All posts by h716a5.icu

Surrey’s CEO Paul Sheldon, envisages a future in which The Oval, soon to be regenerated as a 25,000-seater stadium, can be at the forefront of any further drive to globalise the game

Andrew Miller and Andrew McGlashan09-Feb-2010Hampshire’s groundbreaking deal with the Rajasthan Royals, which was announced at Lord’s on Monday, could have changed at a stroke the dynamics and priorities of the remaining 17 first-class counties, as the scramble intensifies to reposition English cricket in the midst of the IPL revolution.As many as six county chief executives are currently believed to be in India, sounding out investment opportunities for the future of their clubs, and one of those, Surrey’s CEO Paul Sheldon, envisages a future in which The Oval, soon to be regenerated as a 25,000-seater stadium, can be at the forefront of any further drive to globalise the game.”I have been having various discussions with various people to investigate possible links that can be made in a country that’s full of opportunities,” Sheldon told Cricinfo. “Business-wise and stadium-wise, and international cricket-wise, we like to think of ourselves as a global leader, and we believe it’s vital that Surrey is at the forefront of such discussions, given that we’ve had many, many, more people through our gates for Twenty20 cricket than any other ground.”Despite enduring three of the leanest on-field years in the county’s long and illustrious history, the sheer value of Surrey’s bricks and mortar – crucially situated in the heart of London – give them the right, in Sheldon’s opinion, to drive a hard bargain, and he confirmed that, as a potential senior partner in any future alignment, the business model adopted by Hampshire is not a direction that they would contemplate following.”We are well situated in London, and we have a very, very strong Indian and Asian following,” he added, highlighting Surrey’s success in marketing previous matches with a subcontinental slant, in particular the 2005 Tsunami relief match featuring Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan, and the World Twenty20 warm-up fixture between India and Pakistan last summer, both of which were sell-outs.”Without jeopardising anything in terms of our agreements with the ECB, it is clearly my responsibility to use the ground as much as we can,” said Sheldon, who reiterated his belief in the sanctity of Test cricket, but acknowledged that the days of relying on the England team as the sport’s principal source of income could be drawing rapidly to a close.”We all acknowledge that we need to broaden our revenue streams, particularly if there is a reduction of TV revenue due to the potential delisting of Ashes cricket,” he said. “If that occurs, we may have to take individual initiatives, and here at Surrey, we’re in a very strong position to capitalise on that.”

Business-wise and stadium-wise, and international cricket-wise, we like to think of ourselves as a global leader, and we believe it’s vital that Surrey is at the forefront of such discussionsSurrey chief executive, Paul Sheldon

If Surrey and the Lord’s-based MCC are the two clubs best placed to thrive in the changing landscape, then there are still opportunities to be had for the next tier in the county game. Durham’s chief executive, David Harker, sees clear parallels between themselves and Hampshire – two of the most ambitious counties in the land, with modern green-field venues to attract investors, and uncomplicated business models which, as Hampshire have already shown, allow for a quick decision in the event of a opportunity arising.”Test match grounds are looking for ways of making returns from their investments,” Harker told Cricinfo. “Organisations that are in the business of cricket will look at ways they can sustain their ventures. Whether what has happened at Hampshire is right for other counties, I really don’t know. but it is certainly intriguing and something we are all keeping a close eye on – and perhaps even informally beginning to explore opportunities with other franchises.”Other counties are not so fortunate. Leicestershire had harboured hopes of securing a deal with Rajasthan through their longstanding links with the franchise chairman and former Investors in Cricket partner, Manoj Badale, but they were beaten to the punch despite their strong links with the Midlands Asian community. “We had negotiations with Badele, but we always knew a deal would be unlikely,” Neil Davidson, Leicestershire’s chairman, told Cricinfo. “The key will be when we have Indian players in the first team, when we can boast an iconic, home-grown figure.”Meanwhile, Somerset enjoyed an eye-opening foray into the Champions League in India last October, and in a bid to bludgeon themselves a second bite of the cherry, they have assembled a formidable team of power-hitters including Marcus Trescothick, Craig Kieswetter and Kieron Pollard for this season’s Twenty20 Cup. But in terms of long-term viability, the bucolic charms of Taunton have little to offer any potential franchise tie-up, and on Friday last week, their chief executive, Richard Gould, issued a bleak warning that county cricket could cease to exist beyond 2013.”The one thing we want to make sure of is that if we join anything it isn’t a bandwagon,” Gould told Cricinfo. “The Champions League was a great adventure and something we would love to return to on a regular basis, but our club has been going since 1875 and we’ve got a great deal of equity and tradition in the brand and the name of Somerset. The one thing you can risk by creating a franchise is that you disenfranchise all the supporters you have built up.”With regards to franchise and branding, would we be prepared to wear another team’s colours, and would we be prepared to put another team’s suffix onto the end of Somerset? I think that’s a more difficult point. Hampshire are a well-run club and I’m sure they will have identified that they will need to put a lot of investing into making sure the brand and the franchise does have meaning to existing supporters.”Gould acknowledged that, in the iconic figure of Shane Warne, the Royals franchise possess a priceless figurehead with personal links to three of the five key clubs involved, as well as a global appeal that few cricketers – with the possible exception of Sachin Tendulkar – can ever hope to match. Without the cachet of big-name players or the security of a world-class venue, the future for several counties has rarely looked bleaker.

Celtic could theoretically spend as much as £32.5million in January, football finance expert Dan Plumley says. 

The lowdown

Celtic marked the beginning of Ange Postecoglou’s reign in the summer with a £20.05million spend, with centre-back Carl Starlfelt the most expensive acquisition at £4.5million (via Transfermarkt).

But they did bank a healthy profit after generating £33.84million through sales.

Odsonne Edouard and Kristoffer Ajer were the headline departures, with their moves to the Premier League fetching £14.67million and £14.13million respectively.

According to The Scottish Daily Mail, Postecoglou wants to strengthen his squad further in January with the acquisition of two central midfielders.

The latest

Plumley told Football Insider that he’d ‘crunched the numbers’ to determine how much Celtic could grant Postecoglou whilst still complying with Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations.

However, he warned it would be a ‘gamble’ to spend close to that £32.5million mark.

“There are other exemptions in terms of FFP, but let’s avoid them to simplify the argument a little. They could spend £32.5m quite comfortably.

“The problem with that is that you can overstretch to reach the Champions League group stage.

“So they have got flex within FFP but the gamble is overstretching. That is the gamble the boardroom, I imagine, will be looking at.”

The verdict

Crucially, Celtic’s arch-rivals Rangers appear to have significantly less room for investment.

The Gers recently announced a loss of £23.5million for the year, with their total losses under the current regime climbing to a whopping £73.8million (via The Athletic). Perhaps that could force them to sell some of their talent, while the allure of Steven Gerrard in the Premier League may also tempted some of the Hoops’ rivals into leaving Glasgow.

And so even if Celtic don’t spend all the money they’re permitted to, they look well-placed to regain their Scottish crown, providing Postecoglou is granted enough to strengthen the injury-hit areas of his squad, namely through the spine of the XI.

In other news, this player wanted to move to Celtic.

On a day when he broke the records for the most wins by any Test player and the most victories for an Australian captain, Ponting called the 170-run triumph over Pakistan the best in a long while

Brydon Coverdale at the MCG30-Dec-2009Ricky Ponting knows the winning feeling better than any other player in thehistory of Test cricket. But on a day when he broke the records for the mostwins by any Test player and the mostvictories for any Test captain, Ponting called the 170-run triumphover Pakistan one of the team’s best in a long while, and praised his young attackfor as good a bowling effort as the side had displayed in the last two years.When he came in to the team as a young man in the mid 1990s, Australia werejust embarking on a decade of dominance. The list of men to have played inthe mostTest victories is revealing, as the top eight are all Australians ofthat brilliant era. The win over Pakistan took Ponting to 93, passing ShaneWarne’s mark of 92.It also gave Ponting his 42nd success as a Test captain, surpassing SteveWaugh’s world record. But since the retirements of Warne, GlennMcGrath, Adam Gilchrist, Justin Langer, Matthew Hayden and various othergolden-era colleagues, things have become much tougher for Ponting. He haslost the Ashes for a second time, succumbed at home to South Africa and seenhis team slip as low as fourth on the ICC Test rankings.If nothing else, the dizzying highs and gut-wrenching lows have given himperspective. And so, after his developing side dominated Pakistan for fivedays at the MCG, with career-defining efforts from Shane Watson and NathanHauritz, Ponting was full of praise for his men. He was especially pleasedwith the performance of his bowlers, who have for three years struggled inthe shadows of Warne and McGrath, and are finally becoming their own men.”The bowling through the game has been as good as it’s been in our team forthe last couple of years,” Ponting said. “The way we bowled in the firstinnings in particular was just outstanding. The way we used the new balland we were able to maintain our discipline and execute our skills over sucha long period of time at the start of their first batting innings was a realfactor in the game.”It’s been a great game for us. It’s one of our best Test wins in quite awhile, starting right from the start of the game from the Katich and Watsonpartnership which really set the platform and set the foundation for a verygood Test match for us.”The highlights were many. Watson scored his first Test century on top of93 in the first innings; Ponting, Simon Katich, Michael Hussey and Hauritzall scored half-centuries; Hauritz collected his maiden five-wicket haul;and Mitchell Johnson continued to regain some of the spark he lost duringthe Ashes.Coming after a tightly-contested series against West Indies, the dominantdisplay was well-timed. There’s also a bigger future to consider: Australiahave only six more Tests before they attempt to regain the Ashes at homenext summer. Until then every win, every positive that can be taken froma match, will be seen as a stepping stone.”We are building a squad of players right at the moment that in a coupleof years time are going to be a very dominant team again,” Ponting said.”At the moment it is my job to keep the group together and keep challengingthem and keep helping the younger guys out and keep winning as many gamesof cricket as we can.”Ponting was keen to celebrate the individual efforts from several of hisnewer team-mates at the MCG, but less effusive about his own record-breakingachievements. He said he was proud of the milestones but was unlikely toreally appreciate them until he stopped playing.”They’re things I’ll probably be most of proud of when I’m done,” he said.”We all play to win games of cricket and be involved in a team that is winninggames of cricket. They’re things I’m very proud of, hopefully there are alot more wins around the corner and if we play the cricket that we’ve playedover these five days then we will definitely win a lot more games.”

As per Calciomercato.it, a development has emerged in Tottenham Hotspur’s race to sign Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie.

The Lowdown: Premier League calls?

The 23-year-old has enjoyed a resurgence under Massimiliano Allegri recently after a whirlwind 2021/2022 start for him personally.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/spurs-developments-2/” title=”Spurs developments!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

McKennie, now a fixed point in Juve’s starting eleven, was the subject of inconsistent performances at club level and even some off-field international drama with the USA before playing his way back in (SB Nation).

Despite becoming a favourite under Allegri, reports suggest that the former Bundesliga man could still leave Turin as both Spurs and West Ham are linked.

A report by La Gazzetta dello Sport last week even stated that new Lilywhites boss Antonio Conte personally wants to bring him to north London and sees him as the ‘new Vidal’.

In another update, Calciomercato.it have brought a promising claim.

The Latest: Spurs not scared by McKennie price tag…

According to the Italian outlet, Tottenham have already approached to ‘ask for information’ on McKennie as they prepare their move for the midfielder.

As well as this, it is believed that the player’s €30-35 million (£25.1m-£29.3m) asking price ‘does not scare’ Spurs or managing director Fabio Paratici by extension.

The Verdict: Get it done?

Given McKennie’s versatility across midfield and even at centre-half, we believe this may be a deal worth pursuing if Paratici and co truly have no problem paying his asking price.

The youngster, having already amassed an impressive 28-caps for the USA, has been lavished with praise by football’s most iconic names in recent seasons.

Indeed, just last season, Italy legend, World Cup winner and ex-Juve boss Andrea Pirlo called McKennie a ‘rock’ in his midfield, praising the midfield maestro who ‘grits his teeth’ (Goal).

Amid his upturn in form, Tottenham could be wise to pounce whilst the player’s confidence is high and can carry serious momentum over to the Premier League.

His £29.3m maximum estimation is arguably generous given his age and the fact he comes with plenty of sell-on value.

In other news: Conte set for Tottenham injury boost as Sky Sports reporter breaks update on Twitter, find out more here.

Chris Nash, the Sussex batsman, has been forced to return home from the England performance squad in South Africa after fracturing his thumb during training

Cricinfo staff20-Nov-2009Chris Nash, the Sussex batsman, has been forced to return home from the England performance squad in South Africa after fracturing his thumb during training.Nash will undergo surgery next week and his rehabilitation will be monitored by the ECB medical team. No replacement will named in his place.The squad, made up of players in three categories depending on how soon they are expected to challenge for international honours, arrived in South Africa last week and will be based in Pretoria until December 17.The four category A players involved – those closest to an England call-up – are Michael Carberry, Stephen Moore, Mark Davies and Amjad Khan although the selectors have already moved outside the performance programme when they summoned James Tredwell to cover for Graeme Swann in the one-day squad.Nash is a category B player which means the selectors view him as being between one and three years away international cricket. He earned his spot after scoring 1298 runs at 59.00 in the County Championship.

Kabir Ali is going nowhere without Worcestershire being paid £60,000 compensation insist the county’s chief executive

Cricinfo staff17-Sep-2009It may be being widely reported that Kabir Ali will leave Worcestershire at the end of the season, but county chief executive Mark Newton is adamant that won’t happen unless someone agrees to pay £60,000 to release him from the last year of his contract.Kabir is said to have verbally agreed a three-year deal with Hampshire, but Newton remains determined over the issue of compensation. “£60,000 is the minimum we would accept to let Kabir leave,” he told the Kidderminster Shuttle. “We feel very strongly about this. Do we run the risk of having an unhappy Kabir next season? Of course we do, but we all know Kabir well enough to know that if he is here next year then he will give 100%.”If, as seems increasingly likely, no other county agrees to the fee, then he has the choice of seeing out his last year with Worcestershire or paying the money himself.Rod Bransgrove, Hampshire’s chairman, also looked to play down his county’s association with Kabir until the contract issue is resolved. “We can’t agree a deal until he is released by Worcestershire. He is a player we are interested in, as I imagine are others, and we will continue to be interested in.”

Rangers manager Steven Gerrard could have some tough decisions to make next summer as a number of players are due to be out of contract.

Connor Goldson, Steven Davis, Leon Balogun, Scott Arfield and Jon McLaughlin are just a few of the first-team names on the expiry list, although the club hold a one-year extension option for Balogun.

This means that Gerrard, along with Ross Wilson, could be set for some difficult conversations in the upcoming months as Rangers plot their squad for the 2022/23 campaign.

His time’s up

One player who the club should be looking to move on is Canadian international midfielder Arfield. Gerrard must make the tough decision and cut ties with the experienced ex-Burnley man as his time is up at Ibrox.

The 33-year-old has only played six times in the Scottish Premiership this term, with one start to his name to date, and has averaged a dismal WhoScored rating of 6.40. In the Europa League, he has played 12 minutes of football off the bench in the three group stage games against Lyon, Sparta Prague and Brondby combined.

This suggests that the £16k-per-week dud is not deemed good enough to play regularly in the Europa League or Premiership for Rangers. At the age of 33, he could still have a few years left in the tank to go somewhere else and play week-in-week-out, which is why Gerrard ruthlessly axing him from the squad could work for all parties involved.

In terms of how his departure would affect the squad, a replacement could already be in the works. TEAMtalk reported last month that Rangers are closing in on a deal to sign Joe Rothwell on a pre-contract deal in the January window.

This means that the 26-year-old would arrive at Ibrox on a free transfer in the summer, providing the perfect opportunity for Gerrard to allow Arfield to leave, with Rothwell taking up his place in the squad.

Therefore, it is time for the former Premier League midfielder to leave Glasgow at the end of the season. The succession plan, with Rothwell, appears to be well underway and his lack of involvement on the pitch this term suggests that Gerrard does not rely on his footballing ability enough to warrant paying him £16k-per-week for another two or three years.

AND in other news, Sold for £203k, now worth £900k: Rangers had a transfer howler over “dream” battler…

Newcastle parted ways with manager Steve Bruce earlier this month following Saudi Arabian consortium PIF’s official takeover of the club.

Bruce kept the Magpies in the Premier League in both of his full seasons on Tyneside, but that was not enough to save him from the sack after Mike Ashley decided to sell to PIF.

One reason why they may have let him go could have been his use of the funds he was given in the transfer market, with a number of players arriving and failing to make a positive impression – one being Scottish international Ryan Fraser.

The winger had enjoyed some terrific years in the Premier League with Bournemouth. He produced 12 goals and 17 assists between the 2017/18 and 2018/19 top-flight campaigns, with Transfermarkt valuing him at a whopping £27m in the summer of 2019.

Fraser then endured a difficult year as he scored once and provided four assists in 28 league games, before becoming involved in controversy as he refused to play the final nine matches.

Former Crystal Palace owner and current pundit Simon Jordan hit out at the winger after he opted against playing for Bournemouth in Project Restart last year. He said:

“To me, he’s saying to Bournemouth: ‘I could have helped you, but I couldn’t be bothered to do so’. You’d have him with you in the trenches…”

He added:

“I’m not suggesting you should have loyalty beyond the realms of your contract but in exceptional times, which we’re in now, you need exceptional people.

“And if I’m Newcastle, I’m looking at this wretched individual thinking: ‘When it came to adversity you didn’t want to stand up’.”

At the time of the move to St. James’ Park, Transfermarkt valued Fraser at £15.75m. This meant that he was worth £11.25m less than he was the previous summer, showing that Newcastle were signing a player on a downwards spiral after a difficult season with the Cherries.

The downward trend continued as he endured a rough debut season in black and white. He played 22 games in all competitions, scoring once and providing three assists – with his solitary goal coming in the League Cup.

At the time of writing (28/10/21), Transfermarkt value Fraser at £9m. This is down £6.75m from last summer and £18m in two years, with his worrying slide in terms of performances on the pitch causing his value to plummet since 2019.

Whilst Newcastle did not pay a transfer fee for Fraser, they are reportedly paying him £62k-per-week and signed him on a five-year deal in 2020. This means that they could end up paying him as much as £16.38m by the end of his contract, assuming he is not sold to another club before the end of that deal.

That is a huge chunk of change for a player who is regressing in quality and value. It is easy to forget about the hidden cost of a ‘free transfer’ and Fraser’s wages coupled with his performances on the pitch show that Newcastle have had a transfer howler with the forward. The fact he has started this season without a goal or assist in seven games does not help his case either…

AND in other news, Newcastle could unlock Willock by signing £100k-p/w beast who helps others “flourish”…

Chathura Peiris, the left-arm seamer, will lead a 16-member Sri Lanka Under-19 squad for the tour of Australia next month. The team will play all five one-dayers in Darwin between October 2 to 11

Cricinfo staff25-Sep-2009Chathura Peiris, the left-arm seamer, will lead a 16-member Sri Lanka Under-19 squad for the tour of Australia next month. The team will play all five one-dayers in Darwin between October 2 and 11.The first three games will be played at the Gardens Oval, while the last two will be at the Marrara Cricket Ground. The team last toured Australia in 2001, a tour which ended in a 3-0 victory in the Tests for the hosts and a 1-1 draw in the three match one-day series.Former Sri Lanka batsman Naveed Nawaz will coach the side. In addition, former legspinner Upul Chandana has been appointed the fielding coach while Aravinda de Silva will travel with the team as the consultant coach.The Sri Lankan youth team last played a one-day series this May in Bangladesh. The team, captained by Dinesh Chandimal, lost the ODIs 4-1.Squad: Chathura Peiris (capt), Banuka Rajapakse (vice-capt), Nipun Karunanayake, Rumesh Buddika, Lahiru Jayaratne, Charith Jayampathy, Udara Jayasundara, Denuwan Rajakaruna, Adeesha Nanayakkara, Andre Berenger, Akshu Fernando, Kithruwan Vithanage, Danushka Gunathilaka, Saranga Rajaguru, Kasun Madushanka, Rushan Jaleel

Celtic forward Kyogo Furuhashi has provided a positive injury update while away with Japan, The Scottish Sun report.

The Lowdown: Furuhashi injury

The 26-year-old, who cost £4.86m in the summer, returned from the previous international break last month with a knee injury.

He missed five games as a result but returned for two games under Ange Postecoglou before jetting off for Japan duty once again.

Furuhashi wasn’t initially selected for Japan, however, his Hoops return meant his country made a U-turn and selected him for two World Cup qualifiers.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/celtic-updates-15/” title=”Celtic updates!!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Latest: Injury comments

The Hoops forward was talking to the media, relayed by The Scottish Sun, prior to Japan’s game against Saudi Arabia.

He revealed ‘there is no problem at all now with my knee’ – a positive 10-word update that should delight Postecoglou and Celtic supporters.

Furuhashi came on as a substitute on the hour mark in a 1-0 defeat to Saudi Arabia and appeared to come through without any problems.

The Verdict: Good news

The last thing Celtic would want is for Furuhashi to be playing for Japan not fully fit, but he’s admitted that the knee issue is no longer a problem, hailing the Hoops’ medical staff in the process.

He’ll hopefully return to Parkhead following the game against Australia in good health, which will then allow him to kick on and add to his eight Celtic goals in 11 games.

In other news: Devlin claims McKay clash with Hoops chiefs stopped boyhood Celtic fan moving to Parkhead.