All posts by h716a5.icu

Celtic secured a crucial 1-0 victory against Hearts at Parkhead on Thursday night.

Kyogo Furuhashi was the match winner with his 14th goal of the season, but the win came at a cost, with Anthony Ralston, Jota and Stephen Welsh all limping off.

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Here at The Transfer Tavern, we look into the three worst-rated Celtic players as per statistical specialists SofaScore, with players required to feature for at least 45 minutes for ranking.

Tom Rogic – 6.0/10

Rogic returned from injury to make his first start since October, but the central midfielder was comfortably Celtic’s worst-rated performer last night.

The 28-year-old was once again alongside Callum McGregor and David Turnbull in a three-man midfield but lost the ball a whopping 30 times. Rogic also lost 15 of his 20 duels, failed to complete any of his seven attempted dribbles and made just two tackles all night.

Not exactly the return to action he would’ve liked…

James Forrest – 6.4/10

Next up is Forrest, who featured in a front three with Furuhashi and Jota. The Scot also had an evening to forget, missing two big chances, losing possession on six occasions and losing five of his seven duels.

The 30-year-old, who is still yet to score in the Premiership this season, also failed to make any defensive contributions all night despite playing the full game at Parkhead.

Adam Montgomery – 6.6/10

The final man on the list is Montgomery, who came on for Ralston after 37 minutes. The 19-year-old made his 15th appearance of the campaign but struggled to get to grips with Hearts’ Barrie McKay.

Montgomery lost the ball seven times, made just one tackle and failed to get forward to attempt a cross. He was also second-best in six of his 10 duels, meaning the trio featured in this article lost 70% of their duels overall.

In other news: Nicholson ‘plans’ to sell ‘terrific’ Celtic ace in record-breaking £25.5m deal. 

West Ham United likely fended off big competition for the signature of Kurt Zouma, according to former Hammer Frank McAvennie.

The Lowdown: London switch

Following two loan spells with Everton and Stoke City, Zouma’s time at Chelsea finally came to an end after 151 appearances, with West Ham paying £31.5million for the centre-half.

Zouma, 26, was an unused substitute in the goalless draw with Southampton before making his debut for the club in last week’s 2-0 Europa League victory over Dinamo Zagreb.

In the Hammers’ recent game, Zouma impressed against Manchester United,  making 12 clearances, winning all of his ground duels, winning three of his four aerial duels and completing 93% of his passes.

The Latest: McAvennie impressed

Speaking to West Ham Zone, former Irons striker McAvennie has expressed his satisfaction with what he’s seen so far from the towering Frenchman at West Ham.

“I did say he was a good player.

“He’s a commanding centre-half, just what they needed.

“They’ve got boys who can run the ball but he’s a powerful and big player.

“I’m delighted. I’m convinced there must have been other teams in for him.”

The Verdict: Next level defender

The signing of Zouma certainly strengthens David Moyes’ defence and adds more competition to that area of the field.

With Zouma forming a strong bond with Angelo Ogbonna, Craig Dawson and Issa Diop remain at the club and could be called upon with European games on Thursday night.

Zouma’s powerful presence and ability to distribute the ball out of defence, with his 93% pass completion from Sunday, alongside the midfield pivot of Tomas Soucek and Declan Rice, means the spine of Moyes’ side has strengthened from the end of last season.

After struggling to stake a claim in the Chelsea side on a regular basis, Zouma now finds himself with the chance to cement himself as one of the Premier League’s best centre-backs and potentially see a return to the France national team.

In other news, Noel Whelan has been full of praise for this West Ham United midfielder. Find out more here.

Upon his £4.6m arrival at Celtic this summer, fans of the Bhoys would be forgiven if they were not fully aware of exactly who Kyogo Furuhashi was, let alone knowing whether or not the 26-year-old was a good signing for the Hoops.

However, having previously managed in the J League, one man who certainly was aware of the ability the centre-forward possesses was Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou, who stated upon the Japan international’s signing: “He is a player of real quality and clearly someone I know well. I think he will add something special to our squad and I am sure the way he plays will excite our supporters.”

And, the 56-year-old’s prediction that Kyogo would excite fans has already proven to be something of an understatement, as the striker has turned in exceptional display after exceptional display over his short time in Glasgow.

Indeed, over his 10 Scottish Premiership appearances this season, the £1.8m-rated man has already scored seven goals, registered two assists and created one big chance for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 2.1 shots and making one key pass per game.

These returns have seen the man who John Hartson dubbed a “menace” average a SofaScore match rating of 7.16, ranking him as Postecoglou’s eighth-best performer in the Scottish top flight.

However, it has not only been in the league in which Kyogo has been in devastating form, with the striker scoring a further three goals in Europa League qualifying, bagging two goals and one assist in the Europa League proper and one goal in the Scottish League Cup – taking his total haul so far this season to 13 goals and three assists in just 18 games played.

This means that, over his 18 fixtures in a Celtic shirt, the Japanese forward has registered an outrageous 0.89 goal contributions per game – something that would very much lend weight to the argument that the 26-year-old could be Henrik Larsson’s heir apparent at Parkhead.

Indeed, between the years of 2000-2004, the Celtic legend registered an astonishing 1.30 goal contributions per game, something that has written the man who scored 242 goals for the Bhoys into the club’s history books.

So, while Kyogo is still a little way short of Larsson’s record at present, the season is still extremely young, and, as the striker becomes more settled under Ange Postecoglou, we would not bet against him going on to match, or perhaps even better, the now-50-year-old’s returns come the end of the season.

In other news: Journalist drops exciting claim on “dream” Celtic transfer that’ll have fans buzzing

A round-up of the final day’s action at the Americas Under-19 Championship 2009 in King City

Cricinfo staff12-Jul-2009Canada emerged winners of the Americas Under-19 Championships with a five-run win over Bermuda in a rain-curtailed match at the Maple Leaf South-East Ground in King City. In a match reduced to 33 overs, Canada made 170 for 7, with Hiral Patel top scoring with 95. In the chase, Bermuda progressed to 111 for 4 in the 25th over before the dark storm clouds and howling winds forced the players indoors. At that stage, Canada were already ahead by five runs by the Duckworth-Lewis Method.With five straight wins, Canada have not only claimed the championship, but also a place in the ICC Under-19 World Cup Qualifiers in September. USA have also progressed to the qualifier, with four wins and one loss. Bermuda, who won the Americas U-19 title in 2007, finished third with three wins and two defeats. Bermuda’s Chris Douglas took 14 wickets to end the tournament as the leading bowler. Canada’s Rustum Bhatti was named best wicketkeeper.At the Maple Leaf North-East Ground, Bahamas U-19s beat Argentina U-19s by 57 runs, also by the Duckworth-Lewis Method. Bahamas made 187 for 7 in 31 overs while Argentina struggled to 88 for 7 in 22 overs before poor weather struck.Summary of scoresCanada 170 for 7 (33 overs) beat Bermuda 111 for 4 (24.2 overs) by 5 runs (D/L method)USA 226 for 8 (35 overs) beat Cayman Islands 65 (28 overs) by 161 runsBahamas 186 for 7 (31 overs) beat Argentina 88 for 7 (22 overs) by 57 runs (D/L method)

West Ham United have received a massive boost in their pursuit of mooted transfer target Andrea Belotti this week…

What’s the word?

The Irons were linked with a move for the Torino talisman throughout the summer as David Moyes searched for new frontline additions, and they could be able to sign him for nothing come to the end of the season.

Belotti’s contract is up at the Serie A outfit and it has since been revealed that the 27-year-old centre-forward will not be signing an extension in Turin, according to quotes relayed by Italian transfer expert Fabrizio Romano.

“Italian striker Andrea Belotti is prepared to leave Torino as [a] free agent in June. Torino manager Ivan Juric confirms: ‘Belotti won’t sign the contract extension,'” he tweeted.

“‘Andrea is not gonna leave in January. He’ll decide his future in June’, Juric added.”

Door opens

The Hammers did not go and sign Belotti during the summer but the problem still remains. Michail Antonio (31) is Moyes’ only senior option in the striker position and he has been rather injury-prone for many a season now.

It’s a risky game to play considering that his side are unbeaten in the Europa League, where they seem sure to go on and progress into the knockout stages.

An injury or setback to Antonio could seriously curtail their chances of success in that competition, as well as the Premier League, where they are currently in fourth place.

Considering that Belotti is valued at £31.5m by Transfermarkt, getting him on a free transfer would be an absolute steal from Rob Newman in his new role as West Ham’s head of recruitment.

Similarly, the Euro 2020 winner has a very prolific goalscoring record, having bagged double figures in every season since 2015/16, including a career-best of 28 goals in 2016/17.

Former Irons shot-stopper Joe Hart enjoyed a loan spell at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino and waxed lyrical about Belotti’s ability, claiming that he was like no other striker in Europe.

“Andrea is similar to all the great strikers, English and not,” he told Gianluca Di Marzio. “It’s hard to compare him to someone else because he’s special. He’s Belotti and that’s it. He has instinct for goals, personality and he’s a team player: he’s always focused on his team and plays hard to help it.”

It would be inexcusable for the east Londoners to not try and secure Belotti in 2022. He could well be a very cheap but reliable fix to their attacking depth issues.

AND in other news, Moyes could unearth West Ham’s next Joe Cole in 19 y/o gem “similar to Jack Grealish”…

The franchise owners, including Shah Rukh Khan, the Bollywood star, will meet the candidates in a series of interviews starting this weekend with Richard Pybus

Ajay S Shankar20-Aug-2009Dermot Reeve, the former England allrounder, is the latest name on a shortlist of candidates prepared by Kolkata Knight Riders to replace John Buchanan as coach of the IPL team. The franchise owners, including Shah Rukh Khan, the Bollywood star, will meet the candidates in a series of interviews starting this weekend with Richard Pybus, till recently the coach of Titans, the South African franchise, confirming his meeting in Mumbai on Saturday.John Wright, the former India coach, and Duncan Fletcher, the former England coach, are also on the shortlist, which includes some Indian candidates too. Kolkata, which finished last in IPL 2009, is looking at a blend of Indian and foreign coaching staff – including Lalchand Rajput, in charge of the Indian team that won the 2007 World Twenty20 – as part of a revamp following the team’s below-par performance over the last two years under Buchanan.Kolkata officials are expected to meet Wright, who is in Chennai with the New Zealand A team for the Buchi Babu tournament, next week. Wright, however, is no longer the overwhelming favourite for the job, as it was believed earlier, because one of the key benchmarks that the franchise has laid down is previous experience in coaching a Twenty20 side. Besides, Wright, who is also a New Zealand selector, may not be able to commit himself to Kolkata for about nine months a year, which is what the team ideally expects. Kolkata had also approached Dav Whatmore, who coached Sri Lanka to the 1996 World Cup, for the job but this move has not moved beyond unofficial, preliminary discussions.Reeve and Pybus, on the other hand, were in charge of Twenty20 teams that won their respective domestic championships last year. Reeve, who led Warwickshire to three trophies in 1994, is known for his innovative, often controversial, approach to the game. He coaches New Zealand’s Central Districts, which slipped down the domestic Twenty20 ladder to finish fifth this season.Pybus – formerly a Pakistan coach – took Titans to the domestic Standard Bank Pro20 Series title last year to qualify for the 2008 Champions League, which was cancelled following the terror attacks in Mumbai. The Titans, however, finished fifth this year, following which he ended his four-year tenure. Pybus said that he will meet the Kolkata owners on Saturday in what he said would be a fact-finding visit.”The main thing is I am coming out to meet the owners and representatives of Kolkata and understand what their expectations are and find out what the lay of the land is on that side,” Pybus told Cricinfo. “I hope to find out what they are looking for and to see whether that meets up with what I am looking for. It really is a fact-finding weekend from my side, and I can’t go further than that at this point.”Pybus who watched all the IPL teams play at SuperSport Park, where the Titans are based, in the past season, said coaching Kolkata would be an exciting challenge. “Kolkata are a big team but they haven’t done as well as they would have liked in the first two seasons of IPL,” he said. “But I believe they have the potential to be one of the dominant sides in the IPL. So that’s an exciting challenge in itself.”He refused, however, to reveal his views on Kolkata’s performance so far. “I don’t want to get drawn into what happened last season,” he said. “What’s done is done. I am certainly not going to sit on judgment on what happened with the side over the last two years because only those who have been central to that will really understand what’s been going on.”Kolkata is also expected to name a new captain after the coach is appointed, although it is widely believed that Sourav Ganguly will regain the job after being replaced by Brendon McCullum last season. McCullum will not be available for most of the next IPL – from March 12 to April 25 – and will play instead for New Zealand against Australia in the home series in March.The high-profile Kolkata Knight Riders decided to replace Buchanan after they finished sixth in the inaugural IPL and slipped to eighth this time. Buchanan’s tenure was marred by controversy after the former Australian coach unveiled his multi-captaincy theory that generated a lot of debate worldwide and then replaced Ganguly, the local icon, as captain.

Aside from featuring two of the top four teams in women’s cricket, the match represents an unprecedented opportunity to showcase the women’s game.

Alice Dean17-Jun-2009The opening semi-final of the World Twenty20 gets underway in Nottingham on Thursday with India and New Zealand being the first women’s teams to compete in a double-header ahead of the men in a global competition.Aside from featuring two of the top four teams in women’s cricket – whose men’s teams failed to progress to the semis leaving them sole flag-bearers – the match represents an unprecedented opportunity to showcase the women’s game.But with that opportunity comes intense pressure – to show the game off and to win – and pressure is something New Zealand know about all too well.Although New Zealand impressed all who saw them in the group stages in Taunton and should beat India on current form, they will hope that nerves don’t get the better of them again, as they did against England in the World Cup final in March.A jittery batting display left them light on runs and this time, to add to the occasion, they could be playing in front of a packed house at Trent Bridge. But the side will hope to use the painful lessons from the World Cup final in a positive way.They also have experience of facing Australia in a Twenty20 ahead of the respective men at the SCG last year, while flair batsman Suzie Bates has a further advantage. As an Olympic basketball player, she played in front of sell-out crowds against home team China in Beijing lastyear. “It sent shivers down your spine,” she recalls.New Zealand captain Aimee Watkins is the form batsman, while newcomer Sian Ruck has impressed with her swing. But all-round depth is the most ominous thing about New Zealand.India will hope to draw on the experience of facing packed crowds at home. The side is used to playing all forms of cricket in front of 20,000 spectators – and the crowd atmosphere has been surprisingly electric in the group stages – but nothing will compare to large audiences for a semi-final in a world tournament.Now that their men are knocked out, India have an even greater expectation to do well but they have not enjoyed the best of tournaments to date. They opened with a ten-wicket loss to favourites England and had batting slips against Pakistan and Sri Lanka, both of whom were outsiders.Their bowling has been consistent, at least, but they have been guilty of too many fielding errors, while the batting has been ordinary at best as they rely on individual performances from the old hands of Mithali Raj and Anjum Chopra.On the evidence from Taunton, India – who have played the least Twenty20 internationals of the big four – are still warming up but their famously mercurial side know they can rise to the occasion.They twice beat home side Australia in the World Cup, while Twenty20 can be something of a lottery and they will fancy their chances of causing an upset against New Zealand. While they lack a big power-hitter to take advantage of the first six overs, India’s batsmen are adept at taking the ones and twos. New Zealand’s batting line-up, however, is also good in this department.Although New Zealand are the out-and-out favourites on paper, India have every chance of ripping up the book. Either way, it’s important that the sides play eye-catching cricket in front of new faces.While one side will definitely win a place in the final at Lord’s, if both teams can rise to the occasion with their best cricket then they are bound to impress new fans – which, ultimately, could be an ever bigger win for women’s cricket.

Kevin Phillips has given his reaction to some Newcastle United injury news involving Callum Wilson.

The Lowdown: Back training

Speaking in his pre-game press conference before the Magpies lost 2-1 at Wolves on Saturday, Steve Bruce revealed that the 29-year-old is due to start training ‘in the next couple of days’, and hinted that he could make a return to the squad after the upcoming international break.

The former Bournemouth striker has not played since he scored in the 2-2 draw at home to Southampton in the Premier League in late August.

The Latest: Phillips reacts

Speaking to Football Insider, former Premier League Golden Boot winner Phillips has claimed that Wilson being back in training is a big boost for Newcastle. He said:

“That’s a massive boost. They’ve missed him hugely. When he plays, he guarantees you goals, guarantees you a threat.

“That’s what Newcastle have lacked. It’s great news for him to be back in training.

“I’m sure they can’t wait for him to get out there and get going again.”

The Verdict: Huge

It certainly is huge that Wilson is back in training, as he could be back in a black-and-white-striped shirt after the international break has finished.

There is no doubt that Newcastle have missed him, having not being able to win any of the last four Premier League games without him, only managing to score four goals in that time (two in three matches prior to his injury.

He is such a key player for Bruce’s team and gives them a focal point up top from which the likes of Allan Saint-Maximin, Miguel Almiron and Joe Willock can thrive.

In other news, find out what controversial beIN reveal has been dropped on the potential takeover

Liverpool forward Sadio Mane was on target for Senegal as they beat Namibia 4-1 on Saturday. 

He beat three challenges and found the bottom left corner from the edge of the penalty area to put his side 3-0 up in their World Cup qualifier.

The goal pulls the 29-year-old further clear at the top of Senegal’s all-time scoring list. He has now bagged 24 for his country, seven clear of Mamadou Niang, and the win leaves the Lions five points clear at the top of their group, having won all three of their matches so far.

The two teams will meet again on Tuesday, this time in Namibia, before Mane returns to Liverpool.

Mane’s good form continues

Mane sits second in the Reds’ early scoring charts for 2021/22, with his strike against Manchester City taking him to five for the season. He trails Mohamed Salah, who has nine in as many matches.

Fan feed The Anfield Talk posted footage of the Senegal star’s most recent goal on international duty, and here’s what these Liverpool supporters made of it.

Liverpool fans love Mane’s goal

“An in-form Mane is WHAT WE NEED for the fixtures after the international break”

Credit: @n8_lfc

“Bc everyone’s been focused rightly so on Salah he’s quietly returned to form this season”

Credit: @connor33_

“y’all thought he was joking when he said he would bounce back”

Credit: @Auxanooo

“Oh yessssssss”

Credit: @Helena84164757

“GOATTTTT”

Credit: @sadio10iii

“What a goal!! Sadio ripping apart defences just like the good old days!!”

Credit: @Sayantan_10

In other news, many Liverpool fans were delighted with this contract development

Shoaib Akhtar’s latest fitness concern, a skin problem, has ruled him out of Pakistan’s training camp for the World Twenty20, coach Intikhab Alam said

Cricinfo staff13-May-2009Shoaib Akhtar’s latest fitness concern, a skin problem, has ruled him out of Pakistan’s training camp for the World Twenty20, coach Intikhab Alam said.”The doctors have advised Shoaib Akhtar at least 7-10 days of rest and he will not be the part of the training camp,” Alam told AP from Bhurban. Pakistan’s six-day training camp, to be held at a mountain resort, will begin on Thursday.The World Twenty starts on June 5, and Alam was hopeful Shoaib would be available for the tournament, where Pakistan are in Group B along with the Netherlands and host England. “I hope he will be fully fit before the all-important event,” he said.A host of injury problems have combined to restrict Shoaib’s appearances at the international level over the past six months. He missed the one-dayers against West Indies in Abu Dhabi last October due to a calf injury, while a knee problem ruled him out of the Tests against Sri Lanka earlier this year.Shoaib did play the entire limited-overs series against Australia in the UAE over the past month, but he was nowhere near his best, taking three wickets at 50.66.