All posts by h716a5.icu

Despite the return of their two England players Andy Caddick and Marcus Trescothick, Somerset continued their disappointing run in the Benson and Hedges Cup when they lost their penultimate first round match to old rivals Gloucestershire by 39 runs

Richard Walsh05-May-2002Despite the return of their two England players Andy Caddick and Marcus Trescothick, Somerset continued their disappointing run in the Benson and Hedges Cup when they lost their penultimate first round match to old rivals Gloucestershire by 39 runs at Bristol today.After batting first Gloucestershire scored 270 for 7, with veteran opener Kim Barnett contributing 67 and skipper Mark Alleyne 47.The pick of the Somerset bowlers was Keith Dutch who took 2 for 43 in his 9 overs.When they batted the Cidermen they lost two early wickets when Matt Wood and Jamie Cox were dismissed cheaply before Marcus Trescothick(47) and Mike Burns(61) steadied the situation.However despite another late rally by Keith Dutch (45) and Rob Turner(36) Somerset fell 39 runs short of the Gloucestershire total of 270. For the home side Aussie all rounder Ian Harvey did the damage taking 5 for 20.After the end of the game Somerset coach Kevin Shine told me: "Of course we are disappointed. We always are when we lose, especially after we had a bit of a comeback with Dutchy and Noddy. Even though that means the end of the Benson’s for us this season we will be going out tomorrow to try to get back to winning ways and then focus on the county championship match on Wednesday."He continued: "Yes it has been a disappointing start to the season especially after the success of last year, and yes we are worried. We have had a few discussions about the situation and whilst we are worried about the disappointing start this is by no means panic stations, and people should remember that we didn’t start all that well last season."Tomorrow Somerset entertain Worcestershire at the County Ground, and for their final Benson and Hedges match ever Kevin Shine has named the same squad who played at Bristol today.

Rotherham United have received a big boost in their bid to sign 21-year-old defender Jacob Bedeau as it has been revealed that Portsmouth are not interested in signing him this summer.

What’s the talk?

Earlier this season, The Athletic claimed that Rotherham, Luton, Barnsley and Huddersfield were all monitoring Bedeau’s situation at Scunthorpe. Bedeau is out of contract this summer and all four clubs have been looking at the defender as a possible target as they all ponder defensive reinforcements heading into the 2021/22 campaign.

Football Insider then added Portsmouth’s name to the list of clubs chasing Bedeau on a free transfer, which could have added more competition for Rotherham in the race for his signature.

However, Hampshire Live have provided a response to the report and stated that Bedeau is not a player Portsmouth want to add to their squad this summer, leaving Rotherham and the aforementioned Championship clubs as the only teams left gunning for his services.

Huge boost

This could be a huge boost to Rotherham’s chances of landing the 21-year-old centre-back this summer. Portsmouth could be a promotion rival to Rotherham in League One next year, given that the Hampshire-based club finished 8th in the table and Paul Warne’s side were relegated from the Championship.

The two clubs could be fighting against each other to secure promotion to the second tier, which means that interest from Portsmouth in Bedeau could have been a genuine challenge to Rotherham, given how similar the two clubs are in terms of thier potential ambitions and targets.

Despite only being 21, Bedeau proved to be a beast at League Two level for Scunthorpe. He averaged 3.2 aerial battles won, 3.8 clearances made and one block per game across 34 appearances.

Bedeau was adept at winning headers and putting his body on the line to defend his goal, showing great instincts for a young defender at a physical level of football.

Warne could integrate him into his squad to inject some freshness into his defence. Richard Wood, 35, Angus MacDonald, 28, and Michael Ihiekwe, 28, were his first-choice centre-back trio in the Championship, suggesting that there could be an opening for a younger player to come in and play a part in League One.

At the age of 21, Bedeau could learn from MacDonald, Ihiekwe and Wood to improve his game, whilst also being coached by Warne, in order to add to the strong qualities he has already shown in the fourth tier of English football.

Therefore, Portsmouth’s lack of interest in Bedeau could come as a big boost to Warne and Rotherham. Not only could Bedeau make an instant impact at Rotherham, as shown by his defending statistics from Scunthorpe’s season, but he could also have the potential to improve further and be a long-term asset for the club.

Manchester City fans praised Carlos Borges after he was named the Citizens’ U18 Players’ Player of the Year.

The Citizens have enjoyed highs and lows this campaign, winning the Premier League and League Cup but also losing the Champions League final against Chelsea 1-0. Of this term’s squad, Phil Foden is the only player to come through City’s youth system to have any real impact in the first team.

City fans will be hoping they have another great hope on their hands, however, in Borges. He has enjoyed a wonderful season, scoring 13 times and providing 19 assists in just 24 matches (Transfermarkt) – that has earned him recognition from his fellow teammates.

Perhaps that kind of record will see him follow in the footsteps of Foden sooner rather than later.

The news was shared on Twitter by @City_Xtra, and it attracted plenty of attention from the City supporters. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts on the matter, with one fan describing the youngster’s performance level as ‘insane’.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about Borges below

“Some player him”

Credit: @zxlini

“Already better than Sterling”

Credit: @WandersonCris18

“Promising lad….. Success”

Credit: @eduh_chege

“That’s insane numbers”

Credit: @Ali_Szn14

“Promote him to the first team”

Credit: @mcfcabdull

“Remember his name.. he’ll be better than Mbappe”

Credit: @DiasCEO

In other news, Man City fans slammed this man’s performance in the Champions League final.

The CCA Senior Selection Committee will shortly be annoucing a squad of players who will be asked to train for and to participate in events this year in preparation for the World Cup 2003 in South Africa

CCA29-May-2002The CCA Senior Selection Committee will shortly be annoucing a squad of players who will be asked to train for and to participate in events this year in preparation for the World Cup 2003 in South Africa. This is still a long list and the selectors reserve the right to make changes as needed in due course.The CCA is working through the ICC Americas office to further discuss with the WICB the prospect of increased assistance from the ICC and WICB this year. Included in those discussions will bethe upcoming West Indies ‘A’ team visit to Canada and the 2002 Red Stripe competition.

Bruno Fernandes has been voted the GiveMeSport Fans’ Premier League Player of the Season.

In a poll run by fan engagement experts Snack Media, the midfielder earned an impressive 30% of the vote after scoring eighteen goals and assisting twelve more in his first full season at Old Trafford. Chelsea’s Mason Mount was in second place with 22%. 

In the first of five votes carried out over seven days via Snack Media’s digital and social networks, the midfielder’s performances were enough to win over Premier League fans up and down the country. 

The full list of contenders from the final shortlist polled as follows: 

● Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United) – 30% 

● Mason Mount (Chelsea) – 22% 

● Ruben Dias (Manchester City) – 15% 

● Stuart Dallas (Leeds United) – 14% 

● Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur) – 13% 

● Emiliano Martínez (Aston Villa) – 7% 

The Championship vote opens at 11am on Monday 7th May. To vote go to: http://bit.ly/36EBNZ6   

And in other news; Manchester United have been linked with a move for this star man…

The first finals of the Somerset Year 6 Girls Kwik Cricket competition were held at Millfield Prep School on Friday involving Martock, Ash, Ilchester and Kingsmoor (Bawdrip) Primary Schools

Richard Walsh05-Jul-2002The first finals of the Somerset Year 6 Girls Kwik Cricket competition were held at Millfield Prep School on Friday involving Martock, Ash, Ilchester and Kingsmoor (Bawdrip) Primary Schools.At the end of the day Martock won the final, beating Kingsmoor School, and both now go forward to represent Somerset in the south west regional finals that are taking place on July 15th at Kings College in Taunton.

Somerset Under 12’s scored a resounding victory over their Gwent counterparts when they travelled to Newport CC last weekend

Richard Walsh28-Jul-2002Somerset Under 12’s scored a resounding victory over their Gwent counterparts when they travelled to Newport CC last weekend.After winning the toss and batting first Somerset amassed 228 for 6, thanks to Jos Butler who made 77 and Nick Gibbens 65.In reply Gwent were all out for 97, leaving Somerset the victors by 131 runs.

As Tottenham Hotspur are set to hand a big role to sporting director Fabio Paratici, journalist Jack Pitt-Brooke of the Athletic has dropped an exciting behind the scenes claim involving the 48-year-old (Twitter).

The Lowdown: Paratici and Spurs…

Reports last week heavily linked the Italian with a role on Tottenham’s board amid all the noise surrounding talks with former Inter Milan boss Antonio Conte.

Both men have worked together closely in the past at Juventus, and while Spurs couldn’t get Conte through the door, Paratici is set to land a big role at the Lilywhites.

The Latest: Athletic journalist drops exciting Paratici claim

Indeed, Pitt-Brooke has explained on social media that Paratici will oversee all footballing decisions and ‘especially’ Spurs’ search for a new manager.

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

As well as this, there is apparently huge confidence behind the scenes at Spurs in the chief’s ability to run and operate an efficient football club.

“Fabio Paratici on his way in to Spurs. Will be handed a big role overseeing all football decisions, especially the new head coach,” said Pitt-Brooke (via Twitter).

“Expectations are high inside Tottenham that Paratici’s networking and negotiating skills will help the club, that he will add more football expertise to the ‘Football Board’, and that he will drive up standards (which have slipped) across the board. Big job to step into!”

The Verdict: Interesting times ahead…

News that Paratici will be overseeing more of the footballing decision-making as an alternative to chairman Daniel Levy must surely come as exciting for Spurs fans.

Tottenham will now revert back to the sporting director model and the most interesting aspect of this development could be that Paratici will now be heavily involved in the manager hunt, something that has been hectic to say the least under Levy’s leadership.

Pitt-Brooke’s claim that there is much optimism inside the club could at least fill Spurs fans with confidence that he may make an informed and educated decision, rather than the scattergun approach which has seen countless names linked in the media over the last few weeks.

In other news: Paratici has his eyes on this ‘top class’ player for Spurs, find out more here.

Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club and the England and Wales Cricket Board(ECB) have reached agreement for the staging of One-Day Internationals andTest Matches at Trent Bridge from 2003 to 2011

ECB Media Release25-Aug-2002Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club and the England and Wales Cricket Board(ECB) have reached agreement for the staging of One-Day Internationals andTest Matches at Trent Bridge from 2003 to 2011.In 2003, Trent Bridge will host the opening match of the NatWest Seriesbetween England and Zimbabwe on Thursday 26 June. This will be followed later in the summer when England return for the third npower Test Match versus South Africa from 14-18 August.In 2002, Trent Bridge had capacity crowds for the NatWest Series match between England and Sri Lanka, and for three days of the second npower Test Match versus India. This clearly demonstrates the demand for cricket in the East Midlands.Nottinghamshire CCC Chief Executive David Collier commented:”Since 1998, Nottinghamshire CCC has invested more than £10m in developingTrent Bridge. This long term Staging Agreement provides the security ofregular international cricket at Trent Bridge which is required to fund theexisting and possible new developments at the ground. We are delightedTrent Bridge is the first Test Match Ground to sign a long term agreementwith the ECB and that cricket fans in the East Midlands can look forward toannual international cricket through to 2011.”Following today’s announcement Nottinghamshire CCC will be selling ticketsto its members from 23 September, and to the general public from 7 Octoberfor next year’s international matches at Trent Bridge.ECB Chief Executive Tim Lamb said, “I’m very pleased that the ECB hasreached agreement with Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club about the stagingof future international matches at Trent Bridge. This longer term agreementwill give Notts the certainty of international cricket until 2011 and enablethe club to continue developing the already-impressive facilities at theground.”For further information contact:
John Read, ECB Director of Corporate Affairs on 07774 476 391
David Collier, Notts CCC Chief Executive on 07768 558 130

Nottingham Forest have been dealt a blow in their bid to seal Lyle Taylor’s departure from The City Ground this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Stoke on Trent Live, who claim that Michael O’Neill’s Stoke City side are not believed to be considering a move for the 31-year-old Forest centre-forward in the current transfer window.

It was reported earlier this month that Chris Hughton is more than happy for Taylor to leave the club this summer, with the 62-year-old looking to bring in a striker of his own in a bid to provide Lewis Grabban with competition for his starting spot ahead of next season.

Hughton will be fuming

Things have not exactly gone swimmingly for Taylor since arriving at The City Ground on a free transfer last summer, with the manager who signed him, Sabri Lamouchi, being sacked after just four games of the season, and his successor, Chris Hughton, clearly not holding a great deal of faith in the striker’s ability.

Indeed, despite playing a total of 39 Championship games for Forest last term, only 15 of these appearances came as starts, with the £900k-rated forward going on to score just four goals, register no assists and create one big chance for his teammates, in addition to hitting the target an average of 0.4 times and making of 0.4 key passes per game.

These returns saw the £5k-per-week man earn a disappointing seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.64, ranking him as the Garibaldi’s joint ninth-worst performer in the second tier last season.

As such, it is unsurprising that Hughton is willing to allow the man whom Neal Ardley dubbed an “outstanding” player to move onto pastures new this summer, and also why O’Neill clearly believes that there could be better options to improve his attacking arsenal at Stoke City ahead of next season.

However, the fact that the Potters do not appear likely to make a move for Taylor at present will undoubtedly leave the Forest boss fuming, as he will now have to find another potential suitor who is willing to take the forward on this summer.

In other news: Forest handed boost over “fantastic” £2.52m-rated gem who won’t cost Hughton a penny