would be able to hit the ground running at Ibrox due to his experience in the division.

The Glasgow-born centre-forward has played over 100 matches in the Scottish top-flight in his career, which means that he would not need time to adapt to the quality and physicality of the league – unlike an addition from a foreign division with no prior experience in Scotland may need.

Shankland's ability in front of goal on the pitch is another reason why he could be a lethal striker to play in front of Cantwell for the Gers next season.

The 28-year-old star, whose campaign was hailed as "remarkable" by journalist Josh Bunting, showcased his quality week-in-week-out in the Premiership.

He racked up a staggering 31 goals and eight assists in all competitions for the Scottish side, including three goals in four Europa Conference League qualifiers, and the majority of those goal contributions came in the top-flight.

He was crowned PFA Scotland Player of the Year thanks to the statistics above, as he consistently found the back of the net for Steven Naismith's side.

The Scottish marksman scored 24 goals from an xG tally of just 18.36, an overperformance of 5.64, and this shows that he was far more efficient with the chances that came his way than the aforementioned Dessers.

Bad news for Dessers: Rangers plotting bid for Scotland international

The Light Blues are reportedly interested in signing the Scottish centre-forward.

By
Dan Emery

Jun 13, 2024

Shankland has the quality to outperform his expected goals return, whereas the Nigerian forward spurned far too many opportunities, and that is why he could be a phenomenal addition to the team to finally make the most of Cantwell's creativity at the top end of the pitch next season.

Manchester City have been handed something of a boost as one of their targets seems increasingly likely to leave this summer, with the Citzyzens among those credited with an interest should he do so.

Summer of change for Manchester City

It is shaping up to be a big summer for Manchester City despite having won their fourth Premier League title on the bounce under Pep Guardiola. Kevin de Bruyne is being regularly linked with Saudi Arabia, and has revealed that he has "to be open to everything", fanning the flames of his rumoured departure.

Meanwhile, fringe duo Sergio Gomez and Kalvin Phillips are both likely to depart, with the Spaniard being tracked by clubs in La Liga and Phillips returning from a dreadful spell on loan with West Ham.

In addition, there has been speculation around the futures of Julian Alvarez and Bernardo Silva, with the latter having a £50m release clause in his contract in Manchester. Between the posts, Stefan Ortega has ended speculation surrounding his future by penning a new contract at the Etihad stadium, which will keep the German at the club until 2026.

However, there remains significant speculation over the future of last season's no.1 Ederson, who is thought to be subject to interest from Saudi Arabia and could yet depart this summer, with the club not set to stand in his way should he choose to do so.

Man City eye "exceptional" manager as Guardiola successor, Pep loves him

He could be the next man to dominate English football.

By
Ben Browning

Jun 11, 2024

If he does leave, they will need to move to find a new shot-stopper, with veteran Scott Carson the only other recognised goalkeeper on their books. Now, they may have been handed a boost in their chase.

City target likely to move on

That comes in the shape of FC Porto and Portugal no.1 Diogo Costa, who is set to start the EURO's as Roberto Martinez's first choice. The 24-year-old has long been linked with a move to the Premier League but for the majority of the time it has been with cross-city rivals Manchester United.

He still has three years left to run on his £23,000 a week deal at the Estadio de Dragao, but there remains a 75m euros (£63m) release clause in his contract, something that has prevented his departure until now.

As per reports in Portugal [via Sport Witness], departure this summer is becoming an 'increasingly real scenario' as it has been claimed that Porto may need to make a big sale this summer to balance their books.

City's interest is matched by Arsenal and of course Chelsea, who are not content with the two goalkeepers signed last summer and would reportedly like to add another.

He won't be available for nothing though, with Porto still keen to receive a fee close to the release clause, though anything less will surely be considered if there is a real need to sell the goalkeeper.

He remains a work in progress, but has been hailed for his "world class" potential by compatriot and Man City rival Diogo Dalot: “I grew up with him, he’s my friend, there’s a great relationship between us and I know perfectly well that he has the capacity to one day be world-class.”

If City make a move, the friends will be facing off next season.

Stumps In a series in which Zimbabwe have offered little competition, this might be the nadir. On a turgid, attritional day for the hosts, Pakistan piled the runs up high with Abid Ali scoring an unbeaten double century on the second day of the second Test in Harare, combining for a 169-run partnership with No. 9 Nauman Ali, who scored a brisk 97 of his own.It allowed Pakistan to amass 510 before Babar Azam declared, leaving Zimbabwe with an uncomfortable final session to negotiate. But that they didn’t, with Brendan Taylor’s side losing four frontline batsmen in 30 overs and ending up trailing by 458 runs overnight.It might be easy to forget now but both sides claimed a share of the spoils in the morning session. At that point, the hosts kept their hopes of restricting Pakistan below 400 alive with wickets at regular intervals, and were just three strikes away from wrapping up the innings. Pakistan’s nightwatchman Sajid Khan frustrated Zimbabwe for the first hour, but saw his stay come to an end thanks to a splendid diving catch from Regis Chakabva, whose wicketkeeping has been under scrutiny at times on this tour.Mohammad Rizwan combined for an equally handy partnership with the ever-present Abid, while also speeding things up. There were a few whipped boundaries through the off side, and the pair might have carried through to lunch before Rizwan tried to target Tendai Chisoro over mid-on. A horrible miscue found the fielder, and tailender Hasan Ali nicked off to Luke Jongwe in the following over.Zimbabwe might have smelled blood then, but it was Pakistan who landed all the punches in the session that followed. After four attritional sessions of the hosts ensuring they stayed within touching distance of Pakistan, Abid and Nauman wrenched the game out of their hands in a middle session that devastated Zimbabwe’s chances. If they imagined they would come out after lunch and mop up the tail, the two batters put paid to such fanciful notions, hurtling through the gears as the total began to swell.With Zimbabwe supposedly well into the Pakistan tail, there was expectation that the more able batter in Abid would take a more progressive approach through the middle session, but it was Nauman who broke the shackles more regularly. He targeted the spinners from time to time, awaiting deliveries in the slot to launch over long-on as five of Pakistan’s six sixes came off his bat. Once he got to his half-century – with a boundary to square leg – he began to lay waste to the Zimbabwe attack.Jongwe was smashed for 17 in that over, before Milton Shumba found himself going for 18 in the following one. It seemed no sooner than Abid’s double century had come up that Nauman was eyeing three figures of his own. Blink and you would miss it, but by tea, the scorecard had Nauman single digits away from a hundred.It might be a tad unfair to say Abid didn’t adjust the tempo of his innings over five sessions, but he continued to prioritise solidity and assuredness over thrift. It is hard to fault the formula that has ground Zimbabwe into the dust for nearly two days, and when Abid pulled a long hop to cow corner to bring up 200, there was a sense of inevitability about it. He might have batted the whole Test without anyone being able to snare him, but when Nauman lazily lifted his foot up in the air just after tea, Chakabva cannily whipped off the bails to have him stumped, leaving the left-armer three short of a remarkable hundred.If Pakistan’s total suggested the pitch might be a decent one for the batters, Zimbabwe went about dispelling that notion effectively. The first wicket to fall was pure misfortune, with the umpire misjudging the line of a ball that was missing Tarisai Musakanda’s leg stump, giving Tabish Khan his first Test wicket. Tabish, whose debut was the focus of much scrutiny, was tidy overall without quite being penetrative, with that role taken up most effectively by Hasan.Zimbabwe looked to hunker down and shut shop for much of the first session, but Hasan was finding swing at pace, and one that seared back in off a length ripped past Kevin Kasuza and sent his stumps tumbling. He had hung around at the crease for 43 deliveries without looking up to much while managing just four runs.Taylor looked to take a more proactive approach, getting a couple of boundaries away early, but Zimbabwe needed a long-term survival strategy. When the Zimbabwe captain pushed at one from Shaheen Afridi from around the wicket, any hopes of him being the one to lead that resistance was extinguished.Zimbabwe were in freefall by now, and there was still time enough for Sajid to trap Milton Shumba in front as the noose began to tighten. Zimbabwe have been suffocated by now, and you would expect the knockout blow isn’t far away either.

Phil Parkinson has warned his Wrexham squad that every player will be required to step up as the club prepare for a hectic run of fixtures.

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• Parkinson tells Wrexham players to be ready
• Face a congested fixture list
• Have enjoyed strong start

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Parkinson has warned his squad that every player will be required in the coming weeks as Wrexham prepare for a congested fixture list. They face Leyton Orient in the league this weekend before taking on Stevenage on Tuesday. Wrexham then play Northampton Town the following Saturday, before a clash with Wolves' Under-21s that Tuesday. Four days later, they face Lincoln City.

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• Getty
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Wrexham have enjoyed a strong start to life in League One, winning five and drawing one of their first seven games. They currently sit top of the table, level on points with second-placed Birmingham, although they have a game in hand.

• WHAT PARKINSON SAID

  Parkinson told reporters: "It's the start of a busy period for us. All the squad is going to be utilised over the next month or so when the games are going to come thick and fast. We've had periods like this before but I'm pleased with the way the squad is shaping up."

  On this weekend's game, he added: "Orient started the season with results not going their way, but they came on the wrong side of a lot of tight games.

  "You always get a good atmosphere at Brisbane Road, it's a historic stadium. I love going there, particularly when I was manager of Charlton, which was a local derby. There's always a real east-end welcome, but we're looking forward to getting down there and hopefully keep our run going."

• Getty Images Sport
  

  WHAT NEXT?

  Wrexham's clash with Leyton Orient kicks off their busy period. They will be desperate to get another three points on the board.

Kraigg Brathwaite targets greater discipline and consistency ahead of two-match home series with South Africa

Nagraj Gollapudi28-Jul-2024You want West Indies to be good at Test cricket? You want them to win matches consistently and not just a one-off Test victory every now and then? Then give them regular opportunities to play more Tests. Otherwise, it is very difficult to expect them to perform when they get to play Test series every six months. That is how West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite put in a nutshell the predicament of his inexperienced Test team and why the visitors lost the Richards-Botham Trophy 3-0 to England.This is the second Test series Brathwaite’s team had played so far this year, having drawn the two-match series in Australia in January. Though several players featured in the domestic four-day West Indies Championship between February and mid-April, only a few had any real experience of English conditions by the time West Indies arrived in July for the Test series. A three-day warm-up match against the ECB’s County Select XI at Beckenham, which was affected by a rain on a slower pitch, was their only preparation ahead of the Lord’s Test.Undercooked and underprepared, that was the general theme that underpinned West Indies’ plight this series. Brathwaite, though, said he was “excited” to look ahead with West Indies playing South Africa in a two-Test home series, which starts in Trinidad from August 7. “I’m very excited that we have two Test matches in a week’s time because we need more cricket,” Brathwaite said at the post-match presentation on Sunday afternoon. “Being in this competitive and this intense international game, when you are playing it more against good players, you will improve. [When Test series are] being spaced six months apart, it’s kind of tough.”Related

• Brendon McCullum praises England's hard edge after 3-0 series win

• Wood's spell from hell reverse-swings it for England

• West Indies staring at a whitewash after throwing ascendancy away

• Stokes hails 'phenomenal' Wood after Edgbaston haul seals series sweep

• England sweep series 3-0 after Wood finishes off West Indies resistance

But the counter to Brathwaite came from his team’s head coach, Andre Coley, who believed to get more matches West Indies would need to justify their “case” by winning more. “The Catch-22 is: to get more matches they [West Indies] need to be performing in the matches that you do get for some kind of case to be made about increasing the number of matches,” Coley said afterwards.Coley did, however, point out that West Indies would need better preparation ahead of Test series, especially through a combination of more practice matches to allow his players to get a better understanding of the local conditions. “For the matches that we do have, it’s really an opportunity for us to be the best that we can and then potentially look at how we lead into Test matches, if there’s an opportunity for us to maybe have more [warm-up] matches in that particular environment, if it’s foreign to us, or engage in more bilateral discussions where these things can be facilitated.”However, both captain and coach were on the same page in their immediate review of why West Indies lost to England. While Coley said they could have “competed better”, Brathwaite said West Indies lacked “discipline” in every facet thus restricting them to being “good in phases” but not for long stretches of a game.”[Our] discipline altogether wasn’t good,” Brathwaite said. The blame lay with both batters and bowlers, he said.After the second day’s play at Lord’s, Jayden Seales, who won the West Indies Player-of-the-Series award with 13 wickets, said it was “frustrating to look at the scoreboard” because his batters had failed in both innings which eventually cost them the first Test. Though the batters came good at Trent Bridge in the second Test, with Kavem Hodge scoring his maiden century, Brathwaite blamed the bowlers for not being “as good” as they were “supposed to be” in the first innings and the team for fluffing catches.

“It’s about having within this squad a certain level of bravery to be able to stand up to that [extreme pace] and expect that this is the level of cricket that you are at, but at the same time, it’s not beyond you”Andre Coley on his players’ battles against Mark Wood

At Edgbaston, West Indies’ bowlers failed to create any sustained pressure after reducing England to 54 for 5, allowing them to post 376 in their first innings. While there were some good spells, there never seemed any structured plan to dominate or restrict the England batters. By the time Mark Wood and Ben Stokes combined to pull the guillotine, West Indies were defeated in mind and body language, in front of a cheering full house.Why did the bowlers fail to impose themselves? “Really and truly we weren’t as consistent as you need to be,” Brathwaite said. “If you look back, the guys [England batters] scored a lot of runs square of the wicket. You want to be hitting top of off stump. We didn’t hit that area long enough. You had some decent pitches in the second and third Tests and if you have a good pitch you pretty much are going to score on both sides.”It wouldn’t always be easy to control it and obviously when you are playing against good batsmen, you give them momentum. So one thing you have got to do is get back to where we were in Australia: you look at the percentages and where we pitched the ball there – consistently on that top of off stump. We weren’t there consistently throughout this series and that put a lot of pressure on controlling the run rate.”Coley, too, agreed, saying that after picking up three wickets on the first evening, if England were bowled out under 300, West Indies could have had “some kind of lead” but it was “definitely a missed opportunity”.Mikyle Louis raised his maiden Test fifty•Getty Images”There’s history around the series,” he said. “The fact that we had the trophy and now pretty much turned it over with a young emerging side, there would’ve been a lot said about this being a walkover. Obviously, we should have competed better, but we did show a lot of fight during the series.”West Indies, Coley pointed out, were not exactly going home empty handed. There were some takeaways and as an example he presented the case of Mikyle Louis, who became the first player from St Kitts and Nevis to play Tests for West Indies, making his debut at Lord’s and completing his Test initiation with a maiden fifty at Edgbaston, having faced among the fastest spells of extreme pace bowling from Wood at Trent Bridge first and then again in the third Test.Coley said that Louis, 23, was brave, but importantly the England experience would teach him a lot. “I can remember having a conversation with Louis about Mark Wood, about playing back home first-class cricket where potentially maybe 10, 20 people in the stands [watching] versus 20,000 people in the stands [in England] and then the uproar when the bowler comes in. So definitely, it is a steep learning curve for him and the other battles.”That’s the game. You keep learning. There were instances as you would’ve seen or able to recall in the second Test or even here where we really stood up to that and played pretty well. So it’s really about replicating that and having, for me, within this squad a certain level of bravery to be able to stand up to that and expect that this is the level of cricket that you are at, but at the same time, it’s not beyond you. Just being positive and having as much common sense as possible.”

MatériaMais Notícias

da esoccer bet： O técnico Alberto Valentim reconheceu que o Furacão terá uma missão “muito difícil” para ser campeão da Copa do Brasil. Isso acontece porque, neste domingo, pelo confronto de ida da final, o Athletico-PR perdeu para o Atlético-MG por 4 a 0 no Mineirão. Dessa forma, o treinador procurou ser realista, mas ressaltou que o time irá buscar a vitória no confronto da volta.

RelacionadasAthletico ParanaensePedro Rocha, do Athletico, fica na bronca com arbitragem da final da Copa do Brasil: ‘Cadê o critério?’Athletico Paranaense12/12/2021Athletico ParanaenseATUAÇÕES: Athletico não se encontra em campo e sofre goleada para o Atlético-MG na final da Copa do BrasilAthletico Paranaense12/12/2021Fora de CampoRenato Maurício Prado dispara: ‘Isso só é pênalti no Brasil e a favor do Atlético-MG’Fora de Campo12/12/2021

da bwin： >ATUAÇÕES: Athletico-PR não se encontra em campo na final da Copa do Brasil

-Lógico que temos que ser realistas, é muito difícil revertemos na Arena (da Baixada). Nós temos que tentar vencer, sim. Utilizar a força da nossa casa, para que a gente ganhe lá, para fazer uma outra grande partida dentro da Arena – disse Valentim.

Após a partida, em entrevista à TV Globo, o atacante Pedro Rocha ficou na bronca com a arbitragem e questionou o critério da arbitragem (clique aqui e saiba mais). Nesse sentido, Valentim também falou sobre o tema, mas voltou a destacar a partida aquém do Furacão e destacou que o time teve uma “tarde infeliz”.

– Claro que a gente teve a nossa parcela de culpa pela derrota. A gente não está aqui para tirar as nossas responsabilidades, a única coisa que eu comentei com o quarto árbitro é que nós tomamos dois cartões amarelos em seguida – declarou Valentim.

– Não tem problema usando o mesmo critério. O Cittadini também sofreu uma falta semelhante. Mas quem não esteve à altura hoje foi no nosso time, foi uma tarde infeliz do nosso time – completou.

Atlético-MG e Athletico-PR voltam a campo na próxima quarta-feira, às 21h30, na Arena da Baixada. O confronto é válido pelo jogo da volta da final da Copa do Brasil e terá transmissão em tempo real do LANCE!.

Ainda vale lembrar que, para levar a Copa do Brasil, o Furacão precisa derrotar o Galo por cinco ou mais gols de diferença. Uma vitória por quatro de diferença levará a decisão para os pênaltis – não existe o critério do gol marcado fora de casa na competição.

Smith’s new role as opener has created an unbalanced batting order with an uncertain top order and too much aggression in the middle

Ian Chappell24-Mar-2024Australia’s bowling, which features a settled and successful top four, is a major plus, but the batting is a concern for the current World Test champions.They are missing the ebullient David Warner’s ability to harass opponents with his aggression as an opener. There is no like-for-like opener to replace Warner and what Australia have now is an unbalanced batting line-up.By promoting Steven Smith to open so they could include two allrounders, they are now left with a query at the top and an overabundance of aggression in the middle order.The preference is to have a strong top six, but it’s ideal when that batting order is balanced.Smith is still Australia’s best batter but at No. 4, not opening. As former Australian captain Tim Paine wisely noted: “If I’m the opposition, I want him [Smith] opening.”Related

• Is Steven Smith's best cricket behind him?

• Australian cricket has a Will Pucovski problem

• Australia-India five-Test blockbuster to start in Perth in late November

• Rocky start to post-Warner era for Australia's top order

• Smith's opening role faces make-or-break India series

Smith, like all players, is more vulnerable against the new ball. He’ll occasionally succeed because he’s a very good player, but he’s unlikely to produce the consistently high scores he did in his heyday in the middle. An Australian order with Smith at No. 4 has the solid look that provides confidence that things will still be okay even if they go astray at the top.The problem is if Smith bats at No. 4 where do you play Cameron Green, who is a must for Australia? Who would then open? Australia’s most perplexing selection headache is the opening situation – there are no obvious replacements for Warner.Test opener Usman Khawaja, who bats in the middle order for Queensland, is proof there is a paucity of top-order candidates at state level. However if you pick a new opener and play Green while batting Smith at four, then the likelihood is you have to omit Travis Head. Head has had success in the Test side but Green is a better proposition both for the present and the future.The pairing of Head and Mitchell Marsh means Australia’s middle order is heavily reliant on attacking batting. The fall-back position that Smith provided – an ability to rebuild methodically – is missing.

Australia’s most perplexing selection headache is the opening situation – there are no obvious replacements for Warner

The reason both Marsh and Head vigorously attack the opposition is because their aggression covers up their technical failings. Their aggression has worked against the lesser sides, but will it succeed against strong sides like India?If Marsh and Head have to try and dig Australia out of trouble against Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj, that will be a concern. Rest assured a vulnerable Australian top order will find itself in trouble if that Indian trio is fit and firing.This is a situation with which the modern bowlers have to cope. They are going to face more aggressive batting from the opposition and that is a part of a modern Test bowler’s life. At the moment the best bowlers are most likely to cope, but teams need to focus on unearthing lesser performers who have found a method that deals with the aggressive approach.Relentlessly attacking the new ball and succeeding against good bowlers is an extremely rare skill and this was one of Warner’s strengths. That’s why Australia are desperately missing his undoubted talent.Another aspect of the Australian team that will encourage opponents was their batting failure against the West Indies pace attack, especially newcomer Shamar Joseph. Once that type of susceptibility is established, it’s very difficult to reverse the trend as it encourages opponents. This was a situation that rarely existed when Smith (at No. 4) and Warner were dominating Australia’s batting.The Test success of India, Australia and, more recently, England highlights the financial problems that torment the long form of the game. If the Big Three are able to continue rewarding their Test players handsomely but the remainder struggle financially, it does nothing for the competitiveness of an already ailing long form of the game.The World Test Championship is a grand idea. However it will quickly lose glamour status if the Big Three dominate the coveted battle for the winner’s mace.

Bryce Harper was none too pleased after he was rung up on a check swing Friday night against the Detroit Tigers.

The Philadelphia Phillies star thought he was walked when he saw a low payoff pitch from Tigers reliever Will Vest with two runners in scoring position and first base open with two outs. Harper checked his swing, though, and Tigers catcher Dillon Dingler challenged to third-base umpire Vic Carapazza, who ruled Harper went around and was subsequently out on strikes.

Upset at the call, he gestured toward Carapazza and repeated "there's no way," maybe with an added expletive. That ended his night a tad early, take a look:

After the pitch, Harper put his bat down and started to take off his shin guard, preparing to go to first base before he was called out. Whether he went around or not was certainly a close call.

On the night, he was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and a walk. Despite the late ejection, the Phillies were able to come out on top with a 5-4 win after a two-run eighth inning. They scored three runs in the seventh before Harper was tossed.

It would be an understatement to suggest that West Ham United have had a bad start to the season this year.

Sure, the Hammers managed to pull off an impressive 3-0 win away to Nottingham Forest before the international break, but they’ve lost every other game.

The East Londoners are currently sitting in the relegation zone with a goal difference of negative seven, and as things stand, it’s hard to see where the next win is going to come from.

However, Graham Potter can certainly make things easier for his side and give himself a better chance og keeping his job by axing a certain player from the starting lineup.

West Ham's underperformers

Unfortunately for Potter and Co, there are more than a handful of players who’ve looked entirely out of sorts so far this season.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

One of those is undoubtedly Mads Hermansen, as even though he wasn’t to blame for the loss away to Sunderland, and even pulled off a fine stop early on in that match, he’s since been a real hazard between the sticks.

For example, according to FBref, his save percentage has fallen from 64.5% for Leicester City last season to just 45% this year.

Another struggling member of the defensive unit has been Max Kilman, who has started all four league games this season, in which the team have conceded a whopping 11 goals.

Moreover, in the game against Spurs, he lost 100% of his ground duels, misplaced five of six long balls, failed in 100% of his attempted dribbles and didn’t make a single tackle or interception.

However, there is another regular starter in the side who simply has to be dropped for the next game, and for Potter’s own future.

The West Ham star Potter has to drop

While there are likely a few other names that could be mentioned here, we are talking about James Ward-Prowse.

The former Southampton captain joined the Hammers for £30m in the summer of 2023, and while there have certainly been some decent performances from the 30-year-old since, it would be hard to describe his move as anything other than a failure.

Indeed, in the words of former Hammers midfielder Martin Allen, when Ward-Prowse arrived, he could have done a job “similar to Mark Noble” in claret and blue but unfortunately it hasn’t panned out that way.

After all, he was sent out on loan to Forest last season, and then even at the City Ground, he was such an afterthought that he moved back to the London Stadium in early February.

Since then, the 11-capped Englishman has been a constant in the team and has started all five games this season, although once again, considering the results, that is not an indication of his quality.

In fact, many fans are now desperate for the manager to remove the former Saints star from the lineup, as while he was once considered “the best in the Premier League” for set-pieces, per Jamie Carragher, he now appears to offer very little.

For example, he has yet to register a goal or assist this season, averaging just 2.5 key passes, creating only two big chances, and being accurate in 50% of his crosses.

Moreover, he does not have the agility or speed to play in a deeper midfield role, so he cannot even really help out with the defensive side of the game either.

A perfect example of his lack of speed came last season when Arsenal’s David Raya beat him to the ball from a corner he had come up for, and if an outfield player is slower than a goalkeeper, that is more than a little worrying.

Finally, it shouldn’t even be a tough decision to remove the Portsmouth-born midfielder from the side, as the highly-rated Soungoutou Magassa just joined the club and would surely do so much more.

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By
Emilio Galantini

Sep 17, 2025

Ultimately, Ward-Prowse is a talented player and someone with a career most players would love to have, but the end of last season and the start of this one have proven that he must be dropped from the side.