All posts by h716a5.icu

According to a report by club insider ExWHUemployee, writing on his Patreon, GSB and West Ham’s plan to utilise the free transfer market this summer is ‘already in place’.

The Lowdown: Big 2021/2022 season for the Irons!

After securing qualification for the Europa League in what was a phenomenal 2020/2021 season which defied expectation, West Ham now need to gear up for next year as hopes rise.

The club reportedly have two main transfer priorities in a permanent deal for Manchester United ace Jesse Lingard as well as the signing of a new striker (Claret & Hugh).

Michail Antonio, whilst effective at times, was plagued with a variety of injury issues over last campaign.

The Latest: ExWHUemployee lifts lid on GSB transfer plan

As per the reliable ExWHUemployee, a GSB and West Ham United plan to use the free transfer market is ‘already in place’ as the Irons look to tackle a difficult transfer market.

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Indeed, clubs throughout the country are suffering from financial problems amid the coronavirus pandemic – meaning a lot of sides simply do not have as much money to spend.

As such, Ex says that the free transfer market could be an ‘interesting avenue’ for West Ham to explore and may ‘bolster the squad’ whilst spending significantly less.

He also says that there are a ‘number’ of interesting players available at Premier League rivals Crystal Palace when their contracts expire this summer.

The Verdict: Shrewd business…

Many top players will be available for West Ham this summer due to their contract situations, including striker Olivier Giroud, who has emerged as a target.

If GSB can utilise the free transfer market to their advantage and bolster the Irons’ squad this summer with little financial risk, it’s safe to say that would be ideal.

However, key deals to really kick on and challenge in Europe will also require significant investment – especially if West Ham want to complete the permanent signing of 2020/2021 loan sensation Lingard.

In other news: West Ham fans flock to this official club announcement, find out more here.

Chasing the fourth innings target

Arshad Chughtai23-May-2001In the recent fifth and final Test at Kingston (Jamaica), South Africa failed to chase a victory target of 386 runs in the fourth innings. In the history of cricket, only two teams have successfully chased a target of more than 386 runs. India made 406 for four to win against the West Indies at Port of Spain in 1975-76 and Australia made 404 for three to beat England at Leeds in 1948. Incidentally, India also holds the record for highest fourth innings total – to tie a match (347 against Australia at Madras in1986-87) and – to lose one (445 against Australia at Adelaide in 1977-78).How has Pakistan done in a fourth innings chase?Pakistan’s record of chasing a target in the fourth innings has remained dismal throughout. In fact, they even failed to reach targets as low as the 146 set by South Africa at Faisalabad in 1997-98 and 159 set by Australia at Sydney in 1972-73. The only time Pakistan could reach a fourth innings target of over 300 runs and win the match was at Karachi against Australia in 1994-95, recording a narrow one-wicket victory. On scrutiny one finds that 14 of Pakistan’s 67 defeats could be attributed to their batsmen’s inability to reach the target set by the opponents. The details in chronological order are:

Yr Vs Venue Toss Opp Ist Pak Ist Opp 2nd Target Pak 2nd Lost by Inn Inn Inn Inn

1957-58 WI Port of Spain WI 325 282 312 356 235 120 runs1971 Eng Leeds Eng 316 350 264 231 205 251972-73 Aus Melbourne Aus 441/5 d 574/8 d 425 293 200 921972-73 Aus Sydney Pak 334 360 184 159 106 521976-77 WI Kingston WI 280 198 359 442 301 1401979-80 Ind Bombay Ind 334 173 160 322 190 1311980-81 WI Faisalabad WI 235 176 242 302 145 1561982 Eng Birmingham Eng 272 251 291 313 199 1131992-93 WI Port-of-Spain WI 127 140 382 370 165 2041995-96 SL Faisalabad Pak 223 333 361 252 209 421995-96 SL Sialkot SL 232 214 338 357 212 1441996-97 NZ Lahore NZ 155 191 311 276 231 441997-98 RSA Faisalabad RSA 239 308 214 146 92 531997-98 RSA Port Elizabeth Pak 293 106 206/7 d 394 134 259

India recorded an eight-wicket victory over Zimbabwe at Queens SportsClub soon after tea on the fourth day

John Ward10-Jun-2001India recorded an eight-wicket victory over Zimbabwe at Queens SportsClub soon after tea on the fourth day. They had little difficulty inwrapping up the Zimbabwe tail, with considerable help from the victimsthemselves, and then knocked off the required runs, with Shiv SunderDas, after receiving one reprieve from the umpire and two from thefielders, scoring 82 not out.Zimbabwe began the day 158 runs ahead of India with three wicketsleft. Grant Flower ran himself out for 71 in the third over of theday, chancing a single in the midwicket area, only for Rahul Dravid toscore a direct hit on the stumps with the batsman seemingly unaware ofthe danger until it was too late. With him went Zimbabwe’s alreadyslim chances of taking the match into the fifth day.The injured Henry Olonga did not last long before being yorked byJavagal Srinath without scoring. Andy Blignaut chose a couple ofdeliveries from Harbhajan Singh to hit well, striking a four and a sixbefore a comedy of errors led to a fielder misjudging a catch and thebowler fumbling his return when there should have been a run-out. Itcontinued as Blignaut snicked a ball behind the keeper and BrightonWatambwa (0), the non-striker, raced down the pitch for a quiteunnecessary single when Blignaut wanted to keep the strike and waseasily stranded and run out in mid-pitch. Zimbabwe finishedingloriously on 328, leaving India 184 to win. Srinath, with threefor 71, returned the best figures.Zimbabwe believed they had Das caught down the leg side off the secondball off their innings, but the umpire disagreed. This decision couldhardly have been said to have affected the result of the match, butZimbabwe might well have made India fight much harder had it gone intheir favour. Watambwa was the bowler as both Heath Streak (knee) andOlonga (hamstring) were off the field with injuries, leaving the teamwith only three front-line bowlers, Blignaut and Brian Murphy beingthe others. Zimbabwe had no more chances before lunch, but forcedIndia to work hard to score.Zimbabwe had only themselves to blame for missing their nextopportunity, just after lunch, as bowler Blignaut dropped a low returncatch from Das when the latter had 18. He now began to hit out andtake regular boundaries off Zimbabwe’s depleted attack, but lostRamesh (17), well caught at slip by Stuart Carlisle off a hard slashfrom the bowling of Blignaut. He reached his fifty with anotherchance, a difficult one in the gully.VVS Laxman was next to enjoy a life, caught by substitute MlulekiNkala on the long-leg boundary, only for the fielder to step over therope as he took it. Laxman was soon driving the ball majestically,scoring at a speed that steadily reduced Das’ hopes of a century. ThenGrant Flower came on to bowl and off his second ball picked up a lowreturn catch to dismiss Laxman for 38.Sachin Tendulkar seemed almostto toy with the bowling as he cruised to 36 not out, with Das on 82when victory came.Zimbabwe really lost this match on the first day, when they battedmiserably on a pitch that was, as usual at this venue, ideal forbatting from start to finish. They could never make up the lostground and India, although perhaps there were areas where they mighthave played better, were never really in danger of losing their grip.It will require a much better and more consistent performance fromZimbabwe if they are to have any chance of levelling the two-matchseries. India have their first series win outside Asia in 15 years intheir sights and will not lightly surrender their advantage.

Events have conspired against Queensland wicketkeeper Wade Seccombe many times over the course of the last decade

John Polack08-May-2001Events have conspired against Queensland wicketkeeper Wade Seccombe many times over the course of the last decade. But, with his addition to Australia’s Test and One-Day International squads to tour England, today has become his long overdue day.Seccombe, 29, has a glittering record at interstate level behind him but felt that his hopes of representing Australia had been extinguished after New South Wales gloveman Brad Haddin was twice chosen ahead of him to deputise for Adam Gilchrist in recent months.”This selection is more a surprise than anything. I’m extremely excited about what lies ahead but, at the moment, I’m just totally overwhelmed with the selection and obviously very proud and very honoured,” he said.”There’s always media speculation and a lot of things out of one’s control so I never worry too much (about conjecture over selection decisions). It was an absolute surprise.”In naming their squads early last month, the four-man Australian selection panel had originally elected to leave the onus of wicketkeeping on the three-month tour of England purely to Gilchrist. But this meant that their vice-captain was potentially confronted with the prospect of appearing in at least twenty matches. It also ensured that the Australians were set to defy a longstanding convention of taking at least two recognised wicketkeepers with them on an Ashes visit.According to the panel’s chairman, Trevor Hohns, the reasoning behind that strategy was always likely to come under review and today’s announcement is the result.An outstanding technician behind the stumps and a useful lower order batsman, Seccombe has been an integral member of Queensland teams over recent seasons. His average of close to five dismissals a match (his current tally stands at 339 dismissals from 69 first-class appearances) is easily the most productive of any wicketkeeper in Queensland’s first-class history and he jointly holds the record for the most number of dismissals effected by a wicketkeeper in a single Australian domestic summer. He has also amassed more than 2,000 runs with the bat.But, until the retirement of the former custodian, he was forced to live largely in the shadow of Queensland and Australian icon, Ian Healy. It was not until the 1999-2000 season that he inherited a full-time role at first-class level for the first time and even that elevation did not arrive without the trauma of a broken wrist and a broken collarbone along the way. More recently, even his excellent run of success in domestic cricket did not yield anything beyond two Australia ‘A’ caps by way of higher honours.”The last season or two, I probably thought that was the case,” he said of the assessment that an international call-up might have been set to permanently elude him.But Seccombe has always remained a driven cricketer, nonetheless.”It hasn’t been hard to remain motivated. Obviously, the wicketkeeper’s role is pivotal in a game of cricket but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed all the successes Queensland has achieved and that’s been the driving force behind things: because I’ve been a part of such a successful team.”Haddin, a more aggressive batsman and six years Seccombe’s junior, was preferred for a one-day contest against Zimbabwe in January and then covered briefly for an ailing Gilchrist on the national team’s recent visit to India. Seccombe was also narrowly pipped for a similar role to the one for which he has now been chosen when Victoria’s Darren Berry was brought in ahead of him as a late replacement on the 1997 Ashes tour.Like Berry, Seccombe was playing League cricket in England at the time and remains keenly aware of the potentially heavy workload of an Ashes trip.”All the hard yards that I’ve put in and the constant work has paid off to a big degree today. But a lot of hard work is ahead of me from now on. This is definitely not a time to sit back and relax at all; it’s probably a time to go even harder with everything.””Should any sort of opportunity arise (in England), I’ve now got to be ready to take it.”

Rangers have been linked with a move for Coventry City midfielder Gustavo Hamer recently, and if he were to join Steven Gerrard’s side this summer, he could solve a big problem for the 40-year-old at Ibrox.

What’s the word?

According to Football League World, Rangers are one of the clubs taking an interest in the Dutch midfielder, who is also being considered by Norwich City, Brighton and Brentford ahead of the summer transfer window.

Although he only joined the Sky Blues last summer following their promotion back to the Championship, Mark Robins’ side could be willing to cash in on him this summer should they receive a suitable bid for the midfield maestro.

Would he be a good signing?

The 23-year-old has made 41 appearances for Coventry in the Championship this season and has contributed an impressive five goals and two assists, averaging a solid 6.75 WhoScored rating for his performances.

This ranks him as the fourth-best performer in the Sky Blues’ squad so far this season, so it is clear that he has been an important part of their impressive season, which has seen them comfortably avoid relegation back to the third tier.

No player has averaged more key passes or dribbles per game (1.5) than Hamer in Coventry’s team this season, whilst he also scores highly when it comes to interceptions and tackles, which suggests that he can contribute from an attacking and a defensive point of view.

For comparison, only Borna Barisic, James Tavernier and Ryan Kent from the Rangers squad have averaged more key passes than Hamer this season, whilst only Joe Aribo and Kent outperform him on dribbles, which suggests that the £1.8m-rated midfielder could be a solid addition at Ibrox.

The former PC Zwolle man, who was labelled “unbelievable” by teammate Marco Marosi earlier in the season, could also amend a key issue in Gerrard’s squad ahead of next term.

The Ibrox manager has been left low on midfield options for much of this season following the long-term absence of Ryan Jack, whilst only Joe Aribo, who has also often featured on the right wing, has managed to regularly contribute goals from midfield.

Hamer’s five goals from midfield this season suggest he could add a goalscoring threat from that position in Gerrard’s squad which the likes of Steven Davis and Glen Kamara simply don’t offer, which has been one disappointment in a largely successful season for Rangers.

Should the dangerous front three of Alfredo Morelos, Ryan Kent and Ianis Hagi lose form or be broken up, Gerrard may need someone from midfield to step up next season. Hamer could prove to be that man, so Ross Wilson should try to bring him to Ibrox this summer.

In other news… Gerrard handed major boost with 23 y/o dubbed “the best”, Wilson must deliver

The ability to be versatile and change position is becoming more of a regular commodity in football and that can certainly be applied to Celtic.

Just look at Hoops midfielder David Turnbull. The 21-year-old can play on the wing or through the middle as a playmaker.

Assess Ryan Christie too, another player to feature in central and wide positions. That being said, not many can play in defence and as a striker.

That’s the intriguing dynamic that sets a certain Adam Montgomery apart from the rest.

Once a centre-forward, the 18-year-old has transitioned into becoming a left-back courtesy of work at Lennoxtown with Darren O’Dea.

He has gone from being a self-professed “tricky” winger to someone who now has to withstand the relentless attacks of players who possess similar qualities.

Montgomery has had to learn a completely new trade but it’s clearly been game-changing in terms of his development.

With Odsonne Edouard the leading light in Celtic’s side, very rarely does he get usurped as their main striker. Behind him this season he has had Leigh Griffiths, Albian Ajeti and Patryk Klimala all scrambling for game time.

With that in mind, a first-team breakthrough for players like Cameron Harper and Armstrong Oko-Flex seemed farfetched. Harper has already left while the latter nearly joined Huddersfield in January, events that summed up what they thought about their prospects in Glasgow.

Montgomery, however, has been patient and willing to adapt. Now a defender, he appeared in a matchday squad at senior level for the first time when Celtic beat Aberdeen in February.

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The teenager has never played a minute for the first-team but he has now appeared among the substitutes on three occasions.

Considering his position change, he clearly has a lot of work to do before he makes it in men’s football. That being said, with the guidance and influence Montgomery has at his disposal, he’s set for a bright future.

There is a lot to like about the youngster, a player who judging by his attacking qualities, could be the club’s new Kieran Tierney.

The Scotland international departed for £25m in the summer of 2019 and Celtic will be regularly scanning their academy to find a suitable replacement.

In Montgomery, they have a very capable one. He is not first-team ready yet but he could be next season.

Speaking to the club’s official media channels, he revealed that Tierney has been a vision for where he wants to be: “100 percent. Him being here from a young age, breaking into the team as a full-back and now you look at him doing so well at Arsenal, he’s a player that I’ve really looked up to since I made that move to full-back myself.”

Having also sought council from Greg Taylor, Montgomery is doing all the right things to develop his game and become one of your typical modern-day full-backs. Advice from John Kennedy should also help too.

He was a major figure for Tierney when he first came through the ranks at Paradise.

Combine those elements with Diego Laxalt’s horror show against Rangers on Sunday and bringing through another left-back is certainly a good idea.

Montgomery is undoubtedly one to keep an eye on in the coming months.

AND in other news, Celtic manager hunt could move rapidly today after major behind-the-scenes development…

Fiorentina have slipped a €60 million (£52.2m) price tag on Liverpool target Dusan Vlahovic.

That’s according to Tutto Mercato journalist Niccolo Ceccarini.

The Reds are named as one of the Serbian’s suitors, alongside the likes of Manchester United and Inter Milan. Roma and Borussia Dortmund are said to have expressed the strongest interest up to this point.

Fiorentina are looking to tie-down the 21-year-old, but ‘everything is stopped on the renewal front’ at this moment in time.

He’s about to enter the final two years of his contract, so Ceccarini says the club could be forced to consider a sale if he refuses to pen an extension.

Why is Vlahovic attracting so much interest?

Vlahovic has netted 17 Serie A goals for Fiorentina this season – he only scored one in his first 10 outings, but he’s since then has burst into life.

According to WhoScored, the 6 foot 2 front man poses a particular threat from set-pieces and likes to do flick-ons.

Emiliano Bigica, who coached Vlahovic at youth level, likened him to Champions League winner Mario Mandzukic. He tipped him to go on to ‘become one of the best strikers around’.

Transfer Tavern verdict

Vlahovic is an out-and-out number 9, and while Liverpool have flourished without one, it may now be time to evolve.

An aerially imposing striker could theoretically excel with service from Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson.

Liverpool may be put off by the huge £52.2m price tag, but that could just be posturing from Fiorentina also.

If contract talks are going nowhere, then they’re actually in a fairly weak position and the Reds could use that to their advantage.

In other news, fans were ecstatic at the emergence of this training ground footage.

Having sold Harry Maguire to Manchester United just under two years ago, Leicester City could be set to lose another defender to the Red Devils.

According to Foot Mercato, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is interested in centre-back Wesley Fofana, with reports suggesting that “first contacts” have already been made over a potential deal.

Despite the Foxes having coped very well with the departure of Maguire in 2019, Leicester and Jon Rudkin must this time ensure that they keep their defender at the club instead of doing business with the Red Devils.

Since arriving at the King Power Stadium only last summer from Saint-Etienne, the young Frenchman has impressed greatly. He has made 29 appearances in all competitions so far for Leicester, helping the Foxes to keep 11 clean sheets.

In fact, his defensive numbers are already among the best at the club. According to WhoScored, Fofana racks up two tackles, 2.4 interceptions and 3.8 clearances per match in the Premier League – no other centre-back at Leicester can better him for any of those statistics.

It is such consistent form which has seen him earn praise from Leicester boss Rodgers, who has labelled the defender – who earns just over £19,000 per week with the club – as “colossal”.

In fact, Fofana’s impact on the team is quite tangible. With the defender in the line-up, Leicester have accumulated a highly respectable 58% win rate in all competitions. Without him, this drops considerably to 45%.

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Whilst his presence in the team is certainly not a deciding factor behind Leicester’s chances of success, it would likely hinder it, so selling him to a potential rival for a top four position would be nonsensical at the current time.

Fofana’s sale would also be baffling considering the complexion of the squad Rodgers has at his disposal. Both Jonny Evans and Wes Morgan are on the wrong side of 30, so Fofana assembles a promising and competent defensive pairing with Caglar Soyuncu which could prove to be crucial for the East Midlanders’ future.

Leicester must resist the urge to sell, not allowing the Red Devils to swoop for another of their key defenders like they did with Maguire.

AND in more news, the Foxes could grant Rodgers’ wish with this AC Milan starlet…

Southampton produced an awful display on Monday evening as they were thrashed 3-0 by relegation-threatened West Brom at The Hawthorns.

Goals from Matheus Pereira, Matt Phillips and Callum Robinson secured a comfortable victory for Sam Allardyce’s side, whilst James Ward-Prowse missed a late penalty for the Saints.

Whilst there were very few good performances from a Southampton perspective, one man who particularly let Ralph Hasenhuttl down with a poor performance was Theo Walcott.

As per SofaScore, the on-loan Everton man earned a 6.5 match rating for his display, with only Ryan Bertrand (6.4) Danny Ings (6.3), Ibrahima Diallo (6.3) and Fraser Forster (5.9) rated lower of those who started the game.

The 32-year-old, who is currently valued at £5.4m by Transfermarkt, struggled to get involved in the game at all, as he registered just 27 touches and 12 accurate passes during his time on the pitch, which was fewer than the 31 touches and 15 passes contributed by goalkeeper Forster, per SofaScore.

This is significantly fewer than the 20.2 passes he has averaged per game in the Premier League so far this season, emphasising that he was nowhere near his best at The Hawthorns on Monday.

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On the opposite flank, Stuart Armstrong had 61 touches and completed 27 passes, which is more than double the amount Walcott managed, suggesting that the right winger simply wasn’t sufficiently involved in the game.

West Brom’s left-back Conor Townsend seemingly had the better of Walcott during the game, as he earned a 7.1 SofaScore rating and won six of his 10 duels, whereas the experienced Southampton man won only three of his eight.

Walcott’s replacement Che Adams also came far closer to a goal than the majority of his teammates, as his strike went narrowly wide of Sam Johnstone’s post.

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You could definitely argue that Walcott’s lack of involvement in the game cost Hasenhuttl on Monday, and now the Austrian has a big decision to make ahead of the FA Cup semi-final next weekend.

And, in other news… Forget Williams: Saints should swoop for “special” £4.5m-rated dynamo

Tottenham Hotspur will be looking to advance into the Europa League quarter-finals as they head to the Croatian capital for the second-leg of their Round of 16 tie with Dinamo Zagreb this evening.

Jose Mourinho’s side hold a 2-0 lead thanks to Harry Kane’s double last week but the Portuguese veteran will know all too well how dangerous that scoreline can be in football.

Therefore, it gives him plenty to think about in terms of team selection ahead of kickoff.

There is, however, one decision that he needs to make above all and that’s dropping Matt Doherty from the starting XI after an abysmal performance in the north London derby on Sunday.

On the Chalkboard

Having joined in a £15m deal in the summer, the 29-year-old has struggled to live up to expectations in north London, so much so that Mourinho is unconvinced over his chances of becoming a star under his stewardship.

According to ESPN, Doherty’s future is under threat with the Spurs boss considering making the Irishman available for transfer at the end of the season.

Now valued at £26m by CIES, the former Wolves man has been usurped in the pecking order by the often calamitous Serge Aurier – the very player he was supposed to replace – with Japhet Tanganga also getting game time over him, too.

There was the silly red card against Leeds United, reports of Mourinho berating him against Liverpool, and now an utterly abject display against the side he supposedly supports in Arsenal.

Doherty is the one holding Spurs back defensively.

He has started just 12 matches in the Premier League this season, though three of those have come in their last three outings, so it suggests Mourinho has preferred him to Aurier and Tanganga – at least in recent weeks.

Only twice since the turn of the year has Doherty managed above a WhoScored rating of 6.6, with shocking performances being recorded against Leeds (5.87), Liverpool (5.79) and even against West Brom (5.99).

This trend returned in yet another big game – Arsenal (6.56). He also lost possession 15 times, the second most of any Spurs player, and was dribbled past twice, as per SofaScore.

Club legend Graham Roberts claimed he was “very poor” and even went onto suggest that “maybe the club is too big for him” after the defeat.

Another slight against Doherty’s record is his poor ability to stop the opposition. He averages 1.3 fouls per game in the Premier League. Only two other players to start ten or more matches have averaged more for Spurs, as per WhoScored.

Both Aurier and Tanganga have featured on the bench recently, meaning they are fit and ready, so there’s a clear and obvious replacement staring Mourinho right in the face.

He must drop Doherty tonight.

AND in other news, Spurs swoop for £34m-rated beast would deal big blow to Oliver Skipp…